Tina was born and grew up in a non-Christian family in Slovakia. The only experience she had of church was, like most people in her village, once a year at Christmas.
When she was 14 years old, John, one of Tina’s best friends, killed himself. She could not understand why he did it. She wanted to speak with him just one more time. His suicide made her think more about life and death. She wanted to find the truth, and thought that she had…
This is Tina’s story:
I became involved with many occultist practices. At the beginning there were only ‘small’ things such as: Tarot card, prophesy, superstition, palm reading, mind reading, wearing prophesy stones or talismans. People around me noticed that I was doing pretty well and they gave me the nickname ‘Sybyla’. Many times they asked me to help them or foretell into their situations. But then I went further and deeper to find ‘the truth’- what is after death, hypnotism, folk remedies, meditation, Transcendental Meditation, reincarnation, divination, sorcery, interpreting omens, contact and talking with dead people.
I had several ‘ghost’ friends, who were also ‘helping’ me to get closer to that mysterious, unknown life. Then I felt ready to contact the ghost of our dead friend John. The meetings with ‘him’ were amazing, incredible and fantastic… at the beginning. I remember every time I asked him about what he does, where he was and so on, he only answered ‘I cannot tell you’. When I asked him if God really existed, he went mad and it took us some time to calm him down.
Once he insisted we meet him at the anniversary of his death. The entity who came to us that night was furious and absolutely out of control from the very beginning. He was saying frightening things about our lives, foretelling scary situations and did not want to leave us. It was a very long and hard time which lasted until 4am. We were so tired that we fell asleep for a while, but he woke us up and carried on driving us crazy again. We got really fed up so we simply packed up all the objects which we used to get in touch with the entity. He swore that only bad things would happen in our future and also that he would follow us forever.
After that happened everything went really downhill in my life: my results at school, my health and my private life.
I was in hospital for a couple of weeks for tests and investigation but four different doctors didn’t know what was wrong with me.
I could not sleep at all and if I did I had very lively dreams, which became true afterwards. At the start they were only good and simple things, but it was getting worse and worse until several people died in my dreams and then they died in reality. I believed that it was me who caused their deaths because I was dreaming about it. So I decided not to sleep at night anymore. I kept awake sitting on my bed or walking around my room all night or took strong tablets so I did not have any dreams.
When I was in the house on my own I couldn’t bear silence so I switched on noisy things like the vacuum cleaner, television, radio, food mixers. Sometimes I heard voices. From time to time I wanted to read the Bible, but I just could not as I was able to see only black or white pages and every time I opened the Bible I was really sick. If I tried to pray I was speechless and sick as well.
I was really fed up with my life. The things I used to control now controlled me. I was so weak to fight against this stronghold in my life. I learnt very quickly that there is a spiritual life and I was moving in it. So many times I really wanted to stop all these things with but I just could not do it anymore!
This had been going on and on for almost three years.
I was so desperate until I met Milos, a Youth for Christ staff person in Slovakia. Milos spent a lot of time with me. Although it was not an easy time, we won the fight against the devil. God amazingly touched me through his service and set me free. Hallelujah!
Finally I could open the Bible and see the letters and words. It said:
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 1 John 4:4
I understood exactly what it meant for my life.
The other verse I received from God was:
And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:11-12
Suddenly I realized that Jesus is alive and also had really died on the cross for our, for MY sins. I wanted him to be in my heart. I was filled with God’s presence so much that all my body was shaking. I felt too dirty and too sinful, so I was not able to accept God’s love. I was also fighting my feelings that God couldn’t cleanse me of my sins.
Finally, thank God, He won and I was able to accept God’s love for me. On my knees in front of Him, with big tears on my face, I asked God to forgive me and help me start a new life with Jesus and I invited him into my life.
Our mighty God saved my life twice.
The first one was when he changed my exhausted life in my body in this world and the second time he gave me eternal life in heaven!
I have been a Christian for 10 years now and I am happier than ever before. I am so thankful to God for Milos, that he sent him to my life to show me the right way – to and through JESUS!
Sometimes I wonder what would have become of me or where I might have ended up if I had never met with Christians, with God – if I had no one to tell me about Jesus and to help me up when I desperately needed it the most.
There are so many people whose lives have completely changed for the better through Milos’s love and understanding, through his services and blessing from God through Youth for Christ.
Now I am also working for Youth for Christ, in Northern Ireland, helping the work in Eastern Europe, trying to change this world and peoples’ lives.
My deepest desire is that everyone could have a chance to meet with the One who is really WORTH IT – JESUS CHRIST, of course!