I was brought up Jewish and my parents were somewhat orthodox. They considered themselves orthodox, but they basically often followed whatever rules they wanted to. Some rules they kept very strictly, but many important things they didn't keep at all.

On the plane, going to university, I was real scared, and some guy was also going to the same school to be a `minister.' He said to me, “You look like you're Jewish. That's really good. You're God's chosen people.” He gave me a tract. It was all about blood and sacrifices. I didn't understand it at all. But I was really scared going to college, so I kept the tract and prayed to God that I could find some friends there.

Once at school I took a path that was quite corrupted. This was influenced by atmosphere in the United States, especially on campuses. At my university that year all the students were rebelling on campus and we didn't have any grades other than pass/fail. Everything I took at school that year, I had already taken in High School so I hardly went to any classes all year. As a sophomore, the university reinstated grades so at least we had to study again, but I would wait until the night before an exam and stay up all night. I don't remember anything that I studied. My junior year, I tried the same study method but it didn't work. I was doing very poorly. I was sick of life. I didn't see any reason to do anything.

At that time a Christian guy was living at my fraternity house. He was always preaching about Jesus. One day I just thought, “Maybe this will help.” I attended a Christian meeting with him and was surprised to see how happy everyone was there. Their happiness seemed so real. I talked with several Christians and went home. Soon after, I was invited to dinner. I went and was surprised that everything seemed so blessed. But I still didn't believe in the Lord and I didn't go back anymore.

Before the end of that year I started thinking about the Lord. “There must be a God. There just must be. Just look around at nature.” I was on my way home to Baltimore when I saw a tract on the ground. I picked it up and I got saved. I just believed in the Lord. I didn't know why. I told my close friend and he asked me, “Why are you saved? Why do you believe this?” I didn't have any answer. I told him, “Okay, I will study some more about religions.” But I never did. I knew inside of me that I did indeed believe in the Lord, but I couldn't tell anyone.

That summer while home from college, I tried to behave myself mainly by being good to my parents. I tried to seek the Lord. But nothing worked. As I returned to school in the fall for my senior year, I didn't want to go back. I didn't want to live in that fraternity house anymore. But I didn't think that I had any alternatives so I went. I was only there a few days when my best friend and I both quit school and started traveling around. On the way I picked up a Bible and started reading from Genesis, the first book. I read only a few pages and I believed it! I said, “Wow!” It seemed to explain everything. I kept reading and reading. I didn't know the Lord at all, but I believed the Bible more and more. I came to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, but I didn't know Him.

I started looking for a church to attend, but couldn't find one. I ended up back in school in Cleveland where I started. I got in touch with the same brother who had preached the gospel to me. Immediately I told him that I wanted to be baptized in his church. He brought me to meetings again. Wow! I couldn't believe how glorious everything appeared. The Believers who met there remembered me and visited me. I told them all how I had gotten saved.

The next step in my Christian growth was facing the matter that Jesus was God. I didn't believe that. The brother would show me verse after verse proving that Jesus indeed was God, but I wasn't convinced. One day I went to his house and they prayed and read John 14. They called it “pray-reading.” One brother would pray-read, then another. I just sat and watched. Eventually, one of them said to me, “It's your turn. Your spirit is connected to your mouth.” So I started reading, and just when I began I felt something moving in my heart. Something started rising up within me. I felt so much joy. I broke out laughing and we started dancing around the house. After I left, I kept rubbing my heart. It felt so good. That week I was baptized and I experienced the same sensation again. SM