Virginia Mosee

My parents were born and brought up in the Holy Land, and my mother told me that when she was just a young girl, she looked up into the skies of Lebanon and prayed that God would lead her onto the right path, so she could have a Christian home. God began to answer her prayer when she married my father and they moved to this country.

My father came here looking for money and prestige, thinking that would make him happy. My parents settled in the small farming community of Winlock, Washington, and my father became a prosperous merchant. He got his desire, gaining some of this world’s goods, but oh, the misery that came with it! I remember seeing him come home drunk many times, angry because he had lost money gambling. He would be abusive to my mother and us children. He tried sometimes to quit his drinking, but he was helpless, and so miserable.

My father was very much engrossed in business and had no time for religion. Also, he had seen much hypocrisy, so he would have nothing to do with church. However, one day out of curiosity, he went to an Apostolic Faith cottage revival meeting.

There were only a few people present, but they had the power of God on their lives, and the Lord began talking to my father’s heart. The Apostolic Faith people told him that the Blood of Jesus could wash away his sins and give him power to live right. He believed what he heard and prayed right then. The Lord answered his prayer, saving him. Afterward, he raised both hands and said, “I’ve been born again.” He did not fully understand what that meant, but he knew a change had taken place in his life. When he came home that evening, he poured out his liquor and threw away his cigarettes. Later, he made many restitutions, paying back hundreds of dollars he had determined never to pay.

Our home became a Christian home. Every morning and evening my father would gather us children around him and read the Bible. Then we would pray. When my mother saw what God had done, she too, gave her heart to the Lord. What a change there was in our home! I was only five years old, but I noticed the difference. From that age on, I had the privilege of being raised in the Gospel. I was brought to church and Sunday school, and I began to realize that Jesus loved me and could make me happy.

People have said, “You were raised in a Christian home, so it must have been easy for you to become a Christian.” It was not so easy. Many a night I wet my pillow with tears trying to yield to the Lord. It was foolish pride that kept me from giving up to the Lord. I was so afraid of what my friends at school would think, and I did not think I could live a victorious life at school where there were so many temptations.

When I was thirteen, my mother became very ill and was dying. We all prayed earnestly that the Lord would heal her. I promised God that if He would let her live, I would serve Him. After she recovered, time went on and I was haunted by my promise. Finally, when I was sixteen, I yielded my life to God. I told Him, “I can’t do it by myself, but if You will keep me, I will serve You the rest of my days.” God saved me and gave me a good life. I had been a sickly child, never feeling good, but He made me a strong, well woman.

I have had many years to prove God. He has never failed me, and has been a real friend.