Ministry Update – December 2011

Well, we’re all gearing up for Christmas!  What a blessing it is to be able to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus!  To think that He’s MY Saviour just thrills my soul.  Lately I’ve been praying that the Lord would find me like Mary, willing to do whatever He bids me do.  Oh, what a joyous life, to live in the center of God’s Will!

This month we’ve been in the military-rich area of southern California!  Here we have Camp Pendleton, home of the Marine Corps School of Infantry, etc.  

photo credit

Not far away is the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, where all the Marines west of the Mississippi go through basic training.  A little farther south there is San Diego, a city full of Navy and other armed forces personnel.

Just before leaving for our son’s wedding, the Lord allowed us to meet a man who is a Sunday School teacher in a local Bible-preaching church, who also served in the Army Special Forces for forty years before retiring!!  His unbelievable testimony of desire to serve our country is truly humbling.  He expressed his desire to help us however he could, and so his base access will be a real help. 

The Lord wonderfully opened the door for us to endorse him to start a Bible Study on Camp Pendleton!  The other day, he and My Beloved went out to Camp Pendleton, and the Lord allowed them to come in contact with the Command Chaplain, who was very receptive to Eagles’ Wings Military Ministry.  So, Lord willing, come the first of January, there will be another Military Bible Fellowship on another military installation!!  Pray for God’s protection for this man, and that the Lord will expand the ministry here.

Also, the Lord allowed us to come in contact with some folks who have just started a military wives’ fellowship, and we were able to meet them for dinner and exchange ideas.  The director of the Military Wives’ Fellowship has been invited to start a ministry on March Air Base.  Pray that the open door there will remain open, and that the Lord will strengthen the workers there.

Now we are spending the Christmas time at Yuma, Arizona, where there is a Marine Corps Air Station.  If we are able, we’d like to try to do something here, as well.

Thank you so much for praying for us, folks!  Because of dedicated people like you, we are able to keep rolling on for Jesus!

The Man I Never Knew...

“Don’t you worry about me, Mom, I’ll be back,” Eddie smiled at his mother and straightened – actually, tilted – his lieutenant’s cap while his mother and little sister looked on.  His mother frowned, knowing that her firstborn son was headed back out to war, even if he did call it “a cushy job.”  It was all the same to her – war.

Giving his mother a kiss and his sister a playful squeeze, Eddie strode out the door, letting the screen slam behind him.  His mother winced at the ominous sound, and she bit her trembling lip.

Yes, his navigator’s job on the PBY was a cushy job, compared to flying the Burma-India hump.  He had many missions over the hump, and had just finished a brief time of leave to visit his family before he headed out to the Pacific.  This time, he was navigating a plane to rescue downed pilots.

He arrived in Iwo Jima in July and quickly set up camp.  Soon, he wrote a letter home, “The sand here is black, but fine.  Our tents are on the top of one of the mountains overlooking the airstrip.”  Again, he reassured his mother, “don’t worry about me; I’ll be fine.”

When Eddie and his crew reported for duty the 13^th of August, they received word that a pilot had gone down in the Sea of Japan.  Within minutes, their unarmed PBY and their two escort P-51s were in the air, headed for the coordinates they had been given.

What happened next has been the subject of conjecture for the past fifty years.  It is a known fact that the PBY found no pilot or wreckage in the area they were told to go to; the escort planes must have gone ahead in search of him, thinking perhaps they had been given incorrect information.  Regardless of what happened, by the time they got back to the PBY, it was down, sinking quickly, and surrounded by burning fuel.

Eddie was never coming home.

Word reached his sister and parents not long after the war was over.  Usually a very reserved and quiet man, Eddie’s father immediately went down to the basement in hopes that no one would hear his loud sobs.  His mother went right to her room, while his sister stood frozen in the kitchen.  The wails, sobs, and cries coming from the basement pierced her soul.  She would never be the same again, and neither would her parents.

This story was told to me personally by the young girl, who is my mother.  Eddie is the uncle I never knew.  Her brother, Eddie, was shot down only two days before the war was over, and it affected her – all of us - the rest of our lives.

Eddie never got to finish his engineering degree at Purdue University.  He never got to rub noses with his own baby.  Once he went overseas, he never again got to enjoy American soil.  He gave all so we could be free.

To those who have given so much for our country, I know that “Thank you” could never really be enough, but it is still spoken with a heartfelt gratitude and reverence for your sacrifice. 

To all veterans and their families….thank you.

Rolling On...

Looking into the sunshine!

It's been a long and busy week, full of good fellowship and many opportunities.  And since I'm standing on the eve of another busy week, I'm going to fill you in on things and move on.

The weekend before last we were at Mountain Home, Idaho, home of the Mountain Home Air Force Base.  We were able to make some good contacts, some folks who would like us to come back to help them reach onto the base.  We also handed out some Military Editions of John/Romans at a huge fair!

During that weekend, I was also able to get another survey for my upcoming book, for which I am very thankful!

Last week, we stopped by The Dalles, Oregon, and had a meeting at a church there, and I picked up a few more surveys.  The Lord has blessed, and I have about 52 in all now.

I also had a wonderful opportunity to speak to a Ladies' Group on Thursday night, as well as to another ladies' group just this past Sunday morning!  For both, I spoke on the same topic, one of the patterns I see emerging as a result of my survey.  It is a blessing to me to see God working, and I think it was a blessing to the ladies, as well.

Soon the Rolling Raub Ranch will be moving on, headed toward a military project in Canada!  Please pray for continued safety, and especially that we will be used of the Lord to accomplish His purpose.

A cute little friend came to visit us!

Stopping for a little break

A Piece of my Heart

Our last day in Canada comes with mixed feelings. No matter how much like home a place feels, there really is no country like the United States. We may have our troubles and may be doing some really stupid things, but there is still no more amazing place than the US.
Here in Canada, however, the Independent Baptist churches are in their first generation. To me, it's like going back about twenty or thirty years, to what it was like back in the eighties when I was newly saved. The churches are small, many of them still meeting in storefronts, and the people are devoted to their church, but especially to the Lord. Such a sense of dedication to God as we felt amongst these people!
One dear elderly lady I spoke with told me with tears in her eyes about how good her pastor and family had been to her since the loss of her husband. "They are my salvation," she said simply. "I just don't know what I would have done without them." The pastor and his family pick her up for every service, and make sure her every need is met.
Another pastor and his family, the ones at the church we are staying at right now, is away visiting the pastor's wife's family. They've been gone for almost a week, and of course, we are in the church parking lot. Folks don't realize that we missionaries can see everything going on at a church (and we know the church can see everything that's going on at our motorhome!). It's amazing to see the care of these people for their church and their pastor while they've been away. Yesterday, one lady carefully watered all the flowers on the church's and pastor's property. And then, today, I saw a man walking around with a watering can, checking on all the plants and watering them again!
And then there's the Canadian military. So far as we know, and we've been here several times and talked to hundreds of people, there is no missionary to the Canadian military. As far as Independent missionaries go, there are roughly fifty or sixty missionaries to the American military, but not one to the Canadian military. Thankfully, my husband has been meeting with some pastors near some bases, discussing the need and the possibilities of reaching their bases.
Sunday night after church, my family and I had dinner with a Canadian pastor and his wife. The dear lady spoke tearfully about her son, who spent three years in the Canadian Forces and served alongside troops from the States in Afghanistan. "In a few days, Canada Day will be here, and there are the fireworks. Someone asked my son if he would put them on for them, but he said he couldn't do it. Not yet. He's just not ready yet."
"I never understood," she told me, "how having a loved one in the military affected the entire family. My son came back from Afghanistan a different person. The things he saw, the things he went through, and the things he did…he's different. He will never be the same. And because of what he went through, we're different, too. It has affected us all."
"The first year he was back, on Canada Day, when one of the fireworks exploded, it didn't matter where he was in the house, he would drop to the floor, crying. I would go over to him, rub his back, and say, 'It's ok, honey, it'll pass, it'll pass.' He was so embarrassed, but we understood."
"And then there was the time he had a knee injury and had to stay behind while his unit went to the forward camp. While he was recovering, his unit came under attack, and his battle buddy got killed. My son has never been the same. He knows he should have died, too, and wonders why his friend had to die. It doesn't matter what I say to him, it makes no difference. He still feels that nagging guilt."
"Being a Christian has really helped him a lot, though," she said with a smile. Then her eyes became very serious, she leaned forward and wondered aloud, "What do these folks do who aren't saved? How do they handle such things without a Savior to go to?" Then, just as quickly, she answered her own question. "Well, they don't. The suicide rates and divorce rates among soldiers are the highest ever. They have no help, no support, no one to turn to."
Folks, who will reach these Canadian forces? Who will point them to the Savior who can guide them through all their trials? We can only do so much, but it seems there is always more to do. Pray that the Lord will send forth laborers unto His harvest, for the fields are white!
The wheels of the bus turn faster and faster, taking us back to our homeland. But I think part of our hearts have been left in Canada.

Being in the way…

Sitting here in the growing twilight of the late evening in Ontario, I can hardly believe what my heart tells me:
…there's been a new birth, and I got to be the witness of it.
The Canadian military wife had admitted she was not a child of God the other day, and somehow I got the privilege of telling her the Good News of God's merciful forgiveness. As we spoke in the now-empty church nursery, I felt the wrestling of her heart, and I understood her questions. I remembered my own struggles, so many years ago. With overflowing joy, I was able to point her in the direction of God Himself, through Jesus Christ, and help her see Him who loves her so.
Then, after I prayed, she also talked to the Lord. It wasn't dramatic, but it was heartfelt, and she asked the Lord to forgive her of her sins and make her into a new person. What a privilege it is to be present in the birthing room!
But it didn't really hit me until about five minutes after she was gone –
Now I know why the Devil has been fighting this trip into Canada.
There was a Samaritan woman to be reached, and he didn't want her to enter the Kingdom.
My mind reeled. I've been waking up day after day here in Canada, praying, Lord, what do you have for us here? What is it you want to do? There had been many hindrances - adversaries, as Paul called them. Paperwork issues, mechanical issues, and other things were set to prevent us from going into Canada. Why? I wondered. Now I knew.
I, being in the way, the Lord led me…and I'm so thankful He did! Perhaps some of you have been praying about our excursion into Canada. Thank you for praying! Your prayers did not go unheaded! Please continue to pray, because I know that God's not finished with us yet. There is always more to do, more folks to win. I want to be in the way…

Sacrifice for Liberty

This is a song written during Desert Storm by the wife of a soldier; it is a difficult song to sing without tears, but it is a good song, nonetheless. This Memorial Day, I send a special Thank You to all who have served, and for all those who love them. Because of you, we are free.

 
She was standing in his room, tears streaming down her face,
Wondering where the time had gone, what had happened in this place.
She remembered all his toys, scattered on the floor,
Oh, the pain when she realized, he'd never come home anymore.

 
He had died for the cause of freedom.
He had given all that we might be free.
Oh, let us thank God for the mothers and the sons,
Who sacrificed for liberty.

 
She was rocking in her chair, the baby at her feet,
Reading his last letter, his words of love so sweet.
He said, "Honey, I can hardly wait, soon, I'll be coming home,"
But he had died for liberty, and now she was alone.

 
He had died for the cause of freedom.
He had given all that we might be free.
Oh, let us thank God for the husbands and the wives,
Who sacrificed for liberty.

 
God was looking down from Heav'n, upon the world He made,
His Son cried, "God, forgive them," oh, what a price He paid!
They had never been apart, but now He must forsake,
And for the cause of Liberty, this sacrifice He paid.

 
Jesus died for our cause of freedom!
He gave all so that we might be free.
Oh, let us thank God, for the giving of His Son,
The sacrifice for liberty….
The sacrifice for you,
    And me…