Chapter 2 the harvey family
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- PARENTAL GUIDANCE
- NO SECOND GENERATION CHRISTIANS
- LORD, I BELIEVE; HELP MY UNBELIEF!
- MIRACLE HOSE
- GROWTH
- THE BARN BURNER
- PRINT SHOP EXPANSION
- TEN MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION!
"SPIRITUAL INSIGHTS"People who hear my sermons seldom comment on them. They may greet me at the door with the customary "I enjoyed the message." I found that visitors made the most interesting remarks. I once spoke on the importance of dealing with sin immediately and not putting it off. In order to illustrate this, I said that I had been suffering with an ingrown toenail for quite some time, but kept putting off the inevitable. I was finally going to the doctor the next day to have it removed. When the service concluded, a visiting woman said that she wanted to speak with me. She and her husband were what the commentator Paul Harvey called “church hoppers” or “church shoppers.” They could never seem to find a church good enough for them and had only attended our church twice. The woman asked if I had approached the church Elders to have them pray over my sore toe and anoint it with oil according to Scripture. I admitted that I hadn't. She admonished me for neglecting to obey scripture and suggested that I call the deacons instead of going to see a doctor. I asked if she had ever cut her finger while peeling potatoes or gotten burned on a hot pan. She had of course, so I asked if she called the church Elders for prayer and anointing. She admitted that she hadn’t but tried to explain that these injuries were not serious enough for that. I agreed with that statement and then explained that the sermon was actually about dealing with sin. Some sins could probably be confessed personally to the Lord, but there are sins which need to be dealt with by public confession. "Are you trying to tell me that I am harboring some serious sin?" she asked with indignation. I said that I had indicated nothing of the kind, but if the Holy Spirit was speaking to her, she should listen. She turned on her heels and departed, never to be seen again. On another occasion, I mentioned that my sermon had been especially difficult to prepare due to several interruptions. After the service a man said that if I was filled with the Holy Spirit, I wouldn't need to prepare my sermons. I asked if he was filled with the Holy Spirit and he said, "Yes, of course!" I then invited him to take the devotions for our midweek prayer meeting. He said that he would need more time to prepare! I won’t forget the first time Herman attended our church. He had obviously been influenced by some other Christian group, for he approached me after the service and asked if I preached the "full gospel." I glanced at the big Bible in his hand and asked if I could look at it. After a close examination, I noted that it looked almost new except for a small part of the New Testament. I showed him the worn pages and asked, "Is this what you mean by full gospel?" Before he had time to reply, I showed him my Bible, which was worn from cover to cover and said, "This is what I believe and preach. Does that answer your question?" He looked a bit embarrassed and nodded. From that time on, he seldom missed a service. PARENTAL GUIDANCEPreachers’ and missionaries’ kids have the notorious reputation of being ornery if not downright evil. It is not the children's fault, for they are subject to tremendous pressures that "normal" kids never experience. For some reason, our children were spared such tendencies, or perhaps they were successful in concealing their sins. Our daughter once washed a little boy's face. You might think that the kid's mother would be delighted, but Becky washed it with snow. It was winter and snowing heavily during the church service. After Sunday School, the children swarmed into our back yard and began building large snow forts while simultaneously pelting each other with snowballs. A six-year-old boy thought it more fun to tear down the forts. The boy was warned a couple of times, but persisted in his work of destruction, obviously elated that he could destroy in seconds what several big kids built with great effort. Our twelve-year-old Becky grabbed a handful of snow and washed the kid's face. I was chatting with someone when the irate mother with her screaming child interrupted. "Your daughter washed my son's face with snow. Can't you teach her not to pick on kids half her size?" Not knowing what happened, I went outside to investigate. The children all came to Becky’s defense and explained what had happened. I went back inside and found the mother who was sharing the story with her husband. I tried to explain what their son had done to warrant such treatment and that it was only snow, but they remained indignant. It was quite obvious that their little darling could do no wrong. They took their still crying child and departed in a huff. That afternoon, Verna and I went to visit them and tried to make amends. Becky accompanied us and apologized for her action, but neither parent seemed ready to forgive her. The father rode to work each day on a public bus. On Monday morning, a mother boarded the bus with a boy about the same age as their son. The boy walked around the bus making a nuisance of himself. He opened a ladies purse and ripped another passenger's newspaper. One man finally had enough and told the kid to go sit with his mother. The boy responded by spitting in his face! The man told his mother in no uncertain terms to control her child, adding that he deserved a good spanking. She answered, "My husband and I don't believe in spanking children. We are raising our children with love instead of authoritarianism." The kid continued molesting passengers and the mother did nothing to stop him. When the bus arrived in the city, she and her child disembarked at the same bus stop as the man who had been spit upon. They were no sooner off the bus when the man turned and spit in the mother's face! Then he said in a voice loud enough for everyone on the bus to hear, "I also had an anti-authoritarian upbringing!" The passengers were delighted with the show and applauded vigorously. Our young father and church member said that this experience haunted him all day. When he arrived home that evening, he related the experience to his wife and both recognized God's warning message to them. Their son grew up a fine Christian and is at this writing the church youth leader. NO SECOND GENERATION CHRISTIANS"God has many children, but no grandchildren." This may sound ambiguous, but there is a certain element of truth in it. We can rear our children according to Christian principles, teach them God's Word, pray for them and hope that they will become children of God, but they must be personally "born again." Although members of our church rejected the common practice of infant baptism, many of them failed to recognize the above truth. They seemed to expect that because their children grew up in Christian families and attended church, they would somehow automatically become Christians. As children turned into teenagers, it became obvious that some of them preferred a worldly, godless lifestyle to the Christian way of life. One of the older members scolded the youth for disrupting the service with their misbehavior and added that they represented the future of the church and should learn to behave accordingly. The son of one of the elders spoke up, "What if we aren't interested in becoming Christians?" The church members were shocked by this response, but it was a healthy experience for all. That young man was later saved and is now one of the church leaders. LORD, I BELIEVE; HELP MY UNBELIEF!It never ceases to amaze me at how unbelieving believers can be! Sepp Fischer was a young coal miner, who had long hair, tattoos and a formidable appearance. His petite wife, Karin was a redhead who stayed married out of fear, knowing that her husband was capable of violence when something displeased him. Rudy, one of the Bible Institute students, played guitar and decided to use his gift evangelistically. He put up posters around town, offering free guitar lessons. Three young people responded; one of them was Sepp Fischer. After several lessons, Rudy and Sepp struck up a friendship and soon Rudy was conducting Bible studies in the Fischer's home. Karin became very interested and soon gave her life to Christ. Sepp was amazed at the change in her attitude and life. Then he too prayed to God, asking Him to help him clean up his life and make him a new person. When the church heard of Sepp and Karin’s conversions, they obviously didn't believe it. The couple began attending services regularly, and Karen even helped in the children's work, but Sepp had quite a bad reputation in town and members were not ready to believe that his conversion was genuine. Being a small church, we gave members opportunity to give testimonies and to pray in our services. On one occasion, Sepp unexpectedly prayed, thanking the Lord for his new life. Many eyebrows were raised but the skepticism continued. I began baptismal classes with a farmer named Toni, Karen, Sepp and our daughter, Becky. The church baptismal pool was outside in the lawn and the service was usually viewed from the street by many curious citizens of the town. One of the deacons, named Hubert, remarked, "When the time comes, Sepp will find a good reason to back out at the last minute; just wait and see!" It was clear that most members of the church agreed. On the last prayer meeting night before the baptism, Hubert said with an almost victorious grin on his face, "Well, Sepp has found the ideal excuse why he can't be baptized. He injured his eye at work today and is wearing a big bandage." I discovered that this was true. A large chunk of coal had broken loose in the mine and hit him in the eye. Doctors were not certain that he would retain the sight of that eye. I was dismayed and began praying fervently that at least Karin would have courage to take that important step. Baptismal services were always Sunday afternoons following a fellowship dinner. On Sunday morning, neither Karin nor Sepp were in church. I was disappointed but continued to pray that God would somehow turn this situation into victory. We had just finished eating when Sepp and Karin appeared in the doorway. Sepp's bandage was gone and the scar around his eye looked really bad. Not knowing what to say, I floundered for a few minutes and then said that we had missed them in church that morning. Sepp replied, "Karin had to take me to the doctor this morning" (Sepp had lost his license due to drunken driving). Then he added, "It wasn't easy convincing him to take the bandage off, but I told him I couldn't wear it when I was being baptized!" I am certain that the doctor thought it very unusual for a person of his age to be baptized (most are baptized as infants) and if he had known that Sepp was to be baptized by immersion, he would never have given his consent! Karin and Sepp gave moving testimonies and it was one of the most memorable experiences of our missionary career. If I stop here, the story would have a happy ending, but I will be honest enough to continue, in hopes that some reader may learn a lesson that many church members didn’t learn. I falsely supposed that Sepp and Karen's baptism would convince church members beyond the shadow of a doubt that their conversions were genuine and that they would embrace them as brother and sister in Christ. I was wrong. Several times, I overheard members wondering out loud how long it would be before Sepp returned to his old life and friends. Instead of showing loving acceptance, most remained distant and just waited for what would obviously come. Sepp and Karen continued faithfully for months, even attending prayer meetings, but after Rudy graduated from the Bible Institute, Sepp attended less and less until he only came on special occasions or when pressured by myself. I visited him often, but it was obvious that Sepp had lost interest in the church even though he claimed to read the Bible and pray daily. Karin, however, remained active in children and youth ministries. About five years later, Sepp left Karin for another woman. I suppose some members of the church were thinking, "I knew all along, that something like this would happen!" They were rewarded according to their faith. But the news just about broke my heart. MIRACLE HOSEOne dreary Saturday, Verna was at a ladies meeting while I prepared my sermon. The title of my sermon was "God Answers Prayer.“ I was to preach in the newly founded church in Vocklabruck where most in attendance were young Christians. My sermon was complete, but I needed a good illustration. I could think of many answered prayers, but asked the Lord to help me recall more recent experiences. While I was still praying, the doorbell rang. A very tall young man said that his car had broken down and asked, "Is there a garage in town?" I replied that there was no garage at all, and those in the next towns were all closed on Saturdays. I looked down the street and saw his car parked in a dangerous curve. I suggested pushing the car into our driveway, and said that I would try to find help or call the touring club. With a silent prayer, I picked up a gospel tract from the table near our door and returned with him to the car. As we approached the stranded vehicle, a middle aged man stepped out and I immediately recognized him, but I couldn't recall where I had met him before. He glanced my way and his mouth dropped open. The next moment we were embracing each other! A couple of years earlier, the Director of the German branch of International Christian Athletes, Reinald Begelmann, and I had planned a summer camp for horseback riders. The camp was held in the Austrian Bible Institute facilities and led by an ICA worker. We had since moved and both of us had nearly forgotten the occasion. Reinhold and two Christian athletes were on their way home from an ICA conference held in Gmunden, Austria. They had hardly begun their 8-hour journey home, when they smelled burnt oil. The oil indicator light of their Volkswagen was on, so they stopped the car and found motor-oil pouring onto the street. The driver, a lanky basketball player, approached the nearest house tp get help. It happened to be ours, The three men had given up hope of getting home in time for Sunday services. After pushing the car into our driveway, we opened the hood to make a closer inspection. A rubber hose had fallen off, allowing oil to drain from the engine. It "just happened" that I had a hose of the proper size, hose clamps and a canister of oil in the garage. While I brewed coffee to go with some cookies that Verna had baked that morning, we had a time of prayer and praise. Soon, three athletes were on their merry way and I had a fresh illustration for my sermon! GROWTHThe church grew in numbers and gave generously. They supported a number of missionaries and were able to purchase the mission property in thee years. The paperwork in England took so long to complete, that by the time the money was transferred, the price had decreased considerably due to currency devaluations! The Miners' Mission was able to open a new missionfield among miners in Zambia with revenue from the house sale. It was much different in the Steyr church. The pastor of the Linz church persuaded the members to give the money they had saved for a building to "the mother church." When we left Austria for retirement 22 years later, there were only about 20-25 people meeting in a rented room above a store. THE BARN BURNEROne cold winter night when I got up to put more coal on the fire, a red glow in the kitchen window caught my attention. I looked closer and saw flames shooting up from a building located several hundred feet from our home. I ran to the phone and dialed the fire department, but there was no answer. Ampflwang had two volunteer fire companies plus a fire company that belonged to the Coal Mining Company. I tried one after the other and let the phone ring many times, but there was no answer. In desperation, I called the fire company in next closest city, Vöcklabruck. Someone answered and asked if it was "a bad fire.“ I told him the flames were already shooting several meters into the air. He said to try the fire company of another town. I awakened Verna and gave instructions to keep trying while I ran to see if people or animals were in danger. I quickly dressed and ran across a field to the burning object, which turned out to be an old house-barn combination once popular in Austria. No one was living in the house part, but I had seen animals there. I ran to the home of the owners next door and began ringing the door bell, yelling at the same time. After what seemed like an eternity, a second story window opened and someone asked what I wanted. I quickly explained that their barn was on fire and then ran back to see what I could do. The lower part of the building was of brick and the upper part of wood. On one side, a wooden outhouse had been added which was burning furiously. Flames were now leaping twenty feet into the air. Normally, the upper part of the barn would have been ablaze, but as the outhouse burned, it fell away from the main structure. I grabbed a long board and began prying at the blazing outhouse until it fell onto the grass. I began stomping on it and had the fire nearly extinguished by the time the owner came out. He looked at the smoldering embers for a while and muttered something about being lucky. Then, without even thanking me, he went back into the house. When I got home, Verna said that she was not able to get through to the fire companies. Several days later, two firemen rung our doorbell. They were collecting money for a new fire truck. While I reached for my wallet, I said, "You guys ought to be giving me money. I do your work for you!" They of course wanted to know what that meant and I told them of my experience a few nights earlier. After some recollection, one of them said, "Ach, that was the night we all went to Linz." The provincial government had installed a central computerized fire reporting system in Linz and invited all the local fire companies to come for the official dedication. The sophisticated electronic equipment cost several million shillings and there would be free beer for all! Austrian firemen don't need a second invitation for that sort of thing! A few months later, two men from our mission were visiting us when that same barn burned to the ground. Our guests were first to hear the loud crackling noises which they thought were fireworks. By the time the fire company arrived, there was nothing left to save. Insurance investigators quickly smelled arson and notified police. It didn't take them long to find the culprit. The 21 year old son of the people I had woken from a sound sleep confessed to the dastardly deed. Shortly before the first fire, which I had successfully extinguished, this man had given the barn to his daughter, who happened to be married to a lawyer. The building was in poor condition and had asbestos shingles. It would normally have had to be torn down and the materials disposed of at great expense. The daughter and her lawyer husband wanted to build a new home on the property, so they insured the structure for about $50,000 and the unemployed son/brother burned it down. He told police that he was "jealous that his father gave the house to his sister and not him." Since he had no money, the youth had to spend a few nights in jail, but soon afterward, his sister and brother-in-law forgave him for burning down their inheritance and even bought him a nice car! PRINT SHOP EXPANSIONI assumed responsibility for the church in Ampflwang in autumn of 1979 with the condition that half of my time would be reserved for printing. Unfortunately, I failed to specify how much time that would take! The church work demanded more time than planned even though the members kept their part of the agreement. Discipling believers to serve proved to be more time-consuming than doing it myself. Demands for printing were also steadily increasing and saying “no” was never one of my gifts. Many late nights were spent in the print shop, which was located in the bottom floor of the mission house, next to the church. Verna complained about noise while she was trying to sleep and church members didn’t like the smell of printers ink. I began to pray about closing this ministry altogether. In December, 1980, our mission informed us that a young couple had applied for service in Austria. The husband was a printer with 10 years experience! Knowing that getting a support team together took time, I was still reluctant to continue the printing operation, but our fellow workers said that quitting now would not be good for anyone. Their primary concern may have been getting their newsletters printed, but I condescended. Early in 1981, a grocery store just a few houses away was vacated and the owner agreed to rent it for a reasonable amount. That at least solved the noise and smell problems. Besides one large room, the shop had oil heat, two restrooms and a second room that was suited for the paper cutter and storing supplies. One of the restrooms was converted into a darkroom for the litho camera and developing tanks. The plate maker, three offset presses, folder, stapler and collator were installed in the main hall. I put a desk and filing cabinet in a corner near the front entrance for my office. We received word in September, 1981, that the printer and his family had all their needed support and would be arriving at the airport in Munich October 25. Their home church had pledged half of their support needs and a wealthy Texan took on the other half. I was elated! As Field Director, I was responsible for finding them a place to live and getting them enrolled in language school. In mid October, I spotted a newspaper ad for a lovely house with reasonable rent. I called and the owner insisted that he wanted to get to know the renters before signing a contract. We picked up the family in Munich, hoping that the house would still be available. As soon as they had a good night’s sleep, I called again. The man said that we could come over right away to look at the house. The owner turned out to be a rather young man who lived with his parents in a luxurious castle. They owned a large factory which manufactured tools and industrial supplies. I could recall using their products as a carpenter in America, but didn’t realize that they were made in Austria. I was a bit nervous about how he would react when he discovered that the potential renters were missionaries. My fears proved to be unfounded. We took off our shoes upon entering the house, an important procedure in Austria. The owner and his family were very impressed with this fine, intelligent and attractive family. They agreed right away to sign a rental contract, but explained that a defective pipe in the bathroom had to be fixed before they could move in. Our boys were both away at boarding school in the Black Forest, so we had two spare bedrooms where they could stay until the house was ready for occupancy. We were very impressed with the new couple and could readily understand why doors opened for them almost immediately. Best of all, he was a trained and experienced printer, something that I was not! The repair job didn’t go as fast as expected and the new missionaries had to stay with us about two weeks. This didn’t bother us, but they seemed to be getting nervous. We tried our best to make them feel at home and spent much time giving orientation on the Austrian way of life. He helped some in the print shop during this time and began finding fault with the printing equipment and criticizing how I did things. Over and over, I responded by saying that this was why we were happy he had arrived. On the other hand, I began to wonder about his printing abilities. He definitely knew the vocabulary and he could do some things far better than I, but he seemed to have problems with simple routine procedures as though they were completely new to him. When I saw that he was using lots of new paper for trial runs instead of already used starter sheets, I mentioned that we had an abundance of the latter and needed to save wherever possible. We didn’t print for profit. He said that this is how he always did it and continued using new stock. After the missionary printer and his family was moved and settled into their home, I reminded them that the language course was to begin in January. They responded by saying that they needed more time to get adjusted to everything. I reluctantly gave them until the next course began in March. TEN MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION!In that same month, January, 1982, representatives of an Eastern European Mission visited us and said that their mission and several others were about to embark on a monumental cooperative task of publishing ten million theological books in various Eastern European languages. The operation would be spread out over ten years and cost in the neighborhood of ten million dollars! I might normally have asked if this was some sort of joke, but I knew these men and their mission. They were much involved in training Christian leaders behind the Iron Curtain. A person risked imprisonment smuggling Bibles and books into these countries, but some people were attracted to this kind of ministry and others gave generously. The mission already had money for the needed printing equipment - half a million Dollars worth! Many of the books had already been translated and typeset. They were prepared to pay for renting buildings, hiring employees and any other expenses involved. I was merely being asked to provide expertise in directing the operation. Due to the secretive nature of this project, they wanted only trustworthy Christians involved. If we would agree to their proposal, the printing equipment would belong to us after the project was completed or in ten years, whichever came first. They would give us a month to pray and consider the matter. After the men left, I felt faint. I was not a printer and told them so, yet they only expected me to direct the operation. They felt that I was qualified for this and my experience in printing would make the job feasible. The following day, I shared the news with the new missionary printer and he was ecstatic about the possibility. I also wrote mission leaders back in America, reminding everyone that the matter was to be kept strictly confidential. Verna and I prayed much and we finally decided that we would follow whatever the mission decided. If they left it up to us, however, we would need a definite leading from the Lord. Towards the end of February, I reminded the new missionaries that it was time to enroll in language courses. They again argued that they were not ready. When I tried to convince him of the importance of getting registered for language classes, he unexpectedly erupted and accused me of causing them much stress. I called the Mission and asked the Director of European Ministries to send me a letter. I told him to say that he had learned that the new workers were not yet enrolled in language school. Why had I not seen to this? He understood my reasoning and agreed, adding that no carbon copy would be placed in the mission’s files! When the letter arrived, I merely had to show it to them and they enrolled in language classes! On April 5th, 1982, GMU Management responded to the request of the eastern missions. The Management said that the project clearly fit within the mission’s threefold purpose of evangelism, church planting and training nationals. The printing operation was aimed at training nationals to plant and serve in churches. On the other hand, this would represent an entirely new sphere of ministry, equivalent to opening a new field. In addition, we would be working under a dual authority and the mission had negative experiences with such arrangements in the past. The mission was not in favor of entering into such an agreement, but if we felt that the Lord was leading, we should join one of the missions involved. I shared this news with our missionaries and added that we would not be accepting the challenge. The new missionary printer was quite disappointed and openly critical of the mission decision. Without our knowledge, he began his own negotiations with one of the Eastern missions. Some months later, they tendered their resignation from GMU and joined the other mission in hopes of assuming responsibility for the project. Instead, the conglomerate of eastern missions negotiated an agreement with a missionary printer in France. Disappointed, he and his family resigned and returned to America. A year later, I learned that the French connection had also fallen through and the materials had to be printed commercially after all. I need to add a footnote here. If I had accepted the challenge, the project could not have gotten underway before at least a year and probably not until 1984. That was the year we opened the Austrian Bible Institute. In 1989, the Berlin Wall and Iron Curtain were dismantled and most Eastern European countries were freed from the chains of Communism. I often wondered how these events might have affected the project. Directory: documents documents -> Concept stage documents -> Concept stage documents -> The great global switch-off documents -> Nonprofit grant application documents -> The Truth about the Rwandan Genocide documents -> Annual InStructional unit plan documents -> Chaos equipment included Download 2.2 Mb. Share with your friends:
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