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At age 2, Tim learned he was a sinner, but that he should learn to live as
good as possible. By age six, he was memorizing one Bible verse daily, along
with prayers. By age 15, he had learned over 2000 Bible verses, along with
songs written 400 years prior by both Hutterites and Mennonites. Even though
these were often "just words", he said it "felt like God loved him if he
learned the verses and songs and was good."
He prayed nightly that God would forgive his sins and help him live a good
life so he could go to Heaven. At age 16, he left the colony and eventually
found a job at the farm of a Christian man who challenged his beliefs. Tim
had no answer to the farmer's questions so he started to read Scripture and
THINK about what it said. He saw what his memorized verses really said
when he took them in context.
The colony teachers had taught that if he studied the Bible too much, the devil
would deceive him. The concept of being saved by grace alone was hard for him,
but when he read Ephesians 2:8 and 9, he understood that everything he had tried
to do to please God was a waste of time. The Holy Spirit convicted him and
he cried when he went before the cross of Christ, trusting in Jesus alone.
Wanting to share the truth with his family, he went back home for one year.
It was hard but he was able to have many good talks with them. He shared his
faith with the colony children, and spent lots of time with them. Their
parents got scared and wouldn't talk with him anymore, locking him out of
their houses and lives.
After he left the colony again, he studied Philosophy at university.
Tim hopes that his family, Hutterite preachers and other Hutterites will put
their trust in Christ. He knows this will cause severe consequences for them,
but in his words, "it's certainly worth it"! He doesn't want to be out there
giving these people a hard time, at the same time he wants to be a
witness, and is willing to sacrifice his family if he has to.
Today, Tim is married to a lovely Mennonite lady and is always ready to say a
word for the Lord and has not lost his love for what God has done for him.
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