God’s faithfulness in my life begins with my birth and will end in glory. My first thought is, How insufficient my response has been! And at age 87 there isn’t much time to make it up. But that is the way grace is. Anti, on second thought, it’s not about me, but about God.

God put me into a godly home with parents who loved the Lord. I heard about God. His Word, His love and grace from infancy. We worshiped Him as family morning and evening. Church services and midweek prayer meeting were weekly family events rain or shine (if we could get through the roads!), seed time or harvest on the farm. Memorization of Scripture, catechism, metrical psalms were Sabbath afternoon activities. We napped, too, of course. Most of our social activities were church related. We saw the gospel being lived out in the lives of our parents and church community. It was our parent’s consistency that was most influential. What a blessing to begin with.

Do you wonder that I cannot remember a time or experience when I came to know that Jesus is my Savior? But I have no doubt about it. I well remember my confession of faith before the session when I was received as a communicant member of the church. I remember how I was moved occasionally by the preaching, especially at communion times. They were twice a year, with always two, sometimes three, days of preparation anti a conclusion Sabbath evening or Monday morning. And there were times of growth at youth conferences. During high school I began reading through the Bible annually and continued the practice for a number of years. This was all God’s doing.

I do not remember a childhood ambition to become anything but a minister of the gospel. My mother often later related how in our play I made my siblings my “church” to hear my sermons. I’m not suggesting that I was always so “saintly” minded or active. But God did greatly bless me in childhood and youth in calling me to Himself and protecting me from evil so that my heart was set on Him and serving Him.

Normal training in high school prepared me to teach in one-room public schools and to begin to work my way through college. God gave me a secondary goal of teaching in our mission school in Cyprus in preparation for pastoral ministry. There was strong influence in that direction through my childhood and youth. Our pastor, Dr. J. R. W. Stevenson, was the first missionary appointed by the foreign Mission Board to ministry in Cyprus. He kept Cyprus before us. My mother’s cousin was a teacher in Nicosia, Cyprus. A young woman from our congregation went to Cyprus as a teacher. When the door opened for me to go in September 1938 on graduation from college. I took it as God’s call and went.

World War II broke out in 1939, and by June 1911 when I was to return, the Mediterranean was in German control, closing all contact between Cyprus and the U.S. By God’s grace Richard Weir and I arrived in New York Sept. 27, 1941 by American freighter via Ceylon (to load rubber), the Cape of Good hope, the South Atlantic, and the West Indies. I was directly to the Reformed Presbyterian Seminary, as the term had already begun, and sent my family word that I was there. That was their first news since May. They had not known that I had left Cyprus.

A special blessing was a godly wife. equally committed to kingdom service. She has been a loving wife, a constant support and faithful companion in ser vice. She had offered to serve in Cyprus. but the war prevented that. We were married in May 1942 and went to Beaver Falls, Pa., for summer work, first, God blessed by giving Ethyl the opportunity to graduate from Geneva at the same time I graduated from the seminary. He also brought many people into our lives as mentors and lifelong friends and colaborers in the kingdom.

In June 1914, I was ordained for ser vice in Cyprus and installed as stated supply in the Eastvale, Pa., RPC until we were able to go to Cyprus after the war. Here, too, friendships developed with brothers and sisters in Christ that are still a blessing.

We went to Cyprus in summer 1945 and served in schools and churches until furlough in 1959. Of note here was the fellowship of fellow missionaries, and colaboring with the churches. There was not always agreement in procedural matters, but God gave us a good spirit to proceed with the ministry. During these years God blessed us with four children, who joined happily in our ministry as age permitted.

Furlough brought unexpected changes as God led us into pastoral ministry and teaching at the RI’ Seminary. We had genuine friendship and unity in the fac ul. It couldn’t have been better. God gave us one mind and one spirit in our work and brought committed students that made each day a delightful challenge. God made these the happiest and most rewarding years in our service.

I am most grateful for the fellowship of God’s people, our church family. Your brotherly love and encouragement have been our strong support always. We have been dependent on your prayer and financial support all our lives; and God has supplied beyond our expectation for our care in retirement.

Retirement, too, has its blessings. A good year of ministry in Ireland and the opportunity to know the church in action there was indeed a rich experience. Life at the RP Home is an inestimable blessing with its fellowship with God’s people whom we have known and worked with through the years. Opportunities for occasional preaching and teaching and volunteering in the Home garden pre vent rust-out. God has been especially near in Ethyl’s last illness and death. Our children have been faithful supporters throughout.

God’s richest blessing to me is the realization that He is a covenant God who is always reaching down to me calling me into union with Him, giving me forgiveness of sin in Christ, sustaining me in the obedience of faith, and giving me the privilege of colaboring in His kingdom. I confess that my response has been in no way commensurate with His grace—nor could it be—and that whatever it has been, has been wholly by the power of His Spirit. But He still graciously describes it as “[my] work” (Heh. 6:10). So I have the assurance with Paul that “a crown of righteousness [is laid up for me] which the Lord, the righteous judge will give to me on that Day” (2 Tim. 4:8). And then the blessing of eternity in His presence’. My glory to God!