Full-Time Training - Testimonies

Learning to Spend Time with the Lord and to Enjoy Him as Grace, A.V.

I was born in San Antonio, Texas and I went to college in Austin at the University of Texas. It was there that I really began to pursue the Lord and first heard about the Full-Time Training (FTT). At first I really didn't think about going to the FTT that much, but I saw many college students around me that graduated and then went to the Full-Time Training in Anaheim (FTTA). Gradually there came some interest to go myself. Some time later I made a firm decision to go to the training, mainly because I had seen so many others go and come back. Eventually, I got married, and after a year of being married my wife and I entered the Training in the Fall of 1997.

Looking back at my two years in the Training, I feel that there are two items that particularly stand out in my experiences here. The first is learning to spend time with the Lord in order to contact Him, to fellowship with Him, and to let Him shine on me. Seeing the necessity of spending time with Him and being helped to practically enter into this is one of the most valuable lessons in my Christian life. Some of the time I spent with Him was filled with enjoyment; others were very sweet, while still others were just ordinary and normal. None of the time I spent with Him was a waste. All of these times had eternal worth.

The second item was learning what grace is. In the Training there are many things that we do, e.g. study, clean, etc. I tried to do all these things, but eventually I discovered I could not do any of these things. I began to realize that I needed the Lord in everything and as everything. I needed Him to be my love, my patience, my endurance, and my ability to bear responsibility. What then is grace? Grace is I can't do it, I can't make it, and I can't be it, but the Triune God in me can.

I really thank and praise the Lord that He brought me to the Training to be trained for two years.

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