Patricia Monk
Salvation Experience
I didn’t come from a church-going family but was allowed and later encouraged to attend Sunday school and church. When I was 5 years old, I went to Sunday school with our neighbor in Altadena, California. My family moved to Hayward when I was 8 years old, and my sisters and I started attending a small bible believing church. It was at this time, when I was around 10, that I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior.
When I was a freshman in high school, my family moved again to Fullerton, California, where my sisters and I became active in Youth for Christ. Bob Kraning was our youth leader, and we grew a lot under his leadership. We especially enjoyed being members of a bible quiz team that made you study the scriptures.
When I was a senior in high school, my family moved to Oakland, California. Even though my mother and father didn’t attend church, my father went and had a talk with Jake Bellig at the Neighborhood Church. Jake told him that they could use some help at the Port of Call. So along with being a hostess at the Port of Call, I taught Sunday school and coached a Junior High Girls’ Basketball team. I co-taught with a handsome guy named Butch Monk. I knew he was the one God chose for me and we were married on August 22, 1970. We were the first wedding at the new church in Castro Valley. Soon after we were married, my father passed away suddenly at the age of 46. It was then that my mother started attending church and became a Christian. Praise the Lord.
We have been blessed with four children and fifteen grandchildren. Our greatest desire is for them to see Jesus in us and to know how much he loves them.
I would like to pass on that God is faithful even though we stray at times. He has rescued me from a few bad choices. Praise to Him.
It’s also important that we don’t listen to the devil’s lies. He always wants to malign God’s character. That is why it is so important to read the bible every day and to pray. We can pray about everything, not holding back our thoughts and concerns. We can be honest!
Key Scripture
Philippians 4:4-7: "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
1 John 4:9-11: "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."
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