Marti’s Testimony

Marti’s Testimony

I was born in South Africa and was raised in a beautiful countryside small town called Nelspruit.   I had a wonderful childhood and sweet, godly parents.

I went to church and to Sunday school every Sunday and my greatest desire and most fervent prayer was to marry a man like my father.  He was a good man, a great dad – lots of fun – and a wonderful husband. I grew up knowing nothing but Christianity. The entire community was Christian or secular – pretending to be Christian, and although they were very nice people, I found this life quite boring.

After high school I studied Fine Arts and worked for the army. A friend from work had an unsuccessful suicide attempt. I understood enough to know that there must be at least an encouragement for him in the Word of God and so I asked my pastor. This was something that did not happen in my community. He told me that he really didn’t know what to tell me because he had never been in that situation. This confirmed the growing suspicion in me that there was no power in this book, so turned my back on the church (and God) and started searching elsewhere for answers.
I still continued attending church for my parents’ sake, but my heart was far away. I thought that they had no idea, but after 20 years in the faith and having grown children of my own, I know now that their hearts must have been breaking for me.

I was slowly but surely slipping into the occult and getting into all sorts of darkness. I dove into the world with everything in me and of course getting further and further away from God under the false illusion of searching for Him. I did not like Christians, especially born-again ones. I was proud and I looked on them as weak. As an artist, I believed that they had no life, no imagination and no fun!

After many failed relationships, I had enough of searching for love like my parents had and I made my mind up that marriage was not for me. But one day a handsome foreigner walked into my office – a perfume salesman.

He tried to sell me perfume which I rejected because I was flat broke and so, he invited me for coffee! I had no intention of going because I was heartbroken from a previous relationship and I was done with men… and also because I believed that he had a little black book filled with other girls’ numbers – and mine would just be added to his list!

Even so, when he returned at lunchtime, I reluctantly accepted his invitation. Listening to this young man so seriously telling me about his country, which I discovered was Israel – and his people – the Jews, impressed me as a man who had his priorities in order. He was so different from what I was used to.

We fell deeply in love and I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.

When I met his mother, the first thing she asked me was whether I could cook, to which I replied an honest “no”, and then she asked me when I will become Jewish, to which I replied an equally honestly, “never”. In that instant, as far away from God as I was, I instinctively knew that in order to become “Jewish”, I would have to deny Jesus, and I could never do that.

We got married and we were very happy but Israel still had a dark sadness looming about him. Very early on in our relationship I came to understand one day, that what he needed was Jesus. This was so strange because I knew that this was the answer for him because it was just so obvious! …but I didn’t say anything and I did not think that it was something that I needed.

God started pursuing my husband and putting believers in his way. He started studying the Word with somebody from Jews for Jesus. Watching him go through this process was really interesting to me. Initially I was slightly amused, but as he pursued this, I could see how important it was for him to get to the truth. I started studying the Bible with a lady from JfJ.

Israel was born-again and I saw this man whom I loved so much, change right in front of my eyes! Gone was the darkness, gone was the depression, the uncertainty, the hopelessness. He was walking in the newness of life! Joy flowed in him and through him, peace, that he so deeply desired, was his! Suddenly everything in his life made sense to him and he was a new man!

I was so happy for him. I started to realise that I had been wrong and that there really was power in this book that I disregarded. I continued my studies with Nici, now with a new attitude – one of expectancy.

As a child it always bothered me when a colouring book was left uncoloured. As my understanding grew and I delved deeper into God’s wonderful Word, the colours started flowing into the black-and-white pictures and they became life itself! Suddenly this book that I had all my life gathering dust on the shelf, started changing us both.

The seriousness of what I had done, having had the life-giving Truth in my hands and rejecting it because of my pride and sinfulness, was overwhelming. When this conviction was ripe, and I understood that God hadn’t abandoned me, but was waiting for me to return to Him, I broke down in repentance and confessed everything that I had ever done – and I was free!