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\u2014and who owes her testimony, in part, to people like you.<\/p>\n
Last year, after coming to the conclusion that they were incompatible, Lani\u2019s boyfriend ended their relationship. Gutted, Lani\u2019s confidence unraveled. She was recently baptized. Was God telling her she wasn\u2019t good enough? That she didn\u2019t measure up as a Christian?<\/p>\n
Lani\u2019s faith journey hadn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s hands, she had always honored her parents and tried to be a good person. Why was God repaying her this way?<\/p>\n
At her old church, Lani thought she needed to be a better Christian before participating.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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.<\/p>\n
One day, Kristen, Lani\u2019s 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\u2019s love, not a rule book for earning His favor. Lani loved David Asscherick\u2019s sermons, so she applied and was accepted.<\/p>\n
Almost immediately, Lani\u2019s worldview began changing. In David\u2019s class on the covenant, she learned that Jesus had already kept the covenant for her, so she didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
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\u201d wasn\u2019t just for her benefit. The whole point was \u201cto help others gain that same blessing.\u201d Her confidence grew as she saw God using her to bless others.
\nAs Lani considers her next steps after completing ARISE, please pray for her. She doesn\u2019t know if she\u2019ll work a 9\u20135 job or be employed as a minister of the gospel, but regardless, she wants to center her life around Christ.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s 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\u2019s faithful love. If you\u2019d like to support more people like Lani, please consider partnering with us financially.
\nThank you for believing in this mission and making an eternal impact.<\/p>\n