A desperate cry from the heart of a troubled young woman brings results from Heaven.

By Rachel Hall

When I was eight years old, my world fell apart. As a small child I lacked nothing. Our family was well to do, and life was happy. But on Christmas Eve, when I was eight, a police officer came to our door, arrested my father, and took him away.

Suddenly everything changed. The security was gone. My mother, a hard-working woman who had always stayed home with her children, was forced into the working world. Some of my older sisters and brothers had married, so I was left with my younger brother and a sister just a little older than I. From then on, there was not much direction or authority in my life. I did what I wanted, ate what I wanted, and went places I shouldn't have gone. By the time I was ten, I was a street kid. I had a home and a place to sleep, but I rarely slept in my bed. I usually crawled out the window and spent the night on the street because I was so lonely. Basically I raised myself, and I didn't do a very good job of it.

Drugs brought acceptance

Before long I became involved in drugs, and by the time I was eleven, I was using hallucinogens on a regular basis. I partied every weekend. I had a lot of friends because I had access to drugs, and I procured them in order to be accepted by my peers.

My grades were terrible. I couldn’t have cared less whether I did well at school, and there was no one at home to encourage me. Social workers were supposed to help me get my life straightened out, but they could do little for me because the problem was in my heart. I was terribly depressed. I had physical ailments and mental stress, and I was sent to many doctors. They put me on medication, but I still could not deal with reality at that time because my life was so miserable.

A near disaster

One night, my wayward behavior almost brought disaster. I found myself far from home out in the desert with people who could do me harm. It was two or three o’clock in the morning and I didn't know how I was going to get home. Although I was a very messed-up child, full of bitterness and hatred in my heart, I remember looking into the heavens and crying out to God, “If You are real and You made me for a purpose, do something for me!" It might seem strange that a child like me would pray, but I felt there was a God. Nothing happened that minute, but God helped me reach home safely. Once I was back in my own house, I decided that I didn’t want anything more to do with drugs. I realized that I could have lost my life that night, and I was thankful that God had helped me get home.

Visitors bring a powerful message

It wasn't long until God began to answer that cry from my heart. Some relatives visited our home. My father was out of prison by then, so both my parents were there when this couple came. Our visitors told us what God had done for them. I sat listening, and was amazed to see that they loved each other. They had such happiness, and there was a glow about them when they talked about Jesus. When they left, my parents concluded that they had fallen into fanaticism because the woman had told about being healed. However, though my parents rejected what they said, I believed it.

For some reason these relatives took an interest in my brother and me, and I'll never forget the love they showed us. On occasion they would drive over the mountains and take us to the Apostolic Faith Church in Los Angeles. If my mother had known the outcome of those visits, I don't think she would have let me go. But the mercy of God was reaching out to me. I wanted so much to be like this woman, and I wanted to be loved as she and her husband loved each other.

Then the Lord allowed me to come to Medford to visit my brothers and sisters who had recently been saved in the Apostolic Faith Church. I went to one meeting in Medford, maybe two. I do not remember the sermons, but I do remember feeling the Spirit of God. Some of the older ladies came to welcome me, and I saw love in their eyes. They didn’t show a hint of criticism for my appearance, though I was wearing a mini-skirt so short that it was hardly there. I had on a four-inch leather kidney belt studded with metal. I wore rings on every finger and some of them were very obnoxious looking. Although I was only thirteen years old, I was a fighter. I was tough and it showed. But those people genuinely cared about me.

A means of escape

At the close of the service, my sister Lynn took me forward to an altar to pray. I had never seen an altar of prayer, but I had learned that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I had learned that He came and died for my sins and that He loved me. Somehow I sensed that this was what I was looking for; a means of escape from the trials and tribulations I had been going through.

When I went to the altar, my heart was full of bitterness toward my father. I prayed until nearly midnight, but I never shed a tear because I was so hardhearted. I only knew that I wanted what those people had. As midnight approached, I knew I would be returning home the next day and facing the same unhappiness. I thought, O God, I can't do it! I finally stood up to leave. Then my brother Steve came over and hugged me. He said, "Rachel, you can get saved right now if you'll just believe." Right then in my heart I let go of that bitterness. I said, "O God, You can have it all. Whatever it takes, I'll serve you." I said it on my feet walking toward the back door, but right there the Lord came down and made a wonderful change in my heart. I've never felt such power in my life. I said to those who were gathered around, "He saved me! Just now, on my feet!" I went ahead and left the building, but I was on a cloud.

The teaching of God

When I went home the next day, the change was still there. I immediately became aware that I was not dressed appropriately. No one told me to take off my rings and make-up, or to quit wearing clothes that were revealing, but suddenly my conscience would not allow me to touch those things. Before my conversion, I had been addicted to rock and roll music. I had about a hundred albums of heavy rock that we played when we were on drugs, but the Lord laid it on my heart to destroy those albums.

My school record quickly showed evidence of the turn-around in my life. I was on the honor roll the first year after being saved. I became the president of my class, and even won awards for outstanding achievements in school! That was not the old Rachel.

God put it in my heart to honor and obey my parents even though they were very difficult. My father was an abusive alcoholic and sometimes I would weep because of the things that occurred--such violence I cannot describe--but God protected me. One night as I was retreating to my room, my father told me to do something I couldn't do without displeasing God. He said that if I didn't obey him, he would kill me, and he had a gun in his hand. But as I looked at my father, a peace came over me. I said, "Dad, go ahead and pull the trigger. I'll go straight to Heaven, and that's where I really want to be. And you will go to Hell." He looked at me with horror on his face. Then he put the gun down and walked out of the room. He never again tried to make me do something against my conscience. And for eight years God kept me in that hostile environment.

God’s keeping power

I was not able to attend Apostolic Faith Church meetings regularly, but I had the privilege of going to the camp meetings in Portland, Oregon. After those visits, I would go home feeling encouraged to hold on. The Lord kept me saved because I wanted to be kept.

God has been my very best friend through the years since then. How grateful I am that He saw me when I was destitute and filthy with sin, and cleaned me up. He changed me inside and out, and called me His daughter. Today I'm a child of the King! I'm looking forward to Heaven as my Eternal Home, and I can say it is wonderful to be a Christian.

Rachel Hall is a member of the Apostolic Faith Church in Medford, Oregon.