Faith Under Pressure Part 3 (Trip To Moldovia)

Pat Took Picture of Gena, Andre and Me

Loved Of The LORD, We paid the porter for our Chi (Tea) then and for the next morning and got comfortable. Pat and I got the bottom bunks and the two young men, Gena and Andre were happy in the top two. There was a fold down table under the window. We left it up all the way, as it was stacked with our provisions for the trip.

We sang to The LORD and laughed about many of the crazy situations and issue involvements that it took to get this far. I have no doubt that they would have made Pat & I hang it up had it happened back home.

We had all just fallen asleep when we made the first border crossing into the Ukraine. The stopping of the train had us almost awake when Immigration banged on our compartment door. Pat understood most of the conversation between the Officer and the … let me just refer to them as ‘The Boys’ for now on. I was catching the gist, by the inflection of their voices and the body language. I knew there was a conflict developing and informed later that the Officer wanted to go thru our bags. This is where Pat put his foot down, because of the effort to exploit a share of anything found as payola to let us pass. Here was a reminder of my several adventures crossing into Mexico again.

After finding out that, we were not to be intimidated and his time to check all the passengers for pass ports and visas running out the Officer move on to the next compartment. It was an hour later after the boys explained everything before we got back to sleep.

Waking up early and taking turns with all the passengers on our car to toilet privileges, the porter had brought our hot Chi and we partook of some of the provisions we had brought. BTW! The bath had a sink with cold water and the toilet itself was a straight hole to the railroad ties below. I took note not to be walking along side of the tracks outside of town when a passenger train was passing.

Later that day we crossed in to Moldova and stopped again for Immigration. Remember that Pat and I did not have a visa for Moldova. The citizens of the former USSR only needed their passports and had access to all the Confederacy of Independent States. i.e. Called the CIS for short.

We opened the door in response to the rap and were in anticipation of anything that could possibly happen. When the, older this time, Officer asked for our passports, he glanced at the other three and when he got to mine he did a double take on mine as he looked back at me a couple times with a smile on his face. My passport picture was of me clean-shaven and now I had a full rap around beard. He wished us all the equivalent of, ‘Have a pleasant trip’, as he handed us all back our passports and then said, Das ve danya, as we closed the door.

The boys were incredulous at Pat and I having skated through that issue so smoothly! Pat & I, aware of the boys un-belief played it for what it was worth and gave everybody the look that we expected it to happen that way. To GOD be The Glory! Later when we were alone, Pat & I discussed how surprised we were too! Nevertheless, we BOLDLY ENTERED Moldova and were inspired to believe GOD for anything. We will talk about some of those things next time. … … © 2008

Faith Under Pressure Part 2 (Trip To Moldovia)

Loved Of The LORD, as you who are following this story know; one of the main reasons for me to make this adventure was to encourage and help the Saws get down to Moldovia (Now called Moldova). We needed to make an explorative trip to see where they would set up a camp to operate. Pat had made a contact in Chisinau the Capitol City and the contact had requested some books in Russian by Word Of Faith authors … Preacher/Teachers for his little Church.
So we started to put “Irons in the Fire” to get thing moving, My experience in my walk with The LORD is that it being a ‘Joint Venture’ that we start finding doors to go thru and HE Will open them before us. (Yet of course knowing that if it was not to be HE would use the Philippian Stop Sign . Php. 3:15)

Because of the conglomerate organization we knew the Brother that was in charge of the ‘Churches Of Faith’ organization and we set an appointment with him. Talk about a Gracious Servant he loaded us down with the latest works of all the well-known Authors. We had to stop him from loading us up anymore, as there were only to be four of us to make the trip and we had to pack every thing by hand.

The next thing was to get Visas for the Ukraine, as we had to travel thru there to get to Moldova. That was won kind of wrestling match, as their Embassy bureaucrats made us labor, getting appointments and then finding out that we needed different paperwork and on and on for almost a week. That in itself was a cakewalk, as we made many trips to the Moldovan Embassy, as they did not have a working telephone and every time we went there … no-body home! Nevertheless, we received the Ukrainian Visa the afternoon before we left on the following day. Oh what a hassle getting the train tickets, as all visiting citizens of other countries had to pay an arm and a leg to ride. We had the two young Belarusian men from the Saw’s Bible study running interference for us all thru this ordeal. They finally bought four tickets for nationals, as they were going with us. Do not believe that we question them how that came to pass, as we did not really want to know.

Not having a Moldovan Visa, we decided to chance it and make the trip anyhow. We had to have the Ukrainian Visa, as we were already aware of all the stories of non-Visa traveling passengers who were thrown off the train at the border and waiting for a returning train to return them to Minsk. We knew that GOD had designed this trip and HE would get it done!

By the way, we had to go on this assignment at this time, as the Pastor of the NonDenom Church was taking his family back to the San Diego area for some R & R and Pat was going to be Pastoring while they were gone. That was only to be for a couple weeks, which developed into several months, which is another interesting story in itself. We smiled many times, about what the Sponsors back home would go thru should they find out what we were doing.

We finally boarded our train the next morning and were off on our twenty-two hour ride to Chisinau. Now what I need to remind you is about when the Saws got to Moscow and said that they were on their way to Moldova, the response was, “It is a long train ride to Moldova!” 12 hours to Minsk and another 22 to Chisinau!
We will pick up on this next week! Be Blessed! ©2008

The Humor of JESUS!

How hard is it for you to imagine JESUS being Funny? It would be easier to see Mr. Spock as an ‘On Fire Preacher’. Take a look at this short cut from Mark Driscoll’s sermon on humor. I found it interesting and smiled thru it. You find the whole message by clicking here. Enjoy! I did, 1 ©2008

Tip A Cashier

While checking out a link on Blogosphere I came across an article:
"Spiritual Discipline: Tip Your Cashier" by Pastor Jim Moss. It caught my eye and I left this comment:

Very Interesting!
Hi Jim,
The Wife of my youth and I were in a restaurant yesterday and we watched an elderly, somewhat handicapped woman tip the cashier, looking at wonanother we question our selves about it, to no avail. Taaaaaaa Daaaaaaaaaa!

And today 'Jim' comes up with an answer for us. Now we know that that might not be the answer for her, yet we will consider your contribution to being a part of our expenditures.
Thanks, and I will make a link on our Blog. dp aka www.wonpreacher.com

Jim has a Good Perspective in this post and I recommend that you take a look!

©2008

Faith Under Pressure Part 1

Loved Of The LORD, need to give you a little more of this “Won Preacher’s” Domestic Ministry to lead into the next Story. To preface even this portion, I have to go back three decades to re-commitment to The LORD, as my Savior and making HIM LORD of my life. Remembering seeing seasoned believers watching me (And Helping me grow.) with a big smile on their face. Myself being blessed and basking in the deliverance from Alcohol, Tobacco and a Filthy Mouth partaking of that Real Live Zeal for GOD and HIS Ways, that never shadowed by the neophyte finesse that was always present. I always came forth with a “Praise The LORD!” at Every opportunity, never intimidated by who may be present. Laying hands on and praying at the drop of a dime.

Today I still enjoy being around a Fired Up Baby Christian and love to love them and encourage them, as they Splash all over me, while having that same grin on my face as those present thirty years ago watching me.

No Doubt most of you know about ‘Brother Andrews’ “GOD’s Smuggler”. That phenomenal work “Open Doors” accomplished getting Bibles into the USSR and China since the fifties is a ministry classic. Still going strong and are continuing that ongoing ministry even today, getting ready for the 2008 Olympics. What a blessing for us to have a part in sponsoring a brother who was smuggling bibles into China back in the Eighties.

Said all of that to say this: In that first fifteen years or so being a part with the FGBMFI, when Demas was still alive, (A men’s Global Parachurch Organization) we found ourselves somewhat smuggling food & clothes into Mexico. The reason was that Mexican Customs &/or Immigration wanted ‘Payola$’ or at least a cut of what we were taking in. Enabling us to minister to fledgling churches, orphanages and even just setting up on the street, feeding, and clothing poor people while one of the brothers published The Gospel in Spanish.

On one of our trips, we were taking a Van in to a little Church for their use in the ministry. Something was wrong with it and it was barely making it up the hills on the way to San Diego. We stopped at several Gas Station Garages and trying to fix the problem, put on a new coil, a new fuel pump, filter and several other things to no avail. We were always in a caravan, when the van started to fail the driver and his partner would raise their arms out the windows signaling for prayer, and in turn, the rest of us in the different vehicles would do the same thing as we let them know we were in agreement with them. That must have been a sight to others on the road. They have no idea of who we were or what we were doing.

The van did not have current tags on it and going up one hill a CHP was passing all of us up on this two lane road and got stuck behind the van. No arms out this time, nevertheless, we were all praying and after what seemed like 10 minutes, the CHP passed the van up with out stopping it. Talk about the Praising The LORD!!! As if The Lord put Blinders on him, to never see the expired tags!

This is longer than I thought, so let me finish with this. In San Diego and with all these new parts the van finally quit. I pulled up behind the van and we joined our hearts and minds. With the hood of the van up, I started to jiggle different things on the motor while making the comment, “The only thing I know what I was doing is just laying hands on it and believing GOD would intervene.”

While doing this an experience came to mind about me having a an old Studebaker doing just about the same thing. What I finally figured out after several days of it trying to quit going up a hill was that the fuel line had a tiny pebble it front of the fuel filter. Keep in mind that we had replaced all of those things. I started to trace out the fuel line and when I reached the gas tank I found a kink in the line that only let a nominal amount of fuel get to the pump, but when there was a demand from the pump still only a metered amount would get thru.

That was the day that another verse of Holy Writ became my own personal promise. Let me paraphrase.

John 14:26. But the Helper Himself, the Precious Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, He will teach you ALL things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I Taught you! said to you.

How many times HE has brought to my remembrance things HE has taught me in the mechanics of construction, using the same words again, ministering not in the traditional way and too many more to mention.

Next week our trip to Moldova and how I tie this above to it.

©2008

Cowboy Missionary Activities

Loved Of The LORD, as I go along I will drop in different activities that a Cowboy Missionary find themselves doing, this post being one. You might find this bizarre, yet it makes a general point to what follows.

While ministering in our own ‘Hood’ (Neighborhood back Home) some of the homeboys would tell me that they were going to a different town to get away from the influence of their peers and the supply of their addiction that was always stumbling them. Nevertheless, when I would see them months or years later, I would hear the same stories repeatedly. Finding themselves in a different place it was only hours, if not minutes that they would hook up with the same type of crowd.

This must be typical with almost any kind or type of crowd. Missionaries are not any different, especially when the turf is open, thirsty, and hungry. The former USSR having been closed to any Spiritual happening for, … (what was it, … 80 years?) was really open to any Preacher, Mystic or Charlatan that had a god type message. One could spot the SLC Boys, even without their bicycles. They were there on ‘Humanitarian Aid’ Visas.

The Saws being there less than a year had already made connections with several evangelical groups. When I arrived on the scene, they were in the process of setting up a conglomerate organization to pool information, mostly on how to thread the needle of Belarusian Bureaucracies and use the different resources that were available.

It was amazing to see how Baptists, Pentecostals, Word Of Faith, Salvation Army and several others including the “NonDenom-Denomination” that I wrote about earlier were coming together to Publish The Good News, of course in their own flavors. Hadley being somewhat affiliated with them, back home and Pat had hooked up with their Minsk Church and were all a part of it. It was working Great and The Ministries were contributing, mostly on how to go about registering with the (Government Agency) ‘Ministry Of Religious Affairs’. The SLC crowd had it figured out at the get go, as to skipping the Missions Registration and starting out with the Humanitarian Aid premise, and almost (If Not Outright) covertly introducing their Doctrine with their dispersing of aid. While discussing this during a meeting, it appeared as a possible way of skirting around the Biggest Hurdles and propagating The Gospel!

Soon there were containers coming in on a regular bases, and Pat somehow had us plugged in to the un-loading and stocking of clothes, foodstuffs and Medicine and in turn we partook of some of it to help in our Ministries. Everyone was generous and blessed to share!

Keep in mind that this was working great for the four months I was there. Yet for a closing note on this post; when my wife and I returned the following year, we found out that the ND-Denom had pulled out of the “Ministry Organization”, because Word Of Faith were a part of it! Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face, I was incredulous! The prejudice that was in The States finally made it self known in Belarus! How Sad!

OK Next week, some stories about the different ministries in action. i. e. Some Good News!

©2008

The Fonz For President: Button

The button was misplaced when I posted "The Fonz For President / Henry Winkler" Last November. Just yesterday my wife found it and I thought I would Post a picture of the button. People that like nostalgic things might like to get a look at it. ... So here it "B"! & Let me know if you like it! 1 ©2008