Dorothy was born into poverty and lived a life steeped in tragedy. Hearing her story, some might call her unfortunate; others may even pity her. But today, Dorothy counts herself wonderfully blessed by Jesus Christ, her Savior. At a turning point in her life, your gifts to Amazing Facts International brought everlasting joy to Dorothy and her husband, Barry, lifting them out of darkness and into God’s radiant light.
As a child, Dorothy loved learning about God, but it seemed there was much about faith and truth that her Pentecostal church wouldn’t tell her. God always seemed to be shrouded in an impenetrable mystery.
As the years went on, she pushed spiritual pursuits aside to make room for other things in life, like marriage and children. But not long after, Dorothy began to be acquainted with grief. Her first child was stillborn. Then, after the birth of her second child, David, Dorothy and her husband divorced.
It was only then that Dorothy began to notice again that soft but persistent desire to pursue God in her heart—that yearning to know God and His truth. Whenever she had a quiet moment, she prayed for God to lead her to a church that taught the truth about Him and His Word—a church that wouldn’t hide His face from her.
As time passed, Dorothy fell in love with and married Barry. Together, they had two children, Rosemary and Michael.
Then once more, one by one, tragic events befell her family. Barry came down with pneumonia, then had a heart attack. After that came a day neither of them will ever forget—the day of the car accident. An officer had come to their door to tell them that neither Rosemary nor David had survived.
Truth at Any Hour
Yet through all the distractions, tragedy, and the temptations to abandon her faith, Dorothy continued to pray. And one day, God answered her prayers with an unusual flyer in the mail.
The advertisement was for a Revelation prophecy seminar. Dorothy was ecstatic. It was during those presentations that she discovered her heavenly Father—and that He had led her to a church that taught the Bible truth. At the end of the series, Dorothy was baptized into the Sabbath-keeping faith.
Barry was less enthused. A church that met on Saturday was certainly strange. He hadn’t wanted Dorothy to attend the meetings. Yet, when he began to see a change coming over her—a real, honest joy that could not be taken away, a spirit that shone brightly despite the sorrow in their lives—he realized this wasn’t something from which to run away. He wanted to experience the same thing, so when Dorothy read the Bible, Barry asked her to read aloud.
One night, Dorothy was roused from her sleep by Barry. He was excited about a program he was watching on television. On the screen was a pastor named Doug Batchelor from a ministry called Amazing Facts. Dorothy soon gathered that Barry had actually been watching those messages for the past several nights—and he liked what he heard, so much so on this night that he had woken her to share his discovery with her. He told her that Pastor Doug preached straight from the Bible, and he was speaking the very same truths as the Sabbath-keeping church Dorothy had just joined!
It was clear to both of them that God was working in their lives.
Tragically, Barry’s health was failing. They soon discovered he had lung cancer. But undeterred by the bad news and while being treated in the hospital, Barry made the most important decision of his life: He accepted Jesus Christ. Then came the night that he wasn’t able to breathe, the night he passed away with Dorothy and his son Michael by his side. Barry is resting in Christ—and your gifts helped lead him there.
As for Dorothy, she realized that all her trials had happened for a reason. Two years later, she herself was diagnosed with cancer. But she was not afraid. She knew that the God who had walked with her through all the loss, pain, and heartache still had a plan for her and that she could trust in Him completely.
Well, God did have a special plan for Dorothy: She is now cancer-free!
Thank you for touching Barry’s life—and Dorothy’s—in that crucial hour. Dorothy can now say with certainty: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17).