Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/1435479
This Is My Story… Marty Edwards Nine months before Christmas 1955, someone announced that I would be coming into this world. Nobody was more surprised than my father and my three older siblings. I was, "The unexpected Christmas Gift!" …and this, my friends, is my personal testimony. I was born Martin Luther Edwards III on December 4 th , 1955, in Mt. Vernon, New York; north of the Big Apple, South of Yonkers (not to be confused with "bonkers!"). True story: We lived in a multi-level apartment building, and I am told that my older brothers and sister used to hang me out of the third story window by the ankles. Other than that, I know virtually nothing about New York from a personal perspective except for the time a few years back, while traveling for BSHDFC in an RV and trailer, I became hopelessly lost in the Bronx. (My understanding is that I was fortunate to get out alive.) I am not exaggerating when I tell you that much of the rest of my life is a blur. My family moved so much, I can scarcely connect which memory goes with which city. I lived in multiple towns and cities in New York, North Carolina, and Florida before traveling to California, in four days in a Volkswagen Squareback. (By then, there were only two of us kids, so we had plenty of room – NOT!) In California I lived in Crescent City, San Francisco, Bakersfield, Redondo Beach, Torrance, Carson, and Newhall. (The uniformed child above is me in 2 nd grade at Hawthorn Christian School, Hawthorn, CA.) In addition to California, I also lived in Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada and Yakima, Washington. (There's probably a few I missed, but who cares – you get the point. No, my dad was not in the military. My dad was a dreamer, always looking for the next big thing. Let's go back a few years and start again. At the age of five I walked to the front of a small country church and gave my life to Jesus. My Uncle Carl was a Quaker preacher in a small one room church with an upright/out- of-tune piano on one side, a wood burning stove on the other side and a simple wooden podium for a pulpit in the middle. Mom and Dad were Christians, but Uncle Carl (a farmer) and Aunt Lillian were the spiritual giants in my family. My mom and Aunt Lilly led me to Christ. Now listen closely because here's where the testimony gets interesting. A few days (maybe weeks) after giving my heart to Jesus, my brother and I spent the night at David Bowman's house just down the street from the old church. The three of us were lying on the floor in sleeping bags, giggling when Mrs. Bowman came in. She went to each boy and asked, "Have you said your prayers?" David and my brother Don (Now a member of BSHDFC in North Carolina) said "Yes" but I answered straight out, "Nope! I'm having church!" That must have been interesting to Mrs. Bowman because she asked me to explain. I said, "Well, you see, first (in my head) I'm up front leading the congregation in singing (flapping my arms like a proper choir director). After that, I preach my sermon…then I take an offering." (Give me a break! I was five years old). The point my friends, is that age five I somehow knew I was going to be a pastor. When I was fifteen, I started traveling with my mom and dad and some other musicians, holding special "revival" services, mostly in Nazarene churches. If you know anything about Bill Gaither and his music, it was the semi-cool music of the day before the Jesus Movement and Christian rock began. We were on the road for the better part of three years (missing my senior year of high school) before I would eventually leave my family at the age of seventeen. Our home base was Selah, WA where one day, lying on my bed, I believe the Holy Spirit asked me, "Would you spend the rest of your life in Christian ministry?" My answer was almost immediate…" Yes!" I got up and went into the living room and announced to my family, "I'm going to be a pastor." We were in Sparks, Nevada playing for the Nevada/Utah Nazarene conference, I met Debbie Sandberg and it didn't take but a few days before I knew I was smitten! She had just returned from a year of high school in Adelaide, Australia. Olivia Newton John was big around that time and so I was drawn to this beautiful Aussie. Our courtship began almost immediately even though I traveled for another year before moving to Salt Lake City where I would live with Debbie's family for a summer before heading off to Point Loma Nazarene College in San Diego. Prior to that, some events took place that I later recognized as hand of God at work in my life! Our team had just finished playing for a prayer breakfast when I left the stage to have breakfast at one of the many crowded tables. A sharply dressed man with silver hair came and sat next to me, thanking me for our music. As we talked, he asked, "Son, what are your plans for the future? Any thoughts about college?" I replied, "Well, I don't have a high school diploma and I don't have