Edna Janzen

Just one breath between me and eternity! Of course that is all any of us have at any time, but it was brought forcibly to my attention when I was fifteen years old and very ill. My throat was so badly swollen I could hardly breathe. I was painfully conscious of every breath I drew.

I had been brought up in a good home where my parents loved the Lord and loved each other and their children. They did all they could for us in a physical sense, and were very much concerned about our spiritual welfare. My father had been a Christian from his teens, and his chief aim in life was to draw closer to the Lord. After he was married, my parents moved from their home in Kansas to Colorado. There my dad met some Holiness people, and embracing their teachings, he was sanctified. Then in 1909 a former employer started a flourmill in Sheridan, Oregon, and invited my dad to come and work for him there.

You bring her here and we will pray for her and the Lord will heal her.”

My mother had tuberculosis, and had lost four babies at birth. The doctors held no hope for her recovery. It was indeed a discouraging time in their lives. Then the Apostolic Faith people, who had started a church in Dallas, Oregon, had a series of meetings in the City Park in Sheridan, and my father attended those meetings for three weeks. He asked them, “Do you think there is any hope for my wife?” They answered, “Yes. You bring her here and we will pray for her and the Lord will heal her.” And that was what happened. Many times later she told in testimony that they had prayer for her according to the fifth chapter of James, and the power of God had gone through her like an electric shock. She left that place saying, “I’m healed! I’m healed!” And she was.

She was twenty-five years old at the time and she lived to be eight-one, never again having any trouble with her lungs, bringing up a family of four children, of whom I was the oldest.

Some years later my father became disappointed with the church they were attending, and prayed for the Lord’s guidance in what he should do. One day he felt the Lord speak to him to go to Portland to a camp meeting that the Apostolic Faith people were holding. He thought it was wonderful, just what he had been looking for, and from then on they worshipped with the Apostolic Faith people. They bought a 1913 Ford and began driving to Dallas, Oregon to attend church. There my father received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and my mother, who was saved at home after the visit to Portland, was sanctified and baptized with the Holy Ghost.

I didn’t expect to enjoy being a Christian, but I did not want to go to Hell.

But having a good upbringing, going to church with my parents, and enjoying Christian associations, did not automatically make me a Christian. For years I rebelled against all that my parents taught me. I was a good student, at the head of my class in school, and read many books. In fact, I began reading things that put doubts into my mind as to the truth of the Bible and the fundamentals I had learned. Sad to say, I got to where I refused to go to church. But how thankful I am for Holy Ghost conviction! Then came that severe sick spell when I was fifteen years old, and my mother thought I was dying. I knew if I died, I would go to Hell. I can still remember the feeling, but I presumed on the mercy of God, and thought, surely He would not let me die in that condition. Mother asked the people at the church to pray for me, and soon I was well and back in school.

By then we were living in Dallas, Oregon where a new Apostolic Faith church was being built right downtown. As Dallas is a small town, everyone was interested. When the dedication came, I realized the debt I owed to God for sparing my life. My friends would not be able to help me when I stood before God in judgment. It took a lot of courage, but finally I went forward to pray. I didn’t expect to enjoy being a Christian, but I did not want to go to Hell. What a surprise it was when the burden of sin rolled away! A whole new life opened up for me: new desires, new friends, and a new disposition. My mother sometimes commented that she hardly recognized me as the same person. I really wasn’t the same person. How I have loved the Lord from that time on!

After I graduated from high school I worked for a time in the State Government office in Salem, Oregon, and then I felt the Lord definitely call me to go to work in the church office in Portland, Oregon. It was the church orchestra that finally drew me to Portland in the summer of 1936. I soon found my niche in the orchestra, office, choir, and any other place of service I could fill. Over fifty-two years later I am still working full time. I appreciate the health and strength the Lord has given me, having had very little illness through the years.

It has been a wonderful life. Of course there have been hard times, periods of self-discipline, of yielding to the molding of God, but if I had it to do over, I would do it the same way. I am looking for Jesus to come. Everyday I look. Is this the day that Jesus is coming? It’s a wonderful thrill. I’m happy in Jesus. I am glad that I can enjoy a lively hope. I’m not afraid of it. I’ve given my life to the Lord and I know the Lord is going to take me Home. I’m looking forward to seeing Jesus and I want to hear Him say, “Well done.”