Michigan

When Keith Hughes and Debra Brown were growing up in Saginaw, Michigan, their grandfather, Lee Hughes, was the Ephesus Adventist Church pastor. They remember hearing him talk about the seventh-day Sabbath, about Jesus coming to Earth a second time, and about taking believers back to Heaven with Him to enjoy eternal life. However, as they grew from childhood to adulthood, they drifted away from their spiritual heritage.

A couple of accidents resulted in Keith losing a leg and the use of his lower body, which confined him to a wheelchair. Instead of his physical challenges defeating him, the unfortunate circumstances created within him a new and strong desire to know God, His teachings, and the plan for his life.

Answering God's call on his heart, Keith began attending church. As he worshipped with the members there, the Holy Spirit began to bring to his mind the things that he had learned as a child. This opened his heart to the opportunity that was just around the corner.

Meanwhile, his sister Debra received an invitation to attend the 2003 Amazing Discoveries evangelistic series conducted by evangelist Steve Vail at the Center Road church in Saginaw. She began studying with Don and Lenore Wiekum, which led her to establish a personal relationship with Christ. Embracing Christ's salvation and teachings, she united with the Adventist church through baptism on June 14, 2003.

Debra began to share with Keith the joy she was experiencing in her new relationship with Christ. Seeing the evidence of God's power in his sister's life, he began attending his sister's church.

Gary Minnick and Gani Capina, elders at Center Road church, began coming to his home on a weekly basis to study the Bible with him. Soon Keith began to experience the joy his sister had experienced in rediscovering the truths he heard as a child. He was ready to rejoin the church of his youth.

Although the congregation would have accepted him into their membership through his "profession of faith," Keith wanted to be baptized as a witness of his clean break from his past lifestyle. His testimony was, "I want to do things right and make a new start with Jesus Christ and His teachings."

On February 26, 2005, Keith made his relationship with the Center Road church official. At his baptism, he was placed in a wheelchair by Jay Hickman, deacon, and Gary Minnick, elder, and lowered into the baptistry. All Heaven must have added their praise to the praise of the church family as they celebrated Keith's commitment to Jesus Christ.

Robert Quillin, Saginaw Center Road Church pastor, and Bruce Babienco, Lake Union Herald volunteer correspondent