TESTIMONY

Hello, my name is Donna Goss. My husband’s name is Conrad and our daughter’s name is Catherine. I have been a member of TOF for about six years now. Some of you may know my sister Murphy Kanupp.

As a child I don’t remember ever really attending Church, though I did have some knowledge of the Bible and who God was. My sisters and brother and I grew up with an unstable home life. We moved around a lot and attended several different schools. Times were very hard for us. My mother was trying to raise the five of us for the most part as a single mother with the help of my grandmother. Things eventually fell apart and we were all separated.

Not long after the separation, I went off to college. My college dorm became my only home. I had the opportunity to occasionally visit different Churches and believed in God, but never gave it too much thought. I just lived my life being unsure of much and doing as I liked.

Even though I was busy going to classes, writing papers, studying for tests and hanging out with friends, I felt pretty alone and empty a lot of the time accept when I could visit with family. I started visiting the Baptist Student Center, but nothing really changed.

Things took a really bad turn when the boy I had been dating for three years became abusive. I guess I was looking for love in all the wrong places. In the midst of the worst part of the breakup with this boy, I met a girl in a campus café who asked if she could sit with me. She talked about her relationship with Jesus. She told me she was a “born again Christian” and I replied “I am also,” but the truth was that I didn’t know what that even meant.

Not long after I graduated college, I met my husband who was divorced with three children. Wow, I had an instant family and I felt very needed. But as time went on, my desire to have my own child only increased. Many years went by and I still did not have a child of my own. I felt a lot of despair. During these years, I wanted to attend Church, but my stepchildren were Catholic and I never felt quite right in the Catholic Church.

My thoughts of God increased and after listening and watching Billy Graham several times I felt energized. I knew God was calling me. When I heard that Billy Graham was going to be in Atlanta, I knew I had to be there and could barely wait. I wanted to be there in person when I asked Jesus for my salvation.

When God became my focus, two years later my daughter was born. Life is not perfect, but I know that God is there for me. He loves me unconditionally. His love is true, never-ending love.