Spiritual Awakening : The search for Answers (SWC)

Hi everyone, I am Raymart Bartolo and Im 21 yrs of age. This is my story of how God turned a mess into a blessing. Let me share to you the journey of how my life changed 360degrees. But first of all let me first give you a glimpse of how my life looks like.

People see me as a jolly type of person. Always smiling, cracking jokes and a very outgoing type of a person. But little did they know that behind those smile is a story of life's pain and suffering. I grew up knowing that I have the best family in the world. We are not rich yet happy because despite of all the challenges we go through, we fought it together. But all of this was changed in an instant. It was summer that time when a neighbor told me something that would really hurt me so badly. I was six years old back then when I knew that I was just an adopted child. I was too young to compensate with the situation and I remember that I was just crying for a long time. My parents at that time told me that my real mother left us when Im still 4 months old and my real Father cant take care of us so he decided to left us to my auntie who became my Mom through legal adoption. I have a sister which is 2yrs ahead of me and both of us was adopted. My sister live her life in rebellion but as for me I just live life in a more positive way. I was enrolled in private school and was surrounded by great people. I was able to hide the pain for years by doing stuffs that would bring temporary happiness in my broken heart. I indulge myself in playing different kind of sports, joining different organizations and doing good in school so that I can have a good reputation. But all of these were just a mask to hide how messed I am inside. Searching for answers for many years, I was involve in joining fraternity as I went to college. Drinking and partying has become a part of my enjoyment. And even womanizing and doing things just for fun. As young as that I was able to experience many things just to search for answers to mend the deep wound in my heart. But all these things cant really give the genuine happiness that Im looking for. I thought that this is just how Life works. But little did I know that God has already paved the way for me to find that happiness I am looking for.

In August 3 of year 2014, a friend invited me to a youth service called Elevate. At first I was hesistant in going but a voice inside my head is saying that I should go. So that day I went and respond to the invitation of my friend. As I enter the building where it was, I was suprised how comfortable I felt that time. It felt like home for me. The program started and as newbie I dont know what would happen then people wherw going up on stage ready to sing. It was their praise and worship band. I thought that it would be so boring for me singing and hearing songs about God. But that time was very different, as the band started singing, chills were starting to fill me. I felt like something was just stirring me from the inside. The song started to become personal for me like it was my battle cry for that moment. It was my heart saying God is all I need. After the praise and worship, there was a speaker who talked about faith in God and what was amazing is that I enjoyed listening to him. It was very unusual for me because Im not a religious type of God. And Im not really a fan of such but that day was so different for me. After he preached they invited all the new comers to proceed in room because they said they have a gift for us. So I went inside that room and received the greatest gift that I can have in my life. The long search for answers was finally over. The genuine happiness that Im looking for was brought to me that day. It was the gift of God to have eternal life with him. So that day a person shared to me the gospel and accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Saviour. It was the happiest moment in my life. After that day I viewed life from a different perspective. From being a party guy, I became active to our church and serving through various ministry like the Live Production where we are the one who handles technical stuffs, the NxtGen Minsitry where we teach kids about Jesus and the Elevate Ministry where we connect youths who are lost to Jesus. From having a deeply wounded heart to a forgiving one. So now I can proudly say that I already forgiven my real parents for leaving me because I know that God has a purpose for allowing it to happen into my life. I may not have the perfect story of a family but I know that I have a perfect God who loves me so much that he will never leave me nor forsake me. Up to this date, Im still a faithful follower of the Lord Jesus Christ and continued to be use by God for his plan. Last year, together with my team, We went to the hospital to visit kids who are Leukemia patients and was able to share the gospel to them and to their parents and was able to give reading books for them. We also had the chance to reach out to one of the community here in our locality as we give gifts to the children of a day care center and was able to share the Gospel to them. I will never get tired of doing things for the Lord because I wanf other people to find the genuine happiness I found in him. Things of this world can give us happiness but temporary while The Love of God can give us happiness for eternity. Once again, I am Raymart Bartolo, a boy who searched for answers and found it in Jesus. This my story of how a mess turned into a blessing. The 360 degrees turn from being hurt to becoming satisfied, from the world to Jesus. It is only by his grace that I am sustained. To God be all the glory.

My life verse:
Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.