Testimony of Marc Archambault
In 1959, after graduating from John F. Deering high school in West Warwick, Rhode Island I decided to serve four years in the Navy in exchange for a music education at the Naval School of Music. After graduation, my next three years in the military taught me I didn’t want that kind of life, so after my discharge I decided to be a night club musician, playing the tenor sax and piano keyboard while I lived in San Diego in 1963 until 1973. My first job was at a large teenage night club, the Cinnamon Cinder, with the house band, backing many recording artists, Jan and Dean, The Coasters, The Rivingtons, Ray Peterson, The Righteous Brothers, Chubby Checker, and others, and new up and coming performers…Sonny and Cher, Neil Diamond, Glen Campbell and others who performed four weekend shows. It was a good experience for future success in the music business, but not where I wanted to be for more than two years, so I began playing with other bands in the area. That proved to be a difficult time because of the scarcity of work. I was also attending San Diego City College and later Kearny Mesa College part time striving for a degree in music. After six years the burden of working day and night proved to be too much, so I quit college.
Around this time I lived near Balboa Park and I remember sitting there in the grass writing in my diary that I wanted to be a ‘sheep’ not a ‘goat’. I wanted to follow the Lord but had no idea how to do that. After writing that, my life continued on as before, drinking, playing clubs, living the wrong way. The drinking was getting out of hand and I ended up with a “Driving Under Intoxication” arrest. The judge sternly told me I had a drinking problem and was ordered to go to once a week meetings. After this experience I lost my desire for alcohol entirely.
During work breaks, I drank coffee by the pot and began thinking more clearly about my future, practiced my saxophone and clarinet for 5, 6, 7 hours a day, and soon had offers from the very best musicians. I found that was not what I wanted to do because these musicians were like I had been—drinking, carousing, etc. so I quit night clubs entirely and decided to move to Los Angeles and begin as a copyist, (writing the music and lyrics of newly recorded songs for copywriting) and eventually become an arranger and songwriter. I was in Los Angeles for about 2 weeks when one day while having coffee and writing music in a restaurant on Vine Street, the couple at the next table asked what I was doing. I told them I was looking for a job as a copyist and they said MGM was looking for someone. I thanked them and immediately drove to the MGM office on La Brea Avenue. A young man answered the door and told me they weren’t looking for someone, but Don Costa’s office on Gordon Street was looking for someone so I drove there and was hired immediately. Things seemed to continue falling into place for me, for a future in the music industry.
My supervisor was a young man in his twenties named Stan Costa. I worked day and night to get these songs written for copyrighting, some famous people some not famous and not making much money, but this was where I wanted to be, around Don Costa and anyone else who could be influential and help me to succeed. Don came into the office often, liked my original melodies and connected me with some lyricists from MGM, and that’s what I was looking for.
One night I was working late, around midnight when Stan suddenly came into the office. He looked confused and started telling me about his visit to Don’s house that night. Don confided in him, told Stan how he accomplished all the things he had ever dreamed of doing, hit gold records with Paul Anka, staff arranger for MGM, the biggest dream, the hit arrangement of My Way for Frank Sinatra, writing arrangements and recording with him, fame, cars, money, houses, etc. and at the end of it all, Don told him, ‘…and I’m still unfulfilled’. That word ‘unfulfilled’ hit me full force and I sensed, ‘you’ll be unfulfilled also’.
That was a turning point for me, but music was my still my passion and I had no other direction until something really turned me around. A little while later, after work I walked into the small hotel room I was renting near downtown Los Angeles and the room seemed different, dim or something. That’s when all of a sudden I heard the Lord clearly and audibly speak to my spirit and say, “You’re like scum at the bottom of a barrel”. At this time I had not had a drink in about 2 or 3 years, no drugs, just trying to make a living in L.A, but I knew I was a sinner. In fear and exasperation I immediately fell to my knees by my bed and said, ‘Lord, turn my life around’. I had never heard of a ‘sinner’s prayer’ but the Lord knew my heart. I had known about the Lord Jesus Christ all my life but I was Catholic, not knowing that Christ and only He, gave His life for our salvation, no saints, not Mary, no one else, only Christ shed His blood for the remission of our sins. After that heartfelt prayer, I immediately felt a weight come out of me and a wonderful peace came into me from above. I had a smile on my face and really didn’t know what had happened to me, but my conscience was now clear and I felt like a new person. I later found out that I had been born again of the Spirit.
I went back to work the next day as usual and continued there for about 2 weeks when I walked into a restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard for coffee and found on the counter Tony Alamo’s strong testimony tract from the Tony and Susan Alamo Christian Ministries as the Ministry was called at that time in 1973. One evening soon afterward, I found myself boarding a red, white and blue bus on my way to the services there and upon arrival was surprised to see an unusual, brightly lit, lively church, unlike any Catholic church I had ever been to, filled with mostly young people, some older, praising God, smiling, just having a wonderful time praising God, singing gospel songs and giving testimonies of their former lives and how the Lord had turned them around. I went down to the altar that night and said the sinners prayer because I felt the Lord wanted me to do that before others, attended three more services and was then asked if I would like to serve the Lord there. I said, ‘yes I would’ and was told I could move into the ministry and do that. The Lord knows every thought of our hearts and He clearly showed me that the next morning.
Sunday morning I woke up in that little hotel room, stared at the ceiling and decided in my heart, just thinking, ‘I don’t want to go to that church’. Immediately I heard a voice audibly say, ‘Arise ye and do the will of the Lord’. This voice for some reason was coming from my chest, why, I don’t know, but I could also feel lips speaking from my chest as the words were spoken! As I said before, I wasn’t a drug user, didn’t drink, didn’t smoke, nothing, I was not dreaming this. I didn’t know what to think when the voice said again, ‘Arise ye and do the will of the Lord’. I then thought, ‘If this is the Lord He’ll tell me a third time and not a fourth and I’ll do what He says’. A third time the voice said in the same manner, ‘Arise ye and do the will of the Lord’. That was proof enough for me that He wanted me to serve Him at the Tony and Susan Alamo Christian Foundation. Of course, I packed everything and drove to the church that same day, where I could learn about the Lord and serve Him not knowing completely what that meant. Pastor Tony and sometime Sue would come morning after morning to the prayer meetings, teaching us God’s Word, answering questions, and no one could deny the Spirit of God was there.
Well, that was 1973, and now these Spirit filled messages can be heard and read around the world. Since then I’ve had other supernatural experiences with the Lord and know He’s coming back to this world soon and people must repent of their sins or be eternally lost in the lake of fire. All the literature is free ‘Salvation’ literature, telling how to receive Christ as your personal Savior, not through any man made religion, but the one and only way, through the Blood of Christ, shed for the sins of mankind.
Read the powerful, Holy Spirit filled literature and know the one way, that we cannot be ‘fulfilled’ and go to heaven after this short life is over by any of our own accomplishments or anyone except by the Savior, Jesus Christ. Repent of your former sins now and accept Jesus Christ into your heart as your personal Savior.