'I was the youngest of four boys with two younger sisters. From a very early age I discovered that sometimes a life of crime did pay.

I progressed from petty to more serious crime at the age of 17 after being accepted by some older criminals who were impressed by my reputation for being fearless no matter what the situation. I soon decided that I could never achieve by honest gain the rewards that I now found myself enjoying (though deep down fear and restlessness ruled the day). At 18 years of age my liberty was taken from me and upon my release I was determined that that would never happen again.

As the saying goes, "live by the sword, die by the sword". I soon found myself involved in a territorial struggle known as gang warfare. It was then that I realised how cheap life was for some, and found myself in a situation where I would have to be prepared to take life if I were to stay around and continue in the life I had chosen.

I remembered, when I was in the punishment block in jail, being given a book to read called "Run Baby Run" by a guy called Nicky Cruz. His life was pretty much the same as mine but I had never had the encounter with God experience that he had had so I quickly put it out of my mind.

At 23 years of age I had decided to cross the line of no return and set about planning to do some very bad things. I found myself temporarily separated from my friends and was walking in a town centre thinking about the things I was on the verge of doing when I was approached by a young man handing out leaflets. He said, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ and that He died so that you might be saved?" I remember thinking, "Saved from what?" From that day on I was a troubled man, I couldn't sleep or stop thinking about what he had said. I thought, "If I were to die today what would happen to me?" If there was a God then I was in big trouble.

I decided to put my plans on hold whilst I tried to 'get my head sorted out', much to the consternation of my friends. At one point I thought I was going insane as did most of the people who knew me. I found myself outside a church one day and decided to go in. I was approached by a man who said, "Can I help you?" To which I replied, "No man can help me only God himself." He then said to the others in the church, "There is a young man here who needs the Lord Jesus to come into his life - let's pray for him." I then fell on my knees and asked God to help me. The only way I can describe what happened next is like this - my life seemed to appear before me in all its detail and I was shocked and horrified at what I saw. It was, in my opinion, worse than death itself . . . the shame and guilt at what I had done. I begged God for forgiveness and said, If Jesus died for me then I want that forgiveness. I experienced what I can only explain as the presence of God and peace that surpasses all understanding. From that moment on I knew that I had received the forgiveness of God. That night, for the first time in years, I slept like baby. I have never looked back since. It hasn't always been easy but I know that God is with me every step of the way and that I am loved by a God who is rich in Grace and Mercy.'

I have the immense privilege and blessing of having been born into a Christian home. I can honestly say that I do not remember a time when I was not aware of God or did not know Him to some degree. My parents prayed with me and read the Bible to me from birth and going to church was simply normal, as was asking about and discussing the Christian faith. As a result, I cannot pinpoint any one moment in time when I became a Christian. When I was a little girl - about 4 years old - I told my mum one evening after reading my Bible notes that I'd asked Jesus to come into my life. I don't actually remember the occasion but there have been many prayers of fresh commitment and particular times when I have been aware of God working in my life over the 20 years which have followed - I'd like to share a couple of them with you.

Confirmation was probably the first of these occasions for me - it marked for me the start of my own maturing commitment to Christ, confirming what my parents and godmother had promised on my behalf as an infant. University and my year abroad in Germany were very significant times in which God both blessed me richly with some wonderful Christian friends of my own age (something I had never had until then, other than my brother) and also challenged me to really trust in and rely on Him for day-to-day needs, particularly during my first few weeks in Germany when my communication skills were rather less than fluent!

Graduation was a rather painful time for me; I had loved university and didn't want to leave, particularly as virtually all of my friends were staying on for various reasons. For the first six months which followed I looked at various options and applied for a few jobs and they all fell through. I was becoming more and more despondent and was not at all faithful in trusting God. Yet He was faithful to me - in January last year, encouraged and galvanised into action by my parents, I took an uncharacteristically spontaneous decision, returning to an idea which I had dismissed a few months previously and applied to begin training as a solicitor. It struck me recently whilst attending a Lawyers' Christian Fellowship conference how much God has honoured that leap of faith since I finally took it and am firmly convinced that this is His calling for me.

So my walk with God has been a gradual growth and maturing in faith, where truth that I have known for years has "clicked" and this in turn has led to a deeper understanding, which again is yet to deepen further - I still have an immense amount to learn about walking with God and feel very much like "work in progress". The Christian life is not always easy and I fail God on a daily basis yet I know that He is faithful and goes before me into whatever situations He has planned for me, prepared to deal with my weakness and failure. "To Him be the glory for ever and ever. Amen."

We met ten years ago this year, both arriving from very different places and backgrounds. Our eyes met across a crowded dance floor at our rugby club and life was never to be the same again.

Clive's story - I have been a Christian since I made my commitment to Christ in May 1981 after listening to Nicki Cruz, (a previous New York gang leader) give his testimony at a concert which I had been invited to by a Christian friend. I have always had an independent personality with strong views and beliefs and prior to my conversion and commitment to Christ my first love was Sport, especially Rugby and partaking in a bit of socialising. But three questions nagged at me constantly: Is there really a God? Is there really life after death? and, What is the meaning of life? When I took time to basically discount Christianity as being a falsehood, I discovered quite the opposite! After reading such literature as 'Who moved the Stone?' a book written by a lawyer proving that Jesus' resurrection was a fact, 'Bone of contention' an article about evolution versus creation, questioning the very things that I thought I believed and was taught in school, I read on, reading the Bible and speaking with Christians. Since that commitment back in 1981 I have had a number of life-changing situations, not always good, but all have challenged my faith and strengthen it and throughout it all I know the answers to my questions. I thank the Lord Jesus for coming into my life, as well as strengthening and defining the three pillars in my life, Family - Faith - Friends.

Lou's story - In September 1995, two years after moving to Manchester to work at St Marys Hospital in the genetics department I decided it was time to move back down south to be nearer my family. Why was I in Manchester nearly 300 miles from my family, when my heart was in Devon? Little did I know that after a failed interview for a job that was "mine" and a ladies' night at Burnage Rugby club in October 1995 my life would change for ever and so would any plans I had to move back down south. I had several Christian colleagues and had become very close to one who I later learnt had been praying for me. So when a Christian man walked into my life and handed me a Bible and several challenging Christian books I was posed with my latest challenge. After several very late nights of reading into the early hours I started asking questions and finding answers, books including 'The Bone of Contention' by Sylvia Baker; a scientific paper about evolution versus creation; 'Basic Christianity' by John Stott and the New Testament Gospels were revealing things to me and helping me to understand the choices ahead. I had no reservations, I couldn't deny it: I believed the Bible and had a new sense of why I was in Manchester so far away from where I considered home. I was then introduced to lots of Christian people who all seemed pretty normal and in whose company I felt so at home.Then on January 14th 1996 I made my commitment to God and asked him into my life. The reaction was amazing and I found out there had been many people praying for this very day. I had a new faith, a sense of peace and a new home . That man who gave me the Bible is Clive, now my husband of 8 years, my best friend and father to our wonderful children, Eve and Lydia. Home took on a new meaning, it was whereever we were together and I am very happy to say that Chester, still miles and miles from my family is very much home and pray that it will be for a long time. Sometimes for us "Reality does surpass a dream", we thank God daily for our relationship and pray that with God's help we will be able to pass the Good News on to our children, friends and families. Phil 1 v3-6