My name is Patrick Lawrence Henry. I am born again, through our Lord Jesus Christ, since July 19, 2016. Now, three months later, I publicly proclaim my Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Having not fully realized what had happened to me, has been a great blessing to me and our marriage. Please allow me to explain.
Bonnie, my wife of five years, and myself have been in marital counseling for over one year. Our marriage has been difficult from the beginning. In 2012 I was diagnosed with Complex PTSD. Since birth I have had over thirty separate traumas, also abandonment and neglect. There’s no sense in going into all the gory details since its only perception anyways. Moreover, its my marriage and wife, that sustained and humbled me. Its Bonnie’s walk with the Lord, praise God.
I’ve been around Church, in Muskegon County Michigan, since I was a small boy. A school bus would gather me and my siblings for Sunday School and Church. We grew up in a Christian Reformed Church, also my brothers and I were involved in Musk-O-Tawa Cadet Corps. Religion studies wasn’t important at that time, but being around Christians was. I never found Jesus and he always loved me. That first Church probably saved my life. Five more Churches followed, I searched all my life. It was the seed that was needed, to continue, to try and find Jesus.
I met Bonnie January of 2009, and married in July 2011. I have four children, from a previous marriage and Bonnie has two. We have both been married twice before, which is why I tried in this marriage. After a PTSD trigger I began to disintegrate and in two years, Suicidal Ideation was the final result. In-patient hospitalization came in May, 2015, followed by two weeks of Out-patient care. Communication was difficult because neither Bonnie or I knew what was going on during recovery. We were both overwhelmed by the scope of PTSD and the recovery from same. Our counselor is a very good marriage teacher, and also a very Godly woman. Its been a privilege to learn from her.
July 19, 2016, after a revelation, at approximately four thirty in the morning I fell asleep. The revelation was” Patrick after you ran away from home at age sixteen, you gave up the right to be a victim.”
When I woke, five hours later, I was overflowing with Glory. Jesus, prepared me. I gave thanks soon after. I, became redeemed but I did not know. For three weeks, we lived in glory overflowing even to the children. Then Bonnie got confused and needed discernment. That knocked me off my cloud and that made me angry. I fell too. Fortunately, counseling brought us back together. I repented soon after and Bonnie followed shortly after that. That’s why I mentioned Bonnie so soon in my testimony. I know she’s not responsible.
During this short time, I had two revelations. The first was that I had been redeemed. Sanctification was in progress. I was able to look back a month and a half and know that I had been forgiven. The second was that Bonnie had been filled with Glory. Only Christians, will allow that. I had thought that through our entire marriage I had been the Christian. I wasn’t disappointed, not at all, actually relieved. God had provided the church, trained the Pastor, so he had done his part. I was grateful that at least one of us had done are part. After this revelation our marriage became honorable. Thank you, Father.
Now that I’m alive, I have a decision to make. Being an empty vessel, free of loss and grief, I can fill the recently emptied forgiven heart, with Gods unending love. Study at CLI will fill me appropriately. My mission, should I be willing to except it, is to develop a way to, inform as many people as possible, about Developmental PTSD. Hundreds of millions of people worldwide suffer from this curable disorder. The only thing in the way is ignorance, and that can be conquered. Pray for a conquering spirit.
One of the things that amazes me the most is the effortless evangelism that I am capable of now. Knowing this I can’t wait till I have enough knowledge to back it up. Glory be to God.
I pray that our relationship is so precious to God, that he blesses us for all our days.
Thank you for your service, Patrick Henry
Bible church member, singer, armchair theologian, and considering missionary training.
I came to faith at a small baptist church under the ministry of a preacher who preached the gospel. Since that time I have strived to increase my knowledge of the scriptures, time in prayer, and church attendance. I now am a member of a Bible church in Texas serving in our singles ministry, choir, and special needs ministry.
After visiting a missionary training center I have begun to pray for direction as to whether or not I should pursue full time missionary work. The program I am considering requires some Bible school training which is my goal in working with CLI.
My goal in seeking training with CLI is both to add clarity to this calling if it is indeed a calling. I do not wish to pursue education while acquiring debt.
Zimbabwe Free Ministry Training
Sign up for now for your Zimbabwe free ministry training. Read this story and find out how AIDAH SIBANDA found this training.
Greetings to you in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. My name is Aidah Sibanda. I am married to a loving , God-fearing and supportive husband. I am a mother of three children. I reside in Zimbabwe, which happens to have the majority of citizens being Christians. Zimbabwe is more of a Christian country due to the strong Christian values enforced by my President. For that reason, one is free to preach Christ anywhere in my country.
I came to know the Lord for as long as I can remember. Born in a Catholic family, I was taught the Catholic doctrine through Catechism. I managed to grasp the basics of what it means to have Jesus Christ dying on the cross for me, through the Catechism lessons. At the age of fourteen, I was exposed to the Pentecostal way of worship. That was the moment I yearned to learn more about the holy spirit and speaking in new tongues. That desire led me to pursue the Pentecostal way of worship and that was the beginning of what I may say, my Christian journey.
From there, I never turned back and I have since involved myself so much in the ministry. As I grew up, I took part in the Choral group at church. When I turned 19, I started teaching Sunday School. I was so attached to the children in my class that I would even pay personal visits to their homes. 4 years later, I was made the Sunday School Superintendent. I was head of the Sunday School from the ages of three to 25. That gave me exposure to Christian Leadership and made me realize how important it is to be a steward in the house of God. I was also the Secretary in the Church Administration Board at assembly level. Being the only single female in the board then, led me to tremendous growth both spiritually and physically.
I identify myself as both a Pastor and a Youth Leader although I am not at all ordained. I feel I am a role model to the youth because I got to be grounded and more focused during my youthful days. My experience of Christ was at the most crucial time of maturity and I feel blessed to have known Christ better during that period, hence my desire to lead especially the youth to Christ. I also feel that I am a Pastor because of the urge that I have to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and lay my hands on the sick.
What prompted me to pursue ministry is the strong desire in me to be more than just a lay member of the church, but spread my wings, help others grow in Christ and deliver the oppressed. In my country, there are no significant challenges due to the fact that it is a Christian country where one is free to worship. There are however, very few women Pastors and that drives me to join the few.
My local church has supported me immensely. Sometimes I am given the opportunity to preach during Ladies’ preaching weeks. My Pastor is also my mentor and he encourages me to pursue my calling. My family also plays a very important role in my ministry calling. I feel I am my family’s Pastor before ministering elsewhere. I hold family services with them where we sing, pray and read the Bible. It is in actual fact a training period and I know from my home pulpit, I can stand at a pulpit of any level.
A scholarship at Christian Leaders Institute will help make my dream come true. I wish to be a very influential Pastor, who is well-trained. In my country, Bible schools are costly and most of them require one to resign from work and be a full time student. Being a working mother, I cannot afford to leave work at the moment due to family responsibilities. However, my work will not hinder my studies, neither will my studies hinder my work when I am trained online at Christian Leaders Institute. That way I will be able to execute both my family responsibilities and the work of God.
My prayer is that as I strive to discover Christ and that my life may have a very positive impact in the lives of other people and that one day I will be able to minister on an international level.