Understanding the CLI’s bible institute concept of being mentored, and then becoming a mentor, is wonderful. Just like Jesus, He mentored His disciples, and then He sent them out to mentor others. The old saying, “Give a man a fish you feed him for a day; teach him to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.”
Bible Institute Student, “don’t seek the gift, but seek the giver of the gift.”
My name is Marla O’Neill from the United States of America. For as long as I can remember I’ve been aware of Jesus. My grandmother was a woman of faith who taught her children to love the Lord. She and my mom helped to raise my brother, me and my baby sister. Mom and dad divorced when I was two and a half. Mom worked and went to night school. My granny tended to us.
When I was about seven years old, I gave my heart to Jesus and was baptized in a Baptist church. At about twelve years old, I received my prayer language in a little Pentecostal Church. It was quite an experience. I remember watching my sister and my cousin, dancing in the spirit, as they praised the Lord. I was down at the altar praying. Ladies were around me saying, “Hold on,” and then they’d say, “Let go.” I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. Finally, when nothing seemed to happen, they went on to pray for someone else. Thank the Lord. I prayed silently, “Lord, what’s wrong with me? Why can’t I receive the Holy Ghost?” He spoke so tenderly to me and said, “Don’t seek the gift, but seek the giver of the gift.” I began focusing on Jesus and who He was. I started praising Him. All of a sudden it was like a bright light shone down on me and I began speaking in heavenly languages…not just one, but many. For three and a half hours I lay on the floor praying to God in His language. They even had to carry me to my mom’s car. I remember all through the night waking up and praying in the Spirit; glory to the Lamb of God.
At thirteen I felt called to become a missionary. We’d go to downtown Tampa and hand out gospel tracks. I sang solos in my church and wanted to serve the Lord more than anything. But as I grew up, I wondered away from the Lord. I was married at eighteen, right out of high school. We had four wonderful sons. After twenty-five years of marriage, we grew a part and divorced.
For the next fifteen year,s I ran and ran and ran from the call on my life. I made many wrong choices. At forty-five I was diagnosed with diabetes. And in 2010, I was diagnosed with Lupus. God gently wooed me to him over those years. I’d go to church, I’d cry, and I’d pray. But I just couldn’t forgive myself. I had too much guilt and shame because of my broken home. The Holy Spirit spoke to me once and said, “Divorce is not the unforgivable sin.” But I just couldn’t forgive myself. Finally, I came to the end of me. Alone, broken, sick and tired, I prayed, “Jesus I can’t take it anymore. I surrender. If you can still use a beat up middle-aged woman, take my life and use me for your purpose.” I was living with my mom when God brought Bob O’Neill into my life. After 40 years, at our high school class reunion 2012, we connected and were married on March 13, 2013. My life has been blessed ever since.
We’ve been praying the prayer of Jabez every day for the last four months. (Oh that you would bless us indeed, and increase our territory, that your hand would be with us, and that you would keep us from evil and that we would not cause pain. -I Chronicles 4:10) Since then, I received my last labs for Lupus which came back negative; the doctor said there is no sign of the Lupus. Praise God, a miracle. I published my first book, Sing Sarah Sing, I received my Ministerial Ordination Certificate from United Christian Church located in (Cleveland, Tennessee) and I was led to Christian Leaders Institute (CLI). And we are now involved in a non-denominational church called, Journey Christian Church.
I had been praying for an online bible institute. Becoming friends with my doctor’s receptionist, we discovered we had the same maiden name, Shaw. It was a God appointment for sure. Linda told me about her daughter who writes poetry so we connected on Facebook. I noticed Gena Bethune McCown, had CLI listed on her Facebook page so I googled it and found it was a bible institute and it’s free. I signed up and love the mentorship concept.
I can see God’s hand leading and guiding Bob and I. It’s truly amazing. All it takes is faith and work! West Palm Beach, Florida (USA) is a beautiful place. People aren’t very friendly though. No one makes eye-contact or speaks to you. That’s pretty much how the world is today. But Jesus said, “Come follow me. I will make you to become fishers of men.” And so as we follow and obey His call, no doubt we’ll face trials and testings, but oh what joy.
I’d like for CLI’s bible institute to pray that we will continue on our journey with Jesus so that we can learn God’s word and teach others. I know beyond a shadow of doubt that Jesus’s return is very, very soon. Pray, that just as the harvest truly is plentiful that the gatherers of the harvest will be faithful and steadfast. Some plant, some water, but God gives the increase. Don’t become weary in well doing, for we will reap if we don’t get tired and give up! Amen? Amen!
I’m praying for CLI, that God will send laborers with a true heart for souls who will study hard and serve the Lord with all their might!
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My name is Nick Vander Ploeg. I am currently 27 years of age and married to a wonderful woman named Kayla. I am employed as a youth pastor at a Christian Reformed church in London ON, Canada. I just completed the course work of the Getting Started Class at CLI. I have never had any formal ministry education and so CLI has helped me so far to increase and test my knowledge in Christian Basics. I am excited to continue to grow in this way through further study at CLI in hopes to be fully ordained as a pastor upon conclusion.
I have been a Christ follower my entire life. I grew up in a Christian home, and have felt a calling to ministry for a long time. I completed my formal education to be a school teacher in 2011 but God made it clear that He wanted me in ministry instead and so I have been running the youth program at my church since my graduation from Teacher’s College. The Associate Pastor at my church kept putting the bug in my ear to take this position of Student Ministry Director and it has been the best decision I have ever made in my life. I have loved every minute of my calling so far and so have begun this education process so that I can learn more and be more effective as a church leader to the point of being fully ordained as pastor someday soon. My wife is also in school to be a nurse and so we simply could not afford for both of us to be in school while I am working and so CLI has made this dream possible for us through free education.
In Canada, we have a culture much like the United States, but I would argue that our culture is less influenced by Christian values in everyday life. God is seemingly more important to a larger number of people in the United States than in Canada. Atheism is a growing and large belief in this country. This makes church work a little less accepted I think by a lot of people and so makes it challenging to say you work at a church to non-believers. They simply do not understand why I would choose this route rather than follow my education background as a school teacher. I believe wholeheartedly that God has put this calling on my life to be a pastor and a lot of non-believers in my life have a hard time accepting that. This is a challenge that I have accepted though and it has not stopped me from loving my calling or from wanting to pursue a higher education.
The church that I work at has completely supported me in my current position running the Student Ministry and also in my goals to become ordained as a pastor. The staff at our church is truly like a family and they are excited for me in my pursuit of this education. My wife and my extended family are excited for me as I continue in this journey and support me however they are able to. I also think that the people that really know me in our congregation support me in this adventure. We have a very large church population and so it is difficult to know everyone, but I am getting support from the people that I am blessed enough to call my family and friends in this journey.
I am extremely excited to continue in my studies at CLI and work towards being fully ordained as pastor (hopefully someday soon). This has been very good at enhancing my knowledge already and I am ready for this to continue as I go further in my studies. I forgot what the life of a student was like since I have been out of school and I have really enjoyed becoming one again here at CLI. Thank you so much for making this possible for me! Thank you CLI for the blessing you are to people from all around the world and for those of you that have read my story. Please pray for me as I continue in this education!
My name is Isa Monteiro. My family and I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I am a language teacher by trade, a student by nature and am passionately in love with my Maker, His Word, my husband, and my daughter who has just entered her first year of residency at University. Glory to God!
As far back as I can remember I have considered myself to be, and have been labeled by others, an “extraordinary” optimist. Amid many horrendous wilderness moments throughout the course of my life, I have refused to stay down for very long, even while battling severe on and off bouts of depression for nearly 35 years.
I was born in Lisbon Portugal and immigrated to Toronto, Ontario, Canada with my young parents at the age of five. I was not raised in a Christian upbringing but my parents were both loving, moral, dedicated to family, and believed in Providence.
Although an over achiever, I struggled with an emptiness and heart wrenching void that was inexplicable; I hungered for and was in constant pursuit of truth. I was married for 15 years to a highly respected lawyer; a brilliant “intellectual” mind; and very ironically, an atheist! Upon reflection, I make sense of the loneliness, void and the misery that accompanied the absence of God in that relationship. I was able to bypass an excruciatingly painful divorce and emotional breakdown.
It was not until the Lord miraculously and most unexpectedly blessed me 11 years ago, with the gift that is my current husband and mighty man of God, that I was introduced to and began to seek an intimate relationship with my Maker. I had always sensed the Lord’s hand on my life, so to speak, but I had walked a very secular walk and had not known Him personally.
Since then (2003), I have been on an exhilarating walk with the Lord and am testimony to His consuming love, grace, mercy, miraculous power and unwavering faithfulness. I find myself, without fail, the one that others run to for encouragement, support, a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, someone to laugh with until their stomach hurts, when all else looks bleak. Before surrendering my life to the Lord, I had always felt “alien like”, as if there was something uniquely different about me. I was able to separate myself from the natural world and realize that all was temporal, that all was as it should be and that there was a “mighty power source” in control of everything. In addition, I have a heart that not many are able to relate to; I am incapable of focusing too long on anything that distracts my ultimate feeling towards anyone but love. I am able to discern past flesh; see the spirits at play behind the scenes, and continue to love everyone unconditionally. There is nothing that gives or has ever given me greater joy, then the intrinsic love I feel to love. Satirically, this has been a great cause of heartache and feelings of disassociation, for unconditional love is clearly not of this world, yet it is my deepest yearning for all mankind.
It’s crazy interesting (God’s ways are awesome) that it wasn’t until I was in my first year of University, enrolled in religious studies, that a Muslim student, in one of our seminars, told me that my name, “Isa” meant Jesus in Arabic. I thought at the time, it super cool, as I was exploring all things spiritual; reading and learning about different religions and philosophies, but I somehow majored in psychology and English :). Nearly three decades later, not that I would ever dare refer to myself as “Jesus”, I can see something quite spiritually symbolic about my namely connection to my Lord; just wanting to be more and more like Him and a reflection of His love.
I compare my optimistic nature in the natural, or what I often refer to as my “alien like” faith in the spiritual, to the Roman Centurion in the Bible. God’s Word tells us that Jesus “marveled” at the faith found in this man while basically saying, “Lord do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof…
The Centurion had so much faith in Jesus, that he recognized the powers of Jesus’ very words! I believe that there is no greater faith than to trust the WORD of God! It has never ever let me down!
This unwavering belief in the every Word of God, and an unconditional heart of love, are my heavenly gifts; gifts that wholeheartedly inspire me, and of which I am committed to sharing with all the world.
Throughout the course of my walk with the Lord, I have been prophesied over numerous times, and many a time in reference to the church that I will plant and pastor; confirmation of the vision God has planted in my heart.
Currently at the age of 48 and an empty nester, I am eternally grateful for a scholarship at CLI which will help to equip me with vital respected ministry tools necessary for the fulfillment of this fervent call.
I am eager and fully committed to proclaiming our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to be found in Him all the days of my life.
Love and all things beautiful unto all God’s children is my forever prayer.
<3 Isa