Name: Joanne Lowe

Location: Peoria, IL

My name is Joanne Lowe. I was born in Peoria, IL sixty four years ago. I didn't grow up in a Christian home. We never went to church. For those of you whose parents took you to church when you were a child, you are very blessed indeed. I started going to church with one of my friends when I was in high school because she invited me to her church. I walked down the aisle when I was a teenager and prayed the sinner's prayer and thought that I was saved. However, the only thing I had ever heard preached was that I was going to hell if I wasn't saved. I really had no idea what I was doing; I didn't know what salvation really meant. I didn't know that Jesus loved me so much that He hung on a cross of torture and horror and died for my sins. I just knew that I didn't want to go to hell. That day I made a head and verbal commitment to Jesus but I didn't invite Him into my heart. Until we have made a heart commitment to Jesus, we are not saved. On August 14, 1980 I gave my heart and life to Jesus. I asked Him to please forgive me of all my sins and come into my heart to be my personal Saviour. From that day until now, I have known without a shadow of doubt that I am saved and that Jesus lives in my heart. He has never left me, not even for one minute. The more I fall in love with Jesus, the sweeter He becomes to me. There is no friend like Jesus! No one loves like Jesus Loves! He is my very best Friend and I love Him with all my heart. I fail Him and hurt Him like everyone else, but He knows my heart and He knows that I love Him. Without Him, life would be meaningless. If you don't know this beautiful Friend of mine as your personal Saviour, I plead with you to open your heart to Him and ask Him to forgive you of your sins and to come into your heart and be your personal Saviour. He will give you a peace that you have never known and will never leave you.

 

Name: Timothy Waldrop
Location: Louisiana

I was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1974 to parents that are born again believers and were then members of Foster Road Baptist Church. Pastor Huey Moak was and is the pastor. Then, when I was a little older we attended First Baptist Church in Baker, Louisiana. We finally settled down at Trinity Baptist Church. Pastor Cary Kimbrell was the presiding pastor, but has since been called to preach at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Laurel, Mississippi. Trinity Baptist Church, although has moved, is still alive and well today in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with pastor Dale Crawford; which was the associate pastor at Trinity Baptist for many years serving with pastor Cary Kimbrell.Although I am able to recall some memories from Foster Road Baptist and First Baptist as a child, most memories come from my time spent at Trinity Baptist. We had a small group around my age, which grew smaller as the years went by, but not because we were not loved or did not receive the Truth.The first teacher I can remember was the pastor’s wife, Mrs. Paula Kimbrell. I can’t remember everything, but I do remember it being enjoyable as a child. We need to remember that when we are speaking to a child or anyone for that matter, about Christ, we should be excited about it. If we talk and act like we don’t really care, then why should they?I believe beginning in the 5th or 6th grade (maybe earlier or later) is really where I recall most of my memories. The first teacher I remember having after Mrs. Paula, I believe was Mrs. Juanita Duncan. She must have loved God and us to spend the time and energy to teach this class of young unsaved sinners. We had a book of biblical questions/answers we would go through, scripture memorization, and races to see how fast we could find passages in the Bible. She made learning exciting and fun, and anything I have forgotten has been due to my own laziness and lack of discipline in study and memorization since those days. It is amazing how fast you will forget something if you do not stay in the Word of God. We also had a teacher [I believe my first year in the Youth] by the name of Woody Rimes which later left for his own pastorate. We were taught by Bro. Dale Crawford and Bro. David Sevier, which still attends Trinity Baptist Church. Both of these men love the Lord and were patient, loving, and understanding to a small group of individual souls bound for hell. If anyone that has impacted my life is reading this: Thank you!During this time we enjoyed loving teachers that shared the gospel every week with their students, a pastor that was diligent and compassionate about preaching the truth to his congregation, yet I was dead in trespasses and sin.I do not and can not blame anyone for it is God who saves and not the will of man. What I do ask is that we all make sure that we do not over look the children that grow up in church simply because their parents are members or have always attended. It almost seems as though we have more concern for those people (and children) that are without the church and sometimes over look the unsaved within the church; and by church, I mean the local body of believers. I am not saying that we don’t show love to the people of the church, what I mean is we need to consider their lost soul the same as a lost soul that has never entered our church’s doors. Whether one is lost in the church congregation and considered to be a good kid or kind person, or one is lost outside the church congregation and consider a heretic or infidel, “we are all condemned unclean”. Church attendance and membership saves no one. Witness to your children!In 1992 I graduated from Baker High School. It was at this time that I really caused myself a lot of unnecessary grief. I was not as bad as some yet maybe worse than others, but sinful just the same. I could blame it all on the Devil, but most, if not all, was just my dead spirit and corrupt flesh serving the law of sin. The Devil doesn't really have to do much to one that is lost in darkness with eyes that can not see and ears that can not hear. I do not wish to dwell or linger in the trials and pitfalls that I found myself for basically two long years, but I do believe it served a purpose in bringing me to trust in Christ as Lord and Savior. Our sinful past should serve as a reminder as to what our glorious God has saved us from. To be grateful of His love and longsuffering to us, while we were yet undeserving, so that we may be like Him to lost sinners and fallen brothers and sisters we come in contact with every day of our lives. The next time we see someone and the thought arises, “They are undeserving of my time and God’s grace”, let us remember we ourselves are no better; for without God’s mercy and grace, we would all be without hope!On March 1993 I shipped off to Fort Jackson, South Carolina to begin BASIC training in the United States Army. I figured it was the best way to run away from everything. But how does one run from ones own rebellion? Repentance and faith in Christ would have solved most if not all of my problems. It is not that I rebelled against the idea of giving my life to Christ as in leaving the church or cursing God, but that I really didn't consider it an option. My testimony shows that I have attended church with good teaching and good preaching since I was born, yet I did not consider asking Christ to forgive my sin and help me through the valley I had created. Doesn't make since I know, but scripture says that every one that is lost is “blinded by the god of this world.” Blinded to what? We are blinded to the truth that faith in Christ will set you free from sin and save your soul from a devil’s hell.From my time of training in the military from BASIC to AIT at Fort Lee, Virginia to ASI at Fort Lenardwood, Missouri, I attended one chaplain service (honestly, just to get out of duty one day) and one Mormon service. Why a Mormon service? It is interesting to me still today, that all that teaching from those who shared the gospel with me for all those years never completely left my mind. I would still defend the gospel when ever I heard those oppose it while in the military. Even though I did not have Him in my heart, His Word was in my mind. Remember scripture says His word “shall not return void.” Even a lost person can witness to the truth. I was speaking to a friend that was attending a Mormon church at the time, so I attended one service just to see first hand what went on there on a normal Sunday morning. Scripture alone is not enough; the Spirit must move both the recipient and the speaker.From training I moved to my permanent duty station in Vilseck, Germany in September 1993. I believe I also attended one chaplain service, but it was about as watered down and as boring at it can get. But to give it justice, I was a "natural man, which receiveth not the things of God."One day I heard some soldiers laughing about a sergeant not even having a TV because of his religion. The Spirit of God moved me to meet this sergeant and I asked if I could ride with him and his family to church on Sunday. On the way to church that first Sunday morning (which took about an hour) to Nuremberg, Germany, he asked, "So, when did you get saved?" I answered honestly, "I'm not." This sergeant's name was Mark Powers and I quickly found out two things about this man of God: (1) He had great character as a Christian witness and (2) he did have a television. So began the spiritual journey in Germany with friends I will never forget. At this church, I met a good deal of good people. Bro. Mark and Bro. Thomas Castellaw (now a missionary in Heidleburg, Germany) began to love me and witness to me. Not one time did they "force" me down the isle or ask me to repeat a prayer. They presented the gospel and allowed the Spirit to move.September 25, 1994, Bro. Adam Trosclair (which is now a pastor in Louisiana) was preaching on a topic of whether to spend eternity in Heaven or eternity in Hell. To this day I can recall the Spirit moving me to accept by faith the blood atonement of Christ my Savior that saved my soul. Repenting of my sins, I believe at that very moment Christ saved my soul forever more!The church later moved to Vilseck, Germany with its pastor David Trosclair (which now is a pastor in New Hamspire). I have lots of great memories that I will never forget, spent with men of God on an almost daily basis as we remodeled an old barn into the church building. If you have never been on a mission field, you are truly missing out. I soon fell in love with the pastor's daughter, and we were married on February 1, 1997. I ETSed from the military in March 1998 and return to Louisiana. We were blessed with our first child in January 2000 and our second in June 2001. We initally attended Central Baptist Church when we first returned to the states, but we now attend Fellowship Baptist Church.I am currently a servant, serving at Fellowship Baptist Church.