April
8, 2010
Dear Friends,
The
phone call from my brother in was not welcome, but
we had expected it would come. My mom, Lorraine
Zerbe, passed away her sleep on March 19th.
Jane and I have just returned from her funeral in
North Carolina. Many who attended said that it was
the best funeral they had attended, referring to how
uplifting it was.
Mom was quite a lady.... She worked in the woods in
northern Minnesota as a lumberjack with her dad from
the time she was eleven years old. After getting
saved, she went to Bible School although she had not
attended high school, there not being one nearby.
She graduated with straight A’s, and then married
the class president whom she met as the class
secretary. She went to a remote village in Liberia,
West Africa, as a pioneer missionary and killed 13
poisonous snakes in the house the first year! This
might have driven the average woman away from the
mission field, but she continued in Africa for many
years. At age 88, she went peacefully in her sleep
to be with the Lord.
I had been Outside (out of Alaska) for a few weeks
visiting Dad and Mom in February and March,
combining meetings at supporting churches with
important family time with my elderly parents. At a
Sportmen’s Banquet in Lexington, NC, where I showed
my hunting videos, and shared both hunting
experiences and the Gospel, seven men trusted
Christ. I had returned home to Alaska, and then
quickly gone to Nome for the Iditarod to pass out
Gospel tracts and the “Dog mushers” edition
John-Romans. Then I flew home to Fairbanks, and
received that call from my brother telling the news
of Mom’s passing.
While
we were in NC for Mom’s funeral we connected with an
old friend, Torli Harlan Krua, a Liberian man who
now lives in Boston. Torli heard of Mom’s passing
and felt that he must come to her funeral, having
known her since he was a little boy on Tappi mission
station. Torli’s father, Mahn Krua was a graduate
from Tappi Bible Institute, which my father founded
and where he taught Mahn back in the 1950’s. Mahn
was a successful church planter in the village of
Ziah, where he also founded a Christian boarding
school. When the civil war broke out, the Krua
family became refugees in the USA. Mahn and Torli
now work with refugees from Liberia and other
countries.
Torli was given a few minutes to speak at the
funeral, a warm remembrance of Mom and a rousing
call to “take up the torch” and continue the work.
You will appreciate seeing his short message at
www.farnorthflyingchaplain.com.
(He begins at just a few seconds into the clip.). As
we shared hospitality with Torli for a week, we
recalled many good memories of Liberia. We had many
hours to cook African food, get caught up on his
life, and learn how the Lord is using him in
ministry.
Torli now has a
ministry among refugees
along the East Coast, preaches regularly in
churches, facilitates church planting among
immigrant and refugee populations, and recruits
volunteers to serve refugees. He has received
numerous awards for his work. He told us that
85,000 refugees come yearly to the US, the
majority of them are Muslim from countries closed to
Christian missionaries. Many of these refugees have
been tortured or raped by their own people and are
open to hearing about a God of love. Torli says,
"In the 21st century, no one needs to go abroad to
reach the world. The world has moved next door, and
refugees hold the keys to unlock the doors of an
unreached world....”
To learn more about Torli and his ministry, read
these articles:
http://www.egc.org/research/issue_13_files/Issue_13_Krua.htm
a presentation explaining how he integrates church
planting and human rights advocacy and challenges
American churches to recognize the mission at their
doorstep in ref Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) annual meeting in Las
Vegaszugees.
http://www.liberiawebs.com/index.php?view=article&catid=104%3Acolumnist-krua&id=1723%3Atorli-krua-calls-for-volunteerism-service-to-god-and-the-community&option=com_content&Itemid=329
As the keynote speaker
for the 2009 African Festival held among Africans
living in the State,
Torli calls for volunteerism, service to God, and
the community.
Torli has need of a passenger van to transport these
refuges to church services and a new laptop
computer. Should you have a van you can spare, or
want to donate funds towards these needs, call me
with the details. I would give him my old Ford van,
but the cost of driving it down to Boston is
prohibitive. Better to locate one on the East
Coast.
The annual inspection of the airplane is coming
up. Pray I find all the things needed to be fixed
to keep the place airworthy---safe.
We have one work team coming in July, and possibly
another in August. We won’t need any other work
teams this year.
Thank you for
your faithful support and prayers over the years.
Faithfully
yours,
Les Paul Zerbe
www.FarNorthFlyingChaplain.com
