Below is a Story of Transformation from Alison Gilmour who became a member of FGCC and was baptized on November 19th.
My name is Alison Gilmour and I started attending Forest Grove 4 years ago. I have 5 brothers and sisters that are 18 and two funny and loving parents. I am engaged to Carter Berge and am excited to be married next June.
God was working in my life constantly when I attended Saskatoon Christian School through Kindergarten to grade 12. I was able to learn about Christian values through out my schooling and learn to apply it to my life. Being able to talk to and have teachers walk beside me that had the same morals and values as me was amazing.
After I graduated I went to Uganda by myself and volunteered along side “Empower a Child” organization. While I was there I experienced how to use my spiritual gift in everyday life as well as what it looks to build the kingdom. When I came back from Uganda I started to do Jr High Youth and currently lead a grade 7 group of girls. I wanted to help with Jr High because I never had a good experience with youth group. I noticed that Jr high is a time in a kid’s life when they take as much information as they can.
When I moved home from Uganda, I started dealing with extreme depression and anxiety. When I started to deal with these illnesses’ my faith in God diminished down to nothing to a point where I didn’t believe he existed anymore.
Summer of 2016 I tried to commit suicide and heard God’s voice come over me and calm me down. He saved me from taking my own life and put me in a new situation of life to receive help from doctors, friends, and family. This was when my life really took a turn and I started to step forward into learning who God is and what he does for me. I started to get help with my depression but my anxiety was still very real. I was unable to attend church, get togethers with friends and other events that would include many people.
Fast forward to 6 months ago where I was blessed to receive news that my dog, Murphy, could be trained to be my Psychiatric Service Animal. In August this year I was put into the Dube centre for mental health at the U of S and was there for about 2 weeks. After being in Dube, I was able to get set up with a Psychiatrist and a counsellor. God has revealed himself to me through Murphy in more ways than I can remember and has allowed me to partake in things I would have never thought I could do anymore.
A piece of scripture that has stuck with me the past few years is Mathew 6:30 which says,
“And if God cares so wonderfully for wild flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow He will certainly care for you, why do you have so little faith.”
When reading this verse, I think that if God cares for something that only lasts for less than a day, then there is no doubt he cares for me everyday.
I have always felt the call to get baptized but never felt able to attend church and the classes due to my anxiety. By the Grace of God, I have been able to attend church every Sunday with Murphy and many more things in everyday life. I want to be baptized because God refers to it as a command not an optional life event. I also want to be a member at Forest Grove because of the friendships and love I have felt over the time I have spent attending. Thank you.