The Kitzuls’ faith journey

We are honored to be asked to share our journey of faith with our church family, as our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has touched our lives so deeply…

Going back in time to our youth, we were both raised in the United Church of Canada. We were blessed to have had parents who were strong in their faith and attended church regularly. They saw to it that we would know the Lord from a very young age. Thankfully, they provided us the Christian foundation that later in our lives would become so very important to us.

We met in high school in 1979 and dated until we married in 1984. Our only child, Patrick, was born in 1988 and our family was complete. Life was busy as we were teaching & coaching, nursing and raising a family. As a couple, we were strong together and were surrounded by the love and support of our families. We attended church most Sundays. Our lives were full!

As time went on, we found a love for international travel and a strong desire to see more of the world. In 1992 we landed in Texas for one year while Gordon completed his graduate degree in Corpus Christi and Heather continued her career as a nurse. It was an amazing year in the south and we both fell in love with everything Texas. At year’s end we went back to Canada knowing that one day we would return to live here permanently. Our faith journey continued to be one hour of church each week, praying at meal time, as well as bedtime prayers with Patrick.

The year was now 1996 and the pull to come back to Texas was so strong that we sold anything that didn’t fit in a rented U-Haul truck and down I-35 we drove to our new home in Cedar Park, Texas. Excited by our big move and embarking on new careers and schools, our world was about to unfold in everything brand new! With a strong desire to raise our son in the church, we ended up at Bethany United Methodist in North Austin with Pastor Mike Lowry and that began the enrichment of our faith journey. Even our young son was touched at worship times and leaving church one Sunday, Patrick asked, “Does the hair on the back of your neck stand up when Pastor Mike preaches?” In our hearts we were thankful knowing that our son was feeling the presence of the Lord!

The year was now 2000 and we had moved to Dripping Springs for a good school district and peaceful country living. We had our house built and found a great, new church home at Dripping Springs Methodist Church pastored by Andy Smith, Bill Nichols, Richard Selke and David Skinner in these early years.  As time went on, we found ourselves very caught up in our careers. Our time at church slipped and we found ourselves caught up in the ways of the world where nothing else seemed to matter much. Our faith journey was again at a standstill. Years passed and Gordon had worked very hard climbing the corporate ladder and also investing in real estate in a very hot Austin market. We found our marriage suffering as we had allowed our faith to take a back seat once again. The peace and joy that we once shared as a couple was no longer there. Emptiness prevailed in both of us and without God-centered lives, we were not prepared for what would happen next.

It was now 2007 and after some bad business decisions to support several real estate projects that we were developing, we found ourselves deep in financial ruin. Heather had already left her nursing career to work with Gordon who had also left his corporate career to develop real estate full time. The bottom was falling out in our world and all that we had worked so hard for was being taken away. With a troubled marriage and our own business in bankruptcy, we were both in the pit of despair and brokenness. Our world had now become a very dark place.

Not knowing where to turn, Heather made an appointment to see Pastor David to seek his counsel on her brokenness and our marriage. She left with hope that day, as she was given a bible and encouraged to truly seek the word of God and to get in a close relationship with Him. In our past, we had bibles but never took the time to read and study God’s word. Shortly thereafter, we were both encouraged by others in our church to go on a Walk To Emmaus. We came back with our hearts changed with a desire to seek God and get to know him like never before. With Pastors David Skinner and Scott Bradford as our mentors, we became very involved in bible studies, Sunday School classes, admin council, small group and many other activities offered at DSMC. We now found ourselves in the midst of a very kind and generous, warm and welcoming church family. The love and support that we received from so many at DSMC and the Emmaus 

Community, who loved us as their own was something that we had never experienced before. Serving others through our church, the Emmaus community and the boys at the Burke Center became the true desires of our hearts. It felt incredible and it became very easy. For the first time in our Christian lives, we began to truly know what it felt like to be in relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Our world of darkness was gone and we now found ourselves walking in the Light. Hallelujah! Thank you, Jesus, for offering true hope and transformation to sinners like us…

Now, heading into our 25th year at DSMC we still look forward to going through those doors to be with our church family and to welcome new members. Pastors Adam Thornton and Jesus Samano continue to deepen our journey of faith. We are so thankful to be in a place where we are loved and can love, where we can serve, where we can study and grow in the true Word of God. Finding true relationship with Jesus Christ while attending DSMC has led us to a place that we once never thought was possible. Our union as a couple has not only been restored but taken to a whole new level as we acknowledge that a cord of three strands is much stronger than two, so now we work hard to keep God-centered in the middle of our marriage  and we find ourselves being the very best of friends! Our bankruptcy is now a faded memory of our past, as the grace of Jesus Christ has restored our financial situation and given us peace and security.

Finally, we once thought that our move to Dripping Springs was all about living in the country, but little did we realize that we would come into a deep and incredibly meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ right here while attending DSMC with the love and support of our wonderful church family. We have been so richly blessed and pray that we can be a light to others.

-Gordon and Heather Kitzul