Hi, my name is Kiyomi Wong. I’m currently a sophomore at Cosumnes Oaks High school.

I grew up near Seattle, Washington in a Christian family and have gone to church my whole life. I went to church because my parents went, and because we went every Sunday, it was natural for me to always go. I was that one kid in Sunday School that knew all the answers to all the Bible stories and could memorize the verses just so I could get candy. I wanted to be the best at things and wanted attention as any little kid would. My parents would read the Bible with me and my brother and we prayed as a family every night. Because of my parents I knew from an early age that there was a God who is great and can be your best friend if you ask him to be. Then, when I was in first grade my Sunday School teacher asked my class if any of us wanted to accept Jesus as our personal Savior and ask Him to come into our hearts. My friends raised their hands so I did too because I didn’t want to go to hell. I didn’t understand the Gospel entirely at that time but understood that I was a sinner and that Jesus died on the cross for my sins.

In 2008, my family and I moved from Washington to Elk Grove, and as a seven-year-old I didn’t want to leave my friends and everything that I grew up with. I only had a few friends when we moved here and we visited different churches hoping to find a home church. At one of the churches we visited, I went to Sunday School and the teacher asked the class if anyone wanted to accept Christ as their Savior or to re-accept, so I raised my hand because I understood the Gospel better than I had before, and realized I shouldn’t have accepted Christ just because I didn’t want to go to hell.

Then my family and I started coming to Chinese Grace Bible Church (CGBC) more regularly and I made more friends and went to church so I could see them. I also loved to sing songs because they were super fun and I just liked to have fun and not necessarily learn about God all the time. A couple years later as a fifth grader at Vacation Bible School (VBS) during a Gospel skit, it really reminded me that Jesus loves me so much He would die for me, a sinner. Also that God is always there for you no matter what and that when you feel alone He is always there with you.

Then when I was in seventh grade I started going to the youth group Teens In God’s Serve (TIGS). I didn’t like it at first because I couldn’t talk to my friends and had to listen to a message that I didn’t understand or that I thought wasn’t applicable to me. But towards the end of seventh grade I started really enjoying TIGS and loved hearing the messages. I didn’t just go because my friends were there but to learn more about God’s Word and how I could apply it in my life. After going on this year’s Mexico short term missions trip, my perspective on how I lived changed because I realized that I take so much for granted and that I shouldn’t complain about anything but instead be grateful for everything God has done for me. Through my trials and struggles, I have also learned that God does everything for a reason and that I need to trust Him with His plan for my life. Jeremiah 29:11 says: “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.’”

Today, I am taking this step of baptism to publicly profess my faith, to follow what Jesus has said we should do, and to be obedient to His command.