In mid 1988 I lived and worked in Manchester and was offered two job opportunities; one in Bedford, where one of my brothers worked and I had friends, and one in Leeds where I knew nobody. I had no idea why, but I felt that the Leeds job was the one for me. So in September 1988 I started working in Asda’s IT department. After four months or so, a new colleague started called Andy Missen. Andy and his wife and two very young children had moved up from Nottingham.

Although we worked in different sections, we seemed to spend a fair amount of time together. We were both invited to another colleagues wedding where I met Dawn for the first time. I was then invited over for meals on a fairly regular basis and was, frankly, shocked when Andy let slip that he was one of these weirdo Christians.

Christians were boring, brain-washed zealots that should be ignored at all costs, but this chap was sane, generous and (relatively) stable. He never once forced his opinions on me, and was sensitive to when it was right to discuss his faith with me. In fairness, I was the one that probably initiated most conversations about Jesus, but he was always there to answer my questions.

It took a year or so, but in January 1990 I gave my life to Jesus and accepted Him as my Lord and Saviour.

Although neither of us particularly wanted to move to Leeds, God used these circumstances and Andy’s faith to reveal himself to me. Praise God.