Hope for the Future
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Katerina came to the United States with her husband and two sons (later three) from the Czech Republic.
“Moving from Europe to the United States and raising three boys here has not been easy. It wasn’t ‘living the dream’ as my parents would say. Cultural differences, prejudice, money, and professional success have all been struggles, but trying to find friendships that went beyond the surface level has been very challenging.”
She joined several “English as a Second Language” classes around the metroplex to learn English as fast as she could. Most of the ESL classes she found were hosted in local churches. Until this point, Katerina found most of the Americans she had come in contact with to be insensitive or even rude. Then she started to meet these Christians who treated her with respect, dignity, and kindness.
“Even though the Czech Republic is mostly atheistic, I have always believed in something more, something beyond, but I wasn’t sure what that was. As I began taking ESL classes at a couple of local churches, I met very nice people who were open and honest and helped me to get answers to my questions. I began to learn about God, His Son Jesus, and the Bible. They didn’t make me feel weird or like an outsider.”
“I am seeking God.”
As Katerina graduated ESL classes and joined new ones, she ended up with International Friends of Grapevine hosted at First Baptist Grapevine. Debbie Fogle, a Covenant Member of CATC, became her teacher. One of the first things she told Debbie was, “I am seeking God.”
“Lord, you can’t be more clear than this,” thought Debbie as she leaned into Katerina. There was one other student in the small class named Rebecca. Rebecca is a South Korean missionary with the IMB on furlough. She was wanting to improve her English while waiting to go out on mission again. Debbie invited Rebecca to join her and Katerina for coffee to talk about Jesus and Christianity. This became a routine weekly meeting outside of the class.
Debbie felt God was leading her to present the gospel to Katerina and asked her friend if she would join her in the conversation. Rebecca came with a full gospel presentation and Katerina was ready to humbly give her life to Jesus and his mission for her. Debbie asked Katerina, “is this what you believe?” She enthusiastically said, “Yes!”
“As these new friends shared truth with me and I came to realize I believed in Jesus, it felt like I always belonged here. Now I am starting a new journey in life. Jesus has given me a new perspective – one able to see the good around me and one filled with hope for the future. My beliefs are growing stronger and I am happy to walk the Jesus path!”
On September 25th, Katerina professed her faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation and proclaimed him to be the Lord of her life through baptism.