Neste Timo

                           
The dream of almost every young ice hockey player is to play in NHL and to win
the Stanley Cup there. This was also my dream as a little boy.

I was however born and raised in a small city where already the circumstances
marked this possibility out. Yet I played ice hockey in junior- and
representative teams all together for more that 25 years.

Ice hockey is a team game in which the success of individuals is secondary. Even
the best ice hockey player in the world, can not win alone.

I have won Finish Champion gold and silver. Winning the gold felt absolutely
fantastic. Smiling was easy ! Silver however felt like I just missed the last
train. It was as bad as saying: " I’m glad I missed the train only with two
seconds. I wish that no-one has to experience the same lost in a spiritual way,
because there are gold medals for us to win in heaven.

When I was 13 years old I had the greatest victory in my life when I was invited
from the outskirts of the ice hockey rink to Niilo Yli-Vainio’s Christian
meeting. I experienced God’s presence and I gave my life to Jesus. I experienced
the New Birth from above of which the Bible talks about in John 3:3. The
contents and the priorities in my life changed. Before my conversion I had a
dream that seemed so real, where Jesus was coming to take His own to come home
with Him. I asked the Heaven’s messenger, whom I saw: "Is it too late to come
along?". He said: "If you make your decision very quickly you can come. Jesus is
in the clouds on His way to come and take His people home and we are here to
prepare the believers for the Rapture". I said "yes" and experienced a
tremendous peace and also an awful distress for my friends who didn’t know Jesus
yet and I went looking for them. I took a hold of one by the lapels and shook
him and said: "Time is running out!!! Give your life to Jesus real quick, so you
can make it too:" I want to shake you and encourage you to the greatest victory
of your life and the fulfilment of all your dreams, to find Jesus as your
personal Saviour, the Reconciler of your sins. I want you to be free and able to
say: "As a winner on the Winner’s side".

Timo Neste