My name is Daniel Schardt. My 24 years of life so far have been rather unspectacular. From a young age, I attended children’s church, then the children’s group and later the youth group. I have never doubted that there is a God and that one day I will stand before his judgement seat and have to answer to him for my life. I knew that Jesus Christ had died for all my sins. And yet I chose not to live a life with God. I knew that I was a wretched sinner and that I would be lost. But I wanted to enjoy my life and be with my friends. I tried out various things that young people of that age tend to try, but thank God I didn’t take any pleasure in them and soon had some bad experiences. When I was 19, I spoke to my youth leader at a youth camp, and during that conversation I realised that I no longer had any reason to push Jesus aside. We then prayed together, and I knew there could be no turning back for me, but in the first few weeks there was no real progress either, so I kept it to myself for the time being. A few months later, I spoke to another young person, and he pointed me to a verse from the Gospel of Matthew:
‘Everyone who acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.’
Matthew 10:32
At the next opportunity, I told the youth group that God had accepted me and forgiven my sins. Since then, I’ve been able to serve in the youth group. However, ever since my conversion, the thought of sharing the Gospel has kept coming back to me. I decided for myself to be ready when the Lord calls. When I finished my degree last February, the thought occurred to me that I could gain experience on the mission field. So I expressed my willingness to go on a short-term mission trip and eventually ended up as a maths and German teacher at the Morgenland Campo 7 colony.
