Rachel's Autobiography
(Testimony Below)
I was born in Rochester, New York, and brought up in a small town near Lake Ontario. I was homeschooled along with my older brother, kindergarten through high-school, enjoying the one-on-one interaction with my mother. My father was a minister at a deaf church in Rochester, and my family and I attended there for many years. Through time, I became fluent in sign language and made many close friends in the small congregation.
I discovered my love of horses at a young age, and was able to pursue that love through a man who was willing to train me, and who later would become my stepfather. I was involved in horse shows in upstate New York, riding both western and English, and was a very competitive rider.
When I was fourteen, my mother, stepfather and I moved to Iowa. Finding a new Christian family in the church, making new friends, and getting used to an entirely different lifestyle, my world seemed to turn upside down. But my faith in God carried me through, and soon I began to love Iowa as my home.
I started volunteering some of my time at a Christian non-profit organization called Deaf Missions where my mother was employed, and began forming new relationships and learning new things. During my time at home, I continued with my high-school education while helping take care of our horses, dogs, cats, and parrots. Being involved with 4-H for a short time also filled up my days, while I continued to ride horses and learn from my stepfather.
It was about then that I realized my desire to write. After writing a novella based on characters that my best friend and I had pretended to be as children, I was encouraged to continue writing. So I did. I had never dreamed what the Lord had in store for me when I started, but I began to see how I could combine my knowledge of animals with my relationship with God and bring about an intriguing novel.
I also discovered where else God was leading me, and that was to a full-time job at Deaf Missions. I started out as part-time and as soon as I had graduated from high-school I began to work forty hours a week as a librarian and receptionist. Juggling my job, involvement in my church, and my responsibilities at home, I still managed to find time to write and develop several novels.
Today I still work at Deaf Missions, though my job title has changed to Order Manager. After many more years of writing and refining my skills, I finished my novel, A Test of Courage. I was encouraged by many to present it to a publisher and after a time of searching, I found one who was willing to accept it. It became evident to me how the Lord had worked in my life, preparing me for this accomplishment, and I give Him all of the credit due for my talents and achievements.
I was brought up in the church and raised by Christian parents. At age nine, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior, and was baptized. For me, it was simply the right thing to do. It was what I was taught to do when I was old enough to understand that I had sin in my life that needed forgiveness. I was brought up studying the Scriptures, learning about God's love, and being captivated by the amazing stories in the Bible. Accepting Jesus Christ as my Savior was the next step in my spiritual growth that I decided to take, the same day as my older brother.
My life did not change dramatically after that. I continued to attend church, and learned more and more about being a Christian. I was content, and at peace in my life, despite my shortcomings and life's little disappointments. Then came the day when my faith was tested and stretched farther than it had ever been before. My parents divorced. The world and life as I knew it became utter chaos, and as a young teenager, I was at a complete loss. Except for one thing. My 'ever-present help in trouble.' Looking back, I can see each and every person that God used to lift me up and encourage me during that time in my life. He never left me. He was there when I cried, He was there when I was overcome with helplessness. He was there when I needed Him.
About a year later, my mother and I moved from the state of New York, to Iowa. I had been torn by a divorce, and was then uprooted from my home to a strange place and completely different culture. But God was in Iowa too. I never felt abandoned or forgotten by Him, as He led me every day, placing the right people in my life at the right times to help me cope and grow. Another change occurred when my mother remarried. I had known the man for some time as my horseback-riding instructor, and also as a loving Christian man.
Life had certainly changed for me, even though it was not of my own will. I learned through it all, that even though at times I felt as if nothing made any sense, that even though happiness seemed out of reach, that sometimes life seemed too hard to endure, God was holding it all together. He could see the future, and knew where I would be today.
I am not a perfect individual. I am far from it. But I stuck with my faith, and was blessed for it. As a child, I had a love of horses. That love introduced me to my riding instructor. That riding instructor became a source of strength, later becoming my stepfather. That stepfather made it possible to move to Iowa. I had been raised in a deaf church, becoming a skilled signer. By moving to Iowa, I was given the opportunity to work at a mission for the deaf. If it had not been for my love of horses, and later, my parents' divorce, I would not have the opportunity to share in the mission to spread Christianity five days a week at my job. I don't know about some people, but I can clearly see how God took a little girl, placed her in a church to learn about Him, shaped her interests and talents, and carried her through her hurt and fear, to bring about the woman I am today.
My hope and prayer is that God may use me to share the Good News with others, so that they might experience the peace and joy that I have found. That they might accept Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed to forgive our sins, as their personal Savior, and walk with Him each day.
I believe in God the Father. I believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I believe in the Holy Spirit. I believe in the crucifixion of Jesus and the salvation that was offered through His sacrifice. I believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, ascended into Heaven and will return soon to take His people home. I believe that one must accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and follow His commands in order to spend eternity with Him.
