Her Story Silhouettes by Shari {#2 Joy Ridderhof / Dealing with Trials}

Hey there, I'm Shari. One of my favorite things to do is read about or study the lives of those who have gone before us or who are walking beside us in this endeavor of being a missionary lady.* 

Their stories challenge me, encourage me, and teach me. My hope is that these "silhouettes" or glimpses of their lives will do the same for you.  

Each silhouette contains a small synopsis of a lady’s missionary service, a particular story from her everyday life that resonated with my own, and a short Bible study about a truth that I learned from it.  I hope that as you read these posts you might be challenged to find out more about these great ladies, that you might find something that speaks to your heart or helps you in your own ministry, and that ultimately you will be encouraged to remain faithful to your calling.

So grab a cup of tea, sit back and enjoy, and let me tell you about her story.

Silhouette: Joy Ridderhof went to Columbia Bible College at the age of 20. While there she learned two important truths that would stay with her for the rest of her life. (1) To worry was a sin. (2) Rejoicing was always God’s will no matter what.

At the age of 27 Joy went to Honduras as a missionary. While there many villagers came to know Christ through her faithful witness. As with most missionaries she had planned to spend her life there, but God had other plans. While on the field her body was battered from bouts of flu, malaria, and small pox. After six short years, during one particular time of illness, she came back to the States in hopes that she might have a quicker recovery. When the illness would not go away, she realized she would not be able to return. In her own words, “I returned from Honduras ill in body, disqualified for future missionary service and without financial support. It was a dark picture indeed…Then God’s Word spoke to my heart, ‘Rejoice, Joy, Rejoice’...And I answered, ‘Lord, I will believe…’” Confined to her bed, Joy still desired to encourage those she had left behind. Wanting desperately to communicate with her converts but knowing that many of them could not read, she thought to herself, “If only I could have left my voice behind to repeat the verses again and again.”

With that thought, the Lord called her to a new ministry. In 1938 at the age of 35, she made her first recording of the Gospel in Spanish on a record that used the thin box it was sent in as the player. Soon requests began coming in from missionaries in other countries for recordings in their native languages. Two women, Ann Sherwood and Sanna Barlow, joined her in her endeavor, and by 1941 Gospel Recordings had been well established as they told and retold the Gospel story of salvation. Eventually Joy was able to leave her sick bed and began traveling all over the world “catching” the voices of native speakers telling the Gospel story. 

Over the next 40 years she remained faithful to God’s calling ever pushing the bounds of technology to reach more and more people groups who had no written language and had never heard the Gospel. Joy’s intense desire to be used by God to see that everyone in the world had a chance to hear the Gospel and her unwillingness to believe that that feat was impossible can be seen by her statement, “The need of those lost millions breaks my heart, but we don’t have to stand and weep, but believe that God has put in our hand that which when blessed and used by Him can ‘thresh the mountains and beat them small…’ For what period of history is God referring to when He speaks of the great things He will accomplish in the earth? If it is not for now, for when is it?”

Her tenacity, to go where the Gospel had never been, served to spur other missionaries to reach out to unreached tribes. To her testament Dr. George Cowan of Wycliffe said, “It was Joy, specifically Joy who coming back from her trip to the Philippines, challenged us--the Wycliffe Bible Translators--to go to the Pacific part of the world.” Another report tells of a missionary couple in Africa who were assigned to go to an unreached tribe in Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso). When they arrived they were amazed to find that this “unevangelized” tribe already knew about Jesus. Fifteen years before, they had been given the recordings in their native tongue. The people had memorized all the stories they had listened to and had known about the way of salvation for years before any missionary arrived.

By the time Joy died in 1984 at the age of 81 Gospel Recordings had records in over 4,000 languages. They currently have over 60 recordists and 30 distribution centers around the world with over 150 workers. To date Gospel Recordings has enabled nearly 6,000 ethnic groups to be reached with the Gospel of Christ, and it all began with one lady’s desire to serve the Lord and save the lost. 

She is a true example of a lady of whom it can be said, “She hath done what she could”!

Story & Study: Joy felt sure God’s plan for her was to go into missions, but upon completion of her college course, He had not opened any doors for the mission field.  While serving in a ministry in Miami, she received the shocking news that her mother had passed away. As all of her other sisters were married, she felt God’s plan was clear for her to return home to care for her widowed father. Upon arriving home she discovered that an old beau of hers, Francis, had not yet married either and was still interested in her. He began paying her visits, and on one particular visit, he spoke to her about marriage. Whatever exchange happened between the two, Francis left thinking Joy was refusing him, and Joy was left not understanding that he wanted to marry her or, at the very least, not being sure he meant it.  She decided that she did love him and wanted to marry him, and that she would tell him the next time he brought it up. A short time later they both attended a Christian camp, and Joy anxiously waited for Francis to approach her. To her dismay he spent the entire weekend avoiding her and keeping company with another girl. She was devastated and confused. Around the same time her father announced that he was remarrying. Reeling from the shock, Joy found that what she thought had been God’s plan for her life, being a wife to Francis and a nursemaid to her father, was not His plan at all.

I don’t know about you, but I am a planner. I live by the creed, “Plan your work and work your plan.” Being able to plan and break things down into bite-sized pieces has served me well in my years of ministry. I remember one particular banquet where we had everything planned to the “nth” degree and some of our college girls were helping me set everything up. I can’t remember the exact details, but something wasn’t working, and at the last minute, I had to make some changes on the spot and started dictating orders for this girl to do this and that one to switch that. One of the girls said to me, “How can you do that?” I said, “Do what?” She said, “Have to change everything without a moment’s notice and not be freaking out?” My response was that I’m a problem solver. I look at a situation, consider the tools and resources I have available to me, determine what the best possible outcome is with what is available, and then plan the steps that need to happen to get me from point A to point B. Although this trait works great for most instances, I have found it has not been of service to me in my personal life.

I have been guilty of this thought more than I care to admit, “If such and such is in fact God’s will, then surely this, this, and this is what He will do to accomplish His plan.” More often than not, my plan includes steps that are good things and easy ways to accomplish the plan. In reality God’s steps often include hardship, frustration, and sometimes even disappointment to accomplish the plan. These changes in the steps can make it seem sometimes like God is changing the “Game Plan.” Like most people, I don’t do well with change. When change is in the air I feel insecure and apprehensive, and it is easy to begin worrying. To illustrate this point, here is a journal entry from quite a few years ago when I was home on furlough, between ministries, and was under the impression that God was directing me to possibly marry someone I had met and had had some correspondence with. A few weeks before I was to return to the field I found out he had proposed to someone else.

“Lord, I can’t believe I have to go back to the field without a job, a husband to be, or a plan.  It seems as though all is lost. Lord, I know You have either planned this or at the least allowed it. Help me to accept my circumstances and find happiness in the joy of my salvation. Joy is never gone, but happiness seems to elude me right now…..Lord, I feel my world crumbling around me, although I know that it isn’t because You are my world....” 

Sometimes I read my journal entries and have to shake my head at how “in the depths of despair” I can get. At that time it surely felt like God was changing the plan I thought He had laid out, but little did I know what He had right around the corner for me. In less than a month from that writing the Lord placed me in a ministry that for years brought me great fulfillment and joy beyond what I thought was possible as a single lady missionary.

You know, it is funny how we don’t mind the drama in story books because we know the plot will clear up in the end, but when it comes to our own stories, we hate the drama and the feeling of being out of control. I try to remind myself that a book without twists is indeed boring and not one that will be a classic. 

I have found that when a little drama or turmoil comes into my life, it is best not to worry and despair but to instead focus on four things the psalmist teaches us in Psalms 27:3-7. 

vs. 3 - “Trust in the LORD...”

 · The word “trust” in this verse means “to helplessly lay face down.” Have you ever tried to do anything while laying face down? It is quite difficult to do anything in this position with your face on the ground. At the first sign of worry we need to “lay face down” and silence our thoughts and plans on the matter.

vs. 4 - “Delight thyself also in the LORD...”

 · The word “delight” in this verse means “being pliable or sensitive” or “being dependent upon God/deriving one’s pleasure from Him.” In times of turmoil we need to find our security in Him before we find it elsewhere. This means getting alone with Him, reading His word, praying, etc. This takes time and the ability to still our thoughts. I’m afraid, more often than not, we seek instant gratification to calm us. How many of you have ever said, “’I just need to talk to friend’ or ‘I just need a hug from my husband’ or ‘I just need a coke’ and then I’ll be able to make sense of the situation and deal with it.”? God has given us many good things in our life like husbands, children, friends, food, shelter, etc., but it is not good when we run to them before we run to God to calm and still us and gain strength for the trial.

vs. 5 - “Commit thy way unto the LORD...”

 · The word “commit” in this verse means “to roll something away.” I often think of the word "commit" as a forward action like “I commit to make something happen.” But this idea of rolling something away leans more towards the action of letting go. When we begin to worry about something, we must commit it to the Lord and let it roll off of us and onto Him.

vs. 7 - “Rest in the LORD…”

 · The word “rest” in this verse means “to be silent” - the fourth and final step is to rest in the Lord. Even in music we know that a rest means to be silent. We need to hush our spirit and wait in holy patience for the Lord to reveal His will in the matter. I love the statement, “A silent tongue not only shows a wise head but a holy heart.”

Since I like acronyms I thought a catchy statement might help me to remember these four steps the next time I found myself upset or beginning to worry. My first thought was that I could tell myself, “The Deed Can Roll.” My next thought was, “The Day Can Ride.” Having not yet come to grips completely with the fact that I was not going to be getting married to this man, I’m afraid my next thought was, “The Dog Can Roast!” Hahaha. I decided maybe I should just remember these four steps by their words - Trust, Delight, Commit, and Rest. 

Next time you find yourself getting upset or worrying about something or feeling like God is changing the “Game Plan,” just say to yourself, “Trust, Delight, Commit, and Rest.” 

About Shari:

I’m single. I’m 45. I’m tall. I like the color red, flying kites, and Peanut Butter M & M’s.  I love playing squash, scrapbooking, and playing games. I enjoy being a little “cheeky,” and I love a good Kakuro puzzle. This is starting to sound like a dating ad, and I am not looking.  No really, I’m not looking. 

I’m just a girl who dreams of doing something great for the Lord with her life.  I’ve had a few extraordinary days in my years of being a missionary, but mostly life is filled with ordinary days and mundane tasks and the desire to remain faithful where the Lord has placed me until He calls me home...heaven that is, not America...or maybe New Zealand if I happen to be in Thailand...or Thailand if I happen to be in America....real-life missionary struggles - where exactly is home?

I’ve been a missionary for the past 22 years.  I served in Nigeria, West Africa for 2+ years, New Zealand for 10+ years, and now in Thailand for almost 8 years.  And, yes, if you do add up those numbers they don’t add up to 22, but I always include my year and a half of deputation in my total number.  (Why on earth people don’t claim their deputation time as part of their missionary ministry is beyond me.  I surely wasn’t driving all over the country for my own health and pleasure.  I was doing mission work, promoting the work of missions, raising awareness, challenging others, etc., and so I count it!) 

Anyway, I love the Lord, and I love that He allows me to use my life for His service.  I count it a privilege and a challenge daily.  

If you’d like to know more about me or my ministry, please visit my website. 
http://sharihousethailand.wix.com/servingjoyfully

I'd love to hear about your story, too. Feel free to leave a comment, or friend me on Facebook, or visit me in Thailand.  I have a great guest room.  :)

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*Disclaimer:

I have chosen to highlight the life of these ladies because of what they have accomplished for the Lord not because I agree with their doctrinal beliefs.  As with all study of man, our focus should be on the character traits they bestowed in their lives that allowed the Lord to use them, how the Lord used them, the methods of ministry they incorporated that allowed them to be effective, etc.  We do not study man to get our doctrine.  Our doctrinal beliefs should only come from the Bible.  

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Resources:

Video link to hear Joy speaking about her own testimony -  http://globalrecordings.net/en/history

Joy Ridderhof: Voice Catcher Around the World, Rebecca Davis, 2015

Count it All Joy (pamphlet), Joy Riderhof, 1978

Catching Their Talk in a Box: The Life-Story of Joy Ridderhof, Becky M. Hockett, 1987

Global Recordings Network (formerly Gospel Recordings) website:  www.globalrecordings.net

Sunday Scriptures - Matthew 9:36

Karachi, Pakistan

Gleanings Devotional Update

GLEANINGS UPDATE: So it's been 7 weeks since I sent off the last of the book orders. You really should have your books by now if they haven't gotten lost. So... if you still haven't got your books, please comment your name and number of missing copies below. THEN, send me a PM with your shipping address. You must do both. 

NOTE: I only have 85 copies left over, so if there are more than that gone missing, it will be first in, best dressed, and everyone else will receive a refund. This is unfortunate, but it would simply cost me too much to get a small number re-printed. However, we do plan on producing it as a free e-book in the near future. Also, (and I hate to ask), anyone who is willing to help with the cost of re-sending their copy, it will be a blessing. It will cost me $5 per book to re-send them, and if there are a lot, I'll be considerably out of pocket. Thank You!

By Suzie

Thoughtful Thursday-Who do I want Others to See?

We are fairly new to the world of social media. Within the last year we joined Facebook and I started a blog. The year before that my husband joined Twitter. We have enjoyed the benefits of the additional prayer, fellowship and contact these avenues have afforded us. But I've noticed the same avenues that provide numerous blessing can also provide us avenues with which to 'rag on life'. While posting the other day I had a nagging feeling that what I was posting wasn't necessary or helpful. It was real, it was a prayer request in my life and it was a situation I was hoping would work out for the best. But was it best to share it? This got me thinking.

Every missionary when they leave American soil begins a life that will set you apart from most people on the globe. You will live a very very unique blessed life. There is a handful of people who have experienced it but outside of those few very few others will understand your daily life. Everybody's life has a touch of this. Everybody goes through unique things in their life that few others will truly understand.

Shock of all shocks we lived 5 years on the field without facebook! Very few had seen the nitty gritty of our lives. As a first term missionary, we returned from the field extremely zealous to rectify this. We were overflowing with stories and experiences. We wanted to talk and talk and talk until you see dawning and realization light the eyes of the person with whom you are talking. But soon you begin to realize, they don't get it. They are generally kind, many of them love you and care but they don't understand the life you live. It isn't their fault, the same can be said in reverse. After many years pass on the field we begin to lose our understanding of American life and thinking. We will have been here 7 years in May and there are times I hear Americans talk and I sit dumb-founded. Nothing bad, just cultural things I forget.

People live their lives with a plan for every minute of every day? What!? And they actually accomplish it all?! What is this black magic? I must find the witch doctor that gave them this incantation.

Then came along the life changer......Facebook. The world is at your fingertips at every waking moment (if you have electricity:). After a brief time you begin to realize you now have the power and capability for people to understand and see your life much more clearly and it can be dangerous. Before, we talked to our family once a week or two on skype and uploaded photos whenever the Internet got around to loading them to Dropbox. Now, at any moment, at any time, during any situation, you have the ability to expose, describe and and take pictures of every blessing, heartache, trial, frustration and triumph that will pass your way. Will people completely understand your life now that you have Facebook? No way! But it sure gives them a MUCH bigger glimpse. This can be said of any person in any station. Facebook is the eye opener to everyone's personal lives.

And the wisdom of Spider-Man lives on, "With great power comes great responsibility". The question is now that I have the power to accomplish what I've always wanted, how will I use it? I have seen it used multiple ways. Recently, I talked to a missionary friend. She excitedly told me about her Christmas holiday. She told me how they were able to get potatoes for the first time in a year for their Christmas dinner! She was so excited, and I was so excited for her. Then my mind thought back, I never read about this on their Facebook posts. And my admiration for her grew. Because she went through something life altering and devastating? No. Because they are really suffering for Jesus? No. But because she is contentedly living the everyday life of a 3rd world missionary. Because she had the power to whine and complain to all her FB friends, and she didn't. She is not facing something super unusual for a missionary. Is it inconvenient? Absolutely! But really that's about the translation of the mission field and ministry in any language. Something I've come to realize is that as missionaries we have the ability to portray normal things on the mission field as astronomical and devastating to friends, family and supporters in the states and receive heaps of sympathy. Because we are determined to get them to really understand our lives.

Here is the blessing the Lord showed me. I can spend my life striving for everyone to understand the intricacies and trials I face, or I can spend my life seeking to convince people of the goodness of God in every situation. Facebook has been an unbelievable blessing in many ways. I can't describe how much we have felt the increased prayers in our daily lives and ministry since we joined. We have been able to share many stories that have really helped people understand ministries in Nepal. We love the unity and love we feel from our family, friends and supporting churches.

But I've also seen that if we are not careful we can describe the inconveniences of the mission field as a life full of frustrations, deprivation and devoid of fun, joy or blessings. Soliciting lots of pity and fear from anyone ever being called to do the same. Or we can take the challenging situations we face and shine light on the provisions of God, miracles of his everyday workings, and the blessing it is to be a part of it. We have the power to take the same situation and either intimidate others about following the life of faith or encourage them to not be left out of the blessings the life of faith always gives. We hold a great influence on how others see missions and following Christ. I'm realizing more and more that every struggle and inconvenience doesn't need to be shared with the world.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not one of these pie in the sky, nothing ever goes wrong people. I don't think you have to pretend things never go wrong to please the Lord with your speech. That's a different post.

Keeping house in the Himals : Life Doesn't Always Have To Be Wonderful for Me To Always Be Happy

What drives you when you post? Is it to keep in touch, partner with prayer partners and lift up Christ? Or is it to get people to understand you and your life, to keep from being forgotten on the other side of the world, and make sure people have a super clear view of the life of a missionary? We all struggle with this but the question is, "If at the end of our lives, if we could look back and say we succeeded at one which one, will we regret? This isn't a trait I always uphold but something the Lord is teaching me.

What can I do to keep me positive and lift up Christ on Facebook?

1. Don't post when you're discouraged. Keep in mind, I didn't say don't reach out to someone while discouraged. The Lord is our highest helper always, but He gave us fellow Christians to strengthen us. We are flesh and need encouragement. What I'm saying is, don't reach out to the whole world when you are at your lowest. This doesn't help anyone. You need to have a circle of friends who love you and Christ and will help lift you up out of discouragement, not the attention of the world.

2. Confide in the close friends God has given you, not the whole world. We all MUST have godly influences or friends in our lives to encourage us on the life of faith and obedience to Christ. If we neglect to invest in these relationships it will be much easier to give in to the temptation to unload on those who either can't handle our situation or shouldn't have to our situation. I can't express how thankful I am for the amazing friends God has put in my life!

3. Spend more time thinking about the positive than the negative.

Luke 6:45, "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh."

If your heart is full of grumbling it will come out in public places.

4. Don't talk about negative things unless you can find something you can sincerely be positive about in the situation.

5. Don't complain about things that make your ministry look like more of a curse than a blessing. We all have daily frustrations that we can empathize with each other and many times even laugh but we should never use those to tarnish the provisions of Christ in a public forum.

6. Don't post things to correct others. Don't try to correct people you perceive to be selfish, inconsiderate or spoiled by one-upping them with your posts. As a missionary you can perceive others who don't have the same inconveniences as you as unthankful and selfish. This isn't always the case. The Lord hasn't called them to the life you have. They have their own walk of faith, to walk in with a grateful heart. It isn't less important than yours. Don't seek to make them like you or make them feel guilty for not having the same bumps in their lives that draw us close to dependence on Christ.

7. Make it your life mission to acknowledge Christ's blessings and share them. Many times blessings aren't lacking in a person's life but ignored in hopes of a different blessing. In this last year I have found that some days it is super easy to spot God's blessings, but in low times, if you aren't careful, the devil will get you so focused on the problems you will begin to think there aren't any blessings at all. Whether they are few or plentiful, blessings are always there!

This has definitely been a light bulb concept for me recently. I want to stand before Christ and say I lifted Him up. Let's strive together to make it our goal to convince others of God's goodness and not our struggles. I sure don't know everything and I'm a work in progress, for sure! Thanks for stopping in to spend Thursday with us at the BMW.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Finding a Place in Ministry {A Post for Single Missionaries}

Finding A Place In Ministry
By Deana Hewston

I have to say most, if not all, of us single ladies have heard it before. “You aren’t a missionary.” “You can’t be a single missionary." “You are only a missionary helper.” I have heard these, plus more. As I was on deputation, and being told these things, I began to think and wonder if what I was being told was true. Can I be a missionary whilst being single? Am I out of God’s will to try to go to the mission field without having a spouse? I am very thankful for a sending church and pastor who does support me and my call into missions, but not everyone has that positive support behind them. 

What does the Bible say about these things? Titus 2:4-5 states, “That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.” As a lady, I understand that God has a specific role for me to play especially, God willing, as a wife one day. But my role in the home and one day as a wife does not exclude ministry. Acts 1:14: “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.” Women do play a part in ministry, even those of us who are single.  I Corinthians 7:34 says, “There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.” This is not in any way putting down married ladies, but it is reminding us that we, as single ladies, have a roll and a place to “care for the things of the Lord.” If God has put you in the position as a single lady and has called you into the ministry, don’t be ashamed or afraid. “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” (I Thessalonians 5:24)

Whenever I came across someone with a negative view on single lady missionaries, I did not get into a discussion. I thanked them for their time and moved on. Sometimes it’s hard when you are speaking to someone in person, but that’s when God’s grace comes into play. Be kind and caring. Don’t develop a reputation for arguments. Let’s not forget our place of submission and deference to God’s Word, but let’s also not forget that God uses his children regardless of their marital status!

Please meet Deana Hewston, she will be contributing to our blog once a month.

Next month we'll read about her first month on the mission field.

About Me

  

                It’s amazing to me how God works in our lives! When I was born, the doctors found that my heart was flipped on the wrong side. To any normal human being, that could be a death sentence or a life full of surgery after surgery. My parents brought this issue before God and the people at their church. Soon after that, there was another doctor visit to follow up on the heart issue, and sure enough, somehow that heart flipped back to its proper place!

                I don’t believe it was a fluke or a chance happening. I truly believe God had and still has a purpose in keeping me alive and healthy! At the age of 8, I realized that I was a sinner in need of a Saviour. I asked God to forgive my sins and save me. I was very aware that the next step was to follow the Lord in Believer’s Baptism. My extreme fear of water kept me from doing that, however! Finally as an 8^th grader, I could no longer withstand the prompting and prodding of the Holy Spirit and surrendered my heart to God. Praise the Lord that was the same year in which I knew God wanted me to be a missionary. I did not know where or when but knew the path to take to get there. I sometimes wonder, if I had surrendered my fear earlier in life, would I have known God’s will for my life a little earlier?

                I attended a local Christian university and graduated with an Associate Degree in Missionary Preparation. Within a year of graduating, God led me to move back to my hometown of Tucson, Arizona. After a time, God asked me to move again, and this time it was to Cottonwood and there I settled in and became a member of Faith Baptist Church. This was the first time I really got involved heavily in church and enjoyed the opportunities of teaching, running the nursery, singing, and such. This was also the time I knew God wanted me to finally take the next step in my goal to become a missionary.

                Through God’s leading, I visited Aberdeen, Scotland in 2007 for two weeks. Upon returning to the States, I knew God showed me where it was he wanted me to work! Through the next 4 years, God lead me back to Tucson and has had me involved with Sonrise Baptist, my sending church.  In September of 2015 I moved to the field of Scotland to begin helping Russell and Janet Brinkley at Bible Baptist Church Perth.

Her Story Silhouettes by Shari {#1 Evelyn Brand / Living in Eden}

Hey there, I'm Shari. One of my favorite things to do is read about or study the lives of those who have gone before us or who are walking beside us in this endeavor of being a missionary lady.* 

Their stories challenge me, encourage me, and teach me. My hope is that these "silhouettes" or glimpses of their lives will do the same for you.  

Each silhouette contains a small synopsis of a lady’s missionary service, a particular story from her everyday life that resonated with my own, and a short Bible study about a truth that I learned from it.  I hope that as you read these posts you might be challenged to find out more about these great ladies, that you might find something that speaks to your heart or helps you in your own ministry, and that ultimately you will be encouraged to remain faithful to your calling.

So grab a cup of tea, sit back and enjoy, and let me tell you about her story.

Silhouette:  Evie was born into a well-to-do merchant’s home as one of ten siblings.  Her family attended a Baptist Church and was actively involved in its ministries and outreaches. As a young woman she enjoyed the finer things in life like frilly dresses and plumed hats.  At the age of 30 she felt called to be a missionary.  Around that same time a young missionary from India, Jesse Brand, visited their church.  At the meeting he seemed to look directly at her as he described the filth and squalor on the mission field.  She heard an unspoken question in his words, “Could she, a fashionable girl, handle such things?”  Resolve rose within her. “Yes, with God’s help she could!”

She left for India in 1909 and was assigned to the Madras Plains.  At her farewell party, someone commented, “She looks more like an actress than a missionary.”  After many years of service in India’s hot sun, her skin became dark and leathery.  It was said that for the last 20 years of her life she refused to own a mirror. She gave up what the world would call “beautiful” for true, breathtaking beauty - a life well spent for the Lord.

After arriving at the Madras Plains, she found Jesse Brand had been transferred there too.  She fell in love with him and with his vision to reach the people on the five ranges of the Mountains of Death.  In 1912 they were married and began their work on the Kolli Range.  Besides the conversion of one dying man at the beginning of their ministry, it took many years for them to see any fruit from their labors.  Although the two went from village to village tending the sick, rearing orphans, establishing schools, digging wells, and preaching the Gospel, it took seven more years before they would see another convert.

In 1928, Jesse died of Blackwater Fever, but Evie carried on.  Twenty years later, the mission board wouldn’t let her return to the field because she was too old (68).  She begged them to send her back for just one more year. She had a plan. When the year was up she retired from the board and set out on her own.  Her son helped design a home for her that could be broken down into small loads that were light enough for helpers to tote up and down the hills of the mountains. Armed with what she could carry on her back she set off to finish the work God had called her and her husband to do.  For the next 24 years she worked tirelessly and reached the remaining four ranges and added two more.

“Granny” as she was know by everyone on the mountains, died in the plains on the 18th of December, 1974, at the age of 95.  The next day her body was taken back to the hills and laid beside Jesse’s as a multitude, whose lives were forever changed because of hers, wept.  She is a true example of a lady of whom it can be said, “She hath done what she could”!

Story & Study:  When Evie first met Jesse Brand, she did not consider him a candidate for marriage, but sometime after arriving in India she realized she had fallen in love with him.  Making her feelings known, she was devastated when she found out that he was already engaged.  Hot and shaking, she fled to her bathroom and poured cold water over herself. She couldn’t help but think of what a fool she had made of herself!  With a sense of despair and disappointment she felt her heart immediately grow dry.  It was then that she noticed some of India’s beautiful flowers that defied the hot, dry ground and bloomed brightly.  She whispered a prayer, “Let me be like that, Lord, flowering best when life seems most dry and dead.”

One of my favorite verses is Isaiah 51:3 which says, “For the LORD shall comfort Zion:  he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.”

It was a pivotal day in my life when I realized that God never promised to make my life like a garden, or as the common phrase says, “a bed of roses.”  He did, however, promise that in my “wilderness” it could be like Eden - a place where needs are met, where the future seems bright, and where He would take my hand and daily walk with me. 

I remember one time during a particularly rough patch I was having with some missionaries I was working with, that I found myself saying out loud for the umpteenth time, “Why am I putting myself through this? I should just go home.” I definitely felt like my spirit was drying up and would crack if things didn’t change. I could see no end to the situation nor any solution. The Lord reminded me that my job was not to fix the problem. My job was to be faithful through it. I wish I could tell you that after my realization of this fact and subsequent refocusing, that the problem went away. It in fact did not go away, but actually intensified for several months before it was resolved. What did happen was that when I took my focus off fixing the problem and focused on just being faithful, I found I could not only endure the "wilderness" but thrive in it.  

When a person gets saved, their life goes from “wilderness” to “Eden,” and yet they may choose to stay in the wilderness state of mind instead of enjoying the Eden-like life that is now available to them.  God desires that each of us live our lives in a state of “Eden” no matter what trial we are going through.  As with Eve, nothing can send us to the wilderness faster than listening to the devil, trusting in our own wisdom, and acting on a feeling rather than a truth. 

So, what can we do to have that “Eden” feeling while enduring a “wilderness” time in our lives?  Isaiah 51:3 not only gives us the promise but also gives us the formula:

1.  Joy - True joy comes not from your circumstances but from the realization and

     acknowledgement that God loves us, that we are saved, and that He is with us at all

     times.  Ps. 5:11, 16:11, 35:9

2.  Gladness - As trite as it may sound, when we focus on the good things and don’t give 

     place to dwelling on the negative, we will soon find that we are not overwhelmed by the 

     “wilderness.” Ps. 16:9, 30:11, 51:8

3.  Thanksgiving - Taking time to thank the Lord for everything He is doing in our lives, 

     good and bad, helps us have a better perspective on the situation.  If I am being thankful

     for something, I cannot in the next breath be complaining about it.  Ps. 30:12, 106:1;

     I Thess. 5:18

4.  Voice of Melody - The best way to gain strength for a “wilderness” time in your life is to 

     read your Bible and spend time with the Lord in prayer. As women we have many things 

     in life - children, husband, work, housework, etc. that consume our time, and we are 

     blessed when we can have one hour...30 minutes...10 minutes a day set aside for quiet 

     time, let alone the entire day.  Singing then, I would say, is the second best way to gain 

     strength throughout the day and is an activity that can be done while cleaning, cooking, 

     working, playing with the kids, etc.  Ephesians 5:19 says, “Speaking to yourselves in 

     psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the 

     Lord;”  As a single person I often talk to myself.  I love that this verse gives me license to 

     do so and not be labeled “crazy.”

May we each endeavor to cultivate joy, gladness, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody in our lives and experience the joy of living in “Eden” on a daily basis.

About Shari:

I’m single. I’m 45. I’m tall. I like the color red, flying kites, and Peanut Butter M & M’s.  I love playing squash, scrapbooking, and playing games. I enjoy being a little “cheeky,” and I love a good Kakuro puzzle. This is starting to sound like a dating ad, and I am not looking.  No really, I’m not looking. 

I’m just a girl who dreams of doing something great for the Lord with her life.  I’ve had a few extraordinary days in my years of being a missionary, but mostly life is filled with ordinary days and mundane tasks and the desire to remain faithful where the Lord has placed me until He calls me home...heaven that is, not America...or maybe New Zealand if I happen to be in Thailand...or Thailand if I happen to be in America....real-life missionary struggles - where exactly is home?

I’ve been a missionary for the past 22 years.  I served in Nigeria, West Africa for 2+ years, New Zealand for 10+ years, and now in Thailand for almost 8 years.  And, yes, if you do add up those numbers they don’t add up to 22, but I always include my year and a half of deputation in my total number.  (Why on earth people don’t claim their deputation time as part of their missionary ministry is beyond me.  I surely wasn’t driving all over the country for my own health and pleasure.  I was doing mission work, promoting the work of missions, raising awareness, challenging others, etc., and so I count it!) 

Anyway, I love the Lord, and I love that He allows me to use my life for His service.  I count it a privilege and a challenge daily.  

If you’d like to know more about me or my ministry, please visit my website. 

http://sharihousethailand.wix.com/servingjoyfully

I'd love to hear about your story, too. Feel free to leave a comment, or friend me on Facebook, or visit me in Thailand.  I have a great guest room.  :)

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*Disclaimer:

I have chosen to highlight the life of these ladies because of what they have accomplished for the Lord not because I agree with their doctrinal beliefs.  As with all study of man, our focus should be on the character traits they bestowed in their lives that allowed the Lord to use them, how the Lord used them, the methods of ministry they incorporated that allowed them to be effective, etc.  We do not study man to get our doctrine.  Our doctrinal beliefs should only come from the Bible.  

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Resources:

“Brand, Evelyn.” Anderson, Gerald H. Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, Macmillan, 1998.

Wilson, Dorothy Clarke. Granny Brand; her story. New York:  Christian Herald Books, 1976.

Wilson, Dorothy Clarke. Ten Fingers for God: The Life and Work of Dr. Paul Brand. New York: Paul Brand Publishing,