Name:   LaRissa Weimer

Occupation:   Mom!

Staff Level:   Crossroads

In my spare time, I:  read, cook, play games with Paul, and take naps J

I joined the Crossroads Staff because:   Paul and I saw the Lord leading us to work with college students.  It also gave Paul an opportunity to teach.

I think the best part of being involved with this age group is:   I get to be their friend more than a “leader”.

My favorite FBC Crossroads memory:   Crossroads Winter retreat 2006

One of my favorite passages is:   Jeremiah 29:11 “I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord; plans to prosper you not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

My Testimony: 

My personal testimony can be summed up into one word—forgiveness.  I grew up in a solid Christian home where my dad was a pastor, my mom was the piano player, and my brother and sister were actively involved in the church.  I feel fortunate to have been blessed with Christian parents that strived to raise their children in the admonition of the Lord.  Although I asked Christ to “come into my heart” at the age of four, I really believe my salvation occurred my senior year in high school.  At the age of four, I did understand what it meant to be saved, but only with a child-like heart.  It wasn’t until I learned the true meaning of forgiveness did I start serving God, and making Him Lord of my life.  

I lived a sheltered life and really did not know what it was like to deal with hardship until I was in junior high.  I came across a situation where I needed to forgive someone for hurting me and I couldn’t do it for some reason.  As I struggled through the forgiveness issue, I moved further and further away from the Lord, and I became bitter.  My struggles were not evident to others, but inside I started to resent God for what He had put me through.  But the Lord was good.  He relentlessly pursued me and most importantly, my heart.  He kept calling me toward Him, until I came broken and helpless. 

It was the summer before my senior year in high school that I sat on my bed crying out to God for Him to rescue me.  I wanted to make Him Lord of my life, but I just couldn’t forgive Him or others for what had happened. Through reading the Bible, I found how I could learn to forgive by remembering how Christ forgave me.  How could I not forgive, when Christ gave His life, forgiving my sins that I hadn’t even committed yet?  It was that night that He showed me what it truly meant to be saved.