Knife-death agony to baptism joy

A grieving teenager and her mum have told how a desperate walk by a river became the start of a shared journey to Christian faith.

Mia Taylor, 17, and her mum Samantha Taylor, 54, from Devon, shared their testimony with Woman Alive after both were baptised last year.

It followed a year marked by trauma, loss and a sudden hunger for the Bible.

Mia’s world was shattered in January 2024 when her best friend, Mason, whom she had known since they were ten, was murdered in a knife attack.

The pair had planned matching tattoos when they turned 18 and ended calls with the Toy Story line: “To infinity and beyond.”

After Mason’s death, Mia said she sank into depression, endured bullying at school, faced threats online and was even sent a video of the attack.

She also experienced an abusive relationship, health scares and trauma-based PTSD.

By February 2025, Mia had planned to take her own life.

Instead, she felt an unexpected urge to get on a bus and go walk by her local river. Standing near a waterfall, she suddenly felt compelled to read the Bible.

She rang her Mum and said she needed to buy one. With no Bible at home, her mum took her to get her first copy.

Mia began reading Matthew’s Gospel and said she felt “peace and love” for the first time in months.

Soon she was reading for hours each day and finished all four Gospels in a week.

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