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I was born and
raised in Danville, Illinois, along with my older sister and brother. I
was taken to church from the time I was a baby. I grew up in a
church-going home even though my father, though saved when I was a
toddler, had strayed from the Lord. I don't remember him being faithful
in church; however, my mother was faithful and took us to church every
Sunday and to prayer meeting on Wednesday.
I praise the Lord
for my home church and a godly pastor, Harris A. Stuermer of the First
Baptist Church, who taught and preached the truths of God's Word without
apology. I am so thankful for him and for Mrs. Stuermer. I am thankful
for their stand on separation, their teaching me to obey God's word, and
to diligently seek His will. Not only did they lead by teaching, they
also led by example.
I made a
profession of faith as a young child, but couldn't remember a whole lot
about the experience. As I became older, I really started questioning as
to whether I had really dealt with the sin in my life, so I went to
Pastor Stuermer for help. He dealt with me so simply. I prayed in his
office at the church and asked Jesus to forgive me of my sin, come into
my heart and life, and to save me. This was on November 21, 1971, a
little over a year after I was married. I had the privilege of being
baptized by my husband, Tom. What a special time that was.
God has been so
faithful to Tom and me over these past years. We have enjoyed
mountaintop experiences and have also walked through valleys with
heartaches and tragedies in our lives. Probably the most significant to
mention would be the shock/anger/agony/peace that we experienced through
the death of our oldest son when he was killed in an automobile
accident. Over these past years, I can honestly say that God has been
our "stay" as we live by faith. Just as He was faithful during that
time, we continue to watch Him bring in the resources as He continues to
faithfully guide us toward the mission field and to Costa Rica. What an
adventure!!
"Praise God from
Whom All Blessings Flow!" (circa 2003)
Fast forward with
me, now, to August 15, 2004. What a dramatic turn of events in our
lives! Over the past two (2) years we took over the care of Tom's mom
who had been left a widow in September of 2001 and then was later
diagnosed with scerosis of the liver. Since she could no longer live
alone, she moved from her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to live
with us in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We tabled our deputation to care for
her and her health needs. She went home to be with the Lord on August
2, 2004. As we were getting ready to aggressively resume our deputation
I suffered a massive stroke on August 15, 2004 at the age of 54. The
Lord saw fit to spare my life then after a week in intensive care,
several weeks in a rehab hospital, and several months of rehab as an
out-patient I had recovered enough to follow God's leading to move to
Sanford, North Carolina, to become active members of the Grace Chapel
Church.
Though this is
not the outcome of the ministry that I had expected, God has led us,
nonetheless.
I have become more
involved in ladies' ministries and television programming over the past
few years. God has certainly pulled me out of my "comfort zone" and put
me into areas that totally put my dependency on Him (the stroke has left
me without a singing voice and incapable of playing the piano or
organ). As I realized my ministry of music was gone--the area of
ministry where I was VERY comfortable--He has increased my ministry in
other areas.
As
we continue to pray for complete healing we pray for His leadership in
our lives as well. We continue to say "Praise Him from whom all
blessings flow. . . " |