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Debbie Kember ~ St. Marys, Ontario Print E-mail

My father and mother weren’t around much. My grandmother raised my siblings and me on Prince Edward Island (PEI) until I was eight. When she died of cancer, the Children’s Aid Society put us in orphanages and foster homes until I was 12.

Then my aunt and uncle took us to London, Ontario. My aunt ran a very controlled house which I didn’t like. Finally, I left home and lived on my own.

One summer, I flew home to PEI. I got a job and went to parties Fridays and Saturdays and to Church every Sunday. I thought I had to give God an hour of church on Sunday and that sin was only when you hurt another person.

One night, while driving with a friend, I suddenly hit black ice. As the truck spun in circles, I cried, “O God, help me!”  When we came to a stop, the truck lights were shining on a sign that said, “Prepare to meet thy God” (Amos 4:12). For the first time in my life, I thought, “How do I prepare to meet God?”

By then I was 22 and living alone in a tiny apartment. I remember one night looking out at the sky, crying, and praying. “Look at me. I have tried everything. O God, please show me if there is something more to life than this.”

Two days later, I had to go to the hospital for five days. In the lobby, I spotted a booklet titled, “God’s Way of Salvation”. I put it in my suitcase. During my stay, I got to know a Christian named Carol. When I left, she offered me a booklet. The title? “God’s way of Salvation.”

The next Sunday, Carol invited me to a gospel meeting where I became interested in salvation. In April of that year, my sister in London, Ontario sent me a plane ticket. I was very lonely and tempted to go. After talking with Carol, I told her, “If there is salvation for me, I’m not leaving PEI until I get it.”

I started going every night to Gospel Meetings in a tent. The last night of the meetings, I realized everyone is either on their way to heaven or hell, there is no middle path. I realized that I was on my way to hell. I was up most of the night longing to be saved.

After lunch the next day, I went into the living room and again sat down with my Bible. I began to think about the Jews in the Old Testament who brought a bull or some sacrifice to the temple. Then it hit me., “Debbie, you aren’t Jewish so you can’t bring a sacrifice and you can’t figure this out. There is no hope for you. You will just have to go to hell.”

Then suddenly, I thought, “That’s why Jesus died. He died to be a sacrifice for my sins.” At that moment, God saved me. I knew that when Christ had died, the Bible said He died for my sins. On July 21, 1979 I discovered Christ is my sacrifice!


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