Pam Greenwood

Pam Greenwood is an elder at South Chard Church and has been here since December 1964. “I can remember this because I was pregnant with my son David when we arrived.”  She was married to Harry Greenwood, who died in 1988.  They have three children, Gill, Ruth and David.

I asked Pam for her testimony.

“I was nursing in Dublin at the time. I thought I was a good Christian; I had been brought up to go to church every Sunday and read my bible every day. We had been to a church meeting in the morning and the ladies always invited people back for a quiet afternoon tea. So I was upset when I noticed this fellow there, and was thinking ‘what are you doing here?’  Well this ‘Harry’ never stopped talking and I just didn’t know what to make of him at all.

They used to hold after church rallies and Harry said he wanted to go, so my friend and I agreed to go along with him. After the rally, as we made our way to the bus-stop, I asked question after question after question and Harry never stopped talking. Anyway the bus came along and my friend jumped on and I didn’t realise the bus had gone and that I was left standing there with Harry!  So it meant Harry would have to walk me all the way back to the hospital with me asking questions all the way; he wasn’t so pleased! Well, because I was still asking questions Harry said that he would meet me the next day. I nearly missed him because at the last minute as I was leaving, I was sent on an errand at the hospital.  I was sure Harry would have left by then – but he was still there! He said he had never waited for a woman before in his life!

Well, every day after that he kept talking to me about the Lord and I kept on and on asking questions. So one day he told me what to do.  He said ‘if you want to know the Lord, you’ve got to get down on your knees and pray, and ask the Lord into your life,’ so that’s what I did that night. The next day I found Harry in a cafeteria and I told him what I had done, but I wasn’t sure I had done it right. He said I needed to tell somebody, because if you confess with your mouth what you believe in your heart you will be saved. He gave me a name of someone who worked at the hospital who was a Christian, so I told her and she was thrilled to bits; and so it went on from there.

Pam went on to talk about a difficult time God helped her through.

There were many difficult times but I was thinking about ‘The Miracle.’ The Miracle was the first home that we bought. It was soon to be built, the last in a small row of bungalows built near to the church. It started when I went to visit Aunty Myra and Uncle Ben, who were already living in their bungalow, Living Waters. Aunty Myra wouldn’t let you in the door unless you said, “Praise the Lord!” or “Hallelujah!”  So I stopped in my tracks and I closed my eyes and I said, “Praise you Lord! And I thank you Father,” and He said, “You will have a bungalow like this if you trust Me,” and I said “Thank you Lord,” and I just took it and received it; it was then they started building the last bungalow.

It was a big deal to pay for that bungalow, because Aunty Mill and Uncle Sid said we could have that plot if we could pay for it. Well we couldn’t pay for it. Uncle Sid started laughing one day and said we should call the bungalow ‘Wits End Corner,’ I said it’s no laughing matter that we can’t pay;  but then we had a sum of money given to us, three thousand pounds, which was tremendous! Praise the Lord!  After that the money just came in and we went from there. I came up the path one day and I said to the Lord, “We don’t have a name for this house, what would you like us to call it?” and He said, “It’s a miracle,” and I remember saying, “Oh yes! It’s a miracle, because of what You have done. It’s a miracle! It’s a Miracle!” So that’s what we named the house. Well, years later, after we sold the house, the sign was taken down by the new owner, who I happened to know well, I asked him what he had done with the sign and he said it was in his garage.  He gave it to me and it was beautiful. He had painted it all up and varnished it; I still have it.

One day, on a Monday morning, Harry was away and the children were at school, I was doing my washing and all of a sudden I felt awful.  My eyes were streaming, my nose started running and my head was aching, it felt like it was flu coming on. The Holy Spirit brought Isaiah 53 verses 4&5 to me I started quoting it. “By Your Stripes Lord, I am healed, thank You Lord for that. In your word it’s revealed, hallelujah!  You bore it all for me on the cross of Calvary so that now I can go free, hallelujah!” The Spirit of God came on me and I started dancing in my kitchen and I praised until everything had gone – and that’s when I had the chorus “By Your stripes I am healed.” It was my first chorus from the Lord.

But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.