I found Christian Science fifty years ago. I was then in great distress, darkness, and pain. This misery had gone on for five years. I was under the constant care of a doctor, but he could not help me. Then a doctor came from Germany. My husband told me this great news and we decided to try this doctor. But when he examined me he said there were internal lesions, and I gave up hope. I spent most of the time in bed and when going to sleep I prayed to God that I might not wake again, for I was a burden to my family.
One day I received a letter from my sister. She had heard that in Sheboygan there were some people who healed through prayer. This was something new, but I thought, How can a prayer heal? Nobody could pray more than I had. A long time afterwards my second sister wrote that her little boy had been healed of rupture through prayer to God. When things looked very dark the thought came to me, "Why don't you write your sister and ask her to look up the people who heal through prayer?" I did this and she asked if I could be healed, too. The woman gave my sister her address and requested that I write to her myself. So I wrote, telling of my pain and despair and asking for help. When the letter of reply came I could not open it quickly enough. There was not much in it. It simply said: "Dear child, be not afraid. There is hope for you. Read the ninety-first Psalm as often as you can."
A feeling of joy and hope came over me. In six weeks, during which she gave me Christian Science treatment, I was free from my suffering. It seemed as if I were living in a new world. I then wanted to learn about this kind of prayer and wrote to the woman asking if this was possible. She answered: "Surely you can learn it. Buy the book, Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy. This book, together with the Bible, contains the whole healing." The only way I could think of to raise the money required for the book was to sell two fine goats that I had. My desire for the book was great, and so I did this and sent for the book, Science and Health. When I opened it I was disheartened, for it was written in English, and I could not understand one word. It seemed as though I could make out the letters, but I could not put them together in words. There was nobody around to help me. They were all German settlers, and could read very little English. So I set about to learn the meaning word by word. Often I asked little children whether they could read the words. They said, "This word is G-o-d." I was so glad. That was the beginning and I continued to learn.
