ADVICE - GOOD, NOT SO GOOD

With my interest and fully believing that God was leading me to serve as a missionary in the West Indies, I spoke with Rev. Elmer Thompson, one of the missionary speakers at the eight day (Sunday to Sunday) Missionary Conference which coincided with my graduation from Prairie Bible Institute.  I should say here that my parents, brother David and the Arnold Gingrich family of four drove out from Chatham, in one car, for my graduation and attended the missionary conference. No seat belts back then.  I road home with them, bringing the total to eight.

Anyhow, in conversation with Rev. Thompson, co-founder of the West Indies Mission (now Worldteam), I shared with him that I was interested in serving in the West Indies with WIM.  He said that he was encouraging prospective missionaries to pursue further education and earn a degree.  Prairie Bible Institute only gave a diploma and at that time did not grant any educational degrees.  He recommended that I consider looking at Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee and Columbia Bible College (now Columbia International University) in Columbia, South Carolina.  He indicated that both of these colleges accepted some of PBI's credits.  I sent for information from both of these schools and after looking and studying the information that I received, I applied and was accepted for the 1953 fall semester at CBC.

Upon arrival home from PBI that spring, I was able to secure a summer job at the Ontario Steel factory in Chatham.  I began my work there in May and much to the surprise of the summer students hired, our jobs were terminated the end of July.  That meant that I still had a month to go before going south to CBC.  I managed to get a job for the month of August at Blue Water Bible and Missionary Conference.  For a few summers the Sudan Interior Mission (now Serving In Mission) held its candidate school at Blue Water.  So in the month of August I interacted with some of the candidates, one of them being a classmate of mine at PBI.  We had graduated together back in April.  I also met some of the candidate school staff.

Some Blue Water staff and SIM candidates

When one of the SIM staff members heard that I was pursuing missions and was going to take further studies, he told me that I didn't need any further education.  "You have enough education.  Get going.  Get out to the field!"  Well, Elmer Thompson's advice was that I should pursue further education before applying to the mission and here this director said that I didn't need anymore.  "Just get going!"  I was confused.  What should I do?  Whose advice should I take?  Being anxious to serve God on the mission field I listened to the SIM leader.  When September came, I did not go to CBC.  What followed was confusion and disappointment.  Did I make a mistake in not going to Columbia?  What am I going to do now?  I was back home and without a job and not attending school.

That fall, Dad and I began attending the mid-week Bible study and prayer meeting at Emmanuel Baptist Church.  Rev. R. E. J. Brackstone was the pastor and a gifted Bible teacher.  Mom and Dad shared with me that they were thinking of going to the Baptist church and leaving the Alliance Tabernacle where they had been attending for three years, but were not members.  I decided that I would be the one to take the first step.  I joined Emmanuel Baptist Church. Mom and Dad never did leave the Alliance, but two or three years later became members of the Alliance Tabernacle.

Rev. Brackstone, the Baptist pastor, was good to me and immediately took me under his wings.  I went with him on a speaking engagement out of town and also with him on some visitation.  He asked if I would be interested in conducting a children's meeting.  That became a reality and one night each week I planned and conducted a children's meeting in the sanctuary of the church.  I had close to one hundred in attendance and it was a challenging and fun time for me.  I began to think that maybe I should pursue a children's ministry.  After all, I did not follow through on Mr. Thompson's advice and I was not interested in Africa and the S.I.M.  So I enrolled in the Child Evangelism Fellowship training session in Pacific Palisades, California.  I was accepted for the January 1954 session.  When January came, still confused, I didn't go.  

Rev. Brackstone said that there was a nucleus of interested folks in Wallaceburg, about 17 miles north of Chatham that was forming a Fellowship Baptist Church.  He thought that I would serve well there.  So he arranged for me to candidate.  I did.  While waiting for their reply, which Mr. Brackstone was so sure that I would be accepted, I received a letter from the Janz Quartet at Prairie Bible Institute asking if I would go to Three Hills, Alberta and join the PBI staff and work with them.  That appealed to me, but I was waiting for the Wallaceburg Baptist people to get back to me and I was hoping to serve as a pastor.  So I declined their offer.

About three months had passed since I preached in Wallaceburg and I had heard nothing.  I finally contacted them to see if they were interested in me or had hired someone else.  The answer that I received was that they felt they should have a married couple.  Well, now here I am more confused and frustrated then ever.  I didn't go to Columbia Bible College in South Carolina, I didn't go to CEF training in California, I didn't accept the Janz Quartet offer at PBI in Alberta and now I was turned down by the Wallaceburg group.  What should I do?

I came to the conclusion that maybe, just maybe, Rev. Thompson's advice was right after all.  So, I wrote to Columbia Bible College to see if they would give me a second chance.  Once again, I was accepted for the fall of 1954.  I learned that year that one needs to seriously evaluate and consider the pros and cons when a decision has to be made, whether there are differing opinions or not.  Many other decisions have come in the years following where I needed wisdom and guidance and prayer as to what way was the right way.  I learned a lesson, but I had learned a lesson the hard way.

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