BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

B V O V : 1 5 by Melanie Hemry she felt uneasy. Something wasn't right. Stepping away from the crowd, she stilled. She heard a familiar voice from within. Go back to the hotel. She knew that voice. Without stopping to think about it, she turned and made her way to the hotel shuttle. Climbing on board, she took a seat. As the bus pulled away, she looked out the back window. In an instant, bombs exploded. The place where she'd stood only minutes ago was now a raging inferno. A least 88 people perished and 200 were injured when Islamist terrorists set o car bombs. Earlier that same month, back home in London, four suicide bombers struck the transport system. While 52 people died, more than 770 others had been wounded. This vacation was supposed to be a restful time to refresh. What was going on? Will You Follow Me? "As soon as I got back to the hotel, my mother called," Lesley recalls. "News of the bombing was all over the media, and she wanted to know if I was all right. After assuring her I was fi ne, I sat in my hotel room and pondered the journey that had brought me to this place of peace and protection. "Although my family was originally from Jamaica, I grew up in London with my brother and sister. Our dad wasn't around much, and we were raised by our mother. We went to church and knew about Jesus. But we had no idea that we needed to accept Him as Savior. "When I was 2 years old, we visited a di erent church. I remember saying to my mom, 'Mommy, they're copycats. They have Jesus just like us!' "My mom was always seeking to know more of God. When I was 10, she gave me my most cherished possession. It was a children's Bible. It had a picture of Jesus on the cover. Inside, along with the text, were lots of pictures of Bible stories. I spent a great deal of time reading it." Just prior to her 15th birthday, Lesley's teacher asked a question: "Do you believe in God?" "Yes, I do," Lesley replied. For the fi rst time in her life, she heard that inner voice speak: Will you follow Me all the days of your life? "Yes, I will." Lesley knew beyond a doubt that she'd heard from God. What she didn't know was what it meant. She knew she was supposed to serve God. But how? Nobody she asked seemed to have the answer. A Law Degree "I guess I'm supposed to be a nun," she told her mother. How else was a woman supposed to serve God? Over time, however, she couldn't get settled that being a nun was the answer. "I attended university and earned a law degree," Lesley explains. "That seemed the right thing to do. But when I fi nished, practicing law didn't seem right. I knew I was called by God, but how I was supposed to fulfi ll the call was a mystery to me. "I wasn't in church because I didn't know I was supposed to be. I took a job in retail and became a manager. I enjoyed the work, but there was always tension in my life. How was I supposed to serve God? "During those years, my mother got born again. That changed the entire family. She was sold out to Jesus, and she led us kids to Him as well. "My life rocked along that way until the end of 2002 when God spoke to me again," Lesley recalls. "This time, He gave me specifi c direction." Take the year o and spend it seeking Me. I STARTED GROWING SPIRITUALLY FROM THE TIME I READ MY FIRST PARTNER LETTER.

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