Praise the name of Jesus. I bring you greetings from Nigeria. I come from Lagos, Nigeria. The testimony that I'm going to share today is the testimony of my conversion. It's a wonderful experience to know the Lord. It's something good to be in Christ.

I want to go back to my early days.
Way back in 1993, actually I was on my way here to the United States from Lagos. I was at the airport I checked in my luggage. You know in Nigeria facilities are not really too good. Things were sure hot at the airport. My flight was supposed to be at 1:30 am in the morning. I checked in around 7 pm in the night. It was so hot I decided to go back home freshen up and come back later. About 11 pm I came back to the airport only to hear the announcement for the last boarding of my flight. To cut a long story short, I missed the flight. I had to go back home, there was another flight to the United States leaving on Friday which I hoped to take. The following day I went back to the office where I received a call from my colleague around 6 pm. We had a lot of exchange problems in Nigeria, it was difficult to obtain US dollars which we normally use for international trade. So around 6 pm I had a call that I should come somewhere at Victoria island, that there's a man who had an account here who's willing to exchange some money for me. On the way back from this place I ran into a gang of armed robbers. It was a moving experience. Up to that time in my life God has no place. Even to tell you I mean how bad I was then. I'm not trying to give glory to Satin, I thank God. I've been into all kind of things I'm someone who's given to reading. I read all kind of things. I've read about and practiced Yoga. I practiced astral-projection and read Veda and Buddha. I read anything you could think of about the occult. It was only the grace of God that stopped me from going over.

I remember in my room in my undergraduate days I read electronic engineering. You know I had some Christian friends in my room and they would gather together in the evening praying. And I mean to my shame today I know more about scripture today then to criticize. I would tell them how the ministry of Jesus was only for the Jews. You know when I read about the history of the blacks there was something that questioned me, "Can this God be universal you know a God who did so much against the blacks could He be the same God that we should all worship?" So it was difficult for me to accept Christ or Christianity. You know I spent the whole 4 years of my undergraduate days preaching against the gospel everywhere I could and everywhere I could stand up. But I remember a prophecy in my first year. One of my roommates, Wilfred took a look at me, people were hailing me. You know I was quoting from the scriptures. Christians didn't know as much as I did. He told me, "You know what Femi, you will preach the gospel." I said, "Wilfred take another look at me. Bring Jesus come down from heaven. I mean that is wishful thinking." He said, "You will preach the gospel." Wilfred forgot about it, I remember in my final year he asked me to call on Jesus. I said, "I don't need any Jesus." I thought it was my part, I came out with the first class. I thought it was all by my part. I took to life, I thought I had the whole world in my pocket. So it was at this point that I worked for a couple years in an oil service industry. I incorporated a company with some colleagues. Two of them were Muslims. One of them was a very fanatic Muslim. You know it really didn't matter much to me, I mean the scripture about being unequally yoked. But the hand of God was upon my life. I was youngest. In fact the person I was next to graduated the year I was just getting admission to the university, but I was his boss in the office. So it created conflict and jealousy. After all what's so special about this young guy. I was sort of the technical store house of the company. So this fateful day as we just left Victoria land on our way back to the office a car just crossed my way. I slammed on the brake and before you could just say Jesus I had a gun pointing at my head. And just as that scene was going on about 20 km away, my wife was just passing through the living room and her eyes fell upon our wedding picture and she heard a revelation. I know there are a lot of women here whose husbands are not here. I don't want you to loose hope, I want you to keep on praying. God is about to move in your life, God is about to move in the life of your husband. I normally took my wife to church, but I just dropped her by the gate of the church and headed for the sports field or office. But she kept on praying. Just at that time she herd a voice that I was gone. God quickened her spirit and she rushed into the room and started interceding for me.

When this car crossed my path I didn't know that the men were armed. I thought it was just a drunken driver so I slammed on the break. When I started starring at the gun I knew it wasn't a joke. He asked me to get down from the car, which I did. My briefcase, my passport, and my driving license were in the car, everything that could identify me was there. The car was just four months old. He made me lie in the street while he and his three colleagues zoomed off with the car. A kind of peace descended upon me which I could not explain.

Later when I was listening to my wife's testimony it was exactly at the time that the gun was pointed at my head that she heard the voice. She was carrying a seven months pregnancy and this was around 10 PM. She had to request a neighbor's assistance to go and look for me; that something has happened. And to give you little background I work very hard. I work very late, sometimes I don't get home till maybe around midnight and this was just 10 pm. My neighbor told my wife, "I know your husband, it's not unusual this is still early". My wife insisted that something has happened. When I left my office that fateful evening I didn't lock the door of the office, I just put on the security gate. My laptop was still on my table running because I thought it was going to be a quick transaction and that I would still come back to the office. When my wife got to my office her worst fear was confirmed. They searched the whole road, no sign. They started searching the hospitals. It wasn't till around 3 am in the morning that I was able to put a call through to my house and of course she wasn't in. She was still busy searching for me. It wasn't until around 3:30 am that she finally came to the police station where I went to report.

You know all through this time I was a bit sober, but I wasn't broken. It was when some friends came over and my wife was sharing what transpired that night that I was moved. But I knew from what I read about the occult that there are powers in the world. I knew there are powers, but the idea of God speaking to you about what is going on somewhere, was a bit far fetched for me then. My father in law too testified of a vision he had that afternoon of a blood-bath. He did the only thing he knew, praying in the name of Jesus. He started interceding for me. You know I had a very close friend at work we shared everything together. But when it came to the issue of Jesus I just asked him to hang up. We are very close. But I thank God. He's a member of the Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship International (FGBMFI). Several times he invited me to the fellowship's breakfast outreach meeting. I would promise to attend but I wouldn't honor my commitment. One day he said, "Femi we're having a breakfast and I'm preaching Saturday would you like to come?" I said, "yes" just not to hurt him. Somehow the Holy Spirit knew what He wanted to do that day. He turned to my wife, "Dupe will you be coming?" She said, "we will be coming." Saturday morning came and my wife reminded me that we had a date that morning. I said, "sorry I won't be able to go." She said, "but you promised." I said, "yes I know somebody invited me to come and take breakfast, and if I don't feel like it, is that a crime?" I saw the hurt on her face. I believe the Holy Spirit made me look in her eyes and I saw she was deeply hurt. She said, "I should please do this one for her." And somehow the sequence of what happened on the night of the robbery flashed through my mind, and I asked myself in all honesty; if my wife had been in the same position that I was in, would I have really staked my life to go and start looking for her? The answer was no. I said, "OK if this is so much important to you I will go along with you." You know my idea about Christian's up to this point in time was that of a drab looking people. I looked for some of my old clothes that I haven't worn in years just to be able to fit in. This was my thinking. We got to the Sheraton Hotel, the venue of the meeting, even though I wasn't a Christian at that time I could feel something different about the gathering. I felt so odd. I felt something missing in me. When the praise worship started I couldn't believe the kind of ecstasy I felt. It was as if I was in heaven. The man of God came up there preaching the word and we started praying. I didn't know from somewhere tears started welling out of my eyes. I mean I started weeping like a baby. I had to start pinching myself that Femi boy it's you... I mean it's not just someone else. When the alter call came I found myself on my feet. Before I knew it I was before the alter. My wife and my friend who invited me could not hold back their tears. I've been into everything talking in terms of reading. I've read all kind of junk. I've practiced all kind of things. I was prayed for and a great peace descended upon me. There's no way I could describe it.

We left that place and when I got home I slept like I never slept before in my life. Since that day, brothers and sisters, God caused a turn around in my life. Up till that time I was in a partnership. A couple of days after my conversion we were praying in my house, when we received a vision that I had to leave my business partnership. I had been doing practically all the work, but I really had nothing to show for it. It was such a time that it wasn't really right to start a new business. Looking at it from the physical it wasn't really a good time. But it was the word of God maybe because I was still a baby in the Lord I believed. You know there are times you believe without really questioning.

Just to cut a long story short. A situation happened I had to inform the board of my company about my desire to leave. People were skeptical about the wisdom of such a move... I mean some of my colleagues were laughing because they knew I had no money. But God started a series of miracles in my finances. To let you know of the miracles of God, before the end of that year I was able to raise money without borrowing to pay for the present office in Lagos for four years. In the first year of my operation what four of us could do in three years, the Lord did it in one year.
God has not stopped with me. I became a full member of the Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International. I am currently membership secretary of the fellowship. I want to tell you what the Lord has been doing in my life. I mean I used to be an ulcer patient, and now completely cured by God. I have seen transformation of my life. My marriage was healed; if not for God I would not have any marriage today. I was sharing with my sister a couple of days back, that we go through some experiences in life, we think that we know it all. But one thing I know is that God has a plan for each and everyone of us. None of us comes into the world just to be anybody, God has a special role for you. My prayer for you this morning is that you find God's plan for your life. Nothing really matters. I have seen life transformed. There's power in the name of Jesus. I don't want to do anything else. I look at my whole life, what else do I give to God, nothing but thanks. Here I am, picked up from the pit. He has put a new song on my lips. I want to encourage everyone of us. I see my coming here today was not by accident. You know the Holy Spirit laid it on my heart as I entered in here that I would stand before you to speak. In little things such as what to eat today and where you are going to go today God is there to speak to you. I want us to bow down before this God. Let's seek Him with all our heart. You know He's a God who hasn't called us to come and serve Him for nothing, He has something for you. He wants to turn your life around. He wants to make things beautiful for you. Like our brother shared, I don't know what experience he was going through in 1993 there are so many things I skipped I was telling my sister 3 days ago I got to a point that year that if I could have taken my life I would have done it. The pressure was so much, I was in debt, my wife had a very difficult delivery, things were all just falling around me. But I thank one thing for Jesus that was in me I knew this was a test, I knew that this was fallow ground that had been broken, so I wasn't shaken. I know that God is prepared to do something in this place. I know this from God, when next year when I come here this place will be overflowing. This ministry will be empowered by the power of Jesus Christ. This ministry will grow not by the power of man but by the power of the Holy Spirit and we shall all be partakers of that blessing. Praise the LORD.

It is hard to believe that Mingxiu, my three year old daughter is so happy celebrating her third birthday. Singing praise hymns and songs she learned from Sunday nursery school. She is a healthy, cheerful, and adorable toddler.

She was a tiny, skinny, very much underweight, feeble and demised baby two and a half years ago. What an amazing change!
My wife is now working part time as a bank officer, looking after our two children and attending to the household chores. She is capable and competent in the sight of many career women.

But she was miserable, moaning and groaning in despair just two years ago. What an amazing contrast!

The healthy, cheerful and happy family life we enjoy today comes from the grace of God. It is He who turned the power of darkness into the light of life. It is He who heals the sick, forgives our sins and gives us salvation and eternal life. It is He, who is our hope.

Feeding time a torment
It all happened in 1989 when my daughter Mingxiu was about 2-3 months old. For unknown reasons she started to refuse feed. She would not drink. She would not cry for food. Apparently she did not know what hunger was. She was very tiny and very much underweight. To make sure she had enough, we resorted to force feeding. One feed of 3-4 ounces could takes up to 2-3 hrs. Feeding time was a struggling time for the baby, and a tormenting time for us, especially for my wife.
We could not understand why the baby behaved in that manner. We consulted and sought many many paediatricians for advice.
The doctors taught us ways to feed the baby and prescribed many types of so called appetizers. But these did not work.
This matter dragged on a for a few months and her situation did not improve. The doctors could not understand why the baby behaved like that.

We hopped from one doctor to another hoping to find one who could diagnose her. Due to the seriousness of her condition; Mingxiu was referred to a renowned paediatrician who warded her in the National University Hospital (NUH) for observation.

The consultant suspected that Mingxiu might have suffered from lack of growth hormones in her body causing her to refuse feed.
We agreed for blood tests to be carried out on her. The test required the baby to be starved for 18 hrs.

A needle with a few valves were used to take samples for blood analysis. Every time a blood sample was taken, Mingxiu would scream with all her breath. It was really painful for us to see the innocent baby suffering. At the end of the tests which was more than 24 hours since her last feed, Mingxiu still refused to take the milk.

A few days later we received the test result which was negative. Nevertheless the consultant asked us to consider injecting growth hormone into her body which may help to stimulate her appetite, but cautioned that it might have some side effects.
We did not know what to do and were really worried for her physical and mental development.

All this put a lot of mental and physical stress on my wife who was about 7 months pregnant then. Her health was very bad during that time.
Out of desperation, we started to consult mediums. We went from one medium to another hoping to find the cure for her illness. We brought back all sorts of "yellow papers" to burn and flowers for her to bathe in.
One of the mediums warned us that this child did not belong to us and advised us to find an adopted parent for her. She cannot address us as father and mother. She cannot put on red clothing or eat nuts or bananas or cross bridges. I remember bringing her to MacRitchie Reservoir one evening. When my wife who was carrying her approached the bridge, she suddenly struggled and screamed hysterically. Then we remembered what the medium had warned us of earlier.

One of the mediums we consulted seems to be effective. Whenever she poked our daughter's gum with a big needle till blood flowed out, her appetite would improve. But it did not last long. We were then convinced that Mingxiu's problem was spiritual, we hope to get one "powerful god" who could drive out the evil spirit in her.

Prey to Satan
During this time, my wife Poh Teen fell prey to Satan. Her physical health deteriorated during her advanced pregnancy. She could not sleep day or night though she was very tired and exhausted, the moment she dozed off she could feel her chest burning as if some one was pouring hot water all over her. She would then wake up soaking in her own sweat.
In order to get well, her parents and my parents started to consult various mediums representing different gods all over Singapore. One medium said that because we had shifted our bed during her pregnancy we had offended the "bedding god", and the punishment was her inability to sleep.

I remember visiting a medium in Tampines with my mother . She predicted that either my wife or the baby she was carrying would die. There was no chance that both would live as we came to her too late.
The only hope rested with the accumulated virtues that our ancestors had done for us. After hearing this I was scared and dared not tell my wife what the medium told me.

As an interim measure, the medium asked me to prepare a bowl of water, some green leaves with an egg inside together with a pair of chopsticks to put beneath the bed to pray to the "seventh heavenly lady". I did as instructed and hoped for the best. However my wife's sickness did not improve and we lived in fear as the delivery date drew near.

In June 1990 my wife gave birth to a baby boy, Yechuan. The baby was fine, but my wife's health was getting worse. She suffered from serious migraine as if the whole head was going to burst. She could not sleep at night. Whenever she dozed off, she would feel something disturbing her. Her whole body was aching like being pricked by a needle.

She consulted her gynaecologist who could not find any thing wrong with her. The gynaecologist then referred her to other specialists. One specialist even referred her to a psychiatrist for mental treatment. A lot of tranquilizers and sleeping pills were prescribed to help her relax and to sleep but it did not work. The medicine even made her feel worse. As a husband I knew something was very wrong with her physically and spiritually.

Out of desperation, we even invited the mediums to our house to "cleanse" our house. But things did not improve.
Very often in the night when she could not sleep, she would cry to me telling me that she was about to leave me and asked me to take good care of the two children. Her agony reminded me of the curse that the medium had put on her. Life had been tormenting and miserable for her and the whole family.

Healed and set free
One night, she received a phone call from a friend whom she had not seen for a long time. She related her case to her. The friend brought her to a Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship meeting at the PUB Auditorium. That evening the true and loving God touched her and ministered to her. She fell on the floor when Christians prayed for her. (I was not there and was not aware then.)

The next evening, when I came home from work I saw a group of Christians at our house praying for her. I was very skeptical. I did not know any thing about prayer and Christian faith. I just stood aside and watched. When the friends laid hands on her while praying in tongues, she screamed, laughing and crying hysterically, totally losing control of her usual self. Foam came out of her mouth and she fell on the floor. I could not understand what was taking place.

Our neighbour must have wondered what was happening after hearing the screaming. After the prayer she felt so much better. I was however still quite skeptical, but I was very thankful and touched by the kindness and the concern shown by the Christians who helped her.

I accompanied my wife to church where she continued to be ministered by a deliverance team. Her condition kept improving after each prayer.
In September there was a "Jesus Heal" rally in Church. The pastor had a word of knowledge that the Lord wanted to heal someone present who had a bleeding problem. Without hesitation my wife went forward to receive healing. A week later her bleeding stopped completely. Praise the Lord!

She recovered rapidly and soon after her baptism she was completely healed and was set free from all the curses and bondages of Satan.
After my wife's healing, we brought Mingxiu to church every Sunday. A healing team would pray for her, after each prayer her appetite improved. Over a 4 months period her weight increased from a mere 5.5 kg to 8 kg. She no longer rejected milk or food. She is also no more allergic to cows milk.

Our whole family was overwhelmed with joy. We rejoiced in the Lord. We are no longer living in fear or anxiety for we know that our God is with us, protecting us all the time.

Salvation for me
It is a blessing in disguise that it is through this series of events that I came to know the true and living God and experience first hand His grace. His love and his goodness. My wife and I were baptised in December 1990.

God has filled our hearts with joy and happiness. I want to thank Him, to give him all the honour and glory. Praise the Lord.
Tong Sin Sang is owner manager of an instrumentation and control company in Singapore. He and his wife Poh Teen and their children Mingxiu and Yechuan worship at the Church of Our Saviour. Sin Sang is a member of the FGBMFI (Singapore) Bukit Timah/West Coast chapter.

JEFF HARSHBARGER
Freedom From Satanism
After four years in satanism, I was miserable. I had seen everything that Satan had to offer, and still I was miserable. I decided that the only thing left to do, as a “respectable satanist” was to kill myself. But before I even checked into the motel, I knew that something or someone might cause me to loose my nerve. For company and courage, I took along a bottle of whiskey and a bag of marijuana.

I put the rifle to my head but somehow I could not pull the trigger. I knew that the rifle worked, but I just could not pull the trigger.

Disgusted with myself, I tried again the next night. On a September night in 1981, I tried to hang myself. I put the rope over a rafter in the garage, and kicked the chair out from under me. I landed on the floor with the rope still tied to the rafter.

“What a failure,” I thought, “ I can’t even kill myself.”

The story of my involvement in satanism is so classic that it’s almost cliché. I was a lonely young man from a dysfunctional family. My father was an alcoholic. Things at home got worse until finally, my parents divorced. I was looking for a place to belong. I was looking for people who would pay attention to me and give me acceptance. I was looking for love, but I was caught in the middle of a violent house that left me feeling hopeless and frightened. In response, I started looking to the supernatural for courage and for some mystic power over my early existence.

I was ripe for such an experience, and for a long time I had been interested in magic and other aspects of the paranormal. Even as a young boy, I knew that there was a spirit realm, and that there had to be a way to tap into it.

My first contact with satanism came when in 1978; a snowstorm took my hometown by surprise. I was a 17 year old high school senior, and was working in a local store during the storm. I was just beginning to wonder how I would get home that night, when the store’s assistant manager, a young man of just 18, invited me to stay at his apartment, just a short walk away.

This young man seemed to have everything that I had ever wanted. Prestige, power, he gave every indication that he was in control of his life and much older that his 18 years.

That night, he told me the source of his strength. I was fascinated. He showed me the magic notions and occult objects, which he had accumulated. I was convinced. Later that night, we performed a ceremony, and I gave my life to Satan.

After I graduated from high school, my “teacher” and I moved away to attend college. The two of us attempted to begin our own satanic coven. Our coven was to consist of thirteen disciples but we were only able to recruit six, all of them males. The six of us shared a house, where we conducted what I call “free lance” satanic rituals, creating and improvising ceremonies freely. Coven activities included casting spells and desecrating Bibles and any other Christian articles that we could get our hands on.

During this time I was in contact with demons on a regular basis, though not with Satan himself. Demons were powerful underlings, that were at my beck and call…or so I thought. Eventually the frightening and distasteful parts of satanism overshadowed the thrilling parts. I began to worry about where the coven might be headed. I knew that I could not participate in the next step…Blood Sacrifice. I knew that there were lines that even I would not cross. I wanted out.

I thought, at the time, that the only thing left to do was to kill myself. To my dismay, I failed. Now I know that only Divine intervention could have save me from both the gun and the noose.

After returning home, I tried to drink myself into oblivion, but found that the taste of beer turned my stomach. So instead, I lit a cigarette to calm my nerves…but it burned my lips! So finally, I, the satanist priest in the making, went to my room, lay in my bed and began to cry.

I will never in my life forget what happened next. It was late at night. The rest of the coven was out partying so the house was empty. Out of the silence I heard a voice from beside my bed that said “Get Out!” I stopped crying and looked around the room expecting the presence of a demon. This was no demon. The voice moved to the foot of my bed and said again. “Get Out!”

I remember being so shaken at the command that I immediately obeyed. I crawled out of the nearest window in my bedroom and onto the driveway…and into the presence of God.

My knees went weak and I fell on my face, there was no mistaking who this was. Looking up at the sky I pleaded, “Jesus, just make my life O.K.”

I have come a long way from those days in the satanism. I still believe in a spiritual realm. I believe in both demons and angels, evil and good. I have simply traded darkness for light. The Lord has helped me through complete recovery. I have been married now for 15 years. My wife Liz and I live in Bonita Springs, Florida. With Gods help I have earned a Masters degree in Counseling and have launched REFUGE Ministries.

Together, we instruct others about the dangers of the occult and how to help someone through deliverance. We don’t just work with former satanists; I know how it feels to be a lonely and confused person, driven to despair. We are here for who ever The Lord would send.

If you would like to learn more about Refuge Ministries or speak to Jeff, please feel free to contact him at:

Jeff Harshbarger
www.refugeministries.cc
far468@netzero.net