Receivers

Our sojourn in the USA to allow me to get that agriculture degree so that I could begin serving as an agricultural missionary were some of the most difficult months of our lives, but they were also some of the best times of our lives.

We only ate in a restaurant when someone invited us, but we ate a lot of food that we produced on the small farm.  We had the fewest clothes that we have ever had, but we always had enough to stay warm and to dress up for church. Our kids had the smallest number of toys in their childhood, but they learned a lot about caring for animals, tending to the vegetable garden, climbing trees, making up games, and picking cockle burrs out of their clothes.

One of the joys of living in Starkville was building new friendships. Don and Teresa Bolls had recently enrolled in Mississippi State to study agriculture. Don and Teresa had worked in the marketplace for years when they felt a calling to international missions. They moved to Starkville with their two children so Don could get an agriculture degree that would qualify him to be an agricultural missionary—just as I was doing. Teresa grew up on a ranch in New Mexico, but Don had no agricultural experience, so he spent a lot of time at our little farm. They took care of our animals while we were away some weekends to visit family. Don and Teresa ended up serving for many years in Niger Republic, and we continued to be friends and colleagues in neighboring countries.

Another couple with whom we spent a lot of time was Ben and Sandra Nash. Ben was our family physician while we lived in Starkville, and they became dear friends. We spent time together, and of course, we talked a lot about West Africa. Eventually, they felt a calling to serve with the IMB with Ben serving as a physician at Nalerigu Baptist Hospital in northern Ghana. Ben wound up being the closest western physician to where we lived in the bush of eastern Upper Volta. Even though we were separated by a 14- hour drive, we continued to enjoy many fun times with Ben and Sandra and their two children.

Another Starkville friend helped us make it through this challenging time by letting me use his woodworking shop and templates to make some Christmas gifts. The stool I made for Amanda has been used by all five of her children, and a small table I made for my mother is still by her bedside.

Although we made many lifelong friends in Starkville, the biggest benefit for us during our 19 months there was to understand what true dependence on God was all about. For the duration of my studies at Mississippi State, I had no full-time job, and Cheryl was not able to work at all as she had to care for three small children, but the Lord provided for all our needs. God used so many people to help us in so many ways. Early in our lives Cheryl and I had learned to be givers, but we never learned to be receivers until those days in Starkville, Mississippi.

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his glorious riches which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19