Barbara Ann: The Story of Life,Love and Faith

By Barbara Ann Campbell

Have you ever noticed how the word ambulance is written backwards on the front of the emergency vehicle? The reason is so that when you sit in your car and look behind you in your mirror you can read it and know that help and hope is on the way for some one who is hurting or in need of help.

In life sometimes as we sit and look behind us we can see many things unfold that have happened. As Barbara Ann sat and thought about the events that have happened in her life she realized how many things she experienced, some tragic, some sad, many happy, and some can only be explained by just two words, faith and miracles.

The same way that an ambulance is a sign of help on the way, the story in this book is bringing help and hope for many people. Not just hurting people, or people with no hope, but people who have questions about where and how to find peace, or people who just need encouragement.

Barbara Ann has shared her life story in hundreds of churches and meetings, across this country. The people laugh and they cry through out the story, but they always get encouraged, and come away with a new and uplifted view of life. It is a story about her life, and events in it, her love expressed in the family, and her faith tested to the limits. The one Goal she has with this book is to let people know that God is good, all the time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 4, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477293669

Book preview

Barbara Ann

My story of life, love and faith

Barbara Campbell

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AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2012 by Barbara Campbell. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 12/27/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4772-9365-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-9366-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012922222

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Foreword

Chapter One Simply Me

Chapter Two I Will Never Leave Thee

Chapter Three Tim, Our Third Son

Chapter Four A Baby No One Wanted

Chapter Five A Change of Jobs

Chapter Six A Wrong Number Saved a Life

Chapter Seven Three More Sons

Chapter Eight Home Schooling 101

Chapter Nine Natalie

Chapter Ten What a Surprise!

Chapter Eleven Your God Healed You

Chapter Twelve Why do I feel so sad?

Chapter Thirteen Me, Prideful?

Chapter Fourteen Support, Service, Souls, and The Mission

Chapter Fifteen Fifty, Going Down Hill Fast

Chapter Sixteen Prison

Chapter Seventeen Three Weddings

Chapter Eighteen A Miracle

Chapter Nineteen Barbara Ann

Foreword

In February of 2013 my wife Barb and I will celebrate our fortieth wedding anniversary. For the past fifteen years we’ve traveled across the United States, as Christian missionaries. She has a way of holding the interest of a group, both men and women, as she shares a truly powerful testimony about her faith and our life together. Rather than lift herself up, she always points others to Christ and His grace. Her life’s verse is 1Thessalonians 5:18 In everything give thanks:

To date Barb is a three-time cancer survivor who has endured radiation therapy twice. During the first twenty years of marriage she battled the looming threat of this dread disease while raising and determinedly home schooling our ten children (five natural and five adopted, all grown now and yes successful.)

Often after sharing her testimony, people ask about buying her book. When she tells them she has not written one, they invariably and disappointedly inquire, Why not? In our discussions she would voice reluctance to take on such a challenge.

Besieged by continued requests for her life’s story, encouraged by family, myself, and others Barb finally admitted sharing God’s goodness and grace to us over the years could prove beneficial to others. I advised her to write from the heart; tell people about the amazing things God has done in her life and within our family. She would agree, start to write, only to lay it aside for months, lose interest and quit. We talked; we prayed over whether or not it was needful for her to do this.

Overwhelmed with uncertainty Barb was ready to abandon this project when God led her to; Job 19:23 Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! 24 That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever! 25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: Finally she found motivation and her answer!

I hope this book brings hope to everyone who reads it. I pray you find, as we have, Christ and His peace in whatever circumstance that may come your way because it’s true; God is good all the time!

Jeff

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This book is dedicated to

the memory of my dear Dad,

George L. Syms

Chapter One

Simply Me

I grew up in Pennsylvania with my two wonderful parents, George and Natalie, and my five siblings, George, Steve, Bonnie, David and Billy. I always thought of my dad as a war hero. He received the Silver Star while serving in the Army during the Korean War. Dad taught us about our country, its history, how to be patriotic, and appreciate the freedom prevalent in a country blessed by God. Even now, no one has to tell us it is Flag Day; our flags are always flying. Every time I listen to the Star Spangled Banner I get teary-eyed. My mother was a good mom. She baked everyday and as a young girl I loved the aroma of the fresh baked chocolate cupcakes as I walked along the sidewalk leading home. Mom kept our house and saw to it that we were neat and clean whether it was for school or church. She truly knew how to be a mom.

Mom and Dad taught all six of us right from wrong, about the Lord, and the importance of doing everything to the best of our ability. As a teenager, I was intelligent, but as most teenagers tend to do, I made many poor decisions. I was happy with my family life and thoroughly enjoyed school, yet something always seemed to be missing; I felt incomplete when I was as young as four or five, sitting in Sunday school class looking up at the windows that reached from floor to ceiling. As sunlight poured through the beautiful stained-glass, I would think, God I know you’re there, I just can’t find you.

My dad was employed by TWA airlines, he worked outside in the ice and snow, and he wanted a change of working conditions and scenery. In November of 1968, when I was fourteen we moved to South Florida. Very soon after the move my parents bought a restaurant and went in business for themselves. My brother George and I worked alongside of our parents and learned the business. Each day after school I would walk to our store, a few blocks away, and worked until we closed.

At age eighteen I met a guy named Jeff. He would come by our restaurant at the end of the day, help me clean up, and then follow me home so I could freshen up. Then we would head out to get something to eat. Jeff drove a blazing fast 1961 Corvette that rattled windows of the houses as it flew down the street toward my house. He had long, shiny, dark brown hair that he tucked behind his ears. I loved his rugged masculinity, however my parents were somewhat unsure of him because of his rough exterior. In time we would all learn to see past this exterior to the heart of gold that lay beneath.

After about two weeks of seeing each other, one night we were sitting on lawn chairs in my parent’s front yard talking. Jeff asked me a question, Barb, I know you go to church, but are you saved? I wasn’t sure what he meant. So, as kind as he could be, Jeff, at nineteen years old, explained the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to me. My heart broke as Jeff told me about my sin and how much I needed a Savior. Jeff prayed the Sinners’ Prayer with me. That night a void that had been in my heart was filled, a void that, in the past, I had tried to fill with drugs and alcohol when all I really needed was Jesus Christ. I confided in Jeff the details of my past, and I thought at that point it was possible that he would no longer want to be around me. Much to my delight, Jeff and I kept dating and one night he asked me a very important question, Will you marry me? Jeff was a tall, thin, good-looking guy, and had such a sweet spirit. Of course I said, Yes! At the time poor Jeff didn’t know I had a very angry spirit, something he would later help me conquer.

I was from a large family and I always wanted a house full of children when I married. My parents never talked about planning their family. God gave them six children and they took the best care of us they could. People would ask Jeff after we were married how many children we wanted; Jeff jokingly would say ten or twelve. Jeff actually did want a large family, what a nice surprise. We were married in February of 1973, and in a couple of months I found out I was expecting our first baby. One month before our first wedding anniversary we had a baby boy, Jeffery. It was a good thing that Jeffery was a happy, easy baby, because, when I went back to the doctor for my six-week checkup, the doctor asked, Could you be pregnant? I answered, Yes. I went home with tears in my eyes, not knowing what Jeff might say; well, I had to tell him. Jeff’s actual response was, I kind of had a feeling before you left for your appointment that you were going to have another baby. That he already sort of knew made it much easier. Next it was time to tell the family! I almost lost the baby, on the fourth of July, but God was gracious and a few months later I had a tiny baby boy, Richard (Now one of our biggest sons!) One year after the birth of Richard, I was twenty-one years old, and expecting again, but right away the doctors knew something was wrong. I normally gain considerable weight during my pregnancy, but this time I began to lose weight. My obstetrician sent me to other doctors, specialists and surgeons. They ran test after test but couldn’t diagnose the problem. My energy was gone. In Florida at this time there was a moratorium on building, so Jeff was out of work for a while, and thankfully able to be home to help out. Who knew but God that I was going to need him so desperately. Jeff was a wonderful husband, and took great care of our baby boys, while I slept. In my seventh month of pregnancy Jeff was helping me out of bed when he realized something was wrong with my body. He felt right above my left rib, and found a lump. He told me he was going to call my doctor and schedule an appointment. The doctor told him to bring me right to his office. As soon as the doctor saw the size and shape of the lump he wasted no time sending me to a surgeon.

A few days later I was in the surgeons’ office. He was a very kindhearted man, and very thoughtfully explained my condition and how it would be treated. The first thing he did was try to aspirate the lump, nothing happened. The doctor’s suggestion was to go the next day to ambulatory surgery center and have the lump removed, we agreed. The very next day I was prepped for surgery, the doctor said it would probably take about fifteen minutes. An hour went by as he removed the lump from the lower quadrant of my breast, I felt faint as he placed it into my hand. He looked very grim, as he said, I can tell by the way this tumor looks, it’s cancerous. He quickly took the tumor from my hand and left, leaving another surgeon to close the incision.

Jeff and I quieted and in shock headed to my parents’ house to tell them our heart breaking news. My mother was watching the boys for us while we went to the