Graduation was over on Thursday night. We didn't need to be home until Sunday night. That left us with a day or so to do whatever we wanted. So we ate cashew chicken one last time. By this time, we were growing feathers and clucking, and Darrell was making a wierd jerking motion when he walked, but we ate it anyway. Springfield will forever be famous for its cashew chicken. It doesn't look like anything special, but take my word for it, it is! The secret is in the sauce. Shhhh!
Twice fried chicken in a soy sauce based sauce with cashews and green onions. What a flavor combination!
As I mentioned in a previous post, our first home was right in the city proper. We remembered where it was and it was like taking a step back in time. Not one thing had changed about it. It was here that God reminded me that He had created me the way I am because that is how He would use me, which enabled me to step into being a Pastor's wife with confidence. I soon learned that my confidence must always be in God because people are fickly and hard to please. Like Christ, we must have a soft heart and tough skin.
It was here that Darrell first tried his hand at biscuit baking because I was working nights and he was in charge of feeding our daughter. He mistakenly used cornstarch instead of baking powder, proudly producing the best hockey pucks I've ever seen. (Even the dog wouldn't eat them.)
It was here that my oldest child and only grandchild celebrated her first birthday, without any fanfare or family for that matter and where she took her first steps. The landlords were Christian people who rented it to us even though we didn't have jobs and patiently waited until we were settled to accept any money. They even gave us the first month free.
It was here where other seminary wives would gather to talk about what our husbands and ultimately us, had signed up for. We were all so naive! LOL!
It was here that a young boy from the worst neighborhood in Springfield bowed his head and invited God into his life.
It was here that Darrell first tried his hand at biscuit baking because I was working nights and he was in charge of feeding our daughter. He mistakenly used cornstarch instead of baking powder, proudly producing the best hockey pucks I've ever seen. (Even the dog wouldn't eat them.)
It was here that my oldest child and only grandchild celebrated her first birthday, without any fanfare or family for that matter and where she took her first steps. The landlords were Christian people who rented it to us even though we didn't have jobs and patiently waited until we were settled to accept any money. They even gave us the first month free.
It was here where other seminary wives would gather to talk about what our husbands and ultimately us, had signed up for. We were all so naive! LOL!
It was here that a young boy from the worst neighborhood in Springfield bowed his head and invited God into his life.
That young man lived in the ghetto of Springfield. This is also the neighborhood where our first youth pastorate was located. The sound of gun shots was a regular occurence during services. Fire and rescue personnel refused to enter without a police escort. After evening services, we drove all the kids home because it was too dangerous to walk, even if they lived two doors down from the church. Those kids lived in shacks and in the filthiest conditions you could ever imagine, yet they came faithfully to church and many accepted our love, and the Lord, with tremendous gratitude. The church looks much the same as it did when we were there, but is not a church building anymore.
This is also where I learned that the definition of a pastor's wife is that she is the person in the church who does whatever others either can't do or won't do. Believe me, it did not endear me to the ministry, but I totally loved those kids and wished that I could take them all with me when we left. I can still see there faces and remember a lot of their names.
This is also where I learned that the definition of a pastor's wife is that she is the person in the church who does whatever others either can't do or won't do. Believe me, it did not endear me to the ministry, but I totally loved those kids and wished that I could take them all with me when we left. I can still see there faces and remember a lot of their names.
Our next stop was the Assemblies of God International Headquarters. When Darrell was there, the seminary wasn't located in the nice building it is in today. It was on the 5th floor of a building we called "the blue Vatican" because of the color of the building, otherwise known as headquarters. They have since changed the color and it looks much better. I also worked there in what was then called the division of foreign missions. Although we spent years there, we never really toured it or learned much about it, so we took the tour. My old office is now part of the museum, which was fascinating and very interesting. Of course, the seminary now resides on Evangel University's campus.
I have to say that no one does missions like the Assemblies of God. Their indiginous church philosophy has built thriving churches all over the world. In fact, the general council first formed as a missions organization. It has always been and still is the heartbeat of the Assemblies. Today, over 1200 missionary families are serving around the world, making disciples and mentoring them until they can pastor their own churches. They have done more to take the gospel around the world than any other evangelical denomination.
I have to say that no one does missions like the Assemblies of God. Their indiginous church philosophy has built thriving churches all over the world. In fact, the general council first formed as a missions organization. It has always been and still is the heartbeat of the Assemblies. Today, over 1200 missionary families are serving around the world, making disciples and mentoring them until they can pastor their own churches. They have done more to take the gospel around the world than any other evangelical denomination.
My fondest memory of this building is a lady named Joyce Booze. At that time, she was the editor of Mountain Movers Magazine, the A/G's monthly missions magazine. Before this, Joyce and her pastor husband Nelson had lived two lifetimes worth of ministry, doing campus ministry and planting churches, here and abroad. She was one extraordinary lady. And believe it or not, she still is! I stopped to visit her. She's in her 90's now. She remembered my name but of course, didn't recognize me. After all, I have aged just ever so slightly in the last 30 years.
Joyce typed all her work on a manual typewriter, even though she had access to a computer. This was her downfall when she tried to remain anonymous in an act of kindness that I will never forget. Although I worked full-time, money was extremely tight! The Asia-Pacific director would often bring his wife a plethera of dresses home from the field because they were so inexpensive in the Asian countries where they were produced. His wife would choose what she wanted and put the rest of them in the ladies lounge with a price tag of a measly $25.00. At the urging of a co-worker I tried on a dress and it fit me perfectly. It had the most beautiful white on white design with bright pink swishes. Now I'm not one to want things, especially clothes, because my height makes me a terribly hard fit, but for some reason I fell head over heels in love with that dress. I remember praying and telling the Lord that if there was any way possible, I would love to have that dress. I was nervous to ask Darrell for the money because we rarely had an extra $25.00. I took the dress home to show it to him. Upon arriving home, he announced that his car had broken down and would need a costly repair. I never took the dress out of the car or said a word and promptly returned it to the ladies lounge first thing Monday morning.
The next day, I attended a co-workers wedding. Joyce asked me about the dress and I non-chalantly said that we were buying a car part instead. The next Monday, I got called to the front desk. There the receptionist handed me a box that contained the dress. The typed note simply said, Love, Jesus. Had it been typed on a computer or even an electric typewriter, I would have never known who the Lord used to remind me He hears, that He cares, and that He loves to grant us the desires of our hearts but I knew it was Joyce. I never told her that I knew until just a few years ago when we connected on facebook. Once a writer, always a writer. Joyce has a blog that I follow. Take a look! https://boozejoyce.wordpress.com/2014/03/
Joyce typed all her work on a manual typewriter, even though she had access to a computer. This was her downfall when she tried to remain anonymous in an act of kindness that I will never forget. Although I worked full-time, money was extremely tight! The Asia-Pacific director would often bring his wife a plethera of dresses home from the field because they were so inexpensive in the Asian countries where they were produced. His wife would choose what she wanted and put the rest of them in the ladies lounge with a price tag of a measly $25.00. At the urging of a co-worker I tried on a dress and it fit me perfectly. It had the most beautiful white on white design with bright pink swishes. Now I'm not one to want things, especially clothes, because my height makes me a terribly hard fit, but for some reason I fell head over heels in love with that dress. I remember praying and telling the Lord that if there was any way possible, I would love to have that dress. I was nervous to ask Darrell for the money because we rarely had an extra $25.00. I took the dress home to show it to him. Upon arriving home, he announced that his car had broken down and would need a costly repair. I never took the dress out of the car or said a word and promptly returned it to the ladies lounge first thing Monday morning.
The next day, I attended a co-workers wedding. Joyce asked me about the dress and I non-chalantly said that we were buying a car part instead. The next Monday, I got called to the front desk. There the receptionist handed me a box that contained the dress. The typed note simply said, Love, Jesus. Had it been typed on a computer or even an electric typewriter, I would have never known who the Lord used to remind me He hears, that He cares, and that He loves to grant us the desires of our hearts but I knew it was Joyce. I never told her that I knew until just a few years ago when we connected on facebook. Once a writer, always a writer. Joyce has a blog that I follow. Take a look! https://boozejoyce.wordpress.com/2014/03/
As you can see, neither of us is good at selfies. We took several but this is the best we could do! LOL!
From there, we moved on to a town 40 minutes northwest to a small town called Ash Grove. It was here that we met Tony and Rhonda. The little church has added an addition. It just happened that the pastor was there and gladly gave us a tour. It's always fun to hear about the experiences and memories of former pastors and we had a nice conversation. Ash Grove was a town of about 1200 people. When we took over the youth group, there were 4 kids. That youth grew to around 125 kids. We attended every sporting event, every concert, and every debate. Our church kids introduced us to their friends and we invited them to church...and they came!
One young lady came to church because she had a crush on one of the church kids who happened to be the high school quarterback. She got saved and went crazy witnessing to her friends and inviting them to come to youth group. The Lord can use literally anything! LOL!
One night, Darrell challenged the kids to write down the names of the top 3 hardest to save kids at the high school. They all agreed on the same 3 names. Then we began to pray for them every meeting and encouraged the kids to pray for them during the week. They did! Another church in town had revival meetings and those 3 guys ended up at the meetings and all 3 got saved the same night! Boy, did that light the youth on fire and from there, the sky was the limit. Soon, the youth group exploded. Thankfully, we were living just out of town in a farmhouse that was built in the 1800s. It had a huge L-shaped living room and a large yard that could handle the games of pillow hockey and the extreme water balloon fights we had. On any given night, there were at least 6 or 7 seven kids at our house, eating us out of house and home, and fellowshipping with us and each other. We are still in touch with some of those kids.
It was also the yard that was frequented by coyotes, a great horned owl and his wife who hooted all night long, a snapping turtle that was so big, our 3 year old could have ridden him around the yard, a 6 foot black snake that took up residence in our cupboard, and a mama racoon whose babies got treed on a telephone pole by the road when our dog started them chasing them (man, what a racket they made!). It also had a sour cherry tree. Every year we would pick the cherries and make pies together.
While in town, we got hungry, so we stopped into the country diner. Now you know it's a "country" diner when there is a boot cleaner by the door that is heavily used, as this one was!
We also stopped to see the Pastor that had hired us. He is now the district superintendent of the Southern Missouri District. He was glad to see us and we were able to chat for awhile.
One young lady came to church because she had a crush on one of the church kids who happened to be the high school quarterback. She got saved and went crazy witnessing to her friends and inviting them to come to youth group. The Lord can use literally anything! LOL!
One night, Darrell challenged the kids to write down the names of the top 3 hardest to save kids at the high school. They all agreed on the same 3 names. Then we began to pray for them every meeting and encouraged the kids to pray for them during the week. They did! Another church in town had revival meetings and those 3 guys ended up at the meetings and all 3 got saved the same night! Boy, did that light the youth on fire and from there, the sky was the limit. Soon, the youth group exploded. Thankfully, we were living just out of town in a farmhouse that was built in the 1800s. It had a huge L-shaped living room and a large yard that could handle the games of pillow hockey and the extreme water balloon fights we had. On any given night, there were at least 6 or 7 seven kids at our house, eating us out of house and home, and fellowshipping with us and each other. We are still in touch with some of those kids.
It was also the yard that was frequented by coyotes, a great horned owl and his wife who hooted all night long, a snapping turtle that was so big, our 3 year old could have ridden him around the yard, a 6 foot black snake that took up residence in our cupboard, and a mama racoon whose babies got treed on a telephone pole by the road when our dog started them chasing them (man, what a racket they made!). It also had a sour cherry tree. Every year we would pick the cherries and make pies together.
While in town, we got hungry, so we stopped into the country diner. Now you know it's a "country" diner when there is a boot cleaner by the door that is heavily used, as this one was!
We also stopped to see the Pastor that had hired us. He is now the district superintendent of the Southern Missouri District. He was glad to see us and we were able to chat for awhile.
Our next stop was the small town of Conway, Mo., our first senior pastorate. There were few people there when we took over. Turned out it had been an extremely troubled church and we realized that we had bitten off way more than a greenhorn could handle. But we stuck it out, prayed hard, preached the Word, and watched God turn it into one of the most loving congregations you would ever want to meet. Sometime after we left, there must have been great growth because the building is 3 times larger than it was when we pastored there.
It was here that Darrell learned all about blue racer snakes. He was mowing and one kept following him as he mowed. When Darrell stopped, the snake stopped and when Darrell started moving again, the snake started following him again. Of course, we had never seen these snakes before and Darrell felt sure that the snake was playing some kind of a game. Sadly, Darrell tired of it and eventually took care of the situation. LOL! If you're curious, google blue racer snake and enjoy just one more wonder of God's great creation.
This was also where I learned to play the piano by ear. We sang every song in the same key for months as I fumbled my way along. I often wonder what would have happened had we stayed longer. I was extremely homesick by this time. I wanted so much to go home to PA. I wrestled with it for months until one day, I finally relinquished "home" into the Lord's hands. That very week, we got a call inviting us to come home to do campus ministry.
It was here that Darrell learned all about blue racer snakes. He was mowing and one kept following him as he mowed. When Darrell stopped, the snake stopped and when Darrell started moving again, the snake started following him again. Of course, we had never seen these snakes before and Darrell felt sure that the snake was playing some kind of a game. Sadly, Darrell tired of it and eventually took care of the situation. LOL! If you're curious, google blue racer snake and enjoy just one more wonder of God's great creation.
This was also where I learned to play the piano by ear. We sang every song in the same key for months as I fumbled my way along. I often wonder what would have happened had we stayed longer. I was extremely homesick by this time. I wanted so much to go home to PA. I wrestled with it for months until one day, I finally relinquished "home" into the Lord's hands. That very week, we got a call inviting us to come home to do campus ministry.
Last, but not least, was a stop to see our very treasured friend, Lisa. Lisa and her husband, Joe, held a Bible study at their house and we enjoyed many evenings studying the word and just plain having fun together. Unfortunately, Joe was killed in a an auto accident and Lisa was left with 2 small children to raise. Eventually the Lord brought Kevin into her life, and along with having very good grilling skills, is such a kind, loving, and gracious man. We feel privileged to know him and call him our new friend. God is good!
The last day, Saturday, Darrell had a brain fart and thought it was Friday so we toured Wilson Creek Battelfield, home of the 3rd battle of the civil war. We cut it short though when he realized that we should be driving east! LOL! I wondered what he was thinking, but it all worked out and we saw all the important parts.
And so, our grand graduation adventure came to an end. So many miles, so many memories-new and old, so many blessings, so much encouragement, so much fun. Our hearts are full and thankful. Thanks for traveling along memory lane with us!
The last day, Saturday, Darrell had a brain fart and thought it was Friday so we toured Wilson Creek Battelfield, home of the 3rd battle of the civil war. We cut it short though when he realized that we should be driving east! LOL! I wondered what he was thinking, but it all worked out and we saw all the important parts.
And so, our grand graduation adventure came to an end. So many miles, so many memories-new and old, so many blessings, so much encouragement, so much fun. Our hearts are full and thankful. Thanks for traveling along memory lane with us!
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