Greetings my brothers, sisters, and fellow soldiers! I was born and currently reside in the United States of America. Being an American has a lot of upsides, however, it also has a lot of downsides. Growing up in America (I was born in 1990), life seemed somewhat simpler to be a Christian. The Ten Commandments were in school, various religions weren’t rampant in my community and prayer at community events was accepted by almost everyone. Of course, life as a child is in a lot of ways easier than that of an adult. Nonetheless, a Christian life was more comfortable to live and grow in. Over the past few years that has changed tremendously, not only in my community but the entire country! Don’t get me wrong, leading a sincere Christian life is never “easy”. There are organizations that file lawsuits against prayer at school graduations, and a giant part of our country has forgotten about God. Christians are generally hated (this is expected, since the Bible says “Marvel not if the world hate ye”). Our once thankful and hospitable country has become proud, arrogant, and self-loving. Many people are only concerned about me, myself, and I. In these days, our country is being divided tremendously with race wars and individuals failing to realize that all men and women are created equal and in the image of God. It has become hard to minister in our country. The general population sees us as judgmental holy rollers. They don’t see that we desire to share the good news of Jesus Christ and shower them with love, not hate and judgment. Nonetheless, it is not impossible, for all things are possible through CHRIST who strengthens me.
My walk with God has been comparable to that of a roller coaster. I gave my life to Christ when I was 12 years old. What a wonderful day that was! I was blessed with being raised in a Christian family. Through my life, until I graduated high school, I was somewhat close to God. Once I graduated high school, I entered into a dark stage of my life. I began using drugs, drinking alcohol, and having sex outside of marriage. I lost complete focus of God. I ended up joining the US Army when I was 19. Through my military career, I seemed to get further away. I drank uncontrollably and had a foul mouth. I was focused on pride, drinking, clubbing, and women, rather than humility, the Bible, church, and God. One night, while returning home from the club, I was severely assaulted in my barracks parking lot on the army base where I lived. I had a fractured skull, bruised and bleeding brain, kidney and stomach damage, and a severely lacerated lip. When I was found in the parking lot, I was unconscious, bleeding from my ears, mouth, and nose, and was barely breathing. The Emergency Medical Team that responded to me told the person who found me that if they had waited ten minutes longer, I would’ve been dead. On the way to the Emergency Room, I had to have respiratory resuscitation three times. It was only by the grace of God that I survived. Three years later, here I am, healthy overall, with slight memory loss, PTSD, and occasional headaches. I simply see them as reminders of what I never want to go back to being. I thank God that he humbled me and granted me the grace to continue living. He opened my eyes to the fact that my life was for him and not for me.
Over the past year, I had struggles maintaining my focus on God, but I’ve since been grounded on the rock Jesus Christ. I’ve completely given my life and control of it to God. I began seeking God diligently and sharing what I’ve learned and read with others. I started to notice that I had a want, a burning desire to serve God. I’ve since had multiple people tell me I need to be a preacher. I didn’t pay any attention to it until a few months ago. I realized that my desire to serve and lead in God’s army became stronger and stronger. I would read, and verses about leading and being entrusted with his Word grabbed me more and more. I had a talk with my local pastor and explained what I was experiencing and showed him the verses that were sticking out to me. He told me to pray for confirmation from God, to begin studying more and more and to take things slow. He confirmed that I was being called to preach!
So here I am suited up with the Armor of God and seeking to be equipped to wage this spiritual warfare. By receiving a diploma from CLI, I will be trained more and more in the tactics (knowledge) and strategies (understanding) to win these battles. I want to submit my entire being to Christ for use as a vessel. I want to love people more. I want to lead lost souls and wanderers to Christ. To help RISE UP this world. To recruit and suit people to the greatest army ever known: The Army of God! If there’s anything I could ask prayers for, it would be that God’s will would be done in my life. That He would use me as he sees fit, to reach people that He puts into my life. I pray for true wisdom that only comes from God and strength to fight the good fight. I pray for a bigger capacity for love, and an even stronger desire to serve and worship the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD!.
My name is Dorcas Priviledge Ndebele, and I am 30 years old. I was born in Zimbabwe and relocated to South Africa while I was still a teenager. I am the third born in my family with two older brothers and a younger sister and brother. Our mother is a strong, beautiful woman who has become my friend. In my earlier years, we did not have a relationship because she was always away. Each time she came back was with a baby, and, after a few days, she left and was gone for years. I never knew my father, and one of our brothers was taken by his father so I never really knew him till I was older. We had a difficult childhood being raised by different people. By God’s grace, my family is being restored. I have formed a bond with my brothers and sister; I couldn’t be happier. I have a son who is three years old; he is just a bundle of joy, and I have learned so much from him. I have learned about love, meekness, and forgiveness. I am grateful that the Holy Spirit has taught me many things through the eyes of a child. I love my son very much, but the relationship with his father is a challenging one though he also loves his son very much.
South Africa is a beautiful country filled with many races. There are a lot of churches with different doctrines, but what I see is that few are preaching the true, undiluted word of God. There is a rise in “prophet” run churches that people are flooding to, but they are coming out empty and unfulfilled. Many people who go to these churches are not saved, and they don’t know what the Bible says. Their lives are just the same as unbelievers’. Because of the rise in the number of prophets, people are rushing to these churches for instant problem solving and miracles. I have a passion to teach people the Word of God, to lead them to Christ, and to teach them how to have a personal relationship with God. I feel the urgency that lost souls be won for Christ, and that they are prepared for the second coming of Jesus Christ. Since I gave my life to Christ three years ago, it has been very difficult. I have faced persecution from the “religious” people and friends. Being a young, unmarried woman with a child has been a challenge and has brought me many enemies, but the work of God will be done.
My dream is to go around the world preaching the gospel. Currently, I am ministering to a small group of women and running a Facebook page called Arise Strong Women though it is in its infancy. I am targeting women who are abused, raped, broken, and having spiritual problems. I counsel and pray for them. I have made myself available 24 hours a day for these women, and I am grateful for the grace of God that enables me to serve full time.
Though I haven’t had any formal training in ministry work, I am sure that I am called to this work. My church is very small, and there is not much room. I am involved in almost every department: as a worshiper, a teacher/leader at Bible studies, an intercessor for the Church, and a leader of the women. This work is all done by the grace of God. I thank God also that I have been able to bring my family close to God, and that has given me peace and joy to see my family drawing close to God.
It is crucial for me to get a scholarship from CLI because I desire to be in a full-time ministry. I want to learn and know more about God, and I cannot afford to go to a formal Bible school for ministry training. Getting a CLI scholarship would allow me to continue ministering full time and still be able to study and get more advanced knowledge. For me, there is no limitation when it comes to the things of God. I will go where God leads me, and I will learn more where I am given the opportunity. Please pray for me that I may obtain more wisdom and knowledge and that I may live to glorify my Father in heaven.
Filled With The Holy Spirit
CLI Graduate, Moira Taylor has been filled with the Holy Spirit and through the Spirit has achieved miraculous things.
“Something like a sea of glass” Rev.4:6
My name is Moira Taylor. I am the wife of Stephen, and we have three wonderful sons. Colin, 31, is a post graduate of the University of Ottawa and presently a mortgage specialist with TD Canada. Michael, 26, is currently in the Netherlands studying his Masters degree in Criminology. Shaun, 21, is in his third year at Carleton University studying Aerospace Engineering.
Moira has had many tragedies happen in her life.
I was born in Liverpool, England, to devout Catholic parents of Irish and Spanish heritage. I questioned my faith as a teen and earned the phrase “doubting Thomas” by my father. My young years were defined by the murder of my best friend when I was nine years old, finding my grandmother’s dead body at age 13, and a brutal sexual assault at sixteen. At the age of 19, I made a decision to leave my family and all my past behind and arrived in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I was employed as a nanny to a very wealthy Jewish family. It would be here I would learn a great deal about my faith and search out more about God. My past life caught up with me, and my behavior became out of control. Drinking heavily and partying at nightclubs led to depression. I started to attend church and spent much time alone. I read the Bible periodically but did not apply the principles.
In time, I would leave the family I was working for and work at a very prestigious bakery on Young Street in Toronto. Things seemed to be improving in my life. I met my husband and eventually moved to the little town of Brockville, Ontario, a town my husband describes as “God’s own backyard.” We bought our house, and I found happiness. We had our three sons, and I recognized my blessings.
Moira had a divine experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit when she least expected it.
I attended church and met many Christian friends, both Catholic and Protestant. I was invited to different churches and attended my first weekend conference. I went before the priest who was anointing people with oil, and I was scandalized that people were falling down drunk. I didn’t understand what was going on. I must admit I was a little nervous. Suddenly, as the priest anointed my head, I saw what appeared to be an enormous block of ice coming down from the ceiling. Although I was extremely fearful, the powerful words entered into my thoughts of “Do not Fear”. Then I was experiencing overwhelming peace as the giant boulder of what I thought of as crystal ice was crushing me. My hands and arms were outstretched to stop it coming at me, but I couldn’t hold it back. The priest continued to pray over me for some time, but I was in a state of shock.
At first, after Moira was filled with the Holy Spirit, she worried she wasn’t ready to be used by God, but through God’s Spirit her calling was revealed.
My friends and I left that area to go to a quiet place when I was filled with scripture verses and what they called prophecy. I had a sense of knowing many things. I thought my hair had gone white. Everyone about me was aware something profound had happened, but I was in some sort of daze. Later, the priest said he felt the power of the Holy Spirit upon him and knew I had been called for something powerful. He said it reminded him of the “transfiguration on the mount”. It would take many years for God to work through me. I had heard a quiet voice say, “I’m calling you to be like Moses.” My response was that I’m not equipped, and I was informed, “Moses said the same.”
I am now prepared to reach God’s people. I don’t have much in the way of education, but I have what God has prepared me for. I am now seeking the affirmation of education as a tool to aid me in the work of the Holy Spirit. In 2010, my father was diagnosed with terminal esophageal cancer. I would not make it to the UK in time for his death. It was upon asking God that I was informed that he was killed. Nobody, including my mother and brothers, would believe me. It was through the Holy Spirit’s guidance over the next three years that I would prove it to be true and win a civil suit against the hospital. This rendered their admission of guilt and forced policy changes throughout the country.
Moira has felt a calling from the experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit and the passion the Holy Spirit brings.
“Renewing of the mind” is the scripture I use as a tool to help others. I have certification in drug and alcohol rehabilitation. I am also board certified in the area of Integrative Psychology. My prayers and dreams have now been answered after three years, and the work I have been led to is coming to fruition. My dream is to help and mentor those struggling. The judicial system does not rehabilitate offenders, so they become cyclical and lost. I have seen the evidence of helping them recognize their creativity as a healing process in their recovery. I have had lawyers refer their clients to me and recently have been asked to join a mentoring team locally. I see myself as a pastor ministering in the areas of marriage counseling, family solutions and drug and alcohol addiction.
CLi is providing Moira the ability to grow in her knowledge and her faith in her ministry calling.
Prayers are communication, and God communicates through many people, so I ask for prayers for the ministry of my calling. I am confident that a scholarship from Christian Leaders Institute would help me greatly on my path, and I would be very grateful for the opportunity