When I reflect back on my journey of faith, I can see that God has been with me all the time. The awareness began when I was 6½ years old when I took my first Holy Communion in the Catholic Church. They did not have any fun informative preparation classes in those days, consequently Jesus stayed as the baby in the manager. I did not, did not get to know him as my personal friend and Saviour until later in life.

Not long after I had taken my first Holy Communion, my parents separated and I came to live in London with my Mum. Shortly after that, life started to get difficult for me when I had a new step father in my life but I did find comfort in the local church across the road and found myself going to church as often as possible.

I went on to attend a Church of England Secondary School and always enjoyed the Divinity classes (Religious Knowledge). God’s light in my life was like the flickering of a candle light – thankfully, he did not want to let me go!

I came to the age of 40, a significant point in my life – they say life begins at 40!!! I looked back on my life and some things had not turned out the way I had hoped – this felt like a wilderness experience.

2 years before I became 40 I had started cleaning for Fr Chris and Viv – special people of prayer. I have a belief that their prayers became a powerful tool to bring me back to the knowledge of the wonderful Love of God given to us in Jesus - from my wilderness experience came a real spiritual dream – the interpretation of this dream was that I was a daughter of the heavenly Father – just as we are all precious Sons and Daughters of God.

From this dream, I went on to read ‘Just as I am’ by Billy Graham – the autobiography of his calling to be a messenger of the Good News. When I had finished this book – Jesus became the adult and I wanted, I wanted Him to become my personal Saviour and Friend.

I prayed and asked God to please show me the way. I wanted to know more, although I did not want Fr Chris to think I had started going to church just because I was his cleaner.

The very next week the answer came through the Kent Messenger. the front page had the Jesus Week with adverts to attend the Alpha Course. A friendly course provided by churches to find out more about Christianity. I attended this course along with the Holy Spirit Day.

The Holy Spirit Day

I really wanted Jesus to come into my heart to be my friend, I needed his love and help. Friends prayed to Jesus for me. Following this prayer Ralph, my husband, and I wanted to attend church, we became members of the Christian family here at Leybourne and I journeyed on to become a confirmed member of church.

What changed my life?

I was very nervous when I first attended church, too nervous even to go for a blessing. Fr Chris encouraged me to go forward and on one occasion after receiving the blessing, just as I was getting back to my pew I felt the power of the Holy Spirit going through my body. It is my belief a prayer had been said for full release of the Holy Spirit into my life.

Result of the Power of the Holy Spirit.

I wanted to read the Bible as much as possible, and I really wanted a closer relationship with God. For the Lord says in Luke 11 v9–

“ And so I say to you, ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you”

To seek God means first of all to let yourself be found by Him and I can witness – this has happened in my life.

Kim Alliston
Evangelist Leybourne