Janie’s Story

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” ~ Romans 10:9-13

I was born and raised in Northeastern Wyoming — a family of nine. Not being brought up in a Christian home, we rarely attended church, nor discussed the Bible. We lived in the country and were visited by the Jehovah Witnesses on occasion. My mother was from a Catholic background, and my father was raised by his hard-working uncle — after his father was killed in a horse accident, at a young age. After graduating, (and with a job) I and my two younger sisters would attend a Methodist church on Easter Sunday — dressing up and carrying our Bibles. After I married, we attended church off and on — mostly a Methodist or Presbyterian church. I carried my Bible to church, but I was never asked to open it. It just looked good—We never heard the gospel. After my husband graduated from Veterinarian school, we had two boys.

Our “Osage Church” Pastor Gainer & his wife, along with Bob & Faith Fautenberry (spring 1974)

While living in Osage, WY, I took our young boys to a small Sunday School and Church service held in the Community Hall, there (a small group). An evangelist and his wife (Bob & Faith Fautenberry) came to town for a week of revival meetings. Our family attended every evening and heard the gospel for the very first time!  After about the third meeting, our hearts were convicted and we went forward during the preaching invitation. We admitted that we were sinners and asked Jesus to forgive us and save us. That was May 12, 1974. Now, we pray for others to see the LIGHT as we saw It that day.

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” ~ Romans 5:8

We praise God for that one who shared the gospel with us and led us to the Lord!

A short time later, we were baptized in Beaver Creek out on our ranch, in Wyoming. It was a cool day, but there was a warm feeling in our hearts. Our life was changed. Praise God for His goodness to us!

Once saved, God gave me a “love” in my heart for others, and a concern for their souls. I pray for boldness to share the gospel with others—like someone did for me! After our salvation, we were instrumental in helping to build the first fundamental Bible Church in Osage, WY. It is still there and growing — many souls being saved. Praise the Lord!

We love the Lord, and we pray that we can live to be more like Him every day — sharing the “Good News” with others — that Jesus Christ died on the cross for us, was buried, and rose again the third day, to pay for our sin and to conquer death for us. “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” ~ 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

Without a doubt, I KNOW I’m on my way to heaven. “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” ~ 1 John 5:13

I thank God for my salvation! Every person will be somewhere, forever.  After we leave this earth, all of us either go to heaven or hell, depending on whether, or not, we’ve trusted in Christ to save us. Both Del and I have come to realize that our life, here, is not the ultimate life—but rather, our eternal life in heaven is the “abundant life”. Friend, you need salvation. Then, after that, you can get involved in a local, Bible-believing church, as God expects the saved to do (Hebrews 10:25). Before getting saved, we were members of the Eastern Star and the Masons. But afterwards, having Jesus as our Saviour, our eyes were opened to the truth. We could see that the Lodges took the place of church for us, and we soon resigned.

Today, my husband and I are members of the Mountainview Baptist Church in Custer, SD.

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