Lynda Alsford

I live very near the sea in East Sussex, UK. I initially trained as a nurse at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, East London, spending 4 years nursing at St Joseph's Hospice in Hackney and then worked as  children's nanny in London for a while. From 2000 to 2003, I trained as a Church Army Evangelist and worked as parish evangelist at two different West London churches over a period of seven years.

 

In 2009, while working at a lively Church in Chiswick, I went through a major crisis of faith, which demonstrated itself as a time of doubting the existence of God. I thought I had become an atheist. With my life in turmoil and my dreams shattered, I left church ministry in 2010 and moved back to Sussex, where I grew up.

 

Since being here, my faith has not only returned but I've found a much deeper faith than I had previously. This has in turn led to a greater intimacy with Father God. The effects of this in my life are far reaching.  I have grown in my faith far more over the last 10 years than in the twenty years that went before it. As I shared what God had done for me I found people were encouraged by hearing my story. This prompted me to write a book about my experiences. Writing my story down was a very cathartic experience for me. My primary reason for writing/speaking is to show people who Jesus is and what he has done for us in his death on the cross.

 

I am now privileged to be back working in church ministry as Older People's Community Worker at Ascension Church, Peacehaven, where I have set up Friendship Group for older people, called the Tuesday Friendship Group (it does what is says on the tin).