10/16/2024
Powerful testimony from Dawid after completing the Alpha course - 2024. Thank you for sharing your journey!
At the beginning of the year, my friend was looking for something for himself – some kind of prayer group or something like that. It turned out that my wife saw an Alpha course on the website Metanoja from Worcester and gave my friend the details. The Alpha course was to take place every Sunday for 10 sessions, plus an additional weekend.
Since where we live is about an hour away without traffic, my friend tried to convince me to sign up too. To be honest, I wasn’t really interested because I had better things to do than drive that far every Sunday. After a while, he somehow convinced me, and I decided to go. I thought that if I didn’t like it, I’d simply stop going, though I’m the kind of person who, once I start something, I feel I need to finish it.
When the course began, we started going together to make it easier. Unfortunately, we always hit traffic at that time, so the trip took over an hour, sometimes even 1.5 hours. Before each session, there was always some food – dinner, fruit, cakes, and drinks. That definitely caught my attention because, as they say, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.
At the beginning of the course, it was okay – I already knew many things. Even though I wasn’t a super practicing Catholic, I came from a Catholic family, where generations of people had been very religious. Since childhood, I had been taught that you must go to church and not miss Mass. I used to go to confession practically once a year.
So, we kept going to the course every week until it was time for the Alpha weekend. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go, but after talking to my friend, I decided to join. When we arrived, I wasn’t particularly excited, but since I was already there, I decided to stay till the end.
During the weekend, we talked about different topics, and there was a lot of singing and prayer. I don’t really like singing or raising my hands in a group, so I felt a bit uncomfortable. The first day passed, and in the evening, there was going to be a Mass and a time of worship – something I had never experienced before. We had talked earlier about the Holy Spirit and His gifts, something I had never heard of before – speaking in tongues, gifts of healing, or prophecy. I was very surprised that I had never heard of this.
We went to Mass, and we managed to go to confession because, of course, it’s good to be without sin at such retreats. After Mass, there was worship, which meant singing and praying to the Holy Spirit, and the leaders had visions in which the Holy Spirit spoke through them to everyone present. The chapel’s lights were turned off, and everyone sang with their hands raised and eyes closed. I thought I’d do the same.
My friend and I had agreed earlier to go for a cigarette after the Mass. But while singing with my eyes closed, I felt as if something entered my body – a kind of trembling, a strange feeling, and my legs felt weak. My friend, who was standing next to me, started speaking in some strange language, something like “shabalaba laba laba.” I asked him if he was faking it, and he said no.
I continued singing with my eyes closed, and I felt the same sensation again. I realized it must have been the Holy Spirit because I had no other explanation. At the end, there was a moment of surrendering our lives to Jesus. I know this might sound strange, but after that experience, I didn’t want to smoke. I felt it wouldn’t be right since the Holy Spirit had just been in my body, and I’d be smoking. What’s more, I didn’t feel the usual craving for ni****ne. To this day, it’s been over five months, and I haven’t had a cigarette, even though before, I could barely go a week without one.
The next day brought a surprise – after Mass, we found out there was going to be an intercessory healing prayer, which I had never heard of before. It involved three stations, with three people at each, praying over a person sitting on a chair. When my turn came, I sat down, closed my eyes, and the people praying over me started their prayer. I received a few insights – it was nice, but to be honest, I didn’t feel a huge “wow” moment.
After the prayer, my friend suggested we go again to a different group. I wasn’t really keen, thinking it wouldn’t be fair since others were waiting their turn. But he convinced me. During the prayer, I had my eyes closed and tried to focus. The only thought that wouldn’t leave my mind was that I wasn’t worthy of the Holy Spirit entering my body. Then I heard in my head – I don’t know if it was a voice or a thought – “you are worthy, and I love you.” I was very moved. To be honest, I never cry because I’ve always believed that “man don’t cry,” but tears just flowed down my face. It’s hard to describe, but I felt an immense sense of emotion and that I was loved. At the end of the prayer, I saw a light, and within it, a triangle with an eye in the middle. The person leading the prayer shared their vision with me: a garden, a sandbox, and a fountain. They said that my faith has already been planted and is flourishing, but I need to nurture it.
I can say that anyone who has been to an Alpha course but didn’t go on the weekend should regret it. That Alpha weekend opened and deepened my faith. It was truly something I will never forget for the rest of my life. Now I approach my faith from a different perspective. I know I still have a lot to learn and need to continue working on my sins, but I’ve learned that God loves us no matter who we are and that simply going to church isn’t enough.
Finally, I wanted to add that on the Alpha course, I met wonderful people with whom I still keep in touch. Whenever we see each other, a smile immediately appears on our faces, as if we’ve known each other forever.
I also wanted to add that since that day, many good and bad things have happened to me, but my life has certainly turned 90 degrees. I never would have guessed that I’d change so much when it comes to my faith. As it was said, the seed has been planted, and something exceptional is growing from it – I just need to take care of it and nurture it.
