I came to Christ at age 36, in 1998, while living overseas, working for an international conservation organization. I had been exploring Christianity in my late 20s and early 30s, but never fully committed. Ultimately, some crises in my personal life led me to trust Jesus fully for the outcomes, and I have not looked back. Over the next 16 years, God led me in a wilderness journey. There were lots of trials and hardships, but He was faithful throughout. I moved back to the US, and took up a research position at Columbia University. About 12 years in, God opened the door for me to get a PhD in the Netherlands while working full time at Columbia. Research projects at work contributed to chapters of my dissertation, and I completed it in three years. Meanwhile, God healed many personal wounds. In 2014, I met a lovely woman who would become my wife. On the week we got married, she traveled with me to the Netherlands to both honeymoon and to support me in my PhD defense. Now, 12 years later, I can see God's hand moving in so many areas of my life. I have become the director of the center I have worked at since 1999 and a lecturer in two masters degree programs. He continues to work through good times and bad, including the current severely constrained federal funding environment. I've been involved in leadership at church (Vineyard Manhattan in NYC) and, until recently, at a children's ministry outside the city. I was recently reading through Deuteronomy 8, about how God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness, and it describes pretty accurately my own personal journey. Watch my interview with my pastor about the integration of my faith and scientific work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNDLR6TuF8I&t=408s