Over the past several days I have received three Facebook messages from a gentleman I have never met in person. His name is Randy Tinch, and he knew my great-great-aunt, Laura Turpin, personally. Here is a compilation of the stories that he tells:
Sometimes the presence of God would become so strong in her house that it was overwhelming. She shared a lot of stories about things the Lord did for her and Frank. [Frank was Laura's brother.]
One story was about a light that came to them one night as they were returning home from church, when they lived at the old home place on the other side of Beaver Creek. They had walked across the old mill dam without a light. Once they reached the other side, because of the woods it became so dark they couldn't see how to go on. So Laura and Frank knelt down and prayed for the Lord to help them. When they finished praying, she said a light came to them.
She said it wasn't a bright light, but it was bright enough for them to see how to go on up the creek, cross a fence, and then it went with them until they reached an old wagon road that went from the creek up to the old home place. The light remained at the bottom of the hill as they walked on up the hill. When they reached the top, the light vanished.
Laura said she knew the Lord sent that light to help them. I asked her to tell me that story over and over. I never got tired of hearing about it.
A few weeks before she died as I visited her in the nursing home, she laid her hand on me and prayed for me. Over the years, I have known, been around, and been prayed for by people such as Rod Parsley, Jesse Duplantis, Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Billye Brim, T. L. Lowery and a few others, but when Aunt Laura laid her hand on me--just skin and bone--that probably had the greatest impact on my life.
I asked Randy Tinch if he knew when Laura came to faith in Christ. Here was his response:
I don't remember when she was saved, but she received the baptism of the Holy Ghost at home.
[Anne Cagley was born August 25, 1893 and died December 13, 1961. She is buried at Solway Methodist Church cemetery. Source: http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/knox/cemeteries/solway.txt]
Others, including Laura, began praying and asking the Lord to do the same for them. Laura said they began to pray and ask the Lord to send someone to the church that knew something about this experience.
Laura said she was so hungry for the Lord but did not receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit at church.
She had gone home after one of the services and had gotten behind the front door to pray. As she was praying, she was filled with the Holy Spirit.
She said the Lord led her to either a piano or organ they had in the home, and she played and sang in tongues.
Aunt Laura's testimony was always, "I thank the Lord I am saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost with the Bible evidence of speaking in tongues." I heard that many many times during Wednesday night testimony services.
When I asked Randy Tinch when this encounter with the Holy Spirit took place, he responded with this note:
Sam C. Perry became a Church of God minister. I understand that he came back to that church many times. There is a lot of information about him in the history of the Church of God--Like A Mighty Army. He had apparently gone to Azusa Street in 1906, came back and was preaching about the experience. I would assume that he came to where Laura was in the latter part of 1906 or first part of 1907. So, it was during that time frame that she received the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
