Old Saints

During my stay in China, I went to a Korean Church out of town— WAY out of town— to an old church filled with people and the Holy Spirit! 

At this church service, they were honoring the founders of the church---the ones who were still alive. That brought tears to my eyes. These founders were all about 80 or 90 years old, mostly crooked little bent women with white hair, many wrinkles and short bowed legs. Most had dull expressions. Some stood up painfully and limped.   

Their church had been founded during the time the Japanese were occupying this part of the country and there were many years of war. Later, the Russians flooded in and looted everything in this area. This area also has a recent history of much hardship due to the Cultural Revolution.

As the elderly founders were called up to the front, they didn’t seem enthusiastic. None of them smiled or waved. They just stood there in front of the congregation, almost as if they felt out of place.

A Woman and a Child Change Each Other’s Lives

The following is a testimony from a Forward Edge Team Member who recently took part in a mission trip to Haiti:

I love Joe Joe’s ice cream from Trader Joe’s. I was looking forward to this creamy treat when I returned home from Haiti. Having been to Haiti once, I wondered throughout this trip why God had called me back.

Every day, while washing dishes outside the feeding program, I noticed a little girl, maybe seven or eight years old, walking in the church yard. She was wearing a pink hat. If I smiled really big at her, she sometimes smiled back.

Pastor LaFleur, director of Restoration Ministries and one of Forward Edge’s partners in Haiti, shared Thursday night about when he first started his ministry. He would daily ask children roaming the streets if they went to school. “It broke my heart when they said no because there’s little future for those who cannot attend school,” he explained. It became his mission to get children into school.

The next day I saw the little girl with the pink hat. I asked her if she went to school. She said no. Pastor LaFleur was with me and continued a conversation with her, most of which I didn’t understand. But I did catch that when he asked her how old she was, she didn’t know.

Above and Beyond

    “Mom,” my eldest daughter said as she was leaving for middle school, “I don’t have time to pack for the retreat. Mrs. Osgood is picking me up at four o’clock. The list is on my bed. Will you pack my bag?” 
      Even though I had more than I could do that day, I said I would.
      After the older girls were off to school and the two little ones cared for, I took time to look at the list. 
      Oh, NO! The list of clothing items included a dress for a formal dinner.
      What was I going to do? I could probably sew something, but I could never get it finished in one day.

The Divine Dance

     During my time home from my studies in South Korea, I spent a month living with my grandfather. His house was so quiet and I was able to spend a good amount of time reading and swapping stories with him. I learned about WWII, family history, and his travels. He heard about my adventures in Africa and Asia, and he ate my Korean cooking.

     On my last walk around the hill where my grandfather lived, I saw a lady walking a large golden retriever with a shaggy winter coat. 

     Now it’s important to note that the reason I took a walk this day was to clear my head. I had spent too much time reading and thinking. As a result, my head was spinning full of ideas, questions and plans for the near future. So I decided to walk it off.

God Experiences

     Many times I have had what I call “God Experiences.” I would like to share three of those that occurred during a very difficult time when our daughter fought and lost her battle with cancer.

     A few months before this happened I had attended a Prayer Renewal Workshop. The leader stressed that honesty in prayer was more important than dishonestly praying for God’s will, as we likely had been taught to pray.
     Having just learned my daughter's diagnosis, I walked down the hall silently ranting to God, complaining that I didn’t like what I had been told. It was not what I wanted for my daughter.
     Then it struck me. Rather than praying for God’s will, I instead, expressed my concern and fear, and therein found comfort.
     Years later during a guided meditation, we were asked to recall the most peaceful time in our lives.  Those few minutes in the hospital immediately came to mind….

Give, and It Shall Be...

By Pastor Randy Remington - Beaverton Foursquare Church

      When I was in Bible college, I spent nights and weekends working at UPS and also for a local moving company. During that time, I felt the Lord call me to an early prayer time each morning, even though I wasn’t getting to bed until the wee hours of the morning.
     One of the things that came out of my prayer times was that God began to speak to me about giving.
     Each month I worked enough hours to pay for my college expenses, plus I had about $40 left to buy gas for my car and to purchase those little necessities like toothpaste, etc.
     One day, I was walking across campus with the $40 in my pocket and I saw a young couple from Uganda, whose church had sent them over here to prepare for ministry. I felt like the Holy Spirit nudged me to give them my $40.
     As I walked towards them, I wondered if this was a test from God. Then I felt God say to me, “I want to demonstrate My love for them through you.”

Runaway Truck

by Judy Harris,  Carlton, Oregon
(Lived in Portland, Oregon, at this time)

      While I waited on 87th Avenue for the traffic light to turn green so I could cross Canyon Road, my heart was full of praise to God for His forgiveness and mercy. The Lord had turned my life around. Now, I was serving Him.
       When the light turned green, I drove into the intersection. A sports car drove towards me from the other side of Canyon Road and paused with its signals on, waiting for me to come through the intersection so it could turn left.
      As I drove into the middle of Canyon Road, a sudden movement caught my eyes and I glanced to my left.
      A large delivery truck was barreling towards me down the hill. But the driver’s seat was empty!