<TITLE>20. Par 66-68</TITLE>L-66 And a lady come up, she was teaching the Indians somewhere. And the first thing you know. I begin to put down invitations like that, and I had a whole line of them on the back of piece of paper. And I jumped in my old Ford, and down the road I went, my, oh, my. And I run home... When I got in... She's always was lovely, Brother Ryan, you know that. You... She--she would come always... She had long black hair, and she'd come running out the door to meet me, and she said, "You look so happy."
I said, "Honey, I found the greatest church in the world." I said, "A bunch of people that's not ashamed of their religion, they scream and shout and everything else."
She said, "Where you been?"
And I said, "Let's see, up around Mishawaka up there." I said, "Oh, you talk about a church," I said, "you never seen such. And believe it or not, let me show you something." I pulled out, I said, "I got an invitation to come to churches enough to keep me the whole year going."
She said, "You, honey?"
And I said, "Yep, me."
And she said, "Well..."
I said, "Would you go with me?"
She said, "I promised to go with you anywhere until death should separate us." That's a real wife. God rest her gallant soul today. Then said, "I'll go with you anywhere."
I said, "All right," I said, "Now, we'll go tell our parents."

L-67 I went and told... She was to tell her mother. I told mama, and mama said, "Well," said, "Okay, Billy." Said, "I remember them kind of people down in Kentucky when I was a little girl," said, "they used to have the Old Lone Star meeting house up there." Said, "People get down at the altar, and they would pray and scream and run," that's old Missionary Baptist, and said, "They've got away from that today in these churches out here in Indiana, and around."
And that's a shame that we do it too. That's right. I tell you, this here kind of Baptist we have now that you shake hands and put your name on a paper; that's not the way I got it, brother. We got down at the altar and beat one another on the back, till we come through; we got something when we come out of there. Yes sir, it wasn't shaking hands with the preacher; we got saved.

L-68 And--and then I remember, then when we started off, her mother said, "Well, Hope," she said, "You can go, of course, that's said, but I'm telling you," said, "if you do your mother will fill a grave with a broken heart."
Oh, my. There it was. And here's where I made my mistake, friends. I listened to my mother-in-law in the stead of listening to God. And if I would've went ahead then, this great thing would have been manifested before this, and the Church had been farther along. But listen to my mistakes; here's where sorrow started.
Hope said, "I'll go anyhow."
I didn't want to hurt her mother's feelings, and her mother said, "Why don't you go up there at--at the church until you get it paid for, and then get a parsonage, and act like somebody's got some sense, in the stead of...?... You think I could let my daughter be drug around across the country, and today she eats, and tomorrow she doesn't eat? And--and never have a change of clothes on her back," and said, "and drug around with that bunch of trash."
And I found out, and I don't say this, but nothing but to tell the truth. What she called the trash, I find to be the cream of the crop. That's exactly the truth. That's right.
Said, "My daughter be drug around such as that..."
Brother, by my mistakes we had to bury her a little after that.


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