Episode 117

On this episode of the Removing Barriers podcast, we interview Shen a pastor’s wife in the Caribbean Island nation of Nevis (pronounced NEE-vis). From a broken home to a dead church to genuine salvation and discipleship in a Bible-believing church, this incredible testimony is one of God leading his dear child along. Join us as we are reminded of God’s goodness and faithfulness as demonstrated in Shen’s life, and let us be encouraged and reinvigorated to glorify our Savior and lead others to Him.

I mean, there’s nothing special about me. My life would have been like everybody else children out of wedlock, not being married, all of that, but for the grace of God. That’s the defining thing in my life, that God saved me as a preteen.

Thank you for tuning in to the Removing Barriers podcast. I’m Jay. And I’m MCG. And we’re attempting to remove barriers so we can all have a clear view of the cross.

This is episode 117 of the Removing Barriers podcast. And this is a 33rd in the series of “how were your barriers removed”? And in this episode, we’ll find out how Shen’s barriers were removed when she came to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hi, this is Jay. MCG, and I would like for you to help us remove barriers by going to RemovingBarriers.net and subscribing to receive all things Removing Barriers. If you’d like to take your efforts a bit further and help us keep the mics on, consider donating at removingbarriers.net/Donate. Removing Barriers, a clear view of the cross.

Shan. Welcome to the Removing Barriers podcast. Thank you, MCG, for having me. I am honored to be a part of this podcast. All right, let’s jump right into it.

What state or country were you born in? Well, I was born in the beautiful country of Antigen and Barbuda in the eastern Caribbean. And for those who may not be aware of where Antigua and Barbuda, those two islands are, we’re just about an hour from Puerto Rico.

Is that north or south of Puerto Rico? It is south of Puerto Rico, actually. Okay.

What type of family were you born into, Shen? Well, I’ll have to say I was born into a single parent household supported by a wonderful grandfather that cared for us, assisted my mom in taking care of us at the time. My mother was not a Christian, and so she raised us in what I would consider an unsafe household. However, we lived literally steps away from the church, the church that my grandmother got saved and was baptized in. So my grandmother died before we were born, but she had already established her family going to that church. My mom and her siblings, they were going to that church and then she died, and then they kind of drifted. And then after we got older, we started going to the church. And so that’s a big part of my life.

You said we. Do you have siblings? I do, I have siblings. I have an older brother two years older, and then I have a sister who’s twelve years younger. Okay, so you’re the middle child, so I’m the middle child. Well, not really. Some say I’m not a true middle child because first, I’m a girl and my brother is older. He’s a boy. And the second thing is that my sister is so much younger than I am, so I’m technically not a middle child. Okay, we won’t discuss that technicality.

All right. So tell us before salvation what was your life and upbringing like? You mentioned that you were born in a single mother home, a broken home. Tell us a little bit more about your childhood. Well, I’ll have to say that I think I had a pretty good childhood in terms of being taken care of. My mom at times worked three jobs and so my brother and I were on our own quite a bit but my mom was so strict with us that we were not allowed to walk the streets. So whenever she wasn’t at home we had to stay at home and my grandfather was right next door and so we were protected in terms of the upbringing. Given the fact that my mother was not a Christian there were certain things that we didn’t do in the home. We didn’t read the Bible, we didn’t listen to gospel music and that kind of thing, but we got saved early teenage years. So I remember coming to Jesus Christ when I was twelve years old and my brother was 14 years old at the church across the street, which is an evangelical church. However we were also Moravians and so my brother and I had to go to the Moravian Church because my mother would not let us go to the other church. And so there were times that we would go to the Moravian Church that started at 09:00 and then we would leave and go to the other church in time for the other service and we did that for several years. I would say though, that my mom never prevented us from going to church, to the activities of the church, whether it was Bible club that they had on a Saturday afternoon or youth fellowship and that kind of thing. But she wanted to make sure that we remained Moravians. And so that kind of, I would say, helped us. It kept us busy going to two churches although we were not saved at the time and so she would allow us to do that and allowed other people to invest in our lives even though she herself was not saved.

So you had a religious identity and a religious underpinning in your home? Yes, I would say that I was confirmed. Now a lot of people may not understand what that means but when you’re Moravians or Anglican or Catholic you go through this ritual of becoming a member of the church and so my brother and I were confirmed and that took place when I was about twelve or 13 and so we were known to be Moravians. We were not saved but we were church going people.

When you described the Moravian religion could you share with our listeners what that actually means? What is a Moravian church and what do the Moravians believe? The Moravians, I would say, were a lot like Anglicans or Methodists. Of course they would talk about, you know, Jesus but no true teaching of salvation. And so for all the years that I went to the Moravian Church, nobody ever shared the gospel with me. It was about being in church, participating, joining the children’s choir, being confirmed and coming to church. That was it. Coming to church, doing the churchy things. But never can I ever recall anybody saying to me that I needed to be saved. I never heard it from the pulpit. It was never said to me in Sunday’s school, it was never said to me on a one on one conversation in church either.

So then what would you say is the first time that you actually heard the gospel then? Well, I would say I heard the gospel at the back to search across the street, even though I heard it going to Bible club and vacation Bible school and that kind of thing. It did not really register with me until I got to 10, 11, 12, where I actually started understanding because I felt in some way that I was a good person. I was Moravian, I was going to church and doing the right things in my mind until I started really going to youth fellowship at that Baptist church where the gospel was broken down, where I started understanding, hey, I’m a sinner, I needed to be saved. I need to acknowledge that I’m a sin. I need to believe that Jesus Christ is the way to the Father. And it was at that stage in my life that I started understanding the gospel and understanding when I sin. Right. I started becoming aware of, oh, what I did was oh, that was sinful. But before it didn’t really register to me where I would connect with God on that level. So I would say about between the ages of ten to twelve is when I started really understanding the gospel. Yeah, that’s interesting.

I want to go back to the Moravian because I got saved in a Moravian church but it was a week of evangelistic meetings I guess. So I guess they presented the gospel there because it kind of surprising to me that you said you never heard it there. I know at least most of them are Indians, I know never really live a Christian life, so I agree with you on that point. But I’m surprised that you never heard the gospel at the Moravian Church. No, I never heard it. I never heard that I was a sinner and I needed to believe and I need to confess and that kind of thing. No, I would tell you that as time progressed the church would start inviting evangelical preachers to their week of meetings and so I think that’s how it started. But by that time I was already gone, I had already left the Moravian church.

Would you say that the first time you came to the full realization of your sin was at the Baptist church across the street? That was when it began to dawn on you. Could you describe what that was like and what the circumstances were? Well, it took a period of time for me to actually get saved. It wasn’t like I heard it and I responded to it right away after I started understanding the gospel and going to youth fellowship and hearing it over and over again and having people discuss it with me and telling me personally one on one and even in groups that I needed to be saved. And I remember there was a preacher that came down to Antigua and he was talking about in the last days, these things are going to happen. Right. And one of the things that he said was that the moon will turn dark or orange or there’s some color in the sky and I remember seeing that and I was terrified. I thought okay, Jesus is going to come and I’m going to miss this and I’m going to hell. That’s what I thought. I started getting really frightened like I couldn’t sleep that night. And I started thinking about what I was told that I needed to be saved and all of that stuff. I still didn’t give my heart to the Lord but I remember my pastor and his wife, they would talk to me about being saved, my youth director would talk to me about being safe. And when I actually decided it was on a Tuesday night, I was at home and I was in bed and I was thinking about this issue of my sin and needing to be saved and I knelt down by my bed and gave my heart to the Lord. I knew I was a sinner, I already knew that and God had been pointing that out to me and I knew that I believed that Jesus came and he died for my sins and all I needed to do at that point was to confess and surrender my life to him. And I did that at home on a Tuesday night alone. And I remember going to church and telling the pastor and my youth director that I had gotten saved because they had already told me what I needed to do. So I knew the process, I just needed to get my heart with the process and that happened on that night.

So what barriers do you think were preventing you from coming to that point? I think the first barrier was the lack of understanding. The second barrier I had to get to the point of realizing that the church that I had gone to all my life did not share that with me and I couldn’t really accept do I believe the Moravians of being confirmed or do I believe that I need to be saved? Right. One of the things that I would tell you that stood out to me in the Baptist church was the way that people lived. The differences that I saw from the members of that church to the differences I saw to the members of the Moravian Church. And another thing that caught my attention being from a single parent home, the married couples in the church stood out to me. And in my mind I figured I want that life. I want to be married, I want to have a home and I want to be like them. Right? Because here I am in a single parent home, my mother not being married and that’s what I knew and I was attracted to that. I wanted something different for myself even at twelve years old.

Curious question what role did your grandfather because you said your grandfather was maybe the fatherly figure in your life and you haven’t mentioned your father but what role did he play in whether he’s in discipline or in encouragement that helped you along that path as well? Well I would have to say that my grandfather played a significant role in my life. I did not have a father. My father left Antigua years before that and I have very little memory of him. But one thing I can say is that my grandfather, he loved me. He looked out for me. He would talk to me all the time about things, about life, not getting into trouble. Even though my grandfather was not saved. Well, at the time, he taught me life lessons about how to live, how not to get your life, as I would say. Let me just put it this way, he would say, don’t be like your mother, okay? And I hope my mother is not going to hear this but hey, he would say don’t walk the same road your mother walked, don’t live that kind of life. And my grandfather taught me about men, right, how to deal with men. He taught me things about when you go somewhere open your own drink, don’t let somebody give you a drink. I mean just little things that he taught me and I loved him, he was an inspiration. He fed me when I was hungry. There were times that my mother didn’t have money and I knew that we could always go to my grandfather’s house and get something to eat. We live literally next door to each other and so whenever we would come home from school he was at home even though my mom wasn’t there he would be there and so I really don’t think I would be the person I am today without that great man Sydney…

So you mentioned that one of the barriers was the lack of understanding and also that when you went to the Baptist Church the way that they lived stood out to you, the way the couples stood out to you, the way that the members lived stood out to you. Is it safe to say that the inverse is true? So at the Moravian Church the worldliness with which the members were living was a hindrance to you seeing the cross clearly. Was there ever a point when you were coming up where you were thinking okay, I see that’s how they live. That must be the way it is. Or was it something that you felt conflicted about? I guess what I’m asking is how were those barriers that you described removed so that you can see the cross clearly and clearly the only thing to do was to kneel before God and submit yourself to Him and repent. Well you know, when I attended the Moravian Church it was very normal. The way that people lived was normal to me. I only saw the difference in the Moravian Church. So at that point I was able to compare. But prior to that it was just normal. Like the Sunday school teacher would dress a certain way and go to carnival and that kind of thing and that was normal because everybody was doing that. But then when I started going to the Baptist church I started realizing that hey, if you’re Christian you got to be different, right? This is what the world does. But this is what as a believer and they were able to show me from scripture like this is what the Bible says, this is how we ought to live, we shouldn’t be involved in certain things. And then I’m like okay, well you know, I saw my Sunday school teacher from the Morgan Church doing this or I saw the pastor, the Reverend doing this and so I started making comparisons at that point. But prior to that it was just normal, it wasn’t a big deal. So I would say that those barriers were removed when I started seeing the differences and understanding. If you say you’re Christian this is how you ought to live. Even though you know, there were people who made mistakes and people who didn’t do right even in the Baptist church. So I’m not trying to say that, you know, all the people in the church were doing the right thing but there were examples that we were able to see that were different even though some people didn’t do it. So I would say the barriers in that aspect were removed once I started seeing something different and making the comparison.

You mentioned carnival. Carnival in the US is a completely different thing as to carnival in the island so explain carnival in the island for listeners. Okay so carnival is well let me just go back and say when it started. How it was then is very different to how it is now. So once the slaves were emancipated they celebrated, right? And so they would dance in the streets and so on. Do they celebration? It has evolved now to reveling the nudity and the drinking and the partying and all of that. I know in the US. The carnival is like you go to the rides and the ferry sweet and all of that. That’s not carnival in the islands. This is like getting down, dancing in the streets and, you know, wearing costumes and that kind of thing and drinking and all that, that’s what carnival is in the islands. And trust me, it has gotten really bad. And so for a believer to be a part of that was just not Godly. So when I was taught at the Baptist church, this is why we don’t do this, this is why we don’t go to carnival, this is why we don’t support this. And you could see it right in the Bible in terms of being different. And so I’m glad that you asked that question because that’s something important to explain.

All right, you’re listening to the Removing barriers podcast. We are sitting down with Shen and we are finding out how were her barriers to remove. We’ll be right back.

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Second Corinthians, chapter five, verse 17 says, therefore, if any man in Christ he is a new creature, all things are passed away. Behold, all things have become new. So Shen, after salvation, what changes were evident in your life? Well, let me just say that as a twelve year old girl, there were a lot of things I wasn’t exposed to. Right. But there were some things I was exposed to. The way of thinking. That’s definitely one of the things, understanding that I’m a sinner, I’m human, I’m not like higher than I want to think about myself. Right. Sometimes when you think of a young person, you have an idea in your mind that I’m better than the child across the street. Right. Although I felt like we were treated like people were better than us because my mother wasn’t married. But even then you try to find those that you may be a little better off than. Right. And so pride, I would say, is one of those things that God worked on my heart with, I’m telling the truth, being honest, working on my temper. And one of the things I used to do is I could tell you a good story. Right. I would be the one to go to the pastor and say, oh, you know, pastor So and So happening and he would always say but how you know that Shannon, how you know that? And it made me start thinking about, well I need to probably stop and leave people’s business alone. But I think the changes developed in my life. One of the things that I would say that changed me is the path I was on, right? When you grow up in a single parent home you develop a certain mentality in terms of I’m going to do it my way, I’m going to be this strong black woman, I’m not going to submit to anybody, I’m going to make my own thing, I’m going to do my own way. And you know and then you start realizing but this is not what the Bible says though right? I was very mouthy with my teachers. I could come back up my teachers and say something but then once I got saved and I would attempt to be mouthed in the Holy Spirit to tell me, well that was disrespectful, right? That was rude to that teacher. And then also because I testified that I was now a Christian, my classmates did not hide to tell me when I was wrong. Well I thought you said you’re a Christian, right? How come you did this or how come you said that? Didn’t you say you were Christian? And so those things helped me to become, you know, more like Christ and I definitely think it happened over time.

So someone’s testimony or their lack thereof is a barrier, can be a barrier to other people’s salvation. You mentioned how when you’re in the Moravian Church the dichotomy between what the Bible says and how you were living that was just normal people just kind of live with that as opposed to in the Baptist church where they were at least making an effort. Of course not everyone we understand that but just generally. So it’s safe to say that someone’s testimony or lack thereof can be a barrier in someone’s life. Do you think that the way your barriers were removed would be effective in removing barriers in someone else’s life? Like let’s imagine that you have a twelve year old girl who has the similar barriers that you did. Do you think that the way your barriers were removed would be effective in her life as well? Or have the times just changed and we have to use different means or anything like that? Well I’ll give you an example because as you were asking the question I thought about this young lady that I know that I’ve mentored myself when I met her first. I reached out to her and I was met with resistance. But I realized I had a lot in common with this young lady because her mom was young at the time, we’re younger and she was not married and so she had these children. And it reminded me of myself because when I was twelve years old, my mom had my sister and I became almost a co-parent to my mother for my sister. Same thing with this young lady. And so over time I started reaching out to her and it just wasn’t happening. So what I did was I coaxed my daughter into becoming the girl’s friend and my daughter eventually did. And so that young lady started coming around oftentimes. I would get to talk to her and tell her, hey, I grew up in a single parent home, I know how it is sometimes, I know how difficult things are and I have to say that this young lady has become almost her daughter to me. She’s my daughter’s best friend and I’m able to relate to her about things that she’s dealing with in her life and so I was able to really reach out to her and help her praise the Lord. I would say that she made a profession of faith, joined our church and is a very active member in our church right now. She’s an acquirer and all that stuff. So I believe that my story, my life, I’ve been able to use that to reach young women who are in a similar situation and also even for young women who are in Christian homes who feel like the world has everything to offer. And I could say to that person, it looks that way, but it really isn’t that way. And so I don’t regret, I’m not ashamed of my upbringing. I think it has definitely contributed to who I am and now I’m able to even tell my daughter it looks glamorous and all that, but it isn’t. And I say to my young people in my church, living for God is the best way. You can’t go wrong living for God. You can’t go wrong doing what’s right and you’re not going to make it. You can’t make it successfully without God, you just can’t. And you can’t win against God either. So you might as well come along willingly lest you may have to come forcibly.

All right, so tell us, what are you doing in the area of evangelism to help others remove those barriers? I know you mentioned that young lady, but are there anything else you’re doing in the area of evangelism? Yes, now I have a ministry to women primarily for the last five, maybe even six years we’ve been hosting our women’s conference.

Well, let’s clarify for listeners because I don’t think many of listeners know that you are pastor’s wife because you say in my church and I think I don’t want to listen to think that you’re a pastor. I am not a pastor. Yes, I am a pastor’s wife. I’ve been a pastor’s wife for the past seven years and so there are a lot of things I do in my church by way of evangelism.

I take a slightly different approach besides what we generally do door-knocking and that kind of thing. But I interact with a lot of women on different levels, and whether it’s through counseling or marital counseling or about their children or whatever, I always let people know that I’m a Christian and so I’m always going to take a biblical approach. So we have a ministry in our church that’s called Real Women’s Ministry. It’s relationship, encouragement, accountability and laughter. And this ministry meet once a month. And we have women from the community, not just in our church, that will come to our women’s meetings every month. We have a theme, and whatever the theme is, we always end by sharing the gospel. A couple of themes we’ve had like last year, I think we had Christmas in November, and we do different things to make it interesting, but the women will always hear the gospel in casual conversation. We share the gospel with our young people. I work with young people as well, with discipleship, so we find various areas of sharing the gospel. One of the things that I’ve been toying with in my mind is getting on the radio, and I’ve been on the radio before, but getting on there and having a regular program. Another thing that I started is the Gems Girls Club in one of the primary schools where I have a group of girls and I meet with them once a week and teach them about the Bible, teach them how to live as women, how to love themselves, and of course, share the gospel. Whatever avenue I am involved in, it always comes back down to what really changes people is the gospel. And so we find different ways in which to do that. Cool.

All right, let’s go into a little bit of a fun section and find some of your favorites. So tell us what is your favorite scripture verse? My favorite scripture verse is one Samuel 1224 only faith the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart, for consider how great things he has done for you. And when I think of all the things that God has done for me, how can I not serve him with all my heart? When I think about how I grew up and how my life would have been vastly different except for salvation. And whenever I give a testimony, I would always say, because I told God I would always give him the glory for what he’s done, that my life would have been just like everybody else on my street or in my village. I mean, there’s nothing special about me. My life would have been like everybody else, children out of wedlock, not being married, all of that, but for the grace of God. That’s the defining thing in my life that God saved me as a preteen. And I think if it didn’t happen at that time, I’m not sure it would have happened again. And so the timing was just absolutely perfect. And that has been the key factor in my life.

What is your favorite biblical historical account? Some people call them Bible stories but we believe that there are no stories in the Bible. It’s all true, it’s all history. What historical account in the Scriptures qualifies as your favorite? So many. So, so many. I’ll tell you one, it’s a very unusual story. David! King David married Saul’s daughter Michael and the Bible says it’s the only place in the Bible where the Bible says that a woman loved a man and that was referring to Michael. And Michael loved David. David went on the run, of course, because we know Saul was after him and he ran. David never looked back on Michael. He on the run. He married and he had a couple of wives. Then he heard that Saul died and so he decided he was coming back for the throne which was rightly his because God anointed him for that. So when he came back he used Michael as a way to get back to the throne. And so Michael was already married. She remarried because Saul gave her to a man the Bible says loved her. And when David went to call for her the new husband started chasing behind her to get her back and they threatened him. So he went back home. So Michael, she comes back to the palace where David was. And of course if you look at the story she was not happy with David. She was very bitter. As a matter of fact, when David danced before the Lord and she spoke against David. And the Bible says, god says that she wouldn’t have any children. Now, we look at that story and for years I thought that well, God cursed her because she actually criticized her husband because he was that it wasn’t because of that, it was because of her heart. It was the condition of her heart that caused God to say to her you would never have any children. And I learnt from that regardless of what happens to you in life. Because if you look at the story, Michael was waiting for David and David never came back for her. He never sent for her. He never sent word for her while she waited for him. But I learned from that story that regardless of what happens, what happens to us in life, we are still responsible for the condition of our heart. That’s an expectation from God. And so that’s one of the stories that I often think about that when things happen in life my response is still of the heart. Sometimes we want to respond in a certain way and I’ve not always responded the right way. I’ve not. But I’ve grown in the Lord to the point where I’ve realized that, hey, if you want to be a good Christian, you can’t be this way. If you really want to be a Christian, a good Christian, if you want to honor God, if you want the blessings of God, you ought to be in line with God. And so, regardless of what happens to me in life it is my desire to be responsible for my own heart. And I think Michael was not responsible for her own heart’s condition. She was angry and she was bitter and she spoke against her husband, the king, and God punished her.

What would you say is the most convicting Scripture verse to you? That’s an interesting there’s so many verses let’s see. There’s so many I could think about, but one came to mind, and this passage is in Ephesians four. And for about a whole month I read this chapter every day. Right. It talks about putting off and putting on. Can I read a couple of the verses? Sure. Okay. So Ephesians, chapter four, starting in verse 17, he says this I say therefore and testify in the Lord, that he henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated. From the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart who been past feeling have given themselves over to lasciviousness, to work after uncleanness and greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ if so be that ye have heard him and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus, that he put off. Concerning the former conversation of the old man which is corrupt according to the seat for lust and be renewed in the spirit of your mind. And that he put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness wherefore, putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor for we are members, one of another. Be angry and sin not. Let not the sun go on upon your wrath. Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stalls deal no more but rather let him labor working with his hands the thing which is good and that he may give to him that needed. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth but that which is good to the use of edifying that it may minister grace unto the heroes. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby ye seal on to the day of redemption. This is the part I wanted to give to let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice and be kind one to another, tender hearted forgiving one another even as God, for Christ’s sake, hath forgiven you. I read this chapter for about 30 days every day because there were some things in this chapter that I was not doing even in my marriage. Not being kind to my husband when I should have been kind to my husband getting angry for things that I didn’t need to get angry about holding unforgiveness in my heart, not being tender hearted. And once the spirit of God pointed this out to me.

And I remember being at a women’s conference here in Virginia at a particular church and the speaker mentioned something in this passage. And I went and I read this passage and I said, lord, I need to make some changes in my life as a believer. I got to put off some things and I got to replace them with some other things. And so this chapter, this book right here, Ephesians, particularly this chapter, I would say has been life changing for me over the years. And I’m oftentimes reminded, even with dealing with my children, sometimes I’m not kind to them and I have to say to them, I’m sorry, I’m not tenderhearted enough to them or to people. Patience is not one of my strong points. I’m not the most patient person. But I needed to learn patience. I need to put off the old man and put on the new man. So if I’m the new man, there are some things that I can’t be wearing as the old man. So I had to put off some things. And so this particular passage I read has really been a source of growth for me over the years.

Well, since you asked the book, can I share another one? Sure, I’m going to share another one. I think this is in First Timothy somewhere Bible talks about, for God had not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind. And when we think of the spirit of fear and the Bible says, God had not given me the spirit of fear, then where did it come from? If it’s not of God, then it has to come from somewhere else. And so fear is one of those crippling things that we often are afraid of. Fear of the unknown, fear of the future, fear of financial issues, fear of things happening. Right? And when I really got a hold of that, that God had not given me that spirit of fear, then it needs to go back to where it came from because God has given me love, power and a sound mind. And I can’t have a sound mind if I’m afraid. And so oftentimes I have to check myself and say, why am I afraid? This is not of God. And so those are two passages I can share more, but for the sake of time, I shall stop here. Yeah. You know, as a soft engineer, when we check in our code, we sometimes target with the abbreviation WIP work in progress because we’re not done with it. We’re not ready for other folks to look at it and give their opinions on what stuff like that. That’s the Christian life. We all have work in progress. Definitely.

Okay, so what is the most comforting scripture verse for you? The most comforting Scripture to me right now is John 1633. Jesus said these things I have spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace in the world, ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world, and this is so comforting to me, because it doesn’t matter what happens in life, right? One of the things that we’re going to have to realize that we are going to have trouble. Jesus says, you shall have trouble. Expect it. It may come in different forms, but it will come. And when it comes, he said, you know what? Be of good cheer I have overcome. And he says that he wants us to have peace. And so this verse is very comforting to me, particularly now in my life, that this is my trouble season and I am at peace with it. And Jesus says, Be of good cheer. This is your time. Be of good cheer past your test. I was driving home yesterday with my husband after medical procedure, and I remember looking out the window and looking at all the trees on the highway that were without leaves, just dry, just looked like they had gone through a terrible storm. We know it’s winter, so the trees are without leaves. And as I was looking, passing these trees on the highway and thinking how dry they look, I felt like the Spirit of God was just testifying to me that spring is coming. And when spring comes, these trees will not look like they look today. They’re going to spring back to life. There’s going to be leaves on. They’re going to be beautiful, but this is their season right now. And so I’m looking forward to when my season changes to beauty and when the trees bloom, and I’ll probably drive past that same highway and say, oh, their season has come. Great.

All right, what is your favorite hymn of the faith? One of the songs that I sing at church as a solo is How Great Thou Art. I would say that’s my favorite hymn, because God is just great, and that song talks about in his greatness, how he came and he died for us, and he’s going to come back to receive us at some point. And so that song brings a lot of comfort to me because we know that God is indeed great. Cool.

What is your favorite giant of the faith from the scriptures? I love Samuel. I really just love the prophet Samuel from a child. I love the story of how his mother prayed for him when she went to the temple and how the priest thought she was drunk, but she just poured out her heart before God, and God gave her this son. But even before God gave her the son, she said, god, if you give me this child, I will give him back to you. And after God gave her this child, she indeed gave him back to God. And do you know that God blessed her with five additional children after that? Hannah had five additional children. And this Samuel grew up to be such a wonderful man of God. I love the way he dealt with Saul, how he loved Saul even when Saul was going astray, and even when God says, I’m taking the kingdom back from Saul, that Samuel went before God to pray. And God says, do not come back to me and ask me about Saul anymore. It tells me that he was a man of compassion and love, and he was so obedient. I love the story of how he went to Jesse, find David. He didn’t know who David was, but God told him to go to the house of Jesse, and he’s going to anoint one of the sons. And of course the oldest boys came out and he said no. He was so in tune with God that he knew that these boys were not it, even though they were handsome and tall and all of that. And he said, even after they got down to the light, Samuel said, do you have another son? And Jesse being the father, thinking it can’t be David because he’s a little squirrely little boy, as we were saying, the islands are like a little buddy. He’s out there with the field. He said, go get him. And when he came, saw Samuel, sorry, acknowledged the fact that this was who God wanted to annoy. And so I love the fact that he was so in tune with God, but I really, really love the story of his mother and how she just gave him back. And maybe I’m kind of more in tune with that, because we had lost our first child, and when God gave us our second child, that I told God, I’m going to give her back to him, and that pregnancy was so much better than the first. But I just love the story of Samuel. There are just a lot of great things about Samuel and how God called him at a young age, and how he was so willing to listen, how he served Eli the prophet, even as a young boy, how he served and so he’s, I would say, my favorite Bible character. Of course, you know others, but I love the story of Samuel. Amen.

Well, Shen, let’s wrap it up and tell us, how can barriers be removed in the life of others? I believe barriers can be removed in the life of others by the power of Jesus Christ. We live in a world where people are seeking for their barriers to be removed in other ways through money, through people, politicians, even pastors. But the barriers that we have that really need to be removed can only come to Jesus Christ. Amen. And that’s by first of all, acknowledging that I’m a sinner, I need a savior. Who is that savior that saves Jesus Christ, who came to Earth to save us from our sins, and then making a decision from the heart, not from the head but from the heart that I want this Jesus, I want this savior that provided the gift of salvation for me. And once we could get to that point from the heart and we make a decision to accept this gift of salvation, barriers can be removed and will continue to removed. But there is a starting point and we can live life and we can have money and wealth and all of that, but you’re still in bondage. If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal savior, your bondage, your shackles will still be on. But they can only be removed when you accept Jesus Christ. And I know that from testimony that it all starts with accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and prosecutor and it gets better from there. And I am so glad, so, so glad that I understood the Gospel when I did. And can I tell you that my mother is a Christian today. Amen. And I believe through testimony and prayer that my mother has accepted the Lord and is a faithful member of the same church that we grew up in. And I’m just so grateful I just made that clear. It’s not the Moravian Church, it is not the Moravian Church, it’s a Baptist church across the street that she attends. And I believe my mother is truly saved. I know I’m truly safe and if I had to guess, I would say the next person. My mother is truly, truly save. I’ve seen the change in her life. My sister is also safe and my brother has just recently rededicated his life to the Lord so that church across the street lived the gospel and many others have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Amen.

All right Shen, thank you so much for joining us on the Removing Barriers podcast. Thank you for having me and I hope you’ll have me again.

Hey, thanks so much for listening to the Removing Barriers podcast. Did you know that you could find us on Twitter, Gab, Parler, Facebook and Reddit. Go to RemovingBarriers.net/contact and like and follow us on social media. Removing Barriers, A Clear View of the Cross.

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