Testimonies of God’s Grace

Adam Hudson, Bethel Graduate, May of 2023

Momma tried to raise me by herself while only living for herself.  It left me feeling alone because she would leave me all the time with other people while she would go out and party or do other things that made her happy.  That left me feeling like I wasn’t enough and confused.  She sold drugs and her friends’ kids and I would always be alone together trying to figure life out which led me and them to getting into drugs to try and fit in with the people I saw my mom and her friends with.  They were always around people who did drugs!  I didn’t really get to see a lot of other kids that didn’t live the same kind of life I was living.

I didn’t have much love in my youth.  But, when I would go to church I’d feel the urge to do something different!  Even as a lad, I tried to get my friends to stop taking drugs or to not smoke because that’s what I wanted to do but could never get them to do it with me, so I would just continue just to fit in with everyone.  Once I finished high school I went into the Marine Corps.  The Friday before the Monday I was supposed to ship off I went to a going away party.  I was drinking and driving.  A friend of mine was killed when I tried to take a curve at 125 mph.  He was air-lifted to Charlotte where his parents eventually took him off of life support because the doctors said he would be a vegetable if he came out of the coma.  I was transported to Asheville due to being in a coma also.  I was in a coma for 28 days.  Then I could not speak.  When I did speak it was like a baby talking.  I couldn’t remember anything…who my mom or dad was or any family members.  I could not use the whole right side of my body which meant I could not walk either.  I stayed in the hospital for an entire year while rehabilitating from my injuries.  The day I left the hospital a year later, the doctors told me what had happened and everything I was feeling due to my actions.  When I went to court for the DWI, that friend’s mom asked the judge not to send me to prison…she had forgiven me for what I had done!

 So, after 91 days of jail time, I married my best friend in high school.  We were married for 9 years but I thought the grass was greener in another yard.  I had another DWI wreck on her birthday.  I hit a tree in a curve going 95 mph.  I had to learn to walk again due to 4 screws in my hip and 6 in my knee plus a plate.  I was so ashamed for what I had done and so thankful that the guy that was with me wasn’t injured.  The doctors put me on pain medicine and that spun out of control.  I left my wife for another woman and fathered a child with her.  Once we separated, the man she got involved with beat my 17 month old son to death 3 months prior to me finding out my dad died on Mother’s Day.

I thought about Devin, the friend that was killed in the 2007 accident with me.  I thought about how his mom had forgiven me for what I did.  I knew I had to forgive the man who killed my son also.  I could only do this with God’s help.

I went to Bethel Colony of Mercy in 2016 for help from myself and the damage that I had caused due to my drug use and the brokenness I was feeling. After 43 days into the program, I left without completing the program or fulfilling my commitment.  Two weeks later I was in jail.  I called Pastor Pruitt and begged him to let me come back.  He did.  I disqualified myself on Christmas Eve due to suspected drug use.  After a third time at Bethel, I finally completed the program.  From there I went to a half-way house in Wilmington even though the Lord was telling me I needed to stay and extend my time at Bethel.  About 9 months later I knew I needed to return to Bethel where God told me to stay to begin with.  I still bucked the system, got many writing assignments and demerits for my behavior.  Through that refining process, I knew I had to stay the course. 

Then God changed my life.  He saved my soul and forgave my sins. He has given me new purpose and a new life.  I now try to live every day in a way that is pleasing to Him in spite of my mistakes.  By His grace I have seen that I have always done things to please Adam…not God…that is why I used drugs and did the things I did.  God showed me grace and showed me I had to give grace to others and forgive them for what they had done.  He has provided for me and is taking care of me.  I am grateful for His mercy and His grace.  Even though I live off campus, I know Bethel is my home now.  I have a family I can count on at Bethel.  God has allowed me to get a Commercial Driver’s License and I am now serving Jesus by serving Bethel as a bus driver when taking students to sing and share testimony at other churches.

To God be the glory, great things He has done!

Bethany Williams, 2020 graduate

My name is Bethany Williams, and I am 30 years old. I did not go to church as a child and did not know God as my heavenly Father. At the very young age of 13, I began to hang around older men, drink, and do drugs. I acquired a lot of attention this way, so I went all-in with this lifestyle and didn’t look back. Before I knew it, it had been over ten years, and I had dived deeper into drugs and sex than I ever could have fathomed. By trying to find security in others, I found myself in countless abusive relationships that left me physically, mentally, and emotionally beaten down. I would use my body to get what I wanted, not caring if I hurt others or myself in the process. Everyone I cared about cut me out of their life. By this time, I hated who I was more than I ever could explain, which had me spiraling into an all-consuming depression that led me to attempt to end my life many times. I realized I did not want to live the life I had been living anymore. By the grace of God, I ended up at a Celebrate Recovery meeting where the people made me feel welcomed and loved. As I sat listening to the message, it hit me, Jesus Christ was who I had been searching for all my life, but I never knew it. At this time, I committed my life to Christ, was baptized, and truly felt I had changed. Although I still was not clean from drugs. I was taking Suboxone. For years I ran from God’s truth, going back and forth from Suboxone to my drug of choice, which left me confused, discouraged, and eventually back in another treatment program. I met my wonderful husband, Chris, around this time. We were very close friends. He was the only person I could talk to about how I believed God was the right way to live. To my amazement, he believed the same. After several bad decisions later, I had overdosed twice and was right back on the same path. Chris told me about this place called Bethel Colony of Mercy and said that we should go. I persistently prayed about it and knew God was telling us to go. For the first time, I followed through with what God told me to do and not the world. I put it in God’s hands, and I gave him what little trust and faith I had. He gave and continues to give me courage and strength. Beyond my belief, the Lord has begun restoring relationships in our family, created a strong foundation in our marriage, and opened my heart to a deeply loving relationship that I feel worthy of. I have re-dedicated my life to Jesus Christ and I have learned the enemy will always be hard at work attempting to destroy everything God has planned for my life. Chris and my paths have not been of continual success but multiple failures. However, our failures are always followed by growth, as long as we are steadfast in relying on the Lord.

I am a child of God, and Proverbs 3:5&6 says: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will not make your paths straight.”  

Bill Howington

1953 graduate of Bethel, shares a testimony of God’s grace in his life. Bill has been faithful to the LORD and to Bethel since his graduation. What a testimony to the power of God!

Delbert “Pete” Austrew

I came to Bethel colony of Mercy in November, 1998. At this time in my life I found myself at a loss of family, friends and everything else I loved or cared about. I had been drinking and drugging very heavily just to deal with the emotional pain I was feeling.

On arriving at Bethel, I had a desire to turn my life around simply because I knew it was a miracle of God that I made it there. You see, I knew “about” God but had no relationship with Him. Everything I had attempted in life had become a failure. Relationships, employment and then my health! In 1987, I was involved in an industrial accident that resulted in six major surgeries in seven years! Two major back surgeries that left me relying on a wheel-chair, a total left hip replacement, and two shoulder replacements. A tumor was found in my neck resulting in surgery that has left one side of my face numb. On my back in Shands Hospital at the University of Florida, I cried out to Jesus Christ. Soon after that a nurse came into my room and asked; “Where are the roses? I smell roses.” No one had brought roses to my room.

I continued in my difficulties for some years as I was in and out of physical rehabs. At one point I was prescribed over ten different pain medicines and had become addicted to them all. I was also addicted to street drugs and alcohol. This continued to the point I lost my family and all that mattered to me. Then, a family member told me about Bethel Colony. I came to Bethel as soon as I could get in. My experience at Bethel was one that I will walk with for the rest of my life. I wish I could say that when I left Bethel everything went well for me. Sadly, my life continued to spiral downward. But, at the most precious time in my life, what was instilled in me while at Bethel came forth! I had “NOT” surrendered everything to Jesus! I had held on to anger, resentment, and deep emotional pains. My most precious time was the point of surrender of everything to Jesus!

Feeding on the Word, I began to discover how much He loves me. John 3:16 says; “For God so loved the world (me), that He gave His only Son.” I discovered His identity within the Bible and began to see my own identity through His eyes. This experience changed my life forever! You see, as I discovered these truths through the Holy Spirit, I discovered who was the author of my failures…Satan! I learned I have authority over my enemy in the name of Jesus! Because of this discovery, my life has purpose and meaning today. Yes, I lost everything, but God has restored my health, both mental and physical. Today I am as healthy as I have ever been in my life. God is blessing me in so many ways.

On June 8, 2007, I graduated from Fruitland Baptist Bible Institute in Hendersonville, NC. I am a licensed Baptist minister. I will be attending Florida Baptist College to pursue a Master of Ministry degree. In the meantime, I have traveled from Kentucky to Florida preaching the Word of God and giving my testimony. I feel the Lord has placed a burden on my life to write a book concerning the role of the “Spiritual Priest of the Home”. God is doing things for me that I would not have thought possible! My testimony is simply this; He is still in the business of raising the “dead”! He is no respecter of persons and He will do the same for “whosoever”.

The roses no one could find in my hospital room? One day I read in the Bible that He is the Rose of Sharon! Praise God! The tomb is empty! Revelation 12:11; “And they overcame the evil one by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.” Praise God, we win! And as the old song says…”It is well with my soul!”