Andrea and I were blessed greatly when we first moved to Pennsylvania with a place to live. Our church has a beautiful Prophet’s Chamber that we were able to call our home from early June until August. It was absolutely perfect for us newlyweds. Was it big? Definitely not. Was it luxurious? It seemed like it to us! It had two bedrooms, a washer and dryer, and easy access to the church kitchen. It was also very quiet–seven miles to the nearest town over 100. We loved every bit of it. It already had furniture, decorations, and appliances too. It was everything we needed and more.
As the summer was winding down, I knew that we were going to start looking for somewhere else to live. We were content in the Prophet’s Chamber, but I have this complex in my mind about not “overstaying your welcome.” I knew that Pastor would have let us stay there for as long as we wanted, but I also knew that they built the chamber for guest preachers and missionaries–not us. So, in late July, we began to keep our eyes open for places to rent. Andrea likes being around people–I do also, but I like peace and quiet sometimes too. So that means Andrea preferred to live in the town, and I preferred living in the country. It was during our home search that we discovered that Andrea is a “city-girl” and I am not that much of a “city-boy.” The country idea got shot down pretty quickly, though. It was usually twice as expensive, if not more, to rent in the country around here. We then started to look around Red Lion for an apartment. It seemed like we spent an immense amount of time in the newspaper, Craigslist, and driving around. Finally, in early August, we had found it!
On Charles Street in Red Lion was a nice duplex with two bedrooms, a little kitchen, a family room with lots of windows and a little back yard. It was definitely older and had some paint issues, but we knew that we could live there and be happy. We talked to the landlord for a while, and soon after told him we would like to rent the home from him. He was a good, honest Christian man that I think looked forward to us living there. We were overly excited too! He called Pastor Starr as a reference one day, checked our credit, and officially offered it to us; and we quickly accepted. We were thrilled that we would have our own home soon! However, I got a call back from our future landlord just an hour after we accepted. He sounded distraught and discouraged. We were soon to be also.
You see, he had a granddaughter who also posed interest in the same home even before we did. She had delayed giving an official answer for a few days, then we came into the picture. Just after we had accepted, she called her grandfather and said that she wanted it. I am thankful that I was not in his situation. I am not going to sit here and judge his decision; but out of necessity, he gave the home to her. He was very apologetic. He offered help to us in many ways–even inviting us out to dinner. But, no matter what he said, we were back at “square one.” All of that hope and excitement in us was crushed. I am proud of how Andrea handled it, even though I knew it hurt to have “the perfect place” in our hands, then all of the sudden, God took it away. I remember her asking me, “Why do you think God took it away?” She knew the answer, but just wanted it affirmed from me, I believe. “God must have something better for us.”
So, the search began yet again. Driving, driving through Red Lion and Dallastown; reading, reading the newspaper; and praying, praying that we would find where God would have us to live. About a week after the first place fell through, we saw a sign on East Main Street in Red Lion that said, “For Rent.” As normal, we called the number and talked to a man eating dinner. We found out that the rent was low, and it had three bedrooms and a lot of square footage. The next day, that landlord showed us the apartment. Honestly, it was a disappointment. It looked kind of old, strangely designed, and lots of useless space (which means a lot of natural gas in the winter!). We left thinking, “Thanks, but no thanks.” We also would not have been able to move in for a month. Glenn, this landlord, was also a Christian, but we just didn’t want this place. We walked down the stairs, and began the short walk to our car a little down-hearted, but still confident that God would give us what we needed. Just as we were opening the doors to our car, Glenn shouted at us and informed us of another apartment that he rents that was just a few blocks away. He offered to show it to us right then, but warned us that it was a little smaller and a little more rent. We thought, “Why not. We have nothing to lose.”
So we followed Glenn in his Toyota Tundra through an alley and to this other apartment. We walked up a long, single-flight stairwell to a simple white door in a turn-of-the-century building. We thought we had walked into a mansion. The place was bigger than we had imagined, had a lot of windows, and looked almost brand-new. It was everything we dreamed of and so much more. The only problem was cost, I thought. I asked him what it was, thinking it was going to be way more than we could afford. Andrea and I for those split-seconds held our breath. He told us a price that was even less expensive than the very first duplex we thought was perfect! We knew that this time we had walked into the perfect home for the Speckhals family. After Glenn told us the rate, without even thinking much, I told him we wanted it. He said that would be great under one circumstance: we had to be in the apartment within a week. Even better!!! We left so thrilled that God had found us just the right place.
Andrea and I were talking just a few days ago about our whole housing “drama” just over a month ago. Now we know the answer without a doubt of that question we had asked before: “Why do you think God took that first place away?” Because he wanted us to know that he was in control! We could try and look our hardest for the “perfect place;” but He wanted us to know that He was the only one in control, and that He was the only One who could bless. What a wonderful lesson we learned, and are still learning. I hope and pray that this is just the first step in trusting God more in our lives. Now, the problem was that we had ZERO furniture. Over the last month God has given us beautiful things to fill our little home with. Finally, I think we have a full home. Sure, we don’t have everything brand-new–but Andrea and I both like it like that. Here are a few pictures on our newly furnished abode.
Our library/hallway. The picture is taken from our bedroom. The angled thing is the stairwell to our attic. Straight ahead is the living room and kitchenOur living room taken from the library/hallway. Our spare bedroom is to the right.Our living room looking to the west. The library/hallway is to the left, and the kitchen is to the right.
I am a big fan of adventurous biographies: especially those of past missionaries. I am also unashamedly a Baptist. Therefore, Baptist missionary biographies are a real treat for me; mainly because good ones are few and far between. Of course, the most famous modern-day Baptist missionary is probably Adoniram Judson. I recommend reading a biography of his that I read in college called To the Golden Shore. The stories of other missionaries are great–especially John Patton, Hudson Taylor, Henry Martyn, and David Livingstone. However, each one of those men had something that kind of tainted my perspective on them when it came to church polity, the local church, soulwinning, and some doctrinal issues. They still are all great heroes in my mind, nonetheless.
On the other hand, I had very little to disagree with in a book that was recommended to me about a year ago. It truly changed my outlook on prayer, faith, and church-planting. Daktar: Diplomat in Bangledesh is an autobiography by Dr. Viggo Olsen about his conversion, call, and mission in East Pakistan (now called Bangledesh). Dr. Olsen grew up with a very intellectual education that denied the very existence of God. You may have even called he and his wife agnostic apologists. However, through the prayers of his wife’s parents, they were led to Christ under many miraculous circumstances. Viggo Olsen was trained to be an M.D. specialist in internal medicine. He was definitely on the high road to wealth in 1950’s America. God, however, had a different plan for his family. They surrendered to be medical missionaries to the poorest country on earth: East Pakistan. For the next few years of Bible and tropical disease training, his family served faithfully in their local church as teachers and soulwinners: never ceasing to bring people to hear their pastor preach the gospel.
They were sent by their church after deputation, and arrived on their field in the early 1960’s. He was not just the “typical” medical missionary. He believed whole-heartedly that the true way to heal men was to heal their soul: that was their first mission. Then they knew God did not want them to build some “rinky-dink” medical mission in the bush–they wanted to do it right! They built a modern hospital with dozens of beds for the people: rich or poor. The hospital was funded by churches all across the U.S. The best part: all under a some sense of a local church!
Over their years in the country, God led them through countless trials, physical persecutions by the Muslim majority, and tropical sickness. I would definitely say their ministry was a true success for God. I don’t want to re-write the whole book, but please consider reading it–not for college credit, education, or entertainment; but for you.
“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” Malachi 3:10
When I came back from Mexico, in the summer of 2008, it was not my choice to leave. I loved doing mission work down there with all of my heart, and it had been like living a dream! But God knew what He was doing, as always, and He brought me back for various reasons. I am very thankful now that He did, in His mercy! However, looking forward to the stewardship year of 2008-2009, back at Fairhaven Baptist Church, I determined that if I could not give my life to God in full time mission work, I wanted to give as much of my money earned in secular work back to the Lord. You see, that is the highest return on our dollars –investing in God’s Work! Also, I knew I would probably be married with in a year, and after that, the stewardship decisions would not really be up to me, but to my husband, so this was my last chance to “prove” God personally in this matter of giving, and therefore I wanted it to be a great Stewardship year!
Well, as I listened to message after message on giving (if you live at Fairhaven, you know August is Stewardship month!), I prayed about what God wanted me to give. Finally the Stewardship Banquet came, and I wrote down what I believed God wanted me to give that year. As the months passed, I began to give that amount each month. However, shortly after making this committment to God, my hours at work dropped severely, and they were not going to increase any time soon. Work was just very slow, and not much could be done about it except to pray. I had money saved up from the year before though, and still lived with my parents, so I was not struggling. Time passed, and my hours were still very low. In November, I was engaged to Dustin Speckhals, who is now my husband. I began to realize then, that I seriously needed more work or another job because now I had a wedding to pay for! I started to fill out job applications and pass out resumes in earnest. First I thought, well, I have a college degree, and I am bilingual so I should be able to get a job teaching Spanish, or translating. But those avenues yielded no fruit. I was really searching and praying now. Again I thought, at least I could get an office job, but still nothing happened for all of the applications and resumes I passed out.
I remember commenting to my mom, “Well, everyone in Northwest Indiana knows that I am looking for a job, because my applications and resumes are all over the area!” And she, as moms are so apt, continued to encourage me, with so much faith that I would find the right job. You know, moms are perhaps the biggest fans we have! For all of the teasing they may receive for babying us or hovering over us, you must admit that when you are discouraged, or make a big mistake, or just really make a mess of things, they never stop believing in you, and they never stop loving you!
So, I kept ‘working and praying’ about my job situation. Now my money in the bank was running out. I knew that if God told me to give this much, He MUST provide that much to give, and beyond that, He MUST provide for my other needs as well. I didn’t want extra money or anything special, but He had to provide for my needs. God’s very character demands it! And He would –in His timing –after He finished a work of humility in me!
Finally, I came to the point where I said, I am nobody, and if I have to, I will work as a telemarketer at Americall. (That was humbling!…Especially after graduating from college with honors, and working in missions for a year! But then again, who am I to think I deserve this job, and that one is below me?) So I obtained an application for Americall. After all, this was encouraging –Americall never refuses anyone! But that would not work for my schedule until after the first of the year, so I went further to say, if I have to, I will fill out an application for Arby’s and work in a fastfood restaurant. I just need a job!
After breaking down my pride little by little in that way, and once I reached an end of myself, God blessed in a miraculous way! One day my mom called from the church office, and said, “Andrea, a lady just called the church looking for a nanny for her two children. Here is her phone number if you want to call her. ” I called Katie Deporter, and set up an interview for eleven o’clock the next day. We met, and I started soon after. I have no doubt in my mind that God Himself gave that job to me. He placed me right there at 1 Woodland Trail, Ogden Dunes, Indiana, and before long, I would discover the reason why.
I will not forget however, as I interviewed with Katie, right in her dining room, with Ella and Harrison (her two children) there with us, we finished up the interview, and Katie said to Ella (five years old), “What do you think?” And Ella looked down and drew her hand back, and threw out a big “Thumbs Up”! And that was my introduction into the amazing world of Ella and Harrison! And for those of you who have never stepped foot into that fantastic place, I shall share some glimpses in with you, but at a later date!
Ella and I on my wedding day!…Soon to come: a picture of the one and only Harrison!
By early August of 2007, Andrea was teaching in Mexico, and I knew perhaps the most difficult year in college was going to be my junior year. A small part of me had a difficult time returning to college without Andrea there. Our little relationship had grown in the few months we had been together. We communicated a few times a week via a Vonage telephone line, and after her being in Mexico just a month, I felt like I had a little connection to that place because of her.
One of the important things to all returning dormitory students at Fairhaven is who your roommates are going to be for the year. I mean, you are going to be living with that person for eight months or so! I remember calling friends just before college to see who they were with, and then I remember hearing who mine were…
Count It All Joy
Dustin Speckhals, Julian Balatbat, and Nathan Rader—those were the names on the dorm assignment list for Room #2: Ed Weimer Men’s Dormitory. Julian was someone on the basketball team with me who I knew at the time just a little, and Nate was a missionary kid from Vallegrande, Bolivia in South America who came to study for a year after finishing his church’s Bible Institute on the field. What friends they turned out to be, and continue to be to this day! I could not have had better friends and roommates.
Like always, the fall semester began with the Stewardship Banquet and Fall Push. College orientation was in the brand new dining hall for the first time that year, but something was a bit unusual. Mrs. Leslie, Andrea’s mother and the long time Dean of Women at Fairhaven, was feeling sick and was not able to attend the orientation. From what I remember, she continued to not feel well for the next week, and went to the hospital on September 11 to find out what was wrong. That night, Andrea called me with a saddened and heavy heart: her mom had cancer that tended to be terminal. For the next year and a half, she battled that cancer. I know that the Leslie family’s life was changed from then on; for the better and to the Glory of God. For her battle with cancer, Mrs. Leslie gave numerous testimonies of how God had worked revival in her heart. I also knew that Andrea was in Mexico, and would have a little harder time with it compared to the rest of her family. God would certainly work in the coming months through answered prayer and biblical miracles.
I don’t remember too much else from that September, except for a smooth Zoo Day (which is always a blessing and a half!) and a severe drop in our bus’s attendance after the campaign. God would change that, though. By late October, it seemed as if our bus had hit the doldrums. No new families were being contacted, and spirit of the kids was dropping at the same time. It was about that time I remember hearing a sermon on simple faith that God can do anything. We had hit the low point in early November when a family that helped on our bus was scheduled to bring jello cups for a treat. They told us on Saturday that they had made 50 cups. We laughed to ourselves and said, “We’ll never have that many…maybe 30 riders at the most!” I believe God was building our trust in Him. That Sunday, “out of no where” 53 came to church! From then on, our bus never looked back, praise God! People were being saved and baptized, as well as the blessing of good attendance. I loved seeing God do that, and I truly enjoyed my Junior year in southwest Gary on Bus #101!
The Candy Sale at Fairhaven Baptist Academy is something to behold. Twice a year, preschoolers all the way up to twelfth graders try to sell chocolate to win a few rewards here and there and help keep school tuition low (amongst the lowest in the nation in private Christian schools, I believe). Those in college may help a family in the academy if they wish—hey, and you get a day off of school too! I was able to help one staff member’s family all four years of college; so that would be eight times total, I think. It is a joy to go out with a six or seven year old for a day and help them meet there goal. This may sound crazy, but I even learned some things from it too!
In mid-November, we had a mission agency representative (that most of us knew) in to preach a couple of chapel services. I have always loved his preaching, and I would say he is one of my favorite preachers also. After one message, he asked for a couple of college men to accompany him to a church to help him present the work of his board. It happened to be a free day for me, so I asked if I could go with him. It also happened to be one of the most profitable times for me in college. Ironically, the same mission agency that he was representing was also the one that hired Andrea to be the teacher for their language school in Mexico. It was a four-hour one way trip to that church in northern Michigan; but the time flew by. The representative, another college student, and I talked about missions basically the whole time. We spoke of David Livingstone, Adoniram Judson, and many others. He inspired me to read more missionary biographies, one of which is a favorite of mine now: Daktar: Diplomat to Bangledesh. It all happened on my birthday too—what a gift!
My third year of the Christmas Lights activity came in early December, like usual. Five friends and I ventured to Gino’s East of Chicago for a ‘delicioso’ version of the famous Chicago deep dish pizza. I had no idea that at that same corner of Gino’s East—18 months from then I would be making wonderful memories with my wife on our honeymoon taking pictures and eating (of course!). We had a great time together with just five guys. We got to see some $800 dollar a night hotel rooms, drink a way-overpriced coffee at Starbucks, and watch the snow fly of course! Some of the students that year were a bit disappointed, though, because the activity was cut short by an hour so we could have dessert and some entertainment back at school. That was fun, but I think we all liked the time in Chicago better…so we switched back to normal the next year.
Christmas Break of my junior year was full of memories. Andrea had four and a half weeks off from school, so she was able to fly back from Mexico and spend Christmas at home. She came and spent a few days with my family also in Michigan, where we went sledding, ate at the world-famous Zendher’s of Frankenmuth, MI, and got to know each other a lot more. On the day after Christmas, I went with Andrea’s family to take Mrs. Leslie to the hospital for her fourth chemotherapy treatment. Before that, we spent time walking around downtown Chicago and enjoying the Christmas season. What a wonderful time that was to spend with the family!
A Christmas Day surprise: the moment I walked in the door
The second semester began two weeks before Andrea was to fly back to Mexico…so for that time, I was not a ‘single’ college student! During the rest of the semester, we were apart! Andrea flew back in the middle of January, and I knew I would miss her even more than before (yes, I know, I tried not to be too ‘mushy’!). However, I still had the two greatest roommates I could ask for. We all got along GREAT. I don’t remember a time we got into a real argument. I was a room captain, but never had to use my room captain position over them. They followed college guidelines, worked hard, had a great attitude, and were truly seeking after God. We enjoyed going out places together too…whether it was George’s Gyro Spot, a Wal-Mart trip, a hike in the dunes, playing racquetball, or just hanging out in the room (which had to be stopped sometimes; we would get going and never get anything done!). Then we had our “fourth roommate” that year—Tyler Brock from Rapid City, SD. He didn’t sleep in our room, but was basically there during any other free time!
Now before you think we are weirdo's all wearing the same shirt, think again. This was a hilarious coincidence that happened: one Sunday evening after church, we all came back to the dorm to change and play basketball, I think. None of us knew that we had the same shirts, and none of us were in the room while the other was changing either. Eventually, Julian, Nate, Tyler, and I ended up talking in the room, when Tyler started laughing hysterically (the “Tyler Laugh” as we called it) and said we were all wearing the same shirt. We thought that was funny, so Tyler took this picture of my roommates and me.
Another goofy thing we did that year was celebrate Cinco de Mayo. None of us are Mexicans, but we all had some connection to Mexico, we thought (Dustin’s girlfriend was in Mexico, Julian looks Mexican [he’s really Filipino], and Nate talks like he’s Mexican [he spoke Spanish fluently as a missionary in Bolivia]). So we celebrated Cinco de Mayo by wearing the colors of the Mexican flag on our respective ties during classes that day: a red, a white, and a green one.
I mentioned in a previous post that I was able to be on Fairhaven’s intercollegiate basketball team all four years in college. I definitely was not the best player on the team, or even close to it. I guess my motto was “Leave it all on the court.” Put your all into practice, put even more into the game, and work hard. Our team was never “great,” and we knew we never would be overflowing with talent—we were preacher boys, not all-stars! We always tried to put up a good fight on the court. We never wanted to leave feeling we had not given our all. Our coach often emphasized the idea of “riding the bubble,” which I learned is not just a basketball principle. You need to make the opponent think you are crazy; by that he meant dive for every loose ball, be super-aggressive, and show strength—but never to the point where you lose your head, make stupid fouls, or get a technical foul. Ride the bubble of “insanity” as much as you can, but never pop that bubble. My junior year of playing was the most exciting. We had a good number of close games, a good record, and the “Revenge of the Snowman” game (a story for yet another post!). Sometimes I didn’t like how my coaches pushed me, but now I realize why. I believe that their pushing me not only made me a better player, but a better person also.
Wow, the ’07-’08 year was packed! For Spring Break in 2008, I was able to go to Mexico and visit Andrea. I loved the time I spent there, and appreciated everyone’s hospitality to me. Everything was eye-opening and extremely interesting to me. I loved learning about their culture and even the language some. God used that trip in my life to give me more of burden for foreign missions also, on top of getting to see Andrea.
I returned in early April after eight days south of the border. When I returned, I realized how fast the semester had gone. We were already in the last several weeks of school, and the Preaching Conference was in just two weeks. Hebrew History was probably the class with the most work. We were required to outline over the course of two semesters the entire books of the Bible from Genesis to Esther. For most of us, we had over 100 pages a piece, with some much more. The Kings Project (I Samuel to II Chronicles) ended up being the most dreaded piece of the whole puzzle. By the end of the year, however, we all gained a lot of knowledge from Hebrew History.
Overall, my grades were doing fine, but I know now that my spiritual life was lacking then. Thank God, Preaching Conference came right when I needed it most. God greatly worked on my heart for the few months following in areas mainly focusing around always putting Him first: in devotion, in service, and in prayer. God worked through His Word and revived me during a critical time: I was beginning to realize how soon I would be done with school and how serious I had to be about serving Him after college. It would never come “naturally” because of what I had learned so far in college. It had to come by putting the Lord first in EVERYTHING. During our end-of-the-year college activity at Turkey Run State Park, God also worked on my heart. During a testimony time in the evening, and then the bus trip home talking with other students, I was convicted about just how serious I had to be in order to be effective for our Savior. I was on a spiritual high coming out of college, and it was not about to stop either.
A few other male students and I were invited to go with an evangelist from Fairhaven to basically knock on doors for twelve days straight. I was able to take the days off of work and head up to London, Ontario, Canada. God put a serious burden in my heart during that time as well. Half-way through our trip, I began to LOVE knocking on doors and witnessing to people with a new passion. It was a true joy to see a few people saved during that church’s revival meetings, and know that God was all in it. With all that, I stayed with a family that was about as hospitable as can be. The whole church was a blessing to my heart during that short time.
God had prepared my heart and life during the last few months to fully surrender to His will. I believe with all of my heart that I would not be where I am today if it was not for the revival God worked in my heart that spring and summer. There I was, heading into my last year of college. Some of the biggest decisions of my life were ahead of me in the coming year: marriage, a place to serve, and finishing strong. It was to be a fruitful and exciting senior year to come.
