Pain brings life into focus, and no pain sharpens it like relational pain. In other words, breakups are the worst. However, they often come with a blessing. I recently met a girl named Lani in our ARISE Finland class who has experienced this phenomenon—and who owes her testimony, in part, to people like you.
Last year, after coming to the conclusion that they were incompatible, Lani’s boyfriend ended their relationship. Gutted, Lani’s confidence unraveled. She was recently baptized. Was God telling her she wasn’t good enough? That she didn’t measure up as a Christian?
Lani’s faith journey hadn’t been easy. Raised in a primarily Buddhist home with loose connections to a creator God, she believed that you would be repaid with blessings in life if you worked hard enough.
However, this worldview fell apart when she began to struggle with her mental health in college. Despite enduring emotional abuse as a child at her father’s hands, she had always honored her parents and tried to be a good person. Why was God repaying her this way?
At her old church, Lani thought she needed to be a better Christian before participating.
Two years ago, though, she encountered Jesus. She began attending a Seventh-day Adventist church near Princeton University, where she was a student. She also began seeing a therapist. Thanks to her newfound faith and getting support for her mental health, she began to experience healing. But now, with her relationship having ended, it seemed as if nearly everything she had built had come crashing down.
One day, Kristen, Lani’s mentor, texted her about the new ARISE discipleship program we were launching in Finland. The course teaches the Bible as a cohesive story of God’s love, not a rule book for earning His favor. Lani loved David Asscherick’s sermons, so she applied and was accepted.
Almost immediately, Lani’s worldview began changing. In David’s class on the covenant, she learned that Jesus had already kept the covenant for her, so she didn’t have to prove to God that she measured up. She discovered that God was not the one who caused pain or evil in her life, but instead, that He had a plan to restore her.
As part of the program, students helped organize local church services and do community outreach. At her old church, Lani thought she needed to be a better Christian before participating. But now, as she gave the welcome and made friends with strangers, she realized that “learning about Jesus” wasn’t just for her benefit. The whole point was “to help others gain that same blessing.” Her confidence grew as she saw God using her to bless others.
As Lani considers her next steps after completing ARISE, please pray for her. She doesn’t know if she’ll work a 9–5 job or be employed as a minister of the gospel, but regardless, she wants to center her life around Christ.
It’s through the generosity of people like you that ARISE Finland exists and people like Lani can attend. Your continued financial support allows us to run our various ARISE programs and other projects, sharing the good news of God’s faithful love. If you’d like to support more people like Lani, please consider partnering with us financially.
Thank you for believing in this mission and making an eternal impact.
Ty Gibson
Ty is a speaker/director of Light Bearers. A passionate communicator with a message that opens minds and moves hearts, Ty teaches on a variety of topics, emphasizing God’s unfailing love as the central theme of the Bible. Ty and his wife Sue have three adult children and two grandsons.
