I have known a Missionary couple for about 25 years. This was before he and his wife went to France. He was the choir director of our church. My wife and I visited in their home several times. I even help them move out of their house to go to France. They were going into the music ministry. I have kept tract of them many years. His latest newsletter reveals something about missionaries from America. I want to share this with you. What do you believe is the lack of missionary zeal in the American church today? I have my own ideas, but you give some thought to it.
Newsletter from Ace & Marilyn Edewards in France:
FIRST OF ALL…
Some news of the family A. C. is 28 and living in Glasgow and singing tenor with the Royal Scottish Academy of Opera. He has two big operas scheduled for the fall, Ben, 24, has been in Norway in a small Bible school, perhaps he’ll go back, Josh is 23, just graduated from the University of Glasgow with a Masters in French Literature, Annie, 22,, leaves shortly for Munich to do German studies at the university and just won a rotary Scholarship for a year study at the University of Geneva for 2005- 2006. Marilyn and I have been in France for the ministry there, she made 65 costumes and played a big roll in ministry there. She was not able to go the Ukraine this year because of some health issues.
GETTING IT TOGETHER…
We are in the states right now, getting our planning for the fall season on paper and trying to do some support raising which has meant a little “tent making”. You may have read some of my reports on our music evangelism project this last April. Good comments are continually coming in from France, several of the churches have been blest with new people coming to worship and Bible Study. Testimonies have come out of the choir itself, which is often our greatest ministry. One of our tenors invited his son to sing with us. The son’s life is in the process of changing. He even went out and bought a Bible to verify the truth of our music…one of his questions “Did Jesus really die for me?” We have his daughter with us for several weeks here in the states. This season offered another new challenge to us, the first openly gay man, which caused a stir amongst the ranks. The choir was a real testimony to him, and he is presently meeting with the pastor to investigate the claims of Christ and how it can change him.
For me, it was an amazing experience. I tried some new staging techniques, which worked beautiful. The audience, which was 50% unchurched, received the music and message with great enthusiasm and standing ovations. Never have I had a choir, which sang with such spirit and conviction. Several of the numbers brought a lump in my throat and tears to my eyes even though I’ve conducted the musical so many times before.
FOR THE FUTURE…
There is no stopping this choir now. We have a week of rehearsal planned for the last week of October and then it’s on the road again with several performances. During this time we will also be starting the Christmas out-reach music which will be in the form of “A-ROUND-THE-TABLE-CAROL-SING.”
[This is how my wife and I got the know Ace & Marilyn Edewards. We sang in this same program when Ace was at Calvary Baptist Church of Los Gatos, California. This was over twenty years ago.]—Forest
SUPPORT…
Our support is way off…at least by half. So what ever you can do to support us in our ministry will be deeply appreciated…how about $50 per month?
Last spring, I was able to speak in several churches where I was asked to present a project…(people have changed and prefer a simple one time gift instead of supporting over a long term). Commitments were made and I’ve been waiting ever since…so, needless to say, I have not been able to re-orchestrate my musicals and put TRAXS on my new songs. In calculating the need for digital audio equipment, recording devices, sound boxes, a computer to handle it all…we are looking at $5000. If you would like to help not only missionary work but musical fine arts, why not invest in my talent. There are not many of us around anymore…singer, composer, keyboard artist, choral conductor, voice specialist, etc….here I am Lord, use me. I said it 25 years ago and have been in Christian Ministry ever since…I’m not going to stop.
SOON…
A real concern of ours, is that the missionary force in France is not increasing. We are seeing fewer and fewer people willing to spend their lives in missionary service…and when you consider MUSICIANARY service, it’s zero. So we are sensing a need to communicate music missionary ministries to College Studies hoping they will catch the vision. So with a small team we are looking to recruit 20 college musicians for a 6-week mission for next summer…more of this to come.
Thanks for reading and let’s keep in touch,
Ace and Marilyn Edewards
Media Ministries – Box 2030 – Orange, California 92859 U.S.A.
Email: AcEdewards@aol.com
A Missionary and 26 Guards
Here is a message that will bring you chills. Have you ever felt the urge to pray for someone, and then you just put it on a list and said, “I’ll pray for them later?” Or has anyone ever called you and said, “I need you to pray for me. I have this need?” Read the following story that was sent to me, and may it change the way you think about prayer and also the way you pray. You will be blessed by this.
A missionary on furlough told this true story while visiting his home church in Michigan.
“While serving at a small field hospital in Africa, every two weeks I traveled by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies. This was a journey of two days, and required camping overnight at the halfway point. On one of these journeys, I arrived in the city where I planned to collect money from a bank, purchase medicine, and supplies, and then begin my two-day journey back to the field hospital. Upon arrival in the city, I observed two men fighting, one of whom had been seriously injured. I treated him for his injuries, and at the same time talked to him about the Lord. I then traveled two days, camping overnight, and arrived home without incident. Two weeks later I repeated my journey. Upon arriving in the city, I was approached by the young man that I treated. He told me that he had known I carried money and medicines.
He said, ‘Some friends and I followed you into the jungle, knowing that you would camp overnight. But just as we were about to move into your camp, we saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards.’ At this point, I laughed and said that I was certainly all alone in the jungle campsite. The young man pressed the point, however, and said, ‘No, sir, I was not the only person to see the guards, my friends also saw them, and we counted them. It was because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone.’
When the missionary said, one of the men in the congregation of the Michigan church jumped to his feet and interrupted and asked if he could tell him the exact day this happened. The missionary told the congregation the date, and the man who question him told this story. “On the night of your incident in Africa, it was morning here, and I was preparing to go play golf. I was about to putt when I felt the urge to pray for you. In fact, the urging of the Lord was so strong. I called men in the church to meet with me here in the sanctuary to pray for you. Would all those men who met with me on that day please stand up?”
The men who had met together to pray that day stood up. The missionary wasn’t concerned who they were, he was to busy counting how many men he saw. There were 26. This true story is an incredible example of how the Spirit of the Lord moves in mysterious ways. If you ever hear such prodding of the Holy Spirit, go along with it.