The Journey - Winter 2011

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2 Winter 2011

It’s the Journey that Counts

by Jimmy Blevins, Ashe County Chief Executive officer (CEO) of SkyLine/SkyBest she went through raising five kids. To support our family, Daddy worked on the maintence crew for a local town, and Mom worked in a school cafeteria.

I was born in a small community in the Bristol area of the county. My father was an alcoholic, but I had a very loving and caring mother. Mom took the five of us kids to church and encouraged us to get involved in sports, to do well in our schoolwork, and to go to college to further our education.

Times were difficult for Mom because she had three boys and two girls, but she never gave up, even with all the difficulty

Sports were a huge influence and a big part of our lives. All of us kids played sports. I played football, wrestled, and ran track. We were very active in school.

We’d stay late at practice because, truthfully, we dreaded going home. But in spite of that, we were committed to doing our best the way Mom had taught us.

At times, Daddy would get violent and we’d have to leave. Mom would drive to the old hospital parking lot and we would sleep in the car. This kind of life affects you in so many ways as a child. I’ve told my son that no one knows what kids go

through the night before going to school the next day. Many teachers have no idea what “little Johnny” has gone through, why he doesn’t have his homework or his lunch or why he is sad.

Made Better Because of Trials I never got to know my Daddy. When he wasn’t drinking he was a very likable man, but at 21 and a junior in college I realized I never got to know him. That summer, as I did for eight years, I was working with the Chuck Gardner family at their Christmas tree farm. Gardner’s son, Rick, was my boss.

I came home from shearing trees one day

(Cont. on Pg. 4)

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(Continued from Pg. 3)

years during high school and college.

and learned that Daddy was in the hospital. A girlfriend told me that I needed to see my father and get to know him. I went to the hospital to talk to him but he was asleep and I didn’t want to wake him up. There was a ballgame that night so I went to it. While I was at the game, Daddy got worse and went into a coma. He died a couple of days later. We never had that talk. I’d liked to have had the opportunity to get to know him.

We got out early, 5:30 AM, to work in the trees, and I appreciated the mix of hard work, camaraderie, and friendship I had with all the Gardners. Rick, Ken, and Chuck (their dad) helped me more than they will ever know, and I really appreciate them.

The difficulties our family went through made all five of us kid’s better people. We learned from our Mom to be dependable and hard-working. We had to depend on each other and the Lord. My brother, Johnny, now a pastor in Elkin, had the greatest influence on my life. As we grew from boyhood into manhood, Johnny was always positive and told us we could be what we wanted to be.

Things Happen for a Reason I also believe that things happen for a reason. In the seventh grade, Rick Gardner was my football coach and has had a great influence on my life since.

Rick has been my teacher, coach, employer, and friend. I worked for him on the Gardner Christmas Tree Farm for eight

God’s Timing Is Perfect I tell people that success in life is all about timing. All my life, I’d wanted to be an engineer. I worked hard in high school and won a full veteran’s scholarship to N.C. State. Concentrating on my studies came first, and I rarely made it home. I graduated in 1984 with a civil engineering degree and quickly found a job with the largest engineering firm in North Carolina at that time.

Although my engineering job was going well, when I was home visiting, a friend suggested that I apply for a job at Skyline Telephone. Hobie Davis, the CEO, took a chance on me and put me to work.

Hobie mentored and helped me a great deal while we worked together. A fine board of directors has shown me how dedication and concern for others translates into the workplace. Now I can look back and see that coming to Skyline was God’s divine guidance. It was the right time.

When I went to a local bank to open a checking account after I’d been hired as an engineer at Skyline, I had no idea the young woman who helped me would become my wife two years later.

Judy and I worked out at Little’s Gym on weeknights, and we began talking. Talking led to dating and dating led to marriage. It’s all about timing, the timing of the Lord.

Influencing for the Good Judy and I have one son, Jacob. I don’t have very many happy memories from growing up, so I’ve tried to make happy memories for Judy and Jacob, whether

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it’s raining and we are shivering in a lean-to on Mt. Rogers, hiking as a family, vacationing, flying to the Grand Canyon on a whim, or just being in the stands at Jacob’s ballgames. We love being together no matter what we are doing, and I desire to be a good influence on my family.

The older I get and the longer I’m in this job, the more I realize how important it is to be a good influence on people. Now, I can see the value of mentoring young people. The Gardner family, and Rick especially, mentored me with their support during the years of my youth. It means a lot to people to just give them a pat on the back and tell them they did a good job.

As CEO of Skybest, I want to do the same thing for our employees that Hobie Davis did for me -- he encouraged me and helped me be my best for this company and in my life. There are so many who have played a signifant role in my (almost) 50 years, but the Lord has been my constant. He is the best mentor, leader, and friend I’ve ever had.

In His timing, He brought me out of a difficult home situation and has given me stability, a good job, and a wonderful family. I hope, because of where I’ve come from, that I can be that positive role models for others.

Relish the Moment Robert J. Hastings wrote in his famous essay, “The Station is an illusion…it constantly outdistances us…tucked away in our minds is an idyllic vision in which we see ourselves on a long journey that spans an entire continent…we’re traveling by train and, from the windows, we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at crossings, of cattle grazing in distant pastures… valleys, city skylines and village hails.”

Hastings says, “That we wait ‘til we’re eighteen…win that promotion…put the last kid through college…have a nest egg for retirement…from that day on we will all live happily ever after…but sooner or later we realize there is no Station in this life, no one earthly place to arrive at once and for all…The journey is the joy… yesterday belongs to history, tomorrow belongs to God.” He closes with this: “Relish the moment… couple it with Psalm 118:24, “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

I try to relish each day, enjoy my family, my church, my co-workers, and my Lord.

It is the journey that counts.

Publisher’s Note Welcome to our new, improved and expanded edition of “The Journey”.

Wow! Are the holidays upon us already? I guess, as they say, “Time flies when you’re having fun.” I trust you really are having fun and enjoying your own journey as you go. Whether you are having fun or not, I believe you will find inspiration in these pages to help you gain perspective and meet your own challenges in life, whatever they are.

I love a good story! That’s why we take the time to find interesting people from all walks of life who are willing to share their spiritual journeys through this publication. Because of the diversity of writers, we are not always able to endorse everything that is said nor can we be held responsible for the total veracity of every story, but we are happy to share each unique one.

Whether you are visiting the High Country or a resident here, I believe your hearts will be warmed by the love of God that each person has shared about, in the telling of their stories. I also believe you will gain a deeper appreciation of what makes these mountains such a great place to live. Happy Reading!

Contents Jimmy Blevins p. 3 Mindy Coatney p. 7 Tim Brown p. 8 Debbie Edwards p. 11 Mark Chaney p. 12 Judy Hawks p. 15 Kevin Frye p. 16 Danny & Kathy Whittington p. 18 Leila Harris p. 20 Tommy Burleson p. 22 Martha Crosswell p. 28 Carl Clawson p. 30 Melissa Grogan p. 33 Mellott Faust p. 35 Marti Barinowski p. 36 George Wright p. 38 Fran Steelman p. 40 Doc Hendley p. 42 c Copyright 2011 Any type of reproduction of this magazine is prohibited without permission from Main Street Marketing.

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6 Winter 2011

Bakers of Bread, Builders of Community

Seasons of Life

by Mindy Coatney, Watauga County

There was a season in my life, after getting the call from the Lord to go into education, which I felt had come to a dead end. I felt lost and depressed. To me it seemed that God had brought me through so many rich experiences, and then He dropped me. After college was finished, I thought He had forgotten me. The truth is I dropped Him. God Answers Amidst Uncertain Season of Life It was during this time God called me to a very serious place with the Holy Spirit. He called me to pray and fast from food for three days. At that moment, He clearly called me to renew my focus on Him. I don’t think I ever strayed from the Lord completely; I believe I was simply overwhelmed with options and uncertainties. The situation finally came to a head. I was doing nothing, which caused me to feel “let go” by the Lord.

After praying and fasting for three days for the first time in my life, an opportunity opened for me to work at Samaritan’s Purse. Before the interview at SP, I never thought God was pointing me in that direction, but I was hired and spent five years with the organization. I worked with Operation Christmas Child for three years and with the Children’s Heart Project the last two. That was, without doubt, God’s answer for that season in my life.

God Breaks the Chain of Divorce Another struggle in my life was choosing a mate. I’m not a decision-

maker and my decisions regarding boyfriends were often not good. I wasted a lot of effort on my wrong choices. I began to sense that God had someone totally new in my future, someone I could feel confident that He had picked just for me.

I prayed specifics: that it would be clear to both of us that this was God’s plan, and that things would happen quickly. That man, to my delight, was in the Samaritan’s Purse cubical next to mine. His name was Carson Coatney.

We dated for two weeks, and I told him that I would say “Yes!” if he asked me to marry him. This was really different from my past indecisions. At the end of two weeks, we were engaged on Easter Sunday on the back porch of his grandparent’s home in Kentucky, and married in 4 months.

God had so clearly answered my prayer for a husband. It was the first time in my life I had no doubts. I knew I was marrying the right person.

I came from a divorced family background, and I desperately wanted to avoid that in my own life. We believe God broke the chain of divorce with our marriage.

As I look back at that time of fasting and prayer, it is easy to see God undoubtedly leading and perfecting me. But I had an on-going responsibility to get real with Him. It was a true signpost in my life when I fasted and prayed those three days.

Without that time, I may have missed God’s calling.

One way that we felt God leading us was in starting our own business. We loved our time with Samaritan’s Purse.

Carson worked with Operation Christmas Child as I had, but we both wanted to start a family and Carson had always wanted his own business.

Neither Carson’s degree in economics nor mine in education gave a hint that we would become bakers of bread.

But in 2000, we stumbled into a bakery in the Washington D.C. area, and we thought the concept would work well here in Boone. We also believed God put the seed in our hearts to start the bakery.

Owning your own business can be a scary thing. Things aren’t always perfect; people aren’t always happy.

It keeps us before our Lord. We made decisions early on to reflect our desire to serve the Lord with all that He has given us, like setting aside a day of worship, rest and family time on Sundays.

God has proven to us that this is a ministry to our community, our customers, and our employees. The bakery is a way for us to be part of other’s lives in many ways and build community.

Our Door Is Always Open Another season of life has come upon me. It’s a season of focusing on my family (we have three sons) and making our home a place where our family can thrive. It’s a focus on simplicity.

Our home is also a place where people can come and feel comfortable. Coming into such an environment can help ground people.

We live right in town and our door is always open to employees, friends and family.

Our home is available to the Lord to use as He desires. It’s the season to minister and befriend all those who come through our door.

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Honor, Courage, and Commitment

by Tim Brown, Ashe County things for God, but to me, the Christian life is one day built upon another.

The Marine Corps became my life in 1983. Honor, courage and commitment were drilled into me in the Corps. I served 21 years and most of that time I was in a leadership position. As I look back now, I can see how the Lord was working in my life and protecting me even when I was unaware. I survived close calls in helicopters, trains, and trucks, as well as other dangerous activities.

The Best Sermon Is the Life We Live The honor, courage, and commitment I was taught in the Corps falls into the Christian life as well. “Honor one’s father” and “continue doing good” were part of who I was. I was raised in church and godly examples were all around me. Because of this, all my life I tried to do what was right. People do great

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Sometimes people feel pressured to be more than they are; the secular society urges us to make a name for ourselves rather than making God’s name known. If that is to be the case, all of us would be preachers or evangelists. I believe the best sermon is the life we live. I have to look to God to find the energy to be the person I want and need to be. I want to be the person who comes to work every day, to do what I say I will: “walk the walk and talk the talk”.

Daily there are questions I want answers to but only God has them. When there seems to be no answers, I have to go to Romans 8:28: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Our happiness is important to God, but I don’t think its God’s main goal. In my life, it seems that things seem to funnel down to me to get me where I’m supposed to be – not just living for momentary happiness.

Soul-Saving Grace and Provision I wasn’t saved until I got out of the Marine Corps, in 2004. But even before that, I tried to follow good-living principles, which were: 1) try to live right, 2) try to do right and 3) live the values I had been taught from the Bible.

It was at that point, when I got saved, that I understood the song Amazing Grace. I understood the experience of being forgiven for my sins. I appreciated God’s long-suffering, his patience in waiting for me to respond to his soul-saving grace.

After I retired from the Marine Corps, I didn’t know what I was going to do to support my family. I went to the local employment office and found a security guard job opening at Samaritan’s Purse. I interviewed with a man, who, (I later found out) had been in the Marine Corps. I know God gave me this job. My first paycheck was two weeks after my last from the Marine Corps. I never had a gap in income. It’s just more of the Lord’s provision.

There was a point when so many things were going wrong, but the Lord has been and is always faithful. We started living the way the Lord wanted us to, and he has taken care of the problems. I like plans, but the time had come when I had no plan. I had to keep sight of the Lord’s principles.

The Lord is always the same. He never reneges on his promises. He has protected and provided, but the day came when we had to start living a life of faith. We may be on the “outside” of the Marine Corps, but we are on the “inside” of the Lord’s family, and we try daily to live a life of honor, courage and commitment to him and to others.

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10 Winter 2011

I was in Prison and You Visited Me

by Debbie Edwards, Avery County

When I became a wife in 1973, I never imagined that my husband and I would find ourselves involved in prison ministry in the years that lay ahead.

In the early 80’s, Avery County had a small prison, which held less than 100 men. My husband, Terry, a member of the Gideons, would visit the prison to hand out Bibles. During that era, it was common for prisons, with less than 100 men, to not have a state chaplain provided. A group of Christians, including Terry and I, began High Country Prison Ministry. The non-profit was able to hire a community-funded part-time chaplain.

Feeling Overwhelmed, Finding Grace When I first began in prison ministry, I felt overwhelmed. I asked the Lord to not allow that fear to keep me from the opportunity of helping some of the men.

Better to help a few than to help no one at all. At that time, the Bible studies began and since then, Terry and I have brought drama teams from ASU to the prison for performances and other activities one of which was a banana split party with all the toppings.

With community involvement, we feed them Thanksgiving dinner every year. I learned “if you feed them, they will come”. During the first few years, I kept the nursery so the parents could visit.

But with the older kids, I learned that, more than anything, they just need to talk.

In 1998, the state closed the standalone Avery facility and combined it with Watauga and Yancey County’s small prisons. The joint prison has approximately 900 men. After they were combined in 2000, the Lord led me to begin preaching there once a month on Sundays.

At the same time, some of the women on the ministry’s board contacted other churches and organizations to donate food for men’s Christmas dinner, which is spread out over three nights. God’s given us favor in that we never run out of food. The weather has not always cooperated, but we’ve never had to cancel. It’s the only home-cooked meal these men get all year and it means a lot to them, and us. The prison’s choir with their beautiful voices and assorted instruments provide the music.

Call on My Life to Share His Love I knew I had a call on my life to preach the gospel, in the late 90’s. This was confirmed to me by a dream. The message of the dream was “in the last days, women would preach the gospel with a strong anointing”. I wasn’t real excited about this news because I knew with the call would come persecutions from people who would not understand.

I was concerned about drawing attention to myself, but I knew the Lord had done a work in me about His grace and love.

I knew the definition of grace found in the dictionary but I had a big problem with condemnation. My salvation was performance-based, which came from church. But it was because of the revelation of 2 Corinthians 5:21, which says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God,” that I was set free. That truth burned so deep within me that it changed my outlook on God, my ministry and life itself.

This truth had to be shared with the men at the prison. They were condemned for their crimes by the state. They were condemned for their crimes by society.

They condemned themselves but mostly the enemy condemned them even if they had accepted Jesus. It was hard for them to walk away from guilt and condemnation.

I believe they should be punished for their crimes but I also believe that , after they receive Jesus, they should be able to walk in freedom in Jesus. They don’t attend the church services so they will be loved more, but so that they will love God more. I preach a strong grace message of love, their birthright as a child of God. I’ve seen men set free although they are still behind razor wire.

They don’t have to be told how horrible their crimes were – they know that already. They are preached a complete work of Christ at the cross -- He was the total sacrifice. He was crucified between two inmates. One chose Him and one didn’t.

Setting Captives Free The desire of my heart is to see the captive set free. Most of the men will never literally be set free but a great many of them are free in their souls.

God has given me truth, His truth, and I just pass it along to the men so they can enter back into society.

Behavior modification isn’t the answer.

The answer is a heart transformation.

The heart of the gospel for these men is like a fire in my bones. These men are my brothers. The ground is level at the foot of the cross. I am constrained and cannot do anything else but tell the good news that Jesus came to set the captive free. They can be freer on the inside, behind concrete walls, than most people are on the outside. This is my heart, this is my passion.

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I could never do anything to make God love me less or more. He loves me because I am His child. His spiritual DNA is in my spirit.

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God Disturbed My Comfort

by Mark Chaney, Watauga County My wife and I were living a very comfortable life in our hometown of Monroe, NC, when I clearly heard the call of God to go into ministry. I had graduated from ASU in 1986 with a business administration degree and a concentration in information systems. I was working as a programmer/analyst for a major grocery store and was making more money than I’d ever made in my life.

One evening at church, two missionaries from Japan shared their testimony. That very night I heard the call from God to go into the ministry, but I chose to ignore that call. Over the next few years, I saw the Lord align things so that I would finally accept God’s will for my life.

Out of My Comfort Zone Though I was comfortable as a programmer and analyst, I felt a desire to pursue a different job. After updating some software one day, I went to the break room and saw a newspaper on the table. I believe the Lord drew my eyes to an advertisement for a computer teacher with Union County Schools, and I called and scheduled an interview.

Upon meeting with the principal, he told me they had pretty much decided on another person for the position, but added, “Something told me that I needed to talk to you…I don’t know why but I feel like the Lord’s telling me to hire you.”

During my time with the school system, I taught computer literacy classes to students and staff. I coached football, baseball, and wrestling, which I loved. I also taught youth Sunday school at my church, and I believed I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

I was comfortable. My wife and I started our family. We were blessed with a son, Christian, and a daughter, Rebekah. Life was good.

One day, out of the blue, God disturbed my comfort. A call came from the board of education that, due to teaching certification requirements that I had not met, I must either fulfill those requirements or resign. I had to leave teaching. I was lost and had no idea what I would do. Shortly thereafter, I was hired by a local accounting firm to do programming for them, but I soon felt God disrupt that comfort.

Being Obedient to the Call of God A short time later, a new pastor was called to our church. On his first Sunday night, Pastor Don Whitener shared his testimony about how he had struggled with answering his call to the ministry. He said God said to him, “When will you be obedient to my call?” After he closed, I went down to the altar and told him about the call of God on my life, and that I felt like God was saying to me, “It’s now or never.”

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Mitzi had stayed home that night with our sick daughter, so when I got home, I told her that we needed to talk. Through my tears I shared about the calling I had felt seven years earlier when the missionaries from Japan spoke. Mitzi began to cry as well and revealed to me that she had felt that very same calling!

We were amazed and humbled to realize that God had spoken to both of us that very night, yet we had never spoken to one another about it.

Instead, we grew comfortable in our lives and pushed God aside.

Pursuing His Purpose I went to my pastor the next day and asked what I should do in order to pursue my calling to full-time ministry. He told me I needed to go to seminary. I knew I couldn’t quit my job with a family to support, but I was determined to find a way.

A few days later, he received an advertisement from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary about an extension class meeting in Charlotte. I knew this was my answered prayer. I could attend these classes in the evening and work during the day. I called about enrolling, and the receptionist told me to “show up on the first night of class with the money.” I did just that and began studying in earnest.

While I attended evening classes, I continued to work for the accounting firm during the day. Sometime later, the chairman of deacons for my church called to ask if I would consider being their part-time youth pastor. After praying about it, we chose to trust God and I resigned my full-time job to serve as the youth pastor for $8,000 a year.

This job allowed me to take a full load of classes and, with a great deal of perseverance, I graduated with a Masters of Divinity with Languages three years later.

God Is Faithful in Provision During this time, Mitzi operated a home daycare to help support our family. Our meager income forced us to cut corners every way we could, but we continued to see the Lord’s provision.

One day Mitzi had to take Rebekah to the doctor for an ear infection, which resulted in a $100 bill. We knew we couldn’t pay the bill, but, when she got home, Mitzi found an envelope in the mailbox with an anonymous note that read, “God bless you” along with a money order for $125. God provided!

Over the years God provided time and again and we never lacked anything we needed. We were obedient to tithe on every cent we received. One year our giving was so out of proportion to our income that we were actually audited by the IRS. When the auditor saw our giving receipt from our church, she saw everything was okay and had nothing more to say. God continues to be faithful in His provision.

Blessings in Obedience I had grown comfortable in my ministry at Shiloh when the Lord decided to shake things up.

One day I called a former landlord in Boone, Mark McGuire, to ask about a dog for a friend. I told him I was now in youth ministry and he mentioned that his church, First Baptist Church of Boone, was looking for a youth pastor, He asked if I was interested in the position, but I told him I was not. We were comfortable. We were living and serving in our hometown with both sets of parents close by, and we couldn’t imagine taking the grandchildren away from them.

He asked me to pray about it. I told him I would, but forgot about it as soon as we got off the phone.

A few weeks later Mark called back to tell me that God wouldn’t give him peace and that he had to call me back. It was at that moment that I read the words in Genesis 12:1: “The Lord said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you…’” I went on to read of the blessings God promised to Abram if he was obedient.

the leadership team and was called as their pastor. I have been blessed to serve there for seven years. We love our church and they truly love us.

We use some out-of-the-ordinary methods to reach people.

One example is that one of our Sunday School classes meets at Higher Grounds Coffee Shop on Sunday mornings. People wander in to listen to the discussion. The message of the gospel will never change; the truth of the Word is nonnegotiable, but the method of sharing that truth has to change to reach people today.

My desire for comfort almost caused me to miss the great blessings God had for me: Serving His people. I’m so glad He disturbed my comfort and brought me to Boone. Hey, I’m beginning to feel comfortable – better watch that.

I looked around my perfect church office, my comfortable position, but I knew God was calling me to Boone. I chose to be obedient and accepted the position as the Associate and Youth Pastor of First Baptist Church. On my first day in the office, I was told that the senior pastor had resigned. God began to change my heart and prepare me to be a senior pastor.

During this time, a brother in ministry and I would meet regularly to pray together. I would ask him to pray that God would provide a church where I could pastor, and his request was that the Lord would send a senior pastor to his church. Little did we know that God had put us together for a divine reason.

Ben Cox was the interim pastor of Howard’s Creek and believed that I would be a good fit for them. After much prayer, I met with

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14 Winter 2011

Grateful for the Little Things...

Like Walking and Crocheting

by Judy Hawks, Ashe County Accident Shows the Love of Family, Friends, and Strangers

There was no question as I grew up as to whether I’d go to church or not. I am so thankful for godly parents who cared.

Mother was a godly woman, and we had a lot of fun. She had a very dry sense of humor. She taught me to dance the waltz and flatfoot and this while attending church! Church people just didn’t dance back then. Dad was a stern but gentle man who loved his family.

At age 16, I started working in a restaurant during the summers, and my shift was nights and weekends. My dad was upset that I wouldn’t be in church on Sunday. I am so thankful for godly parents of whom I have such fond memories, and I am appreciative of the legacy they left me.

As a sophomore in college, I married.

Two years later, I completed my teaching degree in French with a minor in English.

My first two years of teaching were in Ashe County at Beaver Creek High School—two of the best years of teaching! Then I transferred to Watauga High School where I completed twentynine more years with many fond memories of wonderful people.

In the summer of 1970 I was involved in a motorcycle accident when the bike I was riding was hit by a car. The collision put me in the Watauga Hospital for four and a half months. Three things I learned during my stay there, among many others, were patience, how to be grateful for little things like being able to walk, and accepting help from others. The hospital staff was wonderful to me, and I grew to love them.

One of the nurses taught me how to crochet -- a craft which I am still enjoying today.

Due to the accident, I have had several surgeries on the leg and foot and in most recent years, three back surgeries. Through it all, God has been my anchor, my strength, and my comfort. And my immediate family, my church family, and my friends have given me their love and support.

Life Lessons Lead to Ministry Opportunities

The lessons I’ve learned in my life as well as the long and difficult hospital stay are being used by the Lord daily to minister to those who are hurting---just like I was. My church has begun a prayer shawl ministry in which many ladies and girls are knitting, crocheting, and quilting shawls, lap throws, and bed runners.

As we work on the handmade items, we pray for the recipient and we continue to pray after we have given them away. To see the smiles, the tears, and to hear “Thank you and God bless you” make the efforts worth it all. I thank the nurse for teaching me to crochet and I thank God for the opportunity He has given me to serve Him and His people. God has been good to me.

God has blessed me with two children, two granddaughters, two step-children, and five step-grandchildren.

My husband is an answer to prayer, a man who loves the Lord and has a servant’s heart. We enjoy quilting together and have given several of our quilts to the youth at our church to help in fundraisers.

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The Prayer Letter

by Kevin Frye, Avery County

My wife, Cheri, and I have just celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary, and we now have a wonderful family. But, it was not always this way.

After being married a couple of years, we decided to start a family. We tried for many years to have children, but with no results. We went to doctors in Winston-Salem and had all kinds of tests run. We did everything medically that we could to have a baby. During that time, Cheri had six miscarriages and one tubal pregnancy.

A specialist told us that our chance of having kids was “slim to none”. All the pregnancies and miscarriages were heart wrenching. People who have never had a miscarriage think that there is no attachment to the baby in the early stages. But the opposite is true. It was truly devastating to us each time.

A New Life of Faith One of our doctors told us that we needed to consider adoption, and we had heard that the Baptists ran an adoption program, so we decided to start attending a small Baptist church. I didn’t go because I knew Jesus. It was an effort, on my part, to adopt a baby through their adoption agency.

But, with the Lord, salvation comes first. My wife had been saved when she was younger, but she had never been baptized.

I had never accepted Jesus as my Savior, but, not long after we started going, I got saved and we were baptized together.

“Dear Jesus” Letter It was 1992. My wife was in church for a Wednesday night service, but I had to work and couldn’t be there. During that service, our preacher mentioned that kids were writing letters to Santa Clause telling him what they wanted for Christmas, so he thought the adults should take time to write a “Dear Jesus” letter.

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He asked them to tell Jesus in that letter what they wanted. My wife wrote her letter -- her prayer letter -- and put it in the box. There were about 15 other people there who did the same thing. She never told me about the letter at that time.

It was 1993. Cheri was pregnant again. She began experiencing some major problems, so we went to see her doctor. He did a sonogram but couldn’t hear the baby’s heart beat. In fact, he couldn’t hear anything at all. We went home devastated, thinking we were going to lose our baby, again.

That night I got on my knees in our living room by myself. I prayed and prayed, and then I prayed some more. I prayed for hours. Then, all of a sudden, I felt a hand on my shoulder and I just knew that everything would be okay.

When my wife woke up that morning, I was happy and she was dreading losing another baby. We went back to the doctor in Boone that day, and he found a heartbeat almost instantly.

When it came time for our baby to be born, he was late. My wife had to be induced and ended up having a C-section but with the doctor’s and the Lord’s help, Jared Robert Lee Frye was delivered on November 12, 1993. Seven years of waiting and wanting a baby came to an end that day. The name “Jared” means descendent of” so we named him after my dad, her dad, and her grandfather.

That following December in 1993, our preacher opened up the box of letters written before Christmas in 1992. He read through all the letters, and everyone was amazed at how many of the prayers had been answered. It was the first time I knew about my wife’s letter. But here we were that night in December holding our new son.

To make things even more clear to me, the Lord hit me with a two-by-four to let me see how miraculous this baby was. Cheri, being a secretary by trade, dates everything. The prayer letter was dated 11/12/1992, and our son was born 11/12/1993 -exactly one year from the day the letter was written.

More Prayers, More Blessings Roughly seven years later, the Lord answered our prayers again.

For seven years after Jared’s birth, we prayed and prayed for another baby. She finally got pregnant but several weeks into the pregnancy, she began to have more problems and severe pain.

We went to the hospital and were told that it appeared she was

having a miscarriage. We went home devastated, again. I spent a lot of time on my knees that night. While I didn’t sense a hand on my shoulder this time, I didn’t have any doubt that God performs miracles. My wife and I went back to the doctor the next day, and he said he didn’t know what happened but we were still having a baby. Caitlyn was born on April 26, 2000.

My Faith Has Grown Because of all of this, the pregnancies, the time spent in prayer and God’s response to our heart cries, my faith has grown. It is what my life is based on.

The Lord has brought me a long way in the last 27 years. He brought me from being a lost man to a man of faith in Him. He brought me to believe that He still does miracles today.

I look at my two children and am reminded of that. He has worked in me to teach me that it is in serving Him that I know how to serve my community through law enforcement. He has taught me the importance of prayer and to have faith that He hears and answers those prayers.

He is with me every day. He answers “prayer letters” and His answers have led me to follow him all the days of my life.

Recently, a group of fellow Banner Elk residents “roasted” me.

It was great fun and I’m thankful to those who showed their appreciation for the work I’ve tried to do but, in all honesty, I have received more than I have given. My life, since coming to Christ, has been one of being thankful and giving back.

There’s been no charge.

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We Are Kept by, Danny and Kathy Whittington, Watauga County

(Editor’s note: Our original intention for this story was for it to be 2 different stories. However, once we began our interview, it became apparent that interweaving these stories would be better. Therefore, we’ve written this with Kathy’s part and Danny’s part clearly marked. Enjoy!)

Our story has an unusual beginning. We started in a beauty shop.

Danny: There is a song I love to sing titled “How I Got Over”.

The first line is “My soul looks back and I wonder how I got over”. God has helped Kathy and me get over many obstacles. And through all the challenges we’ve faced, God continues to be faithful every day.

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Kathy: I moved to Boone in the early 80’s because I wanted God to teach me how to live as a Christian, not just on Sundays but every day. I went to ASU and later met Danny when he started doing my hair. He was my stylist for two years when we began to realize we liked to do many of the same things. He was this “hot” and talented guy, who had seen me at my worst (the day you are having your hair done).

It never occurred to me that our friendship would lead to a marriage.

Keeping Our Committments Danny: Kathy was refreshing. She was consistent. When she said she would do something, she always did what she said she would do. When I would make dates with other girls, they would be late or often not show up. I like the Bible scripture that says “God watches over his word to perform it” (Jeremiah 12:1). Kathy reminded me of that scripture. She keeps her word. This principle set the tone for our relationship, our future marriage, and raising our children.

Kathy: Danny’s love and talents led him to learn to play the keyboard and the guitar in addition to his vocals and trumpet.

Some say Danny is a self-taught musician, but he is quick to remind you that he is Holy-Spirit taught. One of the things I love about my husband is his commitment to all things especially those things of value…Jesus, his family, work, and ministry.

A Racially Mixed and Blended Family Danny: I was born in Boone but grew up in an orphanage in Oxford, North Carolina. After spending 13 years in the orphanage, I came back to Boone in my senior year of high school. Soon after graduation, I got the travel itch which led me out West singing and performing in clubs. That whole club scene became big in my life and it was hard to leave that lifestyle. When I came back to Boone, I started attending church. God had given me the talent to sing and I found that church provided a place to do that. After I’d been going to church for a while, I realized that beyond getting to sing, I was richly blessed by attending. The church provided a much better atmosphere to use the talent God had given me.

Kathy: After Danny and I got married, one big challenge we faced was being a blended family. He was raising his daughter, Maleah, and the difficulty of a previous marriage turned him away from having more children. I wanted to be a mother but not instantly. Maleah needed a mother though.

These were difficult issues in our marriage. Also, bringing two races together was interesting. Thankfully, God got a hold of us and kept us together. We were young Christians and in different places in our faith. But the LORD changed both our hearts concerning family.

Danny: 25 years ago it was difficult being a racially mixed couple. Now there are more blended families especially among young people. This change in society makes me think of Galatians 3:38, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”.

God sees His people and He makes it all come together. He did it with our families. My family welcomed Kathy and has loved her from the beginning. I couldn’t introduce her to my biological father because he never claimed me. But my Heavenly Father adopted me. He is my Daddy. I don’t suffer any lack as a result of growing up without a dad.

Kathy: I use visual tools to teach about marriage and submission. Picture two people riding a horse. Only one person can sit up front and direct the path of the horse. This person is not any better (or worse) than the one in the back.

The person in the back has to trust. Submission in marriage is like this. As a wife I choose to submit to Danny’s leadership of our home (and sit in the back). The front position was given to him by God. Danny: We ride the horse together. It’s not one without the other. Once your wife sees you have her best interest at heart, she will want to submit.

God as Our Father Danny: The orphanage was an institution, not a home. I never had a man in my life who modeled a father-figure, and because of this I was concerned about having more children.

I didn’t know how to be a father. Since Kathy wanted us to have more kids, I looked at the best place to find out what a real father is like. I looked in the scriptures. Without an earthly example of how to be a father, I operated by the Word.

The Word of God was my father-manual.

Kathy: It is our desire to impart to our three daughters the importance of being consistent in one’s commitments to each other and to the LORD. We’ve taught our children if they say they are going to do something, they do it. It costs nothing to keep your word.

Danny: Keeping your word is a “Father trait”. He keeps His Word and I want to keep my word. A major factor in our relationship with each other and our children is keeping our word.

God as Our Healer Kathy: A significant challenge that God continues to help us overcome is my struggle with mental health. I had always struggled with mood swings, but my swings grew into fits of rage then to feelings of condemnation and despair. There were lengthy periods of deep depression. I lived in dark places of hopelessness with feelings of anxiety and anger. My place of isolation became my bed. It absolutely broke my heart when I couldn’t nurture my children like they needed.

Insecurity plagued me. After years of this cycle which became too much for Danny and I to handle, I got help. I didn’t realize I was suffering from a strong chemical imbalance until I was diagnosed with Bi-Polar disorder.

I need a “wholeness” approach to remain in a mentally healthy place. I take my medications, see a professional psychiatrist and counselor, I exercise, and try to sleep and eat well. I pray and spend time with God. Through study in the bible, I’m reminded of who I am in Christ…an overcomer.

More education needs to be provided on a much larger scale for properly diagnosing mental illness and especially Bi-Polar disorder. There are lots of people who have it and don’t know what it is. Bed is no longer a place of seclusion.

God is Faithful Danny: God’s Word was my life source during Kathy’s worst times. In the beginning of our marriage, I tried getting my needs met through her. Kathy wasn’t able to meet all of them.

When she would have to go to bed, I would go for walks and pray. I kept praying for her to change. And the Holy Spirit would say to me, “You need to change”. God will get you to the place that you can live your life in spite of what is happening around you.

Kathy: Feeling secure in my close relationships is a big part of being whole. God has given me a few people in my life like my friend Sandi Henry, who are my “keepers”. Keeper relationships are born out of a love for one another that looks past the good, bad, and ugly and sees a child of God. When I can’t see with my own eyes, my keepers reminded me of who I am in Christ. We keep each other close to God. We have permission to speak truth into each other’s life. Accountability is an enormous part of being whole.

Danny: I would summarize God in our lives in the same words Billy Graham used once when he was asked to describe God. Dr. Graham said if he had to use one word to describe God it would be the word faithfulness. Faithfulness has become my description of God. To be able to stay the course, God is faithful to watch over us. We are kept.

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Every Step of the Way

by Leila Harris, Ashe County In December, 2001, I was diagnosed with terminal (inoperable) lymphoma. Numerous x-rays and a PetScan revealed that my entire upper body was inundated with cancer. After much prayer, God intervened, and after the final biopsy, the doctor came out of the operating room in a flabbergasted state saying, “I can’t believe it. It’s not cancer. I guess the tests can be wrong. I just don’t understand.” We praise the Lord daily for this miracle.

God Interrupted My Life for a Reason It turned out to be Sarcoidosis (a swelling of the lymph nodes that causes extreme fatigue) and other side effects. Knowing God interrupted my life for a reason, I stopped working 70-80 hours a week in the mortgage business and started staying home more to study his Word. The more I studied the Bible, the more I wanted to learn.

When the lymphoma was discovered, I was working 70-80 hours a week in the mortgage business. For some time, I’d met with banks and other lending institutions to assist my husband’s construction customers, but the day came when I was asked by a

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bank CEO to manage their mortgage department. It was extremely successful, and I made more money than I’d ever dreamed. It was very challenging, but the Lord walked me through each day. The stress was phenomenal, and when I felt overwhelmed, I’d go lock the door, get under my desk, and pour my heart out to the Lord. He always intervened and sent his peace over the situation.

Every morning my prayers were for strength for the day, but I would remind him that I wanted to do more to glorify him. I also knew during that time he was helping people with finances to build or buy a home and was allowing me to participate. But God knows the future, and we don’t. The diagnosis limited the number of hours I could work or even be very active. The bank merged with a larger bank that had its own mortgage department, so I left the mortgage business.

I began praying for an opportunity to finish my college degree and study religion from home (as we live in an area not easily accessible to major colleges and universities). God answered prayers again and led me to Regent University’s online classes. I applied, got accepted, and began my journey. After graduating in 2007, I began writing full-time, as opposed to a part-time hobby.

I continued my education through Regent’s online program for a master’s degree in education (with Biblical Studies certification), which was completed in December 2010. I also plan to work on my doctorate and teach online classes in religious studies in order to help others in their journey.

Boundaries Make Me Fruitful for My Master During one of our online blackboard discussions, I gave my testimony that my sickness was a blessing to me. Another classmate -- a woman --blasted me. She said that I was wrong,

that sickness came from Satan and was punishment for sin. This bothered me, because I didn’t have the appropriate response.

While driving home sometime later, I noticed horses and cattle in their pastures. It was like the Lord spoke to my heart. He wanted me to see how much more theses animals meant to their Master because of their boundaries. I then had the right response to my classmate’s chastisement, which was that God was dealing with my life and forming me into what he wanted --- setting my boundaries in order to be more fruitful for my Master.

New Giftings for His Glory As a little girl I always wrote in diaries. I was saved when I was 10 years old, and as I grew up in the Lord, my diaries became journals of prayers and writings to the Lord. When I felt led to write full-time for God, I sat down and read through all my journals. I realized how much comfort I’d taken down through the years from God’s love of his creation. The animals in the Bible stood out to me, so I just started writing.

I began by researching animals and listing every Bible verse along with the Greek and Hebrew definition and Strong’s Concordance reference. We now have All of the Animals in the Bible in publication. All of the Trees in the Bible became the subject of my second book, and All of the Plants & Herbs in the Bible is the in the editing stage. I love doing research and writing for the Lord and others has become a great joy in my life.

Being saved from a death sentence of cancer, recent open-heart surgery, having the opportunity to fulfill my heart’s desire of getting a degree in religious studies, and researching and writing books that glorify my Lord has been easy with God’s help. It’s been a long process, but the Lord has been with me every step of the way.

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My Greatest Defining Moment

by Tommy Burleson, Avery County Former NBA & NC State Basketball Player, NCAA National Champion.

My grandfather, a preacher of the gospel, started Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church where I was saved when I was 15 years old.

My grandparents and mother were instrumental in making sure I went to church every Sunday and Wednesday night.

They were good role models for me as a young Christian.

My physical attributes came from my father who was in the military. He taught me the value of developing my athletic abilities. A three-mile run became normal for me as well as working on calisthenics, which were very important. Between the four of them, I had a good, solid combination of role models in my young Christian life.

Church Was Where I Needed to Be My high school years in Avery were good. When it came time for college at North Carolina State University, I needed direction. Everything was wide open but, thankfully, a friend of our family’s, Evelyn F. Alexander, who grew up in the Hughes Community, called mom and promised to take me to church. This was a key point in my time at State. Of course, I didn’t want to go but after the first six weeks or so, I knew it was the right thing to do.

If it had been left up to me, I may have backslidden my first year in college. But I realized being in church was where I needed to be. Once college students get away from home, they don’t realize that they haven’t accumulated enough wisdom to direct their own lives. I was no different.

Recognized as a Winner It was fun to help out in the church during my years in Raleigh while I played on State’s first national championship team.

We ended the reign of the seven-time NCAA Division I basketball and their dynasty, UCLA. That NC State team is still considered the most dominate team ever. It was exciting to achieve such success in the college basketball ranks. Everyone knows that is the brass ring. We accomplished every coaches’ and players’ dream. It was a defining moment. We were “recognized as a winner”.

UCLA’s players tried to make excuses as to why they lost. We won because we were able to pull together as a team, had a great coach Norman Sloan and we had David Thompson, one of the game’s best ever. David had a strong Christian background as I did. I truly believe that is what drew him and me together.

It’s very hard to go to the NBA, National Basketball Association. It is a major step up in one’s basketball career

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and it has unique opportunities and challenges all its own. Seattle asked me to join their team and when I got there I tried to do things in a proper way. Being the third person drafted that year, new experiences came daily.

Living Life Away From Christ

After some time in Seattle, I realized my desire to start a family. I married a young woman I had dated in college. Before marriage, we met often with a pastor and discussed all the issues married people encounter, including raising children. After three years of marriage, I told her that I wanted children. She told me she didn’t want a family. Anyone who knows me knows that children had to be part of my life. I thought I had done everything the proper way, but my marriage fell apart.

After the divorce, I was angry with God. I turned my back on Christ. I quit attending church and started going to the wrong places. I began drinking and, even more foolishly, I began playing basketball very recklessly. I was with various woman and committed fornication. Before long, I found myself living a life away from my Christian faith, from Jesus Christ.

Everything changed in February 1979 when the Kansas City Kings were playing in Philly. Phil Ford and Maurice Cheeks were arguing and I was trying to bring peace between them, when a player, whom shall remain nameless, hit my leg sideways. The hit severed three ligaments in my knee. As basketball injuries go, this was known as a career ender.

The doctor sent me to a research hospital in Kansas City, Kansas. For some strange reason, my meds got messed up and my temperature soared to 102 degrees. I was packed in ice but was not expected to live through it. The doctor even prepared my death certificate. Mom prayed over me all night long. The next day, I came out of the coma.

I was in a body cast and a wheel chair for 6 months.

Rehabilitation took over 18 months. The doctors told me my career was over, but I wouldn’t give up. I was the first player to ever return from this kind of injury with loss of 65 to 75 percent ability, but I was big enough to be a utility player with the Atlanta Hawks. So, here after what should have been a career ending injury, I was back playing in the NBA averaging five points and two rebounds per game. My knee continued to swell and there was lots of pain. Finally, I realized that if I didn’t retire, I’d reinjure my knee. This, too, was a defining moment in my life.

It Was Time to Live My Own Faith I still had a home in Seattle and went back there to live. A friend invited me to church. Mercer Island Methodist Church was only two blocks from my house but I’d never gone there.

The pastor, Dr. Frank Woolridge, took an interest in me and I realized I needed to start going. On June 23, 1981, I rededicated myself to the Christ. I was baptized in Lake Washington. As I spent time at Mercer Lake, I began to realize what Christ was doing in my life and how I needed Him in my life, directing it.

This is a point I make to people today: While kids are raised in church they must, finally, come to Christ, by their own will. I had lived off my Mother’s and my grandparent’s faith.

It was time I lived off my own faith. I realized God had to be number one, family second and then everything else. It’s a hard choice, a difficult transition to make, but that is what makes a good husband, a good father.

Special Olympics and pediatric hospitals had always been important to me and I realized, at another defining moment, that I had to live life as a role model. I knew that if I didn’t turn 180 degrees, that I couldn’t ever see what needed to take place. I was seeing portions of my life that I had to fix. That’s when I returned to Jesus and that’s when the burden lifted off my shoulders.

I started my day off with prayer and put it into the hands of God. I studied the Bible. It was a long time between being saved and becoming what God intended for me to be. But He brought me to that place. A few years ago a woman called me. She said she had my Grandfather’s bible and wanted to know if I’d like to have it. I went the next day and to get it.

Harrison Burleson would be pleased that his grandson has his Bible and is trying to follow its teachings.

Once I was back in Seattle and was attending Mercer Island Methodist Church, the Lord had my future wife in an important place to me: a restaurant. I love food. Denise was a waitress at a local restaurant where I often ate. She was a good Christian person. Although her family didn’t practice the Christian faith, she loved the Lord. We talked to our pastor, who understood my desire to have a family. Denise wanted the same. We married and God has blessed us with three sons.

Ministry in Everyday Life I returned to Avery County in 1982. Denise had social shock, coming from such a large city, but we both agreed that it was a good rural area to raise young people. Avery is very family oriented. After searching for a church for several months, the Lord led us to Fletcher Presbyterian. We have a good relationship with the pastor and the people. It was during this time that my service to the Lord began in earnest.

From 1985 to 1995, I sat on the board of the Baptist Children’s Home. Denise and I were house parents from time-to-time to give the on-sight house parents a weekend off. Many of the young boys came to my basketball camp where I could teach them how to play and how to love the LORD in the process.

The next charge the Lord gave me was to serve as chairman a four and one-half million dollar fund raising effort for the

Black Mountain Children’s Home.

Of course, with Ruth Bell Graham as co-chair, all the money needed to meet the budget was raised. It was amazing to see God work.

Within months, the ministry grew in leaps and bounds.

Transition homes were built to house those 18 and older. They have a place to live and scholarships are available to help with their education.

Divine Appointment, New Direction In 2001, I stepped down from that position. It was then that I prayed the prayer of Jabez (A descendant of Judah, of whom it is recorded that “God granted him that which he requested” (1 Chron. 4:9, 10). I had been in a restaurant and when I walked out I met a lady named Barbara Nagy.

Dr. Nagy worked at a local health clinic in Banner Elk. She had gotten a doctorate at Oral Roberts University. Barbara was to begin working in a hospital in Nkhoma, Malawi, Africa. She needed a mission team to obtain, organize and send supplies for the hospital. Dr. Nagy asked me if I would be willing to lead that team. God answered my “Jabez prayer”. Along with Teresa Lock, Tom Gilmore and Western NC Presbytery, we put together a mission team.

The first year, the hospital had one doctor with 12 nursing students. It is now up to six doctors and 55 nursing students.

We are in the fourth phase, which will enlarge the maternity ward, pediatric ward, and install a generator that will provide dependable electricity to the hospital. More children live now because they have a steady flow of oxygen.

The Western North Carolina Presbytery is the pass-through agency that coordinates everything. The government in Nkhome has also assigned us 10 bush remote health clinics.

They are being renovated and adding doctors now; eight more clinics will need to have work done on them.

Real Life Is Serving Christ I try to live a humble life. When you’ve been on an NBA team and you’ve been at the top and then see the bottom full faced, it teaches you that there is more to life. Real life is serving Christ in whatever place of opportunity He provides. What He has given us -- whether it is athletic ability or social position -- only brings fruitful results if it first passes through His hands.

Being a college basketball player, an NBA player or having fame and fortune is not the defining moment(s) in my life. It was when I rededicated my life and gave it to Him. It’s His “game” and He’s allowed me to play. It’s definitely the best and most winning team I’ve ever been on. It’s my greatest defining moment.

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God Saves, Promotes and Heals

by Martha Crosswell, Watauga County

In my life, three of the greatest lessons I’ve learned about God are that He saves, He promotes, and He heals.

He Desires a Relationship with Us My nursing career started in 1975 after I graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill School of Nursing. I started my career at Watauga Medical Center (known then as Watauga County Hospital) in 1975 and, except for brief stint when we moved away from Boone, I have worked there ever since.

I grew up going to church, but, after I was married, my husband and I drifted from it. My sister, Sarah, urged us to attend her small church. My life changed when I started attending this church, with its altar calls and salvation message. It was then that I realized I had just been going through the motions.

I had been in church all my life and thought I was going to heaven. As I listened to the gospel for what seemed like the first time, I came under conviction that I had never been born again. So at almost 30 years old, I was saved. How grateful I am to God for saving me and to my sister for her prayers and influence on my life.

I believe God wants me to let people know that there are a lot of people in church today who are just like I was: a faithful church attendee but not born again. I sat there lost as I could be, thinking I was okay because I was going to church. God wants a true relationship with His children. He came into the world not to condemn us, but to save us. He wants to love, nurture and cherish us, and this is often seen in the way that he promotes us.

He Lifts Us Up God is also a God who promotes. After being saved, I noticed an immediate change in my performance at work.

My organizational and management skills increased alongside my clinical skills. My supervisor and other administrators noticed, and I was promoted to director of the Birthing Center at the young age of 29. I held that position for several years and experienced a wonderful time of God’s grace in my life.

He Heals Our Wounds I have seen God heal not only from a medical and physical

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standpoint but from a supernatural one as well.

About six years ago, I began having pain in my back that became severe. An MRI determined that I had a protruding disc at L4. I prayed about the pain, and the Lord instructed that He did not want me to have surgery. My question to Him was, “How am I going to do this?” I couldn’t understand how I was to care for patients while struggling with constant pain and difficulty walking.

Jesus impressed upon me that I was going to “walk it out by faith.” So, my faith walk began with a limp. Although it was tough emotionally, everyone was wonderful in helping me.

Some of the doctors assisted me too with lifting or transferring patients. I “walked out” my faith for about a year, and gradually my back was completely healed without medical intervention.

My final story of healing is the healing of my precious husband, Joe. A little over three years ago, Joe was bush

hogging my dad’s land, behind Tweetsie. He had almost finished when he saw a small area he’d missed. The patch of land was on an incline and, while he was working, the tractor rolled over him.

Joe’s leg was nearly cut off, so he tied something around the wound to stop the bleeding. After the tractor stopped running, my uncle heard Joe yelling and called 911. When the EMT’s got there and saw Joe’s condition, they called the Johnson City Medical Center flight crew. (We found out later that Tweetsie is the second approved site in the county for helicopter landings, so God was with us even in that small detail.)

Joe was in the emergency room in Johnson City before I even knew anything had happened! My dad called with news of the accident and told me that Joe would probably lose his leg. I was home alone and sitting in a chair in our living room. I stood up in shock and grabbed my Bible. I said to the Lord, “I have to know something Lord, I have to have a word from You!” I threw open my Bible and laid my hand down on a verse. It was Psalms 112:7 which says, “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings, his heart is firmly fixed, trusting in the Lord. “ My heart found peace in this verse.

I was too shaken up to drive, so my son came from Mountain City, TN, to take me back to see Joe in Johnson City. When I got to the ER, the floor was covered in blood, and I very calmly asked the doctor if that was my husband’s blood. He replied it was Joe’s. I am used to seeing blood and I wanted to know what happened. My poor son, on the other hand,

said, “Mom, I need to get some fresh air!”

Joe has gone through five surgeries on his leg. Besides being nearly severed, it was broken in 150 pieces. I couldn’t believe my eyes when the surgeon showed me the x-rays. He also had a broken arm and a cracked pelvis.

Every time the PA came in to tell me that Joe might lose his leg, I went back to that verse that the Lord had given me. It got me through many a hard day and night. We spent nine days in the trauma unit and the rest of the month in rehab.

When we came home, Joe was in a wheelchair for seven months and stayed in a hospital bed in our living room. I had favor with the staff at both hospitals in Johnson City and was allowed to stay with Joe 24/7. I was told this would never happen, but God’s grace was with us.

My husband is a big guy, and one day the supervisor at the rehab center said, “How are you getting him up by yourself? It takes four of us to get him up!” (Not only was my back supernaturally healed, God’s grace was there when protection and extra strength were needed.)

The medical teams, our church family, our co-workers, and our neighbors have been wonderful during this major trial of our faith. Today, Joe is working and able to go whenever and wherever he wants to go. God’s grace always provides just what we need, when we need it. Joe and I are living proof that God saves, God promotes, and God heals.

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Amazing Grace

by Carl Clawson, Avery County friends. They were involved with Young Life, a Christian ministry geared towards high school kids. It didn’t take me long to realize a profound difference in the way they were living their life and the way I had been living mine.

Clear Vision, New Path I grew up in Greenville, S.C. where my father was Director of Planning and Construction at Furman University. From the Furman campus where I spent my summers working on building and grounds, the mountains of the Blue Ridge were clearly visible.

I always looked forward to being in the mountains where I could hunt, fish and hike.

Wild Man Searching for Purpose After graduation from high school, I attended the University of Georgia. It was during my years at Georgia that I first came to Banner Elk. My first ski trip to Beech Mountain led to a job there in 1968. Shortly thereafter I heard about Sugar Mountain.

Sugar had not yet opened for their first season, but I stopped by their office, introduced myself and was offered a job. For the next two ski seasons, I worked at Sugar along with some buddies from UGA. These were exciting times and I was living by my nickname, “Wild Man.” Somehow I managed to graduate from college but had no idea what to do next.

The sixties had been turbulent and my philosophy was to try anything once and if it felt good, try it again. By trying to fill up my life with the next best thing to come along did not leave me fulfilled. I knew there was something missing, but I had no idea what that was.

After spending some time in Colorado, I returned to Greenville, SC without much to do. Many of my old buddies had gotten married or moved away and I began spending time with my younger brother and some of his 30 Winter 2011

Late one night my brother asked me what I thought about Jesus Christ. The best answer I could come up with was that he was a “good man” which provoked laughter from my brother and led to a knock-down, drag-out argument over the Bible. I had never read the Bible but was convinced it was a bunch of fairy tales that no one with any sense believed.

My arguments against faith seemed far more substantial than his for it. After all, I was the older brother.

But suddenly something happened.

While continuing to belittle my brother, the Lord appeared to me in a vision and showed me the direction my life was going. I was at the beach and, as I walked out into the ocean, the water got deeper and deeper until I was up to my neck. At this point, the Lord, who stood by the shore, spoke to me and said “You can continue as you are going or you can turn around and come to me.” It was years later that I read Psalm 69:1, “Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.”

My decision was immediate. I came to the Lord.

However, I did not

let on to my brother what was happening to me and we continued to argue into the night. Finally my brother said “Why don’t you give the Lord a try?” Still trying to play it cool, I responded by saying, “I’ll try anything once.”

That night I asked Jesus to be my Savior and Lord.

Today I live in the mountains I’ve always loved with my wife, Susan, and her parents who live across the street from us. I have two married daughters—Annie and her husband, Jessup, who work in Boone with Wine to Water, and Jill and her husband, Craig. Jill works with Young Life of the High Country and Craig is the Athletic Director at Lees McRae College. They have my only grandson, Elijah, who is just like me.

I have been blessed to be a pastor of the Banner Elk Christian Fellowship for the past 30 plus years. As the psalmist says, “You have made known the path of life; You fill me with joy in Your presence and with eternal pleasure at your right hand.” (Psalm 16:11) Give the Lord a try..indeed!

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32 Winter 2011

I Am a P.K. (Preacher’s Kid)

by Melissa Grogan, Ashe County Daddy had his work to do, and I had my work to do. The Lord made it clear that I had to find a church, become part of it, and do my work.

People have always said that the preacher’s kids were the meanest but my brother, Tim, and I knew better.

Tradition of Loving and Serving God My Daddy, Rev. Dean Watson, was called into the ministry in 1984. I was a newlywed just having married in 1983, so I wasn’t really a P.K. as a child growing up, but I was a deacon’s kid first when I was saved at nine and a half years old at Gap Creek Church.

Several people, including our family, helped form what is now Trinity Baptist Church, which met at the old Lutheran church building in Deep Gap. Through lots of hard work, the charter members obtained property on 421 to build a new sanctuary that is there today. Trinity is special to our family because Daddy was called to preach while attending, and I was married there. After Daddy became an ordained minister, he went to Fruitland Bible Institute. His first pastorate was Healing Springs Baptist Church.

Even though my dad disciplined us, when he preached, I knew I was watching a man of God. I loved to go to the churches he pastored. The people weren’t just members of a church, they were (extended) family members. They loved us and we loved them. But they loved God the most.

It’s good for that many people to love God. Finding My Own Place of Ministry While I loved to hear Daddy preach and always wanted to support him, I came to the conclusion that my husband and I had to be a part of a church that God was leading us to.

Cullen and I visited several churches as we looked for the one we were suppose to attend. We always prayed before we visited them, asking the Lord to lead us to where he wanted us to go. One Sunday morning, we visited Beaver Creek Baptist Church. I came into the church with a diaper bag and a baby boy in my arms (the baby is now 19 years old), and I knew it was where I was supposed to be. It was the place I was to do my work for the Lord.

I’d never seen so many kids in one church. With the Pastor Johnny Goodman’s permission and blessing, I began with brief object lessons on Sunday morning. One morning, I brought in a fishing pole to teach the kids about “being fishers of men”. Because I’d learned about puppet ministry in one of the churches I’d grown up in, I was able to start one at our new church. I loved it, and the kids loved it.

Along with the object lesson and puppet ministry, my work in the church expanded into teaching a Sunday school class and as the craft person in Bible school. God gave me the talent to use with crafts, and I knew I’d better use the talent God gave

me. As I work with the kids, what Momma and Daddy told me years ago comes to mind: Be careful what you say and what you do because there is always someone watching. The kids are watching and I try to live before them the way the Lord wants me to.

I’ve always known living for the Lord. I’ve never known anything else.

It is so sad to see people who are lost.

I’m grateful Daddy and Momma taught us to be who we are with God’s help. I fall short, I know, but I don’t know what it would be like not to have God in my life.

My parents instilled in me the truth of Jesus Christ. They taught my brother and me to pray and to live as we should. I always took it serious that my Daddy was a preacher and wanted to live a life that would honor him and God. As I look back today, I can see clearly how God called me to a work for him and his church. I could no longer follow Daddy as much as I might like to. I had a work to do, and I am thankful the Lord has given me the place to do it.

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34 Winter 2011

Saved from Death Row to Eternal Life

by Mellott Faust, Ashe County

My father, when I was born in Mecklenburg County, named me “Mellott” after a French friend of his. My name is different, and I’ve lived a different kind of life than most folks.

After dropping out of school at a young age, I went north to Philly (Philadelphia, PA) to live with some relatives. I was there for six years but found my way back to Charlotte when my father became sick. After he passed away in 1959, I stayed in Charlotte to help my mother who had taken sick while I was in Philly.

Fateful Night, Life-Changing Consequences One day at work I got a call to go see about her. It was a Friday night. I lived on the Southside of Charlotte and mom lived in the third ward so I had a distance to travel to get to her. It was about seven o’clock in the evening and I stopped off at a café and beer joint to see some of the guys I’d gone to school with. A girlfriend came into the café, and we had some laughs and danced some.

When I finally left to go see my mom, my girlfriend went with me. As we crossed the street, a policeman pulled up. He got out of his car and grabbed me. He questioned me for a long time. I finally asked him to either take me to jail or release me. He hit me, and, when my girlfriend told him that I hadn’t done anything, he hit her too. The policeman pulled his gun and in the struggle, I got the gun and shot him. He later died from the gunshot wound.

I was arrested, found guilty of murder, and sentenced to die in the gas chamber. The court granted me a new trial after the North Carolina School of Law looked into my case, but since the evidence had not changed, one of three execution dates was set.

I spent four and a half years on death row. Gov. Terry Sanford ordered an investigation which resulted in my death sentence being commuted to life in prison.

Back to Prison During my incarceration, I had a great perception of what I wanted to do when I got out. I thought once I was released I could make it because I was familiar with the outside world. Upon my release in October 1981, my wife and I lived the life of a regular family. We raised our son, visited with my mother and sisters and had friends over. It was good but there was a void. Eventually, I started drinking, again, and got involved with the wrong crowd. I never used drugs but began distributing them. I was arrested and was sentenced to seven years in a federal prison.

During the federal prison time, my wife and I divorced and our son lived in Greensboro. When I was released, I moved down to Greensboro to be near him. While living there, I met my wife, Brenda. Her niece and my son were in the same graduating class. We hit it off right away. Brenda was a Christian and when I would come to Ashe County with her, she always took me to church. My parole officer saw I was heading in the wrong direction, again, and encouraged me to move to Ashe County.

He Saved Me from Myself The Lord started dealing with me before I ever moved here. He saved me in June of 1996. He saved me from myself. I realize every day now how the Lord has blessed me. He has blessed me to be able to tie my shoes even though there are aches and pains.

His word said it wouldn’t be easy but I am to pick up my cross and follow him. Brenda and I were married in December 1996.

My mother was a godly woman who prayed for me for years.

When I met Brenda, she was always talking to me about the Bible. It made me think of my mother. Brenda was not my “normal cup of tea” but I knew my mother would approve.

When I met Brenda, I put everything behind me. She helped me come to a life that I saw years ago but didn’t know how to get to.

I don’t miss the big city, that’s way behind me now. I live in the present, not the past. I’ve come to love time spent with God and like-minded people. I’m open to learn and take advantage of every opportunity to understand the Bible. I can see more clearly now where I’m headed. Amazing Grace was for me. I once was lost but now I’m found….was blind but now I see. Clearly, now, I can see what God’s done for me. I was a prisoner but now I’m free.

Working My Way to a Better Life I worked my way through prison starting in maximum security.

During my incarceration, I went to cooking school and, until funds ran out, heating and air conditioning school. I was then sent to a medium security camp in 1974 where I met my first wife. Due to good conduct, I was on a community leave pass for 12-14 hours per month. I was finally granted a work release permit. I was married in prison and we had a son.

A chamber of commerce “prison community program” provided the opportunity to meet a lot of good people from different businesses while I was doing my time. Among them was the president of Merrill Lynch, jewelry sales people, and air traffic controllers. Those experiences were very encouraging to me.

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Touch Point from God

large, most had 15-20 members but it was a place that Christians from all denominational backgrounds could fellowship around the Lord and be encouraged. While we were in Germany for three years, we attended the base chapel programs as well. It was a great source of strength and fellowship.

by Marti Barinowski, Avery County

The Lord always helped me when Bob would go away for weeks at a time.

Everything rested on me. Taking care of four children, our home was a lot of responsibility but the Lord provided the strength I needed. The biggest challenge was yielding the authority back to my husband when he returned home, which was an effort and a relief.

A Touch Point of God In My Life

God has had His hand on my life all my life. I grew up in Bedford, New York, and was the eldest of seven children. Christ was always the center of our home.

One Foot In the World, One Foot in Christianity When I went to college I got away from Him as many young people do. I attended Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts. My “Big Sister” was involved in Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. God had His hand on my life though I ignored it.

I ended up in Columbia University’s nursing program where God gave me several girlfriends who loved the Lord. I got involved in Bible studies and prayer gatherings but I still had one foot in the world and one foot in Christianity.

My first job was in Brooklyn, NY, as a visiting nurse, which is called home health today. The Holy Spirit led me to a mission church on the Lower East Side.

It was a storefront church and the people who attended were Hispanic. I couldn’t speak Spanish but many of them could speak English so it worked.

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While I was in school, my parents attended a missionary conference in New York once a month. It was there they met Bob Barinowski, a young Air Force Captain from Augusta, GA. I was brought up in the Plymouth Brethren Assembly and Bob was, as well.

Mother encouraged me to visit an Assembly in Brooklyn, which I did.

There I met Bob, and we started seeing each other. Bob was a career officer, a solid Christian guy. I knew I would marry a Christian man even though I dated other guys.

We married and lived in Manhattan and continued to attend the storefront Assembly. This was a “touch point” of God in my life. I knew God was in control.

God’s Faithfulness Through Military Service We had four children and moved 13 times during Bob’s military career and were active on each base in the Officers’ Christian Fellowship. None of these fellowships were

Our kids were very young when Bob went to Vietnam. Three of our children and I moved back home to an apartment over my father’s office. My parents were a good support and helped with the kids.

After Bob returned, we were assigned to Pope Air Force Base in Fayetteville, NC, and then to the Pentagon. We continued to attend the Assemblies wherever we could.

New Town, New Purpose While in Washington, I began teaching Bible studies in our home. I realized that

the “younger women needed older women to teach them”. I was only 33 years old, but the need was obvious.

Both Bob and I began to teach the Navigators’ Timothy’s series as well as other Bible studies. A non-Christian couple we met were reading The Late, Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsay. They had lots of questions, so Bob took them through the Timothy series as well. They both became Christians. This was a “touch point” in our lives as we began teaching couples and other people the Bible.

Change of Scenery, Change of Season Even though this was a good time for us and our family in many ways, Bob soon realized that working at the Pentagon was not for him. He put in his papers to retire and soon bought a cleaning company franchise, Environment Control, in Maryland. We had bought property in Linville Land Harbor while based at Pope AFB and so were slightly familiar with the area. We really wanted to live here year round.

In 1977 we came down from Maryland to look at properties in the Banner Elk area and, due to our request, our realtor

reluctantly took us to see the farmhouse we now live in. The kids were horrified by the mess it was in and the fact that there was no bathroom and icicles were frozen to the faucet in the kitchen. Even those challenges and more didn’t put Bob and me off. We loved the area and loved the house. We realized it was time we began to pray specific prayers so we would know if we were supposed to move from Maryland to North Carolina.

Within a few weeks, all of our prayers had been answered and we moved to beautiful Banner Elk and our new but very old mountain farmhouse. We know God orchestrated the move because we saw a house that was in terrible condition but Bob and I “saw” what it could be and we bought it even against the wishes of our four kids.

It’s Been Great Because God Has Done the Work For some time, we attended a denominational church but began to meet with a few other couples for prayer on Sunday nights in our living room. This eventually led to a fellowship which began meeting every Sunday morning.

Over the years, as the group grew in number, we were led to purchase

property that is the current location of Banner Elk Christian Fellowship.

Everyone came from a different background – it was a mixing bowl.

It’s been difficult but great because God has done the work. We agree to disagree on the non-essentials and love one another deeply. Bob and I have tried to follow the Lord’s leading. My ministry is to women, one-on-one, teaching Beth Moore studies and doing counseling with younger and older women. An intercessory prayer group which meets weekly has been an important part of my life for many years.

Passing the Baton I believe I am now to pass the baton to younger women who are handling the retreats, counseling, mentoring and Sunday school classes. I am thankful for those whose hearts belong to the Lord and are willing to serve His body.

I am also very thankful for a wonderful husband and for four great children who are married and love the Lord and have provided us with 10 wonderful grandchildren. God truly has been the touch point of my life, and I praise Him for it.

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Take the Plunge

by George Wright, Avery County Neither of my parents were believers when I was born. Mom was saved first and Dad soon followed suit. Mom witnessed with her words. When Dad was saved, he clearly became a new man. Their loving witness led me to accept Jesus when I was seven years old. Our new family in Christ began to love and serve Him daily. It was our heart’s desire to do what He would have us do.

The Lord allowed me to attend Tennessee Temple University where I graduated with a degree in Bible and speech. But even greater than getting through such a fine Christian school was the fact that I met my wife there. I could fill five pages talking about my wife, Debbie. She is the godliest person I know. Nobody has a clue what having a wife like Debbie means when it comes to being in ministry. Plus, she is smokin’ hot!

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Called to the High Country After graduation, Debbie and I were hired at Teen Valley Christian Camp in Plumtree, North Carolina, which brought us to the High Country. The camp provided housing, meals, insurance and $150.00 a month as our salary. When I started as program director, my responsibilities included speaking to hundreds of kids. During ski season, many kids came to the camp. The kids would participate in Bible studies and, of course, being in a ski area, lots of recreation.

Teen Valley Ranch may be one of the best-kept secrets in the High Country. It is a place designed to present Christ in a fun atmosphere of acceptance and love. That was drilled into the staff members: our mission was to try to connect with everyone and show them the love of Christ.

New Mission, Fresh Passion In the same year I became Executive Director of TVR, our family became members of Mt. Calvary Baptist Church. My responsibilities changed in this new role. I traveled to numerous churches to inform them about the camp and was asked to preach in many of them. I found my mission changed as I spoke to men’s groups and others. I began to develop a real passion for teaching and preaching. I found great satisfaction in the study and delivery of what I’d studied that week. No doubt I was meant to be a teacher-pastor.

Partnering with the Body of Christ When Mt. Calvary needed a pastor ten years ago, they hired an interim who was involved in his own local ministry.

Occasionally, he would ask me to fill the pulpit for him. After a year or so, it became clear to me that the Lord was causing growth at Mt. Calvary and growth in me. While Debbie and I prayed about what God might have for our lives, we never anticipated that we’d leave the camp. God was working, however.

The confirmation in my own heart was due, in a major way, to the strength of the lay church leadership. They weren’t waiting for ministry to happen, they were doing ministry. That’s when I knew I would have partners at Mt. Calvary. I was excited and pleased to be called to pastor the church. It’s a mystery to me that God would entrust me with this awesome responsibility.

The Lord reminds me on a daily basis that I am to be humble and love people. I don’t do that real well. He has to pull me back and causes me to remember that I’m His child. He constantly reminds me that He has to Shepherd me if I am to shepherd His people. He does that through His Word, the loving council of my wife, and sometimes through the needed word of rebuke from some of my own people right here in the church. I am fond of saying from the pulpit, “We are a bunch of sinners who mean the best but often fail….if you think we are the perfect church, this not the place for you.”

Reaching Outside the Walls of the Church A few years ago, as I contemplated my personal ministry, I realized I didn’t have any relationships with people outside the church. At the same time, a local tragedy introduced me to the Banner Elk Volunteer Fire Rescue service. Four members of that department perished in a boating accident off the coast of North Carolina. As I spoke with some of the members, I realized that

this was a large group of people who were being under-served by the church.

After praying and discussing this with some members of the fire department, I immediately had an interest in joining. The child in me said, “It will be fun.” What child isn’t fascinated by a fire truck? But, the pastor in me said, “I’d love to cultivate relationships with the women and men who make up the department.”

I now serve as a volunteer fire fighter chaplain. My first priority is to preserve life and property, but I want the members to know they are safe with me. I am open to their questions about my faith in Christ or any other subject. It is my desire to communicate to them that Christ is my hope. These brothers and sisters are not my projects. They are my friends. Through this friendship, I am hoping to save lives in more ways than one.

Diving Into God’s Grace Although I was saved as a child, worked with thousands of kids at camp, have been given the responsibility of pastoring a church and becoming a fire-fighting chaplain, I am still learning that God is all about grace. My early experience in church was very much rules and the expectations of men.

But we all need grace… even Christians. Some people see grace like a diving board—it’s what enters us into the pool. I see grace like the pool—it’s the reality in which we swim. God’s grace truly amazes me. I’m so glad to be swimming in the beauty of His grace. I pray that my witness will encourage others to “take the plunge.”

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God’s Provision- Always in Perfect Timing

by Fran Steelman, Ashe County clear title to my home, my land, and a check for the year I’d paid on my home from the insurance company.

My father moved us to Pennsylvia when I was in pre-K, and I grew up in PA. We never went to church as a family. My mother was saved, and, while my father was a good man, he was not saved until he was 84 years old. Because Mom didn’t drive, she and us kids went to church on church vans. Dad would take us to church sometimes but would sit in the car. At 15, I was saved.

I was excited when I was first saved, but, in the years following my salvation, I was in and out of church.

Our aunts and uncles lived here and we would visit for a few days every couple of years. I always wanted to live in North Carolina, so after I graduated from high school, I moved down here. It was the 60s, and I couldn’t get a job. Because I came from up North, everyone thought I was going to start a union. I just wanted a job. Finally, Shadowline sewing factory in Boone hired me. Four girls and I shared an apartment and expenses.

We had a lot of fun.

Miracle Provisions I met my first husband in Ashe County. We had two girls. We were married 32 years, but he died at 49 years old. That left me with my youngest girl still at home. I was told that I couldn’t keep my home due to an insurance issue. The bank told me I’d lose my home. A lawyer didn’t even meet with me; he said there was nothing that could be done. During that time, I talked to the state insurance commissioner about the situation. It was becoming difficult at that time to make the house payment and pay the bills.

But I managed to pay the mortgage payment for a year.

Even though many told me I didn’t have a chance to keep my home during that hard year, many others kept praying that I would. To show you how big our God is, one day when I had been pretty down, I went to the post office. There was a bulky letter for me. I couldn’t imagine what was in it. It contained a

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New Job, New Love, New Life In 2001, I was working at Jefferson Apparel when it shut down.

Since I’d lost my job, the NAFTA program allowed me to go to school at Wilkes Community College. I graduated with a degree in office systems technology. At 52 years old, I’d never sat down at a computer. I had to work twice as hard as the younger students but I made the Dean’s list and the President’s list. I received my degree in 2003. I graduated with a degree in office systems technology. But I didn’t have a job.

A friend’s cousin was the assistant director at Ebenezer Children’s Home in Wilkesboro, and there was an opening for a house parent. The job didn’t fit my degree, and I didn’t want to work with children all the time but I went to the interview anyway. I got the job of a house parent with seven days on/seven days off schedule and after seven years I can’t see working anywhere else.

I’d been a widow for five years and decided to try it.

At first I was scared; I didn’t think I could do the job. The director told me later that she had a “feeling the LORD was telling her I could do the job”. There was a man working there who was a pastor at a church in Wilkesboro as well as serving as a house parent. His wife of 42 years had died with cancer. Whoever was on shift would take the kids to his church to hear his sermons.

I became a house parent mother to five children. The other house parent was named Fred, the man who pastored the church.

As house parents, we would have devotions with the children before bed. We would go over all that happened during that day with the kids. We would pray with them and pray with each other after they went to bed. When the director then told me we would be working together as house parents, she also told me that we weren’t allowed to date. I told her I wasn’t looking for a husband, but the Lord had different plans.

Fred and I met in September 2003 and were married in December 2003. We have no doubt the Lord put us together. After you know God is in it, how can it go wrong? If God is not in it, it’s all in vain – it’s not going to profit you or anyone else. We were the only house parents who got married in the chapel on the grounds. All the kids came to the wedding.

Faithful God Provides for His Children There are four houses on the premises. All have been built with donations. They are named Genesis, Faith, Charity, and Hope. God supplies whatever is needed, whether it’s food or whatever – God just supplies. Even the toilet paper is supplied! In spite of this difficult economy, even though much funding has dried up, God is still meeting the needs. Not all the wants but all the needs. It’s called faith.

When you’re going through your life, you don’t think God is leading. But when you get to your 60s, you can look back and see how he has led here and there. Nothing can touch you that has not gone through God first. And nothing God has touched can be but for your good. When you’re in the bad situation, the storm, and you don’t know God’s will you have to say, “Okay, God, it’s yours.”

Through all my trouble and trials I’ve learned they have made me stronger in my faith. I can look back and I can’t honestly say “why me?” because “why not me?” Because you are Christian, you are not immune to trouble. But you have someone to bear and share it with. I can’t imagine life without knowing a personal Savior. When you’re not saved, you don’t have that feeling inside to know you are His child. Trouble may be all around you, but you know you are one of His.

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Wine To Water

by Doc Hendley, Watauga County Founder & President of Wine To Water & One of the Top 10 CNN Heroes of 2009

(Wine To Water: A Bartenders Quest to Bring Clean Water to the World - excerpt pages 17-19) I was raised in one of those perfect families that most people only hear about or see on TV. My dad, he’s a gentle-tempered preacher man. Not the fire-and-brimstone type, but the Church has always been a huge part of his life.

Mom, also a devout Christian, was a dedicated mother who stayed home to watch after me and my older sister, Kristy, and three brothers, Todd, Bo and Billy.

My parents named me Dickson, but as a young kid my sister couldn’t say my name, so she called me “Dick-Doc.” Thank God that name didn’t stick.

Instead, ever since then my family and friends have simply called me Doc. When I was growing up we moved around a lot, from Augusta, Georgia to Chicago to (almost) Africa as missionaries-that’s another long story-and back to the South again to Greensboro, North Carolina, where I spent the bulk of my childhood.

While my sister and brothers were deeply committed to our religious upbringing and my parents’ passion for church, I never really drank the Kool-Aid the same way they did, I guess. Sure, I believed in God and went to church on Sundays, and did the things like handing out meals with my siblings down at the homeless shelter a couple days a month, which I actually enjoyed, because I felt like we were making a tangible difference.

But still, everyone in my family knew I was different. I distinctly remember when I was about twelve being on a family trip to Myrtle Beach, SC with all of us piled into our Chevy Suburban. We were sitting at a stoplight with some gospel station blaring on the radio when a man

42 Winter 2011

on a Harley-Davidson rumbled to a stop alongside us. He wore cowboy boots and riding leathers and rode alone. To me, he represented everything cool and independent, and was the total opposite of the people surrounding me in that car.

I yearned to become that guy.

I never liked all of the rules that people were tossing at me at church, school, wherever. Rules were stifling. They were for other people. I understood that other people needed those kinds of rules or boundaries, but I saw them as chains that tied me down. And while my brothers and sisters, and most kids my age, for that matter, were busy hanging out with friends, going to birthday parties and the mall and crap like that, I was happiest watching old John Wayne westerns or exploring the woods with my BB gun.

My parents were mostly tolerant of my rebellious attitude (it was pretty harmless, after all), so as a young teenager I was allowed some of the freedom I craved. I camped out in the woods often, and hunted squirrels and rabbits and such. As long as I stayed out of trouble and made it back in time for church, they were fine with me.

I started this article with that excerpt from my book because it illustrates how, from an early age, I was a nonconformist. Therefore, I didn’t do well in strict church settings, where it seemed to me that the whole emphasis was on trying to make ourselves “better” people.

In my mind, that meant how do I become a better rule keeper, which didn’t sit well with me. My feeling was why don’t we concentrate our efforts on what we can do to make other people better instead of focusing so much energy on how can I become a better Christian. It seemed to me like everyone had this cookie cutter mold of what a good Christian should be and I certainly didn’t fit that mold.

Dirt Bags and Authentic Christianity Because that kind of Christianity was a

turn-off to me, I’m glad I was able to experience a radically different kind of Christianity from my uncle John out in Montana. After dropping out of college, I moved out to Montana to work on a horse ranch that was right down the road from where my uncle lived. He was a Christian, but he was also a rugged individual who didn’t fit the mold of what I’d been used to. He started a Bible study that met in a bar of a casino on Friday mornings. The group called themselves the Dirt Bags and they were more authentic and real than most Christians I had met, so it began to change my perceptions a bit.

When I left there, I came back to work with a Christian organization called Young Life. But there was a problem. I was still my non-conformist self and it got me in trouble. I had to meet with the area director to address my behavior and she did a very wise thing. She shared, from her own experience, that something that changed her life was simply studying the Bible for herself. She had gone to a Bible School in New Zealand that offered a one-year course of in-depth Bible study. As a person who has always been intrigued with the Bible, even when church stuff turned me off, I agreed this was a good idea. So, I sold my Harley Davidson Motorcycle and went to New Zealand.

The Bible Became Real to Me The school was great for studying the Bible, but it was very “rule-oriented”, which meant trouble. I broke curfews and butted heads with the administration, but the Bible became very real to me. One time, when I was reading about Jesus on the cross and how He willingly became separated from His own fellowship with God to bear the sins of the world, it registered with me on a deep level. I was so moved I ran out of class and found a place to be alone. I felt dirty as I thought about my own sinfulness and selfishness.

It was in that moment that I opened my heart to God in ways I never had before and I know there was an inward

transformation that took place.

However, I still kept breaking the school’s rules, and it just about got me kicked out. In fact, I was suspended for two weeks because I pranked some of the girls in the school. When I was suspended, the dean of the school told me that when I returned I would need to tell him why I thought he should let me graduate from the school.

Upon my return to school, I told the dean something like this: “If this school was called a ‘Bible and Rule-Following School’ than I don’t deserve to graduate because I haven’t followed all the rules.

But, if it’s a Bible School and I’m being judged on the merit of what I’ve accomplished in my studies and my grades, then I certainly need to be allowed back to finish my course and graduate.” Upon hearing that, the dean

sat silent for a while and then he said “If you’ll promise not to cause any more trouble between now and graduation I’ll let you back in.”

After graduating from Bible School, I returned to the states and enrolled in NC State University. I needed a job to help support myself and I got one, working in a bar. The more I worked there, the more I got involved in the whole bar scene in Raleigh. Though it’s sad to say, I actually felt more accepted and had more of a sense of community in the bars than I’d ever had in church.

A Dream and a Purpose (Wine To Water: A Bartenders Quest to Bring Clean Water to the World - excerpt pages 29-32) It was in this time period that something strange happened to me.

One night I woke bolt upright in bed with a string of words spinning around my brain: Wine, water, wine and water, Wine to water.

“Funny, that’s backward,” I thought.

Obviously I was familiar with the story of Jesus changing the water to wine, because I’d heard my dad preach on it many times. It was actually my favorite.

The way I saw it, the story proved Jesus was a way cooler dude than what all the churchy folk back home had taught me.

But what did it mean? I asked myself, What? Is there something about water? I don’t understand. My mind was racing. I was turning and tossing. Backward or not, it was definitely a catchy phrase, I thought as a I peeled back the covers on my bed and stood up. I grabbed a pen and paper off my bedside table and wrote it down. Wine to Water.

Then I went to the computer and started Googling. Up until that point I was ignorant about the world’s water crisis-didn’t even know that one existed.

What I was reading startled me. It couldn’t be true. I was just learning to use the Internet, so I wasn’t totally confident that what I was reading was accurate…

Unclean water kills a child every twenty seconds-it’s more lethal than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined. One in every six people on our planet has no access to clean water-that’s over a billion folks. In many developing countries, like Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, India, Cambodia, women and children have to walk as much as four to five hours each day to gather water.

And once they get it, it’s often dirty enough to cause members of their family to die. The details were dizzying.

The more articles I read, the more I realized these stats and figures were indeed true. There was a tight knot growing in my stomach. How come I’d never heard about this before? Why wasn’t anyone doing something to fix this?

Then something happened. Those words, wine to water, all started making sense. I decided right then and there, there’s no sense in just getting worked up about it unless I do something to really fight it. Once I learned the hard truth about the world’s water crisis I really had no choice. I had to help.

I stayed up all night researching and

sketching out the concept for what would eventually become my nonprofit, Wine to Water. Deep down I think I had been yearning for way out of the rut I was digging for myself. The thought of somehow being able to one day serve people who were desperate for help felt right to me. I had been feeling guilty about where my life was headed, and in a way this seemed like an opportunity to start making up for some of the stupid, selfish things I’d been doing for the past handful of years.

I called Tasha, a close friend of mine, the very next morning. I was yearning to tell her, to tell anyone, about my new plan.

From all those years working at bars, it dawned on me that our regulars and patrons were mostly good people who cared about the world around them and would happily do their part to make a difference. They just didn’t know how or where to start. I’d simply throw a party at a local bar to benefit the world’s water crisis, and they could have fun while helping others in need.

Tasha immediately bought into what I was saying and together we put the first Wine to Water event into motion. I began spending less time pounding beers at the bars and instead channeled my free time and energy into this project.

Neither I nor Tasha had any experience planning an event like this; we simply used the contacts we’d developed locally in the bartending world.

I contacted a friend who ran a big nightclub in Raleigh, the Office, and got him to donate the space on a Wednesday, a night he’d normally be closed. Tasha hooked up some free cases of wine through a distributor, while I scored a few kegs from the local Anheuser-Busch folks. We got a friend to agree to deejay late-night, and I’d play live music for the early crowd. We settled a date about a month out, February 4, 2004, and bam!-Wine to Water was a reality.

Tasha and I were both nervous that night, but the event went off better than we could’ve expected. More than three hundred people showed up, easily filling the Office’s bar, dance floor, and the VIP lounge. It was a good crowd. Early in the night, lots of my friends and family came. Even my parents and some of their church friends drove down from Boone to be a part of the event. By late evening, the crowd had grown larger and louder as all of my bar friends and the local service industry folks showed up.

(Cont. on Pg. 44) Winter 2011 43

(Continued from Pg. 43) The whole event happened really organically. People were simply having fun and donating money to a good cause. I didn’t have to hard-sell anyone.

I just stood up and gave quick twentysecond speech.

“Look, folks, we’re here tonight because I’ve learned about this global water crisis and it’s scary stuff. Over a billion people in this world don’t have access to clean water. And I think we need to do something about it. All the money you guys donate tonight will go directly to fighting for clean water for these folks.

Just by ya’ll being here and enjoying life, we can make a difference. “ That very first event was a huge success and through some crazy circumstances just 6 months later I found myself on a plane headed to Darfur, Sudan with a local Boone based non-profit that I have come to both love and respect, Samaritan’s Purse. I stayed in Darfur for a year providing water to thousands of people displaced by the genocide that was happening all around me. When my year contract ended in August 2005, I moved to Boone, where my parents were living, to try and continue building the organization that I had started 18 months before.

Boone blessed me and my organization in two huge ways. The first was meeting a local girl named Amber Waters who I immediately fell in love with and soon would marry. Amber helped me to regain some of the sanity that I had lost during my time in Darfur, and she helped me to believe in myself when I didn’t think I had the strength to continue building Wine To Water. The second major blessing was meeting and hiring Annie Clawson to help me actually get this organization off the

44 Winter 2011

ground. By nature, I am a dreamer and a complete mess in every way.

However, Annie was not only organized but she was passionate and driven to see this organization grow and her gifts seem to perfectly balance mine in a way that allowed us to harmoniously work to see the mission of Wine To Water come to life.

As far as the organization goes, imagine my surprise in March of 2009 when I got what I figured was a prank telephone call.

(Wine To Water: A Bartenders Quest to Bring Clean Water to the World excerpt pages 252-255) “Hello, is this Doc?” “It is. Who’s this?”

“This is Danielle, from CNN,” she said matter-of-factly. “I was hoping I could ask you some questions. Do you have a minute?”

Wine to Water has been receiving a small amount of publicity with articles in local newspapers when we hosted events, but it turned out Danielle wasn’t interested in an interview. Apparently, I had been nominated for the 2009 CNN Heroes award. Basically the network has an annual program that highlights

everyday folks who are doing something to better the world. Viewers nominate and vote on the “heroes” and then they have a big awards ceremony to feature the top-ten heroes with the most votes.

Prior to that day, I’d never heard of the program, and was equally surprised to learn that I was nominated by my old friend Tasha from Raleigh.

That phone call kicked off weeks of heavy vetting, as the CNN staff checked out Wine to Water’s history, looked into our finances, checked my references, and more. Then, in late April, it was officially announced that I had been selected as one of the 2009 CNN Heroes, an honor I shared with twenty-seven other very deserving individuals. I was hopeful that the exposure with CNN could raise Wine to Water’s profile and potentially lead to more donations. What I wasn’t expecting was that I would be selected by an esteemed panel of judges, including folks like Colin Powell, Whoopi Goldberg, and Sir Elton John, as one of the top-ten most influential heroes on their list. That honor, and being recognized on national television as part of a huge gala event hosted by CNN’s Anderson Cooper at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, was one of the most inspiring and humbling times of my life.

CNN Heroes aired on Thanksgiving night and prompted a flood of new donations for Wine to Water. Prior to that, we had raised just under two hundred thousand dollars for the year, but in the next thirty-four days of 2009 we raised another two hundred thousand.

That exposure also led to more valuable publicity, including an interview on Larry King Live. It also set the stage to make 2010 a huge year for Wine to Water, enabling us to bring clean water to more people than ever.

By the end of this year (2011) Wine To Water has worked in 12 different countries around the world and has reached approximately 100,000 people with clean drinking water. And as for the future we hope to have reached one million people with clean drinking water by the end of 2015.

It’s hard for me when I look at what I used to believe and what some people still believe. Which is, that you have to be perfect or have your act together to have an impact on the world and serve “the least of these.” But I am living proof that God even uses screw-ups like me to further his Kingdom.

Winter 2011 45

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from...

All American Hearing Center................10 Appalachian Brian Estates.....................45 Appalachian Insurance Agency.............32 Appalachian Music Shoppe...................25 Ashe Abattoir, Inc....................................18 Ashe County ADAP................................45 Ashe County Ford...................................48 Ashe County Garage Doors...................35 Ashe Pregnancy Care Center.................41 Austin & Barnes Funeral Home............30 Badger Funeral Home............................34 Bald Mtn Baptist Church.......................38 Barr Insurance Agency...........................15 Basic Finance...........................................15 Beverly Guy Accounting.......................38 Blue Ridge Air.........................................39 Blue Ridge Electric.................................26 Blue Ridge Insurance Service...............31 Blue Ridge Mountain Rentals..............46 Boone Rent-All.......................................32 Bouquet Florist.......................................27 Burger King.............................................21 Burgess and Son.....................................38 Castle Auto Repair.................................46 Charlie’s Napa Auto Parts....................34 Dan’l Boone Inn......................................36 Dogskin Automotive..............................11 Dr. Pepper..................................................9 Farm Bureau...........................................17 Foggy Mountain Gem Mine.................25

46 Winter 2011

Full Circle Wealth Management.................39 Gambill Oil......................................................9 Garbage Disposal Service............................33 Gladiola Girls................................................25 Golden Corral.................................................8 Goldsmith......................................................31 Grace Lutheran Church...............................29 H&R Block.....................................................31 H&W Oil Company......................................13 Hardee’s.........................................................14 Heritage Propane.................................................45 Hidden Creek Management.......................45 High Country 365.........................................27 High Country Insurance & Investments...13 High Country Insurance Services Inc.........1 High Country Signs.....................................16 Highland Landscape Supplies...................10 Hillriver Cycles............................................24 Hope Pregnancy Resource Center............13 Howard’s Creek Baptist Church...............32 It Works........................................................28 Jeff’s Plumbing..............................................6 Jefferson Rent-All........................................34 Jo-Lynn Enterprises, Inc.............................14 K&C Building Associates.............................3 Kudzu Music...............................................24 Libby’s..........................................................27 Life Care Center..........................................10 Margate Health and Rehab.......................21 Meineke Car Care Center..........................40

Melissa Goodman, CPA...............................31 Modern Toyota................................................2 Mount Vernon Baptist Church....................17 Mountain Advantage Tree & Landscape..46 Mountain View Nursery..............................17 Mountain West Builders..............................32 Mountaineer Heating & Cooling...............37 My Free Dining.............................................25 Mystery Hill..................................................24 Nationwide Insurance- Andy Harkins.......6 New River Building Supply........................41 Parker Tie.......................................................47 Pet Place.........................................................26 Pollard Glass Co...........................................45 Precision Cabinets........................................37 Precision Printing.........................................40 Scott Brothers................................................20 Sheets Brothers.............................................10 SkyLine/SkyBest..........................................32 Smoky Mountain Barbecue.........................25 Soot Solutions.................................................6 Splendiferous Gallery & Gifts....................24 Stick Boy Bread Company............................6 Studio K Youth Ballet....................................4 Subway...........................................................36 The Gym........................................................26 TYH Bottled Water.........................................9 Villages of Ashe..............................................2 WJ Office City.................................................3 Watauga Building Supply.............................8 Watauga Insurance......................................10

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