Marsha's Blog

 I’ve been enjoying writing this little self-made series on “Heroes of the Faith”.  I love sorting thru my mind to see what (hopefully) God will bring to it. Several of our friends have been scurrying  around here getting “The Jab” as Aussies call it, to immunize themselves against the Corona virus.  We are sitting in the back, verrrry quietly hoping that more time and research will pass before we’re required to line up. But all this furor made me remember something that happened a long time ago. And instead of avoiding the Jab, we were trying to get it! It all started when our mission asked us to run over to Hong Kong for three months to pave the way for the arrival of another missionary family who would be taking on the Japanese church there. It was good timing, since we needed to pull away from our ministry in Japan long enough for them to call a Japanese pastor, something they might never have done if we had stayed in the area. So we were delighted to go. Son Nathan would keep up h

 Hello from Rainy Sydney!   Today I want to tell you about a couple of heroes that are actually alive.     The first one is our friend, more like a brother since we go way back to college days.  His name is Bob Gierhart.  We met him over 50 years ago right after we were married in Colorado, where we both grew up.     Soon we were off to see the world together, in a group called “Journeymen” which is a short-term branch of our mission with the Southern Baptists.  He went to Japan and we were sent (where we hadn’t asked, but were thankful in the end) to Africa.   Three years later, while attending the same seminary, Tony was Bob’s best man in his wedding.  Several decades later our son was their son’s groomsman.  As you can see, we’re related.   But Bob has a vastly different personality to us.  He has principals that he is willing to fight for.  He is steady and faithful.  Dare we call him a ‘prudent non-adventurer”? He is happy to stay at home and think lofty thoughts, work incessantly

  Hello Friends, Today, getting back to my theme of “heroes of the faith, I want to share with you the biography of a man who seems to qualify absolutely. In the words of my grandson, who insisted on his own vow of poverty, here was one who embraced the simple life because accumulating wealth would mean “having too much stuff to put away.”   I’ll be borrowing from one of my favorite guys, Reverend J. John, who is a Vicar in England and who has inspired me more than once. To my knowledge he has no “bad press” against him, and furthermore, what he is sharing has really meant something to me.  In the interest of space, I’m going to paraphrase J. John in places, but if you want the original in its entirety, drop me a line and I’ll send you the links. Here’s what J. John has to say about this “Hero of the Faith”: “One of the fascinating things about Christianity is how very different the great men and women of God are. George Müller (1805–1898) was not just different; he was   unique . Müll

As you already know, I’m doing a series for a few weeks on “Great Heroes of the Faith”.  Last week I started with a missionary who gave her life, talents and heart to Japan. This week I want to talk about a recently ‘fallen’ hero.  As you may have picked up, this blog is often more about me processing stuff than any inspired thought which might be of any benefit to you.  I thank you for your patience. So if you’ve never heard of Ravi Zacharias, you have now.   Ravi has often been labeled one of the best Christian Apologists of our times. His book “Walking from East to West” made me want to have a ‘do over’ on my entire missionary career, just based on the insights he had on Eastern thought vs our Western ways. I listen to his sermons most mornings as I walk on the treadmill and come off it both physically and spiritually invigorated.  I pass on his quotes to people I don’t even know on the train……. that’s how much he has influenced me. And now, a year after his untimely death at 73, th