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)