My Testimony

TESTIMONY by Londis Carpenter Sr.

I am a Christian in the sense that I consider myself to be a Bible believing, born again disciple of Jesus Christ. I don't belong to, or follow, any particular denomination or sect because I know they are all man-made concepts, versions , religions and divisions of the original church Jesus founded on the apostles and called HIS BODY. These branches on the tree of Christianity all have their mingled share of truth and error, sincerity and hypocrisies, purity and corruption. But most of them, like me are just trying to get it right. I consider all those who sincerely seek to follow after Christ to be my brothers and sisters, and do not wish to cut myself off from any who may be true members of the body of Christ. I don't , however, believe or practice the idea that all beliefs are equal and that every one worships the same god. There are false gods and there are false doctrines to be avoided. I try to live by the teachings of Jesus Christ of the Bible the best I understand them, and I know I fail at it much of the time. But I trust the Holy Spirit and Scriptures to be my guide and keep me on the true way.

I am getting older and closer to meeting my maker so what I want to make clear is that there are some very tangible reasons for my beliefs which I wish to share with some of my family and friends and with anyone else who may be helped by my testimony. With that said, here is some parts of the story I seldom have shared with anyone before.

Did I ever tell you the story of how I came to be a believer in Jesus Christ in the first place? It didn't just happen at a church meeting or rally where some speaker got everyone all stirred up emotionally. It was a very personal experience that happened one night after mom died i 1956 and when some of the relatives were gathered in the kitchen making preparations and arrangements for her funeral. I remember my Uncle David was there and Grandma Perry, maybe Grandpa Darrow; I don't remember who else. But I suddenly felt uncomfortable during the gathering and felt the need to be alone, I'm not certain why. Anyway I went upstairs to my bedroom to sort out my thoughts. I was setting on my bed and Mom's Family Bible was on the lamp stand because I had been reading some of the family history that was recorded there.

All of the sudden a very loud, masculine, commanding voice said, "Get out of here!" Thinking it may have been Uncle David calling from downstairs, I replied, "Who is that, why?" The voice said again in a stronger more commanding way, "Get out of here!" This time it sounded like it was coming from six inches behind my head, like someone shouting into a horn. I turned to see who was there but there was a basketball size orb of light so bright I couldn't look at it. It was very scary so I got up and ran down the stairs past everyone in the kitchen, where they were playing cards and I ran out the front door. I didn't stop or turn around until I was standing in the street. Thinking I must have been hallucinating, I turned my head but the light orb was still there, brighter than the sun. It was very frightening so I started running to towards town.

As I ran I kept turning to see if the light was there. The orb chased me three miles, all the way to 34th and Colby Avenue before it disappeared. I ran the whole way, even though I was out of breath. While I was still trying to convince myself that what I had just experienced must have been my imagination, I noticed that there was a church across the street with the basement light on. It was after midnight so I thought it was probably the church janitor working. There was no other house or building with any light, so I decided to see if the door was open so I could get a drink of water. Almost as soon as I opened the door, someone called up the stairs. A man said he had been working late and thought the noise he heard was his wife looking for him. He was the new pastor, Mark Jackson, and was working on his sermon. He asked me what I wanted.

I told him I just wanted a drink of water, Then I said, "I could tell you something but you would think I was crazy." He said he would make a deal with me; I would tell him my story and he wouldn't think I was crazy. Mark listened and he told me I wasn't crazy but that what I had seen and heard was an angel. We talked about a half an hour and he eventually led me to receive the salvation of Jesus. My life changed amazingly within that hour.

It would be too long of a story to tell it all here but before I went home I had hitchhiked to Seattle (50 miles away), got three rides including a semi-driver and somehow led each ride to pray and accept Christ. The truck driver was in tears while he repented and accepted Christ. I wound up in skid row where I immediately led a vagrant to Christ. He told me that no one had ever made him understand the Gospel before. I then went to the greyhound depot and took a bus home. The next day I went to the high school (where I had been kicked out for a week but was keeping it a secret from my family). Told the principal I had became a Christian and after a lengthy debate he let me back in school on strict probation. I had been making all failing grades but I raised my grades to 3.5 average and managed to graduate. That was how much I had changed. I also started bringing many of my friends to church. They started calling me "the preacher." Before that they were calling me the worst thug in school.

This is the account of how it started. I made some mistakes and had to repent a few times but Jesus has remained faithful and has always provided for me when I needed Him. After that my life story could fill a book or two. I may share more of this story later if the spirit leads me to. But I have had the privileged to be directly involved in the personal evangelization of people of all walks of life, from hardened Satanists to law enforcement officers and even governors and everything in between. The principal of my high school told me three years after I graduated that he told my story to every class after I left school.

Finally, I am not sharing this story for any self glorification. Every experience I have had has been led by and under control of the Holy Spirit. I did nothing on my own but only as God worked through me. Sometimes I didn't even know what was going on until much later. God bless everyone who reads this.

Show all stories by   Author:  54444 ( Click here )