I was born and raised in Switzerland in a small and pretty village. I have two brothers and two sisters. When I was a teenager my parents
had some major problems in their marriage. After some years of “fighting” they finally got divorced. For me it was a difficult time. I was in the middle of an apprenticeship and what I actually needed was support from my family and advice for the daily things I encountered in this new business world. But home was a chaos! I felt like everything was dark inside of me. It seemed to me like someone had taken away the foundation under my feet. My parents didn’t have much time for me and my siblings anymore. They kept us on a loose leash. I took advantage of my “new freedom”. I was going out every night, also because I couldn’t stand it at home. I soon started to have one boyfriend after another.
I drank alcohol and often was so drunk that I didn’t know what had happened the night before. I was smoking a lot and a couple of times I tried marihuana. But nothing and nobody could fill this vacuum in me. My life was like a downward spiral. It was not only because my parents got divorced but also because I didn’t think that my life would make any sense. I often was searching for God but somehow I never broke through to Him.
I felt that I was like a vase that was broken in a thousand of pieces and no one could help me fix it. From the outside no one could see
that I was so unhappy. After some time I started to suffer from bulimia. That was devastating for me because I couldn’t imagine living
like that. My biggest dream was always to get married and have a family. It all topped when I was moving together with my boyfriend in another city. After ten months I realized that our relationship was falling apart. I felt so desperate that I started to pray. I cried to God that
he would help me and that this relationship wouldn’t break apart. I couldn’t imagine to life without my boyfriend. God heard my cry and
helped me but in a different way than I had expected.
This relationship ended. In the same time I started to read the bible and I had a revelation of God. I suddenly realized that I am a sinner and that without the forgiveness of Jesus I would go directly to hell if I died.
So I bent my knees and I prayed… “Lord Jesus, I am a sinner and I am so sorry for it. I need your forgiveness. Please come in my life and be my Lord”. It was very important to me that Jesus would be the Lord of my life and not me anymore. With my inner eyes I saw two ways.
It was like a Y-junction; the old way and the new way with Jesus. I decided with all of my heart to go the way with Jesus and not to live ‘my way” anymore. Something happened then. I quit smoking from that moment on. I didn’t have any desire for it anymore! All my old lifestyle suddenly seemed so unattractive to me.
My whole life changed from one day to the other. For me it was clearer than crystal that I would follow Jesus for the rest of my life and that He has something better for me – a purpose for my life! Over the following years God was transforming my life and my heart. I got to know Jesus better when I started to join a church and became an active member.
Now I am a missionary in another country. I have the best husband and three super cute kids…AND…I really feel so complete and happy! If you feel empty inside, like I did, it is because you need Jesus. Ask Him to come into your life and follow HIM.

Sonja Liechti

Born in September 1949 in Germany, I was a typical postwar child. My parents were penniless, but all their love and care they focused on me.
However, there was one thing that utterly disturbed me, and that was their devoutness towards God and their mission to drag me to church and all kinds of Christian events.
As a teenager and young adult in the 50-ies I was totally bored by all that. The young people in our neighborhood played and listened to Rock ‘n’ Roll and Elvis Presley, threw parties and enjoyed the so-called wild life. All that attracted me a lot more than church. At the age of 14 I decided to turn my back on God, church and anything Christian.
As the world headed towards 1968, I found my place among the hippie community, became a flower power kid proclaiming sex, drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll to be the emphasis in life. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and others became my heroes and I surely didn’t miss any festival.
The more I followed my desires in life, the more I turned my back on the – from my point of view – bourgeois life of the average person in Germany. Christian religion was nothing I was considering at all.
Through smoking cannabis and absorbing LSD I gave access to TM, Indian mystics and the supernatural. All of these were everyday practices and experiences among me and my friends. Travelling became my favorite activity, and by dealing drugs it was quite handy to pay for it. For approx. 10 years all my life turned around these things. As time went by, the drugs my friends and I were consuming became stronger, some of my friends died, were arrested or taken into psychiatries. From time to time the police arrested me, too, and I found myself in prison. That was definitely not funny at all.
One day, all of a sudden, Jesus was the main topic on the scene of my home town. My friends started to read the bible in the discotheque and discussed things about God. One of the occult freaks we were hanging around with said, Jesus was an outstanding magician. I only thought that all this was horrible. This went on for two years, without having any effect on me.
My life went down the drain. One night, while we had another drug party in our commune, where I was high on drugs, I was finally ready to commit suicide. The spirits that I had invited into my life wouldn’t let go of me. In my desperation, realizing that I had hit the rock bottom of my life I cried out to God for help.
And the miracle happened! In the glimpse of a moment I literally got baptized in his love. His peace consumed me and I felt as if I was bathing in his light. I instantly knew: I will take no drugs any more and I will never be the same again. Irrespective of me, Irene, who was my girlfriend back then and is my wife today, had a similar experience with God. Because of this experience and the fascination drawing us to Jesus, we realized that he lives and that we are supposed to live, too.
Since then we have been on our way with Jesus together. We are travelling the whole world and are privileged to see thousands and thousands making the same wonderful experience as we.God is the God of miracles. He is not further away but one simple and humble prayer.
The cross of Calvary was no accident – it rather is the biggest event in all of history. Jesus, the Son of God, suffered and died for you. He has overcome the power of death, and now he lives and wants to reconcile you with the Father in heaven. He has awesome plans for your life. He wants to use you to make this earth a better place. And on top of all this, his precious gift to you is his eternal life dwelling in you.
Dare to invite him into your life and you’ll see miracles.If you want, please pray the following prayer and personally invite Jesus into your life:

Lord Jesus, thank you that you are the truth, the path and the life all in one. The truth is that I have messed up my life. I ask forgiveness for all my wrongdoings, following my own paths, the hate I harbored in my heart, the many times I hurt myself and others. Thank you that you died for me. Thank you that the truth also is that you carried everything on the cross, and that I can be free! Lord Jesus, I want to step on and walk your path. I want to live the life that you have designed for me. Deliver me, heal me, forgive me. I am so grateful that you are standing there with your arms opened wide, waiting for me. And I am running into your loving arms. Amen!

I never regretted praying this simple prayer and I pray and trust that it will also bless you as you start a new life with Jesus!

Walter Heidenreich