It is with a deep sense of gratitude that I write these lines to tell of the workings of God. Since God saved me by His grace as a boy of not yet nine years old, I cannot recall a day when I did not want to serve the Lord Jesus as a preacher of the Word of God. To be able to say that God has heard the beatings of my heart, and has called again by His grace to such service, brings us great joy.
I was born into a place of great privilege. My parents firmly believed that my three younger siblings and I were to be raised in a sheltered environment, away from the world and its values. One lesson continually emphasised was “God is first. Mom is second. And we were next!” My father’s career objectives as a college professor were not even considered, and it made a deep impression when he deliberately chose a demotion so he could spend more time with us. Our parents read and prayed with us each evening, and there were two activities that especially demanded our reverence: prayer in the assembly meetings, and the preaching of the Gospel.
It was under the ministry of the late Alex Wilson (Canada) on the book of Romans that I realized I was the sinner about whom the Scriptures spoke. A few nights later, in deep soul trouble for the things I had done wrong against man and God, I found rest where God intended every man to rest: in the death of Christ. I simply accepted that there was nothing I could do about my sin, and that the Lord Jesus had done it all. The wages of sin is death. Christ had died for sin. In total simplicity I accepted that fact. That transaction of March 15, 1979, has often been recalled with clarity.
The next morning I told my mother, “I was saved last night, and I am going to become a doctor and go to Africa as a missionary.” She calmly replied, “If God calls you, that would be good.” Those words were to burn into my soul in the years to follow. I asked the elders for baptism the next week, and their wise reply was that I wait a while. Seven years later those same elders came to me and said that the wait was long enough. Shortly later I took my place with the believers at the Lathom Road Gospel Hall, Port Alberni, BC, and remembered the Lord for the first time. That evening I preached the Gospel. The previous evening I had participated in the provincial debating championships, and was very disappointed not to be chosen for the nationals.
But what I gained on
Sunday far outweighed what was lost on Saturday, and the joy in preaching the
Gospel has only multiplied over the years.
University studies commenced, and burning in my mind was “Am I called?” When I
met Ruth Wells for the first time in 1989, I told her of my desire to be a
missionary. She made no mistake in telling me that she did not share such an
exercise. I was in a state of confusion. Never had I met a girl who was clearly
everything and more I could ever wish for in a wife, but for the fact she had no
desire to be a missionary. Shortly afterward I had opportunity to visit with my
mother, and I told her what bothered me. She quietly replied, “If God calls you,
He’ll call her too.” Ruth and I were married 18 months later.
Up to that time, my life had been on schedule. I had just turned 21, married my
princess, and enrolled in a doctorate programme. But then Ruth took ill. She was
to be sick for the next five years, and radical changes resulted. I had to admit
defeat, quit my studies, and ask Ruth’s parents to assist me in caring for Ruth.
I found out what it was like to be jobless and collect unemployment benefits,
and traces of bitterness crept in. We can now see that the Lord was teaching us
necessary lessons. “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but
grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of
righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby,” Heb.12.11.
With much affliction of soul I continued to seek the Lord as to whether or not I was called. Unbeknown to me, God was working in Ruth’s heart. She had finally reached the point where she told the Lord if He restored her health, she would go to the mission field. The call did come, unmistakeably, the week before Easter, 1994. Mr. Tom Bentley (Malaysia) was visiting Woodland Drive Gospel Hall in Vancouver, and was congested with a head cold. After a lengthy pause, he rose to his feet after the breaking of bread to minister the Word. I am quite convinced that he had little idea as to the effect that message would have. He read Isa.42.6 “I the Lord have called thee in righteousness,” and I never heard another word he said. It was a direct communication from heaven. I sat in stunned silence, knowing that God had spoken His mind.
I was concerned how to break the news to Ruth, and waited until late that Sunday evening before telling her. I told her about Isa.42.6 and how God had spoken. She quietly asked if I remembered Mr. Bentley’s second point. I admitted I didn’t. She pointed to the second half of the same verse, “and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee.” She said she knew right then that God would “keep” her on the mission field, and she had bowed her heart and said she would go. God had used the same verse at the same time to convince us both. We wanted God to work out his plan without our interference, so we did not tell anyone except for writing a confidential letter to brother A. J. Higgins from USA. His response was encouraging, and counselled us to pray about where we were to go. This we did.
Ruth got the answer before I did. At the 1996 Vancouver Easter Conference, Mr. Jim Currie gave a report of the Lord’s work in Japan. That morning Ruth had read Acts 16.10 “assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.” Mr. Currie read the same verse, saying that perhaps a young couple had been called of God, and were seeking His mind as to where they were to serve. He spoke of Japan, and Ruth listened with great interest. At the conclusion she turned to me and said, “I think we are to go to Japan.” My immediate reply was “I think not.”
I had reasons why I didn’t want to go, and the chief one was the language. I pushed Japan far from my mind. But two years later we received an unexpected email from brother Higgins, informing us that he had visited Japan and witnessed the work of God. His astounding suggestion was that Ruth and I ought to pray about going to Japan. Out of a sense of panic I did pray. Ruth and I had agreed we would never tell a missionary our exercise. The pattern was Paul with Timothy, and we were waiting upon the Lord to work in an older brother’s heart. A few weeks later, Mr. Currie was on the phone asking if he could pay us a visit. He did come, and his question stunned me: “Would we come to Japan to serve the Lord?”
Ruth was convinced, but I could not give an answer until I knew for sure the mind of God. He gave that assurance a few months later on February 18th, 1999. I was reading the book of Exodus, and came to the point where Moses began to tell the Lord he couldn’t go. “I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since Thou hast spoken unto Thy servant.” I actually said to myself, “You have got it right, Moses, I can’t learn Japanese either.” But Ex.4.12 came with unmistakeable clarity, “Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.” The Lord not only gave the directive, but a promise to overcome my biggest obstacle.
On December 6th, 2001, with Ruth and two little boys, we arrived in Japan with
the commendation of our brethren from six assemblies in Ontario and BC. The
language has proved to be every bit the challenge we feared, but the promises of
God are meant to be proved. With confidence we look forward to the day when we
can say “that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord
your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass,” Josh.23.14.