ON HOW GOD CONFIRMS HIS WORD... June 3, 2012

This morning we will be going to our little church in Brownsburg, Quebec. I love the people who attend. There will be about 22 adults that will gather together to sing and worship the Lord. God put a desire in our heart to start this church in this little country town not too long ago.  We are amazed at how God has led us here to work for Him. We recognize that there have been many faithful people in New Brunswick, Maine and Ontario and other parts of the country who have held us up in prayer and who continue to send finances to support our work. Esther and I thank you!

When we made the move to come to Quebec, Brother Louis Fontalvo, opened his arms to us and gave us the responsibility of pastoring the small English group in his church in Montreal. What a blessing that was! We are forever grateful to Brother Fontalvo for that kind gesture! I will share more about that English group a little later. 

Before our mini-home arrived from New Brunswick, we lived in Sister Fayetta Larsen's apartment for six months.  She had come to the place where it was too difficult for her to climb the three flights of stairs and it worked out that we could take over her rent releasing her from her obligation and providing a place for us to live temporarily. It was all a "God thing" the way it all worked out.

Sister Larsen would faithfully attend our Sunday afternoon services at Bro. Fontalvos church. We loved this dear lady so much! If ever there was a woman who knew how to pray, it was Sister Fayetta Larsen! She was indeed a blessing to Esther and I.

About a year ago, Dwight Larsen shared with me a little history of the Larsen's. Their story is remarkable! To my recollection, Bro. Aksel Verner Larsen was born in Denmark in 1904. Brother Larsen was a missionary in Columbia for 33 years. He was known as Columbia’s first missionary. While there he founded 3 churches and baptized many souls and trained many workers. He knew seven languages! During that time he met a well known travelling evangelist, Abigail Gertrude Staples, and they were married in 1932. It was while they were still in Columbia that a daughter was born and two days after her birth, Brother Larsen’s wife, Abigail, died because of the extremely hard childbirth.  Dwight shared with me that Brother Larsen had to dig his own wife's grave and have the funeral himself! Can you imagine!?  It was years later that he met Sister Fayetta Bernard and they got married in 1940 and had three children.  She was originally from Pennsylvania. It was Brother Burns who encouraged the Larsen's to move to Montreal. They came to Quebec in 1970 to minister among the French. Brother Larsen passed away while living here in Montreal, September 20, 1972.

Fayetta and Verner Larsen

Just before Sister Larsen left Montreal to move to Fredericton, New Brunswick in 1996, she called me aside at the end of our afternoon service. She took my hand and placed a folded sheet of paper into it.  She said this is a list of towns here in Quebec.  Then she explained.  These are towns that Brother Larsen and I would drive through and many times we would stop the car and he would get out beside the road, get down on his knees and pray this prayer, “Oh Lord, Please raise up a people in this town for the NAME of JESUS!” I remember unfolding the paper and briefly glancing at the names of towns.  I could see that there were quite a few.  As she finished talking, I folded the paper and placed it inside my Bible.  I didn’t see it again until many years later about three months after we had started the church in Brownsburg. I was surprised the day I opened my Bible and nestled there in the pages I saw the folded piece of paper. I unfolded it and to my amazement the fourth town listed was the town of Brownsburg! I thought, “WOW! Brother and Sister Larsen were right here in Brownsburg and prayed that God would raise up a people for the Name of Jesus!  

Immediately, I remembered the service in 1995 at Brother Joe Beesley’s church in Fredericton when he called my wife and I and our two daughters up onto the platform.  He said, “I don’t very often do this sort of thing, but today I have to.”  He began to speak over us the Word of the Lord.  In this Word, he said, “The Lord is sending you to Quebec as a direct result of the prayers of Brother Larsen!”  

Today as I look at the towns listed on this piece of paper, a feeling of humility sweeps over me.  I have stood at Bro. Larsens grave on Mount Royal on several occasions and have marveled at the thought that we are here in direct fulfillment of a prayer that was prayed by one of the greatest missionaries of the past century! My, how God has orchestrated this work!  Here’s what the Bible says in Acts 15:14, “Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them A PEOPLE FOR HIS NAME.” God always confirms His Word!!  SRR

ON THE POWER OVER FEAR..... June 2, 2012

Fear has a way of crippling us.  Anyone who has experienced any type of anxiety or panic disorder will understand what I mean.  The strange thing is that God made us all with a built in system to protect ourselves from danger. As a baby we all had a fear of falling and of loud noises.  That was placed there by God so we wouldn’t be walking off the edge of a cliff without any sense of the consequences.  The problem is when fear is uncontrolled and misguided and many things you do causes an overload of caution to the point where unrealistic reasoning debilitates you. Someone explained fear with an acronym definition of F.E.A.R. that goes like this; False Evidence Appearing Real.  And the really sad part of that is that there are those who have never experienced anxiety or panic disorder and simply cannot comprehend how or why a person would have such a problem.  It therefore can become the brunt of jokes and often an opportunity to have a little fun at the expense of people who suffer. I have always tried to be sympathetic with people who suffer with anxiety or panic disorder. Here’s why...

From the time I was just a snotty nosed brat I have been afraid of needles. And I know there is someone out there right now that is saying.... “Steve is scared of everything!” But I know that you know that’s not true!!

I was in the fourth grade in Black’s Harbour, New Brunswick sitting in Mr. Dillan’s geography class. As I sat at my desk, all of a sudden I saw this 'white figure' pass by the classroom door. I didn’t really see who or what it was. All I know is that it was white top to bottom and moved swiftly by the door. My heart skipped a beat as I began to reason in my mind, “That had to have been the SCHOOL NURSE!” As I sat there it was like time stood still but my mind went “full tilt” into panic mode! “That was a NURSE! A school NURSE! Nobody told us there would be a NURSE at school today! Today must be needle day! Why would anyone else wear all white? It had to be THE NURSE!” 

My hands and feet began to sweat! I could hear my heart beat like the sound of a bass drum beating in my head at 200 beats per minute. My vision blurred momentarity! My mouth became so dry that my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. Then my ear’s popped like I was climbing up Mount Everest! All of a sudden my left arm went straight UP!  Mr. Dillan said, “Yes Steve, what is it?” I mumbled incoherent words, “f..f..funibia blenichi chupany!” and Mr. Dillan said, “HUH? What was that? I can’t understand you Steve!” So I tried again and this time it came out right, “I have to go to the washroom, may I be excused?” He said, “Yes, but hurry back!”  I stood to my feet, walked over to the door, stuck my head out and looked both ways and saw no one! As I turned to walk down the hall toward the glass doors I shifted into overdrive, hit the crash bar on the door and by the time my feet hit the bottom step I was running at full speed faster than a speeding bullet! I ran all the way home without looking back. My brain was saying, “There may be someone getting a needle at school today but it’s surely not gonna be ME!  As I reached the parsonage and walked through the door, there was mom standing at the kitchen sink.  She said, “Why are you back home?”  I said, “I don’t feel well.”  She said, “Well, go into your room and lay down for awhile and maybe it will pass.” Suddenly, as I lay down on my bed my heart came back to normal and I began to relax in the safety of my home.  It wasn’t but about four minutes later that I heard dad drive into the driveway. I heard the car door close and I heard his footsteps come into the house.  He said to mom, “Wasn’t that Steve I just saw running up the lane?” She said, “Yes, he’s in his room. He said he doesn’t feel well.” Then Dad said, “Well, get him into the bath tub and get him cleaned up and I’ll take him down to the Hospital Emergency and we’ll get a DOCTOR to find out what’s wrong with him!”  All of a sudden, my mind went “full tilt” into panic mode AGAIN! This time my hands and feet and behind my ears began to sweat! This time I could hear my heart beat and it was cruising at 400 beats per minute. And all of a sudden my body sat straight UP!  I walked swiftly and directly to the front door. I didn’t look to the left or the right.  And by the time my feet hit the bottom step I was floatin’!

I ran as fast as I could down the lane. I decided I was probably better off at school! At least there was no operating table there! Just before I reached the school yard a car pulled up beside me with the window down. I heard my dad say, “STEVE!....STEVE!....STOP!  WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING!” With that I turned to my dad and began to bawl like a baby!  I told him what was going on in my head. He said, “Get in son...It’s gonna be okay! You’re not getting a needle and I’m not taking you to emergency!”  Thank God I had a dad who understood!!    I found out later that there was no nurse at the school after all....so it must have been that cafeteria lady!

I said all that to say this, “You may be suffering from some kind of fear today. Maybe some bad news has rocked your little world and caused you to feel that awful anxiety. Perhaps your mind is racing and you are thinking only the worst.  Here’s what to do......STOP and GET IN! Your Daddy’s here!  He will help and protect you today if you just turn it all over to Him.  He really understands!”  SRR

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 1 Peter 5:7
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  2 Timothy 1:7

ON HOW GOD LISTENS.... June 1, 2012

I think we sometimes forget just how powerful our words can be especially if they are words that are consciously or subconsciously spoken by faith. Here’s what I mean.

It was January of 1995 and we were pastoring a great church in Back Bay, New Brunswick. Seaview Full Gospel. We had been there for five years.  My wife and I began having a restless feeling and we knew that our ministry was taking a turn. Soon, we would be making a giant step into the Province of Quebec to plant a new church. A huge transition in our lives. 


I remember the Sunday that I was planning to resign. As I sat on the platform that Sunday morning I was overwhelmed with a feeling of sadness that I cannot explain.  I wept all through the service knowing that I was about to resign from a wonderful church that had been so very kind to my family and I.  I remember one lady came up onto the platform, laid her hand on my shoulder and began to pray for me.  She obviously recognized that I was heavily burdened.  As the service continued I wrestled in my heart.  There was a feeling like, “Don’t be so foolish...you’ve got it made right here in Back Bay.  The people love you, and look how good they have been to you! You’re making a big mistake!”  Another feeling was, “You know the voice of God and He has already lifted the burden to lead these people.  God is opening a new door and you must walk through it BY FAITH.  I was so torn!  I got up to preach and for awhile I struggled until I made a decision. My decision was, “It’s not happening!”  As we dismissed the service I went to the Parsonage and I cannot tell you how disappointed I was in myself! Then my wife walked into the living room and asked me, “So what was that all about?  Why didn’t you do it!”  I simply replied, “It was too hard. I’ll do next week!” 


The following week I did resign.  I felt so sad as the Board Members came straight to the front asking me what was wrong and why I had resigned. I assured them that there was nothing wrong and that I was not leaving because of anything that had happened. I shared with them that everything will be okay and that I really felt that God was moving us on. 


During the next few weeks we packed and continued to fulfil our final thirty days. I remember being asked the question, “When you move to Quebec where will you live? At the time I really didn’t have an answer to that question and many others.  Sometimes when we take a step in a certain direction that God is leading, we have to trust that He is going before us and that He is preparing the way.  That’s called, “walking by faith”.  You may ask, “Isn’t that kinda scary?  You’re happy right!  It is scary, but at the same time you feel very confident!  Confident in knowing that God is in control of your future and what He has said will always come to pass.  


On our last Sunday in Back Bay, I remember standing in the pulpit ready to preach my farewell sermon and I recall saying these exact words, “Many of you have been asking us where we will live when we get to Montreal.”  I continued, “Oh, I don’t know! Perhaps we’ll just buy a mini-home for $30,000. and just move it up there.” And then I chuckled!!  Faith lesson #1: Never underestimate the power of your own words! Faith lesson #2: Chuckle if you want to, but remember, God can chuckle too! 


It was the very next day that I received a phone call from my sister, Rene, who lived in McAdam, New Brunswick. She said, “Well guess what?” I said, “What?” She proceeded to tell me that her husband Donnie had just been hired on a new job. I said, “Great, doing what?” She said, “Building airplanes in Oklahoma!”  I said, “WHAT?”  She said, Yeah, we’re moving to good ole Oklahoma!”  Immediately there was a flood of thoughts that bombarded my head.  I said, “What are you doing with your mini-home?” She said, “Selling it, I guess...wanna buy it?” Now this mini-home wasn’t very old and had been very well maintained.  I said, “Put Donnie on the phone!”  When he said hello, I said, “How much do you want for your mini-home?” He replied, “If you want it, Steve, I’ll sell it to YOU for what I owe on it at the bank!”  “And how much is that?” I said.  He replied, “$26,000.” I immediately knew that that was much less than its actual value.  I said, “Consider it sold!”  We paid off the mini-home and then moved it to Montreal. The moving cost was $3,997. including taxes.  Now people, LISTEN!  $26,000. plus $3,997. plus $3. for two coffees at Tim’s is exactly $30,000. The very same amount I had chuckled about from the pulpit!  Do you think God listens?  And oh, did I mention that we didn’t have $30,000 when I told Donnie, “Consider it sold!”? God supplied every penny within 10 months, then we moved the mini-home to Montreal!  Choose your words carefully, and even chuckle if you want to....God listens!  SRR

ON GOD FILLING THE VACANCIES.... May 31, 2012

On December 6^th, 2005, my Dad, Pastor Raymond Joseph Roach passed away at the age of 64 in Brockville, Ontario. He had faithfully served God as a Pastor of 46 years. He was a wonderful father to me. He was my mentor, my encourager, my very close friend.  He knew how to make me laugh any time of the day. Just two weeks after he passed away, Esther’s mom, Muriel Janet Robertson (nee Vail), also passed away at the age of 86 in Belleisle, New Brunswick. One of the sweetest ladies I have ever met.  She was a stable, faithful, praying woman and always believed in the work Esther and I endeavored to do. It was a very sad time in both of our lives when we had to say goodbye. However, just before our parents died, God gave us a grand-daughter and a grandson! Murielle, namesake for Esther’s mom, was born to Estelle and Mark Vanderheide August 2^nd. Titus was born to Michelle and Len Vanderwier September 5^th. They were born just one month apart. From time to time both Esther and I would have our moments of deep sorrow and still do.  When one loses a parent it is a most unsettling time as many of you know.  One day Esther was having one of those moments of grieving and God directed her to 2 Corinthians 7:6 where it says, “Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus;  And not by his coming only....”   She understood the Words of the Lord speaking to her that not only is Titus a comfort to us but also the coming of Murielle. Since then there have been four other grandchildren who have been given to us that we will cherish as long as we live! The comfort they give us is beyond words. God has a very special way of filling the vacancies and if will you take a moment and look around you, you too will see that God has done the same for you! SRR

PS: A LITTLE WORD ABOUT TITUS:  Titus is now 2,460 days old. That’s 6.7 years old.  As Titus was praying before going to bed just the other night his ‘un-coached’ prayer went like this. “Dear God, I know you can do anything for me, but You're not my servant. I'm your servant. So God, whatever you tell me to do, I'll do it!”  Now does that bring comfort or what?  

ON ACROSS THE MILES PART TWO

In order to fully understand this chapter you should read the previous post first entitled ACROSS THE MILES.  It will help connect the dots. J

In the summer of 1978, after coming home from my first year at ABI, I met the love of my life, Esther May Robertson. We met at Harvey Camp that summer! I was working at the Daily Gleaner in "Display Advertising" and she had just returned from doing a Daily Vacation Bible School tour in Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. I remember our first date very well. It was August the 3^rd! That night after the camp meeting service I went to the canteen to get a hot dog and fries. This beautiful dark haired girl was standing right in front of me. Just as she got to the doorway of the canteen they shut the lights out and said, “We are closed.”  

As Esther turned to leave I said to her, “Have you eaten yet?” She replied, “No.” I said, “Would you like to go somewhere to get something to eat.”  She agreed!  So she offered that we go in her brothers Toyota Celica and away we went. She even let me drive! We got to Harvey and there wasn’t anything open so we continued on to Fredericton. We went to the Voyager Restaurant. 

It was a nice first date!  While we were there we talked about many things and in the conversation I shared the whole story with Esther about my trip to Fargo, North Dakota.  She was so sympathetic because of what I had been through. We enjoyed the rest of the month getting to know one another and then on the 1^st  of September I was on my way back to St. Paul for my second year at ABI.  But first, I made a special trip to Hatfield Point to say my goodbyes to this amazing woman that I had found and then I took off! 

I think I called that girl and wrote nearly every day and it wasn’t long until we realized that we were both very much in love! I made plans to come home for Christmas and on December 24^th, after my Dad’s Christmas Eve service in Hoyt, we were alone and sitting on the sofa in the parsonage and I asked Esther if she would marry me! She emphatically said, “YES”. I remember placing a diamond ring on her finger and I think I remember hearing our hearts actually started “beating in sync” with each other! 

As we sat there she asked me, “Do you remember our first date and the story you told me about going to Fargo, North Dakota.” I said, “Yes.”  She said, “I have something to tell you about that very same night.  While I was in Bible School in Marysville, the Lord spoke to me and told me to go and pray for my husband....it’s urgent!”  She said, “I had no idea at that time who my husband would be but I prayed into the night until I felt the burden lift. I’ve known from our very first date that I would be marrying you!”  This is how our relationship began, built on prayer and faith, EVEN ACROSS THE MILES! SRR

ON ACROSS THE MILES

I was in my first year of Bible College at Apostolic Bible Institute in St. Paul Minnesota.  It was 1978. 

One afternoon, while working at Budget Rent-A-Car at the Minneapolis Airport, my boss, Mr. Larson, asked if any of us guys wanted to take a fleet of cars to Fargo, North Dakota on Friday. He said it would put another $50. on our pay check if anyone wanted to go. It would mean skipping classes on Friday. 

There were eight of us who volunteered. Three of us were from the Bible School and the rest were just other guys who worked for the company. Now Fargo was about four hours away from Minneapolis.  

So that Friday we all arrived at the Budget terminal at 6 o’clock in the morning. We were all assigned to our individual cars.  It so happened that we were delivering seven brand new Chevy Camaro’s. I was given a bright red one with silver flames on the hood!  WOW!  I remember saying to one of the other guys, I think we’re gonna have a fun day!! He agreed! Ha! 

The eighth car in our fleet was a Chevy Caprice station wagon.  This would be the common car that we would all return to Minneapolis in later that evening. Once we had all the cars fuelled up and ready to go it was about 7 o’clock. And as our eight vehicles hit Interstate 94 it wasn’t long before we were cruising at wonderful speeds of 70, sometimes 80 and once in a while 90 miles per hour. Shhhh! Don’t say anything to my mom! I don’t need any friction today! Ha! Ha!  After all, it was many years ago and there has to be a statute of limitations preventing any recourse from her! 

We arrived safely, thank the Lord, into Fargo at about 11:30. We only stopped long enough to park the Camaro’s and then we all piled into the Caprice station wagon for our trip back to Minneapolis.  

Now this is where the story takes on a whole different atmosphere. Three Bible school students and five unsaved guys in one vehicle!  As I recall, the Caprice had a folding rumble seat in the very back of the car that faced the back window. That’s where one other student and I ended up. The other six guys including the other student sat in the regular passenger seats. We hadn’t gone very far from Fargo when all of a sudden we took an exit. I watched as our car pulled into a liquor store and a couple of the unsaved guys ran in and came out loaded up with several cases of beer. 

The next few hours were perhaps some of the most frightening hours of my life. During that course of time one of the unsaved guys introduced a bag of marijuana. The smoke that filled the car was perhaps the worst smell I had ever smelled in my life. It literally made me feel sick to my stomach!  Please understand, I was raised in a Pastor’s home all my life and was never exposed to that sort of lifestyle. Not even at school! Thank God! 

I remember that we were travelling at a high rate of speed...nothing compared to the trip up to Fargo. The car swerved from time to time across the lanes. I turned around several times to see just how fast we were travelling. Each time I looked, the needle was pointing straight downward at about 6 o’clock with the needle completely buried. That means we were going in excess of 115 to 120 miles per hour and we did this steadily from Fargo all the way to St. Cloud, Minnesota, normally a three hour drive. It gives me shivers as I think about it now! I remember the driver of the car was so high and intoxicated that I was literally terrified!  Frightened beyond words!  I still have trouble riding in the passenger’s seat today!  When we were about four miles outside of St. Cloud, we once again took an exit and the driver drove directly to a liquor store.  It was at this stop that I said to myself and the Lord, “I’ve had enough! God, please get me out of this car!” I remember asking to be let out of the car and said I had to go to the bathroom. I made my way over behind the building as though I was just going to relieve myself.  But once I got out of site of the car I ran like a ‘mad-man’ and found myself in the middle of a trailer park. I remember crawling underneath the porch of a mobile home with my heart pounding so hard I could hardly breathe! I also remember the driver hollering for me and cursing because I was not returning to the car. They wanted to get going and I was holding them up. They then proceeded to drive around and around, up and down every street of the trailer park cursing and hollering my name. This went on for so long until finally they gave up on me and left.  I knew this made them so mad, that if I had shown my face I would have perhaps received the beating of my life! 

I remember laying under that porch for the longest time crying and pleading with the Lord to help me. I was over 2000 miles from my home in Hoyt, New Brunswick and Oh! How I wished I was there! I didn’t know where I was nor did I know exactly how far I was from St. Paul. I recall staying there for a very long time. 

Once I felt it was safe, I crawled out from under the porch and began walking.  I walked for what seemed to be many miles until I came to a sign that said, “Welcome to St. Cloud, Minnesota.” Once inside the city limits I remember searching until I found a phone booth.  I didn’t know anyone in that city, so I began looking through the listing of churches in the yellow pages. I found a Pentecostal church in the listings and took note that that the address was 301 7^th street avenue and I was on a double digit avenue.  I do remember that I still had a very long walk ahead of me. Since I didn’t have a dime on me, I wasn’t able to make a call. I recall it got dark as I walked along until late that evening when I came to the street where the church was located. As I walked closer to the church all the lights were on and it appeared that they had been having a service and it had just ended.  I knew I didn’t smell very nice and I was reluctant to go in but I knew I had to. 

As I stepped into the foyer I was greeted by an older man who said to me, “Can I help you?” I said, yes, I need to speak with the Pastor. He said, “Just a moment and I will get him.” In a minute or two the Pastor came to where I was and asked me if he could help me.  I said, “I am from a Bible School in St. Paul and I need to get there tonight, somehow.”  He said, “What’s the name of the Bible School?”  I said, “Apostolic Bible Institute.”  He said, “Stay right there, I’ll be right back.” I had no idea what he was doing.  Within a couple minutes he returned and said there will be a car outside in just a few minutes with someone you’ll want to meet!”  I said, “Okay.” So I stepped out of the church onto the sidewalk and waited.  Within a few minutes a small car, a Monza, pulled up to the curb. I was startled and shocked as I looked at the person in the driver’s seat.  It was the President of my Bible College, Bro. Robert Sabin!!  It turns out that he was there at that very church that very evening speaking at a rally and when he left the church after the service he remembered that he had left his topcoat at the pastor’s home and had to go and get it.  The pastor had intercepted him by telephone and got word to him to come back to the church before leaving for St. Paul.  

Now folks...only God can orchestrate something like that!  The Bible says that, “There hath no temptation (or trial) taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted (or tested) above that ye are able; but will with the temptation (trial) also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” That is not the end of the story!  There is another twist to this story that you can read on my blog entitled, ACROSS THE MILES PART 2! SRR

ON NEVER EARLY, NEVER LATE, BUT ALWAYS RIGHT ON TIME!.... May 28, 2012

It was 1996 shortly after moving to Quebec that our ’89 Oldsmobile Cutlass died.  We had already been planning a trip to New Brunswick.  The girls were so excited because on this trip we were going to a place they absolutely loved! Magaguadvic Youth Camp. Both girls had been to that Summer Camp every summer during our pastorate in Springfield and Back Bay. And since we didn’t know of any Christian camp in Quebec we decided we would take them down to New Brunswick.  

We didn’t even have enough money to buy another car and we knew we couldn’t borrow money to buy one!  So, we just waited.  For one solid month we endeavoured without a vehicle.  It was hard!  I did have my motorcycle and once in a while I would take Esther on the back of the bike to the grocery store to buy supplies.  We could only carry a few at a time.  

I remember feeling discouraged about the situation and was wondering what are we going to do.  As we got closer to the day that we were supposed to go to New Brunswick, the girls became more and more anxious wondering how we would be able to go. 

The day came and still no car. But that morning I told Esther, I think I’ll just go up the street and check out one of the local car lots. Knowing that I didn’t have any money for a car, I must confess that my expectation of coming home with a car was low. 

Well, while I was gone Esther entered into her “TURBO FAITH” mode. Now if you don’t know what that is, it’s when you get this overwhelming sense that something is about to happen and it’s gonna be good! You see, since coming to Quebec we have noticed that when you live totally by faith you simply believe that God is your supplier and that HE CANNOT FAIL!  

It wasn’t long after I had left the house that she called the girls into the kitchen and said, Girls, I want you both to go to your rooms and I want you to pack your suitcases and we are going to set them right out here by the front door because, TODAY WE ARE GOING TO CAMP! One of the girls looked at her mom and said, “Are you gonna pack your suitcase too?  Esther responded, “YES!”.  

As I was looking at the cars on the lot a young salesperson came over to me and asked if I needed any help. I said, “As a matter of fact I do.”  I said, “Are you the manager?”  He said, “No, but the manager is right there in the office.”  I said, “I’d like to speak with him.” He said, “Sure!”  

As I walked away from the salesperson I noticed he stayed by my motorcycle as I went into the office.  I introduced myself to the manager and said, “I have a problem.” He said, “And what’s that?” And I said, “I don’t have a car and I need one today.”  He said, “How much money do you have?  I said, “I don’t have any money.”  He said, “You do have a problem.”  

Without any hesitation and without any forethought about this, I heard myself say these words, I don’t have any money today but I do have that motorcycle and I can have money within 30 days.  I no more than got those words out of my mouth when the young salesman walked into the office and said to me, “I want to buy your motorcycle.” I looked at the manager and he looked at his salesman and the manager looked back at me and said, “Which car do you want. We can make a deal! 

The timing was like it had all been rehearsed. It all happened within just a few seconds! We quickly drew up the details and that day I drove off the lot with a beautiful, white 1994 Ford Taurus in perfect condition with only 60,000 kms. I was so excited!  

I remember driving into the driveway and Esther and girls came running outside. I’m sure the girls were thinking, Our dad is such a Hero!” while at the same time I was thinking my Dad “up above” is such a Hero! Living by faith is like walking a tightrope at times but there is one thing I know....MY DAD IS NEVER EARLY AND NEVER LATE, HE’S ALWAYS RIGHT ON TIME! SRR