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1. We are not a church nor are we trying to replace the church. We encourage regular church attendance (based upon Hebrews 10:25).
2. We are not a following but we encourage people to properly follow every word of God (based upon Matthew 4:4).
3. We are an international, non-profit, personal ministry team.
4. We are an encourager to those that are considered a standard bearer, and we appeal to everyone, Adventists and non-Adventists, to live up to the standards.
PERSONAL TESTIMONY
As I write this, it is to encourage all by revealing how we were brought from being nominal Christians who never missed church but yet did nothing for the Lord, to being His active servants. And it is through this testimony that we hope and pray that you become active yourself or continue to be active. So how did we get from there, to where we are today with the ministry? Step by step and without any delay the Lord started us down this path.
1989 - Met my wife to be.
1990 - To be "equally yoked". My wife to be leaves the Methodist Church to study Catholicism and eventually becomes Catholic like myself.
1991 - Married and worked together in my computer business.
1992-1993 - Began questioning and searching. Despite being a devout Catholic, my wife had lingering questions from her days as a Methodist, for she had studied her Bible. She found many things not reconciling with what she had read in the Bible. She would come to me with questions and having never read the Bible, I could only answer her "why do we do this…" with "because the church or the pope says so". This eventually was not good enough for her and her persistence drove me to read the Bible more. It just so happened that my State job at the time was reorganized, and for a brief time I was without much to do but was told to look busy, so I started reading. The more I read the Bible the more confused I became. But God never keeps the searching soul in darkness.
1994 - The searching heart will find answers. While my wife was running errands and was in a hurry to get to her next appointment, in her haste she forgot to push her Christian music tape in and an advertisement came on at that very moment for a Bible prophecy seminar. At that time I was reading Nostradamus and Pat Robertson's prophecies so Bible prophecy seemed to be just another aspect of prophecy. Her and I often talked about end time events and felt the time was near. The ad went on about such things and she knew this was something I would be very interested in, but she made no note of it because at that time we were working around the clock with the self-employment business.
Later that evening she told me about the ad and was shocked by my strong desire to attend this. She had no information to tell me, and so I told her that she was doing nothing else until she hears that ad again and gets all the information. Well first thing in the morning she sat down by the radio and at the end of the song that was playing the ad came on, no time wasted at all. She wrote everything but one important part. The address was in Lancaster on Conestoga drive? Or was it road? Or was it avenue? Or was it street? Or what? She missed that part. There was no phone number, and so we figured that we would go to Lancaster and ask someone where the street is.
So on the day of the meetings, we stopped at a restaurant and asked about the seminar. They knew nothing! So we asked about the road and they said, "Well, there is an area of town that has all kinds of Conestoga's. We were on the opposite side of town with little time remaining. Quickly we fled down the road looking this way and that for any Conestoga's. We had less than 5 minutes to go and my blood was starting to boil. It was dark and dismal and my wife quickly said, "Why not turn down this road." Quickly I veered off the main road and found us on a dark and bumpy road and said to her "Now look what mess you have gotten us into". We came to a stop sign and had to choose right or left. We looked at the street sign, and it was the first Conestoga we had found. I looked to my left, and there was the sign for the seminar. We (she) had found the place with 1 minute to spare.
Feeling a bit nervous about attending this meeting, we went in with a plan. We would give out no information, we would hold hands, sit in the back, and if I squeezed her hand, we would immediately get up and leave. We entered the door and right away we had to fill out a registration card. We sat in the back and held hands. In a few minutes a man came out to greet the crowd and introduce the speaker. We thought at first he was the speaker and with world events at this time taking place we were a bit taken back by his identical appearance to Saddam Hussein. Next the speaker came out -- a country type of guy who was raised as a Catholic.
As the meeting unfolded I found myself on the edge of my seat and it was not long before our sweaty palms parted and we relaxed. But then came the challenge - there were 24 nights! I squeezed in one night, but I just had to come to the other nights. How could this be done with our rat race schedule? The Lord had it all worked out. I attended each night and my wife had to miss only a few due to evening college classes but we studied together and she kept up. Each night in our one-hour drive back home we would make the same statement "I can't believe it". Everything that we had questioned was being answered. And after submitting to the moving of the Spirit, we joined the church.
1995 - Personal Bible studies begin. If there is one thing that you never do -- you never say "never" to the Lord. When I saw the Word of God come alive, I felt for some reason that I needed to make it clear that I would never hold Bible studies, for uncomfortable reasons. Well it was not long at all before a Bible study developed. Then there was another and then another and before I knew it my week was full of Bible studies. When one study would come to an end another person would fill its place.
1996 - Became a lay evangelist team. Shortly after the Bible studies were in full demand, a small church that could not afford an evangelist had me speak as one. Before long I was holding more evangelistic meetings and even helped to plant churches.
1997 - "Thus Saith the Lord..." Ministries is born. People started to provide donations to us. We were uncomfortable in having them write checks to us personally, so the ministry was officially recognized in May of 1997. We immediately filed for a bulk postage discount to pave the way for the next step in the ministry.
At the same time, we set aside my six-digit figure through the self-employment company of GRO Personal Computer Company. It was interfering very much with the managing of the ministry. Other secular employment was found shortly thereafter and we were satisfied with the 50% cut in salary.
1998 - "Thus Saith the Lord..." Newsletter is made available. Our hearts were very much concerned for each person we studied with, but were no longer able to stay in constant contact with. This newsletter would serve that purpose.
2000, January 1 - The newsletter comes to the church. Several church members read a copy of the general newsletter and commented that they need this for themselves. As we commented upon the milk of the word that is in the content for the general public, the church members said, 'We're only getting water!' So was born a newsletter with a bit more meat to feed the souls being neglected and have not been growing in the knowledge because church had become so concerned of using the church for the evangelizing of the general public during church service. They were neglecting the purpose of the church gathering outlined in Ephesians 4:11-16, which includes "For the perfecting of the saints".
2000 - Internet evangelism was born. Www.tstl.net appeared for the first time on the World Wide Web. It was a small beginning but we were there.
In the summer, it was time to bring in extra money. Though I was making a comfortable salary in the secular world, the growth of the mailing list superseded the available funds. We began yard sales as well as finding roadside places to sell used goods to raise funds. Neighbors were supportive by holding yard sales as well and turning over the funds to us, then they started handing over the goods for us to sell.
Last of the long public evangelism series is conducted. With children very active in our lives now, it was impressed upon us to become more of a behind the scenes evangelistic team. Through the Internet and our newsletters, which were fulltime jobs in themselves, while at the same time still working in the secular environment, we became more of publishing evangelists instead of public speaking evangelists.
2001 - The children's newsletter is made available. At the start of the new year, with much concern about the spiritual lives of children, having several ourselves, the children's newsletter was born.
Also in the same year, yard sales were not raising funds fast enough and people were donating goods so fast that we could not display everything for sale. So we started the flea market sales, which raised much more in funds, but still was not enough, especially when the weather would dampen the outing.
2002 - Searching for a home for a thrift store. At the close of 2002, we decided to look for a facility to open a thrift store. Finding a place in New Cumberland, PA, we began the process of purchasing a building. Finding a huge building at a low price in a fairly popular location, with easy access to major cities in the Central Pennsylvania area, we put our deposit down and began the good faith proceedings. One of the steps was to get the facility inspected for unknown issues. At the same time the heating system needed turned on. God is good. They both arrived at the building on the same day and in the same hour. Our inspector did not know much about the heating system. The man for the heating system simply went to turn it on, but he noticed parts were missing. Then he noticed the two oil drums were holding two year old oil. The drums needed replaced. Then the piping from the drums that went into the cement floor needed replaced. $10,000 in expenses. We immediately backed out of the deal.
2003 - The location of the thrift store is found. Appearing on the Internet in December of 2002 was a cute spacious building but in our opinion it was in the wrong location - to far from would be helpers. In looking on the Internet in March of 2003, there it was again. Using the open and closed door policy with God, we proceeded to consider the building.
We called the agent and scheduled an appointment. The agent said that there was going to be a double showing. We would be first and a massage company would be second. We were told that they were ready to buy it after a tour and that we were probably wasting our time. After waiting in the parking lot of the facility for a little while, another car pulls up and waits. Since they did not go inside we knew they were from the massage company. They were quite worldly and very impatient. We noticed that the time for our appointment was passing and our agent had not yet showed up. They were becoming quite upset and were on their cell phone yelling at the agent. My wife being many months pregnant could wait no longer and went inside to use the restroom. The manager inside was very kind to her and when she discovered that we were the showing scheduled first that evening she explained to my wife that this woman currently waiting is so terribly rude and is very upset because the agent is stuck on the highway in a traffic jam caused by an accident. She told my wife that if it is ok with us she is more than willing to give us a tour of the building. As my wife was coming out to tell me all of this the other couple tore out of the parking lot madder than anything. We proceeded to see the inside and knew immediately that this was the place for us. We then drove down the street to look at the outside of one other building for sale and then circled back past the building to head home. At this very moment the agent arrived at the building and so we pulled in and were able to talk with her. We learned that the accident was caused by an overturned truck full of beer, spilled all over the highway, and that no one was harmed. We also learned that the building had been taken off the market when the owner thought he might just rent it instead of sell but then later reconsidered and put it back on the market. This took place while we were off looking in other areas. We felt the Lord was definitely leading us and intervening where necessary. Of all things to spill - beer! So we made an offer to buy the building.
2003, February - Www.tstlstore.com and www.tstlseminars.com are active on the Internet. (A few years later we would no longer continue that part of the ministry.)
2003, May 18 - Thrift Store is opened for business. With the help of many of our friends in painting, reconstruction work, and financial support the thrift store was now open for business. Along with this we also provided educational seminars in health, Bible, money matters, computers and other subjects. The building turned out to be in a good location because of car shows coming to the fairgrounds, however with not being directly in town it would take some time for the town to learn we were here. Funds were very tight right from the start and the workload was also intense.
Opening day came with me still working my full time job and not one single volunteer to run the store for us. A couple of people had offered to come a day or so a week to help out but they all became suddenly too busy or other things kept them away, even other good reasons. So here we were, my wife had just given birth four months prior and is now needed to run the store. When the one and only volunteer for that week was suddenly ill and my wife had no choice but to run the store with all three children with her, the Lord showed her that she could do it. But I told her it was just temporary, soon the classes will fill and the store will take off and I will be able to quit my job and run it all or so we thought. But to our surprise the classes did not fill up and the store was slow to take off because of not being in town. But we pressed on and the children endured very well.
2003, December 24 - Financial disruption. Just eight months after opening the store, my wife became pregnant with our fourth child. And then the devil was really upset. I was squeezed out of my full time employment over the religious observance of the Sabbath. If I were squeezed out for any other reason, I would have thought maybe it was God trying to speak to us. Even my former boss admitted that they had no other grounds for letting me go, but they knew they could get me on this issue. Too bad I did not have a tape recorder, but that is another story. In any case, it sounded very much like something out of the Bible but now it was happening in the year 2003 on Christmas Eve.
2004 - The ministry had to immediately support itself. In addition to the few who faithfully support this ministry, donations of goods continue to pour in and most items sell within 24 hours of being placed on the shelf. It is quite a job for us to keep the shelves stocked. All things considered, we basically do the work of six people in addition to being parents. We have become the talk of the town and are absolutely amazed at how blessed this ministry has become. The sales during this past year were more than double of last year. There are many who come to shop, many more who come to talk, and many who are blessed by the free literature and books that are provided.
The ministry is not entirely self supporting yet but it is well on its way. Personally however we struggle much. With the loss of my job we had to immediately choose between the loss of the ministry or personal loss. Both could not survive. So we sold my car, and on what little money we could scrape together, we sold the house. It took a year for the house to sell and in the meantime we lived off of the line of credit to avoid bankruptcy. It sold with only one month of credit remaining.
While there are the faithful few who support us monthly and several others who stepped in to help during this past year, it is far less than what is now needed because of the lack of my fulltime income. Because our names are on all the loans for the ministry, including the van, we cannot be approved now for a personal mortgage. The ministry does not make a profit and it cannot pay us. To help make ends meet and to enable me to run the store during the day, I work third shift at Wal-mart. We had initially thought this would only be necessary until the house sold. But because we had to run up our entire line of credit, I now must stay there until at the very least it is paid off. The computer industry is not the best right now for job placement and the starting salary is far below what I was making.
2005 - God directs a free business consultant our way. We are blessed with a business consultant who tithes his time to non-profit ministries and so after meeting with us several times he suggested that I reopen the computer business seeing the educational seminar classes that are the most popular are the one-on-one computer classes. So I contacted the state and federal governments to see what would be involved, and they both informed me that the forms I submitted to close the business were never executed. Praise the Lord! They gave me my old EIN number and sales tax number and now GRO Personal Computer Company is open for business once again. I am able to do the web based programming while running the store and my wife covers when I have training appointments.
2005, March 1 - The new www.tstl.net is released.
2005, March 4 - Personal testimony released. Published and mailed a personal testimony in the March issue of the Thus Saith the Lord Newsletter that includes much of what is listed here plus the following:
Sounds like things are not too bad right? Well it depends on which perspective you look at, after all, there are advantages and disadvantages to everything in life. We have shared with many of you the advantages and have chosen to keep the disadvantages to ourselves but the Lord does not want it this way. He impressed upon us that you need to know how things really are.
Remember, if God wanted the ministry to fold, He would not have used a religious issue as a test. Why? Like Moses, "Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season" (Hebrews 11:25). We rather be financially strapped than to have given in to the ungodly demands so as to make the necessary money to cover the bills for personal and the ministry. Besides, "For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering" (Isaiah 61:8). So robbing God of our standing for the truth so as to offer money (my salary) for the ministry was not an option.
Further, the countless people that demand the newsletter, and in some cases, congregations using the newsletter to take to task teachers and pastors is evident that God wants the ministry to survive. But why the financial lack? In short, God tests the observers to see how they spend their money. Also, right now is the time for Satan to have the upper hand in sponsoring liberal agendas with His money. Many churches and ministries that have the right stance are struggling financially. It is the Biblical model. Jesus Himself was poor. So was Paul and the other apostles.
Personally, we were denied a mortgage for a much cheaper home, forcing us to look into renting. But with needing a minimum of 3 bedrooms the price for renting is right back up where our mortgage was. So after struggling much with how to survive on the given situation, temporary housing is being provided. Through this, there are hard lessons of self-denial for each of us.
I get on average 4 ½ hours of sleep a night. I sleep at the building in the computer room on the floor. Because the rest of the family awakens long before I do, I cannot sleep in the "house". Our "bedroom" is also the office and the living room. But the Lord did provide for our needs before we ever knew of the need. Washer and dryer hookups and a working shower were provided. However, it does not have a kitchen sink. We purchased a stove but do not have enough money yet for a sink. So my wife is challenged with washing dishes but most of all with cooking. She makes do with the bathroom sink and filling a container from the shower for washing the dishes but there are some things that just do not fit. She pretends she is camping and makes the best of it but after seven months of this, it is not efficient and is very exhausting. If anyone is renovating their kitchen and has a spare working sink in good condition we could make use of it.
Our seven year old very much misses being able to go out and play in her yard on her swing or ride her bike. Her outside time is very limited because it is not safe here for her to be out without us. There is a small strip of grass behind the building for her sandbox. To swing or run we must take her and her sister across the street or down to the school. With two other little ones my wife does not have as much time available for being outside with the two older ones.
Our three year old struggles much in another area. She so much misses our two dogs that died (one last year and the other the year before). She does not understand money yet and so she cannot understand why we cannot have another dog right now. My mother is more than willing to buy the girls a Shih tzu (the kind they love and my wife's not allergic to), however we cannot afford to feed it and groom it right now. So we keep just saying, "some day".
To make a long story short, the summary of it all is that until the loans outside of the mortgage are paid off, I will have to remain on third shift and we will have to continue living in our humble abode. At least we do have a dry place to sleep, although it so noisy with truck traffic that the children are not getting their right rest, let alone mom and dad. We are thankful that we at least have a place to call "home". If things continue as is financially with my current employment and the revenue with the computer business and the thrift store continuing as is then we project that it will be five years at least until we can move out. That is a long time to ask the children to be without their own yard and with no puppy. We have consolidated and refinanced the loans as best as can without using debt consolidation services. We have tightened everywhere possible. The only way we can get out of here sooner is if you help. But we are not speaking to those who are already our faithful supporters and we are not talking to those who are financially challenged as well. We are appealing to those who the Lord has blessed financially so as to help those who do the work. "For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer [is] worthy of his reward" 1 Timothy 5:18. We would like to attack with extra payments the loan that has the highest interest rate. It also has the lowest balance due. We currently owe $6,482 on it. With your help we can knock this one off the list. It would not take much. If each reader could donate just $7.50 it would be paid off. Excluding the mortgage, this loan is one of five that keeps us strapped. The mortgage is the sixth loan, which the thrift store alone handles.
I wish space and time would allow me to share with you all that we want to do with this ministry. In a short list, it includes: finishing the Internet project making the most useful tool on the Internet not for our sake but for the winning of souls, publish a pamphlet a month, do more in-depth studies, hire Bible workers for challenged churches, teach lay evangelism classes, perform prison ministry work, provide a Spanish version of the web site, and get back into conducting public meetings.
We are held back so much because of my employment outside of this ministry and because of finances. I could give the ministry thirty more hours a week if I did not work at Walmart. This challenges us spiritually many days. Yet through it all we have never been more certain that this is right where the Lord wants us to be. This is His ministry and we believe that He has big plans for it. Each time we get discouraged and question whether we are doing the Lord's will, He promptly reminds us of how he spilled beer all over the highway. And on the same day, God will cause the phone to ring or letters to arrive telling us how the Lord is using this ministry to bless them and strengthen them. Also, several times two people will walk into our store, hold conversation covering the topics my wife and I discussed and are concerned about, and continue talking in the affirmative on which side of the issue one should be on, and then leave, not to be seen again. We believe we have been visited on more than one occasion by angels in human form to help us through these struggles. "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares" (Hebrews 13:2). We are so encouraged by all the letters we receive and even if you cannot donate at this time we encourage you to write to us and let us know that this ministry is a blessing to you. It means so much to us and helps us through the tough days.
We did not know eleven years ago that we would basically be homeless and nearly unemployed. We did not know what exactly the Lord would ask us to do or surrender but had we known we would have still made the same decision. We have no regrets and we will not deny or curse God. He is in control and He is faithfully providing for our every need. We pray that you will allow Him to use you to fulfill His will for this ministry.
2005, March 11 - A reader of the testimony calls to provide funds for a sink.
2005, March 14 and onward - Donations come in. $1000 worth of donations arrive from various sources, knocking 7 payments off of the loan. One person mailed $500 in cash from her emergency fund because she did not want her unchristian husband to know. She trusted that the Lord would safely deliver those funds to us. Another person received over $300 the day she read our plea and sent the funds to us.
2005, March 21 - A plumber to the rescue. Another reader has volunteered his plumbing services and will install the sink for us.
2005, March 22 - Even the children are giving. Two little sisters pulled together sixty-six pennies from their piggy bank so that our little girls could someday soon have a puppy.
2005, April 9 - Sink installed. After three full days worth of work, out volunteer completed the sink project. We now have a sink to operate with.
2005, April 21 - Vehicle donations. In the morning, a person headed back to their home country donated a vehicle for resale. After getting back from the notary, we ended up going back because another person came by the thrift store and donated their vehicle, which will be used in the ministry work.
2005, May 26 - A Vehicle Is Sold. After putting a down a deposit, on June 3, we will have sold one of the two donated vehicles. The other will be used for ministry purposes.
2005, November 24 - A Thanksgiving thankfulness. Since the end of June, the job market has opened up after eighteen months of waiting, and I have been very busy submitting resumes and interviewing. The sales for the thrift store this year have been well below the average of the past two years and far below what is needed to keep afloat. It is necessary for me to obtain full-time employment again, and Carol "temporarily" running the store needs to end so she can be a full-time mom again. We have been unable to find a volunteer to manage the store and so after much prayer and careful consideration we believe God's work for us here is coming to a close and it is time to move on. We are preparing to close the thrift store and sell the building. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we become more bold with our regular customers in spiritual matters. The educational seminars will be placed online and my computer business will continue as is. The children now have puppies again - Ashley and Buddy. It was so good to hear the girls laugh again.
2005, December 1 - Need to leave the building. We were quite impressed of God that with the extreme drop in sales at the thrift store that it was time to shut things down and concentrate on mommy being full-time mommy without store distractions. Our service was completed. It was time to move on. That night we searched the Internet for a home that would be suitable for us, and a home that we saw advertised back in September was on the market again. It had five bedrooms and three baths - a must if we are going to raise four children and operate the ministry from our home. But why was it back on the market? Because back in September when we first saw it thinking that we needed to get out of the building because of health reasons, we called right away and found out that it was already under contract. The answer to that question of being back on the market would not come until the end of the month.
2005, December 4 - Seeing the home. Viewed the potential home and then proceeded to purchase it. We knew it would be a long shot but if it is God's will, it will all work out.
2005, December 24 - All worked out, especially the financing. God delivered the financing, and we closed in record time. And now was the time to get the answer of why the house was back on the market. In September, the people who were trying to buy the house could not get financing. In fact, two others since September could not get financing either. And yet another couple did get the financing, but the day before settlement, one of the two that were buying the home called the sellers and told them that they were no longer interested in the house. The reason is that they decided to separate. Seeing they were buying it together, a separation caused the end of that agreement. So the sellers put it back on the Internet and we saw it right away and acted on it. On top of that, we have never seen a home of ours close so quickly before. God had held the home for us because in September, our finances personally were a wreck. We racked up lines of credit for the ministry so deeply that no one would touch us to loan us money. But in the three months since September, we were able to reorganize our same debt by showing it as business expenses instead of personal expenses. And we ended up getting the loan.
2005, December 25 - Family gets to see the home. All decisions were made without the rest of the family being involved much. So late on this day, we all piled up minimum belongings and headed for the home. To the children, it was a dream come true. Mom was speechless. We knelt down in the empty home, and dedicated it to God.
2006, January 17 - Building up for sale. We contacted our realtor, who is also a personal friend of ours, and made plans to sell the building.
2006, February 16 - Business is closed. Since the beginning of January, to help empty the inventory quickly, the thrift store decided to give everything away for free. For several Wednesdays, all of the contents were open to the public to freely take. The last Wednesday of this service was today. Those who could not afford much walked away with a lot.
2006, February 23 - Survive a car accident. That morning was a blessing. There was a routine car appointment, but when the car arrived the mechanic called me back into the service area and showed me that the two front tires had deteriorated so much so that metal wires were protruding through. The mechanic said that at least one, if not both, tires should have blown on the way over. Is God good or what? So two new tires were put on. And as was the routine, the car was loaded up that afternoon with stuff from the building heading to the house. But just twelve miles away, one of the two front tires lost pressure; the car was uncontrollable; a wall of rock was straight ahead; and as it was about to be the last moment, the car turned side ways and came to a rest. In the process, both air bags deployed and the radiator cracked even though the car never crashed into anything. The front tire never left the road yet it was completely flat. There were no sharp objects. It is assumed that the seal on the tire being brand new leaked and left the air out completely while going over a high altitude mountain. This assumption was made stronger when the car was taken to a body shop for evaluation the next day and while on the lot the other brand new tire right before our eyes lost air out of it. The car was totaled, but all was not a total loss. The insurance minus the deductible granted the purchase of a dependable used vehicle from a trusted mechanic leaving a bit left over for the cost of transferring the title. Again, is God good or what?
May 4, 2006 - God protects again. We had decided that in addition to the ministry work and work for others in the computer field that it would be best to really try to build up the old computer self-employment business. This would provide many benefits including being able to devote more time to the ministry. We had been in the process of treating the computer business as a part-time job since September. But now we were going to go further. But for some unknown reason, we began to have a car problem. It appeared that the whole wheel assembly on the passenger side of the "dependable vehicle" was about to fall apart. But examining it ourselves, we found nothing. Then on this day, the car was taken in for a routine service. Telling them to look for why the wheel assembly seemed very loose, they discovered a loose bolt. Not just any bolt. They told me that if that bolt came out any further, the whole assembly would have fallen apart and seeing most of the vehicle speed was on a highway going sixty-five, that would had been one very bad situation. So the devil is angry at our decisions, but God protects. And we trust that He will sell the building in His time, which will be such a financial blessing when it does.
July 17, 2006 - Jerry has some employment. Jerry began teaching at a post high school campus in Harrisburg, PA. He enjoys the position, teaching computers, business classes, and other courses related to helping students get a well-rounded education. Unfortunately it is not the income that we need to survive personally nor is it enough to keep the ministry afloat. Additional income is generated by some computer clients, but even then, the activity is minimal. So we continue to have faith that God will deliver and the building will be sold.
September 21, 2006 - The building has been sold! After rejecting an offer that was way too low, another couple came within the acceptable range. The sale helped cancel some loans, but being a buyer's market we did not get as much as is needed to cover all of the ministry's debt.
October 31, 2006 - God has greater plans. The fifth position with the right pay has fallen through. Jerry has been selected for five contracts now and each one of them has lost the bid. God has something better planned.
December 17, 2006 - January 7, 2007 - Problems when you do it yourself. Attempted to earn extra income by taking an overnight position. Shortly after starting the additional employment, the health was quickly affected. Being winter, picked up several colds and two different flues.
February 26, 2007 - God's time tests patience. The secondary education position becomes full-time and hours are maxed at 7:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. The blessing of full-time employment was welcomed, however, even with the extra working hours, it is still not enough to avoid further debt to survive.
April 23, 2007 - Evidently passed the patience test. It is announced that state requirements will not permit as many extra hours worked as have been done in the past. Hours will be cut by July to under 50 as compared to the prior weeks of nearly 70. However, as one door appears to close, another opens. A fellow instructor found high paying, remote access, own hours contract work to be done in the computer field of which he is unable to complete himself and requests my assistance. Although it requires very long nights and little rest, it appears to be a great blessing in avoiding further debt and possibly reducing the debt.
August 16, 2007 - One down, five to go. The Lord has sustained the health thus far and today was exciting. The additional income position has helped us gather enough income to make a $7,200 payoff on one of our loans. That marks one loan down and five more to go. The total debt began at nearly $80,000 and today is under $68,000 thanks to the blessings of the contract work.
January 1, 2008 - Bringing the Word to ministers. 'Thus Saith the Lord...' Newsletter for Ministers is kicked off. Covering five counties of central Pennsylvania and those whose names have been submitted to us from other sources have become the recipient of the lastest newsletter endeavor.
May 30, 2008 - Although money is not everything, it is necessary. Without aggressively looking, an opportunity opened up providing double pay. Though the position would not officially begin until July 7, preparations were made during the month of June for the new opportunity. The sad part was that the employment Jerry had as a teacher was one that he had loved since the 1980's. Now he was headed to a desk job.
December 31, 2008 - Significant debt reduction. From the height of $80,000 of indebtedness in March 2007, approximately only $25,000 remains.
February 20, 2009 - Sabbath Challenge. In a 24x7 environment, it was expected that I would be available by phone any day and any time. After not answering the phone on February 7 (Sabbath), I was put on notice for breaking my employment agreement. After continual resistance to be available on the Sabbath, it was finally decided I could have the Sabbath off. Praise the Lord! Just when we thought we were facing the same situation again, the employer backed down this time.
To be continued...
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"The magi, too, came to the manger with gifts, and frankincense, and myrrh." {The Signs of the Times, July 1, 1897 par. 2}
Daily Verse for July 29: 
