Orville Ditto, 1936

One who has never tasted the dregs of this world cannot appreciate the glorious Gospel to the extent of those who have been in the miry clay, drinking, bootlegging, gambling, lying, stealing, smoking, covering almost the whole catalog of outward sin, with no thought concerning God–the latter worse than all outward manifestations of sin–forgetting God.

Being a service man, I lived for the day thereof; but it was on our 14th anniversary, 1936, that my wife or I remarked, “Through it all we haven’t given God a thought.”

That night I proposed to go to some church the following Sunday if the Lord spared my life. Having no church affiliation, I pondered where to go. Then on Saturday night the Lord stepped in on the scene. While turning in on the National Barn Dance, I picked up the Central Union Mission Glee Club in their closing theme, and then I heard the Superintendent, Mr. John Bennett, say: “Folks, come down and see us. We have services every night.” What an invitation at a crucial hour! We went, but it was not until after I had attended 69 services, night after night, that I came to the Lord.

My heart at once had a change, and soon the old appetites, habits, and desires were gone, and to this day they hold no place in my life. Praise be unto the transforming power in the blood of Jesus.