Helen Giselman

My heart is filled with praise and thanksgiving to the Lord as I look back over my life and think of the countless times I have witnessed definite answers to prayer. When I read articles saying that God is dead or that the days of miracles are past, my heart cries out, Oh, if you could only know Him as I know Him!

I am thankful for a Godly heritage. My parents received an Apostolic Faith Church paper many years ago while living in Wyoming. What they read lined up with the Bible and they yearned to move to Portland, Oregon. They wanted to cast their lot with God’s people, where they could learn more about the Lord and what a true Christian life should be. A short time later, they sold everything and moved to Portland.

I was born into that Christian home and attended Sunday school and church faithfully. My Christian mother was very diligent in giving me spiritual guidance and I loved the Lord and believed His Word with all my heart, but it took more than that to make me a Christian. I had a heart that was naturally sinful and I, too, had to kneel and ask God’s forgiveness—ask Him to be merciful to me a sinner.

I was only seven years old when I prayed at an altar of prayer and God wonderfully saved me. What joy came into my young heart as I felt the wonderful change He made in my life! My very desires and ambitions were changed. I was able to live a victorious life before my young friends and classmates.

Later, I was sanctified and baptized with the Holy Ghost. God made Himself so real to my heart! As a small child, though, I didn’t read the Bible and pray as I should have. When I was in my early teens, the Lord talked to my heart again and showed me that I didn’t have salvation anymore, and I needed to draw near to Him.

One Sunday afternoon, as I sat in a church service with my young friends, God dealt mightily with me. I felt like my soul was lost. I made my way to the altar and gave Him my heart and life. I asked Him to give me something that would be real and lasting, something that would take me through life. I forgot about my friends and the love for the things of this world. I just wanted to serve Jesus with all my heart. In answer to this prayer, He saved me! I began to study violin and voice so that I could be useful in God’s service.

Shortly after I received salvation, my brother was healed of epilepsy in answer to prayer. Many other healings took place in our family. Witnessing these miracles planted the seed of faith in my heart. That is why I am alive today.

As a young girl, I sometimes experienced poor health. When I married, I was told that I would probably never be able to have children. I felt saddened, but I remembered the story in the Bible about Hannah, and how God had answered prayer for her.

My husband was seeking for the baptism of the Holy Ghost at that time, and night after night we stayed after the evening service and tarried at the altar until the early hours of the morning. Many other prayer warriors stayed and prayed with us. It was like Heaven.

One night about midnight I, like Hannah, whispered my request to the Lord. Oh, what a blessing came upon me as I felt the power of God surge through and through my soul! I began to sing in another language. It was a beautiful experience.

A few nights later, my husband received his baptism. Less than a year after that, I held our own darling son in my arms. Often, as I look at him these days, with his wife and two precious little boys, I think There is our miracle child.

For many years after that I had wonderful health. Then a little more than eight years ago, I noticed that I was losing my appetite and feeling very weak. I began suffering intense pain. I had a malignant tumor. One crucial weekend, we prayed so hard and we asked the people at church to pray also. Then the tumor just vanished. My strength returned and I was able to care for my aged mother during the last six weeks of her life.

Two years after that, I suffered a heart attack while practicing with our orchestra for the summer concert. Then, I had three more attacks. The last one nearly took my life. Some of my veins ballooned and I hemorrhaged under the skin. Four doctors told me that I would need surgery in order to live. I chose to trust in God instead. As I went through the “valley of the shadow of death,” it was so sweet to feel the presence of Jesus! I remembered one by one all the precious answers to prayer that I had experienced. What God had done for me before, He could surely do again! I prayed, “Lord, if it is Your will that I live, then You heal me again for Your glory. If not, I will go to Heaven trusting You; I will not have surgery.”

Weeks passed and my faith was severely tried. But I wouldn’t exchange those wonderful days for anything. I felt the presence of the Lord so close to me at times that He seemed to be standing right by my side. My husband experienced it too. He said, “When I come home from work and walk into the house, it seems that this very place glows with the presence of the Lord.”

Finally the day came when I realized that my appetite for food was returning. Then came a little more strength, then less pain and I said, “Lord, as You give me strength, I want to give it back to You.” I began by praying for others. Gradually, I was stronger and could do my own housework. Now I am completely well. For months, I have been living normally, doing all of my own housework, even doing the heavier duties like gardening and washing windows—things that I thought I would never be able to do again.

My neighbors are amazed. They know we trusted God for my healing. From time to time my husband’s business acquaintances call to check and see how I am getting along. They, too, know that we trusted in God.

Recently when I visited my son and his family in Denver, Colorado, known as the Mile-High City, I was able to run and play with my two little grandsons without experiencing any pain or even shortness of breath.

I feel very unworthy of God’s love and the goodness extended to me. Is it any wonder that I feel like praising Him and thanking Him from the depths of my soul? My God lives! The days of miracles are not past! I know, because I have proved Him for myself. And what He has done for me, He can do for anyone.

For many years, Helen played her violin in the church orchestra. She sat in the first chair of the second violin section. She also sang in the church choir and taught Sunday school. She loved working with children and taught in both the morning and afternoon classes. She worked at the church office for some time and then went to work for the United States Corps of Engineers, where she stayed for about twenty years.