Testimony of Mrs. Mary Dempster
This is the testimony of Mrs. Mary Dempster that she put together on the 9th of January 2002. I believe at the time she realized that she was beginning to lose her memory and wanted to record the events of her life as it related to her relationship to God and his son the Lord Jesus Christ.
I was raised by Joseph and Sarah Graham, both God fearing parents that raised me in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. My mother told me that I was the answer to their prayers. I was the first of six children and was the only girl. My brothers’ John and Herbie are still with me. My brothers Freddie, Matthew and Joseph have since departed this world.
When we were young children my father always took us to church and to Sunday School. He also taught us the old hymns of the faith. We attended St. Stephen’s Church of Ireland School for our education and in addition we received many years of religious instruction, learning and memorizing the creed and prayers and many, many bible verses. My parents had two pictures in our home with the following written under them: “what is a home without a mother,” and “do nothing you would not like to be doing when Jesus comes.” “Go to no place you would not like to be found when Jesus comes.”
Although I attended church, Sunday School, and was confirmed by the bishop in St. Stephens church, when I was 15 years old, I did not know the meaning of salvation until I was seventeen years old. It was through the witness and prayers of a dear girl friend I worked with, Nellie Bull, I was saved. (Nellie married Billy Parkinson and died of cancer at a young age.) Through her witness and prayers, I attended a watch night service in January 1934, at a Methodist church. The pastor spoke of an old proverb “the mill cannot grind with the water that is past.” After that I watched a movie about the story of Barabbas. He knelt at the foot of the cross and said, “He gave his life for me, I give my life to him. That night, Jesus saved me and I gave my live to him. I asked the saviour to forgive my sins and come into my heart and take over my life. God’s peace came into my heart and has been there ever since. Do you have that peace of God that passes all understanding? Jesus said; let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. After Jesus saved me, I joined the church, where we had a great young people’s group. I joined the choir and the Christian Endeavour. We had a wonderful pastor, James Finley and when he left we had Pastor Henry.
In my teen years I had good times. I played the violin and was second fiddle in the orchestra at the YMCA and co operative. I also had a few boyfriends, but nothing serious. When the war started every one was joining the services. I thought I would train to become a nurse, however after one month of training at Foster Green Hospital, I left as I didn’t have the energy to stay on my feet for so many hours a day. So I left nursing and I joined the National Fire Service. I really enjoyed my work there. I was an occurrence clerk and a mobilizing officer. It was at the fire service that I met the love of my life, Sam Dempster. Some of the other guys used to ask me out, however I put them off because they weren’t Christians. Sam told me afterwards, that I went out with him because he was a Christian and he felt he would have a better chance.
My girlfriends said “May, you are too hard to please, you will be an old maid, but I told them I wanted the Lord to guide my life.” Well I met Sam in the fire service; we were in the same post. Then I was transferred to Donegall road station. One day when I was late for parade, I met Sam as he was going to church. He invited me to his friend David Forbes city mission party on Christmas night. I was on duty but got the time off. That was my first date with Sam - at church. For you single ladies out there, this is the best place to meet men. We were married on September 3rd, after that, honey mooning at the “Eagles Nest”, in Bray, Southern Ireland.
After the war we left the National Fires Service and Sam who was a professional soccer player at the time, felt the call of God to the ministry, to preach the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. We both enrolled in Belfast Bible College and spent time there studying and learning the word of God. Our first child Samuel Jr. was born in the second year of our marriage, while in Belfast.
Then it happened, we received a call to go to Canada and to pastor a church in Melita Manitoba. It was a Presbyterian church. Sam being a Baptist was convicted that he had to leave that church because he could not baptize babies and adult unbelievers that wanted to join the church. So we moved to the Baptist church in Emerson, Manitoba and were there for some time. While Sam was there he hurt his back and was in the hospital in Winnipeg for three weeks. At the same time we had the Red River flood. I moved back to Melita for about two weeks. Our daughter Marie was born in Melita.
They removed a disk from Sam’s back but did not fuse it. While in the hospital Sam received the Gospel Witness magazine and decided to go to Toronto Baptist seminary. As a result we moved to Delhi, Ontario. Sam started a Baptist church in Delhi, which is still there today. Our sons Stephen and Jonathan were born while we were at Delhi. While at seminary Dr. T.T. Shields and Dr. Slade asked Sam to start a church in Kingston, Ontario.
When we came to Kingston we were introduced to Lloyd and Joyce Campbell who helped establish the work of the Lord here. Our first service was at the Liberal Hall. Sam had knocked on 1000 doors the week before and when we opened the doors we had a grandmother, Mrs. Armstrong and she had her two grand children John and Chris Armstrong with her. We eventually moved from the Liberal Hall to the Orange Hall. The word of the Lord was proclaimed and did not return unto him void. Many, many people came to know the Lord under the preaching of the glorious gospel. We went out with three old buses and picked the children up for Sunday School and church. We had over 350 coming to Sunday School and church, so we felt that the Lord wanted us to put up our own building.
The land that the church was sitting on came up for sale and we borrowed the money to purchase the property. We then sold church bonds, raising enough money to put the building up. In September, 1957, the church began to support missionaries. We started the Women’s Missionary Fellowship, and supported Pastor Hertubise in Québec, Phyllis Crosbie; in Nigeria, Ivor and Ruth Greenslade in Argentina and Pastor Bill Spinks in Spain.
At the grand opening of the new church building we were blessed with the preaching of Dr. Robert McCall. Over the years the church grew and many of the members were promoted to glory, and are now with the Lord. Our first member, Mrs. Armstrong departed. One of my favorite students, John Parker was killed in a plane crash when he was going to Queens University. Doris Stewart went to be with the Lord shortly after Sam arrived. Sissy and George Hyslop are also in glory. So many of my brothers and sister are already in glory. I am looking forward to seeing them all again. What a great Saviour we have.
I thank my God and I take courage. God has been so good to me. He holds my hand and helps me stand. God is so good! My husband always put the Lord first. What a blessing the Lord was to him and what a blessing he was to me.
Before Sam retired the church building was paid off and we were so thankful for that. Our current Pastor is Peter Ryterssguard. The building has been enlarged. My prayer is that the enlarged building will be instrumental in bringing many, many more people to trust my Saviour and grow in the grace and knowledge of his love.
At this time (2010) Mary Dempster, who is in her ninty third (93) year, is suffering from dementia and is in a nursing home in the Kingston area. When you speak of the church and its head, Jesus Christ, her eyes brighten and a smile comes to her face. She is still able to quote volumes of scripture from memory and sing the old hymns of the faith. Recently she listened to a sermon/service preached by her husband, Sermon # 78 - titled, ”The Dynamics of Christ on the Road To Damascus”. After listening intently to the entire service, I asked her what she thought. Her reply was, ” it was wonderful, it was just like walking with the Lord.”
John Dempster