Eyoel Meiesse

Eyoel (Joel) was born in Ethiopia and came to Canada from a refuge camp. Pastor Ray Johnson got the privilege to lead him to salvation in Jesus Christ in 2010.

Friday September 29, 2000
Dear Bro. Ray & Sis. Leslie

I praise the father, Son, and the Holy ghost, for your kind and loving Ministry. Take it from me as it is written your rewards that is being prepared in God’s kingdom for you are great. Not forgetting his everlasting gifts of Joy, Peace, and Love that you enjoy here. I love the arrows of light that you keep shooting into the darkness. Soon the darkness will be consumed by the light. As soon as we all realize he is no longer in the dark, but he has risen! Praise him for the truth that makes us servants of the living God. I want to tell you that you make a big difference in the lives of those who love and serve Him. There are always tests and trials, but he is far greater than we can think or imagine. Oh! how good He is. If only we could find his best. I guess it would be like getting a whale loaf of bread fresh instead of a cold oven and a book full of recipe’s and how to make bread. I’m so glad your interests are in Souls instead of Gold. Real soon I believe, the power of his resurrection will show in us. I know because of my vision and the word , that his spirit will be fully made real to the world. “Soon”

Much Love and Blessings.Your Brother in Christ always friend.
Bro. Art.

April 08, 1998

Dear Sirs:

This is my testimony: the early years.

I have learned from the Scripture that the LORD God saved me in His grace before the foundation of the world. I was chosen in Christ. Praise the Lord! By the word of God I have been learning to only acknowledge myself after Christ. Therefore, my testimony is based upon the Word of God.

One of my first memories of encountering God was at the age of 17. I was sitting at the kitchen table at the home of my grandparents. I had suicide on my mind with a 30.30 rifle in my hand. I remember considering what my grandparents, and others, would think if they found me dead with my brains splattered all over the kitchen table. My frame of reference at the time was previous funerals which I had attended with my family. All I could see was their hypocrisy. They wept and spoke well of the dead. Yet, when they were alive they spoke evil of them. It seemed to me that my family would be upset in an unreal fashion, and show me an undeserved respect, by weeping and speaking unmerited platitudes. These thoughts prompted the unanswered question “why?”. Why would they speak well of me in death and not while I was still alive? What I thought would be a phony response to me committing suicide [left] stirred up a twisted sense of rebellion within me. I did not understand it at the time.

Then came the thoughts which caused me to change my mind. It must of been the Lord. I thought about heaven and hell. I did not know where I would go and I certainly didn’t want to go to hell. That would be worse than the state on meaningless existence I was experiencing. So I changed my mind. Not only that, I made a decision that day not to ever consider suicide again. I symbolized that decision by firing the one bullet I had put in the rifle out the kitchen window. I remember thinking, “that bullet was meant for me, it is gone now.” I knew that because the bullet was irretrievable, that I would live. I still do not fully understand the significance of those few moments in my grandparents home. Though I was by myself in the house, I was not alone.

Later that year I was on my way to provincial court to deal with a charge of Break and Enter. On the way there I met a man. In my heart I wanted this man to be my natural father (whom I had never met). He turned out to be a minister of the Gospel and promised to visit me if I went to jail. Well, I did get sentenced to six months in the county bucket. Sure enough Rev. Bell came to visit. The significant thing I learned through him was the tremendous hatred I had down deep in my being towards the God he tried to tell me about. This was so frightening to me that I forbade him to speak of anything concerning God. One aspect of this “enmity” in particular which startled me was I could not recall any one instance in which I had been mistreated by this God of whom he spoke. And furthermore I realized that I indeed did not have any personal knowledge of Him. However, somewhere in my childhood, I did learn about Adam and Eve and that the heavens and the earth were created by God Later, I would learn that this little I did know was revealed through the invisible attributes of our God by what has been made. I did not become a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ through that experience.

My next significant encounter with God came at the age of twenty. It was the spring of 1983. Again, I was in jail. This time for shoplifting and possession of a weapon dangerous to the general public (a screwdriver). During the three months I was incarcerated a group called “The Good News Gospel Team” came to minister. It was a Saturday afternoon. Because of a lack of things to do in a provincial jail!, and a couple of my jailhouse friends ,decided to go to the chapel for this event. We were only hoping to meet some girls and escape the boredom of the dormitory.

These were a very lively group of people. They sang and preached with enthusiasm. It caught my attention. Then one of the women, Bernice, sang a song she said the Lord had given to her. It was called Desire. Something exploded within me as she sang. It was like a glow on the inside of me and, for the first time in my life I knew God was real and active in the lives of people. I was touched by the Spirit of God that day. I do not remember much of the service they provided I remember going forward. But to this day I do not remember saying a prayer for salvation. I left there not knowing who Jesus was. What I did know was that God was real. Further, what I was feeling during that song stayed with me for eight days before it began to go away. I did not come to know the Lord Jesus Christ through that experience. But I was convinced that God was real and involved in the affairs of men.

On February 25, 1984 I was arrested and charged with first degree murder. After several court appearances I was convicted of second degree murder on August 29, 1984. 1 was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum requirement to serve 10 years. The first six months of my bit was served in Archambault Institution (maximum security). I remember, one Saturday morning in November 1984, waking up and ‘~knowing” that I wanted to be a preacher. At that time I did not know Jesus. The thought of becoming a preacher led me to reason that in order to be a preacher I needed to know God. I had to find someone who knew God. The only people I could think of were ‘~The Good News Gospel Team”. They had told me before that they went into the federal prisons in the Atlantic Region. Specifically Dorchester penitentiary. Therefore, I concluded that I had to transfer to that prison so I could connect with them. It seemed necessary, to me, that I find them in order to give my life to God.

In February 1985 I was transferred to Dorchester Penitentiary. One month later on March 16 the Good News Gospel Team arrived at the chapel. I was there. They remembered who I was. The only thing I wanted was the end of the service when they would give the altar call. I figured that was the way to get to know the God they knew. I remember trying to pay attention to their singing and preaching. I couldn’t. All I wanted was to know God. I said the sinners prayer and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. I also was prompted by the Spirit to believe I was a changed man apart from any feelings to the contrary. During that prayer the Lord spoke to me saying ~’Do not trust your feelings”. It is the first thing that I know God said to me.

Since that day I have been a disciple of Jesus Christ. I love God with all my heart, my soul, my mind’ and spirit. My whole aim in this life and the next is to please God in Christ. I am zealous to be an able minister of the new and everlasting covenant of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I have been brief in this testimonial. I pray that it is helpful in discerning what manner of man I am. ~years have passed since God by His grace drew me to believe on His Son. It seems but a few days. All my thoughts are toward Him. Most of my time is spend studying the Bible in preparation for the ministry; I am waiting for the power from on high to empower me for the work; and’ like Abraham I am “fully persuaded” of His call upon me for the ministry.

In His Grace

Bayfield Silvea

March 14, 2000

I was born and raised in Springhill, Nova Scotia. I am the oldest of three half-brothers and one half-sister. We share the same mother. Our home was dysfunctional, as any home without God is. There was a lot of yelling arguments and physical abuse. I dropped out of high school part way through grade 8 at age 16. One week after my 21St birthday I committed a murder. Six months later I was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Sixteen years have passed and I continue to serve my sentence. I am now 37. To be continued….