Taking God At His Word: Meet Missionary and Author Dr. Viola Garvin Thompkins
At 83 years old, Dr. Viola Garvin Thompkins is on fire for the Lord and still willing to go wherever He sends her. She has served around the world in short-term missions in twenty-three countries. Dr. Thompkins has been a speaker for Women Aglow in the U.S and the foreign field and has recently released her first book, “From Possum Corner To Russia And Around The World,” where she shares accurate accounts of her life and true testimony of taking God at His word.
On December 16, 1936, in a remote place called Possum Corner, located in South Carolina, there existed adverse conditions and trouble with the delivery of Dr. Thompkins who entered the world weighing only three and one-half pounds in a room with a praying mother and midwife. After surviving a rough birth, three months later, Dr. Thompkins became ill, and the doctor had no hope that she would survive. It was again the prayer of her mother with an abundance of faith and the call on Dr. Thompkins life by God that said, she shall live and not die.
This was just the beginning of the trials, tribulations, and miracles that shaped Dr. Thompkins’ life. At ten years old, her heart started leaking, and once again, it was a moment where the doctor thought she would die. “One of the things that I remember about my life, every time I would overhear the doctor telling my mother that I wasn’t going to make it. I would say, did you get it from upstairs? At that point, I was calling God upstairs.” If they didn’t get their information from God, Dr. Thompkins didn’t agree with the report. “The word of God says in Isaiah, whose report are you going to receive? I received the report of the Lord that I was healed no matter what went on. I was walking in the gift of faith without knowing it.”
Walking in the gift of faith doesn’t exempt anyone from being tested. As Dr. Thompkins continued her journey, she had to endure losing loved ones, betrayal, spiritual warfare, demonic attacks, those who doubted her, and so much more. Despite all of her challenges, this missionary accepted the calling that had preserved her life and took it seriously. The Lord raised what once was a sickly little girl that lived in a remote place called “Possum Corner” to teach and preach His word in the United States, South America, Philippines, Africa, Bahamas, Jamaica, China, Russia, Trinidad, and beyond.
Dr. Thompkins shares that if you read her book, you can deflate every lie of the devil. “First of all, he tells you that you’re too poor because of where you come from, but God is not concerned about where you come from; it’s where He wants to take you. The devil is telling some that they’re too sick. You’ll know from my testimony you can’t be too sick because if God is for you, who is against you? The point is this, surrender your whole life to Jesus. Look to him as the author and the finisher of your faith. Don’t believe in the lies of the devil.”
To read Dr. Thompkins full accounts of her life and true testimony of taking God at His word, purchase your copy of ‘From Possum Corner to Russia and Around The World’ on Amazon.com and other major book outlets.
