VOLUME 2 - March 1998

The Lord's Army

I may never march in the infantry
Ride in the Calvary
Shoot the artillery
I may never fly over enemy
But I'm in the Lord's army
I'm in the Lord's army!

This little song may be familiar to some of you who happened to attend church camps or vacation bible schools in your youth. Still popular today, probably more for the marching and saluting the children get to do, than for the actual meaning of the song. While we may smile remembering the tune, our hearts should also rejoice that we are called to serve our Lord in what is often a spiritual and emotional battlefield. Soldiers in a war never question their duty or the commands of the General. Yet we too often question what our General is asking of us, and certainly I find myself questioning His choice of battlefields!

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?
And how shall they hear without a preacher?
And how shall they preach, except they be sent? Romans 10:13 -15

Soldiers need support of friends and family. The encouragement we have received over the last few months has been wonderful. With the New Year come new challenges and areas for ministry. Working with the East West Ministries in Dallas, Texas, we have been invited to accompany them on their upcoming Evangelism Campaign to Kaluga, Russia. What an opportunity for Sunshine After Rain Ministries to aid their ongoing work in the former Soviet Union. During discussions of the trip, Tim Marshall the campaign director, explained their outreach into a country so hungry for the gospel and our commitment to believing that nothing is too hard for the Lord. (See Jeremiah 32:27) For us to accompany this April 16th trip we need funds immediately! This will cover the cost of the trip itself as well as enabling us to buy the supplies (balloons, stickers, toys, etc.) that we will take with us. Please pray about this urgent need we have at the ministry.

We want to be available, to say to our Lord as Isaiah "Here I am send me".

Upcoming in Ministry

May 18 - May 22 - Warsaw, Poland
May 22 - June 1 - Jerusalem, Israel

Our cover story highlighted the planned activities for the Russian outreach. We are very excited about this opportunity. Unlike our trips to Israel where the direct proselytizing of children is forbidden, the campaign to Kaluga is one of evangelism, where the gospel message will be presented each night in the community working through the support of the local church.

You may remember the story of the Jemima House in our last Newsletter. Please pray for the health of Helen Volbehr as she has had a recurrence of her cancer, which makes it very difficult for not only her and Ed but the children as well.

One of the stories we learned at the Jemima House was of a young girl and her sister. Deaf, blind and severely retarded, they were abandoned and left to die. Ed and Helen were contacted to care for the girls, who had stopped taking any nourishment; they were not expected to live. Through gentle caring, the girls took nourishment and slowly improved. After months of nurturing, their lives started to change. Ed and Helen noticed one of the sisters responding to sounds. They took her to a doctor to be tested and as suspected, she could indeed hear. Several years later, a piano was purchased and Helen played for the child. Miraculously, the young girl was a Savant and could totally replicate any music she heard played. When we were at Jemima House, the now 20 year old blind girl, sat with her twisted, once abandoned body and played the most beautiful concerto I have ever heard.

Each summer the world-renowned sculptor Richard Stryjecki of Poland teaches deaf/blind individuals to sculpt. Giving them a hope that what is locked inside, what the world often rushes by and overlooks, can manifest itself in beauty. When I heard of the program, my thoughts immediately returned to that day, when I heard the music of heaven played on a dilapidated upright piano. And I remembered if not for the love of our Lord that reached out and saved this abandoned child by placing her in a loving home, this talent would have died.

Just prior to our next trip to Israel, Ken Berg, the incredibly talented producer of Zola Levitt Presents, and I will be traveling to Warsaw, Poland to meet with Mr. Stryjecki and talk with members of the Polish Government on producing a joint documentary project. It is a project that I feel the Lord has brought to us and we are pressing forward and watching the progress. After production of the documentary we will be able to take this program to deaf/blind and art communities throughout the United States. From all we have seen and heard in advance of our trip, this program truly transforms the lives of these socially isolated individuals into productive ones that can make a creative contribution to our world.

We are all blind, in one form or another, refusing to see the suffering around us. We are all deaf, and shut our ears to many of the troubles and trials of the world. We do not want to be bothered. While most of us see and hear, we want to limit our world to the nice things of life. Prayerfully consider your active support of the continued work of SUNSHINE AFTER RAIN MINISTRIES.*


*Sunshine After Rain Ministries is recognized as a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization, gifts to which are considered tax deductible for Federal Income tax purposes.