Our Testimony

Linda and I came to know Jesus Christ as our Savior during the summer of 1972, a little over two years after we were married. At the time, we were living on a run-down, 80 acre farm in north central Wisconsin. We had purchased the farm as the first step toward the realization of our vision to get back to the land, to develop an organic food farm, to somehow become totally self-sufficient, and to attain some semblance of inner peace and harmony which continually eluded us.

The late 60's scene had a great impact on us. We were both avid readers: classical literature, Russian history, philosophy, contemporary poetry, Tibetan mysticism, and Zen Buddhism, particularly authors D.T. Suzuki and Alan Watts. See: Fantasy of the East  During that last long, hard winter, I remember taking turns reading out loud on Sundays until we finished "Dr. Zhivago".

The harder I applied myself, the more insidious was the despair creeping over me. The realization gradually took hold that I was completely inadequate to attain harmony with God, truth, or self (whichever the right path may have been) on my own strength. A friend gave me some Bahai writings. I even tried to read the Bible a couple of times, which was about as fulfilling as deciphering a Mayan hieroglyph.

Towards the end of that winter, we began investing in livestock for our farm. We purchased a goat, a good package deal that included two kids and a daily portion of milk. The man that sold us the goats happened to be a believer, pastoring a small group in the community nearest to our farm.

The simple testimony of what God did for us through his Son on the cross of Calvary began to work in our hearts. Everything that was wrong in us came under one heading: sin. Everything that was lacking in us could be found in a person: the Lord Jesus Christ. See: A Challenge for Cynics.  It was not long before we opened our hearts to this message and gave our lives over to him.

That summer ended up being the turning point in our lives. The spiritual void within was filled. It became evident that the struggle to destroy self while deifying it in the search for truth was an unsustainable paradox. Happiness and meaning come not from emptying, but by receiving that which is lacking.

We moved from there to attend a Bible College in Springfield, MO in August, 1973. We were there about two years when it seemed the Lord was dealing with us about foreign missions, something that had not remotely crossed our minds until then. I quit Bible College with a semester left to graduate in order to get ready to go to El Salvador, Central America. We started deputation in January, 1976 and departed in December of that year for language school in Guadalajara, Mexico. Our son, Jeremy, was 5 years old and our daughter, Rebekah, was 3½ when we left the States. December, 1977, we finished language school, packed our 4-wheel drive and trailer, and headed for El Salvador, Central America. The civil war which broke out in October, 1979 forced us to leave the country in June, 1980. The war dragged on for nearly 11 years.

After a year back in the States, we came to Mexico, to the city of Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, an oil boom town. We were there nearly a year. The oil economy at the time made it outrageously expensive to live there. The pollution provoked my allergies and asthma to where I had to sleep sitting up. At one point, we drove to Cancun, a quiet little resort town, for a few days of rest. While here, the Lord seemed to impress our hearts about coming to stay. A few weeks later we found a place to live (a miracle at the time) and made the move. That was in May, 1982.