Peter Abamacov
This man is an incredible husband and father. Living in Chisanau, Moldova, I met Peter last year on a trip to the area. He is the closest thing to a brother I have ever known. Struggling to find work in a slow, if not non-existent economy, he is a gifted photographer and translator. There were many nights where he would guard the sanctuary door, while I cried out to God. And when I would emerge from the church, with red eyes and tear ridden cheeks, even if it was three in the morning, he was standing there, and would lean over and in his brusk Russian accent inquire, “you ok, sis?” My life would not be the same without the many early mornings we shared over bitter coffee and frozen hands in the small town of Bendery. His wisdom is biting and abrupt, kind and honest. He encourages me to be a better version of myself everyday. And he has become the Jimminy Cricket in my mind (of course, a little more intimidating than funny).
Gordon & Stella
This couple became my South African Mom and Dad. I knew that God was going to do something incredible when I met Gordon dressed up as Santa, and he offered to take my entire team to dinner one evening in Johannesburg. He didn’t know us any differently than the other million strangers vying for his attention, but as Fate and Jesus would have it, he extended a friendly hand and soon after we met his lovely wife Stella. We spent the holiday season learning about their incredible life, which has them running Bibles through the Iron Curtain, being arrested in a majority of the Eastern European nations, and spending over 25 years on the road as missionaries throughout Europe and Asia. They changed laws, most importantly the law that allows white Africans as well as white foreigners to adopt black native children. If you know someone who has adopted from any nation in Africa, Gordon and Stella are the reason it’s possible. Gordon is in the Guinness Book of Records for the longest sermon ever preached, and both of them prove that a life a missionary is never boring. But more importantly, it is never safe. I learned a whole heap from them and I am pleased to show you their beautiful faces!
A Rose and Her Sister
You may remember a story I wrote about in Malawi, where a woman came to receive healing for her sister Rose in the hospital. But in case you missed it, I will tell it again. In November 2010, I was going through a hospital in the Thyolo district in central Malawi. The hospital was basically a waiting room for death, as medication was neither available or helpful. I prayed for one particular woman named Rose, whose body was so swollen, it was as if I held a water balloon, and not a hand in my palm. We talked and prayed and shared with each other about life, and I begged God to save her. The doctors could not tell her what was wrong, and there was no treatment that they could offer Rose. So she quietly sat there, with her mother, and waited to die. About five hours later, on the dusty soccer field two hundred yards from the hospital, a woman approached me quickly and directly and stood in front of me. She stated simply and plainly, “I am here to be prayed over for my sister. She is sick and in the Hospital. If you pray for me, God said He would heal her.” At the moment I had no idea that this was the sister of Rose, but I reached out my hands and I prayed as she asked. She started to laugh, and go limp in front of me, eventually settling down on the grass in a puddle of giggles. As I was looking around trying to figure out what to do, she calmly got to her feet, shook my hand, said “Thank you, she is healed,” and left. I didn’t know what to say, or if I could believe her, but the next day she came by and told me that Rose was out of the hospital, and healed. It was then I realized that she was talking about my Rose, from the day before. My mouth fell open, and I understood that she had in faith received a healing that her sister could not physically come to receive. This blew up my box- you know, the box you try to put God in so you can understand Him. It’s one of my most powerful memories, and these two women will forever be my archetypal example of Love and Faith and Hope.
Edsel Redden
Who would have known a small town farm boy could not only completely change my life, but an entire Nation? Edsel has been working in Haiti for 25 years, running several development projects, so in March of 2010 it was not out of character for him to ask a complete stranger to accompany him to Leogone. That stranger was me, and five days after meeting him, I was on a plane with him and several doctors to go to photograph the aftermath of the January Earthquake. Edsel completely changed my world with his generosity and kindness. He currently splits his time between his home in Florida and his home in Haiti, with his wife Jayne. They help fund a school, a clinic and are now working with the University of Florida on sustainable food projects, that are used to feed countless Haitian children everyday. This man has taught me so much about giving, and loving and living as if every second were the last promised moment to you. You can read about and support his ministry here. I’ve never known some one so capable of extending a dollar. He will beat on a nickel until it becomes three dimes, I swear it. Oh, and this little girl? He saved her when she was born when her mother died in childbirth, by hodgepodging an oxygen mask out of a welding tank and a funnel. He visits her every time he goes back to Haiti.
