Yumiko describes being very troubled on the inside. She thought she was worthless, she felt very alone and hopeless, and she had suicidal thoughts. Yumiko decided to try going to church. At first, she found it hard to hear that God loved her. Yumiko describes encountering Jesus and learning how He bore her sins and pain. She has found true hope and joy in Him.
This story was produced by MovingWorks, Austen, Texas, USA.
Takashi grew up in a Christian home but he didn’t know what it meant to have a personal relationship with Jesus. As a married adult, he found it very hard to cope with the responsibilities of life – his job, child, and wife. Takashi shares that his anxiety was so bad he had suicidal thoughts. Naoko had very low self-esteem and emotional pain. She shares that she wasn’t good at communicating and was verbally abusive to her husband. Both Takashi and Naoko accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They talk about the help and healing Jesus has brought into their hearts and married life.
This story was produced by MovingWorks, Austin, Texas, USA.
Laura describes her long battle with self-worth, which began in her childhood and resulted from over-hearing negative comments from her parents. She also shares she had an abortion as a teenager, and how that day traumatized her and she felt guilt and shame. Laura was divorced twice and struggled with the pressures of parenting her daughters. Laura describes leaving everything and riding away on her motorcycle. She stayed with a friend who invited her to church. There she heard the gospel and believed she could be forgiven and washed clean. She accepted Christ that day. Laura talks about how Christ has healed her pain and mended her relationships with her daughters. She is now married to her friend and she has had the opportunity to help young women who have experienced the same things as she did.
This story was produced by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.
Lecrae is a very successful hip-hop artist. He shares that the biggest issue in his life was his need for significance. This stemmed from not ever knowing or meeting his father. Lecrae describes his passion for hip-hop growing up, and how he lived a reckless life of alcohol, crime, and girls. He thought very negatively about the Bible and Christians until he encountered Christians who he could relate to. Lecrae heard the message of what Christ did for him, and he trusted in Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Lecrae talks about how he asked God to help him get out of the rut he was in. He also speaks about how he has found all his significance and worth in God. He wants to keep close to his Father in heaven and help other troubled youth through his music.
Lecrae’s story was produced by I Am Second, Franklin, Tennessee, USA.
Priscilla is from Romania which was a Communist country where all religion was suppressed. She describes her very painful upbringing. Her mother was very unloving and verbally abusive to her. Priscilla had a great relationship with her father but he died while Priscilla was a teenager. This left her angry with God, and unsure whether He existed. Priscilla first heard about Jesus Christ from a friend at college. She went to an underground church in Romania and heard the gospel. Priscilla was overjoyed to learn that God loved her, had planned her life, and that she could be adopted into His family and become His child. Priscilla believed the gospel and gave her life to Christ.
Priscilla’s story was produced by I Am Second, Franklin, Tennessee, USA.
Ben was looking for self-worth and identity in all the wrong places. He describes a worldly lifestyle, involving materialism, alcohol, and women. Ben experienced depression, as several difficult events happened in his life. One day, he met a woman in a bar who asked him if he believed in God. That led Ben on a journey of spiritual discovery. Ben heard the gospel and believed that Jesus died for him. He now holds fast to his true identity in Christ. Ben married that woman in the bar and now they have a family.
Ben’s story was produced by Emmanuel Church, London, UK.