My name is Sheila Ingram-Beale, and I live in the United States of America where ministering is more welcome than in other countries. As a young child, my family would attend church but my father, who served in the Navy, would be away for months at a time. When I was in my early teens, the church bus would come around the military housing complex to pick up the neighborhood children, and my sister and I were two of the regulars. I enjoyed going to church back then, and I remember the church keeping us engaged. They would separate us into groups based on our age and we would have weekly bible lessons, perform skits, sing songs, and we even had what they called lock-ins where we stayed the night at the church and fellowshipped with the church members.
I first truly came to know the Lord when my father died (1997). He was only 50 and I had graduated from high school the year prior to his death. His death was devastating to me and caused me to have an emotional breakdown. My father was one of my biggest cheerleaders as I went through life. I felt that there was nothing that I could not do as long as he had my back. For a better word, my father was my hero and always will be. After his death, I felt like I was on my own fighting whatever the world threw at me. My father was the strength of the family.
I did lose my way a few times after that, but I always found my way back to church. I always felt that I was missing something or someone in my life. In October 2012, a friend at work, who eventually became my pastor, held my hand as I rededicated my life back to Christ. I had been seeking knowledge and understanding of Christ for many years on my own, often taking the time to read His Word and praying. But it was at that moment that I finally threw the towel in on what I thought was life and it was the best decision I could have made.
My pastors and other Christians in my life have felt that my ministry is with children and evangelizing. I currently serve in roles that fully center on children. I have been a Girl Scout Troop Leader for three years now and have been asked to be a Bible School teacher on more than one occasion. I have often been called an Evangelist because I am always talking about God and what he has done in my life. In my field of work, I am around those that are sick and that are going through trials. I am faithfully taking the time to let them know that God is real and that He loves them despite what they are going through. I definitely love sharing the things that I have witnessed God do for myself and others.
I honestly never thought that I would be in pursuit of ministry. I have continually pursued a deeper relationship with God, and this quest has led me to ministry. Like many, I was not always so welcoming of ministry. The human side of me sometimes gave in to the doubts of my worthiness of the calling. I was not one of those Christians that could quote many scriptures or speak in tongues, and I did not have the perfect marriage. I recently relocated, and I feel that relocation is a blessing. In this small town in North Carolina there is a church on just about every corner. As a matter of fact, the town has been nicknamed, “Chapel Town”. Not all of the churches have the look of a traditional church. In fact, some of them are small homes that were built a long time ago that families once lived in and have since moved out of, and some of them look like stick built buildings that will hold no more than 15 people. When I lived and went to church in the city, the churches could hold hundreds of people, so this was a definite change for me. I welcomed the change because in the churches in the city some of the Pastors could not call me by name. They had so many attendees that it was much more difficult to meet the pastor on a personal level.
I am thankful that God has placed me with a pastor that is accepting and extremely supportive of my calling. I am so blessed to have a daughter that loves the Lord and who faithfully talks to Him at the age of eight. She knows who God is, she prays to Him daily, she prays for healing over others when they are afflicted, and she is always seeking knowledge and understanding from our Bible reading. I am thankful for my spouse, who is a believer.
I am so grateful to CLI for providing this training free of charge. I had been searching for this type of training for quite some time. My prayer is that CLI continues to receive blessings of donations so that they can continue to provide this training for people like me. I cannot afford other methods right now nor can I devote the hours that they want so this was a Godsend for me. I ask that the staff of CLI pray for familial support for me as I study. Also, that my spouse will begin to see what Christ is doing for me and that he will allow God to use him as well.
The Answer – CLI Providing Free Ministry Training
CLI Graduate Jhon Rey Estomo lived a life full of questions and never was able to find the answer to his questions. But God showed Jhon that He is the answer Jhon was searching for in his life.
My name is Jhon Rey Estomo, and I am 21 years old. I was born on July 25, 1994, in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines. I am a graduating student in NYK-TDG Maritime Academy under the Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering.
Early in his life, Jhon started to wonder why about many things.
Who am I? Why am I here? Why do I exist in this world? Why do I feel this way? What happened to me after I graduated my elementary years? What will I do next? Why do I think this way? What is my purpose here? I was 13 years old when I began to question myself about those things that bothered me now and then, and it felt like I was dying in those days. It became worse when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and then there were more questions that popped up in my mind. Why is there sickness? Why is there death? Why is there life?
Questions left unanswered were leading to pain and blame in Jhon’s life.
One day, my father got home from work, drunk and blaming God for what happened to my mother. My father was shouting and saying, “There is no God, and I will not believe in God!” I got angry with my father because he said those things about God. Even though I didn’t know who God is, I still trusted him. I loved my mother, and the tears kept falling from my eyes every time I saw my mother crying for the pain that she suffered. Then I started praying to God secretly before going to sleep; praying that he would heal my mother from illness. However, my mother died when I was 14 years old and in my first year of high school.
After my mother’s death, I kept hiding my emotions from my classmates and friends because I didn’t want to let them know that I was grieving. I didn’t know the reason I was living in this world, and I kept hiding my true identity. I kept on observing the pattern of this world, and I couldn’t find the answers to my questions. I prayed to God before going to bed and sometimes I was talking to Him when I was alone, but it didn’t occur to me to ask those questions of God. I didn’t attend a church because I knew that I was walking with God. Whenever I passed by our church, I prayed to God saying, “Lord, even though I can’t attend church, the important thing is that I am talking to you.” But talking to him wasn’t enough because I still committed sin, and I really couldn’t get rid of it. I always asked for His forgiveness during bedtime, and it felt right in my heart.
Finally, as Jhon headed to college he asked God to be the answer that he needed.
Then I was separated from my family to study in college, as it was far away from my home. It took two and a half days to travel by ship or one hour to travel by airplane. My father wanted me to study there because of the excellent opportunity that the school offered. He wanted me to take the Marine Engineering course, and I accepted it because that was what he wanted for me. It was a good opportunity because I would be an officer on the ship when I graduated that Academy, and also I got a scholarship there. Then I prayed to God, “Lord, I will study in that academy, not because of the opportunity that the school offers, but because I want to know you. I hope you will be the one that I will see there.”
Before I left my house, I humbly offered my life to God. When I offered my life to God, I was experiencing many trials. These experiences led me to ask for His forgiveness for the sins that I committed. Then God led me to a Baptist Church, and there I started to grow more in my faith in Christ. Then I became a leader in our Christian Fellowship at the Academy, and now I belong to a Christian community.
God has been the answer for Jhon, and He led Jhon to CLI for training for his call to ministry.
I am happy that God loves me and is always there for me. He answered the questions that kept popping up in my mind, and I wanted to give back for the goodness that He showed me. I want to serve Jesus Christ for the rest of my life. This desire is the reason I wish to take the scholarship that CLI offers. I have finished the Christian Leaders Basic Certificate, which helped me to know more about my calling.
Before I found CLI, I wanted to study and explore more about Christianity for me to serve Christ. I wanted to spread the love of God with other people through His Son, but I lacked the training. So I kept browsing the internet to see if there was a school that offered free ministry training through the internet. At first, I found a different school, but it was not the right fit for me. Then I found CLI, which gives me the opportunity to have free ministry training. It gives me much knowledge and understanding so that I can serve God’s kingdom in my ministry calling.
My name is Janice Lopez. I was born in Guayama, Puerto Rico, but I was raised from age three in Boston, Mass. My childhood was pretty tough with a lot of ups and downs. My family was poor. My mother and father worked hard to try to make ends meet. My home situation wasn’t ideal with parents that had a lot of marital problems among other things.
I always felt a desire to seek God. My parents weren’t churchgoers and did not speak much about God, but I always felt something inside me for Him. I tried to ask friends, talked with different religious people, and would jump on buses that came around our neighborhood taking people to church. I was somehow seeking him. It was hard with everything else going on, and as I got older, it became more difficult. My parents separated, and my mother and I moved to Florida.
As I became a teenager, I got into things I shouldn’t have been getting into like drinking and drugs, etc. I met my older daughter’s father when I was in high school and we fell in love. I got pregnant with my daughter at 18, and we moved in together. He passed away when I was 19, and I was left a single parent of a one-year-old. At that time I went through a period of depression and darkness. I got involved in a relationship way too soon out of loneliness and had a daughter by that relationship. Then I again was a single mother, now of two girls.
A neighbor invited my mother and me to a Bible study she held at her apartment with her pastor. My mother and I went to the Bible study and there I was saved. I will never forget that day. My life and the way I looked at things completely changed. I started going to her church and became active in the church.
Since then I have had my ups and downs, but I have always tried to keep active with church somehow. One day, I met the person who is now my best friend. She completely changed my life by having Christian fellowship with me. She would read me scriptures, and she would pray for me. She has made such an impact on my life. Now I am involved in a church where I currently lead the children’s ministry. I love the children’s ministry and feel I am called to this. But I also have a passion for speaking and reaching women and youth. I am a shy person when it comes to speaking in front of people or to a crowd, so I don’t know how I would lead because of this. But I do know that God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called. If this is something He is calling me to do, it will be done and he will equip me for it.
In the mean time, I will continue to learn and grow in the knowledge of God. I feel that the teaching at CLI will help me in getting me prepared for whatever God will lead me to do.I am very grateful to the people at CLI because without this free education as a single mother I would not be able to afford schooling like this. My ultimate goal in wherever God leads me is to preach the gospel and help those who are in need by showing them the love of Jesus Christ. My pastor and my church are amazing. I thank my pastor and his wife because they take the time to help and show me what I need to be equipped. They are such understanding and compassionate people that have such a heart for God and are active in making an impact on our city. They treat everyone like family and are there whenever any question or problem may arise. I feel God has placed many people in my life strategically. I believe my church and CLI are definitely part of God’s design to push me towards where he is leading me.