David Cadell (left) with Roger & Kama Parlour

My name is David Cadell and I became a Christian in Chicago in 1990 after studying the Bible with Roger Parlour. Although I was very religious at the time, Roger was the first person in my life to ever challenge me to repent and follow Jesus as the Bible describes. Roger was a true friend to me and I observed in his life the Biblical examples of a great marriage and family life in his wife Kama and kids, Joel and Brittany. Unfortunately, after several years of being a faithful disciple, I began to pull away from God in my heart. In 1998, I stopped going to church and made a conscious decision to live for myself and not for God anymore.

My life seemed to be going well for awhile. However, the sins of impurity, sexual immorality, deceit and arrogance soon began taking their toll on my life; they were destroying my spirit and soul. My sin also left a wake of destruction in the lives of many persons in my sphere of influence. Depressed, hopeless, hurting, insecure, lonely, afraid and without love are some of the words that described my life during this time. I never thought that I would repent and turn back to God or that God would forgive me for the multitude of sins I had committed; my heart was that hard.

Then, at the lowest point in my life, in early March, 2006, I finally humbled myself before God, surrendering through this simple prayer, “God, please help me to get out of this situation. I need you. I’m hurting.”

God was listening and waiting for this prayer for eight long years. In God’s great love and forgiveness, my prayer was answered the very next day in an e-mail from my old friend Roger Parlour. It simply said, “We’re moving to Chicago!” (The Parlours had made the decision to be a part of the mission team to start the Chicago International Christian Church). Beginning in March, 2006, at the Chicago mission team retreat at The Travelodge, I began confessing my sin, praying and reading God’s Word again for the first time in years. There was a complete turn around in my life. The healing and refreshing done by God stemming from my repentance has been nothing short of miraculous! Relatively speaking, I did very little in this situation. I simply surrendered my life and decided to start living according to the Word of God again. Then, God did the work. He has given me joy and confidence to live again! Praise be to God for his incredible love and forgiveness. Whatever I can do for God and His Kingdom, I will do, for I count my life a loss. I was dead in sin, but now I am alive and this because of God through the powerful blood of His son Jesus!

Categories: Testimonials