Olivia is a member of Bolney Village Chapel where she serves as the leader of our Mini Connect Group (a Friday afternoon club for 5-6 year olds) and our Kids Club, which takes place on Sunday mornings. This is her testimony of coming to faith.

One detail that Olivia doesn’t mention, is that the original plan for the first church visit with her sister was to head to one of the bigger churches in Haywards Heath or Burgess Hill. But when they set out, the car wouldn’t start, so they had to walk instead. Bolney Village Chapel was the first church they found!

When did Jesus come into my life?

It was not till I was in my mid-forties that I came to acknowledge Jesus as my Saviour.

How did it all happen?

There were days when it was a struggle waking up and having to put on a false 'I am good!' face in front of others, but my sister had great faith and trust in Jesus, which eventually brought me to the Lord. Even though at times, she felt discouraged in sharing Jesus with me, due to my repeated dismissal of Him, the Lord never let her give up.

In her obedience, during the year when I received Jesus as my Saviour, my sister felt a prompting from the Lord, to visit us in the UK (at my most needed time). With courage, she asked the Lord if He really wanted her to come and HIS reply came with a special promotion on flight tickets the very next day! This enabled her to make the journey and, after many years of trying to share Jesus with me, my heart finally opened to Him! The experience felt like a huge weight had been lifted from me. I could breathe again!

Following that day, I found the strength and courage to visit a local church with my sister. I still attend that church, Bolney Village Chapel, and my faith and trust in Jesus has continued to grow each day. After nearly 10 years of receiving Him in my life, I do at times feel the fiery arrows coming towards me, but my faith in the one who created and loved me from the very beginning, gives me the strength I need to face them. My days now begin and end with Jesus, who never gave up on me!