| Gulas and God |
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Martina came all the way from the Czech Republic to find faith I wasn’t born in a Christian family and didn’t know Jesus  for a long time. Everything changed a few years ago. I used to think that Christians were stupid people who said prayers from a prayer book and didn’t think. I didn’t understand what that all really meant. I did attend religious education when I was a little girl. However, my knowledge of who Jesus is was very poor. As a teenager, any desire to find God had gone. I thought I was the cleverest person in the world who didn’t need anyone. When I was 17, I met my first boyfriend and everything seemed so clear to me. I would go to university, we would get married, I would have a great career, and we would buy a house and a cool car. I was 100 percent sure I could manage everything on my own and didn’t need any ‘god’. A few years later my dream collapsed. I met another guy and fell in love with him, very quickly and very strongly – he meant everything to me. However, our love finished as quickly as it started and now both relationships were over. I remember that morning I woke up and realised everything I had believed in was gone. I lost not only love but dreams, desires, opinions and everything I had believed in. The easiest thing to do was leave Prague, the Czech Republic, friends and family. So I ran away to London, where I worked as an au-pair for a year. The first opportunity to meet Christians came when I met my good friend Katka, who was also an au-pair. It was Katka who invited me to a church in London. She said, “There’s going to be a discussion, would you like to come? There will be ‘gulas’ available.” Gulas is a typical Czech meal – something between soup and main course dish – that I was missing so much after eight months in London. Honestly, the reason I came to that talk – which I realised later was an Alpha course – was gulas. I remember the day at the Alpha course I was sitting on the floor, the sun was shining and I was eating a chocolate cake, and in that moment I realised that I would love to know God more, and who Jesus was. I had no idea of his identity apart from being the baby in a nativity scene. And he had done something for me… what? He saved me? How? I didn’t understand, but wanted to know him. The reason I came to the church for another session the following week wasn’t gulas this time, but the desire to know Jesus more. When I went back to Prague I started going to a church there but I wasn’t Christian, as there were still lots of questions in my heart. It was the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students who explained once more who Jesus is and what he has done for me. We went through a Christianity Explored course, talked and became friends. No-one judged me and I felt like a member of a family even though I wasn’t really Christian at that time. I realised it can be hard but I made up my mind and decided, “I want to serve him.” Looking back over my life now, I don’t really understand how I managed to live without Jesus. It was hard but I didn’t know it. I have just realised that he is the real reason to be here, and serving him is the only thing which makes any sense. In many things I feel I’m still the same Martina as I was before, but I know he is here to change me and help me to serve him better and support me in whatever situation I’m in. Christianity Explored is an informal course for people who’d like to investigate Christianity, or just brush up on the basics. It explores who Jesus was, what his aims were, and what it means to follow him. You won’t be asked to pray, sing or read aloud, and you can ask any questions you like. Or, if you prefer, you can just come along and listen. To find out where there’s a course near you, visit www.christianityexplored.org or write to: Christianity Explored, 14 Harley Street, London, W1G 9PQ |
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