Interesting......What changed?

[Elizabeth]

Originally Posted by Sherri

I am reading Sis. Pauline Gruse's autobiography from her early days in Liberia where she ministered for years. My inlaws worked with her there in the fifties. She actually died once when struck by lightning and was dead for a long while. My FIL prayed for her and she was raised from the dead. She testifies about it in the book.

Anyway, interestingly enough, in the forties when she first went over there, her first missionary journey into the bush (walking for days and days), she went with Assembly of God missionaries who were stationed near her. She was sent by a Oneness Pentecostal group. Her statement in the book says,

"With the heavy emphasis placed on the operation of a mission school, doctrinal differences were somewhat overlooked in those early days, and a strong rapport prevailed among most Protestant missionaries." They actually were allowed to go and minister together!!

WHAT HAPPENED since that time?

Sherri,
I dont know if I read it somewhere or it told to me by a missionary. When a missionary goes into some of these foreign lands everything is so different. The people can be very heathenistic, the culture is different, food etc.

That when another American, or English speaking person that is a CHRISTIAN comes to that area, they are so glad to see someone who they have something in common with, they could care less if they baptize in Jesus name.

To have some sort of interaction with another soul from the home land is so refreshing, its like coming across a long lost relative.

[Sister Alvear]

While we may see things different we wtill can be friends.
I know very few people that believe EXACTLY like I believe but I have many friends. I don´t care what card we hold or do not hold we are different in some way.
It is better not to try to fit in man made molds fit in the JESUS mold...He seemed to fiend His friends in the most unlikly places...

[Truly Blessed]

When we were missionaries in Hong Kong our best friends were a Southern Baptist missionary couple we went to language school with. They had two sons the same age as our sons and so it was a natural fit. I remember them saying we were the first Pentecostals they had ever had fellowship with. As time went on he actually brought his regional field supervisor to speak with me about our church plant because he was impressed with the progress we were making. He eventually received the baptism of the Holy Ghost and after we returned to Canada, the letters we received from him were like reading the Book of Acts.

On the mission field you are brought together with other missionaries immediately if you are having to study the language. This sets up some lasting relationships I think.

[Sister Alvear]

The Mormon boys when I lived in the south would come by just for a peice of cake! Ameican style..

[Sam]

This is an excerpt from a book titled Mountain of the Lion by Donald Hugh O’Keefe. it tells of his time spent as a missionary in Africa in the nineteen seventies. This part tells about his visiting two places, Bomi Hills and Fassama in Liberia and memories of some of the pioneer missionaries there and their sacrifices to reach the African people with the Gospel.

He mentions Sis. Bailey. I heard her speak back in 1956 in Racine, WI. She had been in Africa and, at that time had to walk over 100 miles through the jungle to get to her mission station. She had worn a blister on her foot and it had broken and gotten infected and she was suffering from blood poisoning. She could not walk any farther and sat down. She felt like she was dying. She asked God to lay her on someone’s heart who could pray for her. Then something happened. She was healed and able to continue her journey. Later while visiting the United States she heard the rest of the story. At the time she sat down and asked someone to pray, there was a message in tongues in a Church in Texas. When the interpretation was given it was an exhortation to pray for Sis. Bailey because she was dying from poison. People interceded and God worked. The folks in Texas didn’t realize it was blood poisoning. They thought maybe someone had tried to poison her. When she and someone from that church in Texas compared notes, the exhortation to pray in Texas had come at the very same time she was in Africa asking God to lay her on someone’s heart so they would pray for her.

I think the Sam Latta he speaks about was at Bible School in St. Paul, MN when I was there in 1956/1957. At that time his father was pastoring a church in Moline, IL which was across the state and a little south from where I lived in SE Wisconsin.

Following is the excerpt from the book about the sacrifices of some of the missionaries.

It was a special day the first time we went to the historic Bomi Hills mission station. We had heard much about Bomi Hills ever since coming to the Lord.

We lived for two months in the very quarters on the mission station once occupied by Sister Valda Russell. Her favorite chair was still in the house.

We talked to people who were present when Missionary Jack Langham's daughter was shot to death. As I stood in the room where she died, I felt that I was standing on ground hallowed by the blood of spiritual pioneers, giants of faith who had dedicated themselves to reach the African people. I stood by the grave of this fine girl and thought of the sacrifice made by the Langham family. Every sacrifice had been made with love.

Brother Langham was not at home when his daughter was shot. When he reached the house later and heard about his daughter's death, the police brought the perpetrator to him. He was a young man who worked regularly on the mission compound and was well known to the Langham family. The man was deeply sorry and said it had been an accident. The Liberians wanted him to receive the greatest penalty allowed by law, but Brother Langham pleaded for him to be released and forgiven. Some of the Liberians told me that his display of Christian love changed their life and convinced them of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I saw where Sam Latta's airplane crashed on the mission school's playground. Momentum carried it across the main road and into a store building. Brother Latta climbed out of the plane uninjured. No one else was injured either, but the plane was a total loss.

The roll call of missionaries who had served here was long, I thought of Mother Holmes, Pauline Gruse, Velda Russell, Ena Hylton, Laverene Collins, Gladys Robinson, Porter Davis, the Parks family, the Basil Williams family, the Cupples family, Brother and Sister Harvey Davis, Else Lund, the Garlands, Sister Bailey, and Brother and Sister Otis Petty.

I could not remember all the names and wished I could. A person did not have to be there but a few days to realize that these men, women, and children had made truly great sacrifices in giving themselves to the work of God for Liberia. And it is tragic for such sacrifice and service to go unremembered. The names of some of these missionaries to Liberia could well stand alongside the names of faithful heroes in Hebrews 11.

When the time came for us to take a trip to Fassama we were excited. Fassama was just as famous as Bomi Hills, but much more remote. ...

In Fassama, as in Bomi Hills, we felt surrounded by history. Here, Sister Laverne Collins had given her life. Just six months after her arrival in Liberia a malarial fever took her. Her grave site was a memorial to a life unselfishly laid down for her Master.

Sister Gruse had walked through this jungle to bring salvation here. She built the house that she lived in and that still stands—a round mud hut. Here, in front of many witnesses, she was killed by a bolt of lightning. As she lay dead on the ground, the villagers felt that their heathen gods had shown their power in striking down this purveyor of a strange new religion. But then something happened. Sister Gruse rose from the dead! She stood up! Healed! Alive!

The people were stunned. Her God was greater than all of theirs.

On another occasion, some villagers tried to kill one of the missionaries by putting a deadly cobra on her bed while she slept. The snake would not bite.

The next day the village witch doctors confessed that they had been trying to kill the missionary with the snake and with devil curses. They acknowledged the failure of their gods and admitted that Jesus Christ was greater. Revival came to Fassama.

[Sherri]

Originally Posted by Sam

This is an excerpt from a book titled Mountain of the Lion by Donald Hugh O’Keefe. it tells of his time spent as a missionary in Africa in the nineteen seventies. This part tells about his visiting two places, Bomi Hills and Fassama in Liberia and memories of some of the pioneer missionaries there and their sacrifices to reach the African people with the Gospel.

He mentions Sis. Bailey. I heard her speak back in 1956 in Racine, WI. She had been in Africa and, at that time had to walk over 100 miles through the jungle to get to her mission station. She had worn a blister on her foot and it had broken and gotten infected and she was suffering from blood poisoning. She could not walk any farther and sat down. She felt like she was dying. She asked God to lay her on someone’s heart who could pray for her. Then something happened. She was healed and able to continue her journey. Later while visiting the United States she heard the rest of the story. At the time she sat down and asked someone to pray, there was a message in tongues in a Church in Texas. When the interpretation was given it was an exhortation to pray for Sis. Bailey because she was dying from poison. People interceded and God worked. The folks in Texas didn’t realize it was blood poisoning. They thought maybe someone had tried to poison her. When she and someone from that church in Texas compared notes, the exhortation to pray in Texas had come at the very same time she was in Africa asking God to lay her on someone’s heart so they would pray for her.

I think the Sam Latta he speaks about was at Bible School in St. Paul, MN when I was there in 1956/1957. At that time his father was pastoring a church in Moline, IL which was across the state and a little south from where I lived in SE Wisconsin.

Following is the excerpt from the book about the sacrifices of some of the missionaries.

It was a special day the first time we went to the historic Bomi Hills mission station. We had heard much about Bomi Hills ever since coming to the Lord.

We lived for two months in the very quarters on the mission station once occupied by Sister Valda Russell. Her favorite chair was still in the house.

We talked to people who were present when Missionary Jack Langham's daughter was shot to death. As I stood in the room where she died, I felt that I was standing on ground hallowed by the blood of spiritual pioneers, giants of faith who had dedicated themselves to reach the African people. I stood by the grave of this fine girl and thought of the sacrifice made by the Langham family. Every sacrifice had been made with love.

Brother Langham was not at home when his daughter was shot. When he reached the house later and heard about his daughter's death, the police brought the perpetrator to him. He was a young man who worked regularly on the mission compound and was well known to the Langham family. The man was deeply sorry and said it had been an accident. The Liberians wanted him to receive the greatest penalty allowed by law, but Brother Langham pleaded for him to be released and forgiven. Some of the Liberians told me that his display of Christian love changed their life and convinced them of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I saw where Sam Latta's airplane crashed on the mission school's playground. Momentum carried it across the main road and into a store building. Brother Latta climbed out of the plane uninjured. No one else was injured either, but the plane was a total loss.

The roll call of missionaries who had served here was long, I thought of Mother Holmes, Pauline Gruse, Velda Russell, Ena Hylton, Laverene Collins, Gladys Robinson, Porter Davis, the Parks family, the Basil Williams family, the Cupples family, Brother and Sister Harvey Davis, Else Lund, the Garlands, Sister Bailey, and Brother and Sister Otis Petty.

I could not remember all the names and wished I could. A person did not have to be there but a few days to realize that these men, women, and children had made truly great sacrifices in giving themselves to the work of God for Liberia. And it is tragic for such sacrifice and service to go unremembered. The names of some of these missionaries to Liberia could well stand alongside the names of faithful heroes in Hebrews 11.

When the time came for us to take a trip to Fassama we were excited. Fassama was just as famous as Bomi Hills, but much more remote. ...

In Fassama, as in Bomi Hills, we felt surrounded by history. Here, Sister Laverne Collins had given her life. Just six months after her arrival in Liberia a malarial fever took her. Her grave site was a memorial to a life unselfishly laid down for her Master.

Sister Gruse had walked through this jungle to bring salvation here. She built the house that she lived in and that still stands—a round mud hut. Here, in front of many witnesses, she was killed by a bolt of lightning. As she lay dead on the ground, the villagers felt that their heathen gods had shown their power in striking down this purveyor of a strange new religion. But then something happened. Sister Gruse rose from the dead! She stood up! Healed! Alive!

The people were stunned. Her God was greater than all of theirs.

On another occasion, some villagers tried to kill one of the missionaries by putting a deadly cobra on her bed while she slept. The snake would not bite.

The next day the village witch doctors confessed that they had been trying to kill the missionary with the snake and with devil curses. They acknowledged the failure of their gods and admitted that Jesus Christ was greater. Revival came to Fassama.

Do you know where I can get this book, Sam? These are all the people that my inlaws worked with in Bomi Hills and Fassama! Eddie was born in the hospital at Bomi Hills. There are some fascinating and amazing stories in that part of the world.

[Barb]

Originally Posted by Sister Alvear

While we may see things different we wtill can be friends.
I know very few people that believe EXACTLY like I believe but I have many friends. I don´t care what card we hold or do not hold we are different in some way.
It is better not to try to fit in man made molds fit in the JESUS mold...He seemed to find His friends in the most unlikly places...

Amen, Mother!!

What many fail to realize is, disagreement is not a sign of a need for severing ties, and fellowship is not compromise.

And I agree, regardless of how many I may admire, to be like Jesus must be my goal...

[Sherri]

Well, I just finished reading her book. It has the story in there about the Langham's daughter being killed and also about Sis Gruse being raised from the dead. It's a very interesting book overall. She just recently passed away, probably near 90 years of age.

There were MANY times in the book where she took 2-3 week treks back into the jungle with AG missionaries and held services each night. She even talks about how God spoke to them about the village where the AG missionary was to set up her work. Whenever she flew in and out of the country, she always stayed in the AG missionary house in Monrovia. I just think it's very interesting that this seemed to be the norm in the 1950's, but it would be unheard of fifty years later. This was in the UPC too, at this time. Was this really an accepted practice fifty years ago??? Just curious.

[Sam]

Originally Posted by Sherri

Do you know where I can get this book, Sam? These are all the people that my inlaws worked with in Bomi Hills and Fassama! Eddie was born in the hospital at Bomi Hills. There are some fascinating and amazing stories in that part of the world.

Shiloah Books at
http://www.shiloahbooks.com/books_Biography.html
offers a book titled "I Surrender All" by Charles Clanton which is a biography of Pauline Gruse. I've ordered a copy.

What I quoted in my post was an excerpt from a book titled, "Mountain of the Lion" which I found at
http://www.geocities.com/upcpitt/mou..._the_lion.html

[Hoovie]

Originally Posted by Sherri

I am reading Sis. Pauline Gruse's autobiography from her early days in Liberia where she ministered for years. My inlaws worked with her there in the fifties. She actually died once when struck by lightning and was dead for a long while. My FIL prayed for her and she was raised from the dead. She testifies about it in the book.

Anyway, interestingly enough, in the forties when she first went over there, her first missionary journey into the bush (walking for days and days), she went with Assembly of God missionaries who were stationed near her. She was sent by a Oneness Pentecostal group. Her statement in the book says,

"With the heavy emphasis placed on the operation of a mission school, doctrinal differences were somewhat overlooked in those early days, and a strong rapport prevailed among most Protestant missionaries." They actually were allowed to go and minister together!!
WHAT HAPPENED since that time?

We have seen more of this lately - I think God is about to grant us with a baptism of love and respect for one another.

Kristin and I have shared testimony behind several AOG, Global, UPC pulpits in the last few months. I also, heard a UPC man Preach an excellent message at the local AOG last month - with several hundred in attendance. I am thrilled at this new love for one another. An AOG minister also recently shared "a Word" with me concerning my life - and I recieved it readily.

Another case - not far from here - where an AOG minister has started interdenominational meetings and expressed his desire to baptise "In Jesus Name" (also had a UPC man speak.)

So I don't think it is extremely rare - but I do agree it's more rare than it should be.