Belynda Dingman writes:

I was born in Des Moines, IA in 1977 and moved shortly after that to a small town in Missouri.  I lived there for my first six years of my life and then my parents moved back here and this is where I have been since.  I have two sisters and a brother.

I did not grow up in a Christian home, in fact far from it.  My home was full of alcoholism, abuse, and sin.  As a little girl I was introduced to God’s word through one of my great uncle’s who would pick me up every Sunday to take me to church with him.  He was the Pastor of a small Baptist Church in Missouri.  He has always been a God-loving man and to this day every time that I see him he still asks me “What is God doing in your life?”

My uncle was a great influence in my life, after I moved back to Iowa I still wanted to know more about God.  We moved in with my grandmother when we came back to Des Moines, Iowa.  I remember asking her “Will you take me to Church?” She said that she would not take me, but allowed me to walk the four blocks from 31^st Street to 35^th Street to attend the small Baptist church that was closest to her house.  I felt so loved by the church members and I felt that special love, at the time I did not know what it was but now I can tell you without a doubt that it was God’s love.  My parents moved to another part of Des Moines and in order for me to go to church, the church bus would have to drive clear on the other side of town to pick me up.

Soon after we moved my parents got divorced and my sibling’s and I were put into foster care, due to the lack of parenting by both of my parents.  Several years of bouncing in and out of different foster homes and going back and forth from my parents to foster care, the state finally terminated my parent’s rights and we became adoptable.  The foster family that my brother and I lived in at the time that all of this was occurring wanted to adopt us both.  So at the age of 12 my brother and I were adopted.  Our adoption was an open adoption, meaning that my biological parents could still have contact with us.  My new adopted family did not attend church and were not Christians.  As I grew up I continued to attend church occasionally, but not consistently.

When I was sixteen my biological mother was tragically killed, due to a violent relationship she was involved in.  This really made me start to think about my life and where I was heading.  I still did not react to these feelings though, instead I ignored them.  In my early adult years I made some bad decisions, and I know that it has impacted my life and my children’s lives, because of these decisions.

The turning point in my life happened on October 10^th of 2001, when God sent Joel Dingman into my life.  He attended Willow creek Baptist Church and asked if I would like to attend with him.  Over just a few weeks of attending church services I finally came to the understanding and new that I was a sinner and that Jesus had died for my sins.  That November I made the best decision in my life today.  That is when I sat down and prayed with Pastor Pausley and his wife Linda and “I accepted the Lord as my personal savior!”

I still have a lot of growing to do in the Lord, and I know that I will never want to stop learning about him.  I have learned so many positive things through the Lord.  I have been a little personal in my testimony, but I hope it shows how wonderful God has been in my life, and what amazing things he can do through his people such as my great uncle and my husband Joel.  I will conclude my testimony by asking you to pray for me and my family so that we may build a foundation for my children to be God-Loving.  Thank you to my Willow Creek Church family, for your loving support and friendships, we are happy to be a part of the Willow Creek family.