Have you always wanted to serve in a church? How did God call you into full time ministry?
No, not always. For a long time full time ministry for me was for pastors and missionaries. But ever since I started serving in some way at the church in organizing events and helping people, I realized I would gladly do this every day. That was about 3 years ago.

During the past three years I had to change jobs once and I thought “maybe this is the time”, but God didn’t open the door for full time ministry then. He gave me an assurance though that He had a purpose in the job that I was in: it was going to be a season of preparation and learning for things that He would use me in later. So this was on my mind for the next two and a half years while I was working as a financial assistant. And I really did learn a lot of new things during this time J. There were times when I grumbled about how much I longed to be away from the world of numbers and deadlines. Looking back though, this was the best place and time for me to learn and to be shaped. During the hard times God always comforted me and encouraged me to keep doing my job faithfully. That is exactly what I was doing and my heart was at complete peace then when I was invited to work at the church. It was great to leave with a peaceful heart and see that it was the Lord Himself who prepared this change for me. He prepared me too. There was no doubt that I had to take the job!

You are working in the church office. Why do you like working in an office? (And what do you don’t like about it?)
I just simply love to help so that things get done in the right way. Many times it is not in the big things, but you just need to notice the small things and help with those. For a long time it has also been my desire to have a job that’s more personal – one that is not only about deadlines and reports, but rather about personal relationships. I think God gave me a sensitive heart to people’s situations and their needs, and an ability to recognize the opportunity where I can help. So when I am doing this I feel like I am where I belong. And that is exactly what I get to do too here in the church office in the midst of all the administrative tasks.

What do I dislike about it? It has been too short a time to discover that :)

Has there been a special event or person in your life that had a decisive effect on your Christian walk?
Though I cannot tie it to a specific event or person, the summer of 2007 was quite decisive in my life, because God was working very intensely in me and changed my heart in many ways. It was at the end of this summer that I started attending this church and found my home here.

What were the most valuable lessons you have learnt in your walk with God?
What I learnt in connection with John 10:4 has been perhaps my dearest lesson: “And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.”

They know His voice. For a long time it was strange to me when somebody was saying that God told him something. I was always thinking about how that could happen and  about why I just couldn’t HEAR Him. How could I recognize His voice? I always tried to imagine it, but I felt so disappointed that this wasn’t happening in my life. Later I started to recognize something in my life that I could only call God’s leading or His voice - in the midst of changes and in different situations that were great challenges to me and required me to make important decisions (for example buying an apartment). It made me very determined and gave me peace to know that something is truly God’s will in my life. I knew that this peace that I had in these decisions and thoughts was from him. So therefore it was so good to listen to these thoughts, respond to them in faith and step with God into what He had for me. The glory belongs to Him.