Tim Sagarsee

Name: Tim G. Sagarsee

Rank: Corporal

MOS: Small Arms Repair

Active Service Date: January 25, 1983 – January 25, 1987

Basic Training: MCRD, San Diego, California

AIT/ Duty Station: Cherry Point, NC - Okinawa, Japan

Salvation Testimony

I grew up out in the country on about thirty acres. One thing I remember well, was the clover fields that we used to have hay bailed from. In the spring and fall that clover would be really green and so soft I would lie down in it for a long time. After school it was great to run outside and down the barn yard lane to one of these fields. I would lay there, on a small hillside, for what seemed forever and let the sun soak me up. I remember looking up at the sun with my eyes closed. The air was cool and there was a small breeze. The sun felt so good on my face and after a short time it would heat up my chest through my jacket and make my heart pound. All I could see was that orange-red glow through my eyelids. I thought about God and what Jesus looked like and what heaven must be like. I felt like spending eternity right there. We went to church a lot when I was little and I wondered what Jesus looked like and that if seeing Him would be like the sun shining in your face this way. Then I could here mother hollering for me to get up to the house, supper was ready....

......move it! move it! move it! screamed the drill instructor. I don't have all day!! Wow! I got older and joined the Marines!!!

I remember in boot camp, the senior drill instructor would say a prayer when the lights went out to go to sleep and he would tell all the hero's from the “Marine Corps past” good night and he would always end with, “Good night, God”. I never heard anyone there mention Jesus unless it was as a curse word. Boot camp was at San Diego, California which was along way from my home in Indiana. I would get homesick some nights while I tried to go to sleep. I was so exhausted from the day's activities that I had to wind down before my brain would catch up with my body. My body was sore and tired. I was doing so much all day long that the days and events all run together. I remember thinking of what Jesus Christ went through when he was crucified at Calvary. Somehow this helped me to get through boot camp....

...... “Tim, don't you think it's time you got saved?” the man from the church asked me as we stood in the family room of my house.

“I'm thirty six years old and have never trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as my savior. I sure thought of him a lot when I was a little boy. I used his name to settle loneliness and fatigue in Marine Corps boot camp. I probably even said, “Thank you Jesus!!!” a couple times in my life when I thought I should have been killed. The car wrecks, fights, and drinking.” This, and I'm sure many other things ran through my mind at that moment seven years ago. My wife and oldest son had already accepted Christ as their savior just minutes earlier. I could see my mother standing in front of me as she had done many times before. Tear filled eyes telling me sternly, but with no other love than only a mother can usher out, “Timmy, you need to get saved!!” I could see this one picture frame hanging on her living room wall. It had all four of her children's names written on it. Above the names read something like this, “I surrender all my children to you Lord.” I could see where mine was underlined!! I was not saved! I hadn't seen that for a long time and can't remember if my name was really underlined, but when it ran through my mind right then it had a big line under it! I felt like if I didn't do this right then I would never get another chance. I knew I was a sinner and wanted God to forgive me of my sins. I also truly believed that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, was crucified and died on the cross, was buried and then resurrected three days later. I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior February 19, 2000 at around 9:00 pm. It was on a Saturday night. I will never forget those few hours of my life. I haven't seen Jesus Christ, but I can tell you this. That feeling I had as a little boy in the clover field is in my heart for eternity! No matter what the future is for me, I know that God's son, the Lord Jesus Christ is my savior and will never forsake me. God must be the soft clover I rest in, and Jesus the Son, shines His light upon my soul forever.

SEMPER FI!

Veterans at Blessed Hope Baptist Church