Day 29 – Jamie Cho

1. What do you do for a living? (occupation/field of study)

I am a music teacher at a public elementary school in Corona, Queens.

2. How do you like to spend your free time?

I love collecting and taking care of my 75+ indoor plants! I’ve really grown to appreciate the artistry in God’s creations since I began this hobby. The Filipina in me also loves that my home and classroom look like a tropical jungle!

3. Share one interesting fact about you that most people don’t know!

I was born 2 months premature. My head was smaller than the size of a tennis ball!

4. Do you have a favorite book in the Bible? If you do, which one is it and why?

I don’t have a “favorite,” but I do enjoy Psalms because it shows that prayer is supposed to be honest and real. Psalms shows that prayer can be full of lament, and it can also be full of praise. The psalms are also simply beautiful to read!

5. Is there a verse/passage in the Bible that has significantly impacted your life? If so, which is it and why?

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

This verse has gotten me through some really challenging times when I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen next in my life. I struggle with fear and anxiety because my tendency is to lean on my own understanding and to put things under my control, and this verse reminds me to let go of control (which I’m getting better at!) and to trust God completely.

6. Is there a prayer request that has been on your heart recently? If so, please share with us.

I want to become a better listener to God. I do a lot of interceding, but not so much listening. So please pray for me to have discerning ears and to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

7. Tell us about how you met Christ? (feel free to share a brief testimony)

I grew up going to church, so I knew a lot about Christ in my head, but I didn’t know him personally with my heart. When I started college at 18, I was heavily influenced by culture and worldly things and I chose to be of the world by walking away from Christianity. I directly told friends and family, “I don’t believe in Jesus anymore.” I thought Christians were brainwashed and couldn’t see the truth. During that time in my life I tried to find purpose and fulfillment through experiences, people, and material things, but as time went on, there was a void in me that continued to grow. I tried meditation, yoga, and I even went to a friend’s Buddhist temple service because I wanted to fill a spiritual void that was in my soul.

Looking back, I now know that feeling of desiring something more was coming from the Holy Spirit. The desire to fill this void in my soul was so strong that one day, I went against everything I said I stood for, and I asked my sister if I could go to church with her in Manhattan. Going to church that day after several years of absence was like returning home. It simply felt right being back in my Father’s house. I continued to attend weekly services on my own, each week yearning to learn more and more about God. My faith was growing, but my life circumstances were still the same. I was living with and was engaged to an Atheist, and our wedding was all planned out and ready to happen. Just 3 weeks before our wedding date, he called off our wedding and broke off our engagement, which destroyed all of the plans I had made for my life. Looking back, I now know that this tragic event was God picking me up from the wrong path I was on and placing me back on His. This is when Proverbs 3:5-6 became imprinted in my heart. Choosing to trust God during that season of loss, change, uncertainty, and weakness led me to freedom and healing. 

Months later, God introduced me to a man named David, and we began dating. As a couple, we found Grace Church, which is where I committed to follow Christ and got baptized. One year later, David and I got married, and a year after that, our daughter Chloe was born, and now I am a wife, a mother, and somehow a deaconess! As I write this testimony, I am just amazed at how God saved me from a life of darkness and lies, and I am so grateful for his faithfulness and goodness to me, even when I denied him. I pray that His desires fill my heart, that His truth rings in my ears, and that my life may be used to serve Him well for whatever work he calls me to do.