July 15, 2011
Will a divine promise eclipse an ominous prognosis?
“You must have someone to travel with you in case you bleed to death,” a physician told Alliance Pastor Mike Gmetro when he confirmed that he was traveling to Kansas City for General Council 2011. When Council began Wednesday evening, Mike was “bleeding terribly and in excruciating pain” but forced himself to attend the service, where he heard Ravi Zacharias give a message that spoke to his heart. He sensed God telling him, “I still have a plan for your life if you just trust me.”
“I was trying to hold on to that,” says Mike. “I knelt down between the chairs and prayed, ‘Lord, I’m ready to be healed.’ I suddenly saw in my spirit (Alliance Pastor) Fred Hartley standing to my left. When I looked up, he was not there, so I continued to pray.”
The Battle Begins
Mike’s physical struggles began in 1999 when, as a New Mexico State College student, sudden, excruciating pain filled his abdomen. “I was rushed from the ball field to the hospital, where doctors gave me just hours to live.”
The visit resulted in an appendectomy. But there had been complications, and the pain had not subsided. Two weeks later, Mike was back in the hospital. This time, doctors diagnosed him with Crohn’s, an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks itself, harming the good bacteria and eating away at the walls of the intestine. Mike underwent a second surgery; 30 inches of his intestine was removed. “I was never sick as a child,” says Mike, who had been training for professional baseball. “I knew that dream was over, but I played the last two years of college.”
The disease grew worse during those two years. Mike was in pain every day, doubling over for up to 60 minutes at a time, unable to move. A battery of prescribed medications did not help.
Mike married Liza in 2001, and they moved to Michigan, where they attended seminary. During a class in 2003, he had a “flare,” and Liza rushed him to hospital. Again, the doctors’ ominous prognosis was hours to live; another surgery took eight more inches of his intestine.
Graduating from seminary in 2004, Mike joined Liza on a missions trip to Siberia. “I knew I was really taking a chance,” he says. “Even If there was a surgeon, he probably wouldn’t have the instruments for the surgery I would need.”
Not long into the trip another attack began. The missionary the Gmetros were visiting and a local believer laid hands on Mike and began to pray. “Suddenly, it felt like bubbles were filling up inside me, and my body flushed with cool water. I felt incredible, and immediately all pain went away.”
A Reprieve
After the couple returned home, Mike continued to be free of pain. He completed the C&MA licensing requirements, and the Gmetros became missionary candidates with the goal of serving as international workers in the Middle East. They were assigned to Acts 29 Fellowship in Hamtramck, Michigan, for two-year home service before going overseas.
At Acts 29, Mike was associate pastor, working primarily in pastoral ministries and teaching ESL three days a week at a mosque to Bangladeshi men, and Liza ministered to youth. Then in December 2008, two months after their daughter, Lila, was born, a Crohn’s attack came out of nowhere. Liza rushed Mike to the hospital, and the surgeon removed another eight inches of intestine. For the next two and a half years, Mike experienced intense pain every day. The attacks would come when least expected—on walks with his family or in grocery stores. “Once I spent three hours in the cereal aisle,” he recalls, “with my daughter! I couldn’t reach anyone by phone, and I couldn’t move. People shopped around me or asked me to hand them a box of cereal when I blocked their reach, but no one asked if I needed help. The pain finally subsided enough that I was able to walk to the car.”
Shattered Dreams
Just before Council 2009, the Gmetros received word that Mike did not pass health requirements for overseas ministry, and they were removed from the candidate list. “Crohn’s was taking over,” he laments, “changing the plans that we believed God had for us.”
Mike continued his work at Acts 29, preaching and teaching daily, even as he endured severe pain. Resigning himself to owning the disease, he prayed, “Okay, Lord; tomorrow is not promised, but today I will serve you.” Then in March 2010, he started bleeding profusely. Liza rushed him to the hospital, where he learned that several ulcers in his large intestine had ruptured. Near death once again, Mike lay in the intensive care unit, shaking with convulsions and wanting to die. “I could only whisper, ‘Please help me. Please help me.” Two blood transfusions saved his life that night.
In fall 2010, Great Lakes District Superintendent Jeff Brown heard about Mike’s deteriorating health. “Jeff, who had been a mentor and spiritual father to me, authorized a medical sabbatical for rest,” Mike says. “As much as I love the ministry of Acts 29, I was in bad shape and needed a break.”
Mike’s health issues were stressful for Liza as well. The two were forced to broach the subject of death: what would she do if Mike died? How would she take care of their daughter? They prayed about their future, even as Mike planned for a speaking engagement at Beulah Beach. His district superintendent advised him, “Mike, if you can’t go overseas, then train up those who will go.”
After speaking at the Beulah Beach event, Mike met with Ralph Trainer, the camp’s executive director, who told him of a plan to establish Beulah Beach Institute to train up young people to take God’s word to the world and asked Mike to partner with him.” I thought of our prayer for the future and Jeff’s advice to train those who could go,” says Mike. “Ralph provided a fantastic opportunity, and I realized God answered our prayers.”
Removing What?
Mike and Liza moved to Beulah Beach in January 2011, excited about what God had in store for them. But Mike continued to be miserable with daily pain. In March another flare of ruptured ulcers resulted in a hospital stay and a blood transfusion. Tests showed ulcers lining his entire large intestine with two fissures three inches long. Then three days before General Council 2011 in Kansas City, Missouri, Mike and Liza met with a specialist, who gave them the shocking news that Mike would have to undergo surgery to remove his colon and large intestine.
“I was reeling,” says Mike. “I thought I was done with ministry. After the prognosis, I heard a message by Jill Briscoe, who said, ‘Oh to know the Lord so well that we stop asking for the thorn to be removed, because we love him so much that we trust Him.’ I was clinging to that hope—whatever God wanted. Okay, Lord, if you want me to live out this sickness as a platform, okay.”
After Council’s Thursday morning service, led by Fred Hartley, people were invited to the front for prayer. Sitting in the back, Mike thought of going forward but saw Fred “swallowed by a lot of people,” Mike says. “There was a couple sitting next to me that I did not know. They introduced themselves as Todd and Debbie Adams and asked how they could pray for me. I briefly told them about my ongoing battle with Crohn’s and how I longed to be healed. As they began to pray, Todd stopped and said, ‘I want to ask my dad to pray.’”
A Father’s Touch
Mike kept his head down as Debbie prayed. He didn’t know Todd or his dad or where Todd was going. But as he looked up, he saw Fred Hartley to his left; Todd’s father,Virgil Adams; Ron Walborn, and about 20 people standing around him. They anointed him with oil, and Fred began to pray for healing.
“I felt those bubbles again; I felt God’s joy. The pain was gone, and all my prayer warriors were praising the Lord with me. I couldn’t stop rejoicing. I felt great!
Later, Mike went out to lunch with some pastors and their wives. “I was so excited about telling my story of God’s healing that I forgot about ordering and someone else ordered pizza covered with jalapenos. I could never eat that before, but I began to eat and had no problems. I still felt great. I went back to the convention center and found Todd and Debbie to thank them and let them know I was still pain-free.”
Since that day, Mike has had no bleeding or pain. He discontinued all prescription medications, replacing them with a few nutritional supplements. He continues to have an abundance of energy and is looking forward to God’s new call on his life—to train and equip those who will go and make disciples of all nations.
“Todd Adams told me that he heard a specific word from God that day,” says Mike. “Todd said, ‘The Lord has told me you will receive manna from heaven; God will give you manna from heaven every day. He won’t give you more than you need, and He won’t withhold from you.’ So every morning I thank God for the manna today.”
Learn more
Read about Liza’s work with the youth of Acts 29 Fellowship.
Read about Todd and Debbie Adams’ work in Indonesia.
Learn more about the heritage of the Alliance’s Beulah Beach ministry.
What you can do
Give to Alliance Great Commission Ministries and impact lives for eternity as you make it possible for the people in this article and more to realize their call from God to go and make disciples of all nations.
June 15, 2011
A smiling, poncho-clad Native American woman, her long hair braided neatly behind her, carries a hollowed out deer horn filled with sand. As someone strums a guitar, the woman sings and rhythmically shakes the horn. Her brother, a man with sharp gray eyes and a quiet dignity, sits near her. His smooth voice suggests a fine tenor, though he seems reluctant to let anyone but the immediate group hear. “The brother and sister are here to experience the fellowship and help of the Food Cupboard ministry at North Woods Alliance Church,” says Pastor Vince Hartford. “Today, in the traditionally culture-cloistered world of rural Lee, Maine, it is hard not to notice that God is bringing to us a large and diverse number of people groups from around to world.”
According to Pastor Hartford, the New England District church, which was established in 1983 as The Christian and Missionary Alliance of Lee, “was steeped in a traditional Yankee ‘exclusivity,’ which would’ve previously made such an atmosphere nearly impossible.” Since arriving here in 2000, however, he has seen a gradual turnaround in the unwritten policy. The church’s Food Cupboard outreach has become a multicultural ministry to local and outlying communities, drawing people “who have found a weekly oasis near the center of this little town in the great forest of the Northeast,” says Hartford.
Sitting at the table with the Native American siblings is a man who residess in a ramshackle cabin in the woods. “He lives alone,” Pastor Hartford says, “but every week he arrives early, duffle bag on his back, ready to not only receive badly needed supplies but also to spend a little time with ‘family.’”
“We don’t think of it as a food pantry,” says Russian-born Irina Luekina, a transplant from a Toledo, Ohio, Alliance church, where she served with another food pantry ministry. Having experienced her share of hardship while growing up in the old Soviet Union, Irina now oversees the North Woods outreach to the poor with a great deal of empathy. Her sparkling eyes and anxious grin can break through language and cultural barriers even before she begins to speak. “We think of it more as a fellowship of friends. The people here are like family.”
Irina is assisted by exchange students-some are Christians, but most are not-who arrive each school year from Europe and Asia and are drawn to the ministry. “I don’t think it is the Christian faith that draws them to this church,” says Pastor Hartford, “as much as a fascination with serving poor people in a nation where the streets were supposed to be ‘paved with gold.’ This gives us opportunity to shine the light of Jesus into the lives of the servers as well as those who are being served.”
Every Friday, people of all ages and ethnicities fill the church basement-some to serve and some to be served. “The students help people carry groceries, lifting cardboard boxes filled with food to their shoulders,” Pastor Hartford says. “Some church members clean while others visit with food recipients; and the room is abuzz with the easy going banter that springs forth in a place where people know they are safe.
“There is a picture here of something deeper than just a food pantry ministry-something very special not devised by man nor fully understood by any sage foolish enough to attempt explaining it. Christ has sent His Church to bring good news to the all nations, but here in Lee, He seems intent on bringing the nations to us.”
Learn More
Read how other U.S. Alliance churches are impacting their communities for Christ. www.cmalliance.org/news/topics/gochurch/
What You Can Do
Give to Alliance Great Commission Ministries and partner with Alliance workers at home and abroad who are being light in a spiritually dark world. www.cmalliance.org/give
New Life Emerges from Murky Waters
A lone white dove hovered over 14 believers as they were immersed into the Jordan River recently, following Jesus in baptism. “What was amazing,” says Pastor Richard Mirpuri from the Word of Grace (Alliance) Church in Chicago, Illinois, who led the group on a tour in Israel, “is that they were not believers before the tour.”
This is not the first Israel tour that Rev. Mirpuri has led. In 2005, Word of Grace, a Filipino-American ministry in the Midwest District, joined a global, grassroots movement, focusing prayer and attention on the Middle East-specifically Jerusalem. The Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem, which was launched by a coalition of more than 500 Christian leaders around the world, drew participation from 53,000 churches in 72 nations that year.
Since then, Rev. Mirpuri has led several groups to the Holy Land for a prayer pilgrimage and Bible tour, initially among members of the church. This year, there were 27 participants, including people from Canada, the Philippines, New York, and California. Several of the participants were from Chicago’s Filipino community who are not members of the Word of Grace but learned about the trip from an article by Rev. Mirpuri that was published in a local Filipino community newspaper, in which he pens a regular column.
Life-Changing Trip
“I met the participants, the majority of whom were unbelievers, during the 2011 Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem, when they signed up for the tour.” says Mirpuri, who uses the tours as an evangelistic tool. Before visiting the Jordan River, he explains the gospel message and challenges the participants to consider a relationship with Jesus Christ.
“During this last trip, almost all of the unbelievers in the group surrendered their lives to Jesus and went through the waters of baptism for the very first time at the Jordan River,” says Rev. Mirpuri.
“What is so cool is that during this occasion, the white dove came out of nowhere after the people emerged from the water. The dove hovered over the Word of Grace group, even while there were other groups in the water for baptism at the same time. This left such an impression upon the new believers that many of them openly wept through the whole event.”
One participant, a business executive from the Philippines, e-mailed Rev. Mirpuri after the trip, saying, “The Bible is so alive to me. As I read, especially the gospels, my mind brings me back to the very places we visited during our trip. Christianity will never be the same to me again.”
Learn More
Read how other U.S. Alliance churches are impacting their communities for Christ. www.cmalliance.org/news/topics/gochurch/
What You Can Do
Give to Alliance Great Commission Ministries and partner with Alliance workers at home and abroad who are being light in a spiritually dark world. www.cmalliance.org/give
The Tin Lanh (“Good News”) Church of Vietnam celebrates 100 years of ministry this month. The festivities are scheduled for June 14-16 in Da Nang City, Vietnam. U.S. C&MA President Dr. Gary Benedict will speak at the event. Dr. Tom Stebbins, a former international worker to Vietnam—whose sister Ruth Thompson and her husband, Ed, were killed in the Tet Offensive—also has been asked to speak.
In 1911, a team of three Alliance international workers, led by Robert A. Jaffray, entered Vietnam, then known as French Indochina, with the purpose of establishing the country’s first evangelical church. This church was formed in 1927 and by 1940 was comprised of 100 self-supporting churches.
In 1968, Communist forces invaded the Banmethuot Leprosy Center, killing five Alliance workers and a volunteer layman. When Vietnam fell to Communist control in 1975, The Alliance had established a national church with a membership of 53,000. At that time, the Vietnamese government took possession of the buildings and land belonging to the Tourane Bible School/seminary. For the next 28 years, believers were not permitted to train for ministry.
Yet God continued to multiply and build His church, sustaining it supernaturally. Alliance workers, Vietnamese nationals, and laypeople who gave up their lives for the gospel during the 1960s did not die in vain. Because of their sacrifice, the church in Vietnam has grown to more than 800,000 believers.
In April 2001, the government of Vietnam officially recognized the Tin Lanh Church as a legal entity. Today, the Tin Lanh Church is the largest Alliance-related Body in the world.
Learn More
Watch Dr. Thomas Stebbins’ account of the Thompsons’ ultimate sacrifice as international workers in Vietnam. [duration: 05:24]
Read about the courageous believers who gave their lives for the gospel in Vietnam.
May 25, 2011
On the morning of May 22, while preparing for the Sunday service, I received a phone call from a Filipino community organizer, Rey, who knew of the Word of Grace from reading our ads and press releases in the local Filipino newspaper, where I also write a monthly gospel column. Rey had visited our church once before. He informed me that he is the director of Operations for a Kenyan man who is running for president of Kenya in 2012, and this man wanted to visit a pastor to ask for prayer.
Dr. George Luchiri Wajackoyah being prayed for by Pastor Richard Mirpuri
I told Rey that I had just a few minutes before the worship service started and that if they came immediately, I would be glad to pray for this Kenyan man. That was the first time I met Dr. George Luchiri Wajackoyah-presidential candidate for Kenya 2012 and a professor of law. When they arrived, I was in my church office. Dr. Wajackoyah came in with Rey, brief introductions were made, and I started to pray a bit hurriedly, because the service was about to start in a few minutes, and there were already some people gathered in the sanctuary.
But before I could pray, I felt a prompting to take Dr. Wajackoyah and Rey to the sanctuary to pray. Someone was playing soft pre-worship service music on the keyboard, and some of the leaders and members of the prayer team were already deep in prayer. I requested their attention for a moment, introduced Dr. Wajackoyah merely as someone running for president of Kenya, because I did not know anything else about him, and invited everyone to join me in praying for him.
At that moment, the presence of the Lord was made manifest upon the place, and there was a sweet, wonderful time of prayer for Dr. Wajackoyah. He asked to say a few words of thanks to the people who were present in the sanctuary, at which time he indicated that he was a believer in Jesus Christ and came looking for a man of God to pray for him, since that evening he was meeting with leaders of the Indian, Pakistani, Korean, Chinese, and Filipino community at a dinner event. After that, he and Rey left, and we started our worship service.
An Invitation
In the afternoon, after our usual lunch fellowship at church, I received another call from Rey, telling me that Dr. Wajackoyah was very touched by his brief visit at the church and was impressed with the posters he saw of peoples that The Alliance is reaching with the gospel. As it turns out, he represents some of those peoples as a human rights lawyer. Dr. Wajackoyah also extended an invitation for me to do the invocation at the evening dinner event, saying I would be followed by a Muslim religious leader in prayer, since Muslim business leaders from the Indian and Pakistani communities would also be present as supporters of Dr. Wajackoyah’s campaign.
I politely begged off, because on Sunday evenings I am so exhausted that I would not have the energy to attend an evening event; plus my bad right eye was hurting as it usually does after the Sunday service. Little did I know that the missions coordinator of our church, a business woman in the health care industry, was one of the Filipino community representatives to attend the event. Later as I was resting at home, she called and said that she was picking up my wife, Lillian, and me to bring us to the dinner event. I told her that I had declined the invitation because I couldn’t drive all the way to the city, but since she was driving, I agreed to go. I sent a text to Rey that I would be available for the invocation after all.
Not a Chance Meeting
At the event, I met several business leaders from the Indian and Pakistani communities, as well as Mr. B. L. Davis, the representative of Congressman Davis. Mr. Davis, an African- American, engaged me in a long conversation in a corner, where he asked me to pray for him. One Indian businessman, Manny Gandhi, wanted to introduce me to his vice president to discuss establishing his business in the Philippines.
Apart from the invocation, I was also asked to say a few words of encouragement to those gathered in support of Dr. Wajackoyah who, when he spoke, quoted Bible verses and referred to events in the life of Jesus. At one point during his speech, he pointed at me, saying that while Kenya needed all of those present to bring infrastructure, healthcare, business and investments into the country, “I invited the man of God here because, above all, Kenya needs God.”
On Monday morning, I received a call from Mr. Davis, the representative of Congressman Davis, who said that he was making arrangements for me to see Secretary of State Jesse White to visit Chicago’s new mayor, former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, so I could pray for him. I was surprised. While our conversation at the dinner event was cordial and we exchanged business cards, I did not really think much about it even when he suggested he might attend our church on Sunday, May 29.
God Is in This
On Monday evening, I received yet another phone call from Rey, telling me that Dr. Wajackoyah wanted to speak with me. So I spoke with the doctor, who told me that, even though he has met other pastors and spoken in several large African-American churches in Chicago and around the country, God had impressed upon his heart to invite me to be his official spiritual advisor and prayer coordinator for his campaign. If I accepted the position, he would immediately make the appointment.
On Tuesday morning, I met with him at the business office of our missions coordinator, along with my Lillian. There, Dr. Wajackoyah officially appointment me as spiritual advisor and prayer coordinator for his Kenya 2012 presidential campaign.
God obviously orchestrated this uncanny chain of events. I only met the man briefly on Sunday morning, and on Tuesday morning, I became his spiritual advisor and prayer coordinator. I look forward to this opportunity to proclaim Christ in venues I would not have visited otherwise. God must to be in this, but, then, God works in mysterious ways.
Learn More
Read how other U.S. Alliance churches are impacting their communities for Christ.
What You Can Do
When you give to Alliance Great Commission Ministries, you join our worldwide team in introducing lost people to their Savior.
May 23, 2011
On the heels of serving in tornado-ravaged Arkansas a month ago, Alliance Chaplain Paul Northcut now is in Joplin, Missouri, where at least 89 people perished in an EF4 tornado, Sunday, May 22. “Please keep this situation in your prayers,” says Paul. “I will be one of many chaplains helping there. We will need a lot of grace as we deal with the tragedy and loss of life.”
Bob Collins, executive director for Alliance Chaplain Ministries, was headed for General Council 2011 in his vehicle when he came upon the tail of the storm. “Denise and I were traveling north on I-35 through southern Oklahoma yesterday and came through a terrific thunderstorm with hail and very high winds,” he says. “Radio broadcasts warned of tornados, which may have been the beginning of that storm.”
Although there are no Alliance churches in Joplin, Alliance people in nearby Springfield and St. Louis are poised to help. “I know some of you will want to help [also],” adds Paul. “Please pray for the chaplains, first responders, and the many families who have lost loved ones as well as their homes and all of their possessions. May God bless each of you and use you for His glory.”
What You Can Do
Pray that God will pour out His Spirit on the people of Joplin, preparing their hearts to receive His Son. Pray for Alliance Chaplain Paul Northcut as he ministers to heartbroken people. For more information, contact Paul at ChaplainPaul@suddenlink.net
Learn More
Find out how Alliance institutional and military chaplains are serving God on the front lines of ministry in the United States as well as overseas.
One More Thing
When you give to Alliance Great Commission Ministries, you enable the worldwide work of The Alliance to continue shining the light of Jesus into the lives of lost and hurting people.
Editor’s Note: The following commentary is from a blog by John Stumbo, who has served at the C&MA National Office, as senior pastor of Salem Alliance Church, and currently serves as interim pastor at Alliance Church of Fox Island in Fox Island, Washington.
I have a book in my library titled 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988. I never read it. But, I like to have it on my shelf. It reminds me of what idiots Christians can be.
Not that I should need any reminders.
Before I proceed, I should identify myself. In case a new reader stumbles onto this blog today, may I clearly state that I am a lifelong follower of Jesus Christ and (sometimes with embarrassment, sometimes with great joy) include myself in the Christian community. I’m writing as an insider.
By now you’ve no doubt heard the news that we’re down to our last 24 hours . . . at least according to radio host Harold Camping. At age 88, Harold continues a worldwide broadcast and has studied the Bible longer than most of us have been alive.
If history reveals anything to us, it tells us that just because one has studied a subject at length does not automatically make one accurate.
I believe Camping is wrong.
I believe he’s worse than wrong.
I believe Camping is in the same “camp” as the pastor who burned the Quran, the crazed individuals who bomb abortion clinics or kill doctors, and the venom-mouthed haters of homosexuals.
Let me introduce myself a second time. I believe the Quran misleads millions, abortions are the taking of a human life, and the act of homosexuality is a degrading sin. Yet, I’m convinced that Christians are to love Muslims, abortionists, gays and a thousand other people groups that have different perspectives than ours. I’m convinced that this love should be genuine and tangible . . . you know, like the love Jesus expressed.
The reason I lump Camping in with these others is because from burning Qurans to predicting dates, Christians once again come off looking like idiots.
The news media loves these stories. The skeptical community has more reason to scoff. Stand up comedians have an easy night on the job.
And don’t think that people haven’t heard about Camping’s prediction. One of the best ways to know what has the world’s attention is to follow Google Trends. The brains at Google make available to us what are the hottest searches each day. For most of this week, searches like “end of the world may 21″, “judgment day may 21″ and “harold camping may 21″ have been high on the list.
I’m no expert in Harold Camping’s theology, nor do I care to be. But, from what I understand, he came upon his date-setting by using mathematical calculations. These calculations arose from the theory that words in the Bible have numeric value. By putting together three words- atonement, completeness and heaven-multiplying them and then doing so again (squaring them)-Waa Laa-the Judgment Day is tomorrow!
Make sense to you?
Not to me either.
But that’s what billboards across the world-from Minnesota to India-are proclaiming: Judgment Day May 21 The Bible Guarantees It.
At least Harold’s Bible does.
Mine says something simpler, “No one knows about that day or hour . . . therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come” (Jesus in Matthew 24).
None of this would matter much to me if I didn’t fear one thing. I’m concerned that because of people like Harold Camping, many serious minded people will not bother exploring who the real Jesus is.
When they wake up on May 22, I don’t think they’ll head off to find a Christian church. I think they’ll have all the more reason to write off the Christian faith as a myth or conspiracy theory.
The real Jesus-the heaven-sent Messiah come into this world to atone for our sin, conquer death and lead us to the Father-will be missed.
And that makes me sad.
Thanks, Harold.
Next time, save your math skills for a Sudoku puzzle, not the Scriptures.
John Stumbo
May 20, 2011
Learn More
Find about more about Alliance beliefs and theological perspectives, as well as the denominations rich heritage.
April 21, 2011
By Kathy Eikost, serving in Bosnia
Mira grew up in a small Bosnian village in the 1950s—when horses were used for farm work and a fourth-grade, country school education was considered plenty for girls, especially for one like Mira, whose name is derived from the word “mir,” which means peace. But there was no peace for Mira.
After learning to read and write on a slate, she was put to work. A girl from a poor background, she had no claim to family property but was shuffled from uncle to cousin as a farm hand, suffering every imaginable kind of abuse by the time she was in her early teens. As soon as she was old enough, she married a man who was several years her senior—on his way to the city to work in a factory.
Mira calls him “Raka,” a shortened version of his last name. She says that Raka was never abusive physically; he was passive. But he did drink away most of his wages and left her with little to live on-much less to feed their four daughters.
The Hard Road
Mira functioned more as a working single mother, doing what she knew best-physical labor. She helped make ends meet by cutting wood and hauling water, living all the while as a tenant laborer. For a woman, being a tenant as opposed to a homeowner is one of the worst fates one can have in Bosnia—there is nothing to inherit from her or her husband’s family.
Mira dreamed of the day that Raka’s last name-not the landlord’s-would be next to the door. For years she slept on straw mattresses covered with discarded bedding, always telling herself that someday she would have a better life. When Raka finally got a “real” job that included a three-bedroom apartment for his large family, Mira could hardly believe it. She would go in and out the front door to look at the nameplate and try her key, making sure the place was really theirs. Now, maybe Mira would have peace.
By the late 1980s life was pretty good. Raka and Mira owned their home; the girls were all in school, and the oldest was getting married soon. Then the war came in the early 1990s. Because he was a member of a minority group, Raka was sent to serve on the front lines and was killed in action. Their wonderful, spacious apartment was in disputed territory and hit by many artillery shells. Windows, furniture, and one wall were destroyed. It seemed like everything Mira had worked for was slipping away.
New Life
But then the gospel came to Mira’s home. Her daughter’s best friend had recently trusted Jesus as her Savior and was telling all her girlfriends about it. Mira’s two middle daughters wanted to get baptized. She went to the service, gave her life to Christ, and a new world opened up for Mira. Amid war and the grief of losing her husband, Mira found peace—the ultimate peace found only in Jesus.
Today, Mira is a faithful member of a local Body of believers and frequently hosts our home group. She is still praying for the salvation of her other two girls. In spite of her rudimentary education, Mira loves to read God’s Word and share its truths with her neighbors. She also has a tender heart for the poor, and has worked as a cook in the church’s soup kitchen for years.
I am so thankful for a dear sister like Mira. Coming from a rural area myself, I can relate to many of her farm stories, which sound like ones my dad used to tell. I may not have been the one to initially share the gospel with her, but I am very glad to walk beside Mira and help her grow.
Would you join us in praying for the salvation of her two daughters, “D” and “L”? “D” lives at home and is frequently in contact with people of faith, but there is some “wall” that still needs to come down. ”L” is now married and living in Belgium, where she has met several vibrant believers. Pray that Mira’s daughters will receive the gift of true peace [this Easter] in Jesus.
Learn More
Read more stories about Alliance work in Bosnia. What You Can Do
Pray for the salvation of Mira’s daughters.
Give to Alliance Great Commission Ministries and partner with Alliance workers, like Kathy, who shine the light of Jesus into the lives of people like Mira.
March 29, 2011
Rev. Stan L. Sniezek, senior pastor of New Life Alliance Church, West Palm Beach, Florida, and lead chaplain for the Lake Clarke Shores Police Department, was recently awarded an Exceptional Service Commendation. Chaplain Stan serves his community with the highest degree of professionalism. “Anytime you receive formal recognition from a government agency, it means a lot,” says Stan. ”The reassurance that you are doing an exceptional job is invaluable. This award spurs me on to continue to fight the good fight.”
Stan’s duties include-but are not limited to-counseling police officers, offering guidance to other members of the department and townspeople, making death notifications, visitation of the sick and hospitalized, and providing assistance to victims of trauma or crisis incidents, as well as offering invocations/benedictions at special events. Also, Stan is in the process of establishing CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) for the community. He will recruit and train local residents to join CERT.
“Being an Alliance chaplain with the police department has offered me a chance to minister to others outside the church,” he says. ”I have another congregation that I am involved with. I am a pastor not only to my church but also to the community.”
Learn More
Read about other Alliance chaplains who are impacting their world for Christ.
What You Can Do
Pray for Alliance chaplains, who are called by God to respond daily to lost and hurting people.
When you give to Alliance Great Commission Ministries, you enable Alliance workers to shine the light of Jesus into spiritually dark places.
March 15, 2011
By Susan Smith, serving at Salem Alliance Church in Salem, Oregon
Corrine was in court for drug abuse and prostitution. Her baby would be born soon. The judge in Corrine’s case had ordered her to a drug rehabilitation home, Her Place, for pregnant women or mothers with children. The judge also had heard that I was beginning a ministry to single moms, providing clothes and other resources to those with limited means. The judge called and asked me if I would talk to Corrine and try to help her. Our ministry had not officially opened, but I agreed to the judge’s request.
I picked up Corrine and took her to Starbucks, where she told me her story. Her mother was a prostitute, who began “selling” Corrine to men by the age of eight. Repeatedly evicted from one place after another, mother and daughter lived on the streets, in ditches, or wherever they could find a place to sleep, and were used by men. It was a way of life.
Corrine didn’t give her heart to Jesus, but the Lord showed me that day that this is the ministry that He was bringing to us-women who lived completely different lives than I knew of or understood. I thought it would be an outreach to teenage mothers—15 and 16 years old—never dreaming that would include mothers who were drug addicts, prostitutes, and involved in the court system. But God has used Her Place as a catalyst for reaching pregnant women and mothers from age 11 to 48 with the hope of redemption through Jesus. His ministry has reached beyond the scope of my imagination and brought me to a humble understanding of His great mercy toward me.
A Clear Call
New Beginnings Baby Boutique began as a seed planted in my heart by the Lord. I sensed His call on my life to reach into other people’s lives in a way that glorified Him-through a ministry to young mothers. But I argued with God. “I’m not a baby person,” I told Him. “You’ve got the wrong person.”
When my husband and I attended General Council 2004 in Sacramento, California, we heard Erwin McManus talk about being on mission for God. We walked out of Council realizing that our lives had to be different. God had called us to be missionaries. I was hesitating, but the Lord spoke strongly to me. I heard Him say in my spirit, “Susan, are you going to obey me or not? Or are you going to disobey me and walk away from what I’ve called you to do?”
I fell to my knees and surrendered my life to Him, saying, “Lord I will do whatever you’ve called me to do, but don’t you realize I’m not the right person?”
He answered me. “Susan, don’t you get it? It’s not about you. It’s about Me. I am the One who will raise up the ministry. I will bring the women. I will draw them to Myself. I am the One who will save them. And you need to be obedient because I want to do a work in your life as well.”
God began speaking clearly to me about what New Beginnings Baby Boutique would look like. Each morning, I wrote God’s instructions in my journal. This must be a faith ministry; God will supply all items needed, and I need to trust Him for everything.
I took God’s plan to my church leaders. They encouraged me by offering a small house that had been purchased a block away from the church. Except for the church’s small allowance for utilities, all clothes and children’s material needs, as well as furniture and other supplies for the house, would come from donations. There would be no cash on hand. God would supply all of our needs; this has been the foundation of New Beginnings Baby Boutique.
Laying the Groundwork
I began by visiting service organizations throughout the Salem area, laying out my heart for the ministry to single pregnant women and women with young children; they would come and hear God’s message of hope, and we would provide clothes for them and their children. Without exception, in each organization the Lord had a believer in place to hear my plan. Through word of mouth, New Beginnings Baby Boutique became known in the community as a place where women receive help and love with dignity.
We have many volunteers at New Beginnings, but I call them servants. Many people from the church serve the ministry through prayer, time, donations, and hard work. One woman, who cannot spend extended time at the house, bakes cookies, which are provided fresh for the women when they come in. A photographer takes pictures of the women and their children as he ministers to them, frames their pictures, and displays them on the walls of New Beginnings. Some women cried when they saw their picture, saying, “No one ever valued me enough to take my picture and hang it.”
Also, Bible study is held on Fridays for women who are interested. My husband and I host a Wednesday night discipleship group for the women who have made commitments to follow Jesus.
Love in Action
By the time the doors opened in October 2005, several women from Her Place had given their lives to Christ. We had baby shower after baby shower that summer, going to the in-treatment facility and ministering to women who longed for change in their lives.
Megan was one of the first who accepted Christ. She lived at Her Place with her two-year-old son while pregnant. She was being discipled, attending Bible studies, and growing spiritually. But when she left Her Place, she reconnected with the father of her children, began using drugs again, was arrested, lost custody of her children, and has been in and out of rehabilitation. Megan returned to New Beginnings, recommitted her life to Christ, and now is in the Wednesday evening discipleship class. Also, she is expecting another child. She has a lot of work to do and much healing is needed, but she is off the drugs and ready to know her Savior.
I soon came to understand that we cannot fix the women; we cannot change their living situation. They face countless obstacles when they decide to trust in Jesus, and it takes hard work. We can be here for them and pray for them, but we cannot rescue them. Only Christ can do that.
Mentoring the Mentors
Judges who hear the cases of the women at Her Place are aware that many women we serve have life-changing experiences after hearing the gospel at New Beginnings and order community service to be performed with us. Other agencies also refer their clients to New Beginnings, including the county’s social services.
Barbara works for the social services office in a mentoring program for the women with children who are involved with drugs. She brings the women she mentors to New Beginnings, and it was here that we became friends. An unbeliever, Barbara came from a family of addicts and had been sober for 17 years when she first came to New Beginnings in 2006. I invited her to our Wednesday night discipleship group, where she enjoyed the socialization. Barbara had been through the 12-Step program but longed for community, which she found in our group. As our friendship grew, Barbara came to the realization that she was not a believer and gave her life to Christ. “It’s not a higher power,” she told us. “It’s Jesus Christ.”
In August 2010 Barbara was diagnosed with lung cancer and given less than a year to live. She chose not to undergo traditional cancer treatment but instead asked to be baptized. Knowing as she was sub-merged into those waters that her body was full of cancer, she emerged clean in Christ and proclaimed, “My life is in the hands of God, and He will sustain me as long as He wants me here.” We have prayed for healing, and right now, she is doing great.
“I Was In Prison”
When God began this ministry, if you had asked me if I had any biases or prejudices against these women, I would have said absolutely not. But as I began to serve with these women, I realized that I did have some. I had never lived in their world. I grew up with Christian values in a Christian home. I honestly thought I was better than they were. But as I began to share the gospel, I was convicted that the cross was level; we all go to the cross the same, we all need Jesus to save us from our sin, and not one of us is better than another. God has begun to rip those prejudices out of my life in the past five years.
We’re not serving “those people” but people who were raised in different lifestyles. That’s why we are here-to share the good news. Prior to New Beginnings, I knew no one who had been in prison, but now most of my friends have come from jail. They have brought new dimension into my life. I am so grateful that God would allow me to serve Him through their lives, where His glory shines bright.
Learn More
For more information about New Beginnings Baby Boutique, contact Susan at susan@onetreasure.org.
Read how other Alliance churches are impacting their communities.
What You Can Do
Pray that the Lord will continue to provide for the needs of New Beginnings. Also, pray women who receive help at New Beginnings will want to receive the greatest gift-Jesus.
Give to Alliance Great Commission Ministries.
Facebook
Twitter
Forums
RSS
Podcasts
Newsletters