Growing Life Testimony - Esther Ahn

Hi everyone. My name is Esther and I’ll be sharing my experience taking Growing life with my lovely shepherd Joy. For 7 weeks, I met one on one with Joy to go through the keys to spiritual growth. 

Before I decided to take up Growing life, I was in an undesirable situation where I had to work more in order to raise money for my school tuition. For those who may not know, I work at a bakery called Cinnabon. I was really not looking forward to working there more, as I dreaded the long late hours. I felt discouraged about where I was in my life and even shared with my house church that I thought I was going to be depressed. That’s when I committed to having consistent QT with God. I began to experience peace and joy despite my circumstances and realized this was a crucial time to root myself in God, so I reached out to Joy.

Throughout Growing Life, I learned many things, like being part of the body of Christ and the different aspects of salvation, and simply spending time with Joy felt very blessed. There were several instances where I saw answered prayer and the impact of of application of what we learned in our lives,  But what impacted me most was the focus on VIPs (those who don’t know Christ) in my life and the indwelling Christ who lives in me.

When I thought about my VIPS, I realized most of them were my co-workers, I began to see each person there as someone God longs to have a relationship with and my desire for them to know their Heavenly Father grew very strong.

I started to pray for my VIPS, and for Christ to dwell in me. I started seizing opportunities to talk about faith and salvation, sharing my testimony of how God freed from me from depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. I was having deeper conversations with my co-worker’s on their relationship with God,  even with visiting managers of other stores. This was kinda crazy to me because I used to fear being seen as pushy or too Christian. But that fear was replaced with a desire to share what God had done in my life and His longing for all to be saved. 

The next week I met Joy and I told her, “I don’t know what came over me, but this week I was so bold about sharing my faith” she told me “Esther, I believe that was the Holy Spirit within you”.  It wasn’t by my strength but through being filled with the Spirit that I could witness to unbelievers. Now when I look at my workplace, I don’t just see it as a depressing place where I just make money, but an opportunity and place to make Christ known. 

Last Monday, while I was working at Cinnabon, we suddenly saw people running out of the mall, telling us to get down and hide. Stores around us started closing, so we turned off our lights, locked the door and hid crouched down in the backroom. None knew what was happening and some were convinced there was a shooter in the mall. The crew working that day consisted of 4 girls, me being the oldest and in charge, and the youngest were in high school. They were scared, crying, trying to call their parents and 911. I stayed calm, kept watch on the door, and reassured them everything would be okay. Earlier that day, I had given the girls a story time about a relational situation I prayed about and how God answered my prayer. While hiding in the backroom, one of the girls asked me “Esther, can you pray for us?” So, out loud, I whispered a prayer asking God to protect us and for everything to be okay. Strangely, I was very calm and collected the entire time. Eventually, someone came and knocked on the door to let us know it was safe. We later learned there had been a robbery involving people with sledge hammers and axes. Though shaken, we were all fine.

The co-worker who had asked me to pray said “Esther, thank you for praying for us—you prayer worked!” She later even half-joked about going back to church and expressed her awe in how I was so calm. I realized that my personal story earlier had given them a belief, even if it was just for a short time, that the God I prayed to might be real and present in that moment.

I want to end on the verse we read in growing life that really challenged me to be a witness:(Matthew 28:19-20) “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 

I believe God has called me to witness to the unbelievers in my life. This year I want to pray for boldness, to receive the Holy Spirit, so that, as I witness, others will see Christ in my words, my life, and my actions, and they will feel the undeniable impact of His presence in me.

Sometimes I worry, “What in my life would be important to an unbeliever?” and maybe you’ve felt this concern too. But I want to remind you and myself that as believers, we have already passed from death to life, and Christ’s Spirit already lives in us, ready to fill us whenever we ask. A quote in the book we read says “A witness is one who gives evidence, and you have so much to give evidence about because Christ is living through you.

I want to thank Joy who led me, guided me, and prayed for me throughout those 7 weeks and thank God for His unending faithfulness and constant presence. Thank you for listening.