#LifeStory [ 1 ] The first of seven, I was born on October 5, 1978, to my wonderful parents, Stan and
Sue Koch. Dad taught me how to work on the family farm (chickens, goats, pigs, sheep, horses, and cattle) and in the family business, Koch & Sons Water Well Drilling, Inc. Mom taught me how to cook, sew, and care for animals. As the oldest, I often watched my siblings and loved to aggravate and play with them.
As a child I grew up in a small rural school and an even smaller rural church. For kindergarten, I enrolled at Spring Bluff Elementary school and graduated from eighth grade as salutatorian with 14 other students. My parents raised me in a small country church, Old Argo Presbyterian, in Japan, Missouri. Our church family enjoyed cooking apple butter, eating potluck meals, performing Christmas plays, and always drew a crowd with Vacation Bible School in the summers.
There weren't many kids in the church and my parents were often my Sunday School teachers. One year we watched a video series by Ray Vander Laan, who would teach the Bible to a group of people as they toured the Holy Land. Around the age of 13, I remember one particular session in which Ray presented the Good News, and emphasized the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I remember thinking, "That's what I want!", but didn't know how. You see, while growing up in church, I learned all the Bible stories, and could tell you a lot of stuff about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Lamb's Book of Life, and many other stories found in the Bible. I thought because I went to church and tried to be a good person that I was a Christian, but I didn't KNOW God and soon my actions would tell a different story.
Sue Koch. Dad taught me how to work on the family farm (chickens, goats, pigs, sheep, horses, and cattle) and in the family business, Koch & Sons Water Well Drilling, Inc. Mom taught me how to cook, sew, and care for animals. As the oldest, I often watched my siblings and loved to aggravate and play with them.
As a child I grew up in a small rural school and an even smaller rural church. For kindergarten, I enrolled at Spring Bluff Elementary school and graduated from eighth grade as salutatorian with 14 other students. My parents raised me in a small country church, Old Argo Presbyterian, in Japan, Missouri. Our church family enjoyed cooking apple butter, eating potluck meals, performing Christmas plays, and always drew a crowd with Vacation Bible School in the summers.
There weren't many kids in the church and my parents were often my Sunday School teachers. One year we watched a video series by Ray Vander Laan, who would teach the Bible to a group of people as they toured the Holy Land. Around the age of 13, I remember one particular session in which Ray presented the Good News, and emphasized the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I remember thinking, "That's what I want!", but didn't know how. You see, while growing up in church, I learned all the Bible stories, and could tell you a lot of stuff about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Lamb's Book of Life, and many other stories found in the Bible. I thought because I went to church and tried to be a good person that I was a Christian, but I didn't KNOW God and soon my actions would tell a different story.