Janis' Testimony

Janis's Testimony
October 9, 1966. Not so distant past, but yet a life time ago. I don’t remember what I wore. I don’t remember what the weather was like. I couldn’t tell you what the sermon was about, however the words to the old song ‘Just As I Am’ were fresh to my ears.
Those words talked about me, Janis. Without a plea. That was me. I had no defense. That His blood was shed for me. Me? His blood was shed for me? I realized that indeed it was. Jesus the Christ had shed His very blood for me and I needed Him. I was a hopeless sinner and I needed a Saviour.
One month shy of ten years old, I could not have explained grace removes sin, or mercy removes guilt. I couldn’t have vocalized what salvation means, but yet I knew in my heart that I needed...and that I wanted Jesus to cleanse me.
With tears streaming down my checks, I walked to the front of the church. Though I couldn’t have explained it I must have known the answers...for that old pastor asked many questions. Then he stood and welcomed me into the body of Christ.
I don’t have a startling testimony, as many others do. I was never an addict, a prostitute, or an alcoholic. I was a young child, but I was a sinner and desperately in need of the salvation that is only found through the blood of the Lord, Yashua, Jesus the Christ.
Many times along the way I have stumbled and fallen, but my precious Lord has always reached out and picked me up, wiped me off, and given me yet another chance...just as I am.
Just as I am, without one plea, But that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou bidst me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, and waiting not To rid my soul of one dark blot, To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, though tossed about With many a conflict, many a doubt, Fightings and fears within, without, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind; Sight, riches, healing of the mind, Yea, all I need in Thee to find, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, Thou wilt receive, Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;Because Thy promise I believe, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, Thy love unknown Hath broken every barrier down; Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, of that free love The breadth, length, depth, and height to prove, Here for a season, then above, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

Andrew's Testimony

Andrew's Testimony
I was raised in a Roman Catholic home in the Boston Massachusetts area. My father was a self made man who, by my teen years, had become quite wealthy. My parents invested in my education by putting me through some of the best prep and pre-prep schools in the Country. I then went to college - first in Indiana and then in Virginia. It was during my schooling in Virginia that I came to the end of myself. I was living alone in an apartment and become very lonely and depressed. One night I went up on the side of a hill overlooking the City, and I sat down there and called out to God and told Him that I just could not go on and that he needed to take my life.
When I said this a strange feeling of peace descended over me and it was as if someone had said to me “you are going to be alright”. I walked back to my apartment that night still feeling that peace and strangely knowing in my heart that I was going to be alright. A short time later an acquaintance of mine invited me to an Andre Kohl magic show which was being held on campus and was sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ. This was a large university of over twenty thousand students. When I arrived at this auditorium it was already packed with a few thousand students. I remember very little about the performance, however at the end of the show they announced that they were going to have a brief intermission so that whoever wanted to leave could, but they came back they were going to talk about Jesus Christ. When they called the intermission the place just emptied out! There were very few people left, but I stayed. I JUST KNEW that the Lord was the answer I was looking for. They asked us to pray a prayer, as sincerely as we knew how, to receive the salvation that Jesus Christ offered.. And I prayed as sincerely as I knew how! But I felt absolutely nothing! Until about two weeks later when I was walking to classes one morning and I felt drawn into a chapel that the university had at one end of the campus green. I went inside and knelt down to pray and something strange happened. It just felt good! I mean real good! Being raised Catholic I thought prayer was supposed to be hard work - even painful - but this felt really good. So good that I didn’t want to leave and go to classes. I know now that the Holy Spirit was all over me manifesting Himself to me and drawing me in. Eventually I left the chapel and went to classes. At the end of that day I was walking home from school and I had an idea. I said “Lord would you give me a ride home today?” I had been walking home from classes (about a mile and a half) for about a year and had never had a ride before. I promptly turned around and put out my thumb for a ride. Immediately a car stopped! I thought this is nice . I got in and the person gave me a ride to the top of the hill - which was most of the way home. I thought I would walk the rest of the way home as it was not that far, but as I was getting out of the car I noticed a sports car pull off the road in front of us and the passenger side door opened. The car was a convertible with a plastic window in the back that was so fogged up you could not see through it. I began walking and planed to walk past the car, but when I came abreast of it the man leaned over the passenger seat and asked me if I wanted a ride. I was dumbfounded! I had not asked for this ride and I had never seen this person before so why was he stopping and waiting for me to give me a ride? I wondered if it was safe to get in the car, but I got in anyway. This person gave me a ride to the bottom of the hill (about 100 yards) where he was taking a right onto a side street. I thought how strange it was that he stopped to give me such a short ride. From there I only had to walk across a four lane highway and up the driveway to the house and I would be at my door.. When we came to the bottom of the hill I got out of the sports car and closed the door behind me As the sports car drove off - before I could even take a step a pickup trick stopped! The man driving offered me a ride. I got in. This man drove me across the four lane highway and up the driveway right to the door of the house. I was in shock! It had taken three rides to get me home and the last two I hadn’t asked for. I walked in, went upstairs, and walked into the bathroom to look in the mirror to see if I was still there. When I looked in the mirror I saw that there was a big black smudge in the middle of my forehead!
Having been raised Catholic I was very familiar with what is known as “Ash Wednesday” - when the priest would rub ashes on your forehead and say “from dust to dust you shall return”. It was about death. On the side of a hill some weeks before, I had asked God to “take my life”. I had literally asked Him to kill me or give me death. He had answered my prayer, but He answered it in a way I had never expected. The death He gave was a death to the world, so that I could love Him! I asked Him to take my life and he took it...so that I could live for Him. I did not understand all of that back then. I only knew that God was real. I now knew He was not far away from me, but that He was very close and was taking an active interest in my life. I knew He listened and heard every word I spoke and that He had manifested Himself to me in a little thing - like a ride home.
This was the beginning of a life long journey down the narrow road home.

Hurricane Dean Newsletter

The Belize Biblical Resource Center
PO Box 151, Corozal Town, Belize, C.A.
Tel: 011-501-422-0180
www.belizebiblicalresourcecenter.com


Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ from Belize !

For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. (Psalm 107: 25)

It is difficult to imagine all that has happened here in the last 30 Days. As I was writing the last newsletter hurricane Dean was strengthening and heading toward us. Immediately after we sent that newsletter out, it became apparent that the category 5 storm was going to hit us. As the Biblical Resource Center (a.k.a. home) is only a couple of feet above sea level and about 200 yards from the edge of the water, we began to scramble for options to preserve and protect the many books the Lord has entrusted to us. We only had about 14 hours to come up with a plan and implement it before a 9:00 pm curfew came into effect. It was expected that the full force of the storm would hit us some time after midnight .

We didn’t know where to go, however we believed that the Lord would lead us. Our first idea was to try to escape the storm’s fury by leaving town. We would need a trailer large enough to carry the many things we wanted to try and safeguard. After searching all over town I was only able to find one available trailer, but it was too heavy for our small Tacoma pickup truck to pull.

At this point we had about 9 hours left and it looked like we were not going to be able to get out of town and escape the storm. We inquired about a strong looking cement house - that was vacant and is on top of a hill - on the other side of town, only to discover that other people had the same idea and it was already occupied. The Presbyterian Medical Clinic in the nearby village of Patchakan offered us the use of one of their houses, but the structure had a tin roof, which was risky. A local pastor offered to allow us to move everything into a very strong house he had built. He discovered that plywood - to cover the windows - was no longer available and as the house did not have storm shutters this, was not a good option.

Time was running out.

If we stayed at the Resource Center we could be caught by rising waters and possibly drown. The house also has thin jalousie windows that provide little protection from the wind. We tried not to contemplate what it would be like to face 160 MPH winds in that kind of an exposed building.

Suddenly, we received a tip that a concrete house located on the higher north side of town might have rooms available for rent. We rushed over to discover that there was one room available and that we could move our belongings in and endure the storm there.

We now had eight hours left before curfew.

We arrived back at the Resource Center as the skies turned dark and it began to thunder. We began pulling the books off the shelves and packing them into boxes for the trip across town. The move was continually hindered by having to wait for downpours to stop so that we could load the truck. By 9 pm we had moved four truck loads of books and electronics across town; as well as our mattress and some clothing. The items we couldn’t take with us: dressers, book-shelves, appliances, etc., we stacked as high as possible in the bathroom - hoping that the water would not reach them.

By 11:00 pm we had everything stacked in the rental room with enough space left over for our pets. The only thing left to do was to cover the truck with a tarp in an attempt to protect it from flying debris. I was thankful it had stopped raining, but noticed the air was very still. This must be the “calm before the storm” I mused, as I worked tying the tarp down on the truck. No sooner had I finished my work and stepped inside when the rain began to pour and the wind began to howl.

We hunkered down in our room on the second floor and prayed that the building would stand.

We listened as the sound of the wind intensified while it blew against the storm shutters. At 2:00 am the lights went out and I lit a lantern. Then the banging began as the wind intensified even further and things were being torn loose outside. We prayed that the storm shutters would hold and the windows would not blow in. At 4:30 am there was an incredible gust of wind that caused the whole concrete structure to tremble. We were a little concerned and hoped it would not get any worse.

Finally, after dawn, the wind eased up and we carefully peered outside. The two story house across the street had lost its roof and some walls. It was barely recognizable as a house. We hoped no one was in it. Trees were blown down, phone poles were broken or leaning and wires were on the ground everywhere. There was water overflowing the ditches. Amazingly the tarp had stayed on the truck throughout the storm and the truck was not damaged. Gradually the wind calmed down and we headed across town to check the condition of the Resource Center . We got an eye full on that trip across town as there was extensive damage: mainly to stick houses, wood framed structures, electrical poles and trees. The concrete buildings had relatively little damage but there were a few notable exceptions.

When we arrived back at the house we found that all the trees had been blown down. Wires were down everywhere, street lights were dangling and phone poles were leaning or broken. There was standing water in the back yard. On the corner of the house that faced the worst winds, the paint had been blown off! We were very relieved when we opened the front door to find that there was only a little water in the house.

None of the items we left behind had been damaged and not a single window in the house had broken!

We had survived. The books and other items had been preserved. Thank you each and everyone who prayed for us through this most difficult time.

Although we were worn out after our frenzied move the day before, we discovered that the work had just begun! Next month we will tell you about the aftermath of the storm and the way the Lord used it for His glory.

Yours in the Lord Jesus Christ,
Andrew & Janis Hill
Missionaries to Belize
www.belizebiblicalresourcecenter.com

How many days do you have left to prepare for eternity?