Gilberte's testimony

My testimony of the fidelity, the love, and the protection of an Almighty God, who has provided for all of our needs for over 64 years!

I was raised in a protestant, non-practicing family. At the age of 14 I did my catechism, and for the first time I had a Bible in my hands. And it was there that the Lord called me, through his Word, and when I think about it I am still very moved and grateful, to realize that God loved me so much. I was so eager to know him, I read the testimonies of missionaries. I became involved in the youth of my parish, and even was president of JP. My parents were not very happy and opposed me strongly. I had to read the Bible and my books secretly. After an apprenticeship in an insurance company,in order to escape my parents, I went in England as an au-pair for a year, to learn English. It was there that I was baptized in water, in fact, I had been waiting to reach the age of majority, careful not to displease my parents.

In the meantime I had met a student of the Bible school who taught me the conditions in order to follow Jesus according to Luke 9/23: «If anyone wants to come after me, let him renounce himself, and take up his cross every day, and follow me». Through him, from England I became involved in an evangelization movement in Holland. Then the headquarters of this mission moved to Switzerland, near Lausanne, my hometown. This student became a close friend.

The problem was that he wanted a woman who played the piano well, who was perfect, who had an appeal for China, and many other qualities. During a mission in France in the Hautes Alpes, we were received in a pentecostal church, new to me, and I heard a girl speaking in tongues, and the interpretation of it was a magnificent praise to God. Her name was Lydia (the same name I will later give to my daughter). And from that moment I was hungry to receive this baptism in the Holy Spirit. I learned a lot, read books, but finally, it was through the book of Acts, in the Bible, that I understood it the best. And it was during a great convention in Territet that I was baptized in the Holy Spirit. 

I prayed and fasted to know what to do with this friend who was so opposed to the speaking in tongues. And after this fast, the Lord answered me with his Word and several close friends. I realized that a marriage under such conditions would have been a failure. Indeed, the Lord had other plans for me.
But throughout these 3 years, I saw the goodness of the Lord, who guided me in all my steps.
In this mission there was a young man, evangelist, Henri Parent. We immediately understood each other, and love came. It was the summer of 1963. We got engaged in Holland in the spring of 1964, and we got married in northern France on October 4, 1964, because Henri was a ch'ti.

My father, who was a police sergeant major, told me that if I married this man, I would never be his daughter again. Besides, my parents refused to come to our wedding. I think they were more unhappy than we were, we who had found the love and the joy of the Lord. And our honeymoon lasted 3 months, we lived by faith, God provided for all of our needs, like a cottage in the Vosges and a caravan in Marseilles, at the convention of the gypsy brothers, with Oral Roberts. We were overwhelmed with joy, which lasted for 40 years of ministry. With trials, of course, but our happiness in serving God lasted 55 years. And my dear husband joined his Lord a few months ago, we were still in love with each other. It was like a beautiful dream.

But now I experience the consolation and goodness of my God.
I continue to serve my God in my church, alongside our pastor and my brothers and sisters.
I would especially like to encourage those who go through mourning. Draw near to the Lord Jesus, He alone can comfort and heal your heart. He is the divine Comforter, come to Him and you will receive eternal life.

Gilberte