I am thankful I was raised in a Christian home. All of my family is Christian and, growing up, the majority 
of my family on my dad’s side were nearby and attended an Assembly of God church where we went as well. My grandparents were active in music and my dad ran the A/V. We went regularly through my freshman year of high school and then I was off to college. College was where I heard the word Orthodoxy for the first time.
I moved into a shared dorm apartment at the university in La Grande, Oregon in late September of 2000. As all four of us girls trickled into our apartment and got settled we all began introducing ourselves. One of my roommates was from Alaska. She showed me her room, which was much the same as mine, and I promptly noticed the two small items on her bare walls. There was what appeared to be a small picture of Jesus and a beaded necklace with a cross on it. She explained to me that it was an icon of Jesus and a prayer rope and that she was Russian Orthodox. Quickly, she added it is a form of Christianity. We didn’t talk much more about it as we were busy with school.
My next encounter with Orthodoxy came a few years later. Spencer, my husband, and I both love to watch Rick Steves’ Europe, a TV show on PBS. Typically, he includes a thorough historical background of the region he is visiting. He also highlights the traditions and cultural heritage of the people in the area. Inevitably this includes a visit to the local church. Through this television show I learned a bit more about this “new-to-me” religion of Orthodoxy which was quite old.
Finally, it was Uncle Billy and Aunt Carri (Benson) that invited us to St. John’s. They had started going and I had heard they had joined and been Christmated We discussed it with them at Thanksgiving 2007, and they invited us to come to a service. We did and it was definitely different than anything I had ever experienced. But I felt at home. Everyone was friendly and welcoming and happy to assist and answer all of my many questions. We attended off and on through 2011. At the time we were living in Buxton and I had just had Kira. It was a difficult trip with a small child, so we stopped going. We began attending a non-denominational Christian church that was closer to home. We were thankful for the community and glad we could successfully attend church regularly but knew it was not right. We felt drawn back to St. John’s and knew that was where we needed to be.
We would pop in at St. John’s now and then over those years and always enjoy our visits. While away we still pursued information on Orthodoxy. Our family along with Spencer’s parents thoroughly enjoyed watching YouTube videos and learning about Orthodoxy from Fr. Barnabas Powell. We appreciated his great personality and relatability as he had come to Orthodoxy from a Protestant background. The more we learned, the more intrigued we were to go and participate and learn more.
Eventually my work schedule changed, and I began working on Sundays. I did this for a few years. In 2017, Spencer decided to start attending St. John’s again and took the girls with him. I believe his first Sunday back was Fr. Matthew’s first Sunday with our parish in June 2017. Spencer and the girls attended for about a year before I was able to join them. We attended Liturgy on Sundays regularly, as well as the Fullness of the Faith classes weekly. I especially enjoyed those classes, as I learned so much about Orthodoxy and church history. I am still learning! After two years of attending regularly, but many more years in total, we decided as a family to get baptized and were all scheduled for March 2020 … you all know what happened next: COVID. Thankfully we were able to be baptized in August 2020.
I am very thankful for the community in the Orthodox Church and the grace and love our Lord gives us, the opportunity of fellowship with the Body of Christ every Liturgy and to receive the Eucharist. I appreciate the structure and guidance the Church has in place to enable growth in our personal relationship with God. I am thankful that my family is with me and I pray my children continue to grow in their faith and relationship with God. My journey to Orthodox Christianity took some time but I am so thankful for it!
