Knakals in Germany

We are Jim and Carol Knakal. We are preparing to move to Germany to serve the Lord of Lord’s with Kevin and Carol Matthia at Camp Impact.

I’m Jim and I received my first Bible, a paraphrased New Testament, from a friend when graduating from high school. While I had no intention of obeying what it said I decided to read it anyway. When I read the Sermon on the Mount I was greatly convicted of my sin. My solution was to stop reading. In the fall following graduation, I entered the US Air Force and while in basic training I met many who claimed to be Christians (myself included). One man, however, was truly different than the rest. Mike was not perfect but there was no question that he knew, loved and sought to honor the living God. I found it annoying when the Lord arranged many occasions for me to be alone to talk to Mike. We were both stationed next at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Mississippi. I was put in a room with another believer and thought that the best way to get Mike and him off my back would be to introduce them to each other. They could then talk about God to each other and leave me alone. Of course that didn’t happen and eventually they convinced me to go with them to a small Baptist church off base. I was attending regularly and really tried to understand the truths of God’s Word, but I saw a stark inconsistency in my life. On weekend nights I would either go to an activity with my church friends or to the bar with other friends and then on Sunday I would attend church. One Monday morning I found myself literally standing between my two groups of friends. One group talked about what went on at church that weekend and the other spoke of how drunk we all were and the ridiculous things we did. I determined then and there that I needed to choose a direction. I chose to act like a Christian. I changed some of my habits and even told people that I was a Christian now. By God’s providence I found myself alone with Mike in his barracks. He told me again that I needed to have a personal relationship with the Lord. I was confused. I thought I was a Christian, but Mike explained to me that being a Christian was not a matter of changing my life to become acceptable to God. I needed to trust in the finished work of Christ realizing that nothing I could do on my own would improve my standing before a perfect and holy God. That day on December 30, 1973 I confessed my sin to God and asked Him to save me and I trust His faithfulness. I am confident that “He which hath begun a good work in me will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6

Hello, I’m Carol. I was raised in a good home. My parents wonderfully cared for me through a rare disease as an infant which lasted for several years, Diamond Blackfan Anemia. I was given by God complete recovery and led a normal healthy childhood. As a family we attended a Methodist church almost every Sunday. The Lord blessed by my learning basic Bible stories in Sunday School and the traditional hymns of worship, but as a young person, that was all I learned of spiritual matters.

My teen years were spent searching for someone to understand me, accept me for who I was and be a close friend. I did not “fit in” with any group of teens at school, church or even the Mason’s girls organization of Job’s Daughters. I chose to stay home from Sunday School to avoid discussing situational ethics in the teen class. I thought we needed to discuss God’s view from the Bible of how to handle daily situations. Mind you, that was not based on any knowledge of my own – God’s Holy Spirit had begun to draw me to Himself.  I heard the gospel message (John 3:16, Romans 5:8) many times over listening to Billy Graham and other Christian tv programming on Sunday mornings while I stayed home from church, but was not ready to believe that I needed to personally accept Jesus as my Savior.

God answered my desire for a true friend by providing me salvation through Jesus Christ, His Son, later as a college freshman. As an older teen I had gone on a tour to Washington, DC and New York City with a group from the Methodist organization. On that tour of Methodist ministries I met a couple of young people that were different from anyone else I had ever met before. Their geniune kindness and concern for others extended to everyone. I simply liked being with them. We continued our friendship via letters and phone calls (before e-mail, facebook and cell phones!) right up until preparations for college life kept us from corresponding. However, one of them introduced me to a girl going to the same college I was headed to – Northern Michigan University. I met Marcia on campus. She was like the other two! Marcia knew I needed the Savior for my sinful and confused life and took the time to share God’s Word with me through a gospel tract. I gave my life to Christ immediately by asking His forgiveness and repenting of my sin. (Acts 2:21) His comfort and peace was overwhelming to my heart! God blessed me with even more than the salvation from my sin I so desperately needed, I also have Jesus Christ as my Everlasting Friend.