"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."

Isaiah 53:3

Well, I never thought that one day I would be attending church regularly, let alone, serving at church. However, I praise God for opening my heart so that I could understand His love and sacrifice. And now, I can call myself God's daughter.

At the end of my freshman year in college, I was diagnosed with total kidney failure. And a year later, I had a kidney transplant (my dad donated one of his kidneys to me). I thought my health problem was over, but little did I know that it was only the beginning. About a year after I received my new kidney, one of the medicines that I was taking for my new kidney caused both of my hip bones to collapse. I was walking with crutches at the time, and also experienced excruciating pain every time I moved my legs. Three orthopedists I was seeing at the time, all three of them told me that I could never walk normally again. They told me that I'm facing a future in a wheelchair. When I heard the news, my mind and my body went numb. I didn’t know what to think and how to react to the news. My future seemed hopeless and I felt like my life was over.

Sophia (a friend from high school) and my sister invited me to church to get prayed for, I accepted but I didn't really believe that I was going to be healed. I went to church, Muc Su (Pastor) and three other people prayed for me. After I went home, my pain seemed to get better day by day. And probably about more than a month later, my legs felt a lot better, the pain was gone completely and I could walk without the crutches. I was so amazed. Right then, something in my heart told me that God has healed me. After my first visit to church, I did not talk or communicate with anyone from church, not even Sophia. And I have never heard a sermon before so I didn't know anything about God or Jesus Christ; besides the fact that Christians believe that Jesus Christ was God's son. But I knew in my heart that this has got to be God's work. I then asked my sister to call Muc Su's office to make another appointment for me because I wanted to be completely healed and I knew, then, that it was possible. The second time I came back to get prayed for was on a Thursday and it also was my first time at YA Bible study (now known as Initium). Muc Su happened to speak that Thursday. Hearing my first sermon, the message hit straight to my heart. I started coming back to YA because I could not wait to hear more about this new-found God in my heart. And I started to come to church on a Sundays too. Every sermon I heard after that spoke straight to my heart. It was like Muc Su has written them just for me. I started to love this God that everyone was talking about. I learned that God was such a loving, forgiving and compassionate heavenly Father. A few months later, every time Muc Su gave an altar call, I desperately wanted to go up but I was too shy to do it. Nevertheless, I did tell Sophia how I felt. Finally after a Bible Study at the Hoang’s house, Sophia and Quan led me to Christ in March 2003.

I praise God every day for my salvation because I know that without Him, my life would be hopeless. I'm grateful to Him for who I am right now. It is comforting to know that a God of grace and mercy is watching over me, so I don't have to go through times of trouble by myself. To anyone who does not believe that God exists: Well, I’m a living example that He does exist. He is love. He is good. And He is a healer.