Philippians 3:8 “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them butdung, that I may win Christ,”
While we are never told in the Bible to win anything but Christ, Winning Christ is winning everything. Not winning Christ is loosing everything. Even if you win at everything else. Actually, that verse drove me to the mission field. I was trying to sell a car, and this verse came to my mind.. that is why it is important to read the Bible daily.
Matthew 8:36: For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Introducing the PureHeartChildren’sFund’s new soccer team! The name for the team is the Winners! Funny story how it came about. 3 supernatural miracles happened to make this team and this name.
To begin with, for the time being anyway, please keep in mind that everything in the states is much easier to do than in Nicaragua. It could change overnight, but for now it is.
It all started last January, When I was told my cancer was back – and needed 2 ms of radiation therapy in America, immediately! The same week if possible. And then hormone therapy, meaning leg cramps!!! (the horror the horror!)
When I was told that, I stopped breathing. Literally, it was like having a cooler of ice water poured over my head unexpectedly. I panicked. I was in a great place with the Lord, to a very dark place within nanoseconds.
I left Metropiltan Hospital staggering and caught a random cab back to my house. (Winnie was tied up with her sick mom, so she couldn’t pick me up). My hands were trembling, my faith was shaken.
Within a few messenger texts and fb posts I had 3 options of where I could go in the states. I have learned to jump on what’s offered. It’s God’s way of guiding me.
If someone needs to pray about it. That’s fine, they can get back to me within a minute or two. Maximum. Anymore than that is just looking for an easy way to let me down. God is real. He exists. Ask Him. He’ll tell you within a minute. If they have to think about it, no thank you (unless they need to ask a spouse of course, then it’s a couple minutes more). But not weeks, God’s not wishy washy.
My three options were, 1. My high school friend Bob McArthur, who immediately offered me a place in his house in upstate New York (but not near a hospital). 2. My good friend Jason Sparks, in Tennessee, who offered me a house and a car but a long drive to the hospital, and with radiation therapy (leg cramps) you usually can’t drive after a few weeks. 3. Last but not least, my little missionary brother Jacob Johnson, who found a shelter for homeless veterans that would put me up for two months, but no transportation. Other than that I had absolutely no other options.
Everything was so complicated. I went from a routine check up to having my blood turn to ice water in 104 degree heat. A boring routine thing went from 0-100 mph in 1/5second. From idle chatter and joking to logistics, buying airplane tickets, (with no money to buy them) medical appointments (which is 1,000 times more complicated in the states than down here). I was calling and texting everyone I could think of for the hour that the taxi driver took to drive me home.
Great thing about being a missionary in the same city for 30 years is every one knows you. The taxi driver was one of my kids from the chureca. (The city dump of Managua). The taxi driver recognized me first and told me. We hugged, prayed and had a little chat. I gave him a tract (zapatitos. He laughed, because he remembered it when I gave him the same one as a little kid).
I got into the house. Told Winnie the horrible news of my cancer coming back. She didn’t take it well, of course. Ate supper. Wanted to chill in the rocker to cool down in the night breeze. When I reached for my cell phone, another splash of ice water poured over my head! It occurred to me that a few hours ago, I had left my cell phone in the taxi!!! I didn’t remember his name (we have ministered to well over 20,000 people since we started here 3 decades ago).
Winnie was a trooper. We dialed my cell #repeatedly for an hour. My credit cards, my residency cards, my drivers license, all my identity was all in a wallet glued to my phone. All my banking info was only obtained through the lost smart phone because I had VPN on it. I had no way to access anything and I needed to be buying plane tickets asap and stuff like that. Finally around 7 Winnie got a hold of him. The taxi drive said his shift was over in an hour and he’d come back with it at our house around 8 pm. I gave him an hour. I called my number at 9 pm. No answer. I called at 10, no answer. I called at 11, DISCONNECTED!!!! I assumed the worse. I just barely contained the stress.
I called the police. In America, the police can find the phone, see if the cc was being used, stuff like that. They said that they couldn’t do anything, but to go to the police station.
I told Winnie to stay in the house and I drove to the police station, getting there around midnight. When I got there all the lights were off and the prisoners were all yelling (power outage). I got out of my car, and the cops were already gathering around me. I told them I lost everything with my cell phone that the cabbie stole, even my drivers license. They immediately arrested me (I hate it when that happens, 3rd time now in Nicaragua) and worse yet, they wanted to confiscate my car (which is a long winded pain in the rear end). All because I was driving without a license. I don’t bribe, never bribe, but I probably would have in that moment *except we only had about 3 dollars to our name just then haha. God was protecting me from sinning. Also He wanted to show me something. God always has more than what we want or need, if we trust in Him. I praise God today because I couldn’t bribe them. I was cooked. I said ‘God, I know if you get me out of this mess, I will know you are going to heal me from cancer’.
While they were processing me, I felt they were warming up to me. I gave them some tracts and told them about Jesus’ great love for them. I asked the chief if he could call my wife to see if my license showed up. Graciously he called Winnie but no luck. They finished the paperwork to lock me up. I think one of the prisoners recognized me and started preaching to the other prisoners a pretty nice sermon. He wanted to make me feel better, and it worked, I was kind of looking forward to get inside the cell to see who it was.
Just then Winnie called the police, from his caller ID. My taxi driver came back! Yayyyyy taxi driver!!! If I was in the house when he came I would have given him a great big kiss!!! By now the cops liked me, and they were all happy for me. They personally escorted me back home!
Isaiah 42:7 KJV: To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
That was miracle #1. Release from jail
Then I found someone in the states that would help me with everything. Including the flight, help with appointments, transportation, everything and this family lived an extremely packed and busy life, but they fit me in and made me feel perfectly at home. 0 stress. I THINK they actually enjoyed having me. They want me to come back even! They were my Mormon friends, Tiffany and Steve Hansen in Salt Lake City.
Well, getting the doctors appointments turned out to be 1,000 times worse than the 1,000 times worse than Nicaragua. We were bewildered about what to do. Finally one oncologist radiation doctor said, ‘look, I’ll start only IF you get me another PSA test’. Ok!!! No problem. Got the psa test, and the doctor came out with a sad look on his face. My heart sunk. He said ‘I don’t know how to tell you this’… Tiffany and I both gulped simultaneously, then he continued ‘what are you doing here??? you Sissy! Go home! You don’t have cancer. Your psa is perfect!!!’ Tiffany started to cry with relief, but I knew I was going to be healed.
God showed me He was going to deliver me from cancer just like He delivered me from jail a couple weeks earlier. Tiffany said, ‘i rolled my eyes when you said you were going to be healed. I thought you were being just another evangelical religious fanatic.’ While I hate being tied to religion, and titles like ‘evangelical’ make me squirm, I AM a Jesus fanatic, that’s for sure.
Psalm 30:2 O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.
That was Miracle #2. Released from cancer
A week after I got back to Nicaragua, I called the police chief. We had become friends. I was just checking in on him as a friend. Turns out he was in an accident and broke his hand. He was miserable. He came by, literally groaning in pain. We prayed, and he left. A week later he came back and said, ‘God healed my hand!’ It had some scarring but no cast. I was shocked. But I shouldn’t have been. I am so used to God answering prayers that I am shocked when He doesn’t.
So now the police chief is coming to our English/discipleship class in Fridays when he can make it. But he also has a police soccer league on Sundays that he runs. It came up in one English class so now the boys from my English class are going there with Julio and Eric as a soccer team. We voted on the name (I told them it had to be in English) and they choose the Winners. No one knew of the name, they just picked it out of the blue. I almost fainted.
It had been on my mind to use Uncle Jim Winner’s name more, but I kept forgetting even though my cousins Rebecca & Jim Winner are faithful donors. So the teams name is after my late Uncle Jim Winner, without whom, nothing would be here in Barrio Santa Isabella. (We live in ‘the Winner Home’ and have our school there, but I don’t say it often in my newsletters because of branding. I named our building after him because his daughter Becky and his wife Donna gave me the money to buy the property where the Winner home is. Uncle Jim also gave me the money to buy Winnie’s and my first home in Nicaragua where we started Calvary Chapel Managua. It still is part of Calvary Chapel Managua. Uncle Jim Winner also donated the money to buy the neighboring lots of our home and to pay for the construction for the Calvary Chapel Christian School, and for the construction of the 3 story Calvary Chapel Managua in Barrio Santa Ana. He also bought the farm and paid for the construction of the orphanage where WEGO ministries is in Dolores Jinotepe.
Uncle Jim invented ‘the club’, that red thing people put in their steering wheels. It made him a millionaire. Uncle Jim taught me how to bless everyone that I can in the name of Jesus, and to treat my worst enemies, as royalty. Like Jesus did. Great company to be around, friend as well as my Uncle Jim, who is in heaven now.
The name ‘the Winners’ is actually a miracle because the kids knew nothing about the name of our home and nothing about Uncle Jim. Nothing about Uncle Jim’s last name. But God does
Isaiah 43:1 – But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
Miracle # 3. God reminding me to remember the great things Jim Winner did for me personally, WEGO, Calvary Chapel Managua and PureHeartChildren’sFund
ALL THREE MIRACLES ARA A DIRECT RESULT OF A BAD REPORT! Praise God for bad reports!
These pictures of our soccer team are all ex enanos from PureHeartChildren’sFund . All are english/ discipleship class students. They are all enormous and very talented. Still building the team. Gooooooo Winners!
We love serving the Lord in Nicaragua. Thanks Jesus, Prayer Warriors, Donor and Uncle Jim!
PureHeartChildrensFund.org
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Proverbs 3:27
