Chapter 61 - The Mad Man!

Psalm 23:4

^“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

     On another day of visitation at Highland Park Baptist Church, after a delicious meal, a partner and I headed off to some townhouses to witness for the Lord and to give out tracts.  We were knocking on doors with good response.
     Knocking on one door, a huge man, not fat, just big, filling the door side to side and top to bottom answered.  Though I was six feet tall, he looked seven feet tall as we had to look up to him.  I said, “Sir, we are,” and that was all I got to say.  He said, “I told you to stay away from my door and never come back here again.”  I started to say something and he said, “Leave and do not ever come back,” as he slammed the door. 
     Well, that was an interesting encounter, but little did we know that was not the last we would see of this big man.  I started to put a gospel tract on his door as we usually do.  Suddenly, the door flew open and a wild man filled the door.  We backed off.  I looked at my partner and he looked at me (I knew we both were thinking the same thing) RUN!  But we didn’t.  The wild man got right up in our faces and said, “I thought I told you to get away from my door and never come back.”
     By this time we were backing down the sidewalk and he was coming along after us madder than a bear when you had messed with her cubs.  We continued to back down the sidewalk and the last words we heard was, “If you ever come back to my door I will beat you until no one will ever recognize you.”  We said, “Yes sir.” 
     We left the townhouse complex that night with a new respect for big, mean, wild looking mad men.  But it didn’t stop us from being a witness for the Lord.  We went right up the road to another set of townhouses and were treated great by everyone we met.  No, this man did not get saved, which was regrettable, but we never saw him again, Praise the Lord for His protection!

Chapter 60 - The Mad Dog!

Matthew 28:18-20

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”     

      While attending Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga, Tennessee we were required to attend Highland Park Baptist Church for the first year. We would go soul winning on Thursday night after being provided a delicious meal. The main reason for going out, of course, was that people needed to know Jesus as their Savior.
     One particular night a partner and I went out to a certain section of the city while it was still light outside. We drove up to a house where it looked as though no one was at home. When no one is at home we would leave a literature hanger on the door. I alone went to the door, and then heard some noise from the rear of the house.  Thinking someone was at the back; I started down the side of the house and could not believe what I was seeing.
     I froze in my tracts and was staring at the biggest, blackest, meanest looking Do  berman I had ever seen. I looked back at the car and back at the dog.  “Run!”  But my legs would not more an inch. My partner in the car shook his head as if to say, “You’re on your own with this one.”  The dog was so mad that he was biting the air and running straight toward me, madder than any dog I had ever seen. I froze like a Popsicle that had been in the freezer for months. 
     Why was the dog so mad? I had done nothing to him. My heart was about to beat out of my chest and sweat was beginning to pop up on my forehead. Fear gripped me and would not let me go.  “Help, Lord,” was all I could think of. All of this happened in a flash. The dogs breathe smelled by now. His eyes were that of a mad dog who wanted revenge and it looked like he had zeroed in on his victim. He was about a dog’s length from me when suddenly a man came around the corner from the back and yelled, “Whoa boy.”  The dog seemingly stopped in mid air and I said, “Thank you, Lord!”                
     The man walked up to where his dog was growling, slobbering, and shaking his big old head and asked, “May I help you?”  “I’m out visiting from Highland Park Baptist Church and I would like to invite you to come to church.”  I handed him a gospel tract and calmly, yea right, walked back to the car. 
     It took me awhile to get my composure back. Then we headed off to another house and this time I made sure that someone was home and no dog before getting out. From that time until now, I’m very cautious about dogs, especially big, black, growling, slobbering at the mouth dogs who wanted revenge for no reason, as I saw it

Chapter 59 - Can God Pay This!

Matthew 6:8

“Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.” Matthew 6:8

    Deputation was a time of calling one pastor right after the other, but that was the only way to get meetings so that we could raise support to go to Africa to spread the Gospel. 
    At one time, our telephone bill rose to $1200 and I knew why--I stayed on the telephone eight hours a day calling requesting meetings. We did not have a cell phone back in those day that had unlimited calling. The Lord gave us many meetings.
    This large telephone bill was weighing heavily on my mind as we headed to Texas for a meeting on a Friday. We spent Friday night in a motel and were going to finish the trip on Saturday lodging the night in the mission apartment at the church.
    On Saturday just inside the Texas line we started to smell burnt oil. At a truck stop, I found that oil was pouring out from a blown intake gasket. We weren’t going anywhere for a while. A trucker at the stop suggested that I take off the intake and seal it with gasket sealer. Others thought that was about the only thing I could do this late in the evening with no auto parts stores open.
    Therefore I bought some gasket sealer and took off the intake. The gasket that had blown was nowhere to be found so I used the sealer to make a gasket and sealed all the other gaskets, replacing the intake. We would have to wait three hours for the sealer to set up enough to drive.
    I called the Pastor and he said that the mission apartment would be open when we were able to get there. There we sat in the truck stop patiently waiting to continue our trip. Three hours later I fired up the old van. Since no oil was leaking we cautiously hit the road.
    We arrived at the mission apartment about daylight Sunday morning and got a few hours sleep before the 9:45 AM service at the church next door, not feeling the best in the world.
    All the men gathered for prayer before the service and they asked if anyone had a prayer request. I had one and let it be known that we had a $1200 telephone bill resulting from calling pastors which we needed to pay right away. Along with other requests, prayer was lifted for my request.
    We had a great service followed by a time of food and fellowship. While fellowshipping the Pastor came to me and said, “Brother Ayers, the men of the church voted to give you a $1200 check to pay your telephone bill.” I jumped for joy. Praise the Lord, what a blessing! The Pastor also gave us a generous love offering to help with our expenses and the church even took us on for monthly support.
    The devil tried to hinder us from this blessing, but the Lord saw us right on through to the end and He will you also. Glory to His Name!

Matthew 6:33

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Chapter 58 - Do You Have Eternal Life Insurance?

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)

    I headed out to the church to do some work on a sign that I was painting on the side of the church building. The first letter, which was a 24 inch letter, was an E and guess what, yes, you guess it, I made the E backward which was a little annoying. You may be wondering why the letters are 24 inches in height? People needed to be able to see them from the road which is about 60 feet away. Not letting this little mistake hold me back I got the wall paint out and painted over the backward E. The paint took a little while to dry. This time I did not make the same mistake and was able to finish up the writing on the church wall which people would be able to read from the road. The verses I was writing on the wall was Matthew 7:12-14 “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

    After finishing, it was clean up time, which is always the fun part of any job. After finishing I got into my car to leave. Before I could get it into drive a truck pulled across in front of me. A man got out of the truck, came to the window of the car and handed me a sheet of paper. He commenced telling me all about how terrible the economy was here in Belize and if I would bring my receipt where I was buying my insurance for my car that the company he works for would beat their price. That did sound reasonable to me and would be considering his offer the next time insurance was needed.
    Carlos was about to leave when I gave him a Gospel tract and asked him did he have any eternal life insurance.  Carlos said that he did not have any of that kind of insurance. I went on to tell Carlos about the eternal life Insurance that Jesus gives and this life Insurance will take him to heaven one day if he decides to receive it. He said that all religions say they have the way to heaven and what makes what I am talking about any different. I open the Bible that I keep in my car and let Carlos read John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Jesus is what makes the different whether you go to heaven or hell. Then Carlos remarked, “hell is here in Belize because it is so hot here.” I said, “Carlos, Belize is nothing compared to how hot hell is going to be.”
    By now Carlos was getting pretty hot standing out in the sun therefore I invited him to sit in the car. After Carlos was seated, we went straight to the Bible. He read John Chapter 3, and like Nicodemus he did not understand how a person could be born again. Then I explained the different between the physical birth and the spiritual birth. The more scripture Carlos read and the more I explained about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus the more he began to understand. Before long Carlos bowed his head and asks Jesus to forgive him of all his sins, come into his heart and be his personal Savior. Carlos assured me that he had become a born again Christian; was trusting Jesus to take him to heaven when he died and would be in church Sunday.
As Carlos was getting out of the car, I gave him a Bible. In front of the Bible, I wrote the time and the date he received Christ as his Savior. Thank you Beams Bible Ministry, Gulfport, Mississippi for supplying Bibles so that new Christian will have the Word of God to read and meditate upon.
    Carlos though he was stopping to sell some insurance, whether it be for my car or something else but instead of selling me some insurance he received the Eternal Life Insurance, Jesus, that cost him nothing but cost God His only begotten Son.
I never saw Carlos again after that day, but I do know if he meant what he said he became a Born Again Christian and one day I will see him in heaven.

 "Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." (James 5:20)

Chapter 57 - Sixteen Padded Pews!

"For with God nothing shall be impossible." Luke 1:37

    While on furlough, I received a call from Pastor Campbell. “The church pews are ready for you to pick up; they are in my way, when can you come and get them?” he asked. Taken back, I honestly did not know what to say, “Well, Pastor, I will have to get back with you about this.”
    Two years before this call, I had called Pastor Campbell when we were in the Houston area; we needed a place to lodge. He pleasantly offered us the modular home that they had set aside for missionaries.
    While staying there, we visited his church. The message was right on target, and the people were exceptionally friendly. In the church, we sat on a beautiful 13-foot pew; there were about 16 of them. Just in passing, I said to Pastor Campbell, “If you ever remodel your church, I sure would love to have these pews for our church in Belize.” They were planning to remodel in the near future and intended on using different seating. The Pastor responded that the pews would be ours, and he would give me a call when they were ready to be moved. I was praising the Lord, though I didn’t have any idea how I would take them to Belize, Central America - 2000 miles away.
    Telling my wife the happy news she asked, "How would we get them to Belize?" I had to admit that I didn’t know. A truck would cost too much, and the cost to ship them would be overwhelming. But I believed the Lord wanted us to have those pews for our church in Belize and was sure that He would provide a way; how was the question.
    Wow! Wait a minute! I remember we had visited a supporting church in Universal City, Texas, Pastor Warren. We had seen a large yellow bus sitting in the back of the church. “I wonder if they are using that bus”, I said aloud. My wife responded, “Let’s give Pastor Warren a call.”
    “Hello, Pastor Warren” I excitedly proclaimed as he answered the phone.  “Hello, Bro. Ayers. How is everything going?” “Great, Pastor, and I pray all is well with you and your ministry. Pastor Warren, I remember seeing a yellow bus sitting behind your church, and was wondering if anyone is using it.” “Bro Ayers, we were going to use it but haven’t as yet. Why?” he replied.
    “A church in Cypress, Texas, has given us 16 13-foot padded pews to take to Belize for our church, and we need a way to transport them. I was thinking if you are not using that bus, that maybe you would give it to us to take to Belize.” I explained.
    “Bro. Ayers, a man donated the bus for us to use so I will have to call to ask him”, he said. “Thanks, Pastor Warren, I’ll be waiting for your response”, I replied.
    Shortly I received a call with the verdict; “Hello, Bro. Ayers, this is Pastor Warren. THE BUS IS YOURS!” “Praise the Lord and glory, hallelujah. Thank you, Pastor Warren; we will be by in a few days to pick it up; and thank You Lord”, I replied with such thankfulness and joy in my heart for the answered prayer.
    In a few days we were in Universal City, Texas. Pastor Warren was at the church. He got his tool box out and helped me install a hitch on the rear of the bus so we could tow our vehicle. It didn’t take long. We thanked the generous pastor for the bus and all of his help.
    We headed back over to Cypress, Texas, and Pastor Campbell had the pews ready for us to haul. They had already disassembled them.  We loaded them in the bus. Praising the Lord; we were off to Belize via Mexico.
    The bus we were driving was running on propane, and it was not as cheap as gas in the USA. We arrived at the Mexican border and headed across to purchase a vehicle permit to drive across the country of Mexico into Belize; that was a no go. I explained to them that the previous year I had driven a bus through Mexico, and they gave me a permit to do so. They said that the rules had changed, and I had to get a broker, pay him $300 and wait 3 days. WHAT? We did not have the resources to cover all of that. What to do now was the question? It was late, so we settled into our motel room and considered our options. We had prayer and finally came to the conclusion that a decent night sleep would be the best option at this time.
    The next morning the Lord impressed me to call a Pastor friend at First Coast Baptist Church, Jacksonville, FL and explain to him our dilemma. He asks me how much was needed to continue our journey to Belize. I told him the amount. He did not hesitate to say, “I will send it to you Western Union.” I thanked Pastor Edwards and hung up the phone praising the Lord for the need He had supplied once again. Now we were able to get the broker, wait 3 days in the motel, and pay the broker for his services. After this was said and done, across the border we went.
    Our journey through Mexico was uneventful- except in Tampico. The bus needed propane before heading out from this city. We stopped at a gas station, and were told it was back the other way. O no, back through the city of Tampico? I did not want to go that way because I knew what would happen; but I had no choice. Finally, we got the propane and traveled back out of the city, onto the road toward Belize, when low and behold, it happened. The police pulled us over, and said that we had run a red light. I know I did not; but this is the way the police in Mexico obtain money from foreigners; and if you argued with them you could end up in jail. I tried everything. I gave them tracts and Bibles, but to no avail. It was told to me, “Go to the police station or pay up right there.” Well, it ended up not costing us too much. We had to pay in cash. They did not even give a receipt, and they finally let us go. I turned left at the next light and yet another policeman jumped on the bus while I was making the turn left! I was going slow to make the turn, and he demanded money. I told him (I was hoping he understood English), “Your two friends at the other light got all that you policemen are going to get from me.” He must have understood English because he jumped back off the bus and we continued on our journey south.
    The rest of our trip was uneventful, and we are now enjoying those 16 padded pews at Freedom Baptist Church, Orange Walk Town, Belize, Central America.


I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus!

Chapter 56 - Caught off Guard

  “And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”

 Jude 1:23  

    “I never would have been saved in a church, or anywhere, really,” wrote Dana Heacox. “I always believed in God, but I didn’t trust or understand the church or salvation. I remember that I’d met Pastor Jay before and ran into him a few times in Orange Walk.
     In Belize, most expatriate Americans notice and remember each other. Sundays were my busiest days during export season. The ship sailed on Monday, so Sunday was the day that we would harvest and pack the produce that we shipped to the U.S.
     I went to a restaurant, owned by another expatriate American, to get some burgers to take to my managers while we were packing. There Pastor Jay and Linda were eating lunch. I spoke to them and asked what they were doing."
    “Just came here after church,” replied Jay.
    I said, “Oh, you go to church?”
    “Go to, yes, the Lord has blessed us with a church here in Orange Walk.”
    “I didn’t know that Pastor Jay was a missionary, and may not have visited with him if I had known. We continued to visit while I waited for my burgers. I believe that Pastor Jay knew that I was in and out of Belizean jails quite a bit, due to bribing the police concerning competitors.
    He asked me if I had a Bible, and I told him that I did. He asked me to read Acts and think about it. Upon reading Acts I was moved by how much time the disciples spent in jail, their toughness, and their dedication. I was actually able to identify with them. During that later visit Pastor Jay asked me if there was anything he could do to help. At the time, my wife was pregnant and I was working 18 to 22 hours each day, so I asked him if he could check on my wife. He came by often, checked on her, and answered all her questions referring to the Bible.
    Pastor Jay and Linda caught me off guard, showed me things in the Bible I didn’t know existed, ministered to my wife and I, and after a few months we were saved and he baptized us together in the New River in Orange Walk, Belize. Our lives have never been the same.”
    Pastor Jay writes, "After our chat at the restaurant my next encounter with Dana was at a garage where I had my vehicle serviced. We got to talking and I invited him to come to church, which he did every now and then when he wasn’t working. Dana had already asked us to go by and check on his wife which we did from time to time. After awhile, his wife MaAva started coming to church.
    One afternoon we went to visit Dana and his wife and they readily accepted Christ as their Saviour. Dana’s wife was expecting and she brought forth a baby girl. Afterward, they started coming to church regularly. Dana would come when he was not working, but MaAva and their children came on a regular basis.
    Then Dana and MaAva wanted to get baptized. One Sunday after church we went down to crocodile-infested New River here in Orange Walk Town, Belize, Central America where I baptized both of them.
    Dana and MaAva were both faithful to the Lord until the day that they moved. It was a sad day for us, but the Lord had so graciously let Dana and MaAva come into our lives for awhile. What a blessing they were to us. We still hear from them now and then.
    I thank the Lord that we had the privilege to meet and win Dana and MaAva Heacox to the Lord and to have been able to have fellowship with this wonderful family of God."
   
There is pow'r, pow'r, Wonder-working pow'r In the blood of the Lamb!

Chapter 55 - Ouch!

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Romans 8:28

    We had driven a many a mile on the highways of Africa, Canada and the USA without one accident, but that was about to change. We were driving on highway 80, which was a two lane paved road, heading to Columbus, Ga by way of Phenix City, AL. The sun was shining, and it was hot. I had the cruise set at 55 mph, but it would vary from time to time. I looked up ahead and saw a Ford pickup coming out of a dirt side road. The pickup came to a stop at the stop sign. I kept my eye on the pickup to make sure it did not pull out, and if it did I would have sufficient time to slow down. The truck never made a move until I could see the driver and then all of a sudden the truck lunged forward. I had no time to react except to hit the brakes and as I hit the brakes we hit the truck right behind the driver’s door. It was like hitting a brick wall. It seemed to be in slow motion. The impact was enormous. I could see the front end crinkling up. My wife was holding our young son in her lap. I saw them heading toward the dash with my wife hanging on to our son. Our seat belts were holding, but the impact was moving everything and everybody out of place. The sounds were horrific. Our daughter was the only one in the second roll of seats. I did not know what was happening back there, but it was over as quick as it happened. There we sat in our crinkled up the van, and smoke was coming from under the hood. I quickly told everyone we need to get out in case the van catches on fire. It took us a few minutes to get out because everyone was in pain and the seats were all out of shape. The truck that we hit was not in sight.
    Now we are all out and on the side of the road. Cars starting stopping to see what had happened. The first person to stop was a nurse. The first thing she did was call 911. Then she started checking everyone to see how bad we had been injured. She checked all the family and said they were in pretty decent shape. Then she came to me, and the only thing I remember her saying was that one of my lungs had collapsed. It was a little hard to breath, but in a few minutes it was back to normal. There we all lay on the side of the road for almost one hour, and it was unusually hot.
    After the Ambulances had arrived, my wife and son were put in one and me and my daughter were put in the other one. Off we went to the hospital in Phenix City, AL with sirens blaring.
    At the hospital, it was a long wait as each one of us were examined and x-rayed for injuries. I had a broken collar bone; Linda had lots of bruises; Joy had a cut on her lower chin where her teeth had come through and Chris had a concussion but other than that we were all going to be okay.
    Now we had no way to get to where we were going. I gave the Pastor of the church that we were headed to a call, and he said that he would be right over to pick us up. 
    The Pastor was gracious and extremely helpful. He took us to where the van was towed so that we could collect our belonging. He had to do most of the work because the rest of us were in no condition to help. He even took us out for a meal, but nobody ate much, and we did not talk much because we were still in a state of shock.
    Arriving at the prophet’s chamber we or he unloaded our belonging. He gave me the keys to the church van, a credit card and told me to take the family out to eat breakfast in the morning. I think I told him okay but honestly cannot remember because the pain meds that I was given had already begun to kick in, and I do not remember much about the rest of the night.
    Next morning I awoke feeling a little better but still dazed from the previous night events. We did not go out for breakfast because no one was able to do so. Everyone else was still bed ridden while I tried to give an update about our ministry in the service, but I do not remember much of that. I must have said all the right things because I heard no complaints, or maybe no one said anything because they all knew what had happened the night before.
    After the service, the Pastor let me know that we could use the Prophet’s Chamber as long as we needed to do so. We took him up on his offer and chilled out for a couple of days to get our thoughts together, and make arrangement for someone to pick us up. I called my Mom and Dad and let them know what happened. They said that they would get in touch with my older brother and someone would be down to give us a ride home.
    My Mom, younger and older brother arrived the next day. Over to the junk yard we went to see our van, which was not, in too good a shape. After seeing the van, we were praising the Lord that we had come out alive.
    Arriving home, we were informed that the other vehicle had no insurance because it was not required in the state of AL. at that time. We were then thanking the Lord that we had purchased uninsured and underinsurance coverage on our van, which would cover all expensive including a rental until we were able to purchased another vehicle.
    Consequently we were grounded for the healing process for 6 weeks. During this time, I was able to find that our insurance would pay us for our vehicle, and all meds bills. I called the insurance adjuster and he told me what was going to transpire when we met and then he said, “I am going to give you an extra $300.” I thought to myself, “that was mighty thoughtful of him, and I wondered why he is doing that?” A meeting was set up to go see him and get payment for our vehicle and the extra $300.
    During the time before our scheduled meeting with the insurance adjuster I was still wondering why he was giving us an extra $300. My wondering got the best of me and I started doing some checking around. I found out that we were suppose to received some funds for pain and suffering. Now I am not a greedy person, but if this was what the insurance is for then we should be able to receive what is coming to us.
    The day finally arrived to meet with the insurance adjuster. He was a friendly person. We begin to talk, and he relayed to us the amount we would receive that day for our van plus the extra $300. It was then I began to question him about the benefits about our uninsured coverage. I ask him if we were in titled to receive anything for pain and suffering and he said, “Yes.” I ask, “why did you not tell us this?” His reply was, “I am hired to save the company money not to tell you your benefits.”
    That meeting was adjourned as fast as it started. There was something I needed to find out, and it was not from this man. Therefore, the next few days were days of getting info about compensation for our injuries. After getting all the info needed, we were back at the insurance adjuster office where we were then able to settle the claim.
    With all of this settled, we were now able to return to the mission field where the Lord had called us to minister the Gospel.

It is well with my soul!

Chapter 54 - A New Set of Shoes

”…ye have not, because ye ask not.”

 James 4:2

    We were heading back to Belize and had one more church in which to present our ministry. We were praying for a set of new tires for our van for our return trip through Mexico.
    After arriving in Victoria, Texas, we located our motel where a room was reserved for us and other missionaries attending the mission conference. We refreshed ourselves and then loaded into the van, but it would not start. Other missionaries were loading up, and one was able to give us a jump start. All was well; therefore, we drove off to church.
    Upon arriving, we set up our display. Then the Pastor invited all of us into his office for prayer. When it came my turn for a prayer request, I said, “Pastor we have an immediate need, we are on our way back to Belize via Mexico and the shoes on our van are just about wore out.” The Pastor replied, “Let’s pray about those new shoes for your van and when you present your ministry make sure you mention this urgent prayer request.” We all had prayer and were off to the auditorium.
    We heard from another missionary first who gave an excellent presentation, and now it was my turn. I shared what the Lord had laid upon my heart about our ministry and then I mentioned our urgent prayer request.
    The Pastor then stood to his feet and said, “I believe the Lord would have us to buy the new set of shoes needed for the missionaries headed to Belize.” He did not like the thought of us driving down through Mexico on wayward tires. There was a vote taken and everyone agreed.
    The next morning the Pastor met us at the Sears Tire Center. He asked what kind of tires would I like installed on the van. Pastor, whatever the Lord has impressed you to buy will be immensely appreciated. He responded, “Get you a good set of tires.” The Lord blessed that day with a brand new set of Michelin. Glory!
    I thanked the Pastor then we headed off toward the Mexican border. But before crossing the border, the old battery gave us the ghost. After installing a new battery at Advance Auto, we were ready to drive through Mexico, and down into Belize. For sure we had no shoe or battery problems that trip. Isn’t it astounding how God abundantly and graciously supplies our needs right at the last moment?

Thank you so much Western Hills Baptist Church, Victoria, Texas and Pastor Roger Parrish for being a tremendous blessing to our family.

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word what a glory He sheds on our way!

Chapter 53 - Cell Phone to the Rescue!

For with God nothing shall be impossible  (Luke 1:37).

    Furlough was on the horizons. Bro. Jack and Lois McLain had traveled down to Belize to take our place while we were in the USA.  We were in need of a place to live for a year while visiting our supporting churches to give a report and to seek funds to buy land and build a church building in Orange Walk Town where the Lord had blessed us with the starting of Freedom Baptist Church.

    In Jacksonville, Florida, our youngest daughter, Joy, wanted us to visit a church with her that she had been attending.  It was an absolutely beautiful Sunday morning.  My wife and I, Joy, and our two grandchildren headed to church.  Arriving, we were greeted by some of the members and were seated.
    The service was great with good singing and preaching from the Word of God.  The Pastor just happened to mention that their missionaries, who were living in the mission house of the church, were leaving for Russia in a few weeks.  My mind went into overdrive thinking that here is a mission house that would be empty in a little while and we needed a place to live during our furlough.  But I did not know these Christians and they did not know us, though we all had one Person in common and His Name was Jesus.
    The service ended and we headed to the nursery, picked up the grandchildren, and headed to my daughter’s SUV.  I wanted to talk to the Pastor about the mission house but did not get the opportunity.  Little did I know what God had in store for us.  We all headed to Famous Amos for some lunch.
    As we were driving down the road my cell phone rang and I saw that it was my daughter Joy who was in the back seat calling.  So I asked her, “Joy, why are you calling me when I am right here?”  Joy replied, “Dad, I’m not calling you.”  “Well, it says Joy is calling so I answered it and I heard a voice say, “Is this Joy’s dad?”  I was a little shocked to say the least, but I said, “Yes it is.” 
    The lady calling said that she was the Pastor’s daughter at the church we had just visited.  She was walking to her car in the parking lot and spotted a cell phone lying on the pavement.  She called the number that said “Dad.”  Meanwhile, Joy was looking for her cell phone and could not find it, concluding  it must have dropped out of her purse.  The Pastor’s daughter said that she would wait in the parking lot for us to return. 
    We whipped around faster than a tornado and headed back to the church.  When we arrived, guess who else was there?  Yes, the Pastor and his wife.  Joy got her cell phone and we had our little chit chat.  You know, of course, what I was thinking all the while.  This was a great opportunity to talk about the mission house and the opportunity presented itself.
    “Pastor, do you think it might be possible when your missionaries leave for Russia that we could use the mission house while on furlough?”  To my amazement the Pastor said, “Yes, that might be a possibility.”  Wow, did that make my day!  We all thanked the Pastor’s daughter for rescuing my daughter’s cell phone and thanked the Pastor and his wife for the possibility of using the mission home.  Only God could arrange this little episode.
    We headed off again to lunch discussing what had transpired because of a dropped cell phone at a church we had visited for the first time---how loving the Christians had been to us without even knowing anything about us except that we were missionaries to Belize.  I suppose that was enough for brothers and sisters in Christ.
    We continued to visit the church when we were in town and about a month later the Pastor suggested I come by and he would give us the keys to the mission house. Praise the Lord, the church had decided to let us use it while on furlough.  The house was beautiful, comfortable and exactly what we needed for our furlough time.
    What are the odds of only the Pastor’s daughter seeing the cell phone?  When we left the parking lot it was still full of cars and the Pastor’s daughter was next to the last one to leave.  It is amazing who and what God uses to get you to the place He wants you to be.  This time it was a small cell phone. 

Glory to His Name!

Chapter 52 - Once-in-a-Lifetime Encounters

“…For your Father knoweth what things ye have

need of, before ye ask Him.”

—Matthew 6:8

Encounter #1

“A man that hath friends must shew himself

friendly:…”

—Proverbs 18:24

We were returning from Williamsburg,

Virginia, when we saw a sign that read
“Jamestown-Scotland Ferry.” At this time we had
never seen or ridden on a ferryboat but wanted to
experience new things on our journey with the Lord,
hence we decided to go for it. When we arrived at the
landing, we saw a huge boat with many cars already
on it. I am sure the rest of my family was probably
thinking the same thing that I was thinking: What
if this thing sinks with all these cars and people on
it? Nevertheless, we decided to take this occasion
since we might not ever be back this way again.
When it was our turn to board, we headed right onto
that huge boat as though we had done this before.
We stepped out of our vehicle, enjoying the scenery
but also praying that this thing would not sink. Our
nerves soon calmed down, and we began relaxing
and enjoying the beautiful blue water and scenery.
    As we cruised along, we struck up a conversation
with another family. We exchanged greetings
and told each other all about ourselves. It was a
once-in-a-lifetime encounter. We enjoyed our fellowship
with them and asked about their belief in
the Lord. They assured us that they were born again
Christians.
    Soon our once-in-a-lifetime ferryboat ride was
coming to an end. We said our farewells, but as we
walked toward our vehicle, our newfound friends
turned around and held out a fifty-dollar bill, saying,
“The Lord has impressed upon our hearts to give
you this money for your family to enjoy a delicious
meal this evening.” I was dumbfounded but quickly
composed myself, and my entire family gave them
a big thank you.
    We have never ridden that ferry again, nor have
we ever saw that family again. Thank You, Lord,
for the blessing of meeting this Christian family and
for their sacrificial gift willingly given to complete
strangers. By the way, thank you, my newfound
friends. The meal was delicious.

Encounter #2

“Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good;…”

—Psalm 85:12

We were lodging at a motel in Baytown, Texas,

compliments of Pastor Danny Bezet, Victory Baptist
Church, Baytown, Texas. Arriving rather late at the
motel, we enjoyed a good night’s rest in the spicand-
span room. The next morning we freshened
ourselves up and took advantage of the delicious
waffles offered at the continental breakfast. While
enjoying our breakfast, another couple entered the
room and sat down near us. Striking up a conversation
with them, we learned that he was a pastor in
northern Texas. It was a good time of fellowship.
    We finished our breakfast, said good-bye, and
headed to our room to pack. As we were checking
out, we spotted the other couple leaving, but they
did not appear to see us. However, the pastor suddenly
turned around, walked back through the door,
and approached us, saying, “The Lord impressed
upon our hearts to give you this hundred-dollar
bill.” Before we could say anything, he was back
out the door and gone. We stood there amazed for a
few minutes. If you are reading this and you are that
pastor, we would like to thank you so much for that
gift, another once-in-a-lifetime encounter.

Encounter #3

“He hath made everything beautiful in His time:…”

—Ecclesiastes 3:11

I must tell you about our once-in-a-lifetime encounter

in Maine. At the time we were studying French in
Sherbrooke, Canada, and had gone to Maine to
present our ministry to Africa in two churches that
particular Sunday. We were headed home on a road
as dark as a dungeon, and all we could see were
the black woods surrounding us. We were praising
the Lord that our vehicle had good headlights and
praying that we would not break down here in the
middle of nowhere, fearing we would freeze to
death before anyone would find us.
    About two hours into our journey home, the snow
began falling leisurely. It was beautiful and as white
as my heart when I first asked Jesus to forgive me
of my sins at twenty-seven years of age. As we were
riding along and enjoying the beauty of the snow,
I suddenly glimpsed something walking down the
road a short distance ahead. It was big, brown, hairy
and kind of ugly. As we drew closer, I slowed down
and followed the creature down the road.
    It was magnificent, larger than our vehicle, and
sported a big rack on its head. Although it was the
ugliest thing I had ever seen, it was beautiful in its
own way. What a treat from the Lord to see this
magnificent beast from the forest! Then suddenly
our big friendly moose walked into the forest, and
to this day, we have never seen another one. It was
truly a once-in-a-lifetime encounter for Southern
folks like us.

Encounter #4

“Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned

with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer
every man.”

—Colossians. 4:6

I had been out on Thursday night visitation at my

home church, and upon returning to the church, I
was standing around chatting with the other men
who had gone out witnessing. The subject of Africa
came up, specifically the fact that my family and
I were going there as missionaries. As we finished
our conversation, one man looked at me and stated,
“You are a fool for taking your family to a place like
that.”
    I did not know what to say, but it did get me
to thinking. Was I a fool for taking my family to
Africa? I had read a great deal about Africa and
thought I knew what it was like, but I had never
actually been there to check it out. I believed if the
Lord called you to go to a certain place, He knew
what He was doing, and you should not question
His calling.
    Was I indeed a fool? Africa was a very hot place.
We had to have many vaccinations to protect ourselves
from the diseases we could contract. We
would have to fly to reach our destination. And what
about after we arrived? Would God take care of us?
    Many questions passed through my mind at that
moment, but that is all they did—they passed. I did
not entertain the thought that maybe God had not
called me there. I did not entertain the thought that
maybe I was a fool, but I reminded myself I was
only a willing servant of God. By His grace—and
only by His grace—we were going to Africa to
preach and teach the Word of God.
    Later I learned that the man who had called me
a fool for taking my family to Africa quit serving
God. He blamed God for tempting him to the
extreme so that he could not resist a woman who
was not his wife. I was sad to hear that but recalled
1 Corinthians 10:13: “There hath no temptation
taken you but such as is common to man: but God
is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted
above that ye are able; but will with the temptation
also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to
bear it.”
    That was my once-in-a-lifetime encounter of
being called a fool for serving the Lord.

Encounter #5

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that

giveth to all men liberally,…”

James1:5

A church once wrote us a letter that read:

“This letter is being sent to all of the missionaries
that we are now supporting. This year marks fifty
years of service to the Lord, and we have been privileged
to support mission work around the world
during those years. We sincerely desire to continue
to help extend the reach of the gospel as we partner
with our missionaries, but we are facing some difficult
decisions at this point.
    Our church has faced severe trials during the
past few years. We used to have 250 worshippers on
Sunday, but now we are in the teens. We have faithfully
fulfilled the commitments made to twenty-one
missionaries, but those commitments must now be
re-evaluated. To do what we have to do, the ministry
here, including the pastor’s salary, has been
lessened. We are beginning to turn around, with a
high of forty-two worshippers on Sunday.
    I have never had to face what must be faced now.
It is my sincere belief that the church will come
through this trial and again be a strong witness. We
do not want to drop missionaries, but the truth is
that in our present condition, most of the missions
we support are stronger than we are.
    Will you help us to make wise decisions re-evaluate
honestly and fairly the needs of our present
missions program? Thank you now for helping us
to deal with the reality of our present situation as we
rebuild in order to continue supporting even more
missionaries one day.”
    I wrote back to them, thanking them for their
faithful support over the years. I said I would be
praying for them and asked them to give our support
to the pastor.
    I ended by saying that when they had the finances,
I hoped they would consider supporting us again.
The support did stop temporarily, but eventually the
support started again and has continued faithfully
ever since. This was a once-in-a-lifetime encounter
to partner with a church that was honest about its
struggles.

(Copyright by Jay B Ayers)

Chapter 51 - The Big Surprise

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean

not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways
acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

—Proverbs 3:5–6

At the end of our furlough as we prepared to

return to our ministry in Belize, we were in
Jacksonville, Florida. It was a great day. We were
all packed and ready to leave the next day; but there
was one problem: we still needed a great deal of
money for shipping, duties, and travel expenses.
    We had already celebrated our thirty-third wedding
anniversary on the first of April. We were
able to attend church on Sunday, which was the
actual date of our wedding in Horry County, South
Carolina. What a great day that had been all those
years ago! On that day, the Lord gave me the best
wife in the world.
    But now we were off to First Coast Baptist
Church where we had been attending while living
in Jacksonville, Florida, during our furlough time.
Brother Bundy had asked me to teach Sunday
School for the last time. We had enjoyed being
in the Pacesetters’ Sunday school class, where
we were treated as royalty under the teaching of
Brother Bundy. Sunday School was soon dismissed.
We headed into the auditorium for the ten o’clock
worship service.
    Linda and I were enjoying the service, but we
were also praying for the funds needed in order to
leave the next day. The church had already been a real
blessing to us while we were on furlough, treating
us as family from our very first visit. The worship
service was always filled with the Spirit of the Lord,
and we were always blessed by the preaching of
Pastor Edwards. We were already beginning to miss
the church and its wonderful teaching and preaching
of the Word of God.
    The funds that we needed were a cause of concern
for us, yet we tried to remain focused on the
Lord and endeavored to encourage ourselves by
remembering other times when God had supplied
our needs at the last minute. Lord, it sure seems we
are down to our last minute, I prayed.
    Pastor Edwards opened the service with prayer,
followed by singing. Then he walked to the pulpit
and announced, “Brother Ayers and his wife, Linda,
are heading back to Belize tomorrow. They need
some funds, and I believe the Lord wants us to help
them. Who will give a hundred dollars?” I sat there
awe, as did Linda.
    One man promptly said, “I’ll give a hundred.”
Then another person added, “I’ll give two hundred.”
A third person spoke up, “I’ll give five hundred.”
    My faith was growing with each passing second.
Then another person said, “I’ll give a thousand dollars,”
and my faith rocketed sky high. When the
giving finally stopped, the people of that church had
given $8,500, exactly the amount we needed, in less
than ten minutes.
     I could not contain myself any longer. My cup was
running over.There in the back of the church, where
we sat among some seven hundred other people, I
rose to my feet and let out a big yell. It was “un-Belizeable!”
The only way anyone could ever believe it was to have
been there to see and hear it. God does some amazing
things when we least expect them.
     The next morning we went by the church, picked
up the check for $8,500, thanked Pastor Edwards
again, drove to the bank, cashed the check, headed
for Belize. We were thanking and praising the Lord
for the unusual way He had supplied our need at the
last minute once again, even though our faith had
been weak. What a great gift God had given us that
morning for our thirty-third wedding anniversary!

(Copyright by Jay B Ayers)