In 1975 I came up with a desire to become a missionary. This happened after spending a week in the American Bible Society booth at the Kansas State Fair. There I worked with a missionary from Peru. My interest was whetted but I now see it was all for the wrong reason.
I saw and felt the romantic exciting traveling part and not the reality of what the work would entail. I also did not have a calling from God but a calling from my need to be doing something else with my life.
After a futile attempt to go to Germany I found out about Literature Crusades in the Chicago area. I applied and eventually was accepted. Although I failed the language test and could not go on a team to Bogotá, Columbia.
Six months of intensive, eight hour a day training ensued. We became Bible scholars in short order. Most aspects of mission’s work was covered. We spent innumerable hours at O’Hara Airport and the Schaumberg Mall doing religious surveys. This part of the training was ill prepared and I have written another article about it.
After graduation we were off to Stuart, Florida to set up a church. That was the goal, go somewhere where there was not a church like us and set one up.
This was a very frustrating time. Most of the time was spent fixing up the little house they found for us to rent. Then trying to go door to door and take the survey.
We also struggled with a couple of neighborhood kids meetings. But the most frustrating part was doing church. We rented a building and went early and set things up. After church we had to tear everything down. The WE was the team, the church attendees did nothing to help. It was OUR church not theirs.
The people there we very uncommitted to what we were doing. Even the Bible studies we held were sparsely attended.
Now comes the part that destroyed my ministry for almost 40 years.
While still in training we were repainting the interior of several of the large team houses. I was in a bathroom and the president and second in command of Literature Crusades were in the bedroom painting the walls. We all took a break and I went back early to continue painting. These two returned not knowing that I was in the bathroom.
They started discussing the team being sent to Florida, which I was a member of. Their discussion was about a co-founder of Emmaus Bible College who was becoming involved in the work in Stuart. It seems that he had received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit while praying privately in a park.
They were discussing the fact that if he moved to Stuart to take over the church that the team would have to pulled out. Literature Crusades could not be involved with a Spirit filled man. They would loose financial support from many of their patrons, who believed as they that the workings of the Spirit were not for our times.
Strange as it seems, I had received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit two weeks after I accepted Christ as my savior in 1972. Unfortunately I had started attending the Gospel Chapel in Hutchinson, Kansas right after my salvation. These churches were of the same mind on the Spirit.
(So I lived a lie for 40 years as I hid my Holy Language from everyone.)
When our time came to move to Florida I knew secretly that our time there could be limited. Indeed it was. C. Earnest T. was indeed involved in the newly started church and was doing a lot of the teaching. Three months later he decided to move to Stuart and become totally involved.
The leaders of LC flew down to talk with him. And then they informed us that the team was being disbanded and we were to go home.
So with bitterness against man and God we left. This started a period of desert like living as I held on to God but gave up on organized Christianity.
It was not until just last year, that I learned through teachings at WOL, about having an Ishmael ministry. One that is started on ones own volition and without direct “Thus sayeth the Lord” vision.
This has dramatically changed as I now set out with Ana to complete the calling God placed on my heart so many years ago.