Keith from Marathon, Fl

This story about Keith is one of the most dramatic I have encountered so far.

When Keith was 21, he accepted the Lord. Growing up in Cranberry Lake, New York, he worked in the paper mills there.

Prior to accepting Christ, he was a drug addict and committed several crimes, mostly to support his drug habit. He had absoutely no church background nor anyone around him to encourage him in the ways of God. One day, he woke up on his couch wet with perspiration, doped out on LSD "25." Aware that he was wasting away and possible near death, he cried out to god. At that point, he had a sense of a huge weight lifting off him. The sensation was much more powerful than drugs.

Since that moment, he began to sense a real peace sweeping over him. He had no desire for anything like drugs. He then called his mom and said: "I think I've found God." He began to look for a Bible and began to read it with passion. In fact, that first year, he read the entire Bible 7 times.

God clearly had a plan for Keith. He is currently 52 and pastor of an Assembly of God church in Marathon, Fl. He and his wife Debbie will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary this year. They have two grown children, one at Southeastern University and another also serving the Lord.

He knows about Sara's music and we gave him a CD of her recent album. Recently, Keith's church was named by the denomination as one of the "Come Back Churches of the Year"

One of Pastor Keith's favorite sayings is: "If you meet me and forget about me, you have lost nothing. But if you meet Jesus and forget about Him, you have lost everything."

Learnings:

• This was a Road to Damacus experience. No one was counseling Keith, he wasn't involved in a car accident and laid up for months which caused him to re-evaluate his life, and once he was touched by God on that day, he took the initiative to go find a Bible and read it. Admittedly, he was on drugs and probably became frightened about his declining state. But that happens a lot where people go on for years, even decades, concerned about their state but taking no action to resolve it.
• As in all cases, the Holy Spirit is the One who does the work. Even when there are others around to encourage people to accept the Lord, it is the work of the Holy Spirit that convicts people's need for repentance and acceptance. In this case, it appears to have been 100% the work of the Holy Spirit.

Jeremiah Periard from Key West, Fl

Jeremiah was adopted by a Michigan couple out of an orphanage in Bogota, Columbia. As a teenager, he made some wrong choices and eventually got hooked on drugs. Then the word got out to him that the best quality drugs were in Miami. So he left home and went there in search of those drugs. I'm not sure how he got to Key West from Miami, but he was busted for drugs several times and sentenced to a long time in jail there in Key West.

Then, a person from Glad Tidings A/G who frequently visited the guys in jail there in Key West, befriended Jeremiah. Over time, Troy ( that was his name) began to make an impression on Jeremiah in several ways. First it was just the time he spent with him - that was all. To think that a person would actually spend his time with him when there were so many other things to do made a real impression on him. Then, Troy explained how Jeremiah could recieve eternal life by putting his trust in Christ and the full plan of salvation. My impression is he probably covered this several times before it began to sink in.

At 29 years of age, Jeremiah accepted Christ as his personal savior. Unlike some cases, he had some relapses. But Troy was there to encourage him and he eventually became a fully committed believer. Today, I think it is about 8 years later, Jeremiah is very active in church and free of all forms of drugs. He is currently hospitality director for the church.

I asked him about his parents. They apparently are not Christians but do attend some type of church. A good followup would be to reunite Jeremiah and his parents.

Learnings:

• This was not a "road to Damascus" experience as reported by Paul the Apostle on his situation in the new testament. It took time.
• Troy was a critical factor in his gentle persistence with Jeremiah as a baby Christian. This is probably more commonly the case with adults. Unlike children, they percieve they have so much to give up and are heavily influence by the pleasures of sinful ways.
• Drugs are huge deterrent when it comes to walking away this lifestyle as an adult. That is why I am so high on Teen Challenge when it comes to bringing people out of this lifestyle. Jeremiah may have had a quicker recovery with that kind of program--which makes the mentoring of Troy over time all the more valuable.

Michele from Ft. Myers

Michelle accepted the Lord as her personal Savior at the age of 30.



Pre-Christ:

She believes her situation was one of demon oppression she and another friend had participated in through occultic experiences in the past

She had been married for 10 years, with 3 children, two boys ages 6 and 9 and girl.

Mental and emotionally, Michele lived in constant fear. She had frequent panic attacks. It was getting to the point that she could not care for her children. The doctor provided her medication to keep her calm. More could be said about this, but suffice it to say, Michele lived in a tormented state.

Then, as she was passing through a room in her house where the TV was on to a Christian program (CBN) she heard the minister say that someone was watching who was living in fear and that she could be delivered from that if she would put her trust in Christ. At that moment, she did just that, called the number on the screen and confirmed her decision. The person from the TV station recommende she find an Assemblies of God church near where she lived and start going there.

Her next step was to call Jack, her husband, who also had been so concerned about Michele. Her words to him were "I'm alright now" They then went to a church nearby, First Assembly of Ft. Myers and both confirmed their faith in Christ. Later, Michele received the infilling of the Holy Spirit which is talked about in Acts 2:4.

That was 14 years ago. Today, although her husband died a few years ago, she is very active in church with some (not all) of her children actively serving the Lord. Her daughter is studying to become a childrens pastor. Another son is a lawyer.

Learnings:

• Michele's experience was one of personal crisis, brought on, perhaps through her delvings into the occult.
• Her passing through the TV room at the precise moment could have been a coincidence, but it became the pivotal point in her life and resulted in changes in her life and the life of her family forever!
• She was instantly delivered from her oppression the day she accepted Christ.
• This was not a flash-in-the-pan experience. It happened 14 years ago.
• Michele has a very responsible position now as an executive assistant in a thriving ministry in Ft. Myers.

Here is how and why it started

First Generation

It started out simple enough. I would combine our 6,000 mile boat cruise around the Eastern US coastal and inland waterways with research on what may become a book about Christians who became so as adults. I would walk into all those quaint little river or coastal towns looking for the first church I could find and get a meeting with the pastor. In turn, I would get a referral to someone in that church who may be a good candidate for my research. My plan was to interview 50 to 60 people who are my heros; people who didn’t’ start their lives like me with a mom and dad who brought me up in a loving Christian home. But who, like my parents, discovered the life-giving power of salvation later on in life and kept the faith through the good and bad times, bringing up their 4 children who are today all committed to the faith and having the same influence on their children..