Maybe you have heard the expression, "When life hands you lemons, make them into lemonade". In other words when bad things happen to you, things that might sour you on life, try to transform that sour exprerience into something sweet and refreshing. When I think of our family, I think of all of us as having had a good life, a profitable life. But when I stopped to think recently of each of your experiences in life until now, I realized there were many difficult things that happened - the lemons of life. And yet in each case you have been resilient and resourceful - you have turned the lemons of life into sweet, refreshing lemonade.
Cheryl and Darrell, in the beginning of your marriage you were so happy to be expecting a child - a little baby girl. But that child did not mature fully, she was born before her time. I think she might have lived a few hours even, but then with much sorrow you saw her life end and buried her there in New Jersey. This was one of those lemon experiences. But you did not allow it to sour you - you went on to finish your home service and went to Lebanon and started a new life there. Again you were expecting, a boy this time, and he was born amid the worst bombing session of the war in Beirut. You never gave up through that war season but moved to J'Bail in the north and even there the war found you. I well remember visiting the small, dark tunnel room that was your bunker when the bombs came there too. You had to leave the port there in an open boat, Cheryl with Rachel and later Darrell with the boys, amidst the shelling. You were all sent back to the States, and who would have blamed you for giving up at that point, but instead you persevered, and have become the pioneers and apostles for the Lord in the Middle East and now in North Africa. Your stories of hard and even dangerous situations could fill a couple of books, but you didn't give up - you made lemonade and have been a refreshing presence in the Arab world. We look forward to being with you soon in Tunis - another world for you to conquer!
Steve and Debbi, you too have had your share of lemon experiences. You were stationed in the most primitive situation of any worker in recent years in Burkina. But you made an oasis for your family and for others in that red stone house, complete with its insects and snakes, etc. And you pioneered the work among the large Dafing tribe, learning their unwritten language. Today there is a church and pastors in their area, thanks to your making a life and ministry out of a very difficult situation.
When Daniel was a teenager and needed his parents near him in the States, again you had to leave your work and make a new life for yourself. You had to drop your calling to Africa, take secular jobs of teaching and office work and make a life for your family in this country. That was a hard situation, but you endured and God rewarded you with a new and different ministry in Africa. You started out among an indigenous people in the bush country and now work among the very high classes in the capital city. God has given you both so many gifts, and through hard times and good times you have used those gifts and accepted the difficult situations - those lemons of life. You too have brought refreshing to many people in West Africa, in Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso.
Joel and Elin, after your up and down friendship and courtship in college and seminary, God led you to marry and begin ministry together in Côte d'Ivoire. In both Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal, God has led you to break into the upper class of people in those countries with the Gospel. It always amazed us to visit you and to meet so many interesting people - your friends, many of whom eventually came to Christ. Then along came the "lemons"of your life, schogren's disease. This has been a disability often in your daily life, Elin, and you had to have special treatment in the US. But again you have persevered and learned to live with your disability and minister to the people God brings into your lives. We admire you for that. The contacts he has given you and continues to give to you as a couple are amazing. You continue to make lemonade out of the lemons of sickness that are a part of your life.
John, you started out as an amazing child with such a positive attitude. We knew God had something special for you in your journey. He brought Jennie into your life, and as you started life together you had some hard times. Not much money, the failure of the hotel in Puerto Rico. I remember you and Jennie returning to Georgia from PR and you were staying with us for a few days. You were in the bedroom and Jennie said, "Mom and Dad, please go and talk to John - he feels like he is a failure." And we reassured you and loved you both through that situation and rejoiced to see you come out of that whole diffcult period of your life - your lemons - and make a good life here. During those long weeks of cancer with Jennie, that was certainly a season of being handed lemons. And again God brought you - and all of us - through that time of sorrowing. We still miss Jennie, but rejoice that she is with Jesus. You have had other rough times as well, and yet through all of them you have brought joy and refreshing to many people. And continue to do so.
Mark, our shy little son has become a successful business man, a good husband and an outstanding father and we are proud of you too. You could not have done it all alone - God gave you Katy, our lovely resourceful daughter-in-law, whom we admire tremendously. Your worked your way through college, going to school nights and working days. And for a long time you worked in a Brazilian company. We remember your taking us to visit the company where you showed us where you began in the big warehouse....and then proudly took us to your own office, with your own desk. But it was not long before you realized that you would never advance further in that company as you were not Brazilian! And so you took the "lemons" of that experience and planned your way out. And you joined your current company, being promoted all the way to head office. What a journey! You had to move, even though you both loved Georgia. And again, you have adjusted and made a good life far from what you had always known as home in your married life. Again making lemons into lemonade!
Dad and I have had a happy, fulfilling life and still do. You children and your children and those children's children are all a delight to us. And yet we too have had some "lemon" experiences in our lives occasionally. Dad had several years of being field director in both Mali and Burkina and also in Burkina alone. The last year he was director in Bobo, when the vote came for the director, Dad could not get the majority he needed. Actually, Dad held that title lightly, but was willing to serve if he was voted in. Finally after a couple more rounds and no majority (I think it was two thirds) he withdrew his name. Some complained, but we both felt it the right way to go. (We later found out that the reason some would not vote for him is they did not like the young men who worked for him) Dad has always discipled young boys and men and continued to do this in the office and this was evidently not appreciated by some. But again this became a liberating experience for us. We no longer had the burdens of the office and the demands of everyone. We had more time for ministry among the people and that is what we really liked. We lived in Bobo one more year and then moved to Ouaga where we participated in the planting of that first Ouaga church. And so the "lemon experience" of the conference vote became a blessing in disguise and our lives were a refreshing drink for many.
It has been such a delight to us through the years to see you all developing in the right way and being a blessing to so many. Our prayer is that your lives - and ours - may be a refreshing drink to many around us who need it.
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