My Testimony of My Salvation

I have grown up in a Christian family.  They don’t go to church, but they did when they were growing up.  I had never been to church really at all until one day Grandma and I heard someone on the porch so I went out and checked and there was no one there, but there was a flyer on our screen door.  It was an invitation to vacation Bible school at Ranchero Drive Baptist Church in the summer of 1999.  I asked my Grandma and mom if I could go and they said that I could go.  I was so excited!  My cousin Emily or Hannah, one of the two, went with me but we went to the wrong church.  We went to Southern Oaks Baptist Church and saw that no one was there so we went back towards home and we saw the church sign and we went up that street to see if it was the vacation Bible school and it was!  I remember that VBS was a lot of fun.  Brother John Nelson was teaching the VBS.  He taught out of 1 Samuel 3 and told us the story of Samuel and God calling Samuel at night.  He told us that if we heard God we should answer Him like Samuel did.  And I went home and I would hear my name called and so I would go in the living room to see what Grandma wanted from me and she would say I didn’t call you.  She did this several times and then finally she told me maybe God is talking to you.  So I went back in my room and that was it and I told God that I’m here or something like that.  1 Samuel 3:9 “Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth.  So Samuel went and lay down in his place.”  I started to go to church every Sunday morning because I loved vacation Bible school so much, and Mrs. Martin was my Sunday school teacher.  People in the church would ask me if I was saved and I would say yes I was saved, although I couldn’t give them a date or anything of when I got saved.  I thought that because I told the Lord I was here or whatever I said that that saved me, but it didn’t I was still lost.  Months pass and they still ask me if I was saved and I would answer Yes I am saved.  They knew that I was not saved.  They were praying for me to get saved.  December 19th, 1999 I invited my aunt Sue to go to church with me and she said yes she would go so we went to church that morning and Pastor Martin preached out of John 3:18 “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”  His message was titled “Choose Life”.  He told us that if we didn’t choose life that we’ve already chosen death.  I knew that I was a sinner, and I knew that I didn’t want to die and go to Hell.  I guess Sue could tell that I was under conviction because during the invitation time she asked me if I wanted to be saved and I said yes, so we sat down and she led me to the Lord.  She told me to pray after her and I did.  I meant what I said.  I asked Jesus to forgive me of my sins and to come into  my heart and save me and He did. After church was over I went up to Pastor and told him what had just taken place and he was happy for me and told me I should have come up and told him during invitation.  He took me out in the hallway with my aunt and sat me down and showed me verses in the Bible to assure me of my salvation, I can’t tell you the verses he showed me I just remember him doing that.  He had me write in my bible the date and who led me to the Lord and where I was and to write something down.  I wrote 12/19/99 Sue led me to the Lord Ranchero Drive Baptist Church.  I chose life! Mandy Bernard.  He then said that the first step of obedience is baptism.  He told me that baptism has nothing to do with salvation.  And that if it was okay with my mom that I could get baptized that Sunday night.  Mom said it was okay that I could get baptized, I think she was happy for me.  I’m not sure exactly her feelings towards me getting saved.  I was on top of the world though.  So Toni and Sue came to see me get baptized.  Mrs. Martin said that either Sue or Toni could go back and help me get ready to get baptized and I picked Sue.  I got baptized and on the way up from the water I came up coughing, I think I tried to take a breath before I was upright again LOL.  The water heater for the baptismal broke that afternoon so the water was freezing cold, so I will never forget my baptism.