Freedom International

Krista Pyle

From: Berne, Indiana

Served in the Dominican: May 12, 2015 to July 10, 2024

Currently Serving Stateside

Current Financial Support Level: 90%

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     I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior at the young age of 5. I grew up in a Christian home with wonderful Christian parents. I grew up loving the Lord and wanting to serve Him, but one thing always held me back... fear.

     For as long as I can remember, fear and anxiety have played a major role in my life. I worried about anything you could ever imagine. I worried about being called to another country and leaving everything and everyone I knew and loved behind. I worried whether I was a "good enough" Christian, and I worried about being accepted by others. I worried about getting sick and dying. You name it, I've worried about it. I knew I loved God and wanted to serve Him... I just had limitations. I put up walls and wasn't really willing to step outside of them. I gave God stipulations when offering Him my whole heart. "Lord, I'll do whatever you call me to do... just don't make me do this or go there." I was afraid that if I surrendered everything I had, God would call me to do something I just knew I couldn't handle. I had one foot in with God and one foot in with myself. I pursued security away from God, and the more I did that, the more insecure I became. I relied on the praises of people to build me up and found a weird comfort in worrying. If I wasn't worrying, it felt abnormal. Fear had become so much a part of my life that I didn't even recognize it anymore.

     Gabe and I joined a couples' Bible Study shortly after we were married and that's when I felt my life begin to change. Several girls in this study really challenged me to live my life out of faith, not fear. I saw such freedom and joy in their lives. I had lived for years with what felt like the weight of the world on my shoulders, and I was exhausted. Through several studies we did, with my husband's encouragement, (He's the complete opposite of me, he doesn't worry about anything!) and by the power of the Holy Spirit, I slowly began letting go of my fears and laying them at the feet of Jesus. During this time, I also watched a friend go through a very difficult situation, one that I had spent countless night up worrying about. But she faced it with such courage and hope in her Lord Jesus Christ. That's when it hit me. I was wasting my life away worrying about what might happen, and it was a reality for her, but here she was living her life to the fullest. A life full of joy and peace.

     During this time, I was sitting at my dining room table doing devotions, and I finally broke down. I couldn't handle the stress that fear had been putting on my shoulders for so many years. I was living my life in the "what if" instead of enjoying the "right now." I was trying to control my own life. I closed my eyes and said, "Lord my life is yours... completely!" I didn't follow that sentence with "just don't make me do this or that" as I had in the past. I just stopped at, "My life is Yours." I surrendered the control I thought I had over my life to God. What a huge relief that was! I couldn't change one thing.

Krista