A testimony from our dear brother -- Keith W. Hudson

My Testimony

As I look back at my life, I can see how God guided me and gave me many blessings. I just would like to spend a few minutes telling you how I accepted Jesus and what He has done in my life.

I grew up in a typical Christian home. As far as I could remember, my family went to church, and participated in all the activities. I was involved in RA’s, kid’s camp, vacation Bible school, and other activities. When I was seven, I attended VBS that summer. As I recall, the emphasis at VBS was being a warrior for God, or something similar along those lines. Well, me and seven of my friends decided to become warriors and accepted Jesus into our hearts. The VBS teacher taught us the prayer and we all prayed the prayer together. The pastor of Parkhills Baptist Church baptized each of us that following Sunday evening. Although I accepted Jesus into my heart, nothing changed in my heart. Then, when I was twelve, an international evangelist, named Michael Gott came to our church for a revival. On the fourth night of the revival, he spoke about being a dedicated Christian and living the true Christian life as Jesus did. Something came over me, and I began to feel a burden in my heart to rededicate my life. I went down and Mrs. Gott counseled me and I rededicated my life.

From then on, my heart changed and I began a longing for knowing Jesus as my true personal Savior and Lord. God began to lead me down a path he has already chosen for me although I did not know it at the time. It started when I was nine. That was an important date for me because I became a diabetic. It does not sound scary unless you are a nine-year-old kid who has just been told that you cannot have all of your favorite foods and have to eat healthy. However, I had trouble with my diabetes at first. I was called a brittle diabetic which my blood sugars were very erratic and I had trouble with my insulin. My mother prayed and the Lord answered her prayer. The Lord told her of a new medication that was only experimental at the time. When I started taking the new medication, my diabetes stabilized.

Then in high school, I attended a Christian school sponsored by the church I attended. The Bible classes taught me the Biblical instruction that I needed. As I began to grow, the Lord began to mold me and I began to develop the Biblical truths that inherit the believers. However, during that time, I was very comfortable of being a Christian because I was in an atmosphere that acknowledged and accepted Christians. I grew up as an upper middle class teenager without truly depending on the Lord, just my parents. After high school, I attended Baylor University. Again, the Lord provided because He helped me in my academic achievements at Castle Hills First Baptist School and the Lord giving me the opportunity to attend a Christian university. Then the Lord gave me another challenge. In my sophomore year, my whole life changed when my father lost his business. I could not depend on my parents for financial help. I had to turn to the Lord for his support and guidance. The Lord taught me to rely on Him for all my needs and provided me support. He wanted me to follow his path that He has laid out for me. At that time, I was searching for what I wanted to do with my life. I kept changed my major a couple of times trying to decide on what career is going to be. Well, one day I was at the Methodist Student Center watching television. The minister came and invited me to an international dinner. I eventually accepted. From that point, I became involved in the international student ministry at Baylor through the Methodist Student Center. As I began to make friends from different parts of the world, the Lord began to change my attitudes and beliefs about people from other countries and me. Up to that time, I grew up in the upper middle class environment and I was extremely idealistic. As the saying goes, "Either my way or no way." The Lord began to change that phrase into, "The Lord’s way, or no way."

He also led me to a church when my mother moved to Waco because of her job. Before then, I attended a church provided more of a social atmosphere than a spiritual one because of the large college crowd. However, at Highlands Baptist Church, I became involved in a dynamic, uplifting, spiritual church that prayed for my family and me. The Lord continued to provide spiritual guidance in my life at that church. Then in 1994, the Lord gave me another challenge. I had some eye problems caused by my diabetes, called diabetic retinopathy. Through the church, I was referred to an ophthalmologist who specialized in my type of eye condition. As I learned from Dr. Campbell, his wife had the same condition, and he went back to medical school to learn how to treat the condition. As I was recovering from eye surgery, I applied to UNT, although I did not know the outcome of the surgery. I trusted in the Lord to be my healer, and He came through. In 1995, I attended UNT. The next year I became involved with the international ministry through Denton Bible Church. In January 1997, I had another challenge. I was diagnosed with kidney failure. The Lord prepared me because I had a friend at UNT who had already gone through this. She helped me and advised me of all my options. The dialysis clinic had a great doctor who came from Dallas to take over the clinic. In addition, the Lord began to lead me to the option for a transplant. As my mother and I investigated and visited the different hospitals, the Lord led me to try for a kidney-pancreas transplant. As I went through the process of evaluation for the operation, I knew the Lord would some day cure me of my diabetes and kidney problems. I knew this since the day I had diabetes although I did not understand until I was mature enough to understand. Nevertheless, I always knew in my heart since I was about fifteen years old. The Lord also led me to a wonderful physician and surgeon who really wanted me to have this. The doctors continued to encourage me to stick with the diet and medications in order for me to have the operation and for the transplant to work. As I waited for the operation, I continued to rely on Him for strength, encouragement, and guidance. In addition, my friends at the International Bible Study encouraged me and kept me going, especially Marigladys, Annie, Dale, Phil, Tai, Lassamon, and others as well as my family members, especially my mother, grandparents, and Uncle Chuck. The Lord also provided me a job that understood and acknowledged my medical condition so that I would not have to worry about finances or job security when I had the operation. On April 7^th, the big news came. As I waited for the news to come who will be selected, I prayed to the Lord for me to have this operation and to protect me from the different consequences of the operation including rejection of both organs, difficult surgery, and death. When the news came that I was selected, I was both relieved and scared, but as time grew near, I had a real peace about the operation that is hard to describe in words. Only that it was like being in Heaven. Just like fitting all the pieces into a puzzle, so was the procedure of the operation. And as the saying goes, "And the rest is history." The Lord really looked after me during this difficult time, but has blessed me in so many ways. My friends, colleagues, and relatives continued to pray for me, and I really felt their presence, along with God, when I was in the hospital recovering from the surgery. Now, it has been over three months since the operation and the Lord continues to bless and look after me with my friends, colleagues, and family concerned about how I feel, my spiritual growth, and genuine concern.

As I look back at my life up to this point, several verses come to mind that describes my walk with Jesus. In addition, how He has changed my life. First is in Romans 8:28. It states, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose." (NIV). In addition, I have had many challenges in my life. My challenges have been like races in life. Paul writes about running the race of the Christian, but I have learned through my challenges that the obstacles, difficulties, or challenges that we face are races too. Paul writes in I Corinthians 9:24-27 about running the race. He is writing about life as a Christian and how we react, project, and lead a Christ led life, but I have learned that each challenge is a race, and how we respond to that challenge is just as testimonial as to the lifetime race of being a Christian. Finally, in Jeremiah 18:1-8, the Lord spoke to Jeremiah about being the potter and the nation of Israel the clay. Jesus is molding me, shaping me, into an image according to his purpose. I believe the Lord is leading me into the international ministry, but I am still not quite sure which direction He wants me to take. Nevertheless, I am confident that the Lord will guide me and I will soon know through prayer. And as I continue to lean on Him for guidance, support, and wisdom, Jesus will always be the center of my life in everything that I do, become, achieve, and exhibit. The molding is not yet complete, and I look forward to the result.

Finally, I would just like to say that no matter what the obstacles you may have in your life, or how bad you think the situation you are in, how depressed you may feel, Jesus will always be there. You just have to listen to Him. Hope is a wonderful thing, but hope is nothing unless you have Jesus in your heart. That is what got me through all my obstacles in my life. Jesus gave me the strength to have a positive attitude toward life and my situation. Moreover, I pray that He will do the same with you.

Last updated by Shin-Ping Liu on 01/12/2001