Inspiring Convert Story-34

"I am now part of the Lord’s Church"

Marcel Voshol
Dordrecht, Netherlands

 

     I AM 27 years old and currently live in the Netherlands. I am happily married and blessed with a son. At present, we are members of the community prayer group here in Amsterdam.

     Although I was born a Protestant, I never went to church. When I reached the age of 20, I started to wonder and think about what would happen to me when I die. It was then that I started to become interested in religion. There are so many different churches in the Netherlands but for some reasons I never attended any of their worship services.

     In 1994, I went to the Philippines for the first time to be the best man in the wedding of my stepmother’s sister. It was she who asked me if I was interested in attending an evangelical mission in Cebu City. Together with her and her husband, I agreed to go and what I saw really surprised me. There were so many people in one place listening to a man preaching about God. It was really a different experience seeing all those people.

     Attending worship service soon became my next goal. Dressed up in  my best clothes, we went to the place of worship—a huge worship building situated at the center of Cebu City. Inside the building of worship, I was surprised to see the men and women sitting separately. I was ushered to the next seat vacant and waited for the start of the worship service. During the worship service, something different happened to me. While I was listening to the lesson, I experienced a strange, indescribable feeling—as if I felt a gentle, invisible hand on my right shoulder. From that moment on, I knew in my heart that I had found the true religion, the Church of Christ.

     Back in the Holland, I continued to attend worship services on Dordrecht. I went back to the Philippines in 1995 where I had my first Bible lesson from Brother Macleo Ibasco. It was he who explained to me Acts 20:28 and other verses which prove that the Church of Christ is the only true Church. I was once again charged with confidence and faith coupled with a desire to complete the doctrinal lessons. My baptism on March 30, 1996 in Dordrecht, Netherlands was a day I will never forget. At present, I am the assistant choir leader in the committee prayer group of Amsterdam.

     I want to thank Sister Charito Puno, Sister Joy, and Brother Romel Arnado for inviting and convincing me to study the teachings of the Iglesia ni Cristo. Above all, I want to praise the Lord God with all my heart for calling me into the fold. Thanks be to Him. I am now able to sing with all my heart. “I am a part of the Lord’s Church.”

 

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Source: God's Message