Full-Time Training - Testimonies

He Understands Me, A.L.

I was born and raised in China. My family worshipped idols and our ancestors. Every morning my mother and I took turns getting up early to offer incense to eight idols/gods in my house. Worshipping these idols not only offered zero satisfaction, but it even caused fear within me. I longed for something real. Many years passed by like this until my whole family immigrated to the United States in October 1990. When I was in high school, a classmate invited me to a Christian meeting. At first I was very excited, but later I found no satisfaction and stopped going. Then, after a few years, a believer in Christ who met with the local church in Oakland preached the gospel to my mother. My mother brought me along with her to the meetings. Later, a couple in the church in Oakland brought me to a Friday night students' meeting. It was in that meeting that I experienced something of the Lord. When the students started to sing, they were full of joy. I could sense the Lord was real to them. This meeting was very different from the one I went to in high school. I immediately began to meet with the church in Oakland. Eventually, a group of trainees from the Full-Time Training in Anaheim (FTTA) came to visit our campus, and I was encouraged very much by them to come to the Training. After that, I decided to come to the Training.

This training provides a very good environment for me to experience Christ as life. I very much enjoy living together with trainees who come from different countries all over the earth. Our ethnic backgrounds, traditions, living habits and personalities are so different, but each one of us possesses the same life within--the life of Christ. I enjoy learning how to put my natural background and tradition away to cooperate with others in doing many things in my everyday life. For example, in the Training we are grouped into teams. Our team had twelve members from various backgrounds. On one occasion, a particular matter came up and it required our team to have some discussion together regarding how to deal with it. We spent a lot of time considering the matter. Many of us expressed our ideas and opinions, and each of us thought that he or she had the best ideas. We just went around and around but there was no way to deal with this situation. I was very bothered inwardly at that time though outwardly I did not show it. I felt disappointed that my idea was not considered by the team. The rest of the day, I kept thinking about the fellowship, and it affected me to such a degree that I could not even study. I went outside and found a quiet spot to pray to the Lord. As I prayed to the Lord, I started to weep, telling the Lord all my feelings and that nobody understood me. Then suddenly I stopped crying and felt that the Lord was telling me in a very gentle way, “Aida, why are you crying? Don't you know that I love you? Even though nobody in the world understands you, I understand you and I know how you feel now. Don't cry. Just let me love you and embrace you.” Instantly a flow of warmth filled me, and I felt that my problems and sadness were gone. I will never forget that moment in my life. The Lord was so real to me. This is one of my experiences of Christ as my life since I came into the Training. The Lord is so merciful to me by giving me such a chance to come to the FTTA.

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