Greetings from the cornladen state of Iowa!
The weather is hot and humid the corn is tall and I'm sweatin'! But…this weather is what pushes much of the idle corn to tower at 10-12 feet and is truly a gift from God. Iowa has been plagued with heavy rains and flooding. Not only Iowa, as you can tell by the news..but literally all over the world. Truly the end time events are evident all around us. The good news is…Jesus is alive and well…He was, He is, and HE will remain faithful to those who love Him and know Him as their savior and friend.
We had two wonderful services here in Iowa. The first one was at the Joyce Lutheran Brethren church near Lake Mills, Iowa. It's a beautiful country church nestled and surrounded by corn and bean fields.
What a warm welcome we received. As we sang and ministered, we were cheered on by smiles and tapping of toes and clapping. Larry encouraged and challenged t he crowd to be sure they knew that they had a personal relationship with Christ…not religion. There was a wonderful response.
There was a family, of about 8 or 10 that was sitting in one long pew. Cindy Hana, part of the family, wept as she shared with me after the service, "We lost our dear mother one year ago today, unexpectedly, having been diagnosed with lung cancer for only two weeks. It was such a shock to all of us…we miss her deeply. The immediate family decided to get together on this day, one year remembrance of her death, and wanted to do something as a family in her memory. One of the families suggested that we attend your service…I'm so glad we did. I'm sure you saw us women all weeping tears…we were so ministered unto, comforted and encouraged by your music and ministry. We definitely felt God's love. Thank you."
That was so touching! We also enjoyed our time with Pastor Kevin Olson. We had never met him before…but after a few minutes, felt we had known him a lifetime.
Oh…by the way, how did we end up in this country church you may ask? It was Arlene Enderlin, our sweet ministry partner, 84 years of age who called us months ago, "We want you to come to our church in Joyce, IA…when can you come?" Not just one phone call…but several. Arlene was persistent - for weeks. Larry and I looked at our schedule and finally found a place where it would fit in
and told her we may be able to come on a Friday night. "Good…that'll work. We'll plan on it", she chirped. From that moment she talked to pastor, made phone calls and pushed to get the advertising out. Her persistence won - it was a wonderful service. When I shared with her two daughters about her mom's persistence they smiled and said, "That's our mom…
persistent!" We need more "
Arlene's" out there with a passion and push to win the Lost. And of course, as they do in rural America churches, they had a delicious lunch with all kinds of goodies afterwards. Larry was all in favor of that!
Last week we were in Conrad, IA at the invitation of Pastor Steve of the Alice Church of God. The rally was held at the High School theatre; and even though it was a small crowd, it was a wonderful evening of ministry. When the invitation was given, fourteen precious souls responded.
Don & Mary Rolstad were also at the rally in Conrad. They gave their hearts to Christ in 1977 at a Lundstrom rally and continue to be strong and active in their church and in outreach.
Pastor Steve is another outgoing, passion-driven pastor. His energy for Christ and the Lost seeps through his very being.
"I just wanted to thank you one more time for your faithfulness and your willingness to press forward and touch lives for Jesus. Your graciousness and humility is an example to all of us who are striving in the fields working to further the kingdom of God."
Pastor Steve Harvey
Alice Church of God
Conrad, IA
We've been so privileged to have had our granddaughter Myanna, 12 years old this year, with us for the past 4 weeks. She adds such fun and sparkle to our everyday lives on the road.
She's made lots of new friends and has been able to meet a lot of our partners who have been very dear to us.
Roger and Bev Sorenson were so kind to let us stay in their home for 4 days while on the road. We left our motorhome in Sisseton to save on some of the fuel expense.
It was a special treat to meet with Don Thompson, who was the producer of all the Lundstrom television specials, such as Thief in the Night and all these TV specials have been put on DVD's and after all these years are still reaching lives. Thanks Don!
We pray that you'll have a wonderful week, stay cool and comforted knowing that God loves you and you are special to us!
