My involvement in The Way Ministry was not only life changing but life saving! Because of the Word I learned in this ministry, I had a purpose for living again. I was looking for love but was afraid I would be hurt. I John 4:18 arrested my attention, and I wanted God’s love in my life and to get rid of the fear. I was looking to give, but I had nothing to give. I wanted to be sure of what I believed, but I had nothing solid I could say was true—only other people’s different opinions.
It wasn’t until I went on our ministry’s outreach program that I consistently applied the principles I was learning, and I saw these changes come to pass in my life. The outreach program was for one year. I moved to a place I did not know with others I did not know. I remember talking to God and saying something like, “God, I’ll go anywhere but no little Podunk town. I need a city with some big stores to shop in.” (I was from New York.) Ha! We were sent to a country town, population 1,243! That would teach me. All we had was a hardware store. But God had bigger ideas than shopping.
Well, in a big city you can get lost pretty easily, but in a little town you live in a fishbowl. In other words, everyone sees your life and gets to know you pretty quickly. Well, we held forth the Word to everyone in that little town—three times over. And after the initial shock of these “outsiders” invading their town, people began to take notice of the way we lived. We made friends with folks and eventually ran a Foundational Class in our home. We saw that these people who were pretty set in their ways were changing! But our time there was not without great challenges.
One day we were visiting the home of Tim, one of the students. We were talking out by the barn. A car drove into the driveway to where we were talking, and a man came out, very red faced and upset. He walked right up to me and asked what we were doing there. I was stunned at first but remained calm. He said he was the minister at the church in town. Then he pointed his index finger right under my chin and said, “You wouldn’t like it if I went into your garden and picked your fruit, would you?”
Now maybe a year ago I may have been afraid of this man. But on this day, I was different. I was acting in love, and there was no fear in my life. I was bold. I was convinced of what I had and what we had given Tim and of the great changes that were taking place in his life. I don’t know where the words came from, but I know it was God working in me to stand up to that man and lovingly and boldly tell him that we were teaching Tim the Word of God, and his life was changing. God gave me sure ground to stand on. And by the way, before the end of the year, a friend came to town and took me on a shopping spree in an upscale department store in a big city!
I love that I know what to think. I think the Word. It keeps life simple. And if I hadn’t learned the accuracy of the Word from this ministry, I wouldn’t have this to give to others. One of the greatest joys of my life is to have this Word and His love to give and help others the way I’ve been helped. I have purpose in life beyond what I ever imagined. Thank you, God, and thank you to The Way International, which has taught me and so many others the Word of God for over seventy-five years!