I received the Lord Jesus as my Savior when I was twelve years old through a friend. Although I had a definite salvation experience, I did not pursue the Lord any further. I was raised in the Catholic church and did not have the opportunity to get into the Bible in a definite way. Occasionally, I would be in a desperate situation and would cry out to the Lord. Though He was real at those times, I did not have a daily relationship with Him. By the time I was twenty I confessed to be agnostic. Up to that point, I had never read the Bible. At the time I was doing an internship in the United States Senate and my boss spoke to me of his love for the Bible. Because I respected him I began to read the Bible just to find out what it had to say. Gradually, I had a hunger to know the Lord Jesus as a Person and many of my questions were answered. Finally, I cried out to the Lord, giving my life to Him. Now, I wanted to touch Him in a consistent way. I had finally broken through the crowd to touch Him and wanted to continue doing so.
Luke 8:45 says, “And Jesus said, Who is the one who touched Me? And when all denied it, Peter said, Master, the crowds are pressing and crushing You.” I knew that I needed some companions to pursue with lest I become part of the “crowd”, losing my desire to really break through to touch Him. I began to pray for some my age who I could read the Bible, pray, and fellowship with. Were there any people out there my age who were breaking through to touch Him? I was not interested in religion but had a desperate desire to know the Lord Jesus as a Person and to have fellowship with others who loved the Lord in utter abandonment. I had finally broken through the crowd to touch Him and wanted to continue doing so. It had been three months since my turn to the Lord and I had almost given up hope on finding some companions with whom I could pursue Him. The first day of class at UT I received a gospel tract from Christians on Campus. I began to meet in a small group to study the Bible, pray, and fellowship. My love for the Lord blossomed. The Bible became a book that revealed a marvelous Person, Jesus Christ. My hunger for the Bible and Christian fellowship increased. I was no longer a “lone” Christian running the race on my own; struggling, fighting, falling, hopeless. I thoroughly enjoyed the fellowship and my individual times with the Lord were enriched due to the fellowship and prayer with Christians on Campus.
M. B.
— Riverton, Wyoming
