September 2008: Love Story (Part 2) - The Fruit of Waiting
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1. Matters that Matter - Love Story (Part 2): The Fruit of Waiting
2. Profound & Pithy - A Mixed Bag, followed by . . .
3. . . . A Potpourri from the eTouch Boutique
4. Donna's Corner - The Priority of Obedience
5. Renewal Gatherings - Israel in March . . . and More
1. Love Story (Part 2): Will the Day Ever Come?
You might be surprised at some of the responses we received to last month's Part 1: "A cliff-hanger!"; "It's not fair that we have to wait for the rest of the love story"; "We can't wait to read the next installment . . . 'M' thinks that something is going on over there & that there's going to be time for a great celebration of family increase. Is he right or is he just reading too much into what you're saying?"
If you missed Part 1, our daughter Laurie, at age 44, pretty much felt that she would remain unmarried (Donna and I wondered if maybe she'd meet a wealthy widower later in life!); then she met a single guy named Pete at our 2005 Down Under Camp near Sydney. After a second camp a year later, Laurie returned to her home and ministry with us in Canada and between emails, MSN and Skype, (all business, of course), a friendship with Pete got started. Read on!
As it turned out Laurie and Pete were sprinting down the romance road. Barely a month after camp, along came February 14th. Cheekily, after not having received one from him, Laurie sent an eCard to Pete, asking, "Are you my Valentine?" From that point on we didn't see or hear from Laurie on weekends - the chat lines were sizzling. Thinking that Laurie and Peter were discussing his impending move to join us in ministry, I still had no clue that their relationship was rolling along so rapidly.
On March 3rd - barely seven weeks since they'd had their first serious conversation - Laurie came over to our apartment where Julie and her four kids were about to arrive for a visit. Laurie was not herself and in hindsight I recall that she was fidgety and just couldn't settle down. Julie and her brood of four arrived and Laurie, who would normally be surrounded by the kids, seemed a bit stand-offish and nervous, which was totally unlike her. After almost an hour, and with the ring of my phone, the reason for her strange behavior came to light.
She had come across to our apartment following a chat session with Aussie Pete, knowing that her sister, nephews and nieces would soon be arriving. She didn't want them to be there because Pete was to call straight back with a question for me. But Pete needed to be fortified with his customary hot protein breakfast first; so it was 45 minutes after Laurie expected it, with Julie and her kids all hullabaloo-ingly present, that our phone jangled and Laurie's plan for a peaceful and quiet call collapsed.
I picked up the receiver and heard, "G'Day Peter," uttered in a thick Australian drawl. It was Aussie Pete, calling (I thought) about some detail of his impending arrival to join us in the ministry. There followed some small talk, when all of a sudden he blurted out, "May I marry your daughter?" Hadn't I heard that same Aussie greeting and that same heart-stopping question once before, when our youngest daughter Michelle's boyfriend Mark called and caught me flatfooted and utterly unaware? Since Laurie was my last unmarried daughter, my razor sharp sense of discernment kicked in and I immediately withdrew to my office and closed the door to try and recover some sense of decorum.
What do you say when you're trapped like that? Blindsided for the third time? I couldn't summon up any suitable objection, so once again I meekly mumbled a brilliant answer that went something like, "Yes." My mind was dry mush, incapable of forming a sensible thought as it raced to think of the events of the past six weeks. Later I pondered all the clever bon mots and cool questions that might have been my droll rejoinders: "What took you so long?" or, "How do you plan to support my daughter in the manner to which she has become accustomed?" or, "What are your intentions, young man?" or, "You can have her - we've kept her too long already!"
Everybody else seemed to be happy about this new turn of events. Leilani and Manu, Julie's older kids, started to tease Laurie, but deep down they felt like they must be about to lose a close friend and auntie.
Pete was 45 and had never married; Laurie, who had spent most of her life in poor health, was 44 and had never even given her heart to another man. We all rejoiced and it wasn't long before Aussie Pete was welcomed to Canada to join our ministry team, but more importantly (in God's eyes and ours) to spend the next seven months with Laurie so that their relationship could deepen - and be tested - and he could discover what it would be like to join the Jordan family. This probationary period passed quickly and Pete was embraced by all, family and friends. Their short engagement walk together was characterized by a high degree of maturity and just plain good sense.
December 9th, 2006 was set for the Big Day, a Christmas wedding at a snow-covered ranch nestled in the beautiful Cypress Hills near Medicine Hat, Canada. It turned into a huge family party with all of our guests seated at round tables, decorated by Laurie's Aunt Martha and many helpers, for the dinner reception that was to follow. Laurie was radiant, and my first glimpse of her reduced me to gasps and tears.
Laurie and I had a surprise planned. As we slow-stepped down the aisle to the strains of the funereal-sounding Wedding March, suddenly the tempo changed. The jungly pulse of a bongo drum joined in with the keyboard, which in turn picked up the rhythm and the whole atmosphere was transformed. We paused as I turned to pick up the train of Laurie's dress, took her in my arms and we danced the rest of the way to the front. The effect was electric - guests were stunned and either broke into uncontrollable mirth or gasped and held their hands to their mouths.
Laurie and I had done it and kept the secret, for no one except the musicians and the photographers had been alerted. But even before that, the relaxed and fun ambiance had been established when the two ring bearers weavingly steered remote control cars along the white bridal runner that led to the front - with wedding rings firmly attached to their hoods (or 'bonnets' as the Aussies say).
After giving Laurie away, I took my place, along with David Demian, the one who had told Laurie to, "Keep the door open," as we officiated the wedding. There were more surprises to come. As the ceremony drew towards an end, JoEllyn Wright at the keyboard sang a surprise 'Laurie's Song,' which she had composed for the occasion; then bridesmaid Leilani & groomsman Manu, Laurie's niece and nephew, stepped down off the stage and danced in perfect unison and harmony to the Celine Dion duet, 'I'm Your Angel.' That brought the house down.
For dinner, Laurie had chosen a Chinese take-out buffet delivered piping-hot to the Ranch; this was followed by an eight-inch wide, 17 foot-long 'aisle' cake designed by Graham Kerr, the former Galloping Gourmet, a special friend of our family. [Graham, along with Treena his wife, though unable to be with us in person, had prepared a hilarious three-minute video for all to see. They explained that the bride and groom would cut a slice of the unique cake for each guest; better still, every couple of feet, there would be $20 bills, wrapped and hidden in the cake.]
Donna and I take little credit for having three daughters in three happy marriages. Since the girls were born it has been on-the-job-training and we've learned as we've lived. There is not one shred of doubt in our minds that God picked each of their husbands for them. We simply did what we knew and left the rest to God. We sometimes wonder how the girls would have turned out had we not responded to God's radical call into missions. This of course is a hypothetical exercise of little value, but our conclusion is simply this: had we not obeyed God by leaving house and family and the comforts that we enjoyed back those many years ago, we would have exposed ourselves and our children, individually and corporately, to the advances of the enemy in our lives. What that might mean, no one knows. But this we know with total assurance: regardless of where and when and how and to what He calls, following Jesus unconditionally is the only way to go. To hear His voice, the voice of the One who only wants the best for His children; and to then walk with Him step by step through life . . . ah, that is the path; that is the way.
Laurie's Song
Will the day ever come
When I find someone
Who will love me for who I am?
Is my time for love gone?
I have waited so long
Still I'm trusting You know
What's best for me
Oh Lord, You are my life
If there's no one, that's alright
I'm not alone
You're the Lover of my soul
But Lord, You know my heart
And if somewhere there's a part
Of me still missing
Then I trust You to bring him
I'm waiting . . .
Now I stand here today
Looking back on the way
You orchestrated my time for love
It's a mystery to me
How someone could be
Just exactly everything I need
Oh Lord, You are my life
Yet you brought along that someone
Who's just right
So I can share my life
And Lord, You heard my heart
So right here from the start
I give You praise
'cause You save the best for those who wait
© JoEllyn Wright 2006
Thanks to wedding photographer Mark Lee (our current website designer) you can see Laurie & Pete's wedding photos at: http://www.bigfresh.com/index.php?page=gallery&galleryname=peter_laurie
Just copy & paste the above into your web browser.
Till next time - be blessed,
Peter
2. Profound & Pithy - A Mixed Bag
"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." Calvin (not John; friend of Hobbes)
"If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans." (Opening line of the movie Bella, which took the People's Choice Award at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival)
Everything new must find acceptance in the old
To triumph fully, evil needs two victories, not one. The first victory happens when an evil deed is perpetrated; the second victory, when evil is returned. After the first victory, evil will die if the second victory did not infuse it with new life.
Miroslav Volf, The End of Memory
Perfect love may cast out fear, but fear is remarkably potent in casting out love.
P. D. James, Time to Be in Ernest
Mystery cannot be discovered - it can only be revealed. Kris Vallotton
3. A Potpourri from the eTouch Boutique
Hej, på er alla! Kan ni tänka er att skicka ert nyhetsbrev på svenska, min engelska är mer än värdelös! Jag kan i stoooora drag se vad som står däri men mera än så är det inte. God bless you! Susanne Rosensköld, Sweden [From my trusty MS Outlook translation something gets lost, but the spirit comes through: "Hello, on your all! Can you intend you to send your newsletter on Swedish, my English is more than value loose! I can in stoooora features see what that stands in that but more than so is not it."] Thanks for writing Susanne, so sorry but at this time we only do English.
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It is always so wonderful to get our eTouch! Dick and I read every word and we dream and cry tears of joy and sorrow, celebrating with each story. When we did an inTouch Camp in Kona 4 years ago we were broken; we knew that God was in control so we held on to what he had shown us in the past (Lam 3:21). We had been about 5 years in the desert, and though it lasted another 3 years after the camp, the camp was a sip of water to us keep going. Thank you! Dick & Jennie Briner, USA
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To The Powerful Women in my Life - Keep the Faith! Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders and says . . .
"Oh Crap. She's Awake!" Chris & (Marvelous) Marv Herman, CA
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i am liking your love story (am i making an assumption about the end of the story?) wouldn't it be great if ywam had a 'love connection' site for ywamers looking for a like-minded mate? well, at least i think so, having been single for the past 8 1/2 years since my husband died. it's hard to find (or be found by) a mission-minded man. i am definitely considering and praying about israel next march. Teresa [Note to mission-minded men: if you want to meet Teresa you may have to come to Israel in March!]
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Joe and I and our 5 children were in your Crossroads DTS in Kona in 1986. Our youngest, Peter, was five. One day his preschool teacher came to me all excited and said that during prayer time that morning Peter said that God told him he was going to preach in China someday. Peter never forgot that and in 2000 as a 19-year old, he went to China to teach English. He is still there, no longer teaching English but has a business that places teachers, supports orphan children and hosts humanitarian teams from all over the world; and most of all loves the Chinese people. An agency out of Beijing is going to help him raise funds for a planned orphanage for which land has been donated. God has given him incredible favor. Darlene B. USA
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StaffLink Report . . .
35 full and part time YWAM Associates' staff from 12 nations met in mid-Sept in Switzerland. We started out by worshiping and waiting on God. This led into a wonderful unity of purpose as we shared the diversity of strategies designed for each nation. One ‘size' does not fit all nations! Board members Dan Sneed, John & Sandra DeVries, Quintin & Angela Lake along with Donna & I, attended. We are greatly encouraged and feel that this ministry has moved to a new level.
4. Donna's Corner - The Priority of Obedience
"If you love me you will obey me." Jesus
We need to know our place. Where does God want us - each step of the way? Are we being led by the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:14-18) on our journey to see Jesus face to face? He is our Lord and King (2 Tim.4:7-8).
The Holy Spirit will lead us, if we listen to Him, having no hidden agendas, but with pure and humble hearts.
The enemy is out to destroy the family through abortion, same sex marriage, divorce, materialism and pride (wanting position and recognition) to mention just a few of the ways he is doing it. But Jesus loves the whole family of God as well as the family unit here on earth that glorifies Him.
Peter and I are blessed, because exactly 32 years ago, we sensed the Lord saying, "Take your children, leave your family and friends, your house and business and follow Me." Our children were ages 6-14 and in the world's eyes, what we were about to do was ridiculous; but in God's eyes He saw that we were trusting Him and loving Him; and even if we made mistakes, He saw our hearts. It was part of His preparation and there were things in our hearts that also had to be cleansed - fear of man, pride, materialism, unbelief and more. Like I said, it has been a journey as we've been learning what 'true family' is, trusting our heavenly Father (Mark 3:33-34).
Last month, Peter and I were at a gathering of 300 spiritual leaders from across Canada. On the second night David Demian, who was leading at that time, asked me if I would facilitate the evening session as a mother and as a woman leader. When a leader speaks as a mother, walls tend to come down, no matter how young or how old the people are, as long as she speaks in truth, love and humility. The religious spirit has to go! It's all about being the 'family' of God - encouraging, exhorting, nurturing and making room for every member of the family. I've been wondering the last few weeks if 'mothers' have been silenced in the church. What do you think?
The next day, Peter and I were worshiping and I sensed the Holy Spirit say, "Go to your daughter Michelle in Australia." With many tears I said, "I can't Lord, I've made a commitment to John Dawson to lead the YWAM Global Leadership Team's Prayer Shield in Kona." Our granddaughter Rebekah had been in hospital with double pneumonia and Michelle would never ask me to leave all, and come to her; but God would and God did.
He said, "Others can lead the Prayer Shield but no one can take your place as a mother beside your daughter." What simple revelation but what profound truth. Peter confirmed it and other leaders as well as John Dawson blessed me. It's not a question of putting family ahead of ministry, or ministry ahead of family; it's a question of love for God and walking in obedience; then He gives a peace that's beyond our understanding (John 14:15-17; 26-27).
"I will listen to what God the Lord will say; He promises peace to his people his saints." (Psalm 85:8)
Love and Blessings,
Donna
5. Renewal Gatherings - Israel in March!
Jan 11-17, near Sydney, Australia with Jeff & Diane Littleton, "Father Heart of God"
Contact: Peter West westfolk@ozemail.com.au
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Mar 8-14, Israel; with David Demian of Watchmen for the Nations, Canada; and with Peter & Donna Jordan
Info: e-mail Roy Jones for details via the Contact Page at www.intouchcamps.com
David Demian, born, raised and trained as a doctor in the Middle East, has a unique view of, and relationship to the Jews and Israel. His 14 year journey with the Canadian church as it relates to Israel and the Jews is well documented - go to http://www.watchmen.org/ click on 'The Journey' followed by 'Call to Repentance.'
I leave you with a wild thought. Recently as I lay tossing and turning on my bed with a terminal case of jetlag, my mind clicked into overdrive and I wondered . . . If there's any truth in the so-called Replacement Theology, perhaps we could offer God a little advice; with all the stuff that's happening in the church these days (especially in the North American church), maybe it's time for Him to return Israel and the Jews to 'Most Favored Nation' status and thereby reinstate them as His Chosen People.
That's what jetlag does to me.
Many Blessings,
Peter
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