Living Waters Fellowship

The Testimony of Jay Simon

Going to church has always been a part of my life. I was baptized as an infant and my family has always followed the Catholic traditions like catechism, first communion, and confirmation. I always considered myself a spiritual person, but there wasn’t much about church that appealed to me, other than seeing my extended family. Even as an adult I went to church more often than not, but it never inspired me.

I did well in school and was told I could do anything I wanted with my life. I was even named “Most Likely to Succeed” in my senior class. I put pressure on myself to do great things and rarely thought about my relationship with God. The bar was so high that every misstep was devastating to my confidence. Casey and I got married and wanted to start a family, so I quit college to work for my dad’s construction company. I was frustrated and thought I should be more successful, so after a few years I went to work for myself, thinking business ownership would lead to a better life. It went okay, but as Casey was finishing up college we began searching for our next step. Our routine had turned into a rut, and we knew we wouldn’t get out without big changes. We replanted ourselves in central Iowa, a move our families probably weren’t crazy about. Our good friends Jacob and Kathy Johnson lived in Ankeny, but otherwise we were pretty alone. My new job at Wells Fargo put me a couple notches lower than I envisioned for my new career, which was a humbling experience. I had leftover business debt, an expensive new house, and nice cars, which meant money was tight.

On December 26th, 2007, four months after our move, we found out we were about to become a family of five. Children aren’t cheap, and we knew we were in for a difficult run. The twins were born on June 26th, seven weeks early. Our boys were healthy, but small, and spent a month in the NICU. I began praying for the first time in a long time. We were already a wreck financially, and we now had medical bills and were living on one income. I had been working with two awesome guys named Matt LaPine and Greg Pollak. They knew I was struggling, and our conversations would often turn spiritual. Greg regularly shared Bible verses and offered to lead Casey and myself in a Bible study.

In August, we were hit with the last straw. I hadn’t reported the birth of our twins to my benefits department. The deadline had passed, and none of our boys’ hospital bills would be covered. After this I was basically numb, and I had a terrible time focusing on anything. The next two months were a daze. I was humiliated with my huge mistake, and sometimes couldn’t even look at my wife. I talked to God again during this time, having no clue how to escape this alone. Casey urged me to talk to Greg and Matt, and we finally started our bible study.

I knew Bible stories like Noah’s Ark, David and Goliath, and Adam and Eve. I remembered the “Stations of the Cross,” and that Jesus had died for us. As we began to study what the Bible says about sin, I felt the weight of 26 years of mistakes bearing down on me. We read that God wants us to know right now that we can have eternal life (1John5:13), but that we can never do enough to earn it (Romans3:20). I had always considered myself a good person, and I cared about other people. It hit me that I was still a sinner, and that my sin was an offense against God. For the first time I understood the Cross and what Jesus had done for me. I finally asked God to forgive my sins and take over my life. My emotions went from overwhelming guilt and pain to feelings of hope and joy. I was blessed enough to witness my wife kneel down on our living room floor during a Bible study and place her trust in Christ as well.

Since accepting Jesus as my Savior, my life has changed dramatically. I used to place a huge emphasis on money and success. With new perspective, I now see my job and money as a way of providing for my family. As a result, I work better without all the pressure. I’ve been able to build much deeper relationships, even with people I’ve known all my life. I talk to God throughout every day and have a desire to study my Bible and get to know God more. It is important to note that knowing Jesus doesn’t make all of life’s problems magically disappear. Jesus wants us to place our burdens on his shoulders so that He can give us joy and make major changes in our lives, and so that we will glorify Him. He didn’t ask me to clean up my act before I went searching for Him. Romans 5:8 says “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

As for my life, we have since added a fourth baby boy, and we are moving to the south side of Des Moines to serve at LWF. I know that all of the trials, struggles, and failures were part of God’s plan to bring me to a place where I no longer trusted in myself. My greatest desire in life is to share the truth with people I meet so that they can have the joy and happiness that I have. This salvation isn’t just for certain people. The Bible says that each person must place their trust in Jesus to go to heaven (John3:36).

The Testimony of Casey Simon

Looking back, God had been working on me for twenty-six years; I did not realize it until November 6, 2008.

I grew up with no religion.  My parents divorced when I was an infant.  I grew up moving place to place with my mom.  I never went to church; my church experiences came from attending weddings.

My freshman year of high school was my first glimpse of God.  I attended a nondenominational youth group.  I first went to it because that was the “thing” to do in high school, or so I thought.  I began to listen to these people talk about God, Jesus, and sin.  I saw how this affected people, and I began to open my eyes to see His work.  In the summer of 1997, I ventured off to the camp that this group hosted.  It was amazing!  I started to open up about things that I never told anyone.  God was working on me, but after the camp, I quickly went astray.

In a matter of a few months, I fell subject to peer pressure, drugs, anorexia, and dealing with a very depressed mother.  One day, my mom tried to commit suicide.  In 48 hours I left my mom, who I had been with for 16 years, and moved in with my dad, who I had a weekend relationship with.  This was a very difficult time.

I started a new school in the middle of the school year, which was hard, especially going from a class size of 500 to a class of 82.  I ended up meeting my husband during my first year.  We grew together and over the next 6 years dated off and on, until he proposed.  I envied my husband because of his family.  His family was huge and full of so much love.  The year prior to us getting married, I went through the steps to become Catholic.  We attended church regularly.  I did this because I thought it was the last piece of the puzzle to be accepted into his family.

We got married and gave birth to our first son nine months later.  It was a great time, but we were questioned about his baptism.  We kept putting it off because we couldn’t agree on godparents.  We became very comfortable in our daily life.  Close to family, close to friends, and that was it.  Finally one day we both realized we were missing something.  We decided we need to move.  We had two choices: we were either going to Ankeny, Iowa or St. Louis, Missouri.

Ankeny was calling our name for some reason or another.  We both took jobs that did not meet our expectations.  Now we know why.  We were adjusting to all the change, until on December 26^th, 2007 we found out we were expecting twins.  We were very excited, but this was not a part of our plan.  The pregnancy went well, until we found out that there could be a potential problem with one of the twins.  At this point I remember I began to secretly pray for something good to happen and for this baby to be healthy.  On June 26^th, 2008, our twins decided to arrive seven weeks early.  The boys spent a month in the hospital and Jay and I were stressed to the max.

In August, we found out that the boys’ delivery and stay in the hospital was not covered on our insurance.  We had failed to contact the proper people to add them to our insurance.  The medical bills were coming in, totaling well over $300,000.  Jay and I hit rock bottom.

While this was going on, Jay began speaking with two guys at work.  Greg Pollak and Matt LaPine had been questioning him about his faith and his relationship with Christ.  Jay would come home and tell me about these talks.  I was thirsty.  I wanted him to tell me everything.  I began to ask him to set up a Bible study that he had been telling me about.  Finally, he did.  We had our first Bible study, and I cried.  I wept until no more tears would come out.  I felt so sick and guilty for all the sin in my life.  Over the next week, I began to notice how I sinned and how much sin was going on in my life.  We attended Living Waters Fellowship, and were welcomed with open arms.  During the sermon, I cried again.  I could have sworn that Pastor Josh was speaking directly to me.  I left church and felt a bit different.  The following week, we had another Bible study.  It was amazing.  I felt some of my stressors lower their levels.  I went to work that Friday, and had a terrible day.  I called my husband’s work and Greg answered the phone.  I immediately began to cry.  At this point I started to realize all of these little things happening to me.  They were no coincidence.  God was showing himself and trying to get me to see.

On our third Bible study, I realized that I had been my stubborn self for too long.  I realized that I could not continue to face things by myself.  I realized that Jesus Christ is my Savior.  He died for my sins.  I confessed my sins and accepted Jesus Christ into my life on November 6^th 2008.

God has been working on me for a long time.  He continues to help me.  I have decided to let him in.  In Romans 5:2-5 (English Standard Version)

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

And I am so thankful for that.  Since being saved, I have been blessed in so many ways.  I have a new church, new friends, a new job, healthy children, and lowered stress levels.  My life is now complete.  What I am most excited about is that I know God has a hold of me and will not let me go.