Quotes from Five Missionaries to Ecuador

                       Quotes from Five Missionaries to  Ecuador 

These quotes are from my earlier blog dated August 12, 2012

Nate Saint, while a maintenance crew chief in the Air Force, decided to become a missionary at a New Year's Eve church service in Detroit.
 

He wrote, “It was the first time I had ever really heard that verse, 'Follow me and I will make you to become fishers of men.' The old life of chasing things that are of a temporal sort seemed absolutely insane”.

After his discharge from the Air Force, he joined Mission Aviation Fellowship as a pilot.

 
While Ed McCully attended law school at Marquette University, he worked as a night-desk clerk at a hotel. During the slack hours before dawn he read the Bible.

He wrote, “On the way home yesterday morning, I took a long walk and came to a decision which I know is of the Lord. I have one desire now—to live a life of reckless abandon for the Lord, putting all my energy and strength into it... If there's nothing to this business of eternal life we might as well lose everything in one crack and throw our present life away with our life hereafter. But if there is something to it... Well, that's it”.

 Roger Youderian had jumped, as a paratrooper, into the Battle of the Bulge. He was decorated for his part in the fighting. In a letter to his mother he said, “Ever since I accepted Christ as my personal Saviour last fall and wanted to follow Him and do the will of the Lord, I've felt the call to either missionary, social or ministerial work after my release from the service.. . . I want to be a witness for Him and live following Him every second of my life”.

Youderian's call led him to work among the head-hunting Jivaros, and he developed a technique using drawings to teach them to read and write in their own previously unwritten language.

Youderian went through some deep physical and spiritual struggles, but, concerning divine guidance his diary records, “The Holy Spirit can and will guide me in direct proportion to the time and effort I will expend to know and do the will of God”.

 Pete Fleming had been converted at age thirteen through the testimony of a blind evangelist. When he chose to become a missionary, he had already earned his master's degree in literature and was majoring in philosophy at the University of Washington. Concerning his decision to go to Ecuador, he wrote, “A call is nothing more or less than obedience to the will of God as God presses it home to the soul by whatever means He chooses”.

As he decided to move from work among the relatively peaceful Quichuas to the warlike Aucas he said, “It is a grave and solemn problem; an unreachable people who murder and kill with extreme hatred. It comes to me strongly that God is leading me to do something about it, and a strong idea and impression comes into my mind that I ought to devote the majority of my time to collecting linguistic data on the tribe. ... I know that this may be the most important decision of my life, but I have a quiet peace about it”.

The fifth missionary, Jim Elliot, wrote to a friend mentioning his motive for being a missionary: “The command is plain; you go into the whole world and announce the good news.... To me, Ecuador is simply an avenue of obedience to the simple word of Christ. There is room for me there, and I am free to go.... The will of God is always a bigger thing than we bargain for”.

Elisabeth Elliot, now Through the Gates of Splendor

                                          Through the Gates of Splendor

     Elisabeth Elliot (1926-2015) has just past Through the Gates of Splendor.

She wrote the story of their mission to Ecuador after the death of her husband, Jim, in 1956.  It became one of the most inspirational  missionary stories of the 20th century. The book recounted the mission of her husband and four other American martyrs to bring Protestant Christianity to the remote Waorani (Huaorani) Indians. She returned later with her young daughter to live among the natives and share the gospel. One of his killers became a pastor!

    Jim's most famous quote is "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep for what he cannot lose."

   Some of Elisabeth's quotes include: 
        "The secret is Christ in me, not a different set of circumstances." 
        "Money hold terrible power when it is loved." 
        "I have one desire now - to live a life of reckless abandon for the Lord, putting all my strength and energy into it."

   Her radio program inspired me in Asheville years ago.

                      Thank you, Elisabeth Elliot, for a life well lived!

IRS FBAR Form 114 for 2014

The nice government men  request we tell them annually all about our foreign financial holdings. The Form 114  needs to be filed by June 30.  This year you must file it electronically.  Then you will receive a confirmation email from the IRS. Keep a copy for your records.  The gentle penalties can be up to half of your account balance (willful fraud)!

       Or Go to : http://bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/main.html

                     

You will see the official site with instructions.  

Click on   PDF form Start now, 

If you have a total of over $10,000 in financial institutions (including Credit unions, Coops, etc.) you must file by June 30 (no extensions).

The Form 114 must show the highest balance for each account during 2014.

Note:  Form 114A does need to be filed.

The IRS helps number for FBAR is (866) 346-9478

Hope this helps,     Gary