Joe's Testimony
I'll just start with some of the basic facts.
The 3rd of 9 children, I was born to Joseph and Rita Pottle on Sept 21, 1932 in Chelsea, MA. Raised in the Boston area until the age of seventeen. Graduated from Chelsea High School in June of 1950.
The Korean War had began and I enlisted in the US Navy on June 30,1950. I went to the National Training Camp in Great Lakes, IL.,completed my training in September of 1950 and on Sept. 21st (my 18th birthday) was shipped to the US Naval Air Facility in Yokosuka, Japan.
I served at that base until January 12th of 1952, when I transferred to the aircraft carrier USS Essex (CV 9). At 19, I joined in the Korean conflict aboard the Essex for two tours of duty, from January 1952 until July of 1953. Discharged in Seattle, July 24th, 1953.
I returned to Chelsea, MA and worked for American Optical as a maintenance worker until June of '54. It was during this time period that the first of many marvelous blessings came my way.
Unknown to me at the time, God was doing a work in my life that would ultimately lead to my salvation. It began with my meeting the most wonderful person that had ever come into my life, Melzora (Melz) Ryan. It was love at first sight and we married on Oct. 9, 1954.
In June of '54, my future father-in-law, fearing for his daughter's future, decided to give me an opportunity to change my "going-no-where" job for a professional occupation. I accepted his invitation and began my career as an Ironworker. (For those of you who don't know, ironworkers are the men who erect steel structures such as sky scrapers, bridges, towers, power plants, etc. I thoroughly enjoy walking on the "high iron"!
While I was in the military I'd come to the conclusion that people are divided into two groups: those that lead and those that are led. I made up my mind that I wanted to lead. Consequently, during my apprenticeship I went "all out" to learn everything I could about my new trade. I was determined to be one of the best. As a result of my effort, I was made a foreman when I completed my apprenticeship. From that day until I had to retire, I had the privilege of leading men.
On March 28, 1956, the Lord gave us the first of our three boys, Joe Jr. We were living in N. Reading, MA at the time and it was shortly after that the most important event in my whole life took place. At this time in my life I was not a Christian and gave it no thought.
Because of this my wife Melz had tired of my drinking and wild style of life. She grew tired of trying to get me to go to church, so she decided to take control of her own spiritual life and that of our son. I woke up one Sunday morning and she was dressed to go out. Our son was also all dressed. She informed me that she and her son little Joe were going to church. She told me I could stay in that bed until the cows came home, that she had tired of trying to get me to change and she was going to church with her son..
I became angry at what she was doing and, without realizing it my hot temper caused me to do something that changed my life forever! So begrudgingly, I told her to wait until I got dressed and I would go with her. We set off for a church that Melz had heard about in the city of Malden, MA. When we arrived, I had no idea what was going to happen, but God did.
After the worship and praise the Pastor got up to preach and before he started, he looked out over the congregation pointed his finger and spoke spoke to a man in the audience and asked that person if he were a minister and if he were, would he join him on the platform. There was no response and so he repeated his request a second time.
As before there was no response. Then for the third time he pointed and said, "You sir, in the blue suit, are you a pastor?" By this time everyone was wondering who he was talking to. It was then that Melz turned to me and said, "Joe, I think he is talking to you, look around you are the only one I can see with a blue suit on." I didn't believe he was talking to me but when I looked up at him he was looking directly at me and pointing. I gestured to myself and he shook his head yes. I was in a mild form of shock. I spoke out and told him if he was talking to me he was mistaken, I was not a minister.
He then asked me if I was a Christian. I got agitated and asked him why he was speaking to me. He asked me once again if I was a Christian. I told him emphatically that I wasn't. He then asked me if I would like to be one, and invited me to come forward. By this time there was nothing going on in this church except this two-way conversation between this Pastor and myself. The church was absolutely silent.
I didn't know it then but my soul was hanging in the balance. God was dealing with me and none of this was happening by chance. The Pastor repeated the invitation for me to come down to the alter. Today I realize that it was the power of the Holy Spirit convicting me and working in me that caused me to rise up out of my seat, walk down the aisle of a church I had never been in before, all at the invitation of a Pastor who had put his whole service on hold, just to deal with one lost sinner. As I walked down the aisle I spoke to God and told Him that if what was happening to me was real then something had to change within me when I got to the alter or I was out of here never to come back. Praise God, something did happen. Something wonderful! So wonderful that it still is with me, more than 54 years later!
I asked Jesus to forgive me for all my sinning and to come into my life and take charge -and He did. The load was lifted, the guilt was gone and He made a new man out of what stood before Him. He has been my Lord and Savior ever since that momentous Sunday in 1956. Then to add to this awesome event, my darling wife was beside me rededicating her life to Him also. Thus began 54 years of following Jesus. It has not been all sunshine and roses. There have been many ups and downs but through them all I can attest to the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ who has promised that He would never leave us nor forsake us.
Because of our accepting Jesus into our lives, another wonderful thing happened. My father-in-law, Wesley Ryan (Wes), who had been a backslider for thirty years, came back to the Lord. He had an amazing conversion and everyone that knew, knew that he was born again by the life he lived after that. He passed away about a year after his conversion.
Before my conversion, I was working at the Boston Edison Electric power plant, helping to build an addition to the plant. The job was to last five and a half years for me. There where approximately 1000 men of all trades working there. I had served my apprenticeship of two years and was now a foreman with my own crew. I was well known around this huge job site, I fit the description of a tough Ironworker in every way. I drank with the men, gambled with them and was afraid of no one. The men on these types of construction jobs are a tough, in your face kind of men, who only used the name of God for one reason and that was to curse by.
It was into this kind of a situation that I was returning after my meeting the Lord on that remarkable Sunday morning. On Friday I was one of the guys, on Monday I was supposed to be a changed man, a Christian. I say "supposed to be" because, when I arrived on that Monday morning, I didn't know how I was going to handle this whole situation. I decided I would take it slow and easy. So I started to make excuses to all those I knew as to why I didn't want to play cards during the lunch hour with them as I usually did.
One of my roles was to collect the money from the men for the bets that they placed on the numbers racket from the horse races. I had to fake my way out of that also. I didn't go out drinking with the guys after work as I usually did. It wasn't long before they began asking me what was going on" what was wrong with me"
It was at this juncture in my life that I had to make the break, the big decision. I asked myself the question, "Did something really happen on that Sunday morning or was it all some kind of game?" It was a pivotal point for me. Do I confess Christ as my Lord and Savior and move forward, or do I ignore what happened, say nothing, and go back to my old ways? It was a battle and I realize now that it was another battle for my soul. I went home and discussed this with my wife, prayed about it and decided that I had made a decision to follow Jesus and I wasn't going to turn back.
That was a significant turning point in my entire life. It opened the floodgates of Heaven and also the floodgates of Hell. I returned to the job site the next day, determined to let the men know about the change that Christ had made in my life. It was in the change shack where the men gathered to get ready for work that I witnessed to the saving power of Christ and what He meant to me. The mixture of reactions was amazing. It went from, "I don't believe it" to "Your kidding" to outright laughter and ridicule.
From that moment on, I went through one attempt after another by different men to show the others that what I said had happened was not real, that I was no different now than I was before and no better than they where. They did everything they could to intimidate me and embarrass me, to make me get angry, to get me to swear, for I could swear with the worst of them. My crew tried to make me look bad so that I would lose my job. It went on and on for months but through it the Lord was with me. Slowly and begrudgingly, they saw that the changes in my life were real and some even began to respect my stand for Jesus Christ.
I began a new life in Christ Jesus. I endeavored to be a good husband, father, worker, friend, and faithful member of the church I got saved in, Calvary Temple in Malden, MA. The Pastor was Edward Skane, the one who spoke to me in front of his congregation - and I then found out an amazing thing, that we had grown up in the same neighborhood and he remembered me! Our families became good friends. I became very involved in the church as song leader, youth leader, usher and anything else that I could help in. In June of 1958 our second son, Craig Stephen was born and then in December of 1959 Keith Wesley was born. We had a healthy, happy family. A small but nice home, a thoroughbred Collie named Lord Mark, and we were quite content with our lot in life.
After a period of time, I went to New York to help build the World's Fair complex and we lived in Brooklyn for 2yrs and then back to New England to Chelsea, MA, the place of my birth. From there we moved to Malden, MA where I bought a home that we lived in for about 11yrs. At this time we joined the Assembly of God church in Revere, MA called Parkway Assembly of God.
It was at this church that I first started working with the Royal Rangers, the Assembly of God boys' program. I became the Outpost leader and from there to the leadership of the Southern New England District as District Commander. I developed a bond with the men of the district that to this day is one of the highlights of my Christian walk. Eventually, I was invited to join the National Staff of the Royal Rangers program under the leadership of one of the most loved, and respected men I have ever met, Johnnie Barnes. I had the absolute privilege of becoming a personal friend of this wonderful guy.
From local Pow -Wows to the staff of the National Camporamas, then to the staff of NTC, the National Training Camps to train RR leaders and on to the staff of NTT, the National Training Trails. The circle of Christian men who directly influenced my life continued to grow. Men such as Johnnie Barnes, Floyd Larsen, Ollie Dalaba, Sam Mazzola, Bob Larson, Danny Parker, Spike Dodge - and it goes on and on, I could fill pages with the names of these men. The Royal Rangers Program is one of the most wonderful memories in my life time. It also gave me one of my most painful memories, which I choose not to reveal at this time for it is in God's hands.
Around 1972 I moved my family to a beautiful home in Chester, NH where we lived until 1979. It was in the year 1979 that God brought about another momentous change in my life. I was helping to build the Nuclear Power Plant in Seabrook, NH and it was that year that we experienced the worst winter I could recall. Coming home late one night, driving in a blinding blizzard, cold and tired, and then when I got home I was forced to shovel 2ft of snow by hand for a couple of hours because my snow blower had broken down, and I had to get my truck off of the road. It was at this time that I made what I thought was my decision, to make the biggest move we had ever made as a family. That night I talked with Melz about our moving out West to California to get away from the cold and snow and she agreed to it. It is only in hindsight that most of us finally see God's hand involved in everything we do. I guess it has to be that way for we walk by faith not by sight. I now know without a shadow of a doubt that God was directing all that was happening to me and my family.
So - in April of 1979 we packed my pickup and our car and with much trepidation and a sense of adventure and with many admonitions from family and friends the Pottle family headed West for California. I should say that was our plan, our goal. Once again I found out how much God is influenced by our plans. It says in Proverbs 16:9, "A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." Previous to our heading out West our sons Joe and Craig had already left home for the West Coast and both of them ended up in Portland, Oregon. This had a bearing on our final destination for we decided to stop off and see them in Portland before we went on to California. All things were working together to bring about God's will and purpose for our making this move.
Chain of events; Joe went to California, he could not find work and so he headed north and ended up in Portland, OR. Needing a place to live they looked in the local newspapers for an apartment to rent and came across an ad for a live-in manager to manage an apartment complex. He and his wife Robin decided to take a chance. They applied and were hired. They were there just long enough for us to arrive for a visit. They had decided that managing was not for them and had given their notice to quit. We arrived, sat down in their kitchen to catch up on what was happening to them and Joe out of the clear blue sky asked his mother if she would like to stay in Portland and take over his job as manager of the complex. To keep this short, she said, "yes" and that was the beginning of another whole new chapter in our lives.
Melz went on to manage the complex of 175 apartments for eleven years, right up to the time of her going home to be with the Lord. In those eleven years she touched every life that she met with the love of Christ. She transformed that complex and led many to the Lord. As a testimony to the fact that God does direct our coming and our going, I have to record this one particular event that happened the very first week Melz began managing the apartment complex.
The week she began her job was the week the people where to pay their monthly rent. At the end of the week only one tenant had not come to the office to pay. Melz waited another day, this was Friday and when the person didn't show up she decided to go up to the apartment and talk to the person, for they did not have a phone. According to the record book the tenant was a woman who had lived there for a few years. Melz knocked on the apartment door a few times and no one answered. She was about to leave when she heard a muffled voice coming from within the apartment.
She knocked again and heard a faint voice telling her to come in. What she found when she opened the door shocked her. The apartment was dark, all the blinds were drawn shut, there were no lights on, in the darkness she could make out the form of a woman lying on the bed. The smell of the place was nauseating. What my wife walked into was a women dying of cancer and so weak she could not get out of the bed to even go to the bathroom.
From that moment on Melz took care of the woman. She opened the blinds and let the sunlight shine in and she also let the light of God's love shine in. She bathed her, cleaned the apartment and fed her. She immediately began telling her about God's love for her. The woman told her of her worst fear, that of dying in bed, in the dark, all alone. She accepted Christ into her heart and told Melz that for the first time those fears no longer existed and that she finally had peace. The following day, yes the next day, she went home to be with the Lord.
Think about what I just told you. Our God, the Creator of the Universe, saw this one individual, alone, frightened, dying of cancer, with no hope, lying in a filthy bed, in a dark apartment in Portland, OR all alone. What did He do about it? He got a family in Chester, NH; almost 4,000 miles on the other coast to pack their belongings, leave their home and travel across the entire country to Portland, OR for Melz to accept a job that was supernaturally set up for her. This was done so that she could find this suffering, dying individual and show and tell her of the love of God. Because of this another child has gone home and all Heaven rejoiced. That one incident made our 4,000 mi trip worth it all. Gods Love is too great for us to fully comprehend.
In August of 1986 a very traumatic tragedy hit our family. Melz and I had gone away for three days and when we returned home we were met by our son Keith who was waiting for us in our home. He informed us that while we were away our 28yr old son Craig had died. It was sudden and unexpected and the rug was pulled out from under our feet. It is a long story and I won't get into it now. What I will say is this: When we went away our son had not made his peace with God. We had the added weight of thinking that our son was unsaved when he died. That made his death even harder for us to bear.
I have already stated that, "Our God never fails." This is as true a statement as we can make. We did not find out until the next week that a faithful brother, Wendell Burkland, had visited my son and on that day Craig asked him to pray for him. When he did he said Craig got down on his knees and asked God to forgive him of his sins and asked Jesus to come into his heart. Wendell told me that Craig was on his knees for three hours crying out to God. I can rejoice today for God's promises are true and my son is with him today. We sorrow but not as the world sorrows.
While in Portland I decided to start up my own steel erection company with my two sons Joe and Keith. It was 1987 and God blessed us with success and our company grew and prospered. The main reason we prospered was that we had one other partner, His name is God. We got a reputation as an honest, consistent, reliable and trustworthy company, for which I thank God. The company is still going strong today, 2010.
In 1987 I experienced a pain in my chest and my wife took me to the hospital. They thought it important enough to keep me there and check me out. I was put through all the tests and when they were completed I was diagnosed with a deteriorating heart. I was told that I had only 2 to 21/2 yrs to live and that I had to cut down on my activities and try not to exert my heart in anyway. This meant that I had to back off in my business and do less. This was very hard for me for I had put in at this time in my life 33 years in an occupation that I enjoyed. It is very obvious that God was not through with me for it is 2010 and I am still here and my heart is still ticking and will be until He decides it is time for me to go home.
I had one other episode happen in my life that ended up almost life threatening. I began to have headaches that came off and on. they came suddenly and at unexpected times. As the years went by they began to increase in frequency and in intensity. The headaches came consistently and the pain was almost beyond my ability to bear. I saw many doctors over a period of 4yrs and none of them could tell me what was causing this pain in my head.
It got so bad that I just didn't know what to do. Much prayer went up for me but it got consistently worse. One Sunday at church my friend Wendell Burkland came up to me and told me he had a friend who was a brain surgeon and asked if I wanted him to call him and see if he would see me. He did this for me and his friend set a time for me to come to his office. His name was Dr. Brett. After just five minutes in his office he told me what was wrong. I had a rare brain disease. A blood vessel on the top of my brain had moved against the nerve that controlled the left side of my face and as it was beating it was steadily wearing the insulation off of the nerve and that is why the pains came slowly and then progressively worse. Not only did he tell me what was wrong, he informed me that of the doctors that performed this operation he was the one who had performed most of those done in the North West. The following Monday he scheduled me to enter the hospital and to be his first patient of the day.
It was a very serious operation and the chances of something going wrong were very high. He had to go up through the back of my head to the top of my brain with a tiny camera and an artificial piece of insulation and put this insulation around the nerve. Needless to say the operation was a success and in three hours five years of pain was gone. Once again God was merciful and worked out all things for my good. My recovery was just as amazing and was and is a testimony to God's faithfulness.
I firmly believe, without a doubt, that it is a very good thing that we cannot see into the future. If we could, we wouldn't be able to handle it. For another traumatic time was waiting down the road for me. It was to exceed everything that had previously happened in my lifetime.
In 1990 I took my wife Melz on a trip to Japan. We were having a wonderful time. She was enjoying everything we got to do. We were accompanying our Pastor, Allen Hamilton on his speaking tour of the Four Square Church in Japan. One day Melz collapsed while crossing a street and passed out. We took her to a hospital but they could not find out what was wrong. I immediately made reservations to take her home. When we arrived I arranged for her to be admitted to the hospital.
She was tested thoroughly and after the testing the doctor came out and told me of the results. Once again I had the rug pulled out from under my feet. He told me she had cancer and that they gave her only two months to live. When Craig died I thought I was climbing a very large hill, now I felt like I was climbing a mountain. It was very hard not to cry out against God and ask Him why. Then to make matters worse, even with all the prayers for her, Melz went home to be with the Lord in only six weeks.
MELZ
On this earth she was my life, the most wonderful gift God had given me and now she was gone. I have to say it took some time for me to come out of this one. The words that where given to me from the Lord where simply, "Trust Me." That is what I had to do. Not question, but trust. Not try to understand, trust. I can now look back again with perfect hindsight and see so much more clearly. God gave me 36 wonderful years with a wonderful woman and 36 years of beautiful memories. I know of many men who have memories to live with of an unfaithful wife. I have only good memories and I know she is with her Lord and with her son Craig and one day I will see here again.
After all that has happened, I can say with uplifted head that I am a blessed man. God has been so good to me and He wasn't going to stop. One day, in a way that I will tell to any that asks, God brought another jewel into my life. Her name is Vondelae, we call her Voni. She was on the staff of the church I was attending. I never really noticed her before but one day that all changed. A chance meeting in the churches Administration building and on an impulse and on the spur of the moment I invite her to go to dinner with me. I hadn’t gone out to eat since Melz went home. She shyly accepted my invitation. We had a wonderful dinner overlooking the Willamette River, a very pleasant conversation, and a relationship that neither of us expected had begun.
We saw each other more and more and before we knew it we were both hooked and not on phonics. One day I asked and she said yes and on May 17, 1991 we took the plunge and have not looked back. It has been 19 wonderful years with a wonderful woman and I am thankful to my God for His faithfulness. God has given me two beautiful Jewels in one lifetime.
VONI (Vondelae)
Voni had been a missionary for twenty years in the nation of Brazil. Because of this I studied and became a minister in the Four Square International Church. The Lord then opened a ministry for us to be Missionaries in Brazil and for these last 18 years we have been going to Brazil to teach the Word of God and God has been blessing in so many ways. We are thrilled at the open doors and the lives we have touched for Him. We have traveled all over Brazil and I have met so many of Voni's friends plus the new ones we both have made.
Since we married we have made another big move. God saw fit to have us move back across the country to the state of Florida. We are planning on continuing our ministry in Brazil as long as the Lord keeps us healthy. As for my heart condition, I have had to have a Defibrillator placed in my chest to watch over my heart but it is the Lord who counts my days and it is in Him that I have placed my trust.
In 2001 we sold everything we owned and moved to Brazil to live full time. We know reside in a beautiful city on the North East coast of Brazil called Natal. We are looking with much interest at the days that lie ahead. The world is expecting something special to happen. They don’t know what that is no one knows except our God. We know we are living in perilous times and we know the end is near, very near and we also know this, our God is still on His throne. He has set a time for His Son to return. I have lived for Him for 54 years and I am not about to turn back now. It's almost over and I intend to be part of that great heavenly celebration that is soon to take place.
Voni and I are proof that God does not have a pasture set up for His older Saints to while away the remaining years of their lives in a rocking chair. We are both 77yrs old and me with a defective heart and we are still going 7 days a week and will be until the Lord calls us home or Jesus returns. We are expecting it to be the later – All Praise To Our Wonderful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If I have to go before He returns I want my legacy to be, "He loved God and he was a faithful man of God."
