How I Came to Know Christ

I was born in the Philippines to Chinese parents, and spoke Chinese, Filipino and English from my earliest days. Then when I was 15 my family emigrated to New Zealand. Liz had been my friend since 6th form at school, and now we were 20. I knew she had been baptised 2 years before. At that time I hardly ever saw her because of her church activities, but we still kept in touch. However, I used to work on Sundays so she never really got a chance to ask me to go to church.

The company that I worked for was going to down-size. I knew I would have less work and told Liz that I would be free on Sundays. She was really pleased and said, "The first Sunday that you're free you're coming to church with me." I accepted. I didn't have reservations against the church. I knew that going to church was good. So I went along with her, and ever since then I have never stopped going to church.

I felt good and he said in a very quiet whisper, "That is the Holy Ghost". Suddenly I realised what he meant.

Cancy & Liz

I met the missionaries, and Liz made the first appointment saying that it was a lunch meeting. How clever of her to make an appointment over food! So we had pizza. Then I was given the Discussions in the days after that, but I never realised that they were Discussions. I thought the missionaries just wanted to talk to me and tell me about these things.

After about 2 or 3 Discussions, my parents had a car accident and it stopped me from meeting with the missionaries, because I had to drive my parents around as we only had one car then. Also, after that I found another job and did not get home till 9pm, so I had to cancel a lot of Discussions. I still managed to go to church on Sundays, and I would always keep Sundays free. I really liked going to church because it was peaceful, and the people were all so nice to me. I just wanted to stay at church, and not go home because it was so noisy at home. So I would have the Discussions at the chapel after church.

After cancelling many appointments, the following Sunday I went to church. I confided in one of the missionaries, and told him that things weren't so good, and especially that my parents didn't want me to go to church. They discouraged me from going, and this upset me. I had two great misionaries at that time and one told me about his friend who was a Hindu. His parents disowned him after he joined the church, but in the end they accepted him later on. The missionaries told me other encouraging things, and I guess I was comfortable enough to tell them about my life. They built a relationship of trust with me. I thought of them as friends, and I enjoyed seeing them. We had fun times together.

Feeling The Spirit

Jesus Christ

The missionaries invited me to go to two baptisms. The first one didn't mean so much to me because I had only had one Discussion at that time. The first time I felt the Spirit was at the second baptism. At that time I was probably on my 3rd or 4th Discussion. Sometimes I used to listen to what the missionaries were saying, and concentrate, and sometimes I didn't.

That evening was really great. I felt warm and peaceful and quiet. I guess, for once I was really listening, and I had tears in my eyes that I was trying to hold back. I wasn't sure what was happening to me. I didn't even let my friend Liz know about that. Later on after the baptism I told one of the missionaries that I felt good and he said in a very quiet whisper, "That is the Holy Ghost". Suddenly I realised what he meant. It was like "... ahhh ... yes," and I nodded my head.

Later on, during a Relief Society class the sisters were talking about the Holy Ghost. They were sharing experiences about how the Holy Ghost had helped them in their lives, and that they were privileged to have this guidance 24 hours a day. At that time I knew there was something about the Holy Ghost that I wanted too. I had a desire to have the Holy Ghost, and I found out that only through baptism could I be given it as a gift from Heavenly Father.

Elder Jacob and Elder Reid

Every time after the Discussions the missionaries would ask me if I would like to be baptised. It was still too big a step for me. I'm the sort of person who doesn't really like to commit to anything without a back door to get out of. I knew that if I did commit to be baptised it would be, "this is it... I'm committed... and I need to change my life." Liz would always warn me, "You don't have to say yes if they ask you to be baptised. Tell them that you'll think about it first, and tell them later." So that's what I did every time they asked me.

On the 4th Discussion it was a week from April 6th and the missionaries had told me a little about April 6th and how special it was, and asked if I'd get baptised on that date. I found myself saying yes, but at the same time thinking, it wasn't me who said yes, because it really was too soon for me. I knew I would get baptised sometime but was not sure when, and certainly not that soon, but knew this was what I needed to do.

Preparing For Baptism

I quit my job, because I wanted to prepare for baptism. I needed to really prepare myself and that job was not a very good environment. Everyone swore a lot, and it would take me till late to get home, and then I couldn't make it to my Discussions.

Cancy's Parents at her Baptism

At that time I hadn't told my parents about my decision to be baptised, and around 2-3 days before my baptism the missionary who was getting it all set up called and left a message on the answering machine about it. Mum got the message first, and I thought, "Uh-oh!" She asked me if I was really going to get baptised, and I said, "Yes." She told me straight out that she wasn't going to go to it. I asked the rest of my family if they would go. My sister was driving to Hamilton that day, over 100km away, and said she might not get back in time. So my only hope of someone going was my older brother and his wife.

The day before the baptism I was stressing out because there was nothing arranged yet about my family going, and I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I phoned the missionaries, and I was crying on the phone. The Elder told me about faith, that I should have faith that Heavenly Father would do everything else for me. He said I had done as much as I could and Heavenly Father would do the rest. At that time it was an answer to my prayers, and after that I was calm, and then I went for my interview.

That night, as it was fast Sunday the next day, Liz asked me if I wanted to fast with her. We did, and asked that my family would accept and understand my decision.

Being Baptised

Ward Members at Cancy's Baptism

The evening of my baptism was just so amazing. I guess that night was a miracle for me. My parents decided in the end to go to it, and my sister left early from Hamilton and just got there in time. My brother arrived just as I was coming out of the water. Wow! Also my younger brother was there too. You can certainly say it was an answer to my prayers. All the people that I love were there to see me enter a new life, and you know what? At that time, things with my family weren't so good. You couldn't put some of them in the same room without an argument. So that night was the first time in several months that they were all in the same room together. Isn't that amazing?

Since I was baptised, I have never regretted joining the church. I love the gospel very much and it has brought so much joy into my life. I love my family more than I ever did before, and I know that this church is true. I know that the scriptures can give answers to any questions in my life. I leave this Testimony with you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

-- Cancy Bernardo, June 1999