<TITLE>03. Par 7-10</TITLE>L-7 I work, labor, whatever I could do to make a living. And the church, not because they wouldn't support me... If I could work, why not work? Other men work. Paul worked. Why not me? And the reason the tremendous strain of work from place to place, or I'd still... I'd rather come right here and take a rod and hammer and go out here on the street and work all day, come and preach to you at night. That'd be my desire, if I could do it. That's before God and my Bible.
But we had to get a little money. I needed about five dollars, and I'd made a promise; and a debt owning, I--I--I just didn't have it. And we couldn't get it. So I said, "I'm going to take up an offering tonight."
My lovely little wife... If there's any credit goes to the Branham family, let it go to her. She's the one who stood between me and the public. And all the things that's been done, let her have the credit. She said to me, "Billy, I'm going to go over and watch you do that."

L-8 I got up that night. She was setting back; I said, "Friends, I've been pastoring here I guess about twelve years." I said, "I've never took an offering; I'm just a little bit in need tonight, really need about five dollars." I said, "I--I... We're going to pass the hat around, and if you got a nickel or two and you could..." ...?... my congregation is a much is setting on this floor right here. I said, "If you would want to--got a nickel or a dime you'd like to help me to it, I'd appreciate it very much." We didn't have no offering plate; I said, "Brother Wisehart, would you get my hat?"

L-9 I happened to looked down there, and a little old woman... She's in glory today; her name is Mrs. Weber. She had one of these little--little aprons on, that's got a pocket right underneath the apron. Did you women ever seen one of them? I guess your mothers wore them years ago. She got down there and got a hold of one of these little pocketbooks that's got a snap on top of it, you know, you... It was during of hard times now; that's been about twenty-five years ago. She unsnapped that little pocketbook, begin to feel around all them nickels. I couldn't have took it. I--I just couldn't do it. That's all there was to it. I looked down there, and I thought "Oh, mercy."
"Oh," I said, "I was just teasing you; I just wanted to see what you would say. I was just going on with you." Brother Wisehart had my hat in his hand; "Oh," I said, "Brother Wisehart, hang my hat up. I was just teasing the church."

L-10 And so I went over home and I thought, "Well," I went out to a ten cent store and got a ten cent can of paint. There's an old man that's gone on to glory now. Brother Gene, you remember well, old Brother Ryan. Used to have long hair, long beard, and he rode this bicycle down there, and he gave it to me. It--it backslid on him and... No, that ain't good for a Baptist to say, is it? Let's just say it wore out. Because it just wore out. And... Now I'm Baptist; I'm a Pentecostal Baptist (You see?), one of the...?... Baptists--a Baptist that's got the Holy Ghost. So I said--went over and got this old bicycle and went out and got me a can of paint, and painted it up to make it look pretty good, sand papered it off, and set it out front, and sold it for five dollars. Never had to take up a offering after all. So that's the closest I ever come to it.


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