Penny's Story - My testimony to God’s Work
In order to bear witness to the remarkable ways of our Lord Jesus, I have to take you back to when I was 8/9 years old. It was then when I went to my first Sunday School with a friend. It was a lovely old Hall and the teacher we had read us the most wonderful tales about our Lord. After each lesson we all received a token to put in our Bibles, under the verse written on it.
One Sunday we were invited to attend a Baptism. It was awesome—these people being baptised had to enter a pool and with the aid of the pastor and his helper were literally dunked backwards under the water, I thought they were going to drown, they didn’t, they rose again out of the water. They were baptised just like Jesus was by John in the river Jordan. How wonderful, I thought.
Not long after this we moved house and district. Ever since then I believed in God, but wherever I lived, I could not find a church of people so welcoming—so warm. The church buildings held no love - they were as cold as the stone they were made of.
During these years I married, had children, whom I taught about Jesus. They too went to Sunday school and church but the schools and churches were still cold—they had no heart.
After a few years I became very ill with rheumatoid arthritis. I prayed so hard to Jesus to give me strength and willpower like His to do again what we all take for granted like walking, dressing, feeding ourselves, etc. I still had a home to run, and although my girls were old enough to help me (especially Judy who to this day has never stopped helping me) they still needed my guidance. Jesus answered my prayers. The Doctors and nurses said I’d never walk again or be able to do things for myself. I was 36 years old then. He gave me His strength and willpower to live a reasonably good life. I’m now 56. This is God’s work, even though my health is now weakening. He is still helping me by making sure I live not only near my daughter in a lovely sheltered home (Page Court), but also opposite Rehoboth. This was taken care of after my youngest daughter Wendy, was killed in a road traffic accident. She is now with Him. He helped me in my grief and I’m sure helped Judy over the loss of her sister.
After moving into Page Court, I was introduced to Steve through one of his monthly Page Court services. I’m positive it was God’s intervention because Steve invited me over to Rehoboth for a Sunday Service if I felt like coming. When I first entered for a service I knew I’d come home. Here was the church of people and the building I had been searching for all these years—it has warmth—it has love and it has heart. It has our Lord in it and with us and a baptism similar to our Lord’s.
I wished to thank God for all his wondrous works of help and healing the only way I knew how, and that was to give Him my soul through being baptised like His Son, Jesus our Lord.
Thanks be to God, He has indeed glorified Himself to me.
Penny Newton
March 2004