Exploits: Those That Know Their God Shall Be Strong And Do Exploits

By Bill Baxley

Though his life began as a confusing downward spiral, God quickly grabbed hold of Bill Baxley, intent on using this changed life for his ultimate glory. In Exploits, a travel diary of thirty years of overseas missions, Bill Baxley shares his out-of-this-world journey filled with supernatural healings, countless Christian conversions, and worldwide adventures seeking the religiously hostile for Christ. Bill and his comrades travel from the safety of their homes in California to the wilds of the Philippines, India, and Pakistan. These foreign lands offer them life-threatening situations where Hindus burn their tent and severely beat partnering pastors, food is scarce, and sanitary conditions are substantially lacking. Join Bill Baxley on his exciting expedition of reaching the lost for Christ, where there is never a dull moment, and you'll be on the next plane to share your story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 21, 2024
• ISBN: 9798890430274

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Exploits

Those That Know Their God Shall Be Strong And Do Exploits

Bill Baxley

ISBN 979-8-89043-026-7 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-89043-027-4 (digital)

Copyright © 2024 by Bill Baxley

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1

The Call

Chapter 2

My Life of Adversity Begins

Chapter 3

My Faith-Building Years

Chapter 4

My Call to the Mission Field

Chapter 5

My First Crusades

Chapter 6

Back at Home

Chapter 7

Evangelization of the Philippines

Chapter 8

Being Judged

Chapter 9

Roxas

Chapter 10

Bicol

Chapter 11

Healing and Baptizing

Chapter 12

Romblon

Chapter 13

India

Chapter 14

Back in India

Chapter 15

Pakistan

Chapter 16

Pakistan Revisited

Chapter 17

Pakistan for the Final Time

Chapter 18

Influence Elsewhere

About the Author

Endorsements

Them that honor me, I will honor (1 Samuel 2:30). Brother Baxley's life has been a fulfillment of this promise of God. Since I met him many years ago to this present time, he has hungered after the Lord, thirsted for His presence, and walked in His righteousness. God has honored him with a vision for the lost, a compassion for the sick and hurting, and an anointing of power to represent Christ to the nations. This book is a witness of what God will do through the life of a person who honors Him.

Arlon Tilley

Founding Pastor

Faith Assembly

Redding, California

It has been my privilege to share with Bill the joys and struggles that come with taking the gospel around the globe. Together we have been to the Philippines, China, and Romania, and I have seen firsthand many of the healing and miracles Bill writes about in this book. As Bill's friend and pastor, I am pleased to endorse this book.

Pastor Rick Hoskins

House of Prayer Family Fellowship

Garden Valley, California

Those that know their God shall be strong and do exploits.

—Daniel 2:32

Preface

This is the true story of missionary evangelist Bill Baxley—his trials and tests; his wife's struggle with multiple sclerosis; his never-ending desire to know the Lord, not only as Savior, but as Lord and Master of his life; and his desire to know God as Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:10, That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death. He has learned the incredible cost of discipleship but has received the rewards of seeing countless thousands saved, healed, and set free, all because he was willing to be broken and molded into God's image to be a vessel that the river of life could flow through.

The proceeds of this book, if any, shall never be used for private gain.

Acknowledgments

I want to dedicate this story of my life, first of all, to Jamie Baxley, my wife. Through all the years, she has been faithful to stand beside me, never complaining even though her lot was to be home taking care of the children. Many times, she never knew whether she would see me alive again. Also, she has never complained throughout her endless struggle with multiple sclerosis. I also want to dedicate this story to my mother. Her faith through all the years was so incredible. Never once in my lifetime did I ever see my mother's faith fail.

Pastor Reverend Arlon Tilley also instilled in me the Word of God that gave me the courage to take this gospel around the world; and Missionary Albert Melrose led me to the Philippines and instilled in me the vision to reach the poor, the suffering, and the lost.

I also want to give special thanks to my pastor, Rick Hoskins. For more than twenty years he traveled with me to the Philippines, sharing the gospel. What a great brother and friend he has been to me. Reverend Marty Hooper was also a very important part of my ministry team to the Philippines, India, and Pakistan. Also, special thanks to Anna Groves. Without her assistance, this book could never have been written.

Chapter 1

The Call

As I begin my life story, I want to start by sharing what happened in my life before I was ever born. I was to be the seventh child of my mother. My mother had an incredibly hard life with my father, but she loved him too much to ever leave him. When my father found out my mother was pregnant with me, he was furious. All of us loved our dad, but so many times he was extremely cruel to my mother. He told my mother he was going to have me aborted. The Bible says in Jeremiah 1:5, He knew us before we were ever formed in our mother's womb. My dad was determined to have me aborted. He took my mother to a dimly lighted room in a back alley in Westwood, California. My mother was praying desperately to God to not let this happen. We don't know if the man was a legal doctor or not, but Dad had agreed to pay him $50. They strapped my mother to a table, and the doctor told my mother there was only a fifty-fifty chance she would survive. Just as he was ready to abort me, knife in hand, God spoke to my mother and said, He can't be aborted. He is a chosen vessel to me. At that point, my mother said a powerful force picked her up off the table, breaking the cords that had her strapped down. It picked her up and thrust her out the door. My dad could not stop it. My eldest sister was waiting in the car, along with my other siblings. My dad was so angry, he hit my mother in front of my sister and brothers, but he never tried to abort me again. I am here only because of a praying mother and God's amazing grace. I was born on June 20, 1941, in that town of Westwood.

I knew from an early age that God had called me to his service. I remember when I was just a little boy, I used to love to listen to my sister tell stories about heaven. We moved from Sutter Creek, California, to Sacramento, where I went to an incredible church. My dad never wanted to take my mother to church. He would get mad at her even when she asked him to drop her off. In spite of this, it was in this church that I first learned how to pray. There would be deacons at the door, and when you would go in, even young boys, you would be ushered into a prayer room where men were on one side and women and young girls on the other, and you would pray before services. It was during those times that I saw and witnessed incredible miracles out front; and many women, called Mothers of Israel, would stay in the back, praying during services. God was healing, delivering, and setting people free. I had the privilege of being born into a church that was on fire for God and where there were great miracles and healings. It was at this time that I had a dream.

God came to me in the night, and he showed me a dream about the end of the world. I never forgot it. It always put great fear in my heart about God, and I wanted to one day go to heaven. My idea was that I would live my life; and then, when I got old, I would become a Christian, just before it was time to die. But it didn't work out that way. I remember as a young teenager, I always thought about God and many things. My mother was always talking to me about going to church and God, but I loved being with the boys and doing things with the other teenagers. At night, when I would be coming home from a party or some other place, I would try to find Christian music on the radio. When I would find a Christian song that had the name of Jesus in it, I would sing the song; but when it came to the name of Jesus, I would just sort of hum along because I just couldn't say his name. I guess it was because I knew how guilty I was, not living for God as a young teenager.

I always loved sports. I played sports my whole life, and my desire was to play baseball. But I ruined my arm playing sports. I married my high school sweetheart at the age of twenty. We were married for just three years, when we separated and divorced. I began drinking heavily because it seemed like everything I wanted in life was gone. I was closing every bar at night.

It was during this time that I watched my father dying of cancer of the spine. He had been a timber faller all of his life. He was an alcoholic and a gambler. He used to gamble away all the money he made. In fact, we were all born very poor. We would have had a lot of money, but my dad would go to the bars and drink. My elder brothers would go to the bars and hope and pray that he would drop a nickel or dime for them to bring home, as this was all the money we would have.

After four major operations on his back, the doctors told him he had cancer of the spine and had a short time to live. My dad realized that the doctors could not help him anymore. He was fifty years old when he went on disability and social security. I was still running from God and closing the bars in Placerville every night. At this time, I had just met Jamie. She was not a Christian, but we fell in love.

My eldest sister called my mother and said, You need to get Dad down to Stockton. There is a tent meeting there, and the evangelist's name is Leroy Jenkins. There is the greatest thing happening there, Mother, that you have ever seen. And you need to try to talk Dad into taking you down there. At this time, my dad knew he was dying of cancer, and he could only sleep about one hour at night on his side. He was taking high-power pain pills. My mother was afraid to ask him if he would take her to church because my dad had always hated church, but when she asked him, he said yes. This was a miracle. My mother could not believe her ears that he was willing to take her to church.

My mom and my dad went that first night down to Stockton, California. My dad was overwhelmed at what he saw. The preacher would call people out of the audience and tell them things that no one knew. It was the gift of the word of knowledge. My mom and dad kept going back every night. The last service was on a Sunday afternoon. My mother was praying to God to please heal my dad. There were about five thousand people at the service. The tent was packed that day, and while my mother was praying this prayer, the preacher turned and looked to my dad who was sitting way back in the audience. He went straight to my dad and asked him to come out to the aisle. My dad stepped out, and the preacher said to him, First of all, I want you to take the Anacin box out of your pocket. The preacher could not have had any idea, but my dad had an Anacin box in his pocket filled with high-power pain pills. Dad gave him the Anacin box. When he took them out, the preacher put them on the ground and smashed them. He said to my dad, Are you ready to accept Jesus as your savior? The preacher told Dad, You know that you don't have long to live. The doctors had just sent him home from Berkeley, California, and told him he didn't have long to live. When the preacher said, Are you ready to accept Jesus? Dad said, Yes, I am. He laid hands on my dad. My dad said it was like a hand went down his spine, and he received a brand-new spine. When he went back to the doctors in Placerville, they couldn't believe