Birthday:

September 15

Location:

Female

Area(s) of Interest or Expertise:

Manga, traditional illustration

My Testimony: (We encourage members to share briefly about how their faith in Christ has impacted their lives.)

In Service of Two Masters There was a time in my life where I would always have dreams in which I was spinning. In these dreams, I always had some kind of purpose; a place to be or something to do, but the spinning would ultimately stop me. I was never aware that I was spinning but only aware of the purpose that I could never accomplish. This was an excellent metaphor of my life in high school, a time in which, I desperately sought to be accepted at the cost of having a true relationship with Jesus. Such a desire would leave me spinning emotionally and spiritually, until I was able to find rest in Christ. My relationship with Jesus started in the eighth grade, when youth group was the new fad. I was often on my own there or with only a few people to socialize with. This wasn’t entirely a bad thing for me; I wasn’t distracted by a friend’s every whim and so I actually got a chance to listen to God’s word. What happened in those nights is still a mystery to me, and all I can really say is that God changed me. I started praying and earnestly asking God to make me more like Jesus and to fill me with his Holy Spirit. It was remarkable how real God became for me, and I marveled at how He moved within me, prompting me to be humble and loving toward people. “Being nice” took on a whole new meaning for me and I began to love God and God taught me how to love people. However, as time progressed, I would begin to lose sight of my purpose. Somewhere along the line, the desire crept in to strive for people’s acceptance and instead of loving God for being the almighty creator of the Universe; I “loved” Him in order to fit in. In those instances, I would speak to impress bible study leaders and my peers and feel immensely gratified with their acceptance of me. But people are fickle and because I pinned my worth on people’s fickle opinions, I found myself very depressed and self-conscious. Now, instead of seeking acceptance I began to protect myself from it. This attitude would follow out of high school and into my first year of college, where I began to seek God again. I finally began to understand what a burden this was on me when one day, I decided to spend time with God like I would with anyone else. The plan was to drive to a coffee shop, order some coffee and read my Bible as I would wait. Of-course I couldn’t do it. I worried about judgmental faces, whispers and sneers that were coursing through my brain at the moment before I could even open the door. It was then when I cried out to God a simple prayer that seemed to just burst out of my spirit; “My God be patient with me because I am weak and subject to people.” A heavy weight had been lifted from my spirit that day and since then, I’ve been learning to settle down and be faithful to God by spending time in His Presence daily. The fulfillment that comes from that time is immeasurable and during those times I’ve learned to hear and listen to His voice. Now I am more confident in myself and my ability to hear God speaking but I know that there is still more for me to learn and I am excited to continue on this journey.

Dream Job: (If you could have your dream job in the comics industry, what would it be?)

Independent Comic Artist

Favorite Comic Creators:

Hiromu Arakawa Adachitoka