Thursday, August 18, 2011

Ministry in Joplin

On May 6, 2011 the most devastating tornado to ever touch down hit the town of Joplin Missouri. Tornados were previously rated from F-1, being the least to F-5, being the most sever. This storm created a new category, with wind speeds reaching up to three hundred miles per hour the National Weather Service called it an F-6, the first time this had ever been done. The tornado even had an eye, like a hurricane does; this also had never been seen.

Larry Russell came to our church at the end of June to talk to our congregation about this terrible storm and to solicit money and help. He asked for skilled craftsmen to go there and help in the recovery effort. The only skill he mentioned was a plumbing.

When he was through talking I looked up and said to myself, “Okay, Lord, I understand." After the service was over I went up to Larry and said “You need a plumber, I’m your man.”

Thus started my mission to do whatever I could to help Joplin and its people to recover from the devastation. I was in for the shock of my life. I don’t watch the news very often and never saw any footage of the devastation, so I had no idea of the magnitude of destruction I was to witness. Devastation would come to be a word I would use often.

We got to Joplin about 7 p.m. and started our tour of the town, and I started crying. Devastation is too mild a word, utter and total devastation is closer to the truth. As we passed by piles of remains of buildings, Lewis, our contact in Joplin, would tell story after story of how people miraculously survived with their homes intact while their neighbors’ home and lives were completely gone.

The pictures that you have seen and the stories you have heard on the news don’t convey the story as it truly is. Nothing I can tell you will do the city justice, you really need to see it yourself. The closest I can come is to imagine what Hiroshima looked like after the atom bomb. Some of you might think I’m exaggerating, believe me, I’m not.

Lewis told stories of neighbors helping each other and surviving only by the grace of our Lord.

A mother held on to a tree with one hand while holding on to her four year old son with the other. Finally, the wind was too strong and she lost her grip on his hand. He was swept up in the storm and whisked away. She was sure that she had lost him; not so though. He was carried five miles away by the powerful winds and deposited in a Home Depot parking lot without a scratch. When he was returned to his mother she asked him what had happened, he replied that the butterfly people had carried him there.

Another man and his two children huddled in their bath tub and pulled a mattress over themselves. The son was the only one face up. The mattress was pulled away by the winds. When the storm passed the man exclaimed. How did we not get hurt? His young son said that the man with wings wrapped them around us.

Two churches were totally destroyed; they had crosses placed in front of them, the crosses remained untouched.

I could go on, but I need to tell the rest of the story, some people looked at the devastation in disgust and took whatever they had and moved elsewhere.

But there were the faithful who said this is our home, we will rebuild it. Ian Martinez, Rick Hicks (the other workers that I went with) and I went to a worship meeting every night and each night we were acknowledged for the good work we were doing.

People came up to us all the time and shook our hand and hugged us, thanking us for having traveled so far to do what we were doing. We, of course, said we were only doing the Lord’s work as we were directed. We were often asked to speak at these meetings.

One night I said, you give us praise for doing the Lords’ work, but I have to say that you people that live here are the ones who deserve a pat on the back. It’s been two months since the storm; still you get up each morning and get to the task of rebuilding. This looks like it will never end, but I have seen the smiles on your faces and your dogged determination. We are here for just one week, you will still be here for years cleaning and rebuilding, you are the salt of the earth. I know that you will rebuild Joplin into a bigger and better town than it was before the storm, you will not quit.

After I sat down a lady came up to me and asked me to pray for her. She said that she had been thinking about moving out of the area, and that my words had hit a chord in her heart. I asked her if she had lost her home. She replied; my home, my husband

and my dog. She had no family left in the area. I asked her if she truly believed in God. She said yes. I said, look around you, you are surrounded by family. She began to cry and I gave her a hug and began to pray that she would understand that we are all related, we all have the same thing in common. She wiped the tears from her face, looked around and said, “You’re right, we are all struggling, and we all lost something or someone.”

Sometimes the simplest things can make a large difference. The next time I saw her she thanked me and told me that I had convinced her to stay, and that she would not be alone while she had friends and the Lord to comfort her. I thanked the Lord for giving me those words of comfort.

On Sunday, we of course didn’t work. We went to two services and also went to a river and watched as twelve people were baptized. It was heartwarming to see so many people come to the Lord at the same time. It’s also tragic that it took this storm for them to come to the Lord. Pastor Jim said it had been like this ever since the storm.

Our mission in Joplin was to build a kitchen and a shower room for other relief workers that would arrive in the weeks to come. There were no blue prints, Pastor Jim just told us what and where he wanted things to be placed. Since I had the most knowledge about building, I was given the unenviable task of foreman. Without plans we built on the fly, we would discuss what needed to be done as we approached the task.

We left Joplin at eight o’clock the twentieth of July. We were able to finish our task at two o’clock that day. It’s truly amazing how God gave us just enough time and money to complete our task. We worked eighty-four hours in six days, and on the last day we only had six hours to finish, the other five days were very long.

Six months ago I was walking with a cane and was in such poor shape that I thought I would have to mostly direct someone to do the plumbing. It was over one-hundred degrees with humidity over eighty percent every day, but again the Lord gave me the strength to do my own work. I was truly spent when we finished. Three days back and I am still tired. How I was able to work as hard as I did only the Lord knows. Rick told me a couple of times to slow down or I would have a heart attack. Still I pushed on knowing that we had limited time to finish.

It’s easy to quit or give up, the people of Joplin could easily do this, however they have chosen to stay the course, which is hard considering what they have been through. Their faith in Christ is strong however, and with the temptation to quit around them every day their faith remains very strong.

God bless the people of Joplin. My only regret is that I’m not still there to help more. While the destruction was hard to witness, I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to make this trip, and finish the project as assigned. It was one of the most fulfilling things I have ever experienced. We did what we did for the love of the people of Joplin.

--Ernie Jones

Keep on Praying

"Keep on praying!"

Haven’t you heard this many times before? I know I have.

But proof that God hears and answers our prayers became real for me once again when I got the news that something I’ve been praying about for fourteen years was answered!

My son, Chris, shared with me two weeks ago that he is now praying EVERY morning for each of his kids and his wife and marriage. Chris and Peggie have been married fifteen years. They met when both of them were working at the Cannon Beach Conference Center. Their son, Cody, is fourteen, and his little sister, Mollie, is four. They wanted lots of kids, but it has been difficult. They love their kids fiercely.

Chris and Peggie recently attended a Basic Youth Conflicts seminar in Portland, and gained a lot of insight about the Bible and how it applies to their lives and the lives of their children. I remember attending this seminar in the ‘70’s. The seminar addresses “seven Biblical principles that apply to every person, regardless of culture, religion, age, education, or social status. It emphasizes the factors needed to develop and maintain healthy, growing relationships with God, family members, and friends.” You can learn more about it at their website: http://iblp.org/iblp/seminars/

Chris related that he always leaves for work about forty-five minutes before time to be there, so he doesn’t have to feel rushed about being in his place at the wood mill when the shift begins. After attending the seminar, Chris has begun to use some of that “before work” time to pray about specific things that are going on in his family’s lives. They visited here two weeks ago, and the change in the relationship between Chris and his son, Cody, is remarkable.

Chris said he learned that the two things kids say most about their dads is that they respond to them in anger, and they don’t keep their promises. Watching Chris listen to his son, and calmly respond to him, was a miracle. His response to his son caused me, several times, to stop in my tracks and listen, with tears in my eyes.

This is a HUGE answer to prayer for me. Whatever your concerns, your hopes, your worries, your fears, for those you love, I would encourage you to take them to the Cross, and keep bringing them there until you hear them answered. Isaiah 62:6-7 says to put the Lord in remembrance of His promises, to not keep silence, and to give Him no rest until He follows through with them.

Claim this promise. He will hear you, and He will answer.

Whatever you are praying on behalf of someone else, KEEP ON PRAYING!

-Mary Hagle

Pray for Team Mexico

Here's how you can be praying for our team traveling in Mexico:

Trip dates: August 15-23

These are the specific prayer needs for the trip to Rancho de Sus Ninos near Tecate’ in Mexico.

  • That the team would be unified
  • That we would have lots of "hands-on" prayer opportunities.
  • That we would witness many miracles
  • That we could be a great blessing to the orphans and team down there.

Please tape this list to your bathroom mirror – and have a morning discussion with the Father every day, especially August 15-23! We will be eagerly waiting to hear how God has answered! Stay tuned!!

Members of the 2011 Mexico Team

Nate Beck, Becky Cox, Caleb Cox, Cody McKinney, Logan Taylor, Vicki Taylor, Trishia Venegas, Evan Waller, Jake Wilson, Caity Wilson, Jerry Wilson

Pray in the Spirit!

Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:18

As a child I attended Sunday School at Arbor Heights Community Church in Seattle. In time, this church became affiliated with, and then a member of, the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Through the witness of my Sunday School teachers I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior at age 14. In my first year of college in Bellingham, I attended a “Tent Meeting” held in a tent with a sawdust floor. While listening to the preacher, I realized that I not only needed Jesus Christ as my Savior, but also to invite Him to be my Lord, or Master. I walked forward and prayed, dedicating my life to listening to the voice of Jesus and obeying Him to the best of my abilities, with the help of the Holy Spirit.

In 1962 I began attending what was then called Women’s Missionary Prayer Fellowship (WMPF). This is the “arm” of the C&MA that all Alliance women are invited to attend. At age 20, I was the youngest person attending. I barely knew anyone, or what the procedures were or who the missionaries were that they spoke of and prayed for. Nevertheless, I persevered, knowing it was something God wanted me to do. Over time, I learned so much about missionary families, how they lived, what their needs were, and how to pray for them. Their letters were read and prayed over. We rejoiced over their successes, prayed even more over their ongoing requests, and praised God for the amazing fact that we could reach the world effectively through the Name of Jesus Christ! We often sent gift boxes to these missionaries. Finally, I was able to meet them in person when they came home on “furlough” after three years of service.

I also learned the history of WMPF. In the late 1800's, Rev. A. B. Simpson, the educator and organizer of missionaries and ways they and Christians stateside could communicate better, began writing and publishing a magazine. It, too, has changed its name and currently is entitled “aLife”. The Christian women formed local groups to pray for the needs of the missionaries who were ministering in Africa and China under Simpson’s direction. As they heard Rev. Simpson’s passionate preaching, women even felt the need to give their jewelry as an offering, due to their heartfelt compassion for the lost. The idea for the small groups of praying women eventually spread to most, if not all, the Alliance churches world-wide. Donations are still an important part of Alliance Women’s Ministries. Our National AWM annual giving recently surpassed $300,000. It funds missions projects that would not otherwise be completed. The GCF pays for missionary allotments, but not for the needed projects in their area of ministry. So, women united together to help collect funds for different projects each year. A project is decided upon each year; a goal is set. By the end of that year our goal has nearly always been met, thanks to our amazing God!

When planning our meetings, we ask God to give us ideas to make our meetings interesting and profitable for our church family, our community, and the world. This has led to clever ways to keep the prayer time interesting. Those attending bond together, learn geography and about foreign cultures, of the missionaries’ needs and how to help provide for them.

Our times of prayer have been meaningful and successful. From around the world, we learn of miraculous answers to our prayers. Email and Skype has helped to learn of urgent needs quickly. Some prayers are answered immediately, but others are ongoing and often are answered in different ways than we anticipated, but always in the way God planned. We feel closer to our beloved International Workers, as if we know them before ever meeting them, because of our prayers offered up on their behalf. Once I introduced myself to international workers from South America who visited EHA. I’d prayed for and written to them several times, but we had never met. Upon my introduction, the wife said, “I remember you, you wrote to us”. The husband said the same thing when I met him. What an honor to be known by praying for and writing to these workers on the “front line”. Others have spoken to our Alliance Missions Connection (our group’s current name at EHA) and voiced their thanks for our prayers, emails and gifts on their behalf.

It is a privilege and joy to regularly attend AMC and pray with those attending. It is a “free” way to help further the Gospel around the world as was Rev. Simpson’s dream. It is an honor to be a part of Alliance Women’s Ministries worldwide and of what God is doing through faithful prayer.

--Linda Grewelle