To: Pastor and Mrs. Parsley
From: Bob and Carolyn Elliott
Re: A Testimony (#1)
(May 28, 1999) Greetings!
God really loves us. Everyday I wonder how really ?wide? is His love. Like when He stretches out His arms. It?s unfathomable! We have a testimony (recount by Carolyn).
Even writing this letter is a testimony. God said yesterday that He wanted me to take the day off. You
see, about 4 1/2 years ago, Jesus found me. I couldn?t believe this man died on the cross for me. I gave Him everything I could, even my vacation time! It was hard to write this, wiping the tears away (breaking up) as the Holy Ghost minister the words, as He is right now!
Bob and I sowed $777.00 last winter, believing for a miracle with our finances. March 1999, during the
fast, we had been lead to pursue consolidation of our 2 - first mortgage payments as they were between
2 companies. We met a new friend here at church who brokered for mortgage companies.
Our credit is less than favorable. But Bob and I and our friend, Shelly, stepped out as our steps are
order of the Lord! During the course of the evaluation, our house had to be appraised. In September of 1998, it appraised for $65,000. This year, it appraised for $79,000! Hundred-fold + return! Praise God!
You see, we sold our condo in September of 1996, but our realtor would not show us homes we selected
in diversified neighborhoods, for the outreach ministry God charged us with (it wasn?t time....). We
moved into an apartment and continued the ministry and took on even more assignments. December of
1997, I boldly, but speaking softly, asked God, ?When will You be giving us a house?? He said, ?Before
September of 1998.? So I stood on His Word.
On January 3rd, 1998, Bob called a man he knew that remodeled foreclosures and sold to challenged
credit histories. Bob looked at 1 house and knew this was the one. On January 5th, we were pre-approved for financing and moved into the house on January 10th. God is in the real estate business! You see, in the year of 1997, we were put in front of people who testified to us about God providing them a house when the worldly report said different. We dedicated our home back to God in February 1998, publicly declaring our stewardship of it all - the house, the contents, the ground. We went through renting it for 2 months, a land contract for 5 months, and closed on a mortgage September 1998 (end)!
During the refinancing, Bob was lead to speak to the IRS about a tax debt incurred when his family?s
company folded. We were having problems paying the $200.00 ?good faith? payment. With interest
compounded daily, we owed $82,000 (see what?s comin?). He met with an officer who evaluated his
case, God with us, and the case was deemed uncollectable! DOUBLE-DOUBLE. $79,000 appraisal;
$82,000 debt canceled. Ms. Joycey! Glory Hallelujah (end)!
Our refinancing was a trial. We knew God was orchestrating this symphony. We were on the 3rd
mortgage company. They approved us, then days later, rejected us (the devil, he?s a liar)! We stood,
knowing the 3rd company was the one. A 4th company came into the picture and began evaluating, but
we were standing on the 3rd (God works in 3?s). The 3rd company came back into the picture. We closed after 3 months of trials, testing our faith, our trust that God is in control.
What did we gain from this experience?
1) Knowing that God is a God of promises.
2) Learning how to step out of the
boat and trust Him.
3) Gaining impermeable confidence that God is able, for with God, all things are possible!
Pastor, Bob and I just want to thank God for choosing you to be the vessel He uses to speak His heart.
We do so love the Lord and the whole Parsley family.
To: Pastor and Mrs. Parsley
From: Bob and Carolyn Elliott
Re: A Testimony (#2) (July 25, 1999) Greetings! In the name of our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus, for it is in the cross that he wore that we can leave our burdens and walk in faith!
Pastor Rod and Joni, this is the 2nd testimony I have documented for you. The first was regarding our
hundred-fold and double-double return on $777.00. It was given to Brother Bill Canfield. I?ve enclosed
another copy, but today I write to you because of your testimony, Pastor, about the corvette.
I was also convicted of idolatry and it was a 1992 Ford 5.0 liter Mustang, metallic hunter green with the
wheels, the fog lamps, the gray skirting around the body, sunroof, top of the line factory stereo. I traded in my Aerostar for a sports car, intending on buying a family car at Ricart, the summer of 1992. And
when I took her out on the road, I floored her, pulling some G?s along the way. What a RUSH. And then
He found me Tuesday, August 23, 1994 at 1:30 am (I couldn?t go to sleep until Jesus came into my life
that night). Someone else is driving that car, now. I?ve seen it around. It had a ?ding? on the rear-end
where someone had ran into it on I71-S in evening rush-hour traffic the summer of 1995.
My father-in-law, Pastor Bob A. Elliott, Bob and I, were in outreach ministry together, and in 1996, there
was a word that convicted me on idolatry because immediately the Holy Spirit showed me that car.
Washing, waxing, vacuuming, spraying the tires, cruising; I knew I had an idol in my life. Praise God, He knows the end before the beginning!
BTW...confession-I even had a portrait taken with it. 14X20 - I wanted to be like Mrs. Chandler of the Young and the Restless. Hey! I wasn?t saved yet....
I felt compelled to trade it in, but was fearful of the return because it was a lease and I had more miles on it than the contract stipulated, else charges concur. There was a time when I didn?t want to fall into another Ricart trap. I call it that because when the went from Ford to the Mega Mall, I felt betrayed. Why my father was a Ford man and his daughter was a Ford ?man?. And the Mustang had turned into nothing
but a Mitsubishi clone in 1994 (I hope you are laughing)!
One day, Bob and I were on the road and I turned down Williams Rd. from Hamilton and went right into
Ricart! I couldn?t believe I was there. And we proceeded to park in the used car area. I don?t buy ?used? cars. I buy, or lease, new cars! We were met by one of the sharks, I mean, salesmen, a young boy. I said I was looking for a van. A big van. So he walked us out to the front lot to a big blue van. Nice looking, but very big. We got in. Everything was clean. Dual heat and dual air. We began to talk to him and found out he?s a PK! Praise God! Well, it didn?t take long, and we took home, a 1992 15 passenger
Dodge Ram van that has 22,000 original miles on it, July 1996, even before the financing was done!
We didn?t owe a thing on the Mustang as we were over the mileage and still owed on the 5 year lease,
but not without a fight, though. On paper, the finance manager, who was a born-again, spirit-filled
Christian, saw we didn?t qualify at Ricart, so l went to Nationwide Federal Credit Union and they
approved a higher interest rate but for only $15,000 and we needed about $500 more. Praise God. When He wants something, He?ll get it! And make it work. My mother gave us the balance and we were on our way to a great pouring out of God?s assignments in His Plan of Salvation.
We know the time is drawing near for The GGB - Gospel (Ghetto-cause we are in Linden to minister)Bus to be traded in for a new vehicle. It?s seen much of God?s glory. We took it to Nashville a couple times, drove it to Homestead FL., workded crusades in Cleveland, OH., fed HUD projects for a year out of it, took HUD kids to summer camp at Morgan?s retreat right before it became part of WHC, and now since we are back at WHC, we pool people to church. We also were used to shuttle dorm residents during Campmeeting ?99 to the Meijer or Kroger?s store. daily. That?s another testimony to come!
Until then, continued blessings abundantly. We love you!
To: Pastor and Mrs. Parsley
From: Bob and Carolyn Elliott
Re: A Testimony (#3)
(August 16, 1999) Greetings! With love and prayers to you and yours! Pastor Rod and Joni, this is the
3rd testimony I have documented for you. The second was regarding our 15 passenger van. It was
given to Mother Parsley?s assistant, Liz. I?ve enclosed another copy. And the first was 100 fold return and double-double on $777.00. I believe that was given to Brother Canfield. Today I write to you about Campmeeting and volunteering.
I love making the choice to let God make my decisions. He never fails me when I do. It?s my destiny that?s in His hands. I felt the pressure to volunteer for Campmeeting this year. My husband sings in the choir and my neighbor, Elysse Smith, was working the children?s ministry. The cards kept coming around at services. People pushed them at me. People asked me what I was doing for Campmeeting. PRESSURE - CONVICTION - ANGUISH. But you know as well as I do, God is faithful! He didn?t bring me this far to forsake me. I love Him. I thank Him. Eventually, I found myself saying to people, basically to ?BACK OFF?! I felt like pulling away from it all, but the Holy Spirit is my Comfort, my Guide. I asked God to bring me to a point where I?d know that I know that I know what I was going to do. I did not fill out a volunteer card.
Wednesday, June 30th, I pulled the van up to the north entrance. Bob was standing there with a man I
knew was part of WHC ministry. Bob waved me to come over, so I parked, got out of the van, and walked over. His name was Brother Mike Yoder. He asked if I was committed to volunteering at Campmeeting. I said that I have been waiting on the Lord to direct me to what I was to do. He said that he wanted that van to be used for something. He didn?t know what it was, but to show up Saturday to find out where we could be used (previously, I sent a testimony about trading in a 5.0 liter Mustang GT for a 15 passenger Dodge Ram van).
Bob and I showed up that Saturday and found Brother Mike. He directed us to a woman. She said that
there were people staying in the dorms that didn?t have transportation to anywhere off the grounds
because they were shuttled from the airport. She suggested not to get locked into anything permanent
because this volunteerism wasn?t supported by the Church. That we would, if we wanted to, show up
whenever and see if people needed to go to the ATM, department store, or grocery store. I knew I would be someone who they could depend on. I asked for a badge and she gave me one designated for the whole week. I knew that I knew that I knew this was what God purposed me to do for Campmeeting! I was so joyfully excited and felt His presence with every step I walked. He blessed me with His perfect will. All I had to do was ask and wait. Glory, Honor, and Praise to God, my Father!
Bob and I left the house at 7:30 am Sunday morning, July 4th, and were on the grounds at 8 am. We
went to the volunteer entrance and waited to enter, as the choir needs to be there early to pray and
warm-up. After service that day, we took the van over to the dorms and shouted, ?Praise to Lord, Saints!? They saw the badge and were so grateful that they weren?t left behind. We went to both buildings and filled up that 15 passenger van!
We met people from Chicago, New York, California, Jamaica, British Virgin Islands, Oklahoma, and
Greece that week. Monday, July 5th, we took people from the dorms out twice as Bob and I had the day
off. Then Tuesday through Thursday, after I got off work at 3:30 PM, I had 4 PM runs to the dorms. I
had so much fun and was so blessed!
Thursday, July 8th, I took the van filled with people to the Meijer store as usual, but that day was a day of
heightened excitement. One of my passengers brought a customer over to the van and said that she may need some help. I introduced myself and she asked what this was all about. I told her what we were about - WHC, Campmeeting, volunteering. I asked her if she knew Jesus. She said that she prayed to God every night and read the Bible. I then turned around to my charges and as I was closing the doors to keep the air conditioning in, I directed them all to pray as this one?s coming to know Jesus, and shut the doors.
This woman said that she was living in Somerset, OH with a great Cherokee Indian medicine woman who
prayed to God, too. I put my arm around her shoulders and began to teach her about Jesus, Heaven, the Father and the Holy Spirit. I gave her Scripture about having to know Jesus in order to get to the Father. And that because of Jesus, you too, can go to Heaven one day if you serve Him and asked if she would like to know Him to be assured. She said, ?Yes.? I ministered to her a prayer of salvation. She repeated very word as I also explained to her what she was praying meant. We finished and rejoiced. I told her that what she learned today needed to be ministered to the Cherokee Indian medicine woman, too, and that she needed to renounce those spirits that are not of the true and living God, the Father, Christ Jesus, His Son, and the Holy Spirit.
I asked her if she was stranded and she said that there were people meeting her back here at 8 PM to
take her home. I invited her to Campmeeting and to WHC. Encouraged her to call the prayer line and if
there was something she needed to know about the Gospel, to call the church so she would receive the
Truth of the Word. She was calm and at peace. We said our good-byes, as I assured her she did the
right thing and that I and all the others would be praying for her, as it?s a long and narrow road to travel, that of righteousness.
Everyone in the van was amazed. They had never won a soul to the Kingdom, those that were with me that day. I talked to them about the points that I used when I ministered to the lost. They thanked me for
my service and thanked me for the opportunity to witness this salvation. I said not to thank me, thank
God for the opportunity for He is the orchestrator of my destiny.
Bob and I were at the dorms Saturday to take some to the bus station and some to the airport, finishing
our job to the end that morning. We prayed with everyone and gave hugs, and said our good-byes (crying
in blessings right now). I thank God for His presence in our lives. We couldn?t have done this without
Him, I thank God for Brother Mike Yoder for his obedience by the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and I thank God for you two!
Next year, Pastor, Bob and I desire to rent an RV and park it on the football field, so that we can be
available to the people in the dorms all week long. We hope it will become a part of Campmeeting.
Until the next testimony (which there is!), continued blessings abundantly. We love you!
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