Marian Trzil

Many years ago the Lord, in His love and mercy, brought our family to America. My uncle and his family had made the trip two years earlier, and were living in a three-family dwelling on a large farm in Pennsylvania. We joined them there. Another uncle and aunt lived nearby.

After living on this farm for several years, my uncle received an Apostolic Faith paper in the Czech language. We know that it came by God’s direction; it was His plan to bring us to Portland. That was the turning point in our lives. The content of that paper appealed to the older generation. All three families decided to sell their farms and move to Portland, Oregon.

We left the farm in January of 1920 during a blizzard and were taken to the depot in a sleigh. The men were planning to take up farming again in Oregon, but while we were traveling through the Rocky Mountains they became discouraged and were ready to turn back. They said, “If Oregon is anything like this, there will be no farming there.”

God had a plan, though. The women convinced the men that we were not going to Oregon for earthly gain, but rather for spiritual riches. Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). We have proven this promise to be true. God has never failed us. Although we did not have much of this world’s goods, the Lord gave us what we needed, and He gave us contentment.

We attended the first camp meeting held in the Woodstock District in a large canvas tent. What a thrill it was to be in those meetings! I am thankful that the Lord gave me a desire to seek Him. While still in my early teens, He saved me in a young people’s meeting, and later He gave me the deeper experiences of sanctification and the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

Through all these years, the Lord has been a true and faithful Friend. There were hard trials and much sickness to go through, but how thankful I am that we had learned to wholly trust the great Physician who was always near to help us and heal us!

When I was twenty-five years old, I became very ill and was bedfast for six months. It came to the point where I thought each breath would be my last. One night around midnight my sister was kneeling by my bedside while, in the next room, my mother was at the bedside of my brother who was also at the point of death. It was truly a dark night, but God was there.

As I lay there suffering, it seemed as though I could bear no more. I sent up a silent prayer to the Lord, and said, “O God, I can’t stand this any longer! You must do something tonight.” The moment I prayed that silent prayer, my sister whispered, “Do you feel that?” I knew what she meant, and answered, “Yes.” At that moment a Voice from Heaven spoke to me and said, “Underneath are the Everlasting Arms.” What comfort it brought in that dark hour as we both felt the support of those Everlasting Arms!

From then on I began to improve, and God also undertook for my brother. A short time later, camp meeting started, and one day my cousin stopped by to pick up my sister for church. Oh, how I wanted to go, too! But I was still too weak. After they left, I determined that I would go the next day. When morning came, I got up and got dressed, but by the afternoon, when it was time to get ready to go, I began to feel ill. I didn’t know what to do.

I sat down on the edge of the bed and pondered the question, Shall I go or shall I not? Finally, I jumped to my feet and said, “I am going, even if I die on the way.” When I took that step of faith, God undertook for me, and that was the end of my illness. God has added forty-six more years to my life, and I do thank Him for it. God has raised me up from death’s door a number of times, and I feel that I have lived the greater part of my life on borrowed time.

I am thankful that I was able to give back to God, through service, the strength that He gave me. For many years I had the privilege of working in the Apostolic Faith office, translating Czech mail and helping send Gospel literature to others, even as it was sent to us.

I can truly say, “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us,” and I know He will take us the rest of the way. To Him be all the praise and glory for all that He has done.