A testimony of my calling and faith journey

 Gale, Jesemae Gael O.

Senior-ABCE

A testimony of my calling and faith journey

 

                I am Jesemae Gael O. Gale, a graduating student at Harris Memorial College, a Bachelor of Arts in Christian Education -under the Deaconess Program. The following paragraphs will revolve around my faith journey and calling to the deaconess ministry.

                When I was in grade 7, 13 years old, I started getting involved in church work as a youth. At that time, I gradually came to know the Lord. As a teenager, my only priority was to study. By taking the initiative to approach the Lord and read and study the Word of God with the help of fellow believers in the church, I realized that the relationship with God should also be valued. In 2016, I completely accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, and I was completely in love with God. Because of my love for God, I felt that life is about serving Him and participating in the ministerial work that started with our Lord Jesus. That's the time when God called me to be with Him, to become part of His plan.

                To become a nurse or to become a deaconess? Either of the two. I consider the perception of my family, money, and future on deciding what program to take in college. “I thought that if I became a nurse, I could help my family with our financial crises.” Just like what James 4:13-14 said 13-14 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.”14 Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”

                I still pursue nursing even though deep in my heart, I have a desire to serve the Lord Full-time. But God encountered me on my nursing journey through the founder of Modern Nursing, Florence Nightingale. Nightingale said, “It is her calling to help the wounded soldiers from the war.” That’s the moment that strikes me, and I asked the Lord? What is my life, Lord? Is it in the physical nurturing or spiritual nurturing?

                As I go to my 2nd-semester enrollment, it takes three days for me to go back and forth to enroll, and I was hesitant to do it. On that very third day, this scripture, James 4:13-15 was the line-up scripture of the day for my journal. When I was reading verse 15 (15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.”), I faithfully said Yes, Lord. I called our deaconess and my parents and told them that I would not enroll anymore and that I wanted to enter the deaconess ministry.  At first, it was not fine to my parents, it took months for my family to accept everything. But God healed everyone.

                The Lord waited for me to answer His call. I asked for a recommendation from my church, district, and annual conference, and I took the entrance examination at Harris Memorial College and was accepted. We are the first to encounter online learning because of the Pandemic. Despite the situation, I continued. In the four years that I have been at Harris Memorial College, I witnessed how God, Harris, my home church, and my family have not abandoned me. I learned to love the Lord even more and to serve like Jesus for the glory of God. Every servant of God must remain in His presence and love. That love is the reason why I serve and have a desire to become part of the ministry of Jesus.

                God has patiently waited for me. Now, I will be graduating on May 27, 2024, more than a week from now. I thank God for being my foundation and provider. With His abounding grace, he is fulfilling his plan for my life and continuously guiding me with my deaconess journey with Him. 

                I give back all praise, honor, and glory to God.