Betty is an 80-year old member of our church household. This is her story:

Betty Hughes Testimony and story of Transformation with the Glory of Almighty God. 
I was born in the 1929 recession and as a little girl of 5 years old I couldn’t understand why me and the family were hungry most days. Dad was out of work for 8 years along with thousands more, 50 men after 1 job, no matter how menial the wage.My dad borrowed quite a sum of money from the means test people but couldn’t pay it back. When the time for payment came bailiff’s came and took everything we had, they had to leave our beds and linen by law and our cooker pots and pans.Winter came, I reached 7 years of age, did errands for the well off people, anything to help mum out, it gave us food for 2 days, we were suffering from malnutrition and ended up in the work house. The time went by, we had to sleep on sacks of hay in there in case kids wet the bed, they changed the sacks each day, this went on until 1939 when Chamberlain declared War on Germany.

When I left School I went straight into war work, my dad died aged 75yrs, my brothers were all married and lived away so I had to take Dad’s place and be the bread winner, I had 2 jobs, the morning one from 7am till 12-30pm six days a week and the GEC managers offices in Alma Street, the pay was good at both.As mum didn’t get a pension at all I claimed tax for her. I got my sister Alice working with me as well, we paid my sister-in-law ten pounds for watching mum (who had become bedridden aged 86) till we got home.

One hot summer’s day, when I came home and got dinner, after we had eaten and shopping was done mum said, ‘It’s Friday, Betty why don’t you go out and get some fresh air, go to your favourite place’. ‘Will you be alright mum?’ I asked, ‘Yes’, she said, ‘I’m going to have a nap’, so off I went down to Lady Herbert’s Garden, I sat where the rose gardens are as I could smell their perfume.I sat for quite some time thinking about our lives, why we were here on this planet with all its wars, illnesses, death, hunger, injustice, the whole darn lot, I’ve always believed in God, a great powerful spirit up there in the heavens, who created us and everything.I began to get angry and clenched my fist and shouted at God ‘Why did you put me here on this rotten planet for to struggle in poverty, I blame you for all that’s happened to us, my family, oh heck, what’s the use, you’re up there and I’m down here and we can’t contact each other so if I could stop the world I’d jump off into space’. Then I said all I had to say and sat down again quiet, there wasn’t a soul in that garden but me, then I heard it, my name, but I couldn’t see anyone, a few minutes later my name ‘Betty’, still I couldn’t see anyone so I said, ‘Who speaks my name and why can’t I see you?’ Whilst I sat there someone came and sat next to me, I said ‘Who is it that has just sat by me?’ the voice of a male answered, ‘I am Jesus Christ, son of the Living God, my Father has heard your complaint and has sent me to speak with you about life’.At first I thought I was dreaming and what words could I say, but I did speak to Jesus, I asked why I couldn’t see Him, and He said ‘Because I am still in my Glory and you would die because you are not yet in the Spirit and to find the answer you seek you must go to church’. He said this three times.I was battling with amazement that God was actually getting in touch with me and I had to learn more about Jesus, as I am not going off my head and I am a realist, not given to imaginations, so what I was experiencing was real absolutely. I said to Jesus, ‘What do I want to go to church for, did they help us when we were hungry? No. Did they give us a drink when we were thirsty? No, did they give us shelter when we were locked out of our home? No, so what do I want to go to church for? Jesus said ‘I know my church sometimes fails people but I died on a cross to have a bit of heaven on earth’. ‘Ok’, I said, ‘but will you come with me, I don’t know how they go on?’ ‘Yes’, Jesus said, and we walked and talked all the way up into Hillfields, to the C.of E, church.

It was a very high church, burnt incense at prayer. At first I was reluctant to go in but Jesus finally persuaded me it was alright, so I went in and stood at the back, I didn’t even sit down, just stood there. I could feel Jesus with me, then the minister moved to the left doing something and I saw this man terribly nailed to a tree and my heart lurched within me. He had a crown of thorns on His head and I said out loud, ‘How could anyone do such a terrible thing like that to a man?’ Jesus’ voice said, ‘But you did it to me as well’. I was overcome, I said ‘But I wasn’t born then, how could I do that to you?’ Jesus said ‘Every generation does it to me through their sin.’ I asked Him what sin was, and He told me, and it’s a very long list of things regarding me indeed.So again I was overcome with a great sadness and sorrow, I fell on my knees and said,‘Almighty God, if you can hear my prayer, change me from what I am, to what you want me to be’. Then Jesus said ‘Stand up Betty, go take the bread and wine’. I asked Jesus what that meant. He said, ‘That is my body and blood, shed for mankind for the forgiveness of sins, go’. So I went and took the bread and wine and I could see a gold disk hovering above my head, I went into anticipation waiting what would happen, it came down right into my head and my head lit up like the sun. Then it came down into my body and I lit up again like the sun, I was in awe and wonder. I felt every emotion running through me that I was before a great and powerful God whom I couldn’t see. Love was just pouring in and my concrete heart was just melting. I felt His Glory and His power transforming me as I knelt there before that cross, so many emotions coming and going, and for the first time in my life I was at peace, happy, joyful, relaxed. I felt safe that no bad could touch me, it was wonderful and for the first time I could see Jesus just as plain as I could see the minister.I was still kneeling when I heard Jesus say, ‘Come out of her’ and yes God can do all things, and my spirit came out. He commanded me to stand up and my spirit stood up, then I heard Jesus say ‘Take my hand’. Then I heard myself say, ‘Where are you taking me?’ Jesus said, ‘To show you a part of my Father’s house.’I was as light as a feather and can believe that Jesus will come riding on the clouds.It was so wonderful, we zoomed through the church window, not a scratch; we went up through a blue sky into a star studded black sky, faster than time, time was totally irrelevant, we came into space where the stars were. Then Jesus went like a streak of light in the black sky.We went down a lighted corridor, but the light was so brilliant I could not keep my eyes open. Finally Jesus placed His hand on my eyes and said ‘Look’ and look I did. The light was a bright white light and it pulsated like a heartbeat. I saw many people from all ages down to tiny tots all dressed in white shimmering gowns, with bare feet, all happy, children playing on the grass and laughing, young people strolling, talking to one another, old folk smiling, walking or sitting. There were babies hovering in the air kicking their arms and legs about, gurgling with little smiles.There were flower gardens everywhere all different beautiful colours, blossom trees of every sort, streams running along gently and small waterfalls, birds, their feathers the colour of the rainbow.I asked Jesus, ‘Why the people couldn’t see me’. Jesus replied, ‘Because you have not died the death yet, you are still alive, I have only taken up your spirit’. Then I heard the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard, absolutely out of this world. Then I heard rushing like many wings. I asked Jesus again, was that rushing angels wings and He replied, ‘Yes’ then I asked Him, ‘Why couldn’t I see them?’ Again Jesus said, ‘Because you have not yet died’.It was so strange, there were no walls as I could see, nothing supporting the gardens or trees, and streams or waterfalls, everything was suspended, the people and children began to move forward, going somewhere, I asked Jesus ‘Where are they going?’ Jesus said ‘To worship my father’, then He said ‘We must return’, but I didn’t want to leave that wonderful place in heaven and such beauty. I will never forget what I have experienced.Jesus brought me back just as I went and my spirit knelt down and Jesus put it back into me and I felt the bump when my spirit settled. At least now I know how we will feel when immortal, light as a feather.What I have written is absolutely true, Jesus told me to tell others about my journey and I said, ‘They won’t believe me, they will think I’m crazy’. Jesus replied ’Everything is possible for God, and they thought I was crazy when I told them I was King of the Jews’. I only know of His deep love for me that I must share.All Glory goes to God for what He has done for me in my life.You will know of your transformation, it will hit you like dynamite. Signed Betty Hughes.