Question 1

Dates

Accepted Answer

Don's Birthday

Regina's Birthday

Wedding Anniversary

Question 2

Testimony

Accepted Answer

Dr. Chitty, otherwise known as Jerry to his family, was born on January 24, 1949, in the Florida panhandle. He grew up in a split home surrounded by fighting and drinking as a normal part of everyday life. As a teenager, he learned to live on his own and sank deeper and deeper into a sinful lifestyle. It was during this time that he joined the Marines after receiving his draft notice. While in the Marines Bro. Chitty volunteered for recon duties and trained with the Navy Seals and Army Rangers before being sent to Vietnam for his duty assignment. While in Vietnam, he was promoted to Platoon Sergeant, where he led black ops. in Louse, Cambodia, and behind enemy lines. While serving his country, he was wounded ten times. He received three Purple Hearts, the Bronze Star and two Presidential Citations. His last wound severed most of his left arm, causing massive loss of blood and consciousness. With his arm mangled and almost amputated by shrapnel, he was placed in a body bag for dead. While being evacuated with other soldiers killed in action via helicopter, his movement inside the body bag was noticed by the co-pilot. Upon realizing that he was indeed still alive, the Captain immediately detoured to the nearest MASH unit where they immediately began pumping blood into his system, attempting to save his life. Upon stabilizing him and preparing him for emergency surgery, they informed him of the plan to amputate his left arm, which was severely infected. He refused to allow the amputation to take place, thinking only of wanting to continue serving if they could save his arm. After eighteen months of hospital time and multiple experimental surgeries, they were able to save his arm, but not his time in active duty. While in the military he also added smoking and drugs to his everyday alcohol and selfish lifestyle. He was honorably discharged as a 100% disabled veteran of the Vietnam War/Conflict. He has always said it only took a matter of position to know whether it was a war or a conflict. Upon returning home he was a bitter, angry, chain smoking, drug addicted alcoholic, who made life miserable for his young wife and infant son. Day after day the addictions worsened, until there was no money for food in the house or even milk for the baby. After his return home, Dr. Chitty's second cousin began to be burdened for his soul. Mike Chitty was a unique preacher, who was confined to a wheel chair by cerebral palsy, but didn't let that keep him from answering God's call in his life. Mike asked the church to pray for his sin sick lost loved one and that God would work on his hard heart. Mike then began to visit every Thursday night with a Bible in hand and a mind set on winning this lost soul to Christ. Eight straight Thursday nights in a row, Mike and his crew were cussed out and run off by the meanest Marine around. He didn't even care that Mike was in a wheel chair, or that people were only trying to help keep him out of Hell. After nearly 2 months of these crazy people pestering him Dr. Chitty decided to get them off his back. He drove out to Mike's house on a Thursday morning under heavy conviction. His plan was to trip up Mike and ease his conscience. He picked up Mike at his house on the Santa Fe Lake and pretended to be interested in Lakeside Real Estate so he could ask questions along the way. Every time he thought he could trick him, Mike quoted Bible verse after Bible verse. This only angered Dr. Chitty to the point of turning around and taking Mike back home and dropping him off in his yard and leaving. The Holy Spirit was convicting so deeply that every car he passed, he thought of wrecking and ending up in hell if he died. Finally on that Santa Fe Lake Rd. he pulled off to the side of the road knowing that he didn't want to go to hell. He then prayed and accepted Christ, before he could go any farther down the road and chance a car wreck. Not knowing anything about church God, or the Bible, he didn't know if he was saved or not, so he took out his cigarettes, marijuana, and whiskey and destroyed them on the side of the road. He then prayed again telling God that if He would save him that he would serve Him. Not knowing if God had answered his prayer he drove carefully the rest of the way home. That night when Mike and his crew showed up, Dr. Chitty ran out to meet them and helped get Mike in his wheel chair and rolled him into the house. After relaying the story to Mike and receiving assurance verses about his salvation, he knew that God had saved him. He then went to ask his wife to get saved, as the ladies were dealing with her in another room. He hadn't spoken a kind word to her or treated her with any love or compassion since he returned home from Vietnam until that day after he accepted Christ into his life. On that Thursday night August 24th 1970 his wife accepted the Lord on the same day that he had. They began a new life that day with many changes that only God could make. Dr. Chitty fought severe withdrawals from all the addictions his body had become so accustomed to. After weeks without any drugs, alcohol, or tobacco in his system he was finally able to win this struggle with those sinful addictions with God’s help and grace. Although at times the cravings were strong, he never again went back to these sinful actions. Dr. Chitty has always said when he got saved that God took the hog out of him and he hasn’t had the slop in him since. As a newborn babe in Christ, Dr. Chitty was eager to serve God, the man of God, the Word of God, and the house of God. He began to grow in the Lord and bring others to church so they too could be saved. He loved his Preacher, Bro. Mel Hamel (who has since gone on to Heaven) and did everything he could to help out around the church. He mowed the grass, drove a bus, and taught a Sunday school class, and anything else he could do to serve in the church. God then saw fit to call him to be a preacher. This was the first real test of his obedience to God. He was willing to do just about anything but preach. He tells stories of taking an F in school before giving oral reports in class in front of his peers. When God called him to preach he refused, and like Jonah tried to run from God. He quit church and all his ministries and became a man most miserable. During this time his wife remained faithful to God, the church and the Bible. After a while of severe conviction he was so unhappy that he thought of suicide. He went to the preacher thinking that Bro Hamel would pray for him and tell him it would all be ok. In that meeting with the man of God, he got the shock of tough love instead. Bro. Hamel pointed his finger straight at him and stated in no uncertain terms that he would never be happy again until he surrendered to Gods call in his life and say yes to Jesus. He lived a life of pain, until he could no longer fight or run from God. He came back to the preacher to apologize and get right with God. Bro. Hamel didn’t waste any time after he surrendered to preach, the very next week it was announced that he would preach. Bro. Hamel then recommended that he attend Bible college to begin his training for the ministry. Dr. Chitty went to Tennessee Temple University under Dr. Lee Roberson with his wife and two small children. During his senior year he had accepted a large church in the area but never prayed about it. During a missions conference God spoke to him about working with the Navajo Indians. He had no idea how to be a missionary, but knew that God had called him so he surrendered. He had to turn down the pastorate and work on some way of getting to the Navajo Indian Reservation. God opened many doors along the way, which let him take the first step in following Gods will in going to the Reservation in 1975. He was so moved by the need of the people that he felt the immediate need to reach the reservation before any more Navajos went to hell. He didn’t go on deputation or take time to get any support raised. He graduated on a Monday night and on Friday was in New Mexico ready to serve God. After many months of traveling all over the reservation, God opened some doors while closing others, he then knew it was time to start a mission church in a permanent location. After much prayer and Scripture searching God gave him the opportunity to get 12 acres of land across from the county dump and dead animal pit in Waterflow, NM. He began to build Open Bible Baptist Church which he has pastored since that time. Almost 4 decades later the mission has grown into the largest work with Native Americans in North America. The church has several bus routes running between 150 and 250 each Sunday. These bus routes go out in every direction all over the reservation and into town as well. In 1981, the Christian school was opened and in 2004 the Bible institute began. God has blessed Dr. Chittys faithfulness through every battle. The Mormons threatened to burn the church years ago when he built the first building and many, many law suits have been filed over the years. Since 1975, tens of thousands souls have been saved and thousands have been baptized. Yes, the Devil has fought but God’s blessings are much greater in the life of Dr. Donald J. Chitty, the recon Marine, who served his country loyally in the battlefield, is now a soldier of the Lords army serving the King of Kings in the mission field faithfully.