It was 25 years ago this last Spring (Spring of 1971), that Patti and I, along with our three children, (six more came along later), several troubled girls and two staff ladies moved to our new ministry headquarters in Winona Lake.
We had been approached by a Godly couple, (Dr. and Mrs. John Rea), while we were worshiping in a new church in South Holland, Illinois. This dedicated couple explained they had heard of our work with troubled girls, which at that time was in our suburban home in Oak Forest, Illinois, (a southwestern suburb of Chicago). They further explained they owned a house in Winona Lake, Indiana, that had always been used in the Lord's work, (Spanish World Gospel Mission began in the basement), and they would like to see our work utilize the building.
Dr. Rea encouraged me to investigate Grace Theological Seminary for theological training while we conducted the work of Hephzibah House at the same time, (he was a former professor of Old Testament at Grace).
A trip was made to Winona Lake to examine these possibilities. Along with Patti and me, our Pastor and his wife (Pastor and Mrs. Ron Brown), and Dr. and Mrs. Rea. We were able to purchase the 508 School Street property, and I was also able to matriculate at Grace Seminary.
I worked part-time on a Master of Divinity degree for the next 8 years, graduating in 1979.
Those early years were challenging inasmuch as we took in adult women along with teen girls. Many of the older women were heroin addicts, prostitutes from Chicago and exceedingly troubled women the world labeled psychotic, who were in and out of various asylums.
With our small staff, we would often get little if any sleep because of the necessity to constantly monitor troubled and bizarre souls.
The sweet Lord honored our simple faith in those early years. I had resigned my job with the U.S. Public Health Services, (with all of its benefits and security), for full-time Christian service. There was not a promise of any support for Patti and me and our three children, and what an encouragement it was to see many of God's people rally around our fledgling work with financial support, groceries, furniture, clothing, etc.
My precious wife Patti not only was a wife and mother (six more children were born while we were in the ministry), she also was our cook and head of the staff ladies; and in her "spare time," helped work with our census of troubled girls. May I say, I have never known anyone who has given their heart and soul to her family and to the Lord's work as Patti has. No complaints, no regrets, no looking back for this dear heroine of the faith. She had, and continues to have her eye on the finish line and hearing the words, "Well done thou good and faithful servant." If there is ever an unsung heroine and a faithful servant who is content to serve and labor unknown for the Master it is Patti.
For seven years, we all lived together in extremely close quarters; my family, the staff, and all of our girls. By this time, we had limited our ministry to troubled teen girls who had at least one parent in a fundamentalist church.
Our Heavenly Father touched the heart of a local Christian to donate 5 acres of land to our work on which we could build a new, and more roomy facility. Because we choose to operate on a debt-free, cash basis, this construction took us no less than eleven years to build! Space and lack of memory forbid me to mention the many, many precious Saints of God who helped with prayers, finances, materials and labor to make our 6600 square foot facility a reality.
A church/school building followed, (this took four years), and then a pole building for maintenance, storage and print shop.
Many and blessed are the stories of God's provision for our humble, little work over these years. It never ceases to amaze me how the sweet Lord allows us to close each year "in the black" as far as our books are concerned. Buildings, vehicles, equipment, clothing, food, ... , many and varied have been the cornucopias of God's blessings He has showered on us over these twenty-five years. Once we received a Triumph Spitfire, and another time a small herd of beef cattle! God has abundantly met our needs! From a yearly budget of $15,000.00 to now well over $200,000.00 per year, our great God has shown Himself faithful.
However, Hephzibah is not essentially bricks, mortar, vehicles and budgets. We exist because of needy and troubled souls, and the Lord has brought multitudes of them to our doors over these many years. Far more important than dollars and tangible things are the souls of youngsters held captive by Satan.
In this post-Christian era, our nation's youth can find a smorgasbord of sin in which to indulge their hedonistic lower nature. It is not strange therefore, to see these young girls arrive with significant scars on their tender souls. How tragic to see teen girls wise in the ways of this world and cynical about God and His truth.
It has become increasingly difficult to reach children from fundamental homes for the Lord. We have observed a palpable hardening of hearts and a more determined rejection of God, His truth and His ways on the part of these daughters of fundamentalists.
As the world has entered our churches, principles of separation, (both personal and ecclesiastical), have become a burden and have been cast away for more modern, flesh-pleasing ways.
The plague of divorce has infected even God's people. Even though many have living spouses, they seek other mates and then face the many-faceted problems of blended families, (his children and her children). Wicked television is owned and watched without a pang of conscience.
Hollywood films are brought home via VCR's that no committed believer would have watched 40 years ago. Contemporary Christian music, (which to me is an oxymoron), has achieved supremacy in many churches, and even so-called "Christian rock," (another oxymoron), is allowed for enthusiastic young people. Great hymns and old Gospel songs are scorned and rejected as old- fashioned and irrelevant.
Even more serious is the growing rejection of the AV 1611 Bible, which is the only English Bible based on the faithful Textus Receptus.
With increasing frequency, we hear from the girls we receive that "I do not believe in God;" "the Bible is a book like any other book;" "I am not ready to live for God." Their only consuming interest is a desire to please self and indulge their flesh.
From our vantage point of helping God's people with their children, I would have to conclude we are in deep trouble. Our salt has lots its savour and carnality has become so widespread, that a committed believer would likely be viewed as eccentric or a "legalist." We surely need to ask
God if He would mercifully send a great awakening before the flickering flame of testimony is uenched.
But we are not discouraged: Patti and I are so grateful to be in the Lord's work. To think He is willing to use the likes of us is surely a blessing. And, we have the privilege of serving with a committed and consecrated staff who are content to just serve God with no notice or acclaim.
We are truly blessed, and we all thank and praise our God for His faithfulness to us for these 25 years. God bless all of you who pray and give to help keep our humble work going.
