God’s Project
KETCHUM, OKLA. – It is very evident that God was leading Kathy Powell very early in her life. At the tender age of seven, her parents’ home broke up and Kathy was taken into the home of Lyman and Cathy Williams, a Seventh-day Adventist couple, who lived in Gentry, Ark. Although Kathy only lived with the Williams family for a short time, she learned about Jesus and His Word.
The guiding principles of the Williams would impact the rest of Kathy’s life. Kathy returned to live with her mother and her father was no longer a part of her life. As young as she was, she was given the responsibility of caring for siblings. Her life was most miserable as she experienced hunger, beatings, verbal and emotional abuse. She became very angry at God, for how could a God of love allow this to happen? As she turned away from God, she was plunged into the deepest darkness. Depression, anxiety and feeling absolutely worthless led her to feel that life was not worth living.
However, angels were watching over her—seeking to lead her back to a loving, trusting, relationship with her heavenly Father. In 2006, Kathy was led to a yard sale in Claremore, Okla. There, the woman who was having the sale gifted her with the The Passion of Love by Ellen G. White.
As she read, her life began to change.The reading of that book marked a new way of life. Kathy was on fire! All she could talk about was the love she had for her Savior. She no longer had any desire to end her life and her walk with God was such a dynamic part of her life that others noticed the change in her.
In 2008, as her daughter and her husband were tearing down an old, abandoned trailer in Salina, Okla., Kathy opened a hall closet and, to her utter amazement, it was filled with all kinds of truth books: books about the Sabbath, Adventist beliefs and Bible studies. Kathy began sharing with others the things that she was learning—the truths which had changed her life.
In 2015, Kathy had a providential meeting with Rex Shores from Jay, Okla., and he continued to share the truths of God’s Word with Kathy. Shores took Kathy and another friend to a leadership conference where she met Tommy and Kathy Beats who, when they discovered Kathy lives in the Salina area, encouraged her to visit the God Project, a church-plant in Salina. There she met Rick and Deb Cole, who took her into their hearts and made her feel welcome. The Coles loved Kathy and desired so much for her to make a full surrender to Jesus. They gave Kathy a DVD set of Bible prophecy lectures by David Asscherick.
Kathy took copious notes of every lecture and shared with relatives and many others the wonderful truths she was learning. When she watched the presentation, explaining that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is God’s final movement to prepare a people for the return of our Savior, she felt the call of God to become a part of it.
You can imagine the joy that filled her heart when she learned that Asscherick would be one of the speakers for 2019 Oklahoma Camp Meeting! She could meet him and thank him personally for the part he had played in her decision to become a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
I must share a little of Kathy’s testimony: “I know I have a call on my life. On Aug. 10, 2019, I was baptized, giving my life to God through Jesus. Above all I am a child of the Most High God and a member of the Body of Christ—by definition, I am a Seventh-day Adventist. This is what the love of Jesus has done for this sinner. I am nothing without Him. I encourage all who will, to answer the call. God bless you.”
Although Lyman and Cathy Williams are now asleep in Jesus, in heaven they will see that their love and the principles they taught little seven-year-old Kathy began a long journey that led to a glorious outcome.
By Dame Toews and Kathy Mayes
