This week's story is from Gary Thies, Mission Counselor for LCMS Foundation Ministries Support in Iowa and Nebraska. Gary loves to tell stories from God's mission. He also loves to tell what he calls "stories of God reaching down and touching the lives of individual donors." He says, "God is still calling people and performing great miracles by sending the Holy Spirit into their hearts."
I remember traveling to a little rural congregation with a white frame church building that stood in the middle of a cornfield. The hills were steep and the roads were all gravel. As I came that night it had rained and everyone made tracks in the mud around the church. I set my projector and screen up in the church basement and prepared for a mission program the pastor had asked me to present after their soup supper. There were about 20 people present for the gathering and then I saw them.
An elderly white-haired couple sat together very quietly. I went over to speak to them and asked their name. The man replied: "My name is Chuck, and my wife’s name is Elsie. We’re certainly glad you’re here. We live down the road in a small acreage and we’re so looking forward to you coming to tell us what the Lord is doing in mission work." I also remember the man’s hands. They were scarred and gnarled. There were even some fresh sores on them and under his fingernails was a thick coating of grease. I visited with a number of other people as well before the program began, including the pastor. I asked him, "Can you tell me about Chuck and Elsie?"
The pastor smiled and related to me how they lived down the road from the church in a little rundown house that had no paint on it. He said Bud was an iron collector. He bought iron, cut it up and sold it to make a living. He scratched his head and said he wondered how Bud and Elsie really were able to get along because they had absolutely nothing. Then the pastor looked at me and, with tears gathering in his eyes said, "But the Lord Jesus truly lives in their hearts." That was such a special blessing to me and a wonderful compliment to them.
I presented the program that evening and I told of a new missionary that was going to Russia who needed our prayers and financial support. After the program, we prayed together and then I left the little group and headed out again. I was on the road for five days and when I finally returned to my home office I found a letter written in shaky pencil. Elsie had written it.
I opened that letter and I will never throw it away. It said, "Dear Gary, we so much enjoyed your presentation on what God is doing in the mission field. Our parents both came from Russia and we know how important it is that they find out about the Lord Jesus. We wanted so badly to do something for that new missionary going to Russia to help support him, but when you were here we didn’t have any money in our checking account.
"We’ve been saving for some time to fix up our home and this money was in savings. We think that helping that missionary is much more important than fixing up our home, so we transferred our money from savings into checking and enclosed is our check for $2,000!" When I read the letter and saw the contents, I couldn't help crying.
After I got myself together, I picked up my phone and called them. I told them that I could not keep their check and that I was going to send it back. Then Chuck and Elsie gave me a great education. They said, "Oh, we are very rich. God has given us a wonderful family and we are very healthy. We have been blessed by the Lord in so many ways and have so many wonderful friends. You wouldn’t take this joy away from us, would you?"
They were very rich indeed! They were also filled with the Holy Spirit and God had truly called them to help in this special work. I told them that it was an honor and a privilege to know dear people like them. I thanked them for their gift and hung up, grateful for my continuing education in the ways of God.