From Under the Porch to the Pulpit

By Curtis Varnado

Some statistics show abusive parents are results of abuse.
NOT TRUE!

Having a mother that wanted nothing to do with me and fighting the dogs for scraps under the porch, put a burning desire of survival and determination in me.

My abusive foster parents said I would not amount to anything because I was
dumb and stupid.

Determined to prove them wrong, I became a certified welder, pipe fitter, crane operator, fabricator, and mechanic.

Little did they know I would be an ordained minister and pastor two churches. Hold tent revivals, and home bible studies with life changing results.

This world owes me nothing. My resolve and determination is still going strong.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 8, 2011
• ISBN: 9781469124285

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Copyright © 2011 by Curtis Varnado.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form

or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any

information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the

copyright owner.

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CONTENTS

FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Dedication

To my loving wife, Carolyn Varnado, who believed in me and my dreams. Her suggestion and support to write my life’s story gave me the desire to make this possible.

FOREWORD

Every now and then God allows you to meet someone that has overcome great odds in life and has remained a wonderful individual. Rev. Curtis Varnado is such a person. He did not allow the misfortunes of life to make him a bitter or angry person; instead he allowed them to become stepping stones that God could use to elevate him in the Kingdom of God!

From Under the Porch to the Pulpit, Rev. Varnado shares with us his life’s story. As you read this fascinating book you will gasp at some of the things he went through, and then marvel at how he overcome them with the Lord’s help. His story reminds me of the one of Joseph. Joseph went from being incarcerated in a dungeon to becoming director and diplomat over all of Egypt. Joseph’s story is one of the elevation and he was elevated in life mainly because of two reasons. He kept a good positive attitude and he found great favor with God! Rev. Varnado has done the same. He has kept a good positive attitude throughout his life and has found great favor with God! Because of it, God has elevated him from his very own pits of life. He has gone from living under a porch to preaching behind pulpits!

While reading this book you will be reminded that God can use anyone regardless of their culture, nationality, upbringing, and whether they are rich or poor. All you have to have is a heart turned toward God and a desire to live for Him. Rev. Varnado had that desire to live and serve God therefore God decided to use him by calling him into a full time ministry as pastor of a church! Now, he helps others by pulling them from their pits of life!

—Rev. Billy Trusley

Pastor and Presbyter, LA Dist UPCI

INTRODUCTION

Being a child, you do not choose how things happen, but you can break the chains that bind you. Many say if you were abused, you will be an abuser. I’m telling my story so that you will know that I did not become a part of the statistics. If you have the will and desire, God will help you change the direction of your life even when bad things happen to good people.

With the traumatic events of my early childhood, I endeavored to confirm my memories and nightmares. In doing the research of my life’s story, I have had restless nights of reliving my childhood, but I pray it will help someone understand how God can keep His hand on you no matter what your circumstances. You do not have to become a product of your environment.

CHAPTER ONE

In nineteen forty two it was a dark year for America. The newspapers were full of talk about World War II drafts and about the sixty five people that were killed by tornados in the state of Mississippi. If the news and weather were an indication of how my life would be I should have been well warned.

On March fifteenth, The rain was falling like tears on the ground. A young woman began to cry out in pain. Her mother and stepfather heard her cry and knew it was about time to get things prepared. Running in the rain, just a short way up the road the midwife was summoned to the house. They got to the room just in time to deliver her third child, a healthy baby boy.

For most mothers, this would have been a joyous time. Not this mother. She wanted to escape the reality of responsibility and live her own life. She started make plans to leave.

The woman’s father heard the baby crying and came in the room. Finding the baby laying alone on the bed. The mother had fled out the window barefooted into the wet and