KitKats made me Christian. - My testimony

the following is reworking of the testimony I gave at my Baptism in June of 2024, I am sharing it here, so that I have a quick way of sharing it when I need to, and, on the off chance others want to read it.

I haven’t been Christian for that long, not really. Actually, the first time I ever walked into a church, on purpose, and willingly, was the fifteenth of January 2023.

I entered, filled with suspicion, eager to figure out what the scam was. I know that sounds bad, but a few months prior, I had walked into the Manna House food bank, next door to the church, to drop off a few hundred KitKats from work.

I think it was at that moment that I actually became a Christian, I just hadn’t realised it. You see, if you had asked me at the time, I would have told you I was a Wiccan. I had been to festivals and read possibly hundreds of books about the illusive old-ways. But in twenty years of books about mysteries and too many YouTube videos about ancient monuments, I had never once seen a Wiccan helping the local community. To be honest, finding them outside the books or the internet was enough of a hurdle.

I may have left KitKats on the table that day, but I took away a sense of confusion, and a nagging in the back of my brain. _What was the scam? _I knew that Manna House was associated with the Elim church, so, that evening, I searched the web for food banks and Christians, trying to learn the link. One thing led to another, and I spent the next week in a nerd-hole, reading everything I could about Christianity, Jesus, and oddly, Nestlè, because it was still KitKat’s fault, after all. I ordered a Bible, when I realised there was a manual.

Once Christmas was over, I walked in the front door one Sunday. I stayed quiet and wondered how long before someone asked me for money or tried to get me to join a cult. I was on the inside, and I was going to figure out the scam this time.

Turned out ,it was a lovely morning. I kept coming week after week, waiting for the other shoe to drop, expecting the ‘crazy bit’ each time.

I kept reading that Bible too, I read that thing every day because it’s an enormous book which takes quite a time to get through. I had learned from the internet to start at Matthew rather than Genesis. The day I got to the end of Hebrews, I realised something. I wasn’t looking for the scam any more. At some point, the words had rewired me, and I wasn’t looking for ancient mysteries, or secret answers. I had everything I needed. I kept reading and eventually finished the Old Testament too. By the end I didn’t want it to be true, I didn’t hope it was true, but, I knew it was true and changes had happened along the way.

My motivation was no longer simply falling in-line with what people expected of me. It wasn’t staying out of trouble and not being annoying. I wanted, to live in a way that pleased Jesus. Because, suddenly, it seemed like the right way to live. Before that, I wasn’t a particularly bad person. I did okay, but my reasons for doing things had changed. On the outside, I’m not sure how different I actually am. But, on the inside, all the wiring is new. I used to care about people because I was expected to. I do care now. I help people where I can, not because “It’s how you make them like you,” but because, I want to support people in my life, wherever I can.

I used to think my life would always be lonely and without purpose. Now, thanks to the Bible, Jesus and, the church, I have met numerous wonderful people and stopped looking for meaning in empty books. I love life now, more than ever, because of Christianity. And, likely unrelated, I’ve not had a KitKat since.

Thank you for reading