Betty’s Testimony 

It is the same with me, rejected by my mother and was put in the orphanage at 15 months and was there for 12 years. In that time I had a friend Mary, we were in the nursery together and then in the small children area.

I loved Mary she always carried a cross with her and she never done anything wrong, we use to put a blanket up in a corner and pray, and pray she would do all the praying, and the sister would find us there and said we were doing something wrong and we said no we were praying, and she wouldn’t believe us and so we were spanked for that, and then when we ever got spanked in the day we had to get it at night for the same thing. That put some hatred in me, when we went outside to play Mary and I would sit on a hill and watch the others play and then Mary would say ”Elizabeth if you want to play I’ll sit here and watch you and pray”  That is all she done is pray.

Then my friend Mary died at 12 years old, and I got really rebellious that night when I got on my knees to pray I said ain’t gonna pray no more, and jump into my bed and then I heard a big booming voice saying my prayer and I jumped out of bed shaking and saying my prayer, and I said that prayer every night so I would never hear that voice again.

I had so much hatred in me when I got out of the orphanage I was rebellious [ thought if anyone touched me I’ll kill them], and then I was sent to a girls home and then another and then from there I was sent to a girl’s reformatory and I was so full of hatred that I could not be with the other girls I had to be all by myself

Then my brother and I got into trouble conspiracy against the government and got sentence to 3-5 years in prison after awhile another person and I planned on making an escape and one night we decided to do it and as we were running towards the fence and climbing over we could hear someone is escaping and we got over the fence and were running when they caught up with us and brought us back and I was laughing and then I noticed my leg was bleeding from the barred wire and I just kept getting into trouble and spent most of my time in solitary.

Then one day I came to my senses and thought I hate this kind of life, I want to be trusted, I want to be good and so I changed and when I was going for parole this superintendent said there is hope for the whole world because I changed, and then she said your kind always comes back, but I determined I was not going to get into trouble.

And of course I got married and had a beautiful girl and then my husband was in a band so he wanted me to be in the band, he bought me a set of drums Then I got pregnant and had a boy, and we were still playing one night stands and when the children were older my husband was laid off and so we had to do something,  and we were liked by many and were kept busy playing gigs. We were popular and then an A .P. Reporter was told about us and he came to the place where we were playing and asked if he could write a story about us and we said yes, but we thought he was joking and sure enough he called

The story hit the papers all over Mich, and Wis. And the New York papers were on strike so it didn’t make it world wide.

We went on the road left the children back home with my husband’s mother and I cried all the way because I didn’t want to leave them I was so hurt for many days I cried but we had no other choice.

We were out on the road for almost 8 years,

For a while the playing was fun and exciting and then I needed to have more than alcohol so I was taking nerve pills and alcohol together, and was getting a fast high and then I was loosing my feelings in my legs and then I felt I was going to leave myself out of my side, and I just kept taking that and I never told my husband what I was doing, I had to touch something while I was doing my show of pantomime so I wouldn’t leave my body.

When we were leaving South Dakota going home to play in our home area I didn’t tell my husband how I was feeling, but I had to keep fighting it felt like I was going to swallow my tongue, and I thought if I see a hospital I’m going to ask him to stop, but he took all the back roads.

Then out on the road again our children would come with us in the summer and then in the winter we leave without them except when we were close to home we would have them come and be with us.

The last place we played at was Devil’s Lake ND. And we were going home to quit the road that was in June of 1970. We started going to church, I hated church I would sing songs in my mind so I wouldn’t hear the message being preached. Then I heard the name of Jesus and I stopped singing and thought I wonder what he looks like I would love to look like him, and I wonder what he is dressed like I want to be dressed like him, so I played detective and was listening to people to hear what Jesus would look like and dress like, but I never heard,

But then on  February 27, 1971 while I was still saying that same old prayer, all of a sudden I was taken in a vision to Calvary and it was between Jesus on the cross dying for me and I screamed My sin killed you if I hadn’t sinned you wouldn’t have to die and I hit my chest and kept crying over my sinfulness and then I scream I don’t want my will anymore I only want your will to be done in my life and if you want my children I give them to you to take and kill them

[Oh my children were like idols to me I would never give my children to God because I knew he would kill them] and you can kill my husband and me I only want what you want and I cried myself to sleep

when I woke up in the morning I felt like I been drinking and I though I never drink in the house why do I feel like this, and I took those verve pills and dumped them down the toilet and thought I don’t need these anymore, oh I felt like flying and couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me, I kept getting higher and higher like I was on something, and I couldn’t wait to go to church [before I would drag my feet and hated to go to church]

The rest is history I went from being in an orphanage, to being a prisoner, and an entertainer, and then a preacher of the true Gospel of Christ and the Cross, And then preaching on two TV programs, Coffee with Betty and Upbeat with Jesus.

Wow what a change and the love of God that came in to help people when they call and cry out to be saved And that is God’s heart to hear the cry of the destitute.

Well Cari I guess I really kept your ear burning  I guess we all have a story to tell of how we met Jesus out of all our mess you know he takes our mess and makes a message out of it to bring hope to others.