Bruninieku Iela 10A,
Riga , Lv - 1001
Latvia
-and-
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
July 2nd 2001
Dear Dr. Swindoll,
Yes.. Two addresses, and you have been very influential in that.
I am a Canadian who finds herself residing in Latvia for four months, not because I would ever have chosen to come here but because the Lord sent me here.
Now I'll start at the beginning;
I am a 64 year old woman. My husband died two years ago, and although I have been a Christian all my life and lead a very active church life within the Salvation Army, I had come to the point last summer of questioning, What was the use of living?
The children are grown and independent, my husband was gone and life seemed very drear.
As I was sitting on my sundeck I was reading your book, The Mystery of God's Will. And the Lord started speaking to me. I started underlining some wonderful lines that you wrote and began to realize that life didn't need to be over. That the Lord still had work for me to do...... but what ????
It was here I made my first mistake. I made a list of all the things I could do for God. I called it ''Wilma's List''. I prayed about it, I changed it, but couldn't settle on what I should do. (As if the Mighty God, needed me to do His work... He who created it all without my help... How foolish).
I enjoyed the Book so much I purchased David and again the Lord spoke to me throughout its pages, so much so that I said, "Who is this Charles Swindoll that has written exactly what I need right at this moment."
I went away for a holiday and took Moses with me. Reading and underlining and marveling at how much ''fit'' me on my spiritual journey.
One morning I woke up and could almost audibly hear God speaking.
''I thought you wanted to do something for me, Why have you made that list.''
"But, Lord, If I don't choose something to do, I'll never do it."
'' Leave it to me, I'll choose something for you to do''
Then I made mistake number two.
I called my Pastor and said I must do something, anything you ask me to do I will do it. And I meant it. And when I returned he gave me things to do and I did them, but I knew that wasn't right.
I was chatting with a Christian friend, a fellow Salvationist, ( He lives in Sweden ) that I had met on the Internet and I was telling him about all this and he asked would I consider coming to Latvia.
I laughed, I said, I'll think about it and pray about it, but where is it?
Then I realized that it was completely impossible to think of leaving home and going to Latvia.
I started to think of all the arguments against it but the Lord wouldn't leave me alone. Every argument I put up, He came back with the answer, immediately and I couldn't refute it.
I said, "I'm too old..". You wrote about Abraham, pg 68.. He was 75 years old and he was asked to leave home without knowing where he was going.
I said "I'm ordinary, I have no special talents". Elijah was an ordinary man, who God used.
There were many other arguments but each one was answered in my mind as soon as I thought of it.
I was in Bermuda at Christmas and I was reading Elijah and the Lord was again speaking to me through the pages of that book and finally I threw it on the ground and said, ''O.K. Lord, don''t shout... I will go.''
But I was going grudgingly.
Christmas Sunday I cried all through the morning service. I didn't want to go to Latvia.
Finally I called a Baptist Minister friend of mine and he said, ''Wilma, quit struggling. You will never be happy until you do."
I was able to do this and I prayed and said, ''Yes, Lord, I''ll start to prepare and if you are not in this, please put up a road block and stop me. ''
Every step along the way went smooth. And I became more and more excited.
Then in February I took very ill and was in hospital for 10 days with Pancreatitis and they thought I might die. All I could think of was that it would stop me coming to Latvia but I made a very good recovery and now I am here.
And it is good. The work of the Salvation Army and the Christian Church is growing. The workers and resources are few and this hinders so much we would like to do. This Country has been occupied since the 1920's by the Russian Communists, the Germans and then the Russians again. They gained their independence 10 years ago and the people are hungry for the Word of God. The Economy is terrible, and people are barely subsisting on little money. At least the people I'm seeing are. But they are happy and content with what they have. I know some people have money. The traffic on the streets is horrific, there are lots of cars.
But God is so good. The people I am working with are people of prayer and I have been completely awestruck at how very often we come up against something that is completely impossible for us to handle, and someone (usually one of the young women in the office) will say we have to pray. And the answers come. Sometimes while we are still in prayer the phone rings and the problem has been solved.
I have always believed and frequently experienced the power of prayer, but this is beyond what I've ever known.
God is working here and it's wonderful to be part of it.
To think I would have missed all this if I had said "no" to God. This is a lesson I will never forget. He gives us more than we would ever think to ask for when we are wholly yielded to Him.
As I said earlier on in this very long letter, I was born in a Christian Home, my parents were Salvation Army Officers (Pastors). I have been active myself throughout all these years, but I''m afraid much of my service was for the pleasure I received from it myself.
I don't know ''His'' plans or purpose in me coming to Latvia, but I have no doubt that it is His will. He is revealing His plans, one step at a time. And someday, I will understand.
I know I am keeping very busy and enjoying each day.
I have wanted to write to you for some time and finally I have written. I do not have a specific address to send this to, but will send it off praying that the Lord will see that you receive it. I will be in Latvia until the end of September and then heading home. But I feel that I will come back again some day.
May God continue to bless and to use you, and I thank you for the way your books have impacted on my life.
I've just finished reading Start where you are and once again it fits....
Wilma L. Paterson