Vietnam Bible Education
My name is Lucelia Nicolene Pretorius, but everyone calls me Nicky. I am excited about my free Vietnam Bible Education with the Christian Leaders Institute. I was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Three years ago, we moved to Vietnam as my husband is Vietnamese. We have three beautiful children together. Two of our own and one from his previous marriage.
Vietnam is a country where lots of people practice idol worship. However, there are Vietnamese churches as well as Catholic Churches here. I belong to an international fellowship in Da Nang, where people all over the world attend. Since I was saved, I felt like God has big plans for Vietnam. To reach people who practice idol worshipping and teach them the truth. Also witnessing to foreigners who come here to visit Vietnam and don’t know God as well as expats who live and work here. I would like to learn to become a ministry leader with my Vietnam Bible Education at CLI. Since God called me to be a ministry leader.
A Terrible Childhood
The conditions I grew up in were terrible. I was rejected by my father even before birth. And I suffered some rejection from my mother. My father was previously married and already had two children. My father married my mother after he got her pregnant. I remember my mother telling me they had many arguments while she was pregnant with me. My father’s daughters got taken away at some point because they accused him of molesting them and treating them badly. I don’t recall my dad ever doing anything sexual to me though.
I grew up in a trailer park (in South-Africa this is not common). My dad came home every night with a bottle of beer and smoked marijuana. He never told me he loved me or showed any affection to me at all. Friday nights he never came home and went drinking and gambling away his salary. He was an engineer, was very smart, and made a decent salary. But, he chose to live under these conditions.
My father was diagnosed with cancer, refused to do his normal job, and started stealing for a living. We moved to free government housing in a very poor area where things escalated for my father. At some point, one of his daughters returned to live with us. We joined a church that my sister attended in the children’s home. I got baptized, but I wasn’t in the church very long. It was a means of escape for me from the turmoil in my house. I eventually left the church.
Family Trials
There was constant fighting between my mother and father. My sister eventually left home due to our father’s behavior. I was afraid for him to come home because I knew that he would beat my mom. He even beat my mother when she was pregnant with my baby sister. He started selling drugs from our home and got arrested. They always used to trash our house trying to find drugs. Then, he started doing the worst drugs because he couldn’t deal with his cancer diagnosis. I threw myself into my school work as an escape and became a top student with 90%-100% marks.
When I was 13, he passed away. I had the burden of providing for my mother and baby sister. I left school and started working in a pizza shop to bring in what I could. At the age of 18, I was tired of our poor living conditions. So, I decided to become a stripper to earn more money to take care of my mother and baby sister. I started drinking to cope with the job, and eventually, I got persuaded by a friend to take drugs. I became a drug addict.
Then when I was 23, my mother had a brain tumor and died very quickly. It was horrible watching my mom go through this. It broke my heart. My precious baby sister was taken away by my older sister as I wasn’t able to take care of her in my condition. After that, I moved into the strip club, did copious amounts of drugs, and prayed to God to let me die. Many friends overdosed or committed suicide. I did drugs with a friend for one week. Then after I went home, they called me the next day and told me my friend overdosed and died.
God Sent My Husband
A year later, I met my husband. He was sent from God to take me out of my horrible situation. It was his first time in a strip club, and he fell instantly in love with me. He couldn’t speak any English, and we had to use a translator on his cellphone. He came and gave me money without me having to dance for him. Expensive gifts and handbags were what he gave me as gifts, which I wasn’t used to. He then bought me a car even though we were just friends.
I was broken. I don’t know what he saw in me. There was no love to give or life left inside me just pain and heartache from my life. He started seeing me more seriously, but I was on drugs and I couldn’t stop. I was extremely broken and damaged. Then, he got me a place to stay, but I would always go and do drugs. However, he never gave up on me and always brought me food to eat. He nursed me back to health after one of my binges.
After a while, he asked me to have a baby with him. I agreed. The more he loved me, the less I needed drugs. Then, I got pregnant and managed to give up the drugs. My daughter saved my life. My husband took me out of the strip club for good and took good care of me. I had need of nothing. Eventually, we had our second child. But, when I got hurt by family or thought about the past, those feelings would cause me to relapse. He took me out of the strip club, but he couldn’t take the pain away that I endured in my life.
Challenges
I relapsed six times since having my husband and kids. Every time, my husband came and took me back home and loved me. My childhood wounded me, and I didn’t know how to get better. All I wanted was to be a normal mother to my children and wife to my husband. Because of my wounds, I couldn’t. I had my last relapse in June 2016, and it was the worst one of all. “Friends” tricked me and gave me drugs mixed with something else. I couldn’t even recognize my husband and children. It took me nearly a month to recover and function again. I had terrible pains in my chest, and I didn’t know if I was going to make it. My husband nursed me back to health again.
Finally, my husband packed our things. We left everything in South Africa. He brought me and our girls to Vietnam. Soon after that, I started experiencing breathing problems. I thought I had C.O.P.D or a problem with my diaphragm, but no doctors could give me a diagnosis. Panic attacks and anxiety plagued me. I wrote letters to my two beautiful daughters saying how much I loved them and was sorry I couldn’t be a better mother to them.
I never left my house because of all the fear. Alone in the dark with the curtains drawn, I was lying in my bed. Finally, I called out to God: “God, if you really exist, You need to come to help me, I’m dying!!!” When I walked away from the church I convinced myself that God wasn’t real because of my situation in my home and the world. I said: “God, if you’re there, please give me a sign.” Almost immediately, I heard hard knocking on the wall. I jumped out of bed because I got a fright. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in. Revelation 3:20.
Saved by God’s Grace
After that, I asked God what I must do. God prompted me to listen to sermons from Joyce Meyer. There was a sermon where they were explaining that we need to believe that Jesus died for our sins. I said the sinner’s prayer and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Immediately, I changed like brand new. My drug addiction and alcoholism stopped immediately. I never thought I would stop doing drugs. God began healing me internally from my childhood trauma.
Three weeks later, my panic attacks and anxiety stopped. Jesus delivered me from my fear of death. He healed my mind and made me sane again. I am finally a normal person capable of loving my husband and children and being a good wife and mother. I searched for a church and found one in Hanoi and attended and soon after I received baptism.
Then, we moved to Da Nang. We live two streets away from the ocean and have a beautiful view of the mountains and the ocean. I’m still recovering and keeping myself moving forward with Jesus. But my life has changed drastically in just two years. And now, I am pursuing my Vietnam Bible Education at CLI.
Christian Leaders Institute’s Vietnam Bible Education
My spiritual dream is to tell others what Jesus has done for me and bring them to the Lord. My hope and desire are to one day teach new Christians to read the Bible and apply it to their life. I don’t know why or how I decided to apply for an online school, but I came across the Christian Leaders Institute. I decided to sign up. CLI is absolutely amazing. This free Vietnam Bible education is everything I need to grow as a Christian leader.
When the Lord saved me, He took all the bad things in my life and replaced them with a passion to spread the gospel in Vietnam. I was on fire for Jesus now. But after reading the Bible and trying to understand, I realized that I lack proper knowledge of the Bible. I became discouraged and felt like a failure. My relationship with Jesus became vague. I felt disconnected from the Lord. My passion fizzled. I needed a Vietnam Bible education!
After finding CLI, I prayed and I cried because of my thankfulness for what CLI is about. It’s exactly what I need for my Vietnam Bible education. It will help me to fulfill my ministry and to preach in Vietnam. I love everyone on the CLI team and how passionate they are about what they are doing. I can see they have a sincere love for God and the Word of God. It’s not about money for them. They honestly care! I’m so excited to take this Vietnam Bible education journey with CLI. Praise God for this opportunity. For me, it’s about studying with people who have a true love for Christ and share the same passion to spread the gospel.
Learn about ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Minister Ministry Dreams
My name is Willie Alexander, and I have minister ministry dreams. I am from the United States. I grew up Southern Baptist. My hunger for God came later in life after I became diabetic in college. I was new to taking insulin and had many severe reactions with my blood sugar. After a near death experience, I became a believer. I came from a family that did not follow God, but I’m so blessed that He sought me before it was too late.
God molds me to be his servant. I want to be an example through the revival of my own personal life and ministry. Further, I hope to extend teachings and testimony to the church and expand to the whole world what faith has created in me. Another area of interest is to minister to those with a terminal illness.
This first class has strengthened me in my leadership skills and in the Word of God. I’m so thankful for Christian Leaders Institute offering free education. Now, I understand the Bible more and want to help others understand it, too.
I relate to the word Pastor the most. In many of my work positions, I’ve been a leader. Growing up playing football, I was considered the team leader. Therefore, even when I had illnesses and was hospitalized, I was the one to step out in front to help others. I guided them so they could be successful. That is my intention to do in the church as I help others to trust in the word of God.
The key experience that built the foundation for my ministry was receiving a kidney and pancreas transplant. I was healed. There were so many people that didn’t believe that God would heal me. I stayed faithful, knowing that He works on His own time. Without God, there is no hope to survive.
My main challenge is my below the knee amputation and weakened my immune system. So, I have chosen to make my presence known online. My local church connection is through online ministry and my family’s church in another state. They believe in what I am doing and are excited for what I can accomplish.
CLI made it possible for me to do something I always wanted to do. I can work toward my ministry dreams because CLI is online and, most importantly, free. Reaching ministry dreams should not be hindered by finances. Thank you, CLI!
Learn about ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Restoration Ministry Purpose: Called For a Purpose on Purpose
My name is Fiona Currie, and I have a restoration ministry purpose and call on my life. I currently reside in the Republic of Ireland.
I believe God called me here for a purpose. God made the way here for us by supernatural means of the provision to be part of a revival for His Kingdom here in Ireland. I will serve in a Ministry here to help lead many of the Catholic and Pagan believers and cultures into changing. To bring them to believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Messiah. Sharing that salvation comes through our Lord Jesus Christ and not in any other means or works or beliefs.
My ministry dream is to share my story of complete restoration through Jesus Christ. Revelation 12:11 “They triumphed over him by the blood of Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” I want to make myself available to speak at women’s meetings and conferences.
Calling and Training Purpose
This ministry class at Christian Leaders Institute has strengthened me and enlightened my past mistakes. Being in leadership positions ‘ruling with the iron fist’ is not effective leading. I have been exposed to this kind of leadership from previous superiors in various jobs I have held. In the Kingdom of God, this is not effective. We are to inspire others, especially being in a new country with a very different culture. Being able to build sound relationships with people is essential.
I relate to an Evangelist or even a Pastor. I want to encourage others and bring truth over the lies of the enemy. There are many pressures from today’s world which influence people negatively.
God has called me to shed light into the darkness. A scripture that the Lord brought to my mind a while ago. John 21:17 ‘The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” The world and all its ways have fed God’s people with false doctrines and beliefs. Therefore, the Lord has burdened my heart to feed truth to the people. My restoration ministry purpose is to restore the identity of who people are in Jesus Christ.
Restoration Ministry Purpose Deepens
I have had a tough life from a young age with many insecurities and hurt. A life of brokenness and disaster with me trying to do things ‘my way.’ Therefore, my heart is to encourage the lost and broken that there is hope in this fallen world. I realized that I have a restoration ministry purpose, a responsibility to lead others to a life of restoration through Jesus Christ. He redeemed me and His will is to redeem others. I know there are a reason and a purpose and that I would be very effective in Women’s Ministry. My heart is to encourage other women just like myself to be overcomers.
I live in a very rural area and a community of farmers. There are very few resources available such as finances and fellow believers that share the same vision. I am completely trusting God to provide everything necessary to achieve the vision. The folk here are very set in their ways and religious in works. Therefore, I will need a lot of prayer support and intercession for God to soften the hearts and make them approachable.
Our local church believes in raising up people for ministry and releasing them into the field to plant churches and send out missionaries. This work is excellent as we are a multi-national church. There are loads of support and training available. Being new here, I am still just getting to know my fellow believers.
Training and Credibility
My Christian Leaders Institute study opportunity is significant to me. People need affirmation and need to be able to trust. They prefer listening to those that know what they are talking about to them. Having a degree or diploma reassures them to be able to trust someone with sound knowledge. CLI will help me to obtain this qualification that I would not have been able to afford otherwise. I thank God that He placed it on my heart to look for CLI on the web. I hope to become a vision partner once I am in a financial position to contribute to CLI, enabling others to be educated in ministry which they may not be able to afford otherwise so that they too can receive a sound credible education.
Learn about Ecuministry Ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.