Welcome to the second Episode of Wendell's Wondering and Wanderings. This episode is a little different from past blog posts.
The weeks since arriving in Yuma have been filled with mostly normal snowbird activities. We have been renewing friendships with Villa Alameda RV Park friends and making new friends. Deb and I have been keeping tabs on our children and being grateful for warmer weather in Yuma. So, life has settled into a fairly normal pattern for our winter experience. When not working with Homes of Hope (CASA de la Esperanza), Deb quilts for herself and enjoys two sewing/quilting groups in the park. She has made a number of friends in the park. Wendell goes to coffee with friends at another park in Yuma, takes early morning walks along the irrigation channel behind our park, plays shuffleboard three mornings a week and works on jigsaw puzzles. The below view shows the beauty of the area on a recent walk and sunset over pool at a neighboring RV Park.
So how does a farm boy and his High School sweetheart from NW Iowa find themselves in Yuma, AZ enjoying a warmer winter and new experiences? The answer is both simple and multi-facetted. We love new experiences especially when serving God in Mission. Notice I say serving God in mission not serving God in Missions. We have one Mission to "Serve Him where and when he calls us to be his hands and feet to the world".
Pastor Tom, our pastor at Stone Ridge Church in Yuma, AZ has challenged us the last several weeks to tell our story. To share our witness! What follows is our story, how God took a young couple off an Iowa farm to serve Him in Mission. In order to tell this story, I need to go back to the year of 1977.
In 1977 Deb and I thought we had found our place and life's work. It had been a journey to get to that point. As High School sweethearts, we married in November 1970. I, Wendell barely graduated high school being a totally unmotivated student. The only activities I enjoyed in High School were vocal music and having a large library with novels that told of a world outside of rural America. I read books through every class often completing a book a day! Of course, my grades suffered. My mother was a scholar at heart. She met my father while attending her first year of college, fell in love and followed him to the farm. Farmers wives did not have time or funds for higher education, so she dropped out of school. In order to encourage me in my academic life she bought me all the right supplies and even nice book bags! To her great disappointment I hated the academic life. I seldom turned in an assignment and as result carried a whopping low GPA. My love of reading novels was due in part to a desire to learn about the wonders of the world books showed me.
After high school, with no goals and no wish to stay on the farm I enlisted in the SD Air National Guard. It was something to do and I thought would get me off the farm for a little while. I didn't hate the farm, but just wanted to see some of the world. After basic training I game back to Sioux Falls for On-the-Job Training at the guard. After completing that training, a full time "technician" job opened up at the Guard. Deb and I began our life together in November of 1970. I thought my life is complete. I have the love of my life by my side and a good job. Four years later the four walls of the office and life in the city were pressing in on me. While working in the Guard met a need in my life, God was still working on me. So, we left the jobs in Sioux Falls and started farming with my dad! Surely this was where God wanted us. Three years later we were quite content with our lives. We were content until God moved in a powerful way in our life.
My faith in God was important to me. I thank the Lord for Godly parents who faithfully nurtured me in faith. My life was steeped in learning about God and His great love for me. A very moving youth camp experience led me to come forward to accept Him as my Lord and Savior. Acknowledging his Lordship resulted in my confession of faith with 22 other youth in our church! Experiencing worship and Bible study became the norm of my life. God kept drawing me deeper and deeper into his everlasting love! I believed God wanted me to be the best farmer I could be and take care of his creation.
In the summer of 1977, I was part of a morning prayer breakfast group. One of the prayer breakfast leaders had made reference to Judges the 6th chapter. This passage details the calling of Gideon and his response. The Israelites had "cried to the Lord because of Midian". God heard their cry and sent them a prophet who basically said "you ungrateful people. I took you out of Egypt, out of slavery and I asked you to not worship the gods of the Amorites,,,but you have not listened to me." But God loved His people and asked Gideon to save His people from the Midianites. Gideon is not so sure he wants to follow God's call to him. He argues with God, stomps his foot a little and says, "it's not fair God". He even tried to ignore God's call by stating "How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest clan in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family." The Lord's answer: "I will be with you!" Gideon then begins a series of "tests"; tests for God so Gideon can "know" God's Will! OK Lord if I am really to follow your call, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me." Wow! Gideon was testing God. Not something I had ever thought was wise or proper. But God says OK bring on the test. Scripture goes on with detailing Gideon going back and forth following God's will and then doubting again needing another test. Every time God patiently puts up with Gideons requests. The final tests are the "wool fleece" tests.
Gideon said: "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised--look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said." And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew - a bowlful of water." The ground was dry. Gideon is impressed but wants to try once more test. He reverses the fleece test. "This time make the fleece dry, and the ground covered with dew." God comes through with another perfect test. The next morning the fleece was dry and the ground wet! Wow what an ideal testing God.
I marveled at how patient God was with Gideon, I began to wonder. Was I in God's will in respect to where He wants me in life? Was I really doing the will of God? On that warm summer day, I asked myself that very question. How do I know the will of God? Am I in His will?
That day I needed to get some feed for my hogs. As I drove to town those questions rattled through my mind. I had done a number of things in life. I thought I was where God wanted me, but did I really know I was doing His "Will"? I drove by my church. I knew our youth Pastor was in his office. So, I pulled in and asked him the big question: "How do you know the Will of our Lord?" We talked for some time about doing God's Will. Our Youth Pastor Ted was the first youth Pastor at our church. I had worked with him and respected him. He gave me some literature to read. I left the church and went home! I was so deep in this question I even forgot to get the feed!
Back home I went back to the tasks at hand still deep in thought. At one point I remembered the Prayer Breakfast story of Gideon. Hey, Gideon tested God. If I really wanted to know God's will maybe I needed to pray to Him and ask Him to give me a clear sign. In fact, let's do like Gideon and ask for multiply signs! So, I prayed! In fact, I paused while walking through my corn crib and prayed this prayer. "Lord, if you have something you want me to do for you give me three signs. Three very clear signs." I wasn't specific what those signs were to be. I just want signs!
After that big "prayer" moment I decided I needed to include my good prayer breakfast friends in this endeavor. You see we had always said we would come together if we ever had a "big" prayer need. We had never made any calls to each other to do that very thing...just talked about we should. So, I called three close friends simply saying could you come tonight and pray with me.
Two friends, Bernie and Doug said sure! The time was set. Nothing was stated about the fact I was trying to determine if I was in the will of God, or did He have a different life mission for me. My third friend Bobby when hearing my request said, "I can't Wendell". Peggy (his wife) was not happy with him because her parents were coming for a visit. She had asked him to do several things in preparation for their arrival. He was busy and the things had not been done! I was disappointed but told him while I really would have liked to have join me in prayer I understood. I hung up the phone. No sooner had I turned around then the phone rang, and it was Bobby. He said, "I'll be there".
I went back to my chores. Completed the work of the day and returned to the house to prepare for my friends' arrival. I don't remember the exact reason Deb was not at home, but one of us had left the television on. As I walked in my kitchen, I heard a voice from an otherwise quiet and empty house these words: Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel. Wow...could that be one of God's signs! Yes, I later learned it was someone interviewing Brother Andrew. Brother Andrew in the early 1970's had been on a mission to bring Bibles into the Iron Curtain counties. He referred to that mission as his call from God. OK! So, was God speaking to me asking me to leave the farm and begin some sort of ministry for Him. Being raised in a very stoic protestant church I never had experienced this level of "hearing God's voice". But maybe this could be sign one.
Later two of my friends, Bernie and Doug arrived at the farm for our appointed prayer time. As Bernie walked through my door he said: "Wendell, I had a vision from God as we were driving here tonight that you were being called by God into full time ministry"! Ok! Sign number two. I had not told anyone that I had been wondering what God's will was for my life.
Finally, Bobby arrived. He came in the house and told us about his day. He was busy and had not gotten to do the household tasks his wife had asked him to do in preparation for her parents' arrival. So, there was a lot of tension in his house! After he had told me he could not come to pray with us, his wife said, "Wendell needs you to pray with him." He called me back to say he would come. Then he said as he hung up the phone, he had a vision that God was calling me to full time ministry, and he needed to pray with me about God's Will for me. Sign number three!?
We did pray! That night the Holy Spirit moved in my life in a powerful way. I knew God was leading me to leave the comfort of the farm. He was calling me to full time ministry. He was calling me to reach beyond myself and follow his Will to proclaim His love to the world. God blessed me with a wife who was as moved by God's Spirit as I. We knew we needed to leave the farm, to explore where we could be used by God. I shared with family that we would be leaving the farm, exploring His will for us by heading for a nearby Christian College. My father who had thought I would be the one son to follow his dreams of having a son be a farmer. He had tears as in his eyes as he agreed I should follow Gods leading. So, I enrolled in college. I sold my farming equipment on a farm sale and moved my wife and three children. Those were hard and lean years. But every step of the way, God revealed his Will for our life. I can truly say there has never been a time since that summer day in 1977 that I have doubted our Mission is to preach His word and work in His Name.
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