|
New Year's Cruise is Beginning of Couple's Missionary Career
by Greg Miller 2012 Mary Christmas was looking forward to the new year. For Christmas, Mary's husband, Morey, had given her a winter cruise to the Caribbean. "Thanks a lot," Mary whispered into Morey's ear early on Christmas morning. "I love you very much," Morey smiled. "Last Christmas, I promised you if I received a promotion on my job I would take you on a cruise, and I wanted to keep my promise to you." "You're a great husband," Mary acknowledged. "You always keep your promises." On New Year's Day, the couple boarded their cruise ship and were soon headed out to sea. The Lord blessed Mary and Morey's Caribbean vacation. They met pastors of several churches and planned to travel to those churches for mission trips the following year. "You know," Morey observed, "I believe the Lord is leading us into a lifetime of mission work in foreign countries." "So do I," Mary replied. "And I believe our visits to the Caribbean next year will be the beginning of those adventures." The next several months flew by. Mary and Morey used their time wisely, and they conducted several fundraisers for their fledgling ministry. They spent many hours before the heavenly father, seeking His will and His wisdom. They undertook an extensive reading program, to learn more about the countries they planned to visit on their mission trips. The couple recruited a special team of prayer warriors, who promised to pray for them regularly. The prayer team was encouraged to pray for God's anointing, financial provision, willing volunteers and open doors for ministry. The prayer team met following every Sunday evening worship service. Morey's brother, Mack, a member of the prayer team, also was involved in the fundraising effort. Mack was a budding comedian, so he came up with an idea to ask the church's minister, Pastor Monty, if the church would host a benefit comedy show to raise money for the missionary effort. Pastor Monty was very responsive to Mack's idea. "I think we should plan for a whole week of shows and get several people here at the church involved," the pastor said. "Many in our congregation are able to make people laugh. I think it will be a huge success." "Thank you, Pastor Monty," said Mack. "This will provide a huge boost to Mary and Morey." "If I had not become a pastor, I would have enjoyed a career as a standup comic," said the minister. "I would like to make a special request," said Morey. "For this comedy fundraiser, I think we should ask all those who wish to participate as comics to sit in chairs at the front of the fellowship hall. The only thing is, we'll have to call them sit-down comics, because they won't be standing up." To contact the writer of this column about speaking engagements, including Christian Comedy Fundraisers, and/or puppet ministry, please email [email protected]. By Greg Miller 2018 Greg is retired from the Elizabethton STAR Newspaper, after working there for almost 23 years. He now freelances for the paper. Contact email address is [email protected], also facebook.com/kidcool4jesus. Available for speaking engagements/other ministries. Jesus is Lord Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |