The Testimony 0f Ginny Bell

 

 

  I was born and raised a Roman Catholic in Wisconsin when it was still the Latin Mass and as far as I know all my relatives were Catholic. I was always told that other denominations would go to hell but only us Catholics are in the one true church.
   I was a very devout Catholic growing up. I never missed mass unless I was very, very sick, which was about never. I went on every Holy Day of Obligation. I loved receiving the sacraments. Receiving my first communion was very special to me, and then confirmation. The Bishop asked, “What is Confirmation? I raised my hand first so he called on me and my response was: “Confirmation is a sacrament in which the Holy Spirit comes to us in a special way and enables us to profess our faith as strong and perfect Christians and soldiers of Jesus Christ. (I made my parents proud!) In my mid teens I was a normal teenager who thought the Church was boring but I still went every Sunday and Holy Day of obligation. After I graduated from High School I left Wisconsin and went to Alabama just to get away from home. I got married and when I had my first child I knew I had to give more to the church than just going to mass so I joined the Sodality, a woman’s group devoted to Mary, and I was involved with the Fatima message. I had my Mother-in-law make us two most Holy Rosaries in which has the three loops in one rosary. I saw a picture of it in the St. Josephs Missal. My husband and I said this rosary together every 1st Saturday of every month and we said the regular Rosary every day and I wore my scapular. We even got a Douay Rheims Bible for Christmas. 

  I bought the Catholic Encyclopedia and the updated Catechism and the Canons and Decrees from the Council of Trent, which I would read often. Now was the time for GOD to step in. Of all the people God could use to start the process leading to my salvation. He used Jehovah’s Witnesses. They came to my door and I let them in and tried to convince them the Catholic Church is the one true church and of course they tried convincing me that theirs was the true church. We weren't getting anywhere so they left my house. I turned on my radio after they left and was switching stations and it landed on a program that said: “Christ in Prophecy” well I was so involved with the Fatima prophecies that I decided to listen and of all things the topic on that day was on “How To Witness To Jehovah Witnesses” I was so interested so I listened. He told us where to write to get more information on Jehovah’s Witnesses and how to witness to them so I wrote and made sure I would listen to this program again. 

   Few days later he talked about Mormons and so I listened, but then few days later he talked about us Catholics. I didn’t care if he talked about other faiths but leave mine alone. I got so mad at what he was saying. He said things like, I don’t know why Catholics worship Mary, she was a sinner like you and me and she wasn’t an ever virgin she had other children with Joseph after Jesus was born and gave the scriptures to back it up. And we shouldn't pray to her or any saint that has died. With me being a very devout Catholic, that hurt and I cried. I was going to prove him wrong. I knew I had to use the Bible because other faiths will not accept catechism. One day while I was reading the Bible the mailman came and I received the package from the radio program on how to witness to Jehovah’s witnesses I realized a lot of the verses in these tracts that proved the Jehovah’s Witnesses wrong also proved my faith wrong. I was trying to push this proof away by saying maybe there was more to the Bible that wasn't put in the Bible that should have been and things like that, but my reasoning would never explain the proof that already was in front of me. My husband and I both had to settle this proof once and for all.

   We finally made up our minds to forget all we learned in the Roman Catholic Church and start all over with just the Bible and then we would understand all the errors of this church. It took a while but we finally left the Catholic Church in which I was a faithful member for 29 years and it took a while to find a true Bible believing church. We finally found the church that Jesus told us to join and go forward and verbally proclaim Jesus as our Lord and Savior to the congregation and to be baptized. When the nuns found out they came running and asked us if we compared the beliefs of the church we were attending to the Catechism and I said “I SURE HAVE” because the church we were attending followed the Bible teachings.     

   Jesus has been Lord of my life ever since! I praise HIM for taking the time to look at me from Heaven and reaching down to grab hold of my heart to wake me up. GOD had everything planned from the Jehovah's Witnesses visiting to the radio program that would eventually be changed from JW's to Catholicism. JESUS took my  heart of stone out of me and put in a heart of flesh that obeys HIM. He gave me a whole New Life I never had before and every day I know that HE is working in me and changing me and getting me ready to meet HIM.  

   When Jesus saves you then you will KNOW IT. You will know that what HE does for you is not of this world. He even warned me a year before hand that I would have to go through many trials for a reason. Following JESUS is a very, very hard and lonely road but your reward for obeying is out of this world! Jesus said Few will come to HIM HIS way because few want the persecution that comes from following JESUS. But JESUS will never let you down and will treat you as a son or daughter and show you many things you never seen and knew before. To God be the Glory!