First Second Generation Baptism in Milan Church

My name is Kyria
and I was born in Paris, France 16 years ago. My dad is Italian
and my mum is American. We now live in Milan, Italy, where my parents moved
when I was about 6 months old to help the church here.

I was baptized on
October 8th, 2009. By then, I was determined and sure of what I
wanted, but it actually took me over a year to come to my final decision.

I started
studying after the Swiss teen camp I attended in Les Diablerets in August 2008
with the French-speaking kids of the church. During the following winter
though, it started getting hard for me and I started losing my faith. I was
very sad and I was not doing well in school; my challenges made me doubt and
discouraged me to the point I felt I didn’t need God anymore.

Despite all this,
I kept doing my Bible studies with my friends in church and with my mum. There
are a couple sisters here in Milan who were always so good to me and were my
friends since I was old enough to play, talk and go out with them for an ice
cream or a movie – they accompanied me all along and I am so grateful for that.

Later on in 2009
I studied the Cross and after that I felt like a new person – the Cross had
such a strong impact on me! I now really wanted to learn and change.

We kept studying
the Bible and by then it was the summer. I decided to use this vacation time to
grow in my relationship with God and in my convictions.

Last August I
attended the Chicago teen camp with my sister Erica (who is also studying the
Bible now) and that was an amazing experience I will remember forever. The
lessons and the love and the prayer by the bonfires really helped me see things
differently and have a new perspective.

When we got back
I did my last studies, I had some great prayer walks with my mum and a couple
good talks with my dad. What really helped me make my decision was the
realization that only with God we can make it, that I could not win my difficulties
and fears by myself.