Watched Over By My Heavenly Father by Joachim (Joe) Stephan

In an earlier account I spoke of my yearning to “hear” the voice of God. That experience caused me to search for other people who shared my desire to come into a more intimate contact with our Creator. It was only a few months after my experience that I learned of a Christian group living in Montgomery, Alabama who believed that God speaks today and who believed in an open canon of scriptures.  That church is known today as the Community of Christ. I was stationed at Maxwell Air Force Base at that time. That church really appealed to me and I started to associate myself with them. I loved listening to what they called “testimonies” of their encounter with our Heavenly Father.  But that association did not last long. Being a member of the United States Air Force, I found myself within two months on a troop ship on my way to Japan. I served initially in Japan and during that time I soon made contact with members of the church group there under the leadership of Carl Crum, a High Priest in the church. The group met in Tokyo every two weeks to worship and fellowship. We met in a Quonset hut in downtown Tokyo that the military had converted into a house of worship. Different faiths were assigned their turn in using it for their worship. In his professional life Brother Carl Crum was assigned to the US Embassy in Tokyo.  After I became a new member of the mission I spent many hours being taught by Brother Crum and his wife in their home.

In December 1954 I was baptized by him in a Seventh Day Adventist Church in Tokyo. The church had been kind to allow us the use of their baptismal font. He told me that I was the first member of the church to be baptized in Japan. After becoming a church member I took every opportunity to meet with the church members and also to study on my own. I loved hearing their stories. I enjoyed their warm friendship. Being so far from home we were a close knit family. I was present when one of my Air Force friends - Les Cunningham - married a beautiful Japanese bride – Etseko.  We never know how our brothers and sisters in the faith can influence our lives. In Les’s case – he became responsible years later for a major change in my scientific studies at The Ohio State University.

But in 1955 while still serving in Japan I was unexpectedly transferred to Taiwan or “Formosa” as it was called then – some 1,376 miles away. Our mission was secret then and our transfer from Japan occurred within hours – overnight in fact.

When our church group met the following Sunday, I was found missing. When at subsequent Sunday meetings I continued to be absent the group begun to place inquires with my squadron at Tachikawa AFB.  When that failed to bring any results, Brother Crum made inquiries at church headquarters in Independence, Mo. The church finally placed an inquiry in the Herald - all to no avail. A young man had come to Japan, was baptized there, worshipped and fellowshipped with the members of the mission but then mysteriously disappeared without a trace. That disturbed and saddened my church family in Japan.

But Joachim or “Joe” as he is commonly called knew where he was but he could not tell his church friends about it... He spent his time assisting the National Chinese Army in the field of Radio Electronics that he had been trained for: He often traveled to different locations of the beautiful, some 245 miles long tropical island to advise the Chinese in the construction, maintenance and use of their latest radio equipment sites. He had been assigned to a unit called MAAG which stood for “Military Assistance Advisory Group” which operated out of Taipei and consisted of members of all military services. Taiwan is a stunningly beautiful island. It was a pleasure to serve there and to work with the wonderful national and Taiwanese peoples.

My final assignment was in the Pescadores Island located between Taiwan and the mainland China. But I had periodic opportunity to return to Taipei and to Japan for personal and military purposes.

During one of my visits to the MAAG compound I intended to send a package with my belongings to the United States where my wife to be was waiting for my eventual return. It involved a package of about 20 x 20 x 25 inches that I carried to the military post office there. When I arrived there was a long line already waiting. I grumbled inside because I loathed standing in line. I have often remarked that living in Germany during the war I had spent half of my life standing in line. So I put the package on the ground and asked the soldier who had lined up behind me to “kick” my package forward as the line moved to the post office window. He promised that he would. I left to buy film at the PX and other items.

When I returned my package had made considerable progress thanks to my friend in line. But I also saw another person – a civilian in a white rain coat – standing beside it. When I arrived he looked at me with seemingly great interest. He finally asked me: “Is this your package, airman? Is this your name on the package?”

I nodded, wondering what he was driving at. His immediate answer was: “I am Gordon Stewart Wight and live with my family here in Taiwan as a technical employee for the US government.  I think you need to come with me because there is more going on here than you and I can comprehend right now.

I did not understand what he was driving at but politely followed him to his car chauffeured by a Chinese national.  We drove to his home in Taipei just a few miles away and on the way he told me an astonishing story:

He told me that he had been sitting in his living room that day when he felt driven to go to the post office. He asked his wife Maxine if there was a need to mail or to pick something up there. She did not think that there was any reason for him to go to the post office. However her husband insisted that he had to go to the post office and to do so now. She responded by reminding him that it normally required a two hour wait to obtain a chauffeur and a car. He insisted nevertheless that she call for a vehicle. They were both astounded when a car arrived ten minutes later. Stewart found himself let off at the MAAG compound, wandering aimlessly in front of the post office. He saw the long line in front of the building and tried to cross it to get to the other side. In the process he tripped over an object on the ground.  With increasing amazement he read my name on the return address of the package. He recognized that name. He had seen it in a church publication – the Saints Herald. He could not believe when I returned a short time later that the package belonged to me and that that was my name on it.

I soon learned that Stewart was a very spiritual man, a High Priest in the church and it became obvious to me that the Lord had used him to answer the prayers of all the Saints who wanted to know what had happened to me. He talked to me about his urging to come to the post office that day with tears rolling down his cheeks.

Stewart and Maxine influenced my spiritual life in profound ways. They had four handsome children to whom I became a “big brother” every time I had the opportunity to visit their home. Maxine taught at the Chinese/American High School and participated in diplomatic/social functions to which she had been routinely invited. She involved me in those activities too. The Wight family became my role model of what a good, Christian family should be. I was raised by good God fearing parents but as long as I lived with them they fought bitterly and often. I witnessed one of those unfortunate events when I was only five years old and I resolved then and there that my family life would not be like that. I want to reassure the reader that my parents cared for me and ensured my safety in extremely difficult and dangerous times. But to this day I am aware that God sent me to the Wight family so that I could learn to model my future family after theirs. They helped lay the foundation for a family centered upon our Heavenly Father and the loving teachings of His son Jesus Christ.

I may have been out of sight for my new found brothers and sisters in the vast oriental geography, but my Heavenly Father knew exactly where I was. More important – He knew exactly what I needed at this stage of my life.

My Story by Joachim (Joe) Stephan

God speaks today. That is my witness.  In all my life I never doubted that God is. But there came a time when I yearned for a very personal contact with him. That time came when I urgently needed to have Him touch me.

I was born in Eastern Germany in 1933 two months after Adolph Hitler assumed power as dictator of Germany. I was a witness to many of the tragedies that befell my birth country but it was only in later years after I had become an adult that I understood more fully the events that affected my life and that of millions of peoples in Europe at that time.  It was when the war was over that I became aware that we lived only some twenty miles from the extermination camp Auschwitz. And it was then that I understood the meaning of the words my father whispered to my mother when he said that he had been some five miles from Auschwitz when he could smell the flesh (of the Jewish victims) burning.

My parents saw to it that I was raised in a strict Catholic environment.  Attending church and saying my prayers was part of my daily routine. But attending church and saying prayers were not only a discipline but were also driven by fear that was part of our daily lives. Although religious education was not a part of our education in school, praying to God for protection from harm and death came readily whether we prayed at home or in church.  In our churches then we had standing room only. We sang and prayed with fervor that God would protect us and our loved ones.  After all – in September of 1939 the war practically started in our back yard.

At first our armies appeared to be very successful in conquering much of Europe. But the time came when we found ourselves invaded by the Russians and Poles in January of 1945. Now our fear and anxiety level became even more intense.  Being German now became a great liability and it was not until we managed to escape to areas occupied by the Western allies that we were free to live a less hazardous life – yes even to speak the German language which had become “off limits” under the foreign occupation.

From 1946 to 1950 we lived peacefully in western Germany under occupation by British and American governance. I was free to continue my high school education. It was in 1950 that my world wonderfully changed when I was given the opportunity to go to the United States of America as an exchange student. I thought that the people in America would hold a grudge toward my countrymen – after all it was only five years after the war ended in which thousands of Americans died or were wounded. Instead of hatred we found only friendliness and warm acceptance by the American people.

It was that acceptance that caused me to want to become a citizen of this wonderful country. I lived initially on the farm of my sponsor but then decided to join the US Air Force.  Now going to church and praying was no longer a priority during the years when I became an adult.  I knew that God was out there somewhere but I no longer had the need to speak to Him urgently and fervently as I did when I feared for my life. But then I complicated my life by falling in love with a young woman also in the USAF. At first, with her it seemed that I found myself in paradise, but when she, after only a few months, expectantly rejected my love for her I was deeply crushed. Now again, I found myself turning to God but with intensity I never felt before. I had never doubted the existence of God – to me God and what the bible said he is was always a fact. But now I had a burning need to know Him more intimately.

I was no longer satisfied with praying to Him which seemed to me a one-way communication. Now it seemed to me that I was talking on a telephone from which the ear piece had been removed. I spoke but I could not hear him.

In my seeking I went to my chaplain to ask him for help. He almost angrily advised me that I should accept God’s voice on faith. I left him disappointed.  Other Christians gave me well-meaning advice to open the bible to receive my answers. There was a dusty bible in our barracks but I did not receive the answer from it either. I joined a meditative society that taught me meditative practices. I read that Benjamin Franklin had been a Rosicrucian also.  But it is near impossible to meditate in a noisy barracks occupied by 60 other men. So I found myself often at night, outside looking up at the stars because somehow I connected the presence of God with the starry heavens.

I spent some six months restlessly reaching out to God. And so it was that I stood on the second story balcony of the barracks that was my home at Maxwell Air Force Base located at Montgomery, Alabama. It was February 1954, a cold starry night. Somehow I related the magnitude and power of Him with the starry canopy above me. The sky was very clear and the stars above me sparkled brightly. I reached out for the steel bars of the balcony and pleaded with God. I wanted Him to speak to me more than ever.

I gripped the cold steel bars of the railing before me and looked intently to the shiny star canopy above me. I spoke silently within me, “God, if you really are – why don’t you ever answer!”

There was no reply. So urgently I pleaded again, “God – if you really are – why don’t you ever answer!!”

I stood there in silence. There came no answer. So a third time – almost angrily – I hissed between my teeth, my eyes closed this time, “God, if you really are – why don’t you ever answer!!!”

I heard a voice behind me “I am with you – wherever you are!”

I spun around to see who stood behind me. There was no one.

But then I heard the same voice again. It came from around me – from within me – I could not tell, “I am with you wherever you are!”

And then it seemed as if I was standing near a wall or a fence that had a split in it and for a fraction of time I saw His light! And then He was gone. And the words formed themselves in me, “Imagine He was there all the time and I did not know it! “

I stumbled along the platform behind the barracks where I had been standing: “Over and over I repeated “Imagine He had been there all the time and I did not know it! And I remember the joy – no the euphoria that flooded over me as I repeated the recognition “Imagine he had been there all the time and I did not know it!”

Inside the large stone and brick barracks structure were my comrades going noisily about their affairs – laughing, some cursing, some showering, and some telling stories – my joy flooded over me to a degree that ignored what was going on around me.

I had a hard time going to sleep that night. I was covered in goose pimples every time I recounted what had just happened to me. The next day was a Saturday. So when I awoke many of my comrades were still sleeping in the double decker bunk beds. I looked around slowly. I was friends with most them. But I was also aware that some the men were no favorites of mine. To say it straight forward: I deeply resented them for one reason or another. But strangely – that morning – I had a warm feeling toward them. I thought “these are my brothers “.

That seemed very strange to me when the night before I had loathed them. And the awareness formed itself in me that the experience the night before had filled me with a love that only He could have given me. And I remembered: “I am with you wherever you are”.  I had finally heard His voice. I had for the first time in my life been filled with His love. And that love had changed me. I was again overcome with euphoria and covered in goose pimples.

The feeling remained with me for a period of several weeks.  I loved recalling the experience of that night. But slowly it faded – not from my memory but from the intensity of that wonderful feeling that had come with it.

That experience changed me. I still love to remember it. Often I would love to relive it. But the least I can do today is to recount it to others.

When I was told the story of the Restoration for the first time I had no trouble accepting it. God speaks today! That is the story of the Restoration.  And that is my story!

God's Spirit Works in Many Ways by Judy Gardner

I started studying the book of Acts in February so when I was asked if I would write a blog based on the scripture about Pentecost and the Holy Spirit descending on the disciples as they began their ministry, I thought what a coincidence. But now I know the Holy Spirit directed me to study the book of Acts at this time for a reason.

A group of Galileans learned languages of other countries and that is what we are called to do so so can share the gospel around the world.  The Holy Spirit came to give power to preach the gospel and the Holy Spirit will do the same to us. 

Even when atrocities occur in life God pours out his Spirit and provides salvation to all who call out his name.

The Holy Spirit comforts us and intercedes or supports us.  He will reveal the truth to those who believe.  The Comforter will teach us all things and bring all things to our remembrance.  Jesus will give us peace.  Others will see God through our lives. 

The Holy Spirit does not lead us away from conflict and suffering but will comfort us wherever the Spirit leads us.  The Spirit is the comforter.  The Spirit is the connectedness with God in all conditions of life.  The comfort is Christ's gentle blessing.  The Spirit strengthens and prepares us for mission.

God's spirit was poured out on me and gave me the strength to take care of my husband Dale who had a debilitating disease that slowly took away all his abilities to do anything as well as care for himself.

          In the beginning of Dale's sickness God sent an angel to me who was able to help me to bear the burdens of what this disease does to people.  This angel's husband had passed away a few years previously of the same disease Dale had.  She shared with me many different things she faced and how she dealt with them and where she got help.  She helped me be ready to deal with many issues that I would not have been able to comprehend and know how to handle.

Hospice workers were also angels sent from God who interceded and gave me respite and time to get away for a few hours so I could continue caring for Dale and make his last months and days the best they could be under the circumstances.

God's Holy Spirit was poured out to me also when I was able to get away for two or three days a couple different times in those last few months.  Dale could no longer stay by himself so I was able to take him to a care facility where the employees took care of him.

My husband passed away in November 2014.  Last fall I received a telephone call from a lady whose husband had recently been diagnosed by his doctor with the same disease Dale had. 

The Holy Spirit was poured out to me and gave me the ability to share with this lady and hopefully make it easier for her to deal with the atrocities this disease brings about.

She told me about a bible study she was part of that was being held at her house so she wouldn't have to leave her husband alone.  For some time I had been thinking of looking for a bible study group.  There are so few in our congregation and some live too far away so we do not have a group that meets.  I asked this lady if I could join there group and she said of course.    

God's Spirit works in many ways.