I have to start by sharing a story of an event that had happened when I was 18 and living with my current girlfriend and a couple of other buddies. She came home one night and told me she had been raped. I was beside myself at that moment. So full of anger. I remember pacing the apartment, not knowing what to do with myself. I was scared to go outside, afraid I would explode and beat up anyone who walked by. After a couple of hours I had to do something. I prayed. I remember the prayer "God if your real, please show the person that did this that they don't have to put others down and hurt them to feel like they are something." At that moment a peace and warmth flooded over me and I was able to rest. The only explanation I could give to that experience was that God was in fact real. 7 years later.

     One Friday evening when I was 25 years young, I gave my life to Jesus. I was at my best friends house, and he had started going to church. After seeing the changes in his life, and a serious lack of direction in mine, I simply had nothing to lose and potentially everything to gain. I did believe in God, but had no true understanding of Him. How could I? I however had moments in my life where I felt His presence, but He was up in Heaven and I was here on Earth and there was a huge disconnect. I stayed with my friend and went to church with him that following Sunday morning.

     Sunday morning had arrived and I was headed to church with my buddy. Now, I was brought up in the Catholic Church, and that was what I knew. This church however was not that. People were dressed casually and the worship service was led by young people. The music sounded more like what I was accustomed to listening to as opposed to hymnals. This was great, I must admit though I was a little uncomfortable when people started lifting their hands in worship. I made it through the worship service though.

     As I sat back down, a woman grabbed the mic, she was the pastor's wife. She welcomed everyone and then began to preach. Again, my only experience had been the Catholic one. What a message she preached! The way she spoke about Jesus and the friend that He was to her was exactly what I needed to hear. I needed God to be my friend , not just some Big Guy up in the sky. She then began to share with us about the Holy Spirit. How He would come and comfort me, empower me in many things but mostly to draw me closer to Jesus. I remember how quickly my hand went up, when she asked if anyone would like that kind of relationship with Jesus and to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I was in! I ran up front to receive what they were offering.

     This is where things got really awkward. I'm up in the front of this church, standing in front of a young man that I followed in prayer to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I did ask to receive, I did not fully understand that they believed the evidence of receiving they wanted to see was praying in other tongues. I was in a predicament now. This young man was babbling in front of me, and expected me to do the same. "What did I get myself into?" I thought to myself. I can't go back to my seat. I'm stuck here! So what did I decide to do? I faked it and babbled nonsense simply to get out of this very awkward, uncomfortable situation.

   I quickly returned to my seat and sat down. I said to God at that moment "God I would never want to deny any gift you would like to give me, but I have to know it's you and it has to be real!" I simply did not understand what this praying in tongues was. If nothing else happened that day at church, it opened up more of a dialogue between the Lord and I. Thank God that was not all that happened.

     A few days had passed and I was at my friends house again. There were several people gathered together in the living room. Some were friends and some were from the church. We were just talking about God. I was mostly listening, not sharing. All of a sudden, I felt a peace and warmth come over me, like feeling flushed when you get embarrassed. I remember thinking to myself, I feel like Moses coming down off the mount when God had to put a veil over his face. Then it occurred to me, "This is not the first time I have felt this!" This is what I felt when I was 18 and prayed for the guy who raped my girlfriend. It was that moment when God was no longer Big Guy in the sky, but rather here with me. It seems I had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit after all. I had not yet begun to pray in other tongues, that would come later though! I would never be the same.

From here on out I could truly call Jesus my friend, and the Holy Spirit began to reveal Christ to me and empower me to be a witness and a testimony for Jesus Christ my Lord!