Unseen Power

    It was a long journey from the home of our missionary parents to our boarding school in Columbia. First, my sister and I got on a cargo plane with no seats. We were sitting on sacks of rice and beans when, suddenly, the plane rolled and dipped. Finally, the copilot came back to get us, and he strapped us in with him and the pilot up in the cockpit.
     When we landed in a little airport, we got to look at the belly of the plane—it had been riddled with bullets!
     The pilots got us transferred to a pick-up truck to take us the rest of the trip over the mountain. The treacherous, one-lane road was lined with cliffs and chasms on both sides of the road.
     Whenever we came to a curve on the hillside, the driver would honk the horn loudly to find out if anyone was coming from the other side.

No Trash Cans or Dumps In Heaven

Have you ever smelled a dumpster being dumped into a garbage truck on a hot day? The scent of rotten garbage reminds me of thrown-out unwanted junk. What, you may ask, does that have to do with Heaven? Everything.

I was born after my parents already had two boys and they had decided they did not want any more children. My early years were full of abuse and rejection from my parents, my brothers, and even boarders who rented a room in our house.

On birthdays and Christmas and Easter I usually received a present from my parents. But sadly, any little mistake I made brought down their harsh judgment. My parents would break my present and throw it in a special trash can in my room. I was forbidden to touch it. There it would sit for a week or so to remind me I was not wanted either.

Never too Late!

     We left Portland on June 3rd and are presently living here at our son's house in northern New Mexico while we wait for a rental in Nashville, Tennessee, to open up. It's been very difficult finding a rental since we don't have sufficient guaranteed monthly income.
     On the last day we had together with our granddaughter before her parents drove to San Francisco to work for 8 months, five-year-old Ava had begged to go fishing with David (her grandpa).
     Well, we finally found a reel and line in their storage unit, but no fishing pole. Also we realized it would take too much time to drive 45 minutes into town and get a license for one day.
     So we decided to take Ava to the resort of Red River, NM, about a half an hour's drive away. We rode up the mountain ski lift with her and when we got back down, we saw a little stream nearby where a father and teenage son were fishing.
     We walked over to watch the two as they cast out their lines. The water was so clear. You could see a number of fish swimming around in it.
     I started praying, "Dear Lord, please let a fish bite the lure so Ava can at least watch it get reeled in."

Was That You, God?

    “What do you say we jump on the Harley and take a jaunt to our honeymoon spot in Michigan?” my husband asked.
    The idea sounded enticing.
    “Do you think we can get enough time off work?” I responded.
    A few more days and with preparations made, we eagerly set out under an Arizona summer sun with blue, welcoming skies to ride 680 miles.
    The happy occasion of our first wedding anniversary overshadowed our heavy hearts. We yearned to have children, but the latest report from my doctor was grim.

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.