Virginia Weinberg

I am thankful that I am a happy Christian. I am particularly thankful for a street meeting that was held many years ago in St. Louis, Missouri. On that night, my father and brother stepped out of a theater right into that service. They were not looking for God, but God knew we needed Him in our home and in our lives. They stayed long enough to be handed an Apostolic Faith paper.

My mother had been seeking for God, but could not find rest for her soul. She seemed to realize that that paper had in it what she needed. She went to the service in St. Louis, and God showed her what her choice would mean: eternal life or eternal death. How glad she was to grasp the Life Line!

Alone in her home, she prayed and gave her heart to Jesus. What a change there was in our home which had been on the verge of separation! Sin went out. There were no more cards and other sinful pleasures. We had a praying mother and an open Bible. We had all the advantages of a Christian home.

As I grew into my teen years, I rebelled against some of the restrictions upon me. How thankful I am that my mother kept praying for me! The Lord put heavy conviction on my soul. It seemed when my sister and I went to worldly amusements, everyone else had a good time, but we did not.

One night, I was going to turn on the radio to listen to a program. God talked to my heart in such a way that instead of turning on the radio, I fell to my knees by my bedside and gave my heart to Jesus. I offered Him my life, and trusted Him for the future. He came into my heart and made Himself real to me.

We were living in the country at that time, and there was no place for me to worship. But God put such a love in my heart for Him! I loved to read His Word and would sit at the piano and sing the songs of Zion. Those were wonderful days.

Then the Lord put such a strong desire in my heart to move to Portland, Oregon. It was not easy to leave home, for I loved my parents and siblings, but I felt my soul could be fed more.

After arriving in Portland, I sought earnestly at the altar of prayer for something deeper. The Lord gave me that wonderful experience of sanctification. I will never forget the night I knelt at one of the altars. Praises of God burst out of my heart like an artesian well. Oh, how I rejoiced! Then, such peace, quietness, and holiness came into my heart—something I had never experienced before.

How happy I was! But the Lord put another desire in my heart—for the baptism of the Holy Ghost. It was during Midwinter Special Meetings. I was so hungry to get to one meeting after another. I was not thinking about my home in the Midwest. All I was concerned with was receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Two days after Christmas, the Lord opened the heavens and poured out His Spirit on me! He satisfied my longing heart.

Then such yearning came into my heart to see others saved. I kept a diary at that time, and it seemed that on every page I was pouring out my heart to God, longing to see souls saved.  

I am glad I made my reservations for Heaven years ago, but I want to know it is still valid. There is communication between my heart and the Savior, and it means more to me than anything else in the world. He makes my days brighter as I go along. I have a lively hope of seeing Jesus face to face.