My name is Harry Orlowski, and I am excited about the free minister education opportunity at the Christian Leaders Institute. I was born in Hollywood, California. I remember seeing movie stars on Hollywood Boulevard when I went for walks with Mom and Dad. We moved south to the little beach town of Carlsbad, California, when I was only five years old.
My Early Years
In Carlsbad, I attended public school and worshipped at Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church every Sunday. I also attended catechism classes for six years until confirmation. Therefore, Christ was always part of my life. Carlsbad was a great place to grow up. I later realized that it was pretty close to paradise than some of the big cities I later called home. What a childhood of innocence and wholesomeness – friendly people, safety, and great weather! There was also magnificent golf in that area. I used to play at the world-famous Torrey Pines several times a week and at a local course nearly every day after or instead of school.
When I graduated from Carlsbad high school, I attended San Diego State University. I graduated with a B.A. in anthropology and economics, as well as an M.B.A. After finishing at SDSU, I transferred to the University of California at Irvine to pursue a Ph.D. in management.
Illness and Surrender to Christ
After working at a few corporate positions, including Blue Cross of California, and Metropolitan Life, I finally burned out after a lifetime of school and work. Too many 80-hour weeks got to be too much for me. So, I became terribly ill with an infection that put me in a hospital for more than a month.
It was the hand of God that took me to Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital. Because, for the first time in my life, I was bombarded with Bible-believing Christians preaching God’s word to a captive audience. Something awoke in my soul – a fervent desire to read the gospel! I read the New Testament several times, and that ignited a long-dormant desire to know Jesus Christ! Well, that was 30 years ago that I confessed my many sins and asked for Jesus Christ to be my Lord and Savior. It’s amazing how sometimes our lowest point in life can serve as the springboard for the turning point towards salvation.
New Direction
After taking a few months off work, I began to question whether I really wanted the corporate rat race. The answer was a very loud and clear, “No!” I decided to take it a bit easier for the rest of my life and have more balance. So, I took classes to earn a California teaching credential and learn a new language, Spanish, to teach in bilingual public school settings. Therefore, at 39 years old, I got a new start as a public school teacher.
I was pretty anchored in Christianity by then, and I constantly looked for opportunities to sneak Christian teachings into the curriculum. This practice was frowned upon officially, but believers do it anyway. That’s how God used a humble teacher to put Christian ideas into the hearts and minds of impressionable young children. After only three years in a classroom, I decided to get an M.A. in Educational Administration and an administrative credential to become a school administrator. I did, and I worked at LAUSD for 20 years until I retired in 2016.
In 2016, I went on vacation to Acapulco and fell in love with Mexico and moved to Mexico City, where I currently live most of the time. Actually, I switch back and forth between Mexico City and Hollywood.
Minister Education Opportunity at CLI
Christianity has been important to me for 30 years. So, when I saw the Christian Leaders Institute minister education opportunity to learn more and seek ordination, I jumped at it. I began in June of 2020, and I’m enjoying my first taste of formal theological instruction with some excellent professors.
There is a coherent thread woven through this story, and it begins with early exposure to religion that was fairly intense for about 10 years. That served to establish a latent desire to know Jesus Christ that was later rekindled at a time of desperation. Reading the New Testament with fresh and more experienced eyes ignited a love for Jesus that has lasted ever since.
It is now a natural progression to devote my time to know God better and learn how to share salvation with others. My spiritual dream is to bring others into a relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The CLI training helps me have the substance, coupled with my enthusiasm, to be more effective at this mission. Thank you, and God bless!
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
My name is Tammy Hawk, and I am receiving free Bible School studies at the Christian Leaders Institute. I live on the East Coast of Florida in the United States. I was born and raised in southern New Jersey until I graduated high school and moved to Florida on a collegiate softball scholarship.
As a child, I was raised to know Jesus. My grandparents made sure my siblings and I attended church and Awana youth group. I loved playing sports, so eventually, my schedule became too busy to attend church activities. I still loved the Lord, but I was so busy with school and sports.
Challenges
The less time I spent with God, the more I spent doing things that led me to times in my life where I didn’t recognize myself. After five years of “living up” the college athlete’s life, it all ended when I began having unexplained seizures. I could not finish my last trimester of college for my Bachelor in Accounting.
During that dark time, I met a man I ended up dating for 16 years. We had a beautiful daughter together, had great jobs, built a house, and played softball. However, God did not play any role in our life. In 2006, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.
More Challenges
In 2013, we had a house fire and lost just about everything! Standing in Walmart covered in black soot, I was desperately trying to think what my family would need to at least sleep that night. That was the first time I felt God’s presence pour over me! His Peace carried me through the next few months.
I met with the insurance adjuster at the house to review our contents. She handed me a book that had been in a cabinet with all my other books five feet from where the fire started. She could not even identify most of the books; however, the one my uncle gave me years ago didn’t have a black mark. It even still had its paper cover! That Joyce Meyer devotional, ”Hearing from God Each Morning,” changed my life!
Later that year, I lost my corporate job and became a single parent. My daughter and I were baptized together in 2015. However, I struggled to find God’s purpose for my life.
In 2018, my health began to take a deeper decline. In 2019, I was hospitalized with major neurological issues. I was having difficulty walking, talking, seeing, and thinking. Since then, my symptoms come and go. I have been to over 15 specialists so far, and none can explain any of this.
New Life and Healing in God
During this last year, my life as I knew it ended. Almost every relationship in my life ended or became distant. My brain struggled in the most basic of tasks. Then the pandemic hit, I had nowhere to turn but to God!
I poured every last bit of energy into my relationship with Him, and I began to know his Peace again. In August of 2020, God brought some amazing people involved in Ministry into my life. That is when my healing began. The first time they prayed and laid hands on me, my right leg grew even to the other. The doctors still have no idea what is going on with my brain; however, I continue to get better and better!
Call to Ministry and Christian Leaders Institute
God is calling me to go into ministry to help heal the sick and broken. He led me to the Christian Leaders Institute. My finances are more than a mess after my health issues, so the opportunity to begin my Bible School studies free is an answer to my prayers! May God bless the amazing people that make this possible for people like me to follow God’s calling!
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
Japan’s Ready to Meet Jesus
Hello! I am excited to receive free Bible credentialing and training at the Christian Leaders Institute as I reach out here in Japan.
Japan is a beautiful and fascinating place in a lot of ways. There is so much opportunity here to minister for Jesus since less than one percent of the entire country’s population claims any connection to Christ. To serve Jesus in Japan was an instant death sentence until more recently. The Japanese have a state religion of idols. Therefore, to embrace Christ is to become an enemy of the state to the Japanese people. They have embraced religious pluralism (believing that all religions are the truth) and wide-scale-open-idolatry (idols on nearly every corner). However, things get a little uncomfortable once you mention Jesus.
On the other hand, the Japanese people are not constantly immersed in denominational theologies and, thus, jaded. For that reason, the people here seem more willing to hear the Word of God with an open heart.
How I Met Jesus
I was living as an Old Order Amish at one point but not baptized into the denomination, so I was never a member of that group. I was once a part of a couple of other strict denominations, but I didn’t meet Jesus until one day while I was in a Church-house praying at my bench alone after taking communion. The moment Jesus walked into my life, I felt a joy that was so intense! The best way I can describe it is that I wanted to laugh, cry, shout for joy at the top of my lungs, and praise Jesus for being there! I tried hard to meet all the requirements the best way I knew how, before and nothing worked!
However, the day I met Jesus, my whole life philosophy, self-image, plan, outlook about others, and eternity CHANGED instantly. I’m not saying that I’ve been perfected or that I’ve reached entire sanctification in the twinkling of an eye (we’re not there yet). But, I can tell you that Jesus was right there in that service. I remember the moment that my heart flooded with the presence of the Blessed Holy Spirit of God! I know Jesus lives!
Called to Serve
The King invited me to serve others and preach the Gospel Truth that He’s alive today. I have not always been faithful to that calling and have stumbled on the way. BUT GOD! He’s able! I have a lot of growth and maturity to look forward to, but I have learned one Kingdom secret. Jesus is truly alive and wants to walk among us and dwell within us. That’s how it’s possible to be imperfect yet holy, by abiding in the True Vine, Jesus of Nazareth.
I thank God for CLI’s Leadership Excellence School and Christian Leaders Institute! They are furthering the cause of Christ by offering free Bible credentialing and training (with a fee for administration at the college) to bear fruit for the Lord. This present world and the Kingdom of God (that is in this world but not of this world) have completely different agendas. Namely Heaven and Hell. Too often, the Kingdom mingles with the world and the world with the Kingdom. It gets to the point that it’s hard to tell who’s who.
Is it not the highest calling of the Church to bear fruit? It seems that, often, seminaries, Bible colleges, and denominational trainers turn out people who have not been introduced to Jesus in their training and ordination programs. Christian Leaders Alliance is a bright light on this front! May Jesus greatly bless this mission with every good thing!
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School. Learn more about Bible School training at CLI.