Marsha's Blog

 Recently I was reading a dime store novel about some settlers in the Rockies who got caught in a sudden snowstorm.   I grew up in the Rockies, so that got my attention. Even though my birthday's in June (early summer in Colorado), I'd had snow interrupt a few of my party plans. But as I continued to read thru the novel, I realized I was relating because I COULD relate, if somewhat painfully. We were in Australia, maybe in our early to mid 50's when a particularly interesting 'trek' as they're called here, captured our imagination.  It's called the "6-foot track" and it's 42 KM (about 27 miles) right thru the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.   The reason it’s called the Six-foot track is because it was built in the 1800’s originally as a wagon trail leading to some famous caves.  They’re still famous, by the way. Anyway, the terrain is rough, so no one wanted to spend time breaking rock unnecessarily. Therefore, the trail is no more than six fee...

 Apologies for the messed up blog schedule. We've been having a heck of a time finding wifi that's reliable. This is going out now since we're in Lima, Peru and seem to have a connection. Hang in there with me for four more weeks and we get back home! Recently I was reading a dime store novel about some settlers in the Rockies who got caught in a sudden snowstorm.   I grew up in the Rockies, so that got my attention. Even though my birthday's in June (early summer in Colorado), I'd had snow interrupt a few of my party plans. But as I continued to read thru the novel, I realized I was relating because I COULD relate, if somewhat painfully. We were in Australia, maybe in our early to mid 50's when a particularly interesting 'trek' as they're called here, captured our imagination.  It's called the "6-foot track" and it's 42 KM (about 27 miles) right thru the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.   The reason it’s called the Six-foot track is...

  I came across an interesting comment in Psalms 133:1. Just one sentence by King David, “How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity!” Just reading that one verse took me back … way back to 1980. We had been in Japan for two years, studying Japanese in Tokyo. Finally done, we packed up and headed north for the town of Sendai. We had been tasked with the job of establishing student ministries, and Sendai ticked all the boxes.  What a delightful place!  There were 13 prestigious universities in town, and we had the pick of them all.  English classes taught by native speakers were like pure gold. We were in demand, and the biggest challenge was to pick the places to which we could commit.  Students of course were initially drawn by the “Engrish” lessons, but they were also quite open to hearing the Gospel. We taught the Bible, in English, to one and all, then followed that up with a Bible study in Japanese. The biggest success story was ...

As most of you know, you can't say anything to me that doesn't remind me of a personal story that I just HAVE to share.  I think there are words for people like me, but I’m not sure they're always nice.  Take for instance that great story about Elijah and Elisha (from 1 Kings 19). Elijah was about to be taken up into Heaven.  We know that, because people kept asking the young man Elisha if he knew this was happening soon.  His answer was, “Yes”. But Elisha didn't want to let him go, so he kept following him around ........ until Elijah stops and says the equivalent of "WHAT??" Then Elisha asked for his blessing, which he received. Now, fast forward thru history to 1968.  It was winter, Tony and I had fallen in love and naturally we wanted to get engaged.  But these were the days when the guy (if he’s decent) gets the girl's parents’ permission before he moves forward. I’m thrilled to mention that both my son and my son-in-law honoured that age old practice...

This morning I'll tell you another story about those interesting, exciting and Spirit-filled days in the small 700-year-old town of Yoshioka. As I mentioned last time, a big part of our week was spent at a small country church built there by a true man of faith, Dr. Abe (pronounced "Ah - Beh"). By the time we arrived, the small medical centre he had built had added a preschool that attracted just about every family in the community, along with a church that offered Sunday services and weekly Bible studies.  As with all things old and traditional, Yoshioka was changing into a bedroom community for Sendai, and along with the changing nature of the population, we were seeing new convenience stores, a gas station, revitalised government offices and the beginnings of a new preschool.  Not unexpectedly, Dr. Abe’s  clinic/preschool/church was starting to slip.  But it was not going to go silently. The people were still filled with enthusiasm, and every local festival day in...

I’ve shared with many of you the wild experiences Tony and I had in the months before our son, Trevor got sick and died. Looking back, I’m convinced that it was a time of preparation, while God systematically removed any traces of doubt we may have had about His existence and His love for us. We would be needing all the faith and hope we could muster, and God was there to give it.  In particular were those 'interesting' experiences with both the Holy Spirit and with demons during those years we were living in Sendai, Japan. I remember one precious Japanese family.  He was a soldier, on assignment to a little town north of us, close to where we had a church.  Mrs and I became good friends. She came to church asking about salvation, and within a few weeks she prayed to receive Christ. Then the 'fun' began.  She had a good, loving relationship with her husband, which was sometimes rare in a country like Japan, where in the previous generation, around 90% of all marriage...