Do you know what happened to me? I hit the ground. I was out. I was unconscious for a while. I don't know how long. We have no way to tell. But when I came to, I had a shoulder broken, and my arm was broken right in here. The flesh - the bone had snapped right through my flesh because I didn't have any meat on me. I thought, "What'll I do?" And I realized I'm on the outside. "Where am I going?" Where do you think you'd go?

I'm not in the United States. I'm in another country. And I don't know a thing about that country. When they took me over there, I was so heavily veiled. And they took me from that particular cart or train to the convent. I was so heavily veiled I couldn't see anything. And I don't know where I am. I don't know where to go. I didn't know if I had any people. I didn't know if I had anybody in the world. And I'm a pauper. I don't have any money. And I'm hungry. And my body's broken. And I'm hurt now.

Where do you think you'd go? I tell you it's something to think about. I just started away to get away from the convent. And I did. And I started moving away. And all the leaves were falling, and they made so much noise. And I was scared. And I kept on moving. And finally dark overtook me - or rather - there's no twilight in that part of the country - it just drops off into darkness.

And, you know, I saw this little building beside the road. I thought I'd crawl in it. It was a doghouse or maybe a chicken-coop or something. But it's dirty. And I crawled in there because I was shaking and scared. And I laid in there for a little while to get a hold of myself. And then I thought, "I'll have to travel. It's dark. And it's safer for me."

So I got out and traveled that night. And the next day I hid behind pieces of board and tin that was piled up against an old building. And all day long, imagine, hiding in that hot place. And hungry as I was with broken bones. Do you realize what it's all about? No. You'll never know. But I do.

And then, you know, when night came again I have to go, because I'm going to get away from the convent. I'm afraid to rap on somebody's door. Remember, I'm scared. I don't know, I might rap on a Roman Catholic's door. They will immediately notify the priest and I'll be taken back to the Convent. And I'd rather they killed me than take me back. And so I didn't.

But I went on and on and on. And then the next night, or next day I hid out in an old straw stack. And then that afternoon on the third day, I was scared then, because this arm was swollen as tight as it could swell, and I was having to carry it in the other hand. And all my fingers began to turn blue. And I realized gangrene poisoning set in. And, you know, nobody to do anything for you. And I realized I'm going to die just like a rat beside the road. That's a terrible feeling. And I thought, "What'll I do? I'll just get out and go a little sooner. Maybe I'll have to rap on somebody's door."

That's what I did. I remember as I walked out, I don't know how far, I saw this lamp. It was an old-fashioned lamp burning. Very poor house. No paint on it. Now, I knew those were poor people. So I walked up to the screen door and I rapped on it. And a tall man came to the door. He was rather old. And I said, "Please may I have a drink of water?"

And do you know that old man didn't answer me. But he walked back into the house and he called his wife. And, God bless her heart, she's like most old-fashioned mothers. She came to the door, and she didn't say, "Who are you?" Or, "What do you want?" Thank God, there are a lot of good people in this world.

That dear little woman just pushed that door open and said, "Won't you come in and sit down?" Do you know that's the most beautiful music I'd ever heard in my life? I should say I'll come in and sit down!

And she pulled out a chair. And I sat down on it. I was glad to sit down. And, you know, their house was poor. There was no rugs on the floor of any type. A table cloth. Red-checkered table cloth on the table. A little old stove over there in the corner and there was a fire in it. And that woman put some milk in a pan and heated it and brought it over to me.

And, you know, I'm hungry. I don't have any manners. I forgot how to act. I forgot a lot of things in twenty-two years.

And I grabbed that glass of milk before she ever set it down. And I gobbled it down. I'm so hungry. I felt like I'm going stark mad. And I took it instantly. And the moment it touched my stomach, of course, I couldn't retain it. I lost it. I haven't had any whole milk in twenty-two years. You can understand why I couldn't take it.

And she knew what to do. She went out into the kitchen and she heated some water - or rather over to the stove - and heated some water. And, bless her heart, she put sugar in that water and brought it over to me. And she sat down and gave it to me from a spoon.

I took every bit of it. Oh, it was good. It was nourishing. And then the daddy walked over by me and he said, "Now tell us who you are and where you come from."

I began to cry. I was scared then. I said, "I run away from the convent and I'm not going back."

And he said, "What happened to you?" My hand was laying up on the table.

And I said, "Well, I tried to get over the gate and I fell and I'm hurt."

And, you know, he said, "We'll have to call a doctor."

And, bless your sweet life, then I really became hysterical. I got up from the table. I was going to run back outside and they wouldn't let me.

He said, "Wait a minute. We're not going to hurt you. You're hurt. You'll have to have help.

I said, "I don't have any money and I don't have any people. And I can't pay a doctor bill."

Of course, I was just in a terrible mess, if you want to know it. And that man said to me, "I'm going after a doctor." He said, "And he's not a Roman Catholic. Neither am I."

And that dear man didn't have a car, but he hitched up a horse and buggy. And he drove nine miles to get a doctor. The doctor came out in his car. And when he got out to the place - he got there ahead of the man. And when the doctor walked in and walked around me. He just kept walking around and he was swearing. Maybe he didn't realize it was a terrible effect on me.

When he stopped and looked at me... of course he was mad. He was mad. Why was he mad? He was mad because he was looking at something that was supposed to be a human being. And I didn't even look up to him, being I was in such a horrible condition.

So finally he calmed down and he came over to me and said, "I'll have to take you over to the Hospital tonight."

Oh, I became hysterical. I said, "I don't want to go. Please don't make me go."

And then he sat down carefully and took my hand. And he began to say, "I'm not going to hurt you. You have to have help. And I want to help you."

That doctor took me into the hospital that night and that's how I learned how much I weighed. He weighed me and I weighed exactly eighty-nine pounds. I weigh a hundred and seventy-eight right now.

And then, you know, he took me into surgery. And, of course, they tried to get the swelling and the inflammation out of my hand that they might do something for me. It took about twelve - thirteen - days.

And then, of course, by this time is started to knit, and they had to break it over again and put it in a cast. I did a lot of suffering.

Well, you know, one day, a way was made for me to be released from the hospital. Who did they release me to? I begged to go out with those old people to stay with them. And they let me go, because they'd been good to me and I trusted them.

And the doctor wanted to take me out to his home. I was in that hospital three and a half months. And they took me out there for a period of time. And then one day this same doctor, he

And of course I was believing her.

Do you know what I'd do every night? I'd go home from church with that woman. I'd say, "You go to bed, but let me go to the basement." I'd lay my Bible down on a chair, and there I challenged God. And I'd say, "God, did you hear what the preacher said? Did you hear it, God?" And then I'd throw out everything I could remember that the preacher said.

I said, "God, you heard every word, didn't you, now, if you're God? And the Bible is the Word of God. And God you're real. I want what those people have. But if you're not God, and the Word of God is not your Word, then, God, please don't give to me what those people have."

Let me tell you, I challenged God. I put Him to a test. God will not give you anything that's not of God. Don't you worry.

And every night I continued to do that - four or five nights - and I didn't eat either. I couldn't sleep. And I've lost my appetite. And I was losing a lot of weight. It was terrific.

But, you know, one night, I come back to church. And out of the clear blue sky, right in the middle of that man's service, I just got out of my seat. And with both hands up in the air I come running right straight down an aisle like this and I fell in that altar and I cried out, "My God, forgive me for all my sins." I was a sinner.

I mean, God met me there! Praise His wonderful name! There was a pool of water on that floor. I was sorry for everything that I did in the convent. I stole potato peelings. I stole bread. I told lies. I called the Mother Superior names under my breath. And I want you to know that God met me down there and He forgave me of every sin there was in my life. And how I thank and praise Him for it. Praise His wonderful name.

God's been very good to me. Very good to me.

May I say to you, God means more to me than all the material wealth you have in this city. I'd rather have Jesus than anything you might have, because I've found Him to be the best friend that I've ever known. I can tell Him anything I want to tell Him, and he won't call you up and tell you what I told Him. I can sit at His feet and tell Him, every day of my life, "Jesus, I love you. Jesus, I love you." And every secret of my heart I can pour out to Him, and I don't worry about Him calling you up and telling you what I told Him.

He's the best friend you'll ever have. He's able to save you. He's able to deliver you. He's able to loose you from the things of this world. Set you free to know Him. Praise His name.

I have a wonderful God. I love Him--supremely. I'd rather have Jesus than anything that you might have. God is real in my life. Really wonderful. My God delivered me out of the convent.

Pray for me. I need much prayer. I'll be going places where it's predominantly Roman Catholic. I'll have to suffer much, but I'm willing to suffer for Jesus that I might tell someone about Him. And give my testimony of a dear little Nun that girls might be spared from convents. So, pray for me, won't you.

God bless you.

Charlotte Wells