I am not from the Western Illinois region but unfortunately spent many years in Western Illinois Correctional Center. I’m not sure if that qualifies or disqualifies me but I hope I will still be considered. I decided to pursue Christian ministry because at one point in my life I was actively against the idea of Jesus being God. I grew up in a very rough neighborhood and ended up in prison at 18. I didn’t care about much in life and definitely not God. But after a few years of experiencing how low my life had sunk I decided to change my life completely. I did that by turning to Islam. I took Islam very seriously and was very devout. I studied my Quran daily and performed all my prayers. I would even debate with people of other religions. Not to prove them wrong but I sincerely believed what I was following was correct and I wanted others to have that. Most people I debated I would win the debate. Yet there was one friend of mine, a Christian named Jorge who was always prepared with an answer. He was the only one who always knew how to respond when I would attack the authenticity of the Bible or Jesus’s deity. We were in college in prison together earning a bachelor degree and when we were not studying we would debate for hours. Yet it was not the debates that brought me to faith in Christ but a supernatural encounter I had with Jesus. I know some peoples theology doesn’t agree with that but all o can tell you is I was a very content Muslim but Jesus came to me in a dream and told me who He was. It shattered my entire world. I knew it was true though. I didn’t know why it mattered but it was undeniable. After that experience I knew who Jesus was but I did not trust Him. When I prayed he pointed me to his Word. I used all the skills I learned in college such as determining the reliability of a historical document, sourcing the source and not taking texts out of context to name a few, to try to find any contradictions but God always cleared everything up. It was in this experience and my time in His Word that I knew I wanted to share the gospel with everyone. After leaving prison I had not yet finished my bachelors degree but knew I wanted to continue education. This led me to applying to Maranatha Baptist University to major in Biblical Studies. My goal is to give God all the glory and point people to Him and His Word. My pathway leading to pursue Christian ministry has everything to do with God being Sovereign and Holy. And nothing to do with me other than being grateful for His grace and mercy and wanting others to receive that sane grace that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope you consider me.