GEORGE HENRY, STAR Writer

Panseta Simon has been a member of the Full Truth Church of God located along Shortwood Road in St Andrew from birth.

"I have been a part of this church from in the 1950s from I was a baby. I grew up in the church," said Simon.

The churchwoman, who is currently a Sunday school teacher, believes it is important for all children to grow up in the church.

"It helps with your upbringing and establishes the principles which you live by. When you grow up in the church and in Sunday school, you get to learn the principles that God has laid down for the world to be governed by, and that helps in your daily walk," she said.

There have been times when Simon has been disappointed as a Christian, but her disappointments have never made her feel like giving up on the Lord.

"In dealing with my disappointments, I simply reflected on God's goodness, and that helps to take me over the hurdle," said Simon. She said God has been good to her, and the evidence is there to see. "He has solved problems which I was never able to work out on my own," said Simon. She remembers growing up on her mother's knees and understanding what it means to be a Christian. This put her in the best position to grow up knowing about the Lord. Simon remembers being abroad in 1985 and faced with difficulties which she was unable to solve. This, she said, forced her to reflect on God.

"I decided to try Him; so I got up one morning and said: 'God I want to prove you as my God; work this situation out for me by the end of the day and by five o'clock,'" said Simon.

She explained that she was awaiting a phone call to solve her problem, but at five o'clock the call she was awaiting did not come. She was disappointed. However, Simon said she did not allow her disappointment to get the better of her.

"It did not happen but I still trusted God. I really believed in my heart that I really trusted the God that I knew," said Simon. Simon added that her phone eventually rang two hours later. It was the long-awaited phone call. She explained that almost immediately she got up from where she was sitting, grabbed a pen and paper and wrote a letter to her mother.

revelation

"I said in the letter to her, 'I no longer believe in your God; I now know God as my own God. God really came through for me; He was right on time,'" testified Simon.

Now that she is a Sunday school teacher and has been teaching in her church for over 40 years, Simon said she has been having a great time serving her maker in that capacity. She added that she wants to pass on values, experiences and knowledge gained in her early life, to young people before she leaves this world.

"Teaching Sunday school for me is a wonderful experience. I have a passion for young people because I am aware of the difficulties which I faced as a young person growing up; but the older folks in the church were always there for me and I believe I should do the same for these young people," she said.

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