Georgiana Aycock

My father was a minister, but I did not follow his teachings. Instead, I became a very worldly young woman who loved the dances and theaters.

A famous evangelist named Billy Sunday came through Columbus, Ohio, where I lived. I read about his meetings in the paper, but just laughed about them. I had no thought of going to hear him preach. Then, my employer gave me a Sunday off and the Lord spoke to me. He said, “Why don’t you go hear Billy Sunday?” So I went.

The tent where the meetings were being held was jammed full! When I saw Billy Sunday, the glory of God was on his face and it brought conviction to me right away. I didn’t pray that morning or when I went back that night. The following week, though, he spoke at one of the larger churches in the city. I went to hear him and he preached on sin – every sin in the book. At the altar call that night, I went forward and God saved me!

I began attending my childhood church again. I became active in the church, singing in the choir and working in the church’s clubs. I had no more interest in the movies and such things, but I still was not satisfied. There was a hunger in my heart for something more.

A lady evangelist came to our church and preached about clean living. She did not call it sanctification – just clean living. I liked what she said. A few weeks went by and another evangelist came. This one preached on sanctification. I went to her home afterwards and asked her, “What is sanctification?” She explained, “It is holiness; getting rid of the carnal nature, the inbred sin.” I decided that was what I wanted.

Next, she preached about the baptism of the Holy Ghost. I had never heard about it before, but I knew I wanted it, too. I went to see her again, and said, “Now you are talking about the baptism of the Holy Ghost. How do I get that?” She told me, “After you get these experiences, you will have to change churches; the church you attend does not believe in them.” She told me about a group of people who did believe in these experiences, so I began attending there and the Lord sanctified me and baptized me with the Holy Ghost.

Some years later, I was staying with a friend while attending a church convention. I opened a dresser drawer by mistake and found a tract from the Apostolic Faith Church in Portland, Oregon. It was about sanctification. I sat right down and read it all the way through, completely forgetting that I had gotten into the wrong drawer! At the end, it said: “Come to Front and Burnside.” If I had had wings, I believe I would have flown to Portland right then. I was thrilled and excited at what I had read, because it was just the same as what I had already received.

I was never the same after that. I read more of the church’s literature, and my desire to move to Portland grew. I talked about it all the time—until my girlfriends were tired of hearing about it. I even phoned the Union Station and asked about the fare to Portland. I did not have the money to go then, but I determined that someday I would.

Quite a few years passed, but finally I decided I would never be satisfied until I went. I sold my things, packed up, and headed to Portland to stay. I was so elated with what I found, that I didn’t even go back to Ohio to visit for seven years.

The time came when I had to look for work. It was during the depression and jobs were hard to find. I had promised the Lord while still in Ohio, that I would be willing to work for five dollars a week if I could just get to Portland. Previously I had been making fifteen dollars per week in an Ohio Inn. I applied at the YWCA employment office, and the woman told me that jobs were scarce. She said she had only one housekeeping job, but it only paid five dollars a week. I told her I would have to have more.

I had gone only about a block when the Holy Spirit said, “You said you would work for five dollars.” I turned right around and went back and accepted the job. I never had a better job. I worked there for seven years, eventually making more money. The Lord takes care of His people.

The Lord has been good to me. I am now ninety years old, and I have never been sorry that I started to follow Him early in life and have walked with Him throughout this long lifetime. I have had a long and full life guided by the hand of the Lord, and I expect Him to lead me right on into Heaven.