Her mother led the way, and after years of rebellion, she followed that example.

By Pearlie Hines

The campground of the Apostolic Faith Church in Portland, Oregon is a landmark in my life. In July of 1934, as my mother and I walked through those front gates for the first time, something happened in my young heart. I was thirteen years of age, and I will never forget the thrill and excitement that I felt. We had come from the southern part of the United States, having traveled for five days on the train. Oh, what a sight my eyes beheld that morning as we arrived. The flowers on the campground were so beautiful. The weather was a bit cooler than I was used to. In fact, coming from Georgia to Portland, Oregon, was like going to the North Pole—or so I thought. It was during that camp meeting, in the children’s tabernacle, that the Lord saved me.

A life-changing message

That wonderful trip came about because of a Gospel paper called the Apostolic Faith that my mother had received a year earlier. In 1933, in the city of Columbus, Georgia, my mother had been visiting with a woman in our neighborhood who was bedridden and living alone. The women in our area took turns going to her home each day to care for her. They would cook, clean, wash, iron, and do whatever needed to be done. There were no nursing homes in those days, so you took care of your own people.

On that particular day, the lady gave my mother an Apostolic Faith paper that had been given to her. My mother was a Christian, but for a long time she had hungered for more of God. That paper helped her to find what she had been searching for. She began to write to one of the women she had heard of in the Portland Apostolic Faith congregation. After that, she began a correspondence with Sister Florence Crawford, the General Overseer at that time. In due time, the Lord stirred my mother’s heart to want to go to one of the camp meetings, and that was when we went to Portland the first time.

There had been such a longing in my mother’s heart for her children to be Christians, and for a while after that camp meeting, I did serve the Lord. But as a young teenager, I let Satan steal the joy out of my heart. I spent many years out in the world of sin, but I could never forget that first joyous thrill I had felt as a young girl when Jesus saved me.

A heart full of rebellion

During all those years that I was not a Christian, I still had the reputation of being a very “good girl.” But my heart was full of rebellion. I rebelled against God’s truth, but I could never get away from it. I know it was because my mother continued to pray for me. Her prayers followed me through the years, and she also asked many of the saints of God to pray for her daughter. I am so glad she did, and I am so thankful God still answers prayer.

One day, God got hold of this old heart of mine, and I cried out for mercy. I fell to my knees and prayed, “O God, if You will forgive me for all the sins I have committed, I promise I will live for You the rest of my life.” God heard that prayer, and He saved me! I knew the very moment His love came into my heart. Everything changed. I felt like I was in Heaven on earth. I wanted all He had for me. I kept seeking, and the Lord sanctified me, and He filled me with the precious baptism of the Holy Ghost. He gave me victory and a hope of Heaven. I have been saved for many years now, and that victory and hope is still alive in my heart.

Each camp meeting I come to is just as exciting for me as the one so many years ago, when I walked onto the grounds that first time. I love everything about it. I love to feel God’s Spirit working among the people. The Bible teachings that go forth just burn in my soul.

I can truly say that God has been faithful to me. I thank Him for this wonderful Gospel and all He has done for me through the years. Most of all, I thank Him for saving my soul. I shall never cease to praise Him.