“When it came to religion,” Rachael shares, “I was raised a ‘nothing.’ ” There were also few normal, healthy relationships to model in her life. She experienced much confusion after a string of divorces and remarriages plagued her young life, making for an insecure childhood full of uncertainty and doubt.
It's no surprise then that in high school, peers successfully pressured her into drinking alcohol. “For the next seven years, I was a heavy drinker, but I didn’t think it was a big deal since everyone around me did it too.”
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While raised in a Christian home, Mike struggled through bullying as a child and eventually rebelled against his parents and the faith by the time he was in the eighth grade. He began drinking, using drugs, and professed to be an atheist. He says, “I believed God and heaven were made up because people were scared of dying.”
But many years later, as Mike returned home one night after a party and looked into the night sky, God called him back to the faith. As he began to think about the church of his childhood, he did a quick online search and found amazingfacts.org. He read The Richest Caveman, which launched him into deeper Bible study. “I could really relate to Pastor Doug’s story!”
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Years later, Rachael took an interest in a new co-worker, Mike. “My mother thought it was a great idea to set us up,” she recalls, but her mother also said, “You should date Mike, but whatever you do, don’t join his religion!”
She laughed off her mom’s comment, saying, “I’m not an idiot.” But inside she worried.
On their very first date, Mike asked Rachael, “Do you believe everything in the Bible is true and accurate?” It seemed an easy enough question to answer, but she thought it was a weird question to be asking at a football game. “But I didn’t realize how much of the Bible I didn’t even understand. I later understood he was thinking about the Sabbath, but if he had brought that up right away, I would have thought for sure he was crazy!”
While dating, the couple began attending church together. They also began regularly watching Doug Batchelor videos. Mike says, “The Millennium of Prophecy series was life-changing for the both of us.” He also started listening to Pastor Doug’s podcasts during his downtime at work, filling his mind with more truth.
As Bible truth convicted their hearts, their lives began to change as they put aside the world. After they married, Rachael asked Mike, “Why aren’t we practicing more of the things we are learning?” So they began to return tithe, stopped eating unclean meats and drinking caffeine and alcohol, and they even threw out over a 100 DVDs. They also began faithfully keeping the Sabbath.
Today, Rachael loves sharing her faith, often handing out Pastor Doug’s At Jesus’ Feet at work. And every time they make a donation online, they look forward to getting a free book to share.
A favorite Amazing Facts resource is “Paul’s Box,” which is filled with many different sharing materials. She says, “Each time we order, we discover different items to share with friends. In fact, we bought several boxes last year and wrapped up books, pamphlets, and DVDs and gave them to family and friends as presents.”
Mike reflects, “No matter how much society changes, Amazing Facts stays true to Bible truth. I thank God for Amazing Facts, which He used to turn me in the right direction.”
Rachael says, “This ministry led me to God’s true church. I love giving to Amazing Facts because I know it will help someone else, just like me, who needs to know that God has better plans for our lives than we can imagine.”