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 -A story of what God did for me-
James E. Dyck - Santiago, Nayarit, Mexico Thirty-one years old, a hard work’n farmer, smoked like a chimney, liked the feel of the bottle in his hand. He was religiously active at church, believed that God only hears and speaks in German, had a family of eight children, six rambunctious boys and two little girls that where to young to tell what thy are going to be like. Had a Christian neighbour that prayed for God to show Pa that he could go to heaven, and was plum and plain scared to die and meet God. That’s my grandpa all wrapped up in one phrase before he came to understand what he knows now about God. The neighbour that he had, drove him nuts because he prayed for him all the time, but not only that, but my Pa thought that he lived a “holier” life than his Christian neighbour because Pa didn’t have a TV or a Radio like his Christian neighbour, it was a religious thing that the church taught. The church said: you gotta live a good life, stay away from the world, don’t do anything bad and God will put your good stuff and your bad stuff on a balance and if the good outweighs the bad, then God will let you into heaven. One day in the summer, and the summer isn’t all that long in Manitoba, Canada, it seems to me that I could never really tell when it had come and gone it was so short, Pa was making hay bales along with his pray’n neighbour. The “Christian” got mad and Pa thought to himself “told you I was better”. However, a short while later Pa couldn’t find his friend, so he went looking for him, there he found him in behind the stack of bales on his knees crying out to God for forgiveness. This time Pa thought, “This man knows God”. Grandpa will tell you, if you sit down beside his old chair with the sheep skin on it and listen to him, that that day out in the field, got him to thinking about God and Pa’s sins. Not to long after that day in the field, Grandpa’s good pray’n neighbour died, and Pa went to the funeral. For the first time in his life her heard a preacher stand up and talk about God loving Pa so much that he sent His only Son to die to pay for Grandpa’s sin. Pa came out of the church and “lit up” and stood in a circle with a bunch of his drink’n buddies. One of whom Pa thought, was the worst, spoke up and said: “If you want the truth the preacher preached it today”. Grandpa slipped away from the group and went home without being able to stop thinking about what he had heard. At the funeral service the preacher said that there would be some special nightly services to which all were welcome. After talking it over with Grandma, they both decided to go and hear the preacher. A few nights later the preacher opened his Bible to John 19:30, it says: “IT IS FINNISHED” he went on to explain that Jesus paid for the sin of all who believe when he died on the cross. Neither Pa nor Ma talked to each other but they where thinking that they would go home and check and see what the German bible said. Pa climbed up stairs, sat down on the old bench at the kitchen table with the wood stove off to one side, opened up the big old German bible, and read the same thing in German. He understood for the first time in his life that Christ paid for all sin and that all who believe can go to heaven! Ma went down to the basement, read the same thing in German, and came to the same understanding that Pa did upstairs.
Grandpa was heading down to tell Grandma what he had understood and she was heading up to tell Grandpa, they found each other on the stairs with a smile on there faces and told each other that God had forgiven their sins, because the Bible says so, German or English. Pa quit drink’n, quit smoking, bought shoes for his kids, always had enough food for his eight kids and wife, and to this day, it is real hard to find him without a smile on his old face with big long white eyebrows and, white hair slicked back over his head. I had to tell you about Pa in order to tell you about me, because I came along a good twenty some years after Grandpa came to understand that Jesus came to die for the sinner that believes. My Dad was Grandpa’s fourth rambunctious boy and well Dad always brought be and the rest of my six siblings to hear the preacher every Sunday evening. I heard the message of Gods love preached every week and then a whole bunch more at home from Dad and Mom. I was a little sinner and I knew it, and not just because someone told me. I knew that if they knew all that, I knew about me, that they would have called me the “biggest sinner”. However, one day, April 1st, 1988, after service we all, that’s like everyone one of my 30 plus cousins and their parents, went over to Pa and Ma’s house for “night lunch”. I was being bad again, and I’m not telling you want I was doing, so my cousin went in and told my Mom. Mom came outside and called me in for a talking and if needed a “tanning”. Mom told me that Jesus died because I had sinned. She explained that the bible says: Romans 6:23 “the payment of sin is death”. She also told me that Jesus died to pay for my sin, and that if I accepted Jesus’ payment for sin I could go to heaven. I understood for the first time as a young boy that, Jesus died to save me from my sins and a lost eternity. After I understood what Jesus had done for me, I got down on my knees beside the bed, in the bedroom at Pa’s house that has blue carpet, and thanked God for sending His Son to this world to save me from my sins. Today I have my own little family of three little boys and a baby on the way. I sit down and tell them about who great grandpa was, and who he is now, and about how God showed me that all who believe on the Son of God can have their sins forgiven and go to heaven. Not a day goes by that I have to worry about dying, because the bible says that all who believe shall have everlasting life. Now that’s what I call a worry free life! James E. Dyck
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 Ann's Testimony of Salvation
I first heard the gospel preached in the summer of 1956 in a tent that was pitched between the towns of Clyde and Bellevue, Ohio. Two evangelists, Norm Crawford, from Jackson MI. and James Lipke, from Cleveland, Ohio were preaching the gospel. My dad was walking on the street as a mailman and these two men stopped him and gave him an invitation to the mtgs. My parents had been saved a short time before this and had been searching for the "right Church" - a Bible believing one that had the pure gospel preached. These gospel meetings in the tent went on for 12 weeks - July 1 through Sept. 30 and many souls were saved. I was very concerned and upset about my sin that was taking me down to Hell. But I didn’t get serious enough to put it first in my life and put off getting saved. In the fall, an Assembly of Christians (the Gospel Hall) was established in Clyde, Ohio. I attended regularly and went to every series of gospel meetings that were at the Hall - at least one series each year. At 11 years of age, I had a false profession - quoted a verse in my head - Matt 11:28 and tried to believe - hoping I was saved. I held onto that profession for 7 years until I was 18 years old. In 1967 two preachers came to Clyde to preach the gospel - James Smith and William Snyder. They both stayed at our home while they were residing in the area for the meetings. I was involved with many activities at school as I was a senior in high school and tried to avoid going to the meetings and also tried to avoid talking to the preachers. The 5th week of the meetings on a Thursday night I walked into the gospel meeting and heard the news that a niece of one of the Christians had gotten saved after hearing the gospel just a few times. That stunned me - as I had heard the gospel for many years and was not even taking heed to the message. For the first time I listened wholeheartedly to the whole meeting. James Smith talked on being a hypocrite - false professions, etc. That message was for me! I was in tears and sat in my seat after the meeting was over. Both preachers talked and read Bible verses to me. Finally they said - they could not save me - and sent me home. On the way home in the car the verse I Peter 3:18 came to my mind - For Christ also hath suffered for sins - the Just for the Unjust - and that hit home. I knew I was the unjust one and that Christ was the Just One - and that He died for me! It was a clear and simple thing - but so REAL - and I've never had a doubt about being saved since that day!
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 There were many transitions in my thought process that had to take place in my experience before I could first understand what salvation was. Because I was accustomed to religious traditions, over half of this testimony describes how I came to know that I was, indeed, without salvation. The first step of being found is finding where you are…and I was surely lost.
“To be conscious that you are ignorant of the facts is a great step to knowledge.” ~ English Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli I was brought up attending Methodist church where the rapture seemed to be something that would happen a long time in the future – not something that could happen at any time. In fact, I remember that I never knew WHY Jesus was going to come back to this earth. I just knew that Jesus would return to earth someday. I remember going to seminars where you could ask Jesus into your heart. The word “saved” was never used, and the speakers never said that it had anything to do with assurance of a home in heaven or the forgiveness of sins – just a relationship with Christ, which I didn’t understand. There were many people that seemed to believe that if you go to church, believe there is a God, and try to be a good person, you are automatically going to heaven, or at least you hope to be. I was told by my Sunday school teacher that Jesus forgives my sins past, present, and future. I was never told that I needed to accept Christ as my Savior for Him to do so. The accepted mentality was that everyone would be in heaven because God is good and loves everyone no matter what they’ve done in life. As a young child, I believed there was a God, and that the Bible was His written Word. My parents had taught me the importance of prayer and reading the Bible, even though we never had a daily family devotion time. When I went to college, I made a personal commitment to read at least one chapter of the Bible every night, simply because I believed it was a good thing to do. The fall semester of 1995, brought much soul-searching. College is a time of choice – classes, careers, boyfriends, activities. I remember praying that God would lead the way. “Lord, I’m not sure where my life is going. Please lead me. I want to make the right choices, and be happy.” I wondered how God and “church” would fit into my life. “But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deut 4:29. Around this time of searching, I met Jon Fitch and everything began to change. He was the nicest guy I had ever met in my life! There was just something different about him. One day, while we were studying together in my dorm room, Jon noticed I had a Bible at my bedside, and a Christian music CD in my collection. I told him that I read my Bible every night, and that the CD was something I bought at a church camp I attended the summer before I went to college. Jon looked very amazed. He suddenly seemed interested, and eventually got up the nerve to ask if I was “saved”. I didn’t exactly know how to answer that question. I had heard the word before, but didn’t know how it applied to me. I told Jon that I thought I was saved and going to heaven. The next day I called my mom, and asked her if my Confirmation into the Methodist Church at the age of 11 meant that I was “saved”. She said it was. However, I did not think my confirmation changed me at all. I tried not to let it bother me, but I was feeling confused because I couldn’t understand why Jon had a date and personal experience for his salvation, and I did not. Memorial Day weekend was Omaha Bible Conference and my first trip to meet Jon’s family. Sunday evening, I attended my first Gospel meeting. I didn’t think the Gospel message was anything different than what I was used to hearing. But I do remember thinking that some of the things they were saying seemed different. I had heard the Bible verses before, but it was presented in a clearer way. However, I was not troubled at all by what I heard. Special Gospel meetings began in Robins, IA in June 1996 with Al Christopherson and Eric McCullough, and Jon made every effort to take me to them. I still didn’t understand what the word “saved” meant. I was trying to discover the time in my past when I was saved, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. On July 10th, 1996, Al handed me a Gospel tract as I shook his hand after the meeting. He said, “I picked this one up for you.” I said thanks and shoved it into my pocket and purposely took my mind off the subject. I didn’t read it until the next morning while I was at work. I pulled it out when I had a chance and casually started skimming it over. “How I Tried The 5 C’s.” It was Henry Pickering’s personal testimony about how his experience with Christening, the Choir, Confirmation, and Communion did not make him fit for heaven. Every word I read was exactly my story and matched how I felt. I began to realize that there was something I was lacking. I refused to think more about it until I got into my car later that day. By chance, the Christian radio station was playing a certain song about being saved (“God Got A Hold On Me” by Goeff Moore). I really wanted to know for sure if I was saved. As I waited at a stoplight, I realized for the first time that if I didn’t know for sure if I was truly saved, then I was obviously NOT saved! On Sunday, July 14, 1996 at the gospel meeting in Robins, Al gave me a few more tracts to read. To my bewilderment, I still wasn’t saved. Monday morning, I was very soul-troubled. At the meeting that night, I listened intently, just like I had done for the last week – just waiting for Al to tell me what to do to be saved. I liked it when he would tell a story about how someone got saved. I thought that was a good way for me to figure out how to get saved myself, but it never seemed to help. When I would read my Bible, I knew all of the verses that were preached about salvation. They were so familiar, but I didn’t understand how to be saved. I spoke with Al after everyone else had left. He gave me another Gospel tract, “Safety, Certainty, and Enjoyment”. When I got home, I sat down on my bed and prayed and asked the Lord to save me. I stopped trying so hard, and began reading the tract with an open heart and mind. What I read seemed to speak to my situation and answer some of my questions. John 6:47 was quoted and I underlined it thinking that it seemed like a very simple verse. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, hath everlasting life”. The author then gave an illustration which is paraphrased here: “If someone, who was the town gossip, came to your door and told you that the station master has been killed that night at the railway, would you believe what they said? No! Why not? Because of the lack of credibility of the person who is telling you the information. Now, if the most trusted source in town came to your door and told you that the station master had died, would you believe them? Yes! Why? Because of who is telling you the information.” I thought of the words in the verse I had just read (John 6:47). The words “on me” stuck out, and I read them over and over. I thought about how I had always believed in God and understood that His written Word was true. I suddenly realized that I could trust what that verse says! I have everlasting life! I finally understood it! Christ died for my sins, and therefore I have eternal life with Him. BECA--USE GOD SAYS SO! I must say that one of the key verses that spoke to me during those months of my life was Matthew 7:14, “Because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” This verse scared me out of my wits! It helped me realize that maybe I wasn’t saved. I had grown up placing myself in the large crowd of “good” people who (thought they) were going to heaven. I began to see that this crowd could not be “few there be that find it”. This was a crucial realization for me. I love the words in Deuteronomy 4:29 (which I quoted earlier), “But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.” I believe my story proves the words in that verse. I was definitely seeking! I see things differently now. The same Bible verses that I had heard over and over while I was growing up, now paint different pictures in my mind. They stand out as if I had never realized the true meaning before. “One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” John 9:24 Suzy Fitch | No comments for this item
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 The most important day in my life--bar none--is December 7,1959. That was the day I was taken off the Broad road that leads to Hell and put on the Narrow way that leads to Heaven. (Matthew 7:13-14) It happened about 8 in the evening. The Bible teaches- and I was taught -.that I was born a sinner and needed to be saved.--(Acts 4:12). And I was taught that Jesus was the only way to heaven--(John 14:6) and he had to be my saviour. But I couldn't seem to get saved. I went to lots of gospel meetings and to Sunday School--so I knew lots in my head -but didn't have it in my heart.
Then gospel meetings started in the Stout Gospel Hall in October of 1959--conducted by Leonard Debuhr and Eric McCullough.
I was aware that I had a soul that would exist forever--and I didn't want to go to Hell.--so I would come to the meetings about once a week---the rest of the time I would spend at the the movie theater or at the bowling alley or at sports events at the school. I played basketball-baseball and football in high school so loved sports.
At the end of November an older man said he got saved--and then some of the young people I knew in Sunday School said they got saved.
So one Friday evening I went to the meeting with three of my friends.--one of my friends was Alvin Kyhl who I had explained the gospel to -and so he was receptive to going to the meeting. He didn't know the gospel as well as me--but woke me up in the middle of the meeting and wanted me to listen. I went back to sleep and soon the gospel meeting was over. We went to the bowling alley after meeting -and Darrell Brandt who was in the front seat of the car with Alvin-turned around and said that Alvin had gotten saved in the meeting--I said we should go to Cedar Falls and tell Eric McCullough about it.Alvin said that when they were reading John 3:16 he understood that God loved him and sent His Son to die for his sins. I heard someone sobbing at the end of the couch -and Darrell Brandt was upset that he wasn't saved.
The next day was Saturday and that evening I was again in the Bowling Alley where I usually hung out. About 7 that evening Darrell came in the bowling alley and was beaming from ear to ear--I had never seen a happier person in my life--and he told me he had gotten saved just a couple hours before reading John 3:16--that God loved him and sent His Son to die for his sins.
I decided then that I would do whatever I could to get saved myself. I went home that evening and got down by my bed and asked God to save me-but nothing happened. The next day I went to Sunday School and tried to get saved--and after having lunch at Darrells' house we went to Leonard Debuhrs house to see if he could help me. He read me a couple verses and nothing happened.
The next day I read my Bible and Gospel tracts to see if they could help me--and that evening I went to Eric McCulloughs' house to talk to him.
He finally put the Bible on my lap and had me read a verse out loud. (1 Peter 2:24) It said that He (Jesus) bore my sins in His own body on the tree--and all of a sudden I understood that Jesus died for me--and I was saved. I was on my way to Heaven and no longer on my way to Hell. What a relief--and what joy filled my heart--I finally had the matter settled. Jim Sluiter | No comments for this item
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 Uplook, May 1994
It was November 7, 1983 - a day seared into the memories of Martha and Wesley Vitale for life. The doctor was speaking about their 5-year-old son Jason. "It is leukemia." No one was going to rush in and say, "There's been a mistake, Jason will be fine in a few days." He really had cancer. What do you do as a parent at a time like this? Where do you go, to whom do you turn when life doesn't seem to make sense anymore? The story of Jason Vitale is not a story of tremendous sadness and defeat, but one of triumph experienced through complete trust in God. "Life is tough, but heaven is better."
Jim McKendrick, Uplook, May 1994
I have just read a most touching book of triumph from tragedy. Jason, My Child chronicles the shock of listening to a doctor telling Wes and Martha Vitale of Saugus, MA, that their five-year-old son has leukemia. Their seemingly ordered life is plunged into a swirl of shots, chemotherapy, hospitals, and expenses that bring exhaustive disarray to all aspects of life. Life in fiction books has a happy ending, but not in this real-life mystery. This is an honestly written book. It doesn't gloss over the trauma of the situation. But it does tell how friends prayed and cared. It does tell how God stilled hearts in the midst of the storm. It does tell how the faith of a little child triumphed over the fear of facing mountainous difficulties and finally death itself. The book was published by Olive Press. Martha Vitale lives in Saugus, Massachusetts with her husband and five children. 
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Byrne Foreshew
