Mari Isaacson

What an incredible Christmas season my first Christmas in Alberta is proving to be.  Attending Handels Messiah or the Nutcracker have been on my “wish list” for years and in the last few weeks I have been to both! Then there were the concerts including a brass concert, going to Candy Cane lane to see all the Christmas lights, decorating 9 Christmas trees (no, not all mine!!), going to or having a few Christmas parties and more. My folks are already on their way here to spend Christmas with me, I am singing at my church on Christmas eve and plan to go to a German Christmas Concert on Christmas day. That is definitely more excitement than I have had in a long time.

As special as all these things are, they would mean absolutely nothing if the true meaning of Christmas was forgotten or even taken for granted.

Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel; which is, being interpreted, God with us. Matthew 1,23

This year, more than any other I have pondered the fact that GOD Himself became man! The GOD of the Universe! The Creator. The Sustainer. The Almighty. The Holy One. The King of kings and Lord of lords! GOD! And He did it all for love!

The last clubs of the year at Mundare School I told the children a Christmas story from Austria. It was about a boy who discovered that Christmas is Jesus’ birthday and wanted to know why everyone else got the gifts instead of Jesus. Anyway, he thought of the best gift to give Jesus for His birthday… himself. Included in the story was also a mention of the cross and why Jesus had to die. The children had heard that many times before, but that day it hit a few of them in a way that they had never comprehended before.

After the story we played charades. The children were informed that each charade had something to do with Christmas. The kids did a great job acting and guessing. Well, the last charade was the cross. After that was guessed correctly, a girl raised her hand and asked, “what does the cross have to do with Christmas?”

“The cross has everything to do with Christmas. That was the reason why Jesus came. He came to die. His death was no surprise. It was His sole purpose for coming. He came to die for your sins and mine!”

Several children made startling comments but I will never forget the look on that young girl’s face… Astonishment. Understanding. It was priceless.

One pastor defined sin thus: sin sums up our need for Christ in the Cradle.

Phil 2, 5-11 says: Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross. Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and gave unto him the name which is above every name; that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

God came…

God spoke…

God died…

GOD became man! Do we give Him the glory He deserves?

Christmas is just a few days away. Take some time out of the hustle and bustle to really dwell on the fact that God became man for you. What have you given Him for His birthday this year?

Blessings and Merry Christmas!

mari

This year I had the awesome privilege of being a part of CYIA in Alberta, Canada. It was a totally new experience for me. Not only was it the first time for Canada, it was also the first time I was a co-worker and not the missionary the summer clubs would be praying for.

CYIA stands for Christian Youth In Action. It is the opportunity for teens and adults to get training on how to do 5-Day clubs and then teach them during the summer. It is awesome. It is challenging. It is draining. It is a blessing.

It has been a very long time since I last wrote an article… sorry about that. Thus, I thought I would share with you an incident that took place a few years ago at CYIA in Washington.

It was Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) and I was having a great time with the kids and CEF Staff. Being the “special” person of the week, the missionary, has a way of boosting ones spirits and getting one more involved with the program. I do have a tendency of sitting back in the shadows, making myself unnoticed in new situations. At this camp I just wasn’t given the chance, not that I wanted it anyway.

Seeing a bunch (over 100) young people really wanting to be used by the Lord is a very motivating and moving thing. These kids were dedicated and worked hard at preparing for summer ministries. They motivated me. Perhaps that is why I jumped to the challenge of going on the zip line. Incase you don’t know what a zip line is, it is a cable extended from a high platform to another tree some distance away. I never did find out how long the cable actually was. That just wasn’t the problem anyway. The problem was I was afraid of heights! Let’s put it more in perspective, I am terrified of heights!

Perhaps it was the excitement of the moment, or the challenge itself, or the fact that the platform didn’t really look that high up from where I was standing. No matter, I agreed to do it and the kids were excited. Only problem is, once I was up on the platform I really started to freak out! No exaggeration there! But now the kids were looking forward to it, and were even letting me be the next in line… the privilege of being the special person of the week! I didn’t think I could go thru with it, but I knew I had to. Fear had such a grip on me that I was afraid I was going to have a real heart attack. This information slipped out and the boys around me really picked up on it. They definitely wanted to be in my will if I was going to kick the bucket! They were starting to make their claims on my possessions. “Can I have Willie?” was the first. Everybody loves Willie. Willie is my puppet, but you can’t tell him that. He hates that “p” word as he calls it. Willie can say things I wouldn’t dare say. I plan on saying one thing and he comes up with something totally different! People laugh at what Willie says. I’m not such a witty person myself unless he is along. It’s an amazing phenomenon. It’s no wonder he’s the very first thing on these boys list! Then came some more of their requests. “Can I have your money?” To him I replied I’m a missionary and don’t have any money! “Can I have your car?” “You’re too young to drive!!” “I’ll save it for when I am old enough.” There were more, but those were the best. I hated to break up their fun, but now it was my turn to get fastened in. Some how being attached to three different safety lines just didn’t do anything to reduce my fear. Now came the moment of truth! I really thought I was going to die of fright. But I had already decided, for the kids, there was NO turning back. Therefore, I needed help! Not that I hadn’t been praying since I first arrived at the top of the platform and looked over the ledge. I prayed for a courage that I really didn’t believe I had. It had to come from God otherwise I was not going to make it.

The lady informed me I could step down on the first stair and then go from there, but I knew that if I was going to do this, I was going to do it right. At first I thought I needed to do this for the kids watching. But I knew now I needed to do it for myself as well. Perhaps I wasn’t Daniel facing the lions, or his 3 friends facing the fiery furnace… I wasn’t Esther going before the king without a summons or Moses walking up to a burning bush that wasn’t burning. I wasn’t even Joshua going around Jericho on the seventh day or Peter when Jesus told him to step out of the boat and come to him on the water. Nonetheless, those lessons taught of courage. How often had I told the children that God gives us the courage we need for whatever task… now I needed to live what I had been preaching all these years.

“Do you want us to push you?” That actually wasn’t a bad idea! “Ok, after I count to ten.” I counted to ten but no one pushed so I grabbed that courage and ran off the platform… screaming!

It was amazing. After the initial jump the ride was actually a lot of fun. Fun that ended much too soon in fact. After going back and forth a few times I stopped in the middle of the cable where the real test of my courage would be proven. I had to stand on a ladder in order for the lady to unhook me from the security lines. Ladders and I just don’t have a fondness for each other. I remember one time in Burgenland I wanted to rescue a bird that was hanging from a gutter on a roof. It’s foot had gotten caught in some kind of thread and wasn’t able to break free. Birds have a very special place in my heart so I bravely got the ladder and headed up the rungs. No love in the world was able to take me up that ladder to resuce the bird. Fear had only let me get half way before reminding me very clearly that the ladder was very old and wobbly and could fall apart at any moment. It was only waiting for the right moment which was probably when I reached the top! Luckily someone else came along who could rescue the bird. For my part, I usually avoid ladders at all costs.

For the first two lines she stood on the ladder opposite me. Things were going ok. Then she informed me that she would have to go down the ladder and come up behind me to unfasten me from the last security line. I panicked! Yelling down to the kids below I told them to hold the ladder in place. They obliged but I still didn’t feel safe till both my feet were on the ground. Courage. I looked back up the hill at the platform I had just jetted off of. If it hadn’t been for courage, I would never have made it. Now I felt like I could really identify with some of those men and women in the Bible who had to find their courage when there were no other options. Sure, I did have another option. I could have backed out, but that really wasn’t an option. Thank you, Jesus, that I went through with it and that you gave me the lesson in courage that I needed.

…or Furlough, or Home Assignment… whatever you want to call it.

Often I am asked to describe a typical day of work… well, I never really have a typical day. Every day is different, often unpredictable in the midst of routine. Even my routine is different every day of the week. That, I believe, is the story of any one in full-time Christian ministry. Nevertheless, I thought it might be interesting to walk you through one of the days I had this week…

The day pretty much started off with first… GETTING OUT OF BED! Believe me, this week that hasn’t been so easy since I am fighting a cold and am not sleeping the greatest. God enables. Then I really like to grab a mug – a tall mug – of coffee. It helps me wake up and be alert for my devotions. Devotions are a vital thing, but I must admit sometimes I let other things distract me from them. Thankfully that is not a regular occurrence!

On the said day, I had my devotions, ate breakfast with Cora then we hit the road. Our first stop was the parking lot of her church where we could connect with the Internet and get some emails done. Then it was off to the first club of the day. The travel itself was an hour there. I then had the privilege of speaking to the children for almost 45 minutes. I talked about being in transition from Austria to Alberta, sharing a lot of what I did in Austria and hope to do in Alberta. The children were really receptive. Willie, of course, helped in that matter. At the end, before Willie would sing “Jesus loves me” in German, I would try and challenge the children in telling them that they, too, are in transit. This world is not our home. We are here for just a few short years. There really is life after death… heaven and hell. Those who know Jesus personally are on their way to heaven and we will see each other again. Those who aren’t sure or those who have not yet made the decision to follow Jesus and want to could talk to their teacher about it any time. I like to challenge the children to become prayer partners as well. There are extra prayer cards for those children who want to pray for me on a regular basis. Then it was off to lunch with Cora and the teachers of the club. It was a blessed time of sharing and fellowship.

There were 3 more clubs in the afternoon and we ran from one to the other where I had anywhere between 5 and 20 minutes. Most of the time was spent driving from one place to another. I did get to see some real beautiful country. By the way, I have been staying in Klamath Falls this week and have been going to meetings, mostly clubs, all over the county! Molly, Cora’s dog likes to sit on my lap while traveling which is fine when she behaves. Well, on this particular day she decided to try and wash my pants… actually she was washing her paws but got more of my pant leg than her paw. I went into one of the clubs with a big wet stain on my leg. No one noticed but me.

Next it was off to Starbucks for a treat after a busy day. Oh yah. Someone gave me a Starbucks card and Cora and I have been enjoying the fruits (coffee) of that gift ever since. At the office we had hoped to get caught up on emails and Internet work. That didn’t happen! Well, not for me. One of Cora’s committee members was there and we ended up chatting the entire time. Then it was off to another meeting but not before we made a quick stop at home. Real quick. We were a bit behind. Again I got to share with a lady, the wife of Cora’s pastor, about my ministry and how I got into it in the first place.

Home again. Home to stay. But not the end of our adventures for the day. The first thing I did was check my cell phone for messages. I had left it at home that day. My mom had called so I called her back.

We chatted about the day then about what has been going on since we last talked to each other. It was great. She loved hearing about the clubs. Then I started telling her about Autumn. Autumn is an 8 year old girl that was in one of the clubs in Eugene where I had been last week. She had taken one of my prayer cards and started contacting me as soon as she got home. First she sent me an email telling me that she was praying for me. Then she sent me a text message telling me what the prayer was. After that, we would text each other a little bit almost every day. As I was explaining this, I realized that I hadn’t checked yet to see if she had sent me a message. I started looking for my phone. It wasn’t on the table. I looked to see if it was plugged in… nope! Cora was sitting across from me giving me a funny look so I asked her if she had seen my phone. At that moment we both broke out laughing. Of course mom, who was STILL on the phone, wanted to know what we were laughing about. Yep, I guess I was tired! Mom thought that was pretty funny as well. Oh I must explain, while I was on the phone to my mom, Cora was on the phone to her dad!

We then decided to relax by playing a game. We were often interrupted by phone calls or someone texting but kept on playing. At one point I got up to wash some dishes while Cora was texting and stopped because I thought I was making too much noise. Think about that one for the moment. Cora got a kick out of me quoting “Green Eggs and Ham” while playing. Of course, I would make up verses to fit what we were doing. I’ve been quoting that book to her for years.

By the way, we continually get compliments… people think that Cora and I are sisters. Well, we are… in Christ! I always enjoy our discussions and tired as we may be, we did have some very interesting discussions that day. One being how to wash the clothes. She wanted to throw everything in together… that might be fine for her, but I had a few white shirts I didn’t want to turn gray. She assured me her colors didn’t run. For me, she separated the very lights and whites from the darks. Nevertheless, I did get a few undies back that had turned GRAY! No running of the colors there!

The Highlight of the day though was being able to pray with each other before going to bed… and getting a hug too.

So, that might not have been a “normal” day… but it was indeed a blessed one.

God bless you richly!

Good night!

There are events in ones life that, at the moment of conception, aren’t funny but rather frightful. Nevertheless, afterwards, perhaps because of relief of survival one can laugh at the memory of the event. Such was the day Sharon and I were chased across Missouri by a tornado.

It started off a pretty normal day, weather wise. Not too cold, not too hot. Some sun. More clouds. It was our last day in Branson and  we opted for some shopping before heading back to Warrenton. There was a cluster of cute shops in Grand Village that kept our attention for around an hour before we decided to hit the road. The weather was indeed changing. I was starting to think we might be in for a storm. The wind had picked up and there were more clouds trying to block the sun. I was glad Sharon was driving!

Somewhere along the way we stopped off at a very popular restaurant, Lamberts Cafe. It is known for throwing its rolls around! Ha! I even caught all the ones thrown at me. Well, I caught two. That’s all I could eat with every thing else we got! By the time we left the restaurant we were stuffed completely. The wind had definately picket up, almost sweeping us off our feet it was so powerful. The sun had totally disappeared. Now I must clarify here that I really do love storms… Thunder, lightening, wind, rain… the whole bit. That is, when I am snug and warm at home.  But we weren’t at home. Sigh. We were driving down the freeway with still around 3 hours to go.

Well, three hours under normal conditions. These were not normal conditions. In fact, they were getting worse by the minute. We weren’t very far down the road when the storm really broke out! It was raining so hard we could hardly see the car in front of us. The wind was so strong that it took everything Sharon had to give to keep us on the road. We rocked back and forth like a rocking chair going sideways. Traffic had slowed immensely. No wonder. There was such a build up of water on the road that cars were slipping around all over the place. Luckily our van was a good one under such conditions. Why, you would have to ask Sharon. Something about it being able to react better to such conditions. Still, it was not a pretty sight!

Now you are probably wondering why we didn’t just get off the freeway and pull into a mall or something. We’re talking Missouri here. There just wasn’t too many welcoming places at that moment. Sharon was doing fine, so she said. She just wanted to get home. Plus, we kept seeing blue skies ahead… which meant we were at the front of the storm. If we could just get to the blue skies… wishful thinking. Soon we didn’t even see those blue skies ahead. We were in the midst of the storm!

I was already doing a lot of praying for protection and for Sharon, but when we started to see accidents along the road, my prayers and concerns increased. Sharon must have felt the same for she turned on the radio in hopes to follow the traffic reports. Soon it became very clear why this storm was more than a doozie… we were being followed by a tornado. Twice it had touched down in the area that we just drove through. That means, it wasn’t very far behind. At that news our prayers increased immensely. What could we do?

There’s only one other time I had been this close to a tornado. It was while I was on staff at Prairie Bible College in Alberta, Canada. Friends and I were driving to Edmonton when a storm brewed up in front of us. This time there were large hail stones coming down, the wind was fierce and rocking our car around as if it wanted to turn the vehicle over. The clouds were thicker than mud. You would have thought it was evening. Just before Edmonton it was so powerful that we had to pull over to the side of the road and wait it out. There were many cars on the side of the road that afternoon. There was also a lot of damage done in Edmonton that day. We were just grateful and relieved that the tornado didn’t come our way. We would have been sitting ducks for there was no protection whatsoever… not on the prairies.

Here in Missouri the situation wasn’t much better. There was just no where we could have easily driven to for better protection than we already had at that moment. We kept driving. We kept praying! After several hours the storm let up and we could breath easier. We still had over an hour to go but we knew we were going to make it. We were both exhausted but very grateful to God for his awesome protection.

God is indeed FAITHFUL! In these stormy times of financial difficulty, God is still the same… yesterday, today and forever! We often forget what He has done for us in the past. He calls… He protects… He enables! Sometimes I am overwhelmed with all that needs to be overcome before I get to Alberta in the spring… the VISA, the finances, the car… For Austria He ALWAYS provided and I need to trust Him to do the same for Alberta. It’s easy to let fear become a raging storm within us, but He wants us to remember His faithfulness and TRUST HIM! I am learning to do that.

Please pray for me that I will continue to trust Him in this transition time. His timing is always perfect.

God bless you richly!

Mission Conferences are pretty special. It has been a very long time since I was able to attend one, let alone be a part of one. I do remember the Mission Conferences we used to have at Prairie Bible Institute. They were awesome. I loved to hear what the missionaries had to share of their lives on the missions field. They were normal people like you and me.  Normal people willing to step out of their comfort zones to do something that was “unnormal”. Don’t worry, I know that isn’t a word but it fits the bill.

Last week I had the awesome privilege of being one of those normal people doing something “unnormal”! I was a missionary in Austria for the last 19 years. Believe me, I was totally out of my comfort zone… learning a new language I was still learning as I left, eating totally different foods (which I definitely won’t complain about… it was great food! Now I have to adjust to totally different food again being back in the states!), having to deal with a different mentality, different landscape (I did have the mountains, but totally missed the Ocean. Kaernten has tons of beautiful lakes, but nothing that compares to the vast ocean with its smells and surprises!). Clothing was somewhat different, even if you find that hard to believe. Ha, the Austrians could always spot the Americans right off without an American even saying a word… the clothing gave it away, especially the white tennis shoes. Oh man, we won’t even begin to mention the politics in everything, religious traditions that were such a way of life, the medical side of life and so much more. Ha, I am experiencing so much culture shock just being back!

Nonetheless, it was a joy and a privilege to be one of the “missionaries” at the Mission Conference at First Baptist Church in Moses Lake, Washington. On the first Sunday I sang a medley I put together… Jesus Loves Me and Does Anybody Love The Children. The latter song I had learned from some friend at PBI. I hadn’t heard the song before attending there nor since leaving. I wasn’t even sure it was a published song. Still that song had never really left me. Perhaps it inspired me to write the poem, Who Cares. Perhaps. Anyway, I really wanted to sing that song. Amazingly, Laura, the pastors wife found the words for me. That was a gift in itself. Now I have the words as I do hope to sing the song again while on furlough… in fact, every chance I get. I like it as a medley with Jesus Loves Me. God used those songs to speak to peoples hearts. Amen!

On Wednesday I spoke to the adults in the evening service. Would you believe it, I didn’t even stumble around with my words like I often do due to forgetting how to say certain things in English. I still stumble, but not that night. The Lord was good. Then on Friday I had a great time with the children. There weren’t a lot of children there, but the ones that were, were a real joy to be with. It was great.

Again I was awed and inspired by other missionaries there who shared their experiences and lives. I just hope and pray that I too can be such a blessing to those who come to hear me speak. We are just normal people living “unnormal” lives. But I am more than sure that we are not the only ones who experience the awesomeness of God in our every day lives. We are all missionaries in a sense. At least we should be! What do I tell the children?… if you are sharing your faith with someone else, then you too are being a missionary. Are you a missionary?

I discovered my new profession yesterday!!!

In the morning I grabbed the keys to the only vehicle available… the big Ford Pickup with double cab. I couldn’t avoid the adventure… and what an adventure it prove to be!

Now you must understand, in Austria we drive small compact cars. Since being in the states I have driven everything but such an economy car. I have driven driven Suv’s and big vans, why not a huge truck… To me it was like trying to manover a submarine. Sitting behind the wheel, I felt totally lost and had to adjust everything… the mirrors, the seat, the pillows (yes, pillows) which didn’t aid much in reaching the gas pedal. Then there was the fight with the seatbelt! This was not the time to have that safety device NOT work! Well, with everything adjusted as much as possible, I was on my way only to discover that the truck was almost out of gas!!!

I needed the truck. I needed to get to the church. There was no time to do anything but keep going, praying there would be enough gas to get me to the church on time. No, I was not going to a wedding but I did have to be at the church on time to practice the song I was going to sing in the morning service! Getting gas for this machine would have to wait till after the service. The feel of the truck was something I had never experienced before. First, I was so high up, it was like being on top of the world! Keeping the vehicle on the road wasn’t as difficult as I had expected, none the less, there was a continual pull and the steering wheel was constantly in motion. The truck lacked guts at times but I reached my destination in one peace.

The gas held out, but ironically, I got to the church only to be told that I would not be able to practice. There were tecnical difficulties with the other soloist therefore there would not be enough time before the Sunday School class was to start. Oh well… Now I had time to deal with the practically empty tank. I won’t say how long I searched for a switch, latch, button or lever that would open the door to the gas tank. There was none! It was incredible. It was very frustrating! Nada! Perhaps the door needed a key to open it. Investigating this only opened up another problem… there were two gas tanks! Which one was I supposed to use?!?!?! To compound things, I couldn’t even get ahold of my sister to get answers. What was I to do? I decided to leave the problem for my dad… after church.

As interlude, let me share what else made this such an adventure… I am short of 5′2″ (only sometimes are my eyes blue!) and the cabin of this truck is pretty high… perhaps you can then imagine the fun I had getting in and out of the truck… in a skirt!!!

Well, after church dad did check out the truck and we decided to just use the first tank which turned out the be the correct one. The door didn’t need a key, a lever, switch, button or anything else. It opened just fine.

Other challenges with the truck had to do with parallel parking, making U-turns, backing around corners, and other interesting manovers that are magnified with the size of the vehicle. But all in all, I survived. It wasn’t so bad but I wouldn’t want to drive the truck on a regular basis. A new Profession… I don’t think so!!