Good morning,
This week’s devotions will highlight my call to be the WASI (Wasilla Area Seniors, Inc) Chaplain, and the teaching, prayer, counseling, and hospital visitation ministries.
The spring of 1972 brought pain and joy to my life.
During the fall semester in 1971, there was a girl who would become my fiancée. She was staying with her grandfather, who required her to go to church each Sunday. We all went together. During spring break, I travelled from Idaho to California, to surprise my intended. She was warm and receptive. On my arrival home, a letter arrived, with her engagement ring, telling me she no longer wanted to pursue our relationship. As you can imagine, this was devastating news.
The church we went to seemed to have many young ladies. These ladies were virtuous and were not looking for unsaved boyfriends. What they cared about was telling others about Jesus Christ. They invited me to a Bible study and it was through this study Christ became my Lord and Savior. That brought me a tremendous amount of joy.
The Campus Crusade for Christ ministry on campus discipled, trained, and taught me about the Bible, how to grow in Christ, and how to minister for the Lord. Coupled with my church attendance and service, the discipled became the discipler. In 1974, on my graduation from college, my years of ministry began.
During the next 47 years God allowed me to serve with several local church’s, para-church organizations, the military, teaching and preaching God’s word in some common and uncommon ways. Ministering in church’s, tents, indoors or outdoors.
In 2013, Ingrid Ling, CEO of WASI, called and asked me to be the Chaplain. My response was no. My job was full time and paid quite well. As with Moses, God does not accept our no. What happened next is epic. My employer terminated my employment. He fired me. No one had ever fired me before. This was the hand of God.
God wanted me at WASI. He made it quite plain that He wanted me to minister to the seniors at WASI. A subsequent call to Ingrid confirmed this and on 1 November 2013, WASI had its first Chaplain.
Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com
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