1000 Stories of God

Leaving my home and close friends of over 40 years in Fredericksburg, I moved into my new house where at first I had no immediate neighbors close by. My son and his family, who lived 17 miles away in Greenville, visited me on the weekends. My husband was still in an Alzheimer’s unit in Fredericksburg as there was no space for him in the nursing home here.

Experiencing real loneliness for the first time in my life made me realize so clearly how much we need one another. Believing that the Lord had impressed on my heart to relocate in the valley, I had begun praying before I moved that God would lead me to a good church and help me find a few ladies to have as close friends.

Wow! Did God ever answer my prayer far above and immeasurably more than what I had asked or imagined. (Ephesians3:20) He led me immediately to Wayne Hills Baptist Church and to a pastor and a congregation that were even beyond the desire of my heart! I found a church home where ministering to one another and loving one another in Christ are principles emphasized and practiced.

He led me to people who dearly love the Lord and want to know and share His word. He gave me many friends who have ministered to me often and who poured out Christ’s love to me when my husband passed away. I praise God for His faithfulness, mercy and goodness and for each of you at Wayne Hills. - Carole Bolt

1000 Stories of God’s Glory:

The first event we had here on Ladd Road where the building now stands was a Sunrise Easter Service. Some of our members erected a cross to have as a backdrop for the modest service that was attended by only a few dozen people. But when I shared the gospel and invited anyone who wanted to receive Christ to come and kneel at the foot of that cross, a middle aged man named Percy Earhart did!

Think of that, a person was saved on the ground here before we ever built this building! Shortly after that Percy was baptized. A few years after that Percy got sick and died and I had the privilege of doing his funeral. You can see that cross up at the pavilion today, and it is immortalized in the painting that David Balderson did that hangs in the church. Submitted by: The Campbell Family

1000 Stories of God’s Glory:

In December of 2005 members of our church went on a mission trip to Thailand to distribute Bibles to vacationing Chinese people. We alternated between giving hundreds of Bibles out at a pier and just a few out in the lobby of our hotel. Naturally, we thought we were probably more effective at the pier. But sometimes God does His greatest work when we think that not much is happening.

I (Pastor Danny) was sitting by the hotel pool one afternoon when an excited 60 plus year old Chinese man came out of the water and began trying to talk with me. I didn’t know Chinese, and he didn’t know English! As fast as I could I went and found missionary Mark Heffner so I could understand what the man was trying to tell me.

Through Mark I learned that the man’s name was Mr. Wong, and he was a Engineer in a big city in the Yunnan Province. He shared with me that he had often wanted to read a Bible, but had never gained access to one. But two days earlier in the hotel lobby he rounded the corner and a ten year old boy asked him in very American sounding Chinese if he would like a Bible. He said yes!

As he was talking with me it was evident he had spent countless hours the last two days excitedly reading the Bible, and his countenance was glowing. He said, “what you are doing in giving people Bibles is the most important thing in the world.” I had double joy in meeting this man, not just for his new found faith but also in knowing it was my son Will Campbell who had given the man the Bible.

-Submitted by Campbell Family

1000 Stories of God’s Glory:

Years ago I (Pastor Danny) began meeting weekly at Weezie’s with Tom Lilly for mutual encouragement. Toward the end of one of our first times together we spoke from our hearts about things that we wanted to see happen in our lives. Tom mentioned that ever since he had gone to Promise Keeper’s he had wanted to make things right with his father in West Virginia, who he had now not seen in 20 years. I told him, “Tom, I’ll pray for that and go you one better - when your ready to go, I’ll take off work and go with you.”

After several months of us praying about this the big day came. I’ll never forget the amazing sight of Tom knocking on that door, his dad answering, and not even recognizing Tom at first because so many years had elapsed. But God had been working in Tom’s dad as well, and soon there was restored relationship! I saw a miracle of God’s grace unfold before my eyes that day, and Tom built many new relationships with step brothers and sisters because he had taken the words of Jesus seriously! It reminded me of the closing words of the Old Testament, that told us what would happen when Messiah came, “He will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and children to their fathers.” -Submitted by Campbell Family

1000 Stories of God’s Glory:

A few years ago Elizabeth Campbell went on the mother of all short term medical mission trips. She first flew to Australia on a big plane. Then from Australia to Papau New Guinea on a medium sized plane. Then to the jungle of Papau New Guinea on a tiny Cessna, landing on a grass runway. Then she boarded a canoe for a 6 hour canoe ride to make it to the jungle where she would participate with doctors and nurses and their helpers in doing surgeries.

Elizabeth says, “My job was pre-op and circulating nurse for the eye doctor. We fixed lots of cataracts that week. It was so neat to prep someone for surgery who was totally blind and the next day they come back for their post op visit able to see. I got a little taste of what Jesus must have felt like helping blind men see physically and spiritually.” Elizabeth did 70 eye surgeries in 5 days. The patients also saw the Jesus film and talked with native evagelists, and many trusted Christ for the very first time. -Submitted by the Campbell Family

1000 Stories of God’s Glory:

It has been several years now since Ray Shope went to Heaven, but three generations after him remain at Wayne Hills. After Ray’s first wife died, he didn’t have the heart to keep the camper that he and Viola had so often travelled in. So he sold it and brought the proceeds to the Pastor at the time and said, “Pastor, I’d like to put the money from the sale of this camper into the building fund.”

The Pastor looked at Ray somewhat confused and said, “Ray, we don’t have a building fund right now.” “We do now,” said Ray! Ray’s generous gift was the first gift toward the relocation effort that culminated with the building you and I sit in every Sunday morning! -Submitted by Campbell Family

1000 Stories of God’s Glory:

One of Ray Shope’s daughters, member Sharon McGlothlin, works as a waitress at Shoney’s. A few years back now she noticed that a customer seemed a little down. As Sharon spoke with her the lady told her that she was on her way from New Mexico to Philadelphia to attend her mother’s funeral.

Sharon discovered that the mother had been a Christian but the daughter was not. So Sharon shared the gospel with her and the lady prayed to receive Christ. A few weeks later she got a kind not from the woman thanking her for being the one to help her make her own peace with God, and how meaningful it had made her mom’s funeral for her! -Submitted by Campbell Family

1000 Stories of God’s Glory:

Fred &Velma Toms were one of the dearest couples to ever attend Wayne Hills. I (Pastor Danny) didn’t know them until they were advanced in years. But as I would go on trips with the Fun Bunch I grew to dearly love Fred & Velma. Getting around was a struggle for both of them. We all used to be amazed at how Fred, the little man with the big heart, would help his fragile little wife get in and out of the church van. Sometimes the pain she was experiencing from arthritis seemed overwhelming but she never complained.

After her death Fred still faithfully attended church. Bu this point he was very hard of hearing, and as a Pastor I wondered how much he could hear. Every Sunday he would point out to me what a good message it was. I would always smile and wonder if he ever really heard any of it! Eventually he too went to be with Jesus. From Fred & Velma Toms I learned how you can glorify God merely by showing up despite whatever pain you are experiencing. –Submitted by Campbell Family

1000 Stories of God’s Glory:

I prayed for years to hear about our granddaughter who was given up for adoption at birth. Fifteen years later I saw her name and picture in the sports section of the paper. Then I prayed to see her.

I attended a funeral of a friend of the adoptive parents hoping to see her there. During the service I realized she was sitting in front of me. I followed them out and watched them enter a car and leave. I thanked God and then began praying to meet her.

Later when my grandson asked to use my computer to check My Space I wrote down her name and asked him to check on it. Wide-eyed, he replied, “Grandma, we hang out together. She says she’s my sister and I tell her she’s crazy.”

God has allowed us to spend time with her and her adoptive family. He answers prayers in His time. I praise God for His goodness! Betty Haines

1000 Stories of God’s Glory:

Several years ago, the church did a program called FAITH. After some training, teams of three went visiting on Tuesday nights. One night, Dave Browning, Nancy Brady and I (Debbie) went to visit the Coiner family. In our conversation with them, Matt Coiner shared that he was feeling conflicted about what to do with his life. He was beginning to feel a call into ministry, but he just wasn’t sure. As we got ready to leave their home, we all joined hands there in their living room and we prayed for the family and specifically prayed that God would make His will clear to Matthew. Matt later became the pastor of Grottoes Baptist Church and has served there as pastor for the past seven years. It was so great to see how God answered our prayers for Matt. -Debbie Hall

1000 Stories of God’s Glory:

One Easter, the choir prepared the musical Eyes of Faith. As was usual for the choir, they worked very hard to learn all the new music. The choir prayed over several weeks for unity within the choir. They recognized that Jesus prayed that before he was crucified. His heart’s desire was that His followers have unity, so that became the prayer emphasis. Easter Sunday, as the choir was singing the last song, the cd began to skip and the longer they sang the more the cd skipped. Remarkably, the choir was able to be unified and continued to sing with the cd and continued to stay together. At the time, it seemed like such a discouraging, embarrassing thing to have to go through after working so hard on the music. It turned out to make the choir closer to each other and to increase their ability to sing in a unified way. What an unusual way God answered our prayer for unity!

-Debbie Hall

1000 Stories of God’s Glory:

In 1995, our family decided we needed to leave the state of Florida and move to Virginia. We knew no one in Waynesboro and didn’t have jobs but felt strongly that we were to move to Waynesboro. The hardest thing was leaving our family and our church family, especially for our boys who were active in their youth group. The week before we left Florida the boys went to church camp. The Scripture passage and theme for their week just “happened” to be Genesis 12 and the emphasis was that sometimes God would ask you to leave or let go of something familiar. Their various activities were around the theme of leaving. When we came to Waynesboro our realtor recommended WHBC as a place to visit. We visited there on the first Sunday we were in town. When we walked in Pastor Dan Gregg just “happened” to be preaching on Genesis 12 the very same passage. There was a slight difference, though. He was preaching on how important it is to let go of the familiar thing in order to grab ahold of the new thing God is giving you. It was a comforting confirmation for the entire family that we had done the right thing. –Debbie Hall

1000 Stories of God’s Glory:

Our family had grown to love a particular boy in the youth group and he spent a lot of time in our home and with our family. He eventually needed to leave his own home and needed somewhere to live. We really wanted him to live with us but for various reasons the timing just wasn’t right. We were very concerned about where he would end up. He was quite anxious about it. Our pastor and his wife, Dan and Debra Gregg, agreed to have him move in with them. Once they made that decision together with their three girls, they remodeled their home and determined that he would become a loved and accepted member of their family. This young boy happened to be in our home when Pastor Gregg called to offer him their home and the love of their entire family. It truly was a beautiful thing to watch this young boy’s response when he found out he had a home and a family to love him. He did move in with their family and stayed for a period of time and he was loved, For me, it was a beautiful picture of how God loves each one of us when He chooses us and invites us to be in His family. –Debbie Hall

1000 Stories of God’s Glory:

One Christmas Eve, Maggie Strickland was asked to tell the nativity story with her flannel boards. Numerous children had listened to Miss Maggie explain the love of God through her flannel board lessons. About thirty children joined her at the front to listen to the Christmas story. When she was finished, the children returned to their seats and Maggie said she wanted to pray a blessing over the church family. Having become a Christian later in life, Lee was particularly touched not only by the flannel board story but by the prayer of blessing. He got to experience as a man what many, many little WHBC boys got to experience as they were growing up. Miss Maggie is a special lady who uses her gift of teaching and her love of children to bring glory to God. -Debbie Hall

1000 Stories of God’s Glory:

Lee and I were living in Grottoes in 2007-2008. Lee was driving to Charlottesville to work and I was driving to the church to work and going twice on Sunday. Gas prices started to go up and up and we were spending $500-$600 a month in gas which was double what we had been. Our budget was getting tighter and tighter due to the increase in gas prices. We had our house for sale to try and move in closer but it wasn’t selling. It became very discouraging at times. Someone began giving anonymous money to us in the offering to help us pay for gas. We still don’t know who that person was, but we were so grateful and felt so loved by that thoughtful and generous gesture. –Debbie Hall

1000 Stories of God’s Glory:

Ten years ago Deacon retired after pastoring Temple Baptist Church in Washington, DC for 10 years. He felt then that he’d given all he could and it was time to leave. The 3^rd oldest Baptist Church in DC, begun in 1842 when it was called “Washington City”, it had seen many ups and downs over the years.

When the Lord led us there in 1988, it had dwindled to a very small group of old people. There were no children nor young people. Can you imagine? It was next to American University, but there were other big churches nearby --- National Presbyterian across the street and Metropolitan United Methodist ½ block away, both of which had extensive ministries. American University was founded by Methodists. National Presbyterian’s minister was Dr. Louis Evans, a great preacher.

But God does not forget the small churches who have a heart for Him. We got to know a number of college age students, not only through Sunday School and Worship, but also in a Friday evening Coffee House we began in the church basement. We often brought students home after church on Sundays for dinner in our home in VA, then drive 2 cars-full back to DC in late afternoon.

So what’s the story?

After all these years, we still are in touch with 3 of them. Let me tell you….

Lori, who was here with us last week with her daughter from PA, came to DC as a young nanny. She became like a daughter to us as her family was in Ohio. Against our advice, she married a young man who drew her away from the church. Later they divorced. She came to us and said, “I realized I put him before Christ in my life.” She has since remarried, has a daughter of her own, and is now in a good church in PA.

Joel was a medical student at Georgetown University. He came to Temple when he met a man from Temple distributing Gideon New Testaments. Joel came from a Christian home but had found no Christian friends at Georgetown. Some of our LOLs (Little Old Ladies) tried to match him up with some of the girls, but Joel wisely said, “I have no time for a relati onship now. I’m here to study and that’s my focus.” After his graduation, he was sent to Hawaii where he met a lovely young flight attendant at church. They hit it off immediately and married several months later. He and Lisa have always participated in the youth ministry of the churches where they’ve been. He became an orthopedic surgeon with hand surgery his specialty. Joel was one of the first to be sent to Iraq and has been there twice. He and Lisa now have 2 sons and an adopted daughter from China. He is now in private practice in San Antonio, TX and credits his time at Temple as being important in his life.

Lana had just graduated from college when she came to Temple, but did not know what she wanted to do. She really wanted to be a wife and mother, but there were no prospects on the horizon. An Air Force brat, she decided to try that. The church gave her a farewell party, and she hoped to return to DC after basic training. But she was sent to Great Falls, Montana instead! But God had plans for her there. In a Bible study she met Jim, also Air Force. They married and now have 5 children, all of them home-schooled. She called us last Friday to tell us they are in Newport News awaiting orders and could they come to see us on Saturday. We were thrilled as we had not seen her since shortly after her marriage when we met Jim 16 years ago! So we had a wonderful afternoon and evening at our home with all 7 of them.

In less than a week, both she and Lori have told us that they still consider Temple their church, even though they’re both in good churches now. WOW!

We praise God for having used us in their lives, but what a blessing to hear years later that their time in that little church was meaningful to them and they are still going on and growing in the Lord!

We could relate some other stories, but this I’d like to share:

To young people: Don’t neglect the church (Hebrews 10:24-25). Ask God to lead you to one where you can serve and be served. He will. To old people: Don’t neglect the young because you don’t think you have anything in common with them. God made families. That’s all ages. We can each learn from one another.

And don’t give up because you don’t see fruit produced. Keep on keepin’ on! Pray for one another and show love and respect for one another.

To God be the glory! Rose Marie Smith (Psalm 71:17-18)