Testimony
The start
I was raised by Bible-believing parents in a Lutheran Church. Growing up I spent most of my time playing basketball, baseball and football. I slowly became more worldly and involved in partying, drinking and casual marijuana use. Every night I went to bed under conviction and every morning I woke up thinking I would one day get serious about my faith.
Salvation Experience
At Bethel College in Arden Hills, Minnesota I met some Calvinist friends who loved sports and loved to speak about justification by faith alone and predestination. They began to witness to me and God dealt with my heart and one day in the evening I said in my heart, “Lord, I want to live for you.” All the burdens of sin left me like a weight off of my shoulders. I immediately became extremely hungry to know the Lord and study his Word and then teach others about it. I read every theological book I could get my hands on. At this time I felt the call of God upon my life to become a minister of the Gospel. I changed my major and began searching for a theological seminary to attend.
Being Led Into All Truth
I was then introduced to a new friend who was on fire for God but had some “false doctrines” whom we could possibly straighten out. As we met he described the purpose of the Reformation using a wheat plant. He was an artist and he began to draw it on paper, describing the stalk as the start of the Reformation through Luther, the tassel as the Methodist movement via Wesley, the shuck which was the Pentecostal movement and then back to the original seed, which is the fully restored Biblical truth. This really struck me and caused me to look at things he was saying more seriously. He gave me the tape Anointed Ones at the End-Time and the Church Ages Book. God dealt with me over time and yet I had fear over following something false. I prayed for revelation, one evening as I prayed I heard the sound of a wind blowing through my room. I looked up and the window was barely cracked and the shade was completely still. I then felt the wind go across my back and immediately felt an awesome presence in the room that caused me to bury my head and weep. I immediately knew this was the leadership of the Lord in my life.
Coming Into Ministry
Shortly after this time, I began to minister at Grace Ministries where Brother Don Hoffman is the Pastor. I married his daughter, Amy, in February 2003 and we now have three daughters, Avery, Mina, and Adelyn.
Call to Missions
As time went on the fire in my heart began to wane and I felt very much backslid spiritually. On the Easter weekend in 2008, the Lord dealt with me, restored my fire and called me to start using what I’ve learned about web design and social media marketing for the kingdom. In the spring of 2009, an Iranian minister living in Turkey contacted me and invited me to minister in some Iranian refugee churches there. I was very reluctant, but I desired to support them in translating sermons of Brother William Branham into the Farsi language. We began to do that right away. It took me almost two years to surrender to the call on my heart to travel to Turkey. The Lord immediately began to deal with me to leave my job at Wells Fargo and go full time in ministry. Finally, in August 2012 I went full time and have been so ever since. I’ve been to the Middle East 23 times from February 2011 to February 2020.
Ministering the Word in Egypt
Leading to Move
In October 2021 my family came down with COVID, while my daughters had a mild case, sister Amy and I both were very sick. My blood oxygen level was dangerously low necessitating a trip to the hospital. My health took a turn for the worse and I was in danger for my life. Below is our testimony of deliverance from death.
