ROBERT HICKS' TESTIMONY
Well I grew up in the El Paso, Texas area most of my life. I was considered a “little hellion”.
Mom and I, for years, went to the First Baptist Church in El Paso, but as time went on and her trying to raise me by herself, it got to the point that church was secondary. There were a few friends who would try to get me to go with them to church and at times I would go, but as I got older I did not want to go.
In 1971 Mom was diagnosed with cancer, so she sold everything and we moved in with my sister. After my mothers death in 1973 I refused to go to any church anywhere, because God had taken my mother and father.
When I graduated in 1976 I went into the Navy just wanting to be anywhere else but Michigan. I spent 12.5 years serving our country, I went places and had to do things that I wish none of the current generation serving in the Military are having to do and have to deal with in their minds for years to come.
In 1988 the Lord caught up with me and I surrendered my life to Him, but I was bound and determined to do things my way. And He let me for a long time.
After 9-11 I tried to rejoin the Military only to find out I was considered to old.
I went through several companies, mainly managing stores, and was considered really good at it but there was always something lacking. In 2002 I bought 20 acres of land 60 miles east of El Paso Texas, for what I thought was the place I would retire to and where I would move when I turned 65.
But again the Lord had another plan. Soon it seemed that I could do the right thing but somehow, in the end, it turned out wrong. So after my second divorce I left and moved out to the middle of the desert, full of myself, knowing I could get a job anywhere with my qualifications. Again I was mistaken. Myself, my dog, my truck and a tent was how I started my ranch in March 2003. Have you ever noticed that when the Lord really wanted to get hold of someone in the Bible, He led them out to the desert?
Well after 6 months of trying to do it my way, I got down on my knees and cried to God and told Him that if He wanted me to stay here I had to have a job. He heard me, because the very next morning I went into the small town of Fabens and went to the library to check my email and check out the wanted ads. The job coach (with the state, who was trying to help me get a job) walked into the library, held up one finger and ran back out to his vehicle. He returned a minute later with a piece of paper with a phone number. I called and after a ten minute phone interview I was hired and had a job, at last. I cried and thanked the Lord all the way home to my tent on 20 acres.
That job lasted till May 2007. I got to work for a Christian employer for the first time in my life and the job was great, but the contract ended and he didn’t have any work for me in the El Paso area.
So here I sat trusting the Lord to provide for me and the animals needs. I have learned. From now on I will do what He wants, and I will retain and follow my fellowship and education from Richard Eutsler with The Fishermen Ministry until I meet up with the Lord.