BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

“When I told Mama about the electricity, she explained that I felt the power of the Holy Spirit. That started my journey of getting to know God as my Father. I was raised in that atmosphere and among the giants of faith. How could I have gone from that to this?” Healing the Sick In 1974, Bonnie met Auston O’Neill, who had grown up in the Baptist church. He sat on the bench next to his mother while she played the piano. When he was 8, Auston accepted Jesus as his Savior. His dad, a baseball player, was invited to play for the New York Yankees. The following Sunday, he went to church and accepted Jesus. Afterward, he turned down an offer from the Yankees and left baseball. While Auston sang in the choir, and later became choir director, his dad dedicated his life to serving the Lord. After Auston received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, he and Bonnie joined a church that taught on the gifts of the Spirit. Auston’s mother said, “This is just a fad. They’ll get over it.” However, it became known around town that when Auston and Bonnie laid hands on the sick, they got well and left the hospital. Before long, Auston’s mother would say, “Sister so-and-so is in the hospital. Why don’t you go pray for her?” Later, she would call and say, “Brother so-and-so is in the hospital. Would you go pray for him?” Each time they prayed for the sick, they recovered. While still dating, in 1975, Auston and Bonnie had heard about Kenneth and Gloria Copeland. They began what would become a lifelong habit of soaking up the teachings from KCM, starting with attending KCM meetings in places like Washington, D.C.; Pittsburgh; and North Carolina. The House The couple married in 1976. That same year, they became Partners with Kenneth Copeland Ministries. Together, they made a commitment to the Lord: “If we see something in Your Word, we’ll do it.” When they learned about tithing, they acted on it. When they read about deliverance, they got people delivered. More than anything, they learned to live by faith. “We heard Kenneth tell the story of his children believing for a boat,” Auston recalls. “They wrote a petition to God and put it on the refrigerator, thanking God for their boat every time they passed it. We figured if those kids could get their boat, we could believe for a house. “We wrote a petition to God, which we posted on our refrigerator,” Bonnie recalls. “We thanked Him for our house every time we passed the petition and many other times a day. We met a Christian realtor and told her what we wanted. She said she had no idea how we could get it. The only way she saw was if God opened doors.” One evening around 9 or 10, Auston and Bonnie were out looking at houses for sale when Auston saw a man step out of his car. “The Lord told me to talk to him,” Auston recalls. “I said to our realtor who was driving, ‘Stop the car! God wants me to talk to that man!’ “‘That house isn’t even for sale,’ our realtor said. ‘Besides, it’s too late at night.’ But she stopped the car and we jumped out.” Auston and Bonnie walked over to the man and said, “Is your house for sale?” “Wow,” he replied, “I’m getting ready to put it on the market.” The realtor got out of the car and the three of them went inside the house. It was everything they had asked God for in their petition. “Can we write a contract on it?” Bonnie asked. “And would you consider a delayed settlement?” “At this point,” the man replied, “I’d consider anything.” The man agreed to a contract that stipulated Auston and Bonnie would make monthly payments, and that a certain amount of that money would go into escrow. At the end of one year, that money would go toward the purchase price. If at that time, Auston and Bonnie couldn’t finalize the purchase, the money in escrow would go to the seller. When it came time to close on the sale, Auston and Bonnie were short $10,000. The loan officer gave them a document to sign explaining where they would get the money. As directed by the Lord they wrote, “Auston and Bonnie O’Neill will receive $10,000 from Jehovah Jireh.” As the date for closing drew near, friends and family kept calling. “Did you get the money?” Each time they responded by saying, “We have it by faith.” Fifteen minutes before Auston and Bonnie were due to go to the closing, a friend called. “I want to give you $10,000. Can I bring it to you?” “Meet us there,” Bonnie said. “We got the house,” Auston explains. The Angel “About six months later, I heard a noise like a freight train. I went outside and saw a tornado over us. I said, ‘In the Name of Jesus, you go back up in the sky. You will not touch down. You will not tear up this neighborhood.’ BVOV : 25

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