North Shore Baptist Church

Marie-Ange Desrosiers Testimony

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My name is Marie-Ange Desrosiers I am now 81 years old. I was born in 1942 in a very strict Catholic family, the oldest of twelve children. On May 6^th 1948, the day before I was to make my First Communion, something happened to me that made me understand I was on my way to Hell. And I had no clue what to do about it. For the next ten years, I followed the best I could all the rules and rituals of the church as my parents and my teachers explained it to me. But none of this helped me. I still felt I was straight on my way to Hell. How scared I was!

By 1958, I was now sixteen years old and I had finished High School. I decided to enter the convent to become a nun. I was so hoping that there I would find a way of not going to Hell. There I saw a Bible for the 1^st time in my life. Bibles were entirely forbidden to Catholics then. But because I was becoming a nun, in this convent there was a priest who would teach us the Bible for two hours three days a week. The other two days, he taught us the History of the Church. Outside of the classroom, we were forbidden to read this Bible. It had to remain in our desk.

In 1988, I had been living in Vancouver, British Columbia for three years. Between December 1987 and March 1988, I was diagnosed with three life threatening diseases. It was only when I had cancer that I started thinking seriously about this Hell I was on my way to encounter maybe soon. On March 28, I walked by a second-hand store near my apartment. In it, I picked up a small book going for a dime. Redemption was the title. I looked at it for a minute or two and said ‘No, not for me this stuff.’ And I went back home. That night, I could not sleep. I tossed and turned, thinking of that booklet and some of the words I had seen in it. At one point, I was sure I was dying and I could almost see that Hell I had been fearing since I was six. I remember looking up at the ceiling and saying: ‘ Lord God, If you are real, and If you are there, and If you hear me, please come and help me. If you don’t, I will die and go to Hell.’ I slept for a little while and the next morning, I went back to the store and bought the book. I went home and read it non-stop. I was astounded at what I was reading. Never heard such a thing before. Don’t ask me how I happened to believe every word of it. Of course, I did not have to be convinced I was a sinner, I had known that for so long. But the remedy for my sin. WOW! It made so much sense to me.  It was five after eleven, Tuesday March 29, 1988. I stood up, walk to the fireplace, knelt down, and spoke aloud to God. I told Him I believed every single word of His Plan for Salvation, I told Him I was a sinner, I told Him I knew He had died on the Cross and shed His Blood for me, and I ask Him to forgive me and accept me in his Family. What a relief! No more of this so heavy burden I was carrying on my back since 1942. Free at last!

Evelyn Fournier Testimony

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I was saved in the evening of May 16, 2007 in Toronto, Ontario. I had gone there to see what kind of cult my daughter had gotten into but found Jesus instead; what an excellent trade off. I was six months away from turning 50 and leading a life of promiscuousness, alcohol, and drugs but never felt I was that bad. At least I had never killed anyone and everyone was doing it.

That evening I heard the Gospel. While I had always believed in God, I never knew Him. I knew Jesus had died on the cross and had risen 3 days later but hadn’t realized it was for me (and everyone). I certainly had never had anyone tell me I was a sinner worthy of death and separation from God. It frightened me. I went to church with my daughter, and during the preaching I felt that what I was hearing made sense. However, when the pastor talked to me later and asked me to pray with him to accept Christ, I told him that prayer was private and refused. He then told me to pray by myself. Later when he asked me what I had prayed; he told me I was saved. I didn’t think anything had changed, but when I returned to NB, everything had changed. My habits and desires were not the same and I had no way to explain it other than the Holy Spirit had entered into my heart and was changing me. I found a good church and began my relationship with Him and getting to know God.

I am happy and cannot imagine my life without Him; but there is something that breaks my heart, I wish it had happened sooner. I have siblings, a son and grandson that I want to see saved; I have told them of my salvation and pray daily that they will trust Christ as their Saviour.