I grew up in East End, Tortola, British Virgin Islands, and was the sixth of seventeen children. My siblings and I were brought up under the sound of the Gospel. At home, we woke up to Gospel songs playing on the radio. The lyrics of two of those songs still echo in my spirit today: “Love is the key; The golden key that opens Heaven’s door,” and, “‘Ere you left your room this morning, did you think to pray?”

We lived on a hill close enough to the Apostolic Faith Mission that we could hear the melodious singing on Sundays. We listened from home because economic reasons kept us children from being able to attend services in our early years. Sitting on the hill outside our home, I savored the messages of the songs. Among the members of the congregation was my dad, whose rich tenor voice seemed to single him out above the others. In addition, I took great pleasure in listening to my dad pray every afternoon when he returned from work. When he started to pray, the atmosphere in our home quickly changed; we lowered our voices in respect. Anyone who raised a voice was instantly reminded that Pappy was praying. As I look back on those years, I recognize that a foundation of love for the things of God was being laid in my heart.

When I was sixteen years old, I knelt in my pew after a Sunday service and asked Jesus to forgive my sins and save my soul. He answered my prayer and gave me His peace and the joy of salvation. I knew God had made a real difference in my heart because before then, I’d had a terrible fear of death and dying. Sometimes I would dream that I was in a coffin, and oh, how terrified I would be! After I was saved, those dreams ceased, and I understood that death was not to be feared but welcomed as a transition from earth to be with Jesus forever. 

Though I loved the Lord and being in church, I did not prioritize my daily prayer and consecration, and consequently my spiritual condition suffered. After a few years, I felt that like Peter, I was following the Lord “afar off” (Matthew 26:58). Spiritually speaking, I would fall and get up again. I had a desire in my heart to live for the Lord and please Him in all my ways, but my walk with Him was not consistent.

Then in January of 1975, when I was age twenty-six, God spoke to my heart through difficult circumstances that were happening in our congregation. A conflict between some members caused me to recognize my own backslidden condition, and along with others, I made my way to an altar of prayer. I wept bitterly, asking God to forgive me and help me to serve Him with my whole heart. I wanted God’s peace more than anything else. That Sunday, God forgave me and lifted my load.

In the days following, I was hungry for more of God. Tears would flow as I sought after all He had for me. By this time I was a school teacher, and during morning devotions at school, I had to try to keep my tears under control as we sang praises, read Scriptures, and prayed. The Lord graciously drew me to Himself and sanctified my soul several weeks later in our Road Town church. After that, I felt so clean and separated unto the Lord.

That summer, I attended our camp meeting on the island of Anguilla. We had a day of prayer and fasting, and that day I purposed to seek for the baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire, so that I could be effectively used by God. An elderly brother encouraged me to praise and give God thanks unceasingly for all His past blessings and for the power to serve Him. As I stayed focused on honoring and praising God, the fire fell. I continued praising Him in my heart, but my tongue was speaking words I did not understand. When I rose to my feet, I felt light, as though I was walking on air. I remember on the way back to my room, Sister Clove Anthony said, “Look at how your face is shining!”

Over the years, the Lord has been my faithful Provider. When I did not have the financial resources for continued education, He made the way for me to pursue a one-year higher education course in England, and then a three-year program in at a university in Canada. This was while I was in my early thirties, and in both cases, all expenses were paid on my behalf.

I told the Lord that if it was His will for me to marry, then He should determine my spouse because He knows everyone’s heart. I asked Him to choose a man after His own heart; a man who loved to pray and who would encourage me to serve Him. The Lord graciously fulfilled my desire. In August 1988, I married Christopher Kupoluyi at our church in Brooklyn, New York. Seven years later, he was ordained as pastor of the newly established church in Hempstead, New York. He passed away several years ago, but I thank God for the blessed memories of our union and our service to God as a team.

God has also proven Himself to be my Healer. After suffering from chronic back pain for over ten years, I decided to trust God for my healing and wrote to our church headquarters, requesting an anointed handkerchief. I placed the handkerchief on my back, and in time God honored my faith and healed me.

Another time, I woke up one Sunday morning to discover that I had contracted the red eye virus (also known as pink eye). This time, I opened my Bible and prayerfully read every Scripture I could find related to healing. The school where I worked had said that anyone with that virus should stay home for at least a week, but this happened to me during the exam period, which was a critical time for me to be at school. I pleaded with God to heal me, and He directed me to use seawater, warming it in a basin and flushing my eyes with it every few minutes. I obeyed, and the next morning I woke up completely well. I went to school and no one suspected that the virus keeping others away had attacked me the day before.

God is a wonderful Protector, too. Several years ago, while driving from Great Mountain to East End one night, God prevented me from plunging over a precipice. Due to low visibility, I did not realize how close I was to a dip in the road. When I saw it, I slammed on the brakes. The road was wet and the car skidded but stopped at the brink of a deep valley. Had the car gone any further, it could have been a plunge to my death, but the Lord in mercy stopped it just in time. In another incident in 2013, I was travelling home when a driver from oncoming traffic tried to pass a truck at the wrong time. The result was a head-on collision with me. My car was totaled, but the Lord brought me through walking on two feet. He preserved my life for His glory.

As the catastrophic storm raged, God’s peace flooded my soul. He gave me the assurance that I would be safe.

On September 6, 2017, Hurricane Irma struck the British Virgin Islands with wind gusts above two hundred miles per hour. Yet as the catastrophic storm raged, God’s peace flooded my soul. He gave me the assurance that I would be safe, though I would suffer much loss. The sound of destruction filled the air as fierce winds unfastened the hurricane shutters on my house. They became useless as they slammed back and forth, breaking all the glass louvers and leaving the interior exposed to flooding. Galvanized metal on the utility room and car port were ripped off and carried away by the wind. Two doors leading outside of my house were smashed, and inside, cupboard doors were ripped off and their contents strewn everywhere. When the storm subsided, neighbors came over to check on me, and they found me unharmed as God had promised.

The Lord proved to be my Healer again just recently. While at our Portland camp meeting in 2022, I contracted the flu and became so weak that I felt I would not be able to return home on my scheduled flight. The Lord gave me energy to return as planned; however, at home, severe symptoms continued and the weakness returned. As brethren prayed for my recovery, my body was subject to much pain that started in my back and spread to my left leg and foot. I could not walk for several weeks and it was a real trial, but God came through for me again. Praise God for answering all the prayers that were made on my behalf; my health has been restored by His healing virtue.

I thank God for His great faithfulness to me. He is my best and dearest Friend. My desire is to be faithful and to live with Him throughout eternity.

Maruita Kupoluyi worships at the Road Town Apostolic Faith Church in Tortola, BVI.