On May 18, 2022, Nicki Andersen experienced a devastating job loss that would become, in her words, “the greatest thing that could have happened to me.” At one of the lowest points in her life, she found herself lost in the darkness—but in that darkness, she says, God rescued her.
“I was not a follower of Yeshua and had lived a very sinful life,” Nicki recalls. “Things that I’m glad God is full of grace and mercy for, because I shudder at them when I remember. But I also see how big God is in his love.”
During one difficult night, Nicki made a decision that would change everything. After watching a movie, she realized she had never really given the Bible a chance. So she made God a promise: she would read the Bible cover to cover.
“I now realize that the Holy Spirit was guiding me,” she says. “It wasn’t my idea.”
Her first attempts were scattered—she read with the computer on, surrounded by distractions. So she decided her practice needed to be different. She moved to a quiet space and set aside time, away from the noise of daily life to read Scripture and talk to God.
“Some of those conversations were rather humorous,” she says now. “But it started to become my favorite time of day. God was working on my heart. I saw that I was a sinner in need of all that God had to offer—and the greatest gift and sacrifice of Jesus.”
The turning point came when Nicki knelt down and admitted her need for forgiveness. She wrote down many of her sins and asked God to come into her heart. “That night as I was in prayer with God—I felt the most peaceful and wonderful ever in my life. A little giddy, I might add.”
What struck her most profoundly was the reality of how personal God’s love is. “It’s so amazing that God—the Creator of the universe—came to me. I had no one at work, in my family, or among my friends sharing the gospel or Yeshua with me. It was all God.”
After that night, Nicki began searching for a church where she could be baptized. Rock Harbor Church in Melbourne, Florida, was near her home, and she drove by one Saturday to check it out. But she couldn’t find the building, so she figured she needed to look elsewhere.
God had other plans.
“For the next couple of days, there was a car in front of me with a Rock Harbor sticker on its rear window,” Nicki says. “I know it was God guiding me to Rock Harbor.”
In January 2023, she emailed Pastor Kevin Diamond about being baptized. He called her the next day, and she says he was easy to speak with and welcoming—nothing like negative pastor experiences from her past. “God could not have sent anyone better to me,” she says.
Nicki was baptized on March 19, 2023, and has been attending Rock Harbor ever since.
Perhaps the most beautiful part of Nicki’s story involves her granddaughter, Scarlett, who is neurodivergent with moderate autism.
“Scarlett is my only grandchild and very special to me,” Nicki says. “She has difficulty with emotional regulation and often struggles to interact with others. The one exception has always been Kevin—she adores him, and he always makes time to tell her hello or give her a hug.”
One Sunday last September Scarlett had an emotional outburst during the sermon. She kept getting louder and louder, and Nicki couldn’t help her calm down. “My heart hurt for her because I couldn’t help her,” Nicki recalls. “But God could.”
In the middle of his message, Kevin paused. He asked if there was something he could do, then turned to Scarlett, asking, “Can I pray for you?”
“Yes,” she answered.
Kevin led the congregation in prayer for Scarlett. As they prayed, she quieted and Kevin was able to continue his sermon. He checked on her after the service and again later that day, letting Nicki know that others in the church wanted to know how Scarlett was doing.
“This is family. This is love. This is the agape love of Yeshua,” Nicki says.
Today, Nicki is growing through Bible studies and women’s ministry. Her granddaughter continues to thrive in an environment where she feels loved and seen. “God is doing amazing work through Rock Harbor Church,” Nicki says, “and I feel very honored to be a part of it.”
