Mari Isaacson

On the way to Teacher Training, Mary Cunningham and I decided to pick up something fast for dinner. What better way to be fast then to do the drive- thru. Those aren’t as easy as it seems!

We pulled up to the speaker board and heard this really loud “rrrrr”. We looked at each other and I asked, did he say, “rrrrr?” We burst out in laughter for neither of us had understood a word that he said. Quickly Mary rolled up the window for we didn’t want the guy to hear us for we couldn’t stop, tears were rolling down our cheeks.

After a few moments the guy asked very clearly, “Are you going to order?” We both took deep breaths and brought our laughter under control.

“Yes, just a minute,” Mary said as she rolled the window back down.

Meanwhile we glanced at the menu trying to figure out what to order. Now I always find this task very difficult… the menu is so big and long that it makes it difficult to know just what you want. Especially if the menu is new to you like it was to me. I didn’t have a clue. The fact that I knew someone was waiting on the other end didn’t make it any easier. I had the feeling he was getting impatient.

Perhaps he was for we soon heard from the box in front of us, “rrrrr”.

That sent us off on another laughing tangent. Up went the window. The guy was definitely waiting yet still we were having a hard time getting in control of the situation. I was ok first but didn’t think it would last, so I forced Mary to roll down the window long enough for me to get my order out. She breathed deeply and complied. After the order the window went back up and we were moved to tears once again. It was really good that no one was behind us!

After a few moments of more laughter, we drove to the pick-up window, tear-faced and smiling. We’re sure the guy must have thought we were crazy, but oh how it felt good to laugh.

That evening at Teacher Training Mary had a hard time looking at me without cracking up… even days later, we are still laughing with teary eyes when we recount that situation!

My time here in Oregon has been filled with blessing upon blessing. Spending a few months here has given me the awesome opportunity to spend a week here, a week there… etc instead of just a day or two. This has really been good in that I have been able to observe how the different CEF workers do things. Furthermore, we have been able to get to know each other, share with each other, pray together, work together, have fun together…  and yes, laugh together! I have been challenged and inspired by these great Saints of the Lord! They are touching so many children in their areas. They have grasped the urgency in reaching this generation for the Lord Jesus. They know, these are our future parents, future leaders, future decision makers. If we don’t reach them now, we will loose a whole generation and the work will be even more difficult. The ministry is difficult enough with all the opposition these days. That is why 1 Corinthians 15, 58 says to “stand firm, let nothing move you. Always give yourself to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain!”

The NEED is great. Children need the Lord! I hope to share more of that in my next blog.

Thank you Oregon CEF workers for letting me share in your life and ministry, even if just for a short time. The saying: You have touched me, I have grown is so true. Thank you!!!

Laughter can open interesting doors!

It has always been hard for me to just start talking to strange people… by strange I am not meaning their looks or clothing, or even some of their mannerisms… we would all then be considered somewhat strange, don’t you think.?! So, to even share my faith or “go fishing” as Brother Andrew once said, was even harder. To go fishing means to drop God’s name here or there in the conversation, (not as a swear word!) and see if the person hooks on and is interested.

Well, a funny and very interesting thing happened on the way to Linz! I was on the train. My normal habit is to find a place by myself and then keep myself occupied with my MP3 player, a good book, Sudoku, or even a well-needed nap! On this trip the only empty seats were a group of four together with a table in the middle. Not bad. I was the first one there so I got to claim the two seats on the one side facing the direction the train was to go. After settling in with a good book… one written by a friend I had just seen in Canada. It was an autographed copy! I hadn’t even really had a chance to read more than a few lines when an older, businesslike looking woman joined me. We greeted each other, and then I started devouring my book. I must say, it was a book worth devouring. My friend is known for his humor. In fact, he travels all over just to make people laugh. Ok, perhaps not just for that… there is a method to his madness!

His book was making me laugh! So much so, that I could hardly contain it at times. Lets just say, I had so many tears in my eyes that I couldn’t even read through the blur before me. Naturally this awakened the curiosity of the woman sitting across from me, not to mention all the others sitting in the near vicinity. It was a pretty full train! She asked me what kind of book I was reading that would give me so much enjoyment. Ha, it was easy to explain to her that this special book was written by a friend of mine, a friend who has written many books and travels much. He loves to pass on Christian principles in a humorous way. This book was no different. It had to do with relationships and forgiveness. He explains with humor how important it is to let go of things so that we can experience more joy in life.

She nodded, made a comment and I read on… until I again was practically in stitches! This time she was so interested, that she wanted to see the book for herself. Though she is German speaking and the book is in English, she wrote down the title, the author, and other valuable information… ha, including his email address (that is, if I remembered it correctly!!). She definitely wanted that book! And I was definitely thinking GREAT! She will come in contact with Jesus thru reading it! Who knows where that will lead! She thanked me several times for the information. Now that I think of it, I should have gotten HER address and sent her the book. I thought too late. But nothing is impossible with God!

Shortly after that she got off the train and her place was filled by two nuns. I greeted them and read on. It really didn’t take long before I had won their attention through not being able to contain myself! Again I told of my friend and his purpose in writing the book. They thought that was great, especially since it had to do with faith. But the conversation didn’t go beyond that and within an hour they were also gone.

A mother and child of around 10 replaced them. We greeted each other and I read on. I must say, it is absolutely impossible to read very far in this book without laughing. Interesting since my friend said he didn’t believe it was a good a success as his other books. What can I say, laughter speaks for itself… if nothing else, this book has caused a lot of curiosity! So was the case with the two across from me now. So, for the third time I shared about my friend, the purpose of the book, and some of God. This time I really tried to go “fishing”. They didn’t hook on so I continued in my book, that is, till I got to a story that brought blinding tears to my eyes. They weren’t tears of sadness! This time the boy asked what in that book of mine was so funny. What better way to explain, then to tell him the story of where my friend went golfing with another and the raven stole their balls. Life just doesn’t always go as planned so how do you handle it? Get mad or laugh about it and trust God? The interesting thing was, the mother and son were on the train because their plans had suddenly been changed as well. It was even a miracle that they got this train.

After sharing a bit with each other the boy noticed that the book was in English. That surprised him. His mother then asked me if I was from Canada. I had pointed out earlier that my friend was from Canada. No, not Canada but rather USA. Then she was really curious as to how I could speak such good dialect. That brought on a long explanation of the time when I was a nanny two different times for a family here in Austria. Through the family I got to know a woman who was from Kaernten, the area where I have been living the last 15 years. From her I had learned the dialect before I even learned proper German. That conversation lead to Bible School and she wanted to know what that was. That explanation lead to why I was even in Austria now so I got to describe what I was doing, mainly working with children, teaching them about Jesus! Interesting. She thought it all was interesting, but said nothing more. Since I also didn’t know what else to say, I read on.

When I got to the story of the man who was told he had cancer, this time I retold the story to them before they even had a chance to ask. I then explained the purpose of the story as well. It was well worth telling no matter how they would take it. The woman didn’t really reply, but she looked like she was thinking about what she had just heard. Perhaps she was thinking about all of it.

Shortly after this the train arrived at my stop and I got out. While looking for my friends I thought, wow… not only did I get to talk to some people… 5 directly and how many indirectly? But I also got to share a bit about Christianity and my work here. I think I need to take one of my friends books with me more often!

What kind of interesting doors has fun laughter opened up for you?

mari