The Ergun Caner challenge...

In my philosophy class I was challenged by my prof to write down the testimony, how I came to put my faith in Jesus Christ. His challenge was not just to write my testimony, but to write it without using any church terms. That is to say write down how I came to believe in Jesus Christ and not assume that the reader knows what I am talking about. I thought that such a task was worthy of posting! And I encourage any Christian who may read this to take the challenge.

When I was a little girl about 3 years of age, my parents used to let me listen to these cassette tapes that were sort of like radio dramas. I knew them as Patch the Pirate. Patch and his crew went on all kinds of adventures and learned all sorts of things, I remember all of the stories even though it has been many years since I have heard them. On one of their many adventures, Patch has an encounter with a little orphan boy while traveling on the Mississippi river. The boy had told a lie and was caught in the lie. Patch takes him aside and explains to him that lying was a sin. A sin being anything that goes against God's law. As a breaker of God's law there is a punishment and that is death. Not physical death but a spiritual death that can best be described as eternal separation from God and eternal suffering in a place called hell. As I listened to this sentence, I recalled a particular act of disobedience that I cannot remember now, but I know that at the time it was on my mind. Perhaps it had been a lie. At any rate I began to think of the fate that was waiting for me as a person who had committed a crime against God. Then Patch explained that there was an alternative to hell, heaven. But there was only one possible way to enter heaven and that is through Jesus Christ. Patch explained that Jesus was the son of God who was incarnate on earth. Jesus lived a perfect life and never sinned, and for no reason he was killed in a terrible and violent manner on a cross. Patch said that Jesus had died to pay the punishment for my sin. Not only did Jesus die but He rose from the dead three days later. Now he had power over hell and I could put my faith in him and be saved from an eternity in hell. So right then and there, I got down on my knobby knees and asked Jesus to forgive me for breaking God's law and I put my trust in Him and only Him to pay my punishment and save me from spiritual death.
It's been 16 years since that day and I can still see it clearly in my mind. Jesus rescued me from sin on that day and I'll never be without Him every again!

For reference:

Romans 6:23, Romans 3:26, John 3:16, Rom 10:9