I started attending The Carpenter’s Church fully in January 2008. Prior to this time, it looked like everything that could go wrong in my life had gone wrong, and I had no control over it. My family was torn apart in shreds, every member of my family had to live in different places and fend for themselves. I was only seventeen years old and I had no roof over my head because my family had been asked to leave the free accommodation we had enjoyed for about thirteen years.

At night, I slept in the home of a widow and her seven children, which was a wooden house, or batcher, as it is commonly called. Some days I went without food all day long, and some days, I would visit a particular family just to eat.

In 2008, I had full access to The Carpenter’s Church because I served as a house help to a family in The Carpenter’s Church. I did my Believers’ Classes immediately I got the opportunity, and that was the beginning of a new dawn for me. I heard messages on divine provision, restoration and healing. With every service I attended, I experienced a renewal in my mind.

During services in church, worship became my oxygen and refreshing moments away from the pain and struggles I had emotionally. As a teenager in The Carpenter’s Church, I was so equipped with the Word of God and testimonies of others that I decided to dream again. I had a fresh passion and zeal to become someone great, irrespective of my family background. I came to understand that God is my Father and He is a responsible one at that.

I desired to go for a bachelor’s degree, so I started preparations towards it but twice I failed. On a particular day, during the Hallelujah Week in 2008, I sensed that I should sow a seed for my admission. That evening I gave about eighty percent of the allowance I received as house help and trusted God for a miracle.

In 2009, I went to a cyber café to check for my name in the admission list of the university of my choice on the Internet, but my name was missing on every list that the university had released. I quickly went to The Carpenter’s Church website and started reading testimonies of challenges that looked impossible, and I encouraged myself with those testimonies. As I stood up to leave, with in my eyes brimming with tears, the owner of the cyber café asked if I had been given the admission and I said, “No!” I had already used up an hour time allotment just to make sure I checked properly. Quietly, he logged on with their private codes and proceeded to check through the admission list for my name again. And there was my name! It was number fourteen on the merit list. I knew it was a miracle because I had checked that particular list over twenty times and I was sure my name was not there. The family I had served initially miraculously provided for my school fees, and I learnt to trust God for every little thing I needed in the course of my undergraduate days.

Sometime later, my dad had a severe mental health challenge and that was a huge distraction for me in school. I found it hard to concentrate, and sometimes I had as little as nothing to fend for myself. While in Teen Church and after several teachings, I had made up my mind never to compromise for any reason. It was really tough sometimes, but God never left me stranded at the end of the day.

I joined the New Wine Choir and became addicted to being in God’s presence. Whenever I wasn’t in church, I felt like something was missing. Serving God made me focused and I didn’t have any time to worry and get depressed. Each time I chose not to compromise, God showed up for me. I never had to cheat, even in the tiniest of ways. I did the little I could and left the rest for God.

During the final compilation of my results, it was discovered that a particular result, which was omitted in my first year, was still missing even after all my attempts to correct it. This was going to have an immense impact on my total grade point and, inevitably, the class of degree I would graduate with. However, I stood in faith concerning this particular result during Hallelujah Week of 2013. It was later discovered that the result had been rectified, signed and collected, but the lecturer in charge had died before handing it over. The intriguing part was that the result was even sent to a wrong department and that was as good as a closed case. However, the story did not end there. God gave me the victory. I had an excellent class of degree, my dad is in perfect health, and my family is back together again. Hallelujah!

I thank God for The Carpenter’s Church, my pastors and the teachings that have changed my life forever.