2008 Christmas Letter

Merry CHRISTmas 2008 and 2009

Dear Family and Friends, finally a Maas update!!

Amazingly, 2008 has come and gone. (All right about a year ago!) We pray that YOUR 2008 was a time of new or continued growth in our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Messiah, the Savior, the Son of the Living God. There is no other god above Him. PRAISE YOU, JESUS!

Because of Jesus and His love for us, we continue to volunteer full-time with Friend Ships located in Lake Charles, Louisiana. In 2008, Friend Ships deployed us and many other crewmembers to 3 different locations.



In April Steve was deployed with an all male crew to bring a donated houseboat from east Louisiana to west Louisiana (Lake Charles). It was a Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn adventure! Below he is pushing the houseboat with another boat on his right, which is also pushing the houseboat. Left: the motorless houseboat.
























Our first deployment together was to Nevis, West Indies where we helped behind the scenes with a 5-day medical outreach. We left Port Mercy/Lake Charles Sunday morning on May 4th and arrived in Nevis Wednesday morning, May 14th. Several days later, medical personnel began arriving and on Tuesday, May 20th, the medical clinics were open and ready to serve.






The site set up was stunning and over 1,970
patients were seen during the 5-day outreach. During the day children watched puppet shows, were taught Bible stories, jumped on the trampolines or in the bounce house. (We even took a turn jumping in the colorful bounce house!) The adults listened to educational lessons, preaching and watched God’s Story and Jesus films. Evening services were held and salvations were many—Praise the Lord!



We were part of the guest workers support unit meaning that we dealt with the doctors and nurses and stayed on the ship. We did not have interaction with patients or the people of Nevis, which was a let down in a way. But it taught us that if we say we are servants; we are a servant to all. It also taught that we do not have to have the glory of seeing people come to Christ knowing that we are the ones who are keeping the ground fertile. . .BUT as you can see, it wasn’t all work and no play!

















Steve kept busy loading or unloading people from boats and the helicopter. He also kept two young men occupied as they worked together in the engine room repairing a generator, keeping
the watermaker going and doing fix-it jobs. He ferried our crew and guests by boat several times, but that was not his favorite job.



Steve made a memorable impression on our helicopter pilot when he “dropped off” the pilot at the Nevis dock. He had a little problem of having the boat in reverse, so the pilot was left hanging on the dock railing. The pilot couldn’t get a foothold, so had to let go and went under in the 7-10 foot blue Caribbean ocean. He commented, “Don’t ask Steve to drop you off because that is what he will do!” (The pilot was a great sport throughout all this!)







Debbie worked in the ship office and supervised the domestics. She had a wonderful team with everyone doing an outstanding job. She prepared a lot of paperwork such as the Billet and Muster lists, which are necessary for everyone to know what he or she needs to do in the event of an emergency. She also prepared the necessary papers needed for the arrivals at Nevis and USA including crew effects and ship stores, plus did announcements, schedules, etc. When the guests arrived, starting May 17, she greeted them and helped them get accustomed to ship safety and living.





We sailed from Nevis Wednesday evening at 7:30
on May 28th and arrived at Port Mercy on Friday, June 6th. It was a very successful and beneficial medical outreach with the people being very grateful.

A Couple of Cool Dudes! (Returning from Nevis on MV Hope)

. . .AND THE HEAVENS SHALL DECLARE THE LORD'S GLORY. . .

Our next deployment took place on Sunday, August 10th. We left with 8 other crewmembers, driving 3 vehicles all pulling trailers, bound for our facility in Wilmington, California near Los Angeles. We, along with our Capt., were in a semi truck the entire 3-day trip.














The Wilmington facility has seen 56 million pounds of food come in and go out. The 7 weeks that we were there over 32,000 pounds of food was donated. God is such a faithful provider!!

Our crew was basically divided into a “warehouse” crew and a “boat” crew with some overlap of duties as needed. The “boat” team worked on a donated yacht, which will be used to minister to pastors in the Caribbean islands. They were getting her seaworthy, adding many beautiful touches to the interior of the ship, and getting engines up and running. The “warehouse” team did the office, phones, receiving and disbursing donations, cooking, and laundry plus the outside work of keeping things running or getting them to run, etc. At various times, Steve was part of both crews. Debbie was in the office.



The original plan was that after the yacht was finished we would head to Seattle where another donated ship (MV Integrity) was awaiting work to be done on her. Eventually, we would bring both of these vessels thru the Panama Canal and back to Lake Charles. Right: the yacht being lifted for dry dock.

However, on August 30th, Steve was flown to Port Mercy (Lake Charles) because of the threat of Hurricane Gustav. We received no damage, praise God, but Hurricane Ike was a different story; we had considerable flooding. Normally, the area where the people are walking is dry, but here they are in waist high water. Some damage occurred in several crewmembers’ trailers and also water was in the warehouses, but it didn’t get above the pallets, so most everything was safe. Crew and invited guests stayed on our two disaster response vessels, MV Hope and MV Mersea, while the storms raged. Steve was the only engineer and since both ships were in use, he was busy!

Also the houseboat broke loose, but Steve and Captain were eventually able to get her back to our dock. Debbie was very grateful when Steve flew back to Wilmington September 20th. By then the decision was made to respond to the Galveston, Texas mayor’s invitation and give aid to those who were hit by Hurricane Ike. (Right: Steve's hair-do after getting the houseboat back to dock. . . . . .lots of wind!)







Our third deployment began on October 1st when we left California and headed to Lake Charles arriving in the wee hours of Friday morning, the 3rd. Preparing the Hope and Mersea for sailing was the first assignment; however, the Hope had a computer problem and had to stay behind for 9 days.

We were part of the crew that brought the Mersea to Galveston on October 8. (Debbie's first time as helmsman!) By the next evening, we fed hundreds of people between 3:00-6:00 p.m. That was just the beginning; by the end of our stay we had fed thousands, up to 2000 per day! The menu was chicken or ribs, mashed potatoes or rice, veggie, fruit, candy and drinks. Days were long starting at 6:30 a.m. with Morning Refreshing (our corporate devotions) and ending anywhere between 8:00-11:59 p.m.


Friend Ships' dining café, called “From Jesus with Love,” was a great place for people to relax, sit down and enjoy a home-cooked hot meal. It was also a great place to be introduced to the Lord Jesus Christ. Friend Ships became acquainted with the Billy Graham Evangelical Association Rapid Response Team and these Chaplains came to our tent every evening to minister to the hurting people. They were another Godsend since it took all of our energy and time to prepare and serve the meals. These folks were available to visit with the people, listen, share about Christ, and pray with them. With statistics from the BGEA starting October 31 and ending on November 20, the following were touched: 822 people were prayed for, 30 people made first time decisions (which included a family of 10!), 13 people rededicated their lives, and 9 people prayed a prayer of assurance. Other stats included over 60,000 hot meals distributed plus the uncounted ready to eat meals and drinks that went out each night; 58 houses were either gutted, had contents removed, or yard work done including a church; 92 people stayed aboard the ships with 50-100 people serving as day workers, plus 35 Billy Graham Chaplains were housed on board.



Steve was busy keeping the generators going and once Hope arrived, connecting the two ships together with power via one set of generators. There was also the usual maintenance on the ships plus fueling and keeping the reefer trailers, forklift, cars and trucks going. He was called to the site several times to get propane burners to light or the power washer, bobcat, etc. running.
Debbie was thrilled when Hope pulled in on October 17th because she had 35 people to house arriving the next day! The empty cabins on the Hope were put to immediate use! Again, she greeted guests and helped them adjust to ship life.



We returned with the Mersea on Tuesday, November 25, at 9:30 p.m., worked one day and then had 4 days off—a very lovely time to relax and catch up on sleep. The next week we were once again privileged to attend the International WorkBoat Show in New Orleans.







In December we had our monthly vacation and headed to Wyoming to visit Stephanie and grandson, Brody, Debbie’s parents and brothers and drove to Newcastle to visit with Jason. Then we flew to New York and visited with Glenn, Sonja, Caleb, Hannah, Lydia, and Abigail.



Stephanie returned to school full time at the local community college in Cheyenne studing multi-media and continued to work full time as a retail associate at Sierra Trading Post. She and Brody went to Maine for a friend’s wedding and then to New York to visit Glenn, Sonja and the cousins (Caleb, Hannah, Lydia, and Abigail) plus visited Aunt Kendra during the Balloon Festival in Albuquerque with Grandma and Grandpa Reynolds.




















Kendra and Doug lived in Albuquerque while Kendra finished getting her Ph. D. She finished her dissertation in October and defended in November. Doug worked on several archaeological projects in Nevada, California, Oregon and Idaho from May to December.
























Glenn and Sonja, Caleb, Hannah, Lydia and Abigail were in Rochester, New York in 2008. Glenn worked at Highland Hospital, a few blocks away from their home. They enjoyed Highland Park, which was across the street from their apartment and a great place to go sledding. They also enjoyed the Strong Museum of Play, the library, and activities at church including Small Group and AWANA. They had visits from Stephanie and Brody and us. On a sad note, Sonja's Dad passed away. Note the creative picture: Hannah, far right, is the only person who is not a reflection from a mirror while everyone else is looking at mirrors.

Jason is doing good.

It was great to visit
him over a weekend.

THE GRANDKIDS!!

Hopefully our 2009 CHRISTmas letter will be posted soon!

We love you all! And love to hear from you, too. (However, we greatly dislike forwards!)

Have a very Merry CHRISTmas!

Blessings from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Baby who was born to die on a cross for our sin, Steve and Debbie

Stephanie Melodrama

Christmas Letter 2007

December 2007

Dear Family and Friends,

We have experienced many MIRACLES this year during both joy and difficulties. GOD IS ALWAYS FAITHFUL, STEADFAST, PATIENT, ABOUNDING IN LOVE, JUST, FORGIVING, COMPASSIONATE . . .

Debbie has been memorizing Psalms 34 over the past year. It has been very helpful during the good times and the bad times.

"I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together! I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Look to him and be radiant, so your faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. O taste and see that the Lord is good! Happy is the man who takes refuge in him! O fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no want! The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Come, O sons, listen to me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is there who desires life and covets many days, that he may enjoy good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. The face of the Lord is against evildoers, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the broken-hearted, and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones, not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned." Psalms 34

Deb’s Dad and step-Mom, Warren and Bernie Nicodemus, visited us at Friend Ships’ Port Mercy (Lake Charles) January 2007. We had a great time exploring Sam Houston Jones State Park and being together. (Picture: We are in the mess hall of M/V Spirit. She currently houses about 2/3 of the crew. {The rest of the crew lives in RVs.} She was donated to Friend Ships in 1985 and has sailed to Africa, Croatia, Albania, Central America, Russia, and many more countries).








Steve was named Mechanic Supervisor, which according to him he doesn’t get to do much mechaniking because he needs to keep everyone else busy! He did a lot of work with the crane this year including putting up a huge 48’x60’ vinyl cover on 5-40’ containers, hoisted a huge vinyl tent that will eventually be used as our outdoor kitchen, and a swimming pool liner (again made with vinyl) filled and slowly lowered into a former fuel tank. The pool was ready July 4th, so we had a ball and it was a great place to cool down! We also used the pool for ship safety training. Steve and three other men drove to Friend Ships Storehouse One in Wilmington, California to bring back trailer loads of items. He also had the opportunity to visit his Mother while there—on Mother’s Day! Earlier in the year, Steve injured his back but kept going anyway. He finally had to quit early June and spent a week in bed. But the Lord had another MIRACLE in store as he used a chiropractor friend of Friend Ships to bring about healing and restoration. We praise HIM!


Steve attended a week-long training of basic survival early in April sponsored by Mercy Ships. He really enjoyed the first-rate instruction and hands on experience. In a full fire-fighting suit, he had to locate an injured dummy and put out wood, petroleum, and electrical fires. He also suited up in a ‘Gumby suit.’ A bright orange suit that is worn during abandon ship exercises. Just like getting dressed in the fire suit, there is a time limit of getting the Gumby on also. He then jumped from a diving board into a swimming pool experiencing the possibility of having to do that in a real life abandon ship situation. The entire class had to practice the “May Day” signal of distress. Steve said, “May Day! May Day! May Day! This is the good ship Lollipop, Lollipop, Lollipop. We have 5 children on board who have burnt tongues because they licked candy. We need immediate assistance. Our quadrants are…” which was somewhere in Yellowstone National Park! Come to find out, this practice and all the exams were given to the Coast Guard and they can review Steve’s information at any time! He also studied basic first aid, CPR, care for stroke and choking victims, etc. He received a certificate for "Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Basic Safety Training." (Picture: Steve, in a raft in Friend Ships' pool (a former fuel tank), during ship safety training).




Debbie was named the Resource Development Supervisor after her boss left to get married. (Boo for Deb. YIPPEE for boss!) But, Debbie has two wonderful girls working with her (Glenda and Tami), procuring needed items from companies. (YEAY!!) (Picture: Debbie, Theresa, Glenda, Rebeka, and Tami). Debbie also worked on and received free shipping to send vinyl to Peru after an 8.9 earthquake hit there. One of God’s many procurement MIRACLES. The vinyl, grommets, and grommet tools were given to the Southern Baptist Convention of Peru. She’s awaiting an answer regarding donated transportation to Roatán, via Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, to get supplies to our facility and crew. The Dream Center in California paid for a shipment of vinyl, food, clothing and linens to the Dominican Republic after 2 rivers flooded. The vinyl is wonderful shelter material. Debbie also prepared and worked at the International WorkBoat Show in New Orleans. The really cool thing was that Steve got to go, too(!), to IWBS and also Captain Stan and his wife, Sharon. Steve and Capt. went to the many booths to see what Friend Ships needed and to ask if the companies would consider donating their products. Sharon stayed with the Friend Ships booth display and Debbie went to the numerous companies that donate to us to personally say “Thank You!” MIRACLES included a lady chasing Debbie down an aisle, extending an invitation to her company’s party and stating that she is working on her president to agree to donate to Friend Ships! (The food at the party was outstanding and the tables and chairs were dressed in white with huge bows on the chairs' backs!) Another MIRACLE: A company had previously donated a flatbed trailer load of mooring lines. At the show, one of the employees hugged Debbie and said, “I am a born again, spirit-filled believer and I am so glad we could help you!” (Picture: Steve and Debbie at the International WorkBoat Show).

The MIRACLE of “The Wrench.” Debbie sent an email to a company requesting a loan of a hydraulic or mechanical main bearing wrench needed to work on an engine part in our disaster relief/medical outreach vessel, M/V Hope. This company had donated to us in the past, but they never responded after numerous follow-up calls. A week or so later, Captain called another company requesting to buy The Wrench and found out that the hydraulic wrench cost over $8,000, so no wonder the first company wasn’t responding. (Donating is one thing, but loaning expensive equipment is another). This new company offered a good discount on the purchase of the mechanical wrench, but . . . Wally (our 84 year young Chief Engineer) and his engine crew (Steve) were using a box-end wrench with another box-end wrench hooked to it and a bar to break the nuts on the engine part. It was a very slow process with not much ground being gained over a period of 2 to 3 days. Mid August, Captain was telling his woes to our next-door neighbor’s son and he said, “Hey, I have something to show you. Do you have time to come with me?” Captain said, “Sure,” and over to the recycling place they went. Captain was taken into the office where some tools were lying on the floor. There was The Wrench, the $8,000 plus hydraulic wrench that we needed; and they let us borrow it!!! (Pictures: THE HYDRAULIC TORQUE WRENCH (left) and (right) its black box power source sitting in a golf cart).




Proverbs 19:21 “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established.” M/V Hope sailed with a crew of 44 for Nevis and Honduras on Monday, October 1, but due to unforeseen circumstances, she had to turn around and head for home. On October 10, we left on M/V Mersea with a small crew of 14 to give aid to the Hope. We had mechanical problems, but the Lord was gracious and we were able to bring the Hope home on Monday, the 15th. (More MIRACLES). Man’s plans were to host medical outreaches in Nevis and Honduras with M/V Hope and provide disaster relief aid with M/V Mersea to Nicaragua and Honduras after Hurricane Felix’s devastation. God’s plan was, “Wait.” God’s timing is always perfect and always has a reason. We may never know the ‘why’, but we can still trust Him. (Picture: Debbie and Steve — going out to sea).

After working 14-16 hour days for weeks, all the crew had several days off and then Steve went to work on the Hope. He was down in her belly all of one week working to get a motor out. By Wednesday noon, he had 2 bolts out, but still had 1 more to go, which would then release the motor. It is very difficult to describe how Steve was laying while he worked on this motor. He had bare steel under his head, ribs and feet; everywhere else was just air. He had to use a mirror to see where he wanted to place the cutting torch so he could cut a hole so he would have enough room to remove the bolt. He had a pillow under his head because he couldn’t continuously hold his head up at the correct angle. By Friday noon, he completed the task and afterwards realized how sore his ribs and body were! Steve prayed Friday morning asking the Lord to reveal how, where, and what to cut with the torch. Jesus did; another MIRACLE! (Please see a video at the end of this posting).


We flew to Wyoming for a week the end of May and saw Stephanie, Brody, Kendra, and Jason. We had a great family reunion with Deb’s brothers, families and Mom and Earl. We also saw Steve’s brother and children in Laramie. The last time we saw them was at Kendra and Doug’s wedding in 2004. We haven’t seen Glenn, Sonja and kids since last Christmas. (Picture: The 3 D's— Steve and Debbie, Doyle and Janet, Danny and Nancy).

(Picture below: Brody with first cousin Timothy Maas (wearing cap). Cousin Enoch and Uncle John were there, too).

On a sad note, our youngest son, Jason, was arrested in the fall. We flew to Cheyenne and were able to visit him week days via video monitor. During this time Jason recommitted his life to Jesus and is reading His Word. We know that God is faithful and we know that this too shall pass and that God will bring good out of it. He already has with Jason returning to Him. Address: Jason Maas, 1019 North First Ave, Lake Charles LA 70601




In the fall, Glenn and Sonja, Caleb, Hannah, Lydia and Abigail moved to Rochester, New York where Glenn is working as a tech at a hospital. He has applied to medical schools and had his first interview with SUNY Upstate and has another scheduled in February with the University of Rochester with expectations of more interviews in the future. They are really enjoying Rochester and all it has to offer—the zoo, museums, parks within walking distance, library, and more. Sonja is home schooling Caleb and Hannah and it was very exciting to hear Caleb read his birthday card to us this year! (Picture: Glenn and Sonja, Caleb, 7; Abigail, 2; Lydia, 3; and Hannah, 5). Glenn and Sonja Maas, 1090 South Ave Apt 4, Rochester NY 14620.


Kendra and Doug are finally together in the United States instead of commuting between U.S. and Canada!! Doug received his green card in the summer, so they now reside in Albuquerque. Kendra continues to work towards her Ph.D., doing lab work for statistics, preparing her paper (Yeah, right!), etc. Doug recently got a job working for a large surveying/archeological company. Kendra and Doug Mitchell, 237 Hermosa St NE, Albuquerque NM 87108.


Stephanie and Brody moved into their own apartment this spring. Steph continues to work for Sierra Trading Post, but now is in the Fulfillment Center doing retail. The hours are great for her and Brody and she really enjoys meeting the public. She took Photo Shop classes at the local community college (receiving an “A” in the class!) and learned how to create unique pictures, restore damaged ones, etc. Stephanie Maas, 540 Melton St Apt 2, Cheyenne WY 82009.

We anticipate the possibility of sailing with Friend Ships in April when Friend Ships once again heads to Nevis and Honduras for medical outreaches. But in the meantime. . .

We left mid December for vacation—a coast to coast trip via Amtrak! We are spending Christmas with Glenn, Sonja and the kids, visiting Cheyenne to see Steph, Brody, Jason, Dad and Bernie (Mom and Earl headed south for the winter!); then to Albuquerque to see Kendra and Doug and finally to California to be with Mother (Steve’s Mom). We are excited about this month long trip and again it’s another one of God’s MIRACLES!

God’s greatest MIRACLE to each one of us is this: “For God so loved the world (you and me) that he GAVE his only begotten Son (Jesus) that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s only begotten Son.” (John 3:16-18) “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) “…the wages of sin is death, BUT the GIFT of GOD is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) “Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’” (John 3:3) “Jesus said, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:6) “. . .if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, ‘Everyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.’” (Romans 10:9-11) “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:11, 12) “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20) Have you opened your heart's door and asked Jesus to come in to be your Savior and Master?

We pray that as you walked through difficulties and joys this year that you too have seen many MIRACLES! But mostly we pray that you accepted the greatest MIRACLE of all: Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord!!

We hope you had a Merry CHRISTmas and Hap-Hap-Hap-HAP-HA----PPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Love, Steve and Debbie


Fun Pictures:


OOPS! The combination of extending the Bantam’s boom and muddy, soft ground around the swimming pool gave Steve a ‘weird sensation!’

















Duffy, Debbie and David doing the caterpillar crawl in Gumby suits.























Memorial weekend fun: Kendra blowing bubbles for Brody with Ruth (Deb’s Mom) nearby.















More Memorial weekend fun: Kick ball—the oldsters against the young'uns. (We lost BIG TIME!!)














Glenn's family had lots of fun riding bikes and/or being towed this summer besides saving on fuel!












Brody and Grandpa having fun in the leaves.














Steve and Debbie attended the musical play Scrooge, which had two Friend Ships crewmembers as part of the cast. David played Bob Crachet and his daughter, Elise, was Tiny Tim. The set and top hat were part of the fun props.
















Help to Guinea, West Africa from Friend Ships:

Early 2007 Debbie was involved with calling churches and organizations offering vinyl to them for future disaster relief, roofing their buildings, etc. A men’s homeless shelter picked up a trailer load of vinyl to cover the men’s barracks. What a blessing that was! Then a New Tribes missionary called while on furlough having heard from a friend that Friend Ships had vinyl to give away. He, his wife (a native of Sulphur, a nearby town to Lake Charles), and children minister to the Landuma people in Guinea, West Africa. We want to share a few pictures and one story of the distribution of that vinyl to the Landuma people.



The missionary reported, “None of the people that are receiving vinyl are believers. The two believers in our village have tin roofs; however, one of them asked for some vinyl anyway. He explained that he wanted to give it to his father-in-law. After this believer was baptized into the Christian faith in November 2005, his wife’s father took his daughter from her husband and forced her to live at his home (4 miles down the road). The father tried to force them to divorce so that a Muslim could marry his daughter, but the believer refused, saying, “Divorce is contrary to God’s will.” After over a year with the issue not being resolved, the wife finally returned to her believing husband. Her father made threats and disowned his daughter. So the Christian and the father-in-law have not been on the best of terms, to say the least. We have been talking in our church meetings about how we need to do good to those who mistreat us, something which is very contrary to the local culture. So the Christian wanted to take this opportunity to do good to his father-in-law, and give him some vinyl for his grass house. Some villagers told the believer that his father-in-law wouldn’t accept the gift because he was still angry, but he decided to take it to him anyway. When he saw his daughter’s husband at a distance, the father jumped up and ran to him with an enthusiastic greeting. He was very pleased with the vinyl. They had a good little chat, and his father-in-law told him to bring the grandkids by sometime and spend the day!” (Picture: The believer, his wives and children.)




(Video: Part 1 of getting the bolt out).