Though I never attended church, I did live a moral life. I came from Montana to Oregon, and the first place I was taken was to the Apostolic Faith Church—the first church I had ever been in. I soon realized that they were people of God and had real salvation, but I failed to give my heart to the Lord, and went out into the world to try to have a good time.
I went to work in a logging camp in the Coast Range Mountains near Dallas, Oregon, in the wintertime. Working conditions were terrible back in 1913. The old bunkhouse was full of holes, and some of the men drank whiskey all the time, either to keep alive or because they just wanted to do it.
We would come in from working in the snow and slush, looking like moles in the mud more than like human beings. We would turn the hose on one another to wash away the mud, and the next morning we found our clothes frozen stiff—and we would wear them that way.
My whole life was changed, and I thank Him for the peace He gave me.
But what bothered me most was the drunks. I didn’t touch liquor and I hated the carousing around that the others did until the wee, small hours of the morning. It was more than I could take, and I cried out to the Lord: “If You will get me out of here and help me to get a respectable job, I’ll serve You. I’ll give You my life.” I was surprised at how quickly the Lord answered. Before another week was out, I received a letter from the government offering me a good job; and in another week I was in Portland, working at the U.S. Post Office.
Then the Lord spoke to me again, “What excuse do you have now?” I went back to the Apostolic Faith service and went forward to the altar of prayer and called on God for mercy. I had never touched tobacco or liquor, nor do I remember ever swearing, but my heart was black with sin. I had no merits chalked up in my favor before God, but He had mercy on me and saved my soul. My whole life was changed, and I thank Him for the peace He gave me.
Lloyd Brickley was saved in 1913. He lived and ministered in the Roseburg, Oregon, area.
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