Testimonies
Testimonies of:
Deliverance
Charlie came from a family of seven. He grew up in Fayetteville, NC. Charlie's parents always taught him that serving God was the best choice he could make in his life. Every time the church doors were open, Charlie and his family were there. None of the children had a choice in the matter. They were going to church, whether they liked it or not. As a young boy, Charlie knew the difference between right and wrong, but the question was, would he always follow what his parents taught him?
Charlie married Joyce Gray and they had four children. This marriage ended, and years later he married Eva Mae Pipkin. Charlie and Eva had seven children. Charlie and his family moved from North Carolina in 1963 to Stafford Springs, Connecticut, where they lived for several years. Although Charlie was a good provider for his family, he had a problem. Charlie was an alcoholic. He drank all day long. He was a truck driver, so it was easy for him to drink on the job.
Along with drinking, Charlie also was addicted to cigarettes. He could smoke two packs a day along side his drinking. Drinking and driving landed him in jail many times. After being arrested several times for drinking and driving, he lost his license. This still did not stop him from getting to the bars and getting drunk.
With the drinking and smoking came many health problems. Many of Charlie's nights were spent in hospitals instead of the bars. The drinking ruined his kidney and the cigarettes affected his lungs. Along with these came alcoholic hepatites and many other alcohol-related sicknesses. These health problems brought on more problems for the Oates family. Charlie's wife Eva was home fighting breast cancer while he lay in the hospital getting operations and tests. If only he could have stopped drinking.
From Stafford Springs, Charlie and his family moved to Thompson, Connecticut. Right up the street was a bar and that was where Charlie spent his nights. While Charlie was in the bar getting drunk, his children were either at home helping mom or out doing their own things. The boys seemed to always get themselves in trouble because Charlie was not home to handle them most most of the time due to his illnesses. His health seemed to be failing rapidly, but that did not stop Charlie from going to the bar every night to get drunk and smoke his cigarettes with some buddies. There were many times his heart had started to fail, but there was something or someone that kept him alive. He would find out soon what that something or someone was.
Eva began attending a Catholic church that was located up the street from their home. Charlie went once in a while, but most of the time stayed away from church. After attending this church for a while, Eva met a woman who invited her to a Pentecostal church five minutes away from her house. Eva enjoyed going there, and she urged Charlie to go along with her. The pastor and his wife, Terry and Dorothy Hardt, came to visit Charlie at home and invited him to their church. Finally, Charlie attended one of the services. He really liked what he felt, but was not sure if he wanted to come back. The people were kind and warm and did not treat him any different than the rest. They welcomed him into their church with open arms and warm hearts.
The day finally came when Charlie decided it was time to make a change in his life. He knew that the drinking had to stop and that it was time to allow God to take control of his life. He quit drinking and smoking and started attending church every Sunday. Eva no longer went to church alone - she now had her family going too. On Oct. 22nd, 1989, Charlie was baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and received the gift of the Holy Ghost.
It has been almost eleven years since Charlie had his last drink and cigarette. His health still suffers some from the effects of the alcohol and the cigarettes, but he knows that the Lord is a healing God, and one day he will completely heal his body. He has already seen God heal his wife Eva from breast cancer, and beleives that He will heal his heart and lungs. Every day Charlie gets up, he thanks the Lord for bringing him this far and for watching out for him all of those years where there seemed to be no hope. A major change has come into his life. Every day he's living in faith, and believing in a one true God. Nothing else in this world could have given him the past ten years he has lived without alcohol and cigarettes as the Lord has.