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 Rebecca arrived in the UK Fellowship at Basildon at Christmas 2001 from Queensland Australia -
Jesus came along and He saved me from a life with the beginnings of alcoholism, and harming myself. I started drinking alcohol when I was 12 years old.
My sister was saved in 1998 and she would talk to me about God. I chose not to listen to her because I found it hard to believe that there was a God. However, seeing how happy my sister was and knowing the trauma she’d been through, I went to church with her. There a lady prayed for me, which I was okay with me, but the next time I went to the church, another lady led me through the sinner’s prayer. I didn’t really know what was going on and I freaked out. I didn’t know what I had done and I felt frightened.
Over the next two months I thought about God more and was comfortable about it. I started to talk to Him or just ask questions. However I was still drinking, swearing and not that happy. But now when I drank I was feeling guilty about it. That is when I knew that God was real. On my sixteenth birthday, I went over to a friends house and we had a small party.
I had a bottle of bourbon which at first I drank with coke, then just drank it straight. I woke up the next morning with no memory of the night before. My friends were sober that night and remembered everything. They told me the things I was saying. I kept repeating ‘I’m sinning’ and ‘I’m sorry’. My friends kind of got confused about it and even freaked out. They even said that I told them the Adam and Eve story and that because Jesus came, we can be forgiven. I don’t remember any of this and the only thing I can think of is that my sister told me these things. I didn’t know at the time, but I really was listening to her and God was talking to me.
Three days later when I was having another drink, I stopped because I felt the presence of God and finally made a promise I would never drink again. This was two weeks before I came to England. This was a great opportunity for me to get away from the things that held me back from accepting Jesus. I have grown incredibly in God and He has changed me in ways I never thought could be changed. Though, it took me about two months to completely stop swearing. I don’t hate myself anymore, therefore I do not harm myself either. What I feel inside is the most beautiful feeling of peace and love that I’d never thought possible. Before I knew God, I used to pray many nights that if He was there, He had to kill me. I used to ask angels to kill me. Now I want to live, to be used by God to tell others about Him and that I might share my testimony. I am a lot more confident now too, but God still has work to do in me in that area.
I also have a love for animals which I have had since I was little. Coming to England meant leaving my pets behind, and I found that very difficult to cope with and I wasn’t handling it well. Then I prayed, and Jesus held me in such a way that I no longer had a desperate need to be cuddling an animal.
Now over years, I still haven’t had a drink and I Glorify God more than ever. The greatest feeling of all is that I never feel alone!
Rebecca Watts Nottingham
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