Christian Testimonies » Encouragement

Divine Intervention: Piercing the Darkness

A Child of God — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:13:38 +0000

In every life there is a storm or two; a storm that really stands out from the rest; a storm that once survived, comes to define you some how.

For me one such storm, and there have been many, came as just that, a devastating treacherous storm system moving through the pan handle of Texas and Oklahoma in the summer months of 1993. Our little family was traveling to visit the grandparents and my husband was contracted to DJ for his 10 year high school reunion in Midwest City.

Weary from the many hours on the road, in two vans, and two tired little boys, we stopped for what we thought would be our last fill-up before reaching Oklahoma City. I was nervous as the am radio weather advisements warned us of high wind and tornado storm warnings in the areas between us and our destination. It was gusty as we got and paid for our gas and we needed to make good time to avoid the worst of what could come.

Not long after our stop, my van began to have a problem. It began to choke and sputter, especially during acceleration. My husband, thinking all was well, took the lead. An ever increasing distance between us, grew. He wasn’t answering his walkie talkie and the winds increased, the skys grew darker and darker and soon it was clear that my little boys and I were soon to be stranded at the side of the road. The clouds took on an ominous green hue and dozens of small funnel clouds were darting down from the clouds above. The entire sky, for as far as I could see, was thick with dark billowy clouds and the wind and rain were crashing against the van. It was dark as night but I thought I could see a bridge up ahead that may shelter us a little.

Feeling abandoned by my husband and left to weather the storm alone, I began to pray. Immediately the van stalled. Pulling to the right lane, my hazard lights on, I struggled to keep the momentum and to restart the engine. I prayed again, and again! My panic grew as the situation became more and more dangerous. I was surrounded on all sides, and a feeling of doom overcame me. I prayed once more, this time asking my little boys to pray with me. I was choking down a feeling of impatience with God,almost angry with him. We prayed. The van immediately stalled. It seemed the only reaction to my prayer was more trouble. I remember calling out angrily, “That’s not the kind of help I am asking for!” Then a small voice whispered… “How will you glorify me in this storm? Your place is not to scold or scoff at me child!”

Immediately humbled, I began to beg for forgiveness. What was I thinking?! I was yelling at God in the middle of tornado alley? So, briefly, almost instantly, I knew. I began to pray again, this time uttering these words through my tears, “Heavenly Father, if for no other reason than to show my little ones the power of prayer…”, and that was all I was able to utter before a piercing beam of light broke through the clouds behind me and over my left shoulder shining on to the road directly ahead of me. My body was surrounded by a skin tingling warmth; my heart and my mind were instantly aware that God heard me and honored my plea. I was overcome! Tears streaming down my face, I felt the most powerful love I have ever ever experienced.

The break in the clouds continued to grow, the light over my shoulder increased. I was going to make it to the bridge and I could see that my husband had stopped there to wait for me. The raindrops falling, now gently, appeared as individual little prisms, casting multiple rainbows around each one. Ahead of me it appeared as a transparent – shimmering veil of intersecting miniature beams of color. A surge of power rushed through me as the van penetrated and passed through this veil. It almost felt that I passed through heaven, quick as a blink. The van, now maintaining some speed reached the bridge.

My husband ran to my window and suggested that we switch vans. He would follow and keep an eye on me. I was nearly speachless and struggled to put into words what I had just experienced. He acknowledged, but focused on our safety, kind of seeming to dismiss my account. But not I. I felt as if was glowing inside to out, my heart was fluttering, tears streaming, goosebumps covered my body, and all I could do was sing praises at the top of my lungs for hours. It was nearly involuntary and only broken by shouts of praise and thanksgiving through the sobs. The break in the clouds had now grown to at least a quater of the sky. A seemingly impenatrable storm just moments earlier, was now dispersing outward from where the light had first pierced it. Every few minutes I could see more and more blue sky behind me and within the hour, the only clouds I could see were many many miles away. I had to even crack the windows and run the air conditioner as the humidity and heat began to steam up the inside of the windows and limpen my hair.

When I could no longer sing, I sat in awe. I marveled that the God of the universe, did know my name, could hear my prayers and did love me afterall. He was real, I knew it, and I also knew that no matter what trials may come to me in my life, or in the lives of my children, I would never be able to doubt or question it. I knew he would continue to keep us and sustain us. He is a God of Love. He is a God of promise. He is our Father and is willing to move heaven and earth for us. But there may be times he sits silently to observe, to survey our motives and to test our fortitude.

My sons are now grown, and there have been many dark storms which have come in and out of our lives. Even now, 17 years later, the memories and the lessons of that day still shine a light on my path and sustain me through it all.

I have been thinking of the storms that had defined me as a wife, mother, friend, Christian, human. I felt it was time to share my story. I don’t know why it happened to me and not to someone else, but I am here to tell you, no matter what, God lives, He loves us, He hears us, He sustains us. Every day we awaken to any number of impending disasters; death and destruction await upon our every step and every breath and every word. But HE, supreme, is over all and is actively protecting and providing for each and every one of us, each and every day. I know it within every fiber of my being. Cast the weight of your faith upon the Rock, the rock of Jesus Christ, prince of peace, everlasting Father.

B. Green
Reno, Nevada

God Saved My Life Several Times!!

A Child of God — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:22:23 +0000

I am a 48 yr old mother of 3 beautiful children 24,18 & 16 and have been truly blessed with all of them (so far). I gave my life to the Lord at 17 with my best friend and went on to lead a very wild lifestyle. I am born and raised in California, but at 17 my dad moved my family to Oklahoma where he was from and everything went downhill fast.

I was so distraught over leaving my friends and family that I started really having a good time and being defiant because I felt betrayed by my dad who had promised my mom and I so many things before we moved across the country and absolutely none of them came through so was not a happy camper.

My mom and I ended up moving back to California after about a year and got back with my boyfriend and he cheated on my so many times and made me feel like a horrible person over 4 yers (which I know I wasn’t) so I ended up going back to Oklahoma to live with my dad who was drinking every night and very unstable all the way around. Growing up he was a drill sergeant so he was completely different at this point which was cool to me, but later on I suffered.

I started seeing a 26th year old bartender (I was 19) and was intimate with him and he was a very rough character, but I liked the excitement and whenever we spent the night together he had a gun laying next to him which scared me and of course the Lord protected me from any harm. This same man later got me into exotic dancing in a very scary place in a bad part of town where the girls were so rough and could of beat me up anytime, but for some reason they didn’t??

I danced for about a year before I moved to Texas with a friend and got a job dancing and met who I thought was the man of my dreams, but he ended up being a nightmare that wouldn’t end. He was a total physical and mental abuser who threatened my life many times and beat me several times and without the Lord I wouldn’t be here I’m telling you.

One particular night after he had been beating me in the car I got out a couple of times and ran trying to knock on doors, but it was too late and I’m sure people were scared to open the door. He got me and put me in the car and we drove off with him hitting at my face any chance he got.

I remember we were at a stoplight when I saw a van across the way and I thought to myself this is my chance to get out and run across the street to get help and the door opened to the van and there were 2 young guys in there and they let me in and I was terrified and let them know what happened and low and behold they were Christians and took me to a hotel and put me up for the night.

I have so many stories to tell, but I believe the Lord wrapped me in his arms and saved my life many times. To this day my dad hasn’t been in my mine or my deceased brother’s life much for what reason I guess I’ll never know. That’s my story…God Bless You All!

By: Sandra Sluka

The Prodigal Son: A Time for Everything

A Child of God — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:05:14 +0000

Although I have been growing up in church all my life, I never really personally believed in God until I was entering grade five. The time I first accepted Christ into my life was during a summer bible camp they were doing a play on the prodigal son how the son did so many horrendous things to his father taking all his father’s fortune and leaving home, once he spent all his money he was in the dumps, feeding pigs and as poor as he has ever been. One day after many years he mustered up all his courage to go home back to his father, carrying with him years’ worth of guilt and shame, wishing that his father would forgive him. When his father saw him, they had an emotional reunion, he ran up to his son with open arms with tears and welcomed him home. His father was not angry but was happy that his son finally comes home. At the end of the skit, one of the leaders asked us to whether we wanted to be like the son, and be loved by this father who would forgive us no matter what we have done. I said yes and he invited us to say a prayer on the backstage, and on that day I accepted Christ into my life.

Even to this day, I still remember why I put up my hand, how I felt at that time. Before I met Christ, I was very self-confident of myself, but there were things I was going through which I felt no one really understood. I felt like I was doing a lot of things I was not supposed to but it was going out control, I want to change but I didn’t know where to start. I didn’t know how to love, to respect, or to say even the simplest words like sorry and thank you. I was lost; I felt people don’t understand, or know what they say or do has a very big impact on the kid. Or whether they ever considered what we really knew and felt as a kid. On the way, home back I prayed another prayer; I prayed to the lord to take complete control of my life and he did.

From then on, my life toke a major turn; at school I began to stop fooling around, and do my homework. While I stopped being the person I was, along the way I lost a lot of friends. Over time I became really scared, and afraid of other people. But because of that I placed God even more before me. For five years I spent a very difficult time battling myself a hope to change for the better, and all that time I was holding back a lot of tears and hiding a lot of pain. How every week i can feel tears coming down every time i approached the bridge from the church entrance. How I could never open my mouth to speak. All of this was beyond my control. But even then I knew that God was with me. I was thankful that God showed me what it was like to feel alone, to feel completely dependent on God, so that I was able to see how other people must have felt, the people who were unseen, those who were alone and what they needed most. From then, I started to appreciate even littlest things in life from the gracious meals to the simplest hello from another. I was thankful for all the precious people he has placed in my life, because of them I never once felt alone at school. When I went on walks, and see the trees and the sky I wondered at his creation, silently amazed by it and gave thanks for it. I walked in every part of this church alone, and I am not afraid to walk alone in the dark. I went to places where no one could find me and silently played piano, whatever comes out I played and it gave me a peace that stills my heart at the midst of everything that’s is happening. I am thankful for the gifts he has given that were there to settle my heart. If you wondered what it means for God to speak to you, sometimes it’s the wisdom he gives you, the insights you would have never imagined yourself to understand. All of it comes from God alone, it is never from us. All of this is a part of me that has been kept a secret for all my life only between me and God. It is not something I can verbalize well, just because he has done too much for me.

I remember there was countless times I made prayers to lord; if you were to give me strength, and opportunity to serve, help me so that I can give my best to you. One of the most memorable promises I have made to God is whenever you give me strength, I will give everything to care and love for the people around me so that they will never feel sad or alone.

Here is the turning point in my life, God answered my prayers. He gave me the opportunity to serve in AWANA. I do not know why but the moment I stepped into this place God removed me of all my fear and he gave me strength. Then I knew God wants me to be here. There are children here and every one of them is different, each child have their own worries and needs, and if I could help to know each one of them personally, let them feel loved and know that they are cared for; they could see God’s Love.

This year is my fourth year serving in AWANA; I am blessed and overjoyed each time I am with this great big family where everyone cares for one another. Even now, every little thing still matters; it may be holding the hand of a child, their smiles and their laughter, hearing them call out your name and running up to you with a great big hug. I have come to love everyone in AWANA and everyone in this church. When I see the kind of love that we have for one another; it says that God is with us, and it really encourages me to love one another not just as a friend but as fellow brothers and sisters. Sometimes I even feel that I am over blessed by God on everything he has given me now. I learned the importance of a Church, family and how it can grow if there is love and support for one another. The privilege to serve is a gift from God; whenever I am serving God and working for his purpose, I can truly do all things through Christ. My past is like nothing in comparison to the present and what God has more me in the future, by knowing so it gives me more hope than anything else. I am thankful for the past, for life and the experiences it brings that shape us to be the people you have prepared us to be. All those years were like training years from the lord so that I could prepare myself to serve with the heart I have today.

Ecclesiastes 3:4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance

Psalm 30:11 You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

Psalm 126:2 Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”

No matter where we are in life, what we are facing. There is a time for everything; God has a plan for every one of us. So do not worry, if we trust in our heavenly Father, he will protect us, bless us, forgive us and provide for us, because His love is greater than any sadness we will ever face.

By: Shirley

Struggle with Life

A Child of God — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:06:24 +0000

HI, MY NAME IS JENNIFER I HAVE BEEN MARRIED FOR THE PAST 4YRS. I HAVE A STRUGGLING LIFE SINCE I WAS BORN AND TILL NOW. I GREW UP IN FOSTER CARE DUE TO MY MOM HAVING SCHIZOPHRENIA SHE TALKS TO HERSELF AND IMAGINES PEOPLE ARE TALKING TO HER EVEN THEY ARE NOT ACTUALLY THEIR.

MY HUSBAND IS 25 YRS OLD DIAGNOSED AT 12 WITH DIABETES AND AT 19 OF FIBROMYALGIA. HE USED TO BE IN THE HOSPITAL EVERY 5-7 TIMES OF THE YR. MANY PEOPLE SAY HE GOING TO DIE BUT I PERSONALLY BELIEVE GOD IS THE ONLY PERSON WHO CAN DECIDE AND MAKE CHOICES IN YOUR LIFE ESPECIALLY IN HIS AND MINE.

WHEN HE IS AT THE HOSPITAL BEING TREATED OR AT THE DOCTORS OFFICE THEY DO MANY TESTS ON HIM. WHEN THEY GIVE US THE RESULTS HE IS ALWAYS FINE: HEART, LIVER, KIDNEYS THE RESULTS INDICATE HE HAS NOTHING WRONG THEY NEVER KNOW WHY HE GETS SICK. I THANK GOD FOR NEVER LEAVING MY SIGHT AND CONTINUOUSLY BLESSING MY HUSBANDS LIFE AS WELL.

GOD EXISTS AND DOES MANY THINGS FOR US ONLY WE CANT PHYSICALLY SEE HIM BUT SPIRITUALLY FEEL HE IS HERE AND WILL ALWAYS BE WITH YOU.

By: JENNIFER LEAL

I Finally Saw the Light

A Child of God — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:11:37 +0000

My story as a young boy growing up in a Christian home where my dad was even a pastor, I had the perfect background and family to become a strong Christian man.

People would see me and I was the perfect example of a Sunday morning Christian! People think that being a PK (pastor’s kid) then I must be little perfect Christian.

Well truth was I was really good at playing the part for my church and family but outside of there, I was really messed up inside. When I was 12 (I think), everything seemed to be going wrong -Christmas Eve, my dad ended up in the hospital after having a severe heart attack and almost lost his life. A few months later my grandpa died. The worst part of this was that he lived far away and my aunt decided not to tell us until a week after his funeral. This meant I had a lot of anger built up against her.

The next Christmas came around and Christmas day, a man who I had known all my life who was basically a second father to me died of a rare heart disease.

I had so much anger built up inside against God after all of this, I wanted nothing to do with him. I never told anyone this though and I hid all of my feelings inside. I still went to church with my parents and was pretty involved in my youth group but it never really meant anything to me. It was all just a big show. This all went on for a couple years.

My freshman year in high school, I went to a youth conference with a few friends of mine. We didnt go with a youth group or anything just the 4 of us so we got to do as we wanted. That weekend changed my life forever.

While I was there, it basically felt like God took a hammer and wacked me across the head. I experienced God like I never had before! That night I went to the hotel room and I went into the bathroom and collapsed on the floor crying my eyes and and crying out to God. I didnt want to be full of anger and hate anymore. I wanted to be full of Him and that night God’s presence filled me with his Holy Spirit!

Now obviously since then, things have been far from perfect but now that I have God in my life, I know I never have to go through any more trials or problems in my life alone and it has made all the difference!

By: Seth

Victory Over Temptation

A Child of God — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:25:04 +0000

I give all my thanks, praise and worship to our everlasting and everwise God and Creator who is blessed forever and ever in the name of his holy Son Jesus Christ who sits victoriously at his right hand for he is my strength, my song an my salvation.

Last year was a trying one in the workplace. With the reshuffling of staff replacing the nice and peace loving members with opressors, liars, backbiters, proud boisterous boasters and confusion makers; particularly in positions of authority over me.

Once again I stand alone amongst all the gossipers and troublemakers who continuously set snares for me because I try to follow what is good. On numerous occasions the temptation to reward evil for evil was so overwhelming my only course of action was to retreat to a place of solitude so I could beg mercy from my Heavenly Master and put all things in his hands. And he heard my prayers because in the midst of everything that went on around me I had peace in my soul and melodies of praise to our Most High God in my heart; And by his awesome grace I was strengthened to hold my tongue from evil.

Hallelujah! It’s so sweet to trust in Jesus! So I just want to glorify the God of my salvation for helping me through such a distressing period as I look forward to witnessing the magnificent works of his mighty hands going forward the coming weeks. Glory to God in the Highest, through Jesus Christ his holy son through whom all things are possible. Amen.

By: Sim

A Salute to my Mum

A Child of God — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:17:57 +0000

That day was Nov.4th 2002, when the doctors declared a name to my mum’s health problem “Ovarian Cancer” Having known the Lord and His ways, it was difficult to react. Not too sure what to tell or ask the Lord. Just painful doubts! Is it transformation through trouble or is it tested faith? But I know that God has a purpose behind every problem.

Mum went through a series of test. Doctors charted out chemotherapys and tons of medicines. Throughout these days God used “ovarian cancer” and “love for my mum ” to draw me closer to himself. I realized that my most profound and intimate experiences of worship was always during my darkest days. It was during suffering that I learnt to pour my heartfelt, honest -to -God prayers, Till then you will never know that God is all that you have, until God is all you’ve got. I found great peace in Him ” The Lord is close to the broken hearted, He rescues those who are crushed in spirit ”

Mum was getting better as days went by. There was every reason for my family to rejoice and be thankful.

Soon came another dark day to remember – Oct.28th 2005, when mum encountered a relapse, and as per medical science there was no hope. This time there was no more painful doubts. Just submitted mum to the Lord and said ” May Thy will be done “. By now my mum was well prepared to meet the Lord. She knew that her identity is in eternity and her homeland is heaven. For me the pain was far too great to let her go, but I also knew that every moment she spent in this earthly body, is time spent away from her eternal home with Jesus.

On Feb. 3rd 2006, on the wee hours of the morning, Jesus came to take her home. Mum smiled at us and left. It was mourning for me and my family on earth, but crowing glory for mum in heaven.

It’s been five year now since mum left us to be with the lord, Mum’s availability, Involvement, Training, Discipline, Modeling with Integrity in my life is an ongoing roll for me towards my children. I Thank You Mum.

I have many a time missed her, cried till I ran out of tears, through it all on his rock I rest, and can feel it firm beneath me. Strength I pray for, It does not always take away the pain, but makes it bearable. His Grace alone has taken me through this far.

I know that I will soon meet her on the other shore. But till then I Miss you Mum.

By: Mini Mohan Abraham

He Restored My Brother’s Reputation

A Child of God — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:04:51 +0000

I will extol my Holy God of all kings; and I will bless his glorious name forever and ever! All praise to our everlasting and ever merciful God in Heaven in the name of his son Jesus Christ’s conquering name for all his wondrous mercies towards my family and me.

The year was probably one of my family’s most trying in history. My brother (who has never stolen a thing in his life) received a letter from the company he has been working with the past almost 20 years with a flawless record, telling him that he was being investigated under suspicion of fraud and further advised that he resign from his position immediately. Failing this, he would be tried by disciplinary tribunal and fired.

Confused and in complete shock and dismay over the sudden bizarre turn of events, he broke the news to all of us in the family and sought advice on how he should proceed.

Over the phone I grabbed my bible and told my distressed brother of how faithful our God is to deliver the innocent in times of trouble; and so the entire family decided to embark on a holy mission of bombarding God’s throne of grace with our prayers for such a calamity to pass over my brother.

Aunts, uncles, cousins, and even some of my brother’s co-workers joined in prayer morning, noon and evening every day; while our family attorneys salivated over suing the company for wrongful my brother’s wrongful dismissal.

However, by our Almighty God’s perfect power, mercy and grace it never even got that far. Miraculously, the very director who issued the letter of bad news to my brother contacted him and admitted that she was mistaken.

Furthermore, she even petitioned the other members of the board and convinced them to give my brother his job back. Hallelujah! What a glorious, awesome God we serve! He restored my brother’s reputation and his integrity! There is none greater, more awesome, more mighty nor more worthy of all praise!! Glory to our God in the Highest! in the name of his son Jesus Christ, through whom all things are possible! Amen and Amen!

By: “JP”

God is Awesome!

A Child of God — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:59:12 +0000

Jesus is the answer to eternal life. He is the way, the truth and the life and i thank God for releaving this truth to me as his word says know the truth and the truth shall set you free.

God has been merciful and kind to me and my family and has done amazing things for us. He is our Lord who strengthens us, blesses us, guides us. His mercies are new every morning in our lives. The joy and peace that comes from Him, no money on the earth can buy !! and i pray that we as a family continue to focus on Him, set our hearts on Him and allow Him to dwell in our lives.

Great is He indeed and awesome are His ways. God knows best for me and my family and even if things dont go the way it should at times, we know that our Lord is in control of the situation and He will lead us to victory. Praise the name of our mighty Jesus, our Lord God and Saviour.

By: Mrs. Shirley

Keeping My Promise to God

A Child of God — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:42:24 +0000

January 3rd and April 18th will always be very special days in my life. As the reader of this letter, I must let you know that it is by the grace of God that I may be able to share this testimony with you.

My story begins on May 9th 1996. I was arrested and booked into the Santa Clara County Jail on Marijuana possession charges. Though, the events which lead up to this are relevant, it is not the focus of this story. Let’s just say, what the Officers did was unethical and I should not have been arrested.

After being arrested, I called my mom and asked her to call her friend (The bails bondsman) and ask her to come down to the Santa Clara County jail and bail me out.

Well, in those days I was very arrogant and cocky. The thought of me actually being arrested and booked was ridiculous. I figured that I would just bail out and that would be that. I sat arrogantly in the holding tank expecting to be bailed out at any moment (It didn’t happen).

What I did not know was that because of a crime which happened 20 years earlier in my youth, I was now a three strikes candidate.

While I waited to be bailed out, one of the CO’s (Correctional officers) told me that I didn’t make bail and would have to go upstairs to a cell. I was sure he was mistaken. I sat on my bunk all night thinking that “At any moment I would be bailed out” (No such luck).

When morning came, I called my mother to find out why bail had not been posted for me. My Mom told me that her friend (the bails bondsman) had went down to the Santa Clara County Jail and was informed that bail for me was being denied by the night duty judge, who insisted that I appear in arraignment court before bail would be set.

This infuriated me. I called my high powered lawyer and told him that I was being denied bail and asked him how much would it cost for him to come to arraignment court and negotiate my bail.

My Lawyer said, “The reason that you are probably being denied bail is because they want to make it high. It will probably be about One Hundred thousand Dollars. You can afford that, right?”

I said “yes I can, but I have a very bad feeling about this. I said I would feel more comfortable if you were in court with me, even if it is only for a five minute appearance.”

My lawyer told me that he would charge me $2,500.00 for the appearance.

When I arrived into the courtroom, to my dismay, I was informed that I had three strikes. I asked my lawyer was this true and he looked very sad and nodded his head yes.

At that time I was informed that my bail was five hundred thousand dollars. I remember that day very well, my legs were like a wet noodle, I found it very difficult to walk back to my cell.

I always considered myself to be a very tough guy, but I am not ashamed to tell you that I cried like a baby all the way up to my cell.

When I went into my cell, I was very distraught. I saw a Bible laying on the table in my cell and I picked it up (It was the New Testament) and I read it.

After reading it, I became very religious. This is an important statement, because there is a difference in being religious and really trusting God, as I found out.

After reading the New Testament, I began begging God to get me out of jail and pleading with him, making all sorts of promises. I told God that if he got me out of jail, I would make sure that all of my friends and nephews went to church and foolishly continued to promise this and that.

God listened to my pleas and by his grace and his grace only, I made bail. So that you who read this, truly understand that it was only by God’s grace that I made bail, because during that time there were over 300 three strikers in Santa Clara County, all facing life and I and one other person were the only ones who had managed to get out on bail and they (The District Attorney’s office) were furious.

Shortly after my release I heard that the other person was taken back into custody and the rules had been changed, so that all three strikers in Santa Clara County were no longer granted bail.

Now, I was the only three-striker who was out on bail and the pressure was on by the District Attorney to try to get me back into custody.

As mentioned before, I had made all sorts of promises to God prior to my release, but somehow, now that I was free, those promises were now replaced with my need to make people think of how great a person I was and I wanted them to remember me.

I bought my nephew a new car, because I wanted him to remember his great uncle. I bought my adopted daughter in law a new van, because I wanted her to remember how great a person I was. I helped a few people get into I.T.T. technical institute, because I wanted them to go to school and remember how great a person I was. I helped other nephews get great jobs, because I wanted them to remember how great their uncle was.

I wanted to leave a legacy of what a good person I was, so that when I was eventually sentenced to life, everyone would remember me. I was so consumed in doing this that I paid very little attention to my case and the amount of money that I was spending on my own legacy.

In the end, the District attorney got his way and through certain events, I was re-arrested in Sacramento and brought back down to Santa Clara County to face charges.

Within weeks of me being brought back into the county jail, my nephew’s car was stolen and totaled in a crash. My adopted daughter-in-law drove the wrong way on a one way street and her van was totaled, my other nephew lost his job, because of fighting and everyone else dropped out of I.T.T (Coincidence? I think not).

I was devastated. Not only was I going to loose my freedom forever, because of three strikes, everything that I had built up for my self as my legacy, a testimony to myself had been totally destroyed.

I sat in my cell feeling totally defeated. I saw the Bible lying on my cell mate’s table and I picked it up and begin to read it from the very beginning. There was a difference this time. I read it because I wanted to and did not expect God to save me. I had accepted the fact that I was going to get 25 to life.

A short time after I began reading the bible I began realizing what a disgusting person I had been all of my life. The words in the Bible, (Gods words) convicted me so badly that I threw myself on the ground and confessed my sins to God and asked him to let Christ come into my life.

During the same week that I dedicated my life to following Christ, my Attorney (Susan Shores) came to see me. She told me that I would not get 25 to life. That she knew a judge who would not give me a life sentence for having marijuana.

I could not believe it. There was hope for me?

Well, I kept on studying the Bible, started attending Bible studies, and even started a Bible studies in my dorm which consisted of 15 other three strikers, who were all facing life sentences, but because they also trusted God, they are all now home with their families (But that’s another story).

My prayer during this time was to ask God to bless my attorney with wisdom. I am mentioning this, because when you pray to God, you better be careful of what you ask, because you just might get it.

Eleven months into my case, my Attorney (Susan Shores) came to see me and informed me that she could no longer defend me. That she had defended too many three strikers and now it was affecting her emotionally and physically.

I told her that I needed her and that without her; I would more than likely get a life sentence. Susan told me that her Doctor had informed her that she had been internalizing all of the stress that is involved with defending three strikers. If she did not take time off, it would affect her health.

She apologized and told me that I would have a new attorney (Louella Tsai).

At my first meeting with my new Attorney Louella Tsai, she told me right out that I was going to get life. She said that we are going to file a 1538.5 Suppression motion, but it will not work, because no judge in Santa Clara County would grant it, because for a judge to grant it, he or she would have to admit that the officers were lying. She said that no judge in Santa Clara County would ever admit that any Officer would lie.

The motion was filed and the judge heard testimony in the case. After the hearing, the judge stated that she would send us a written response within a week.

One week passed and I called my attorney to see if she had received any response from the judge. My Attorney told me that “We cannot win this case. The judge is going to rule against us.”

Later that week, I had spoken to some Christian brothers who were housed in the dorm with me. They told me that the Holy Spirit had told them to tell me something about my case. This made me get really upset. I was sick and tired of Christian brothers always saying that they had a message for me from the Holy Spirit, who for some reason only talked with them and no one else. Why was that? How come I never heard the Holy Spirit talk to me? What was so different about me?

That night when I locked down in my cell, I called out to God. In a loud voice I said “God, I am sick and tired of people saying that the Holy Spirit spoke to them about me, what makes them so special that they can hear the Holy Spirit and I cannot. I want to hear your voice God, me, personally. Please speak to me so that I can hear you for myself.”

I waited all night, just to hear God’s voice. I even got a little scared, because I wondered if he spoke to me, would I be able to deal with it. Would it scare me?

I stayed up the entire night and there was no voice to be heard from God. The funny part about it was that I was sort of relieved.

I sat on my bunk and picked up my Bible to read a few versus and the strangest thing happened. The words in the Bible were speaking to me. No matter what page I turned to, God was speaking to me. Right then and there, he was answering all of my questions in a voice that I could understand and a voice I did not fear. I knew right then and there beyond a doubt that God is alive and he is real, REAL!!!

I fed on every word that was being given to me and I walked out of my cell with confidence and though I had been up all night, I was not tired. I had no fear about what was ahead of me.

I called my Attorney later in the week, just to hear from her that the Judge still had not made a decision and that I should not depend on her ruling in my favor, because it just wouldn’t happen.

I told my Attorney that I had faith and my Attorney responded, “You’re the only one.”

In the fourth week, I called my Attorney and she said, “I don’t believe it. The judge granted the motion in your favor and the case was dismissed.”

It didn’t end there. The District Attorney re-filed against me and I had to fight the case again from the beginning. During this time I had been incarcerated in the Santa Clara County Jail at Elmwood for approximately eighteen months.

By the time my attorney was ready to file another 1538.5 Suppression motion, twelve months had passed bringing the total amount of time of my incarceration up to thirty months.

Because so much time had passed, witnesses for my case had began to move on with their lives and were hard to find and were just tired of coming to court.

It had become almost impossible to find some of my key witnesses, so, I just explained to God that I did not want to involve witnesses in my case any longer. I would just go into court with him, and whatever he decided, I would trust.

I don’t have to tell you that my attorneys (God blessed me with two at that time) were very upset with my decision. They told me that it was hard enough to win the case when it was me and my nephew’s testimony against two police officers, but now, I was going to be the only witness in my defense against the testimony of three police officers.

They (my attorneys) did not understand that everything was in God’s hands and all I asked of God was for the truth to be known.

The 1538.5 Suppression hearing which was only suppose to only take 3 hours began in May 1999 and ended in November 1999.

Now all was left was for the judge to submit her ruling in writing to everyone.

The weeks went by and during this time something very interesting happened.

I had developed a very bad problem with my knee. It had been swollen for three month and the swelling would not go down. As a result, I could not bend my leg at the knee and had to keep it straight at all times.

This was also very difficult for me, because walking was hard enough, but I also lived on the upper level of the dorm and had to use the hand-rail to walk slowly up and down the stairs.

Even when I prayed in my cell each morning and evening I could only bend one leg and the other I had to keep straight (this was very awkward, but after three months I had gotten use to it).

I spoke with my mother on the telephone and she begged me to go and see the jail doctor. She said that she feared that I could have a blood clot in my knee and that it would become loose and go to my heart and kill me.

My fear was that if I went to the Doctor, he would tell me that I would need surgery and that would mean that I would be sent out to Valley Medical Center.

You are probably wondering why I thought that would be bad. Well, anyone who is sent to Valley Medical Center is rolled up and moved downtown to the main Jail, Which is a very dirty and disgusting place.

I had lived in M5, at Elmwood, which is located in Milpitas California for 34 months and my cell had become my home away from home. I had spent many of hours praying and talking with God there. I also had developed several friendships with other Christian brothers who were also facing what I was facing. Now don’t get me wrong, I would never want to spend the rest of my life in that cell, but if I had to be in Jail in Santa Clara County, that is where I would want to be.

After much pleading from my mother, I decided to go and see the jail doctor. He examined my leg and told me that there was a definite problem. He said that I would have to go to Valley Medical Center to have it drained.

I plead with him and asked him if he could just drain it in his office. He told me no. It had to be done at the hospital.

He told me that he would schedule an appointment for me to see the Orthopedics surgeon, who would X-ray my knee and schedule me for transfer to Valley medical center for surgery.

Man, I felt distraught. I returned to my dorm and to my cell. I told one of my friends that I would be transferred to Valley Medical Center. I asked him to help me roll up all of my property in my cell so when the officers came to get my property, that it will all be in order.

Within minutes of me telling a few people that I would be transferred, inmates in my dorm went to the Dorm Officer to ask if they could get my job as lead Dorm trustee.

For those of you who have never been in custody before a trustee is a job which is assigned to an inmate worker. In M5, a trustee is responsible for making sure that the Dorm is cleaned, passes out food during all of the meals, distributing out laundry and any other related duties.

The benefits are that you are able to get extra food, extra clothing, extra bedding, and extra television time and are not locked down as often as the general population.

This had been my job for at least two and a half years of my incarceration.

As I sat in my cell and continued to pack up all of my property, I felt very distraught. A thought came to my mind, something that I thought I would never consider, because I did not believe in it.

I considered asking God to heal my knee. Now I know that you are probably wondering, how could I, believe in God, not believe in the healing process.

I do believe in God, but I believed that only the Apostles had the power to heal and that it was not in our ability in today’s society. I have seen too many people putting their hands on people to try and heal them and nothing happened. So, I believed what I did.

Now here I was in my cell not wanting to be transferred, but who else could I turn to. I got on my knees (knee, because I had to keep one leg straight). I felt really embarrassed about this.

I put my right hand on my right knee and prayed sincerely. I asked God if he could please heal my knee. I told him the truth and why, even though I already knew that he knows everything and I asked this in Jesus name. (This was around 4:30am)

Later on that evening, (Around 7:00pm) I was taken out to see the orthopedic surgeon (which is located in the Elmwood complex across the road from my dorm).

The doctor examined my knee and compared it to the chart that the other doctor had taken the day before.

He said this is strange. The swelling in your knee seems to be smaller than yesterday.
I did not give it much thought, because I still knew that I would be transferred to Valley Medical center.

He took an X-ray and said this is very strange. He said, I want to wait a couple of days and see you again. And then I will schedule you to go out for surgery.

I returned to my dorm and did not think much of it. I had forgotten about my prayer to God.

The next day, I was walking up to my cell when I reached the top of the stairs; I realized that I did not hold onto the rail. I had walked up without holding onto the rail and did not even notice it.

I couldn’t believe it. I went down the stairs without holding onto the rail and walked back up again without holding onto the rail. Then it dawned on me, I HAD BEEN HEALED BY THE ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD!!!!

I kept it a secret from everyone until later that evening, because we had a prayer circle at the end of each day, where everyone (Inmates in my dorm) would get together and pray together. At that time, I showed everyone my knee and showed them that I could bend it and told everyone what had happened.

I know that this is hard to believe for those of you who read this story, because if you would have told this to me two and a half years ago, I wouldn’t have believed it myself, but I was healed and no surgery was ever required.

There were 64 inmates (Including me) in my dorm. There are now 64 witnesses who will testify to the truth of this. They were all there and they have all seen for them selves.

Shortly after this miracle, sometime around Christmas, my Attorney informed me that the Judge had again ruled in my favor and on January 3, 2000, by the grace of God, my case in Santa Clara County was dismissed again.

But the story doesn’t end here:

Before I continue, I want to take this time to also thank some Christian brothers, free people, who were inspired by God, to come into the County Jail once per week and visit with all of us and teach us God’s word.

No matter how tired they were from working out there in the free world they would still take the time to come in and share God’s word with us.

Those fine Christian brothers are:

Brother Ede Lee
Kevin
Carol
Bill
Wendell
And Brother Thomas

A special thanks to brother Ede Lee, because he use to tell me, that I should submit my will to God and ask that God’s will be done. I use to say, that I was afraid of that, because what if God’s will was that I would spend the rest of my life in Prison.

His response was, “but you would still be free in Christ.”

Brother Lee, I now understand what you meant.

Now it’s time to go on. As I mentioned earlier, my case in Santa Clara County was dismissed on January 3, 2000, yet I could not go home, because I still had a case pending in Sacramento County.

I prayed and fasted and begged God not to let Sacramento County pick me up (Even after all this time, I still had not learned to trust God’s Will), well they came and picked me up alright and when I arrived in Sacramento County, I was informed that I was being charged with possession of marijuana and three strikes. (Oh no! Not again).

During the process my Attorney sent out an investigator, who interviewed a friend of mine who was there during the arrest. To my amazement, that person confessed to the crime, where most people would think, “Well he’s already in custody for it, why should I confess.”

But by the Grace of God, he confessed to it. His mother confirmed her son’s confession and a third party (A bounty hunter) also confessed that his partner was lying in regards to this issue.

Now I had three witnesses in my defense. My lawyer stated that she would submit the investigator’s findings to the District Attorney and ask for a dismissal.

It should have been cut and dry, but it wasn’t.

The District Attorney stated that since this was a three strikes case, he wanted his investigator to go out and interview all of the witnesses.

My Attorney stated that the District Attorney’s investigator not only received the same information that her investigator received, but that all three witnesses signed sworn statements to the fact.

She said that she is going to ask the District Attorney to dismiss the case.

Months went by, because the D.A. kept postponing the court date that we needed to ask for a dismissal. He kept saying that he had not had time to research the case and had not had time to personally interview the witnesses.

My Attorney stated that she was tired of waiting for the District Attorney to dismiss the charges, and that he was being stubborn, because it was a three strike case and they (The Deputy District Attorneys gets a bonus every time they convict someone for a life sentence).

She said that we will just proceed on to trial and go for the win.

I was tired. Even though I could win, going to trial would mean that I would be in custody for another three years.

I asked God for help. I said, Heavenly father, I know that you can win this case, but I am just too tired. Please tell me what you want me to do. They do not offer deals to three strikers, but If I walk into that courtroom tomorrow morning and the D.A. offers me a deal, then I know it came from you, but if it does not happen, then I will know that you want me to take this to trial.

On April 18, 2000, when I walked into the courtroom my Attorney said that she wanted to have a private conference with me.

Inside of the interview room she said that The D.A. still wants to pursue this case, even though all of the evidence exonerates you. He (The DA) said that he doesn’t care about the truth, he just wants a conviction.

She said that he said he is willing to drop all of your strikes if you would be willing to plead to two years and 1 strike.

I said yes before she could finish the statement. She said wait. Think about this. You can win this case. You are not guilty. But my attorney did not know that God had told me what he wanted me to do.

So I took the deal and was sentenced to 2 years and one strike. Now because of the 1 strike enhancement, it doubled my sentence, which meant that the 2 years was now a four- year sentence. Nevertheless on April 18, I knew that someday I would be going home.

I promised the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that from that day forward, on January 3rd and April 18th of every year, I would tell as many people as I could of God’s awesome power and how he came to my rescue when I thought that all hope was gone.

Now there is one last part to this story:

During the sentencing portion of my case the Judge gave me good time credits for only 4 months. From January 5, 2000 to April 18, 2000. After which I was remanded into the custody of the California Department of Corrections, to start serving my sentence.

I was first transferred from Sacramento to DVI (Duel Vocational institute) where I was processed through reception and 2 weeks later I was sent to Susanville, level –III, where I was informed that my release date from prison would be February 28, 2003.

Six months later, I was brought in for emergency classification, because they realized that they had made a mistake and my points were not level-III, but Level –I and they asked me where I wanted to go. I didn’t know where. A friend of mine had transferred to CMC (California Men’s Colony), so I said send me there I guess. My counselor told me that they will never give you your first choice, so pick somewhere else. I said, I don’t care, you pick, and he said Susanville, level-I.

A few days later, my counselor called me in and said he didn’t believe it, but the CSR board approved my first request and I am being sent to CMC-West.

So I arrived at CMC-west. While there, I began going over my court papers, because I could not believe that I only received four months credit from the court. I had been in custody for three and a half years.

So I called my family and asked them if they would get me a lawyer. My dad did not think that they would give me anymore time off. My brother (Younger) who is a professor at a local University concurred with my dad. My sister, who is a Deputy Sheriff said that she called the Sacramento Sheriffs records department and there had been no mistake.

My mom was the only one who would at least try (Thank God for mothers).

During this time I worked in the Unit II program office as an inmate posting clerk. I explained my situation to one of my Co-workers (Joe Martinez) who was a Sergeant’s Clerk. He said that he had been studying to be a Paralegal and he could file the necessary paper work to the court for me.

Well you know what they say about Jail house lawyers. And I wasn’t too thrilled about this guy possibly messing up my paperwork, but the more he talked, the more I began to realize just how much he knew.

I thought about it. Had I not learned enough about God yet? Did not God take simple uneducated fishermen and make them some of the most important people in our history?

So I told Joe yes, go ahead and fill out my legal paperwork. Joe told me that he will help me file a “Writ of habeas Corpus” requesting that the court grant me all of my back time credits. He said that the court will turn it down at the informal level, but not to worry, because they always deny it at first, but then we will file an appeal, in which we should win.

So we submitted the “Writ of Habeas Corpus” to the court and waited for the denial to come back so that we could file the Appeal.

One week went by, then two, then three. Joe said that this was unusual, because the denial is usually sent back within the first week.

I am telling you that we were both really stressing.

On April 18, 2001, one year later from the date that I was sentenced, I knew that I had to keep my promise to God, so I met together with a few Christian brothers that I had met at CMC-west and I cooked for them and told them the story of how God saved my life and all of the miracles that I had witnessed since January 1997 through my final deliverance on April 18, 2000.

When we finished eating, I returned to the program office to finish up some work on my desk and to my surprise, I was told by the mailroom officer, that I had legal mail waiting for me.

He handed me the letter and I was too afraid to open it. I knew it was the denial, but I didn’t want to read it.

When I opened it, it read that the court found that the “Writ of Habeas Corpus”, which was filed had good cause and the court wanted to know if the District Attorney’s office or CDC could provide any legal reason that it should not be granted.

One other thing that shocked me and Joe was that the Judge cited a case in my favor on why the “Writ” should be granted.

Joe and I were ecstatic. We rushed over to the law library to look up the case that the judge had cited on my behalf. In short it was a Supreme Court ruling, which stated that a person must be given all credits from the date of his/her incarceration.

Shortly afterward the Judge granted the “Writ of habeas Corpus.” Stating that the District Attorney’s office conceded that I should have been given credit from January 1997 through April 18, 2000, instead of only getting credits from January 2000 to April 2000.

The Judge then issued an order that I be given 1,766 days credits off of my sentence and ordered my immediate release from the California Department of Corrections and that all extra credits be taken off of my parole.

Amen

I want to take the time to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to read my testimony, and to help me to continue to keep my promise to God.

It is only by God’s grace that I am here now able to type this testimony on my very own computer, at my very own desk, in my very own office in the company that God has blessed me with.

Take care and may God’s grace be with you all.

By: Gill