Life Testimony: Marion Ellerby
We lived in police houses and one day after only 6 weeks married, I came home from work to find his motorbike still there when he should have been at work. I opened the door and just stood there as he had hung himself from the stairs.
Sudden Tragic End to a Marriage
My mind went blank and I couldn’t make out what was happening, I banged on the house next door and luckily the policeman who lived there was in. I hadn’t met them yet. He took over and I went into their house and was just sick.
I then moved back with my parents and while sitting in our back garden, I kept thinking about all the hundreds of people who were much worse off than me. They had lost their children brutally in different countries. How lucky I was to have loving parents to help me.
Although my parents weren’t religious, my mother was always mentioning God and thanking Him for various things and at school we had assembly when we sung hymns and heard the Bible, and that planted a seed, so I always felt someone was with me.
After a while I immigrated to America as my mother’s sister and her husband moved there as their two daughters married GI’s. I had to get away and was still having nightmares. We lived in New Jersey.
My Second Marriage
I got a job and met a man who had lived in London and we got talking and I went out with him, my aunt didn’t like me going out with someone I didn’t know anything about, but I thought it was okay.
After a while he asked me to marry him, but I said I will go back to England and see how I feel. He followed me over there later and I finally gave in and we got married. It really was too soon but I felt very vulnerable and alone at that time and only 23 years old.
We returned to America and lived in an apartment on the 5th floor.
Every day when returning home from work I couldn’t open the front door; I just froze for ages.
God Delivers Me from Fear
One day I couldn’t take any more and when finally in, I fell to my knees and cried out to the Lord to please take this fear away. I prayed for what seemed like a long time and I felt like I was floating. When I came back to reality, I was exhausted but peaceful.
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7
After about a week, I walked in with some shopping and suddenly realized the fear had gone completely, so completely that I hadn’t even noticed. Also, my nightmares had stopped!
If only I had asked the Lord for help before, he was just waiting for me to ask.
Sometimes people must reach rock bottom before they ask God. I then knew God was with me.
I did go to Church there, but like so many people, I went on a Sunday sung hymns, listened to the sermon and then went home and thought no more about it. I thought that was all I had to do.
Now I look back, I’m so happy because I realize how far along the right road the Lord has brought me. We must live each day plugged right into God’s word and Spirit through faith and living. It’s like putting a plug an inch from the socket, it’s useless, but plugged in and the energy runs through.
Just by going through the motions of a Christian like going to Church each week but not living each moment with Jesus in our hearts will not plug us into God’s force.
I lived in America for 17 years and had a son. I had a difficult abusive marriage and realized I was so young and vulnerable and felt I needed someone. I knew I should have left and gone back to England but also knew that God didn’t accept divorce. I prayed for 6 years for God to tell me if I could leave my marriage (only God knew how it was changing me and how bitter I was becoming).
Getting Away from The Verbal Abuse
One day I was walking along the street when something so strong said “NOW” and I didn’t have a doubt in my mind that I had God’s permission for my continuous trust in Him.
I had a long talk with my son, who was then 10 years old. I was explaining all the negative things we would have to go through. Schooling would be different, and we would be living with Nanny and it rains a lot, and it would take at least 2 years to get settled. He wanted to go.
His father was a very domineering man, and I was in the hospital twice vomiting blood as the lining of my stomach was worn away with nerves.
God gave me strength to leave all my things behind as I didn’t care about stuff, I only wanted some peace. God has given me so many blessings since.
Starting Over, Again
We lived with my mum in York, Northern England, my dad had earlier died. It was extremely hard for a few years as I received no money from my ex. We settled down and my son never once moaned, and it must have been hard for him at school.
I did get a good secretarial job. I joined Age Concern where I visited elderly people (I was 40 at the time). I also joined York Blind Society and had one lady who I took shopping, and we went on trips. I enjoyed that.
I also went to a nice Church and a home group. I was the youngest in my home group and learned a lot especially from a lady named Doree who was in her 80’s. She knew the Bible inside out, and not only knew it but lived it as well.
My Third & Final Marriage
A school friend of my son’s mother kept saying that she knew a really nice man and I told her “no way, I’ve had enough of men”. After another year I said okay but only if she and her husband would come with us out to eat.
My date Dave was such a gentleman (and never changed), but I liked him just as a friend. We went out together for another couple of years and he gradually won my heart. I realized then that I had never loved before and totally loved him. We got married and my son learnt a lot from him and had more of a father than he ever had before.
Our marriage was beautiful right to the end, we were married 29 years.
Water Baptism
We moved to the island of Cyprus in 2002. God had my journey planned out and I am so glad He did. I went to the nearest Church where we lived at first because I had no idea of anything. We didn’t know anyone at all in Cyprus.
I went to that Anglican Church for about 5 or 6 years and didn’t feel I was progressing in my spiritual journey and I knew there was so much more.
A friend told me about her Church, so I tried it and really thought the Pastor was explaining the Bible more fully. That is where I met my dear friend Beverley.
Rev Peter Johnson said he will be doing an Alpha Course, so I did that and really enjoyed it. Next, he asked if anyone would like to be fully baptized, oh yes, I wanted that! We went to a few sessions beforehand with Rev. Peter and when the date for this came up on the computer it was 23 May. Couldn’t believe it as that was my birthday, I thought “I’m really going to be born again”.
Before I went into the water, I kept saying to myself “Jesus come into me”. When I emerged, I felt like I would burst with love and sobbed and sobbed, what a feeling. I feel that love always and no longer lived in the flesh but the Spirit, never looking back.
My next step was to join the Laymen’s Bible Class with Rev Peter. How I loved this, at first, we did just over a year, and it was during this time I began speaking in tongues. I also went to Laymen’s Bible class 2; we left the milk and went onto meat and it was quite different and much more demanding which came as a shock as I thought during the first course that I was doing okay but now knew I had a long way to go.
An Incurable Disease
During the 2nd Bible class my husband Dave started to get weaker and without going into details after three operations and paying almost 30,000 euros in medical bills a neurologist diagnosed him with Motor Neuron Disease.
It is a muscle wasting disease that there is no cure for. His speech went first and had a tube in to his throat which I had to suck out with this long tube practically every 30 minutes. One tube in was in his stomach to feed a liquid.
He couldn’t move a muscle anywhere, not even blink so I didn’t know if he was sleeping and his eyes wouldn’t close. During this time, almost 2 years, God gave me the strength and I felt His presence. He knew what was going to happen and helped me through my spiritual journey for such a time as this.
Dave finally went into the hospice because I was exhausted. He was only there for 8 days when he died. I told him it was time he went to be with Jesus and that I would always love him. The other Pastor Heather came when he was in the hospice and asked if she could pray with him. Dave was such a kind generous man who honestly never said anything bad about anyone.
He helped the Church out and wanted me to continue in my journey with the Lord but never came himself.
A Miraculous Salvation
When Heather came to the hospice and asked me, I said “well he can’t get away this time”. I left her and went back a while after.
She said she held his hand and read from the Bible and told him that Jesus really wants him and asked if Dave wanted to go Jesus to squeeze her hand. She knew he couldn’t move in any way but asked him this. She said he gave her the biggest squeeze!
Jesus had given him strength at that time. Of course, I was so happy and cried and even now when I think of it, I tear up. After Dave died, I knew he was at peace, then I was at peace. There is nothing God can’t do for a broken heart, as long as He has all the pieces.
The Lord has given me such inner peace that I never would have got. I haven’t got my lovely Dave, but I now have Jesus and the Holy Spirit and am never lonely as I know what I have, and I know where I’m going.
Revival in Jerusalem
A year after Dave died, I went to Jerusalem with Beverley and two other ladies. We stayed within the walls and I shared a room with Beverley for 10 days. I’d never been to Israel before. I really felt the Holy Spirit while walking around.
When we were walking back from the Wailing Wall, we must have taken a wrong turn as we found ourselves in the Muslim area. It was so depressing, and I could feel the heaviness about. We finally got back to the Jewish section and it was light with people about and it was so different. I felt the Spirit wanted us to see what the darkness would be like without Jesus.
I never like praying out loud so every morning Beverley would pray and ask the Spirit where He wanted us to go. After the 6th day when we woke, I said Beverley that I would like to pray, she was very pleased.
I started off slowly thanking God and the Spirit for showing and leading us and telling him how much I felt nearer to the Jewish people and then so much was coming out of my mouth that I was going on and on that I hadn’t planned or thought about to pray.
“He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38
It was coming straight from my heart and Beverley was crying and she said afterwards that it was the Spirit in me, and we danced around the room. It was so special. I have been to Jerusalem three times now and love it.
The Blessings Keep Flowing Down
I sold my house in Paphos in the year 2014 and moved into an apartment nearby. I thought I would like a top floor apartment with a big balcony facing the sea.
What are the odds of finding exactly these four things!
“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.” Jeremiah 17:7
My house had just gone on the market and I hadn’t looked at anything else yet and one day I was driving home, and I had an urge to turn right at the next turning, then left, and at the bottom was a while building. I stopped the car and looked up and saw a large top floor balcony which looked empty.
I called a number which was on a sign and the next day the owner’s daughters showed me the apartment. Right away I knew it was just what I wanted. The whole building was unoccupied, and I never even looked at the other apartments.
It stayed empty for a year when I moved in. I know the Spirit led me there as I am so happy there.
Finding a True Biblical Church in Cyprus
Three years later my good friend Beverley moved into the same building and she started to go to The Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ (ACOJC). I was getting nothing from my Church in Paphos since Rev. Peter moved back to England, so one Sunday went with Beverley.
WOW! I found it quite noisy at first but when Pastor Sophocles finished his message, I was speechless. Just in one visit I learnt so much.
So many things have brought me closer to the Trinity now and I feel Jesus and the Spirit in me all the time. I have now been going to ACOJC almost three years now and I thank the Lord for leading my journey to His Church here.
Father God, please Bless the Pastor, his wife, and their family for showing me the meaning of true born-again Christians and look forward to learning much more to bring me closer to you.
“And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known; I will make darkness light before them and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.” Isaiah 42:16
