A Letter From Andrew

(This was read at his funeral yesterday)

A letter from Andrew to be read after his passing:

A brisk fall afternoon, the bright red and yellow leaves are falling from the trees at Round Lake Park, the sun is shining. I can feel the cool fresh air entering my lungs with every breath. I smell garlic and homemade Italian food in the wind. For you maybe it's a spring day and the flowers are blooming, or it's Christmas and the snow is falling and you are sitting with a warm mug of coffee by the fire. It's at those seemingly perfect moments that you know this all didn't happen by chance. It is not by chance that the leaves turn red in the fall, and it is not by chance that I'm not standing here reading this letter to you now.

After all the suffering I have seen thus far, there are only two things that I know are true. That I love my wife and kids so much, and that God loves me infinitely more than that. Thank you, thank you, thank you, to all who have loved, served, and prayed for us. I am so very sorry to leave you all behind, but at the same time I am so happy to be home with my maker. Everything that I love about the fall and the leaves and the fresh air and Italian cooking in the wind, pales in comparison with what it is like in the presence of Jesus. I have not eaten in a very long time, but know that I hunger no more. There is no more pain or suffering, no more tears or sorrow. Grace, AJ, and Gracie, know that God holds you in the palm of His hand especiallly now. Jesus will lead, guide, and protect you. I am confident that your mourning will turn to dancing.

Fight for joy in this. Rejoice because cancer can kill my body but it cannot kill my soul. Rejoice because my greatest sickness was cured in 2001 at the age of 20 when I believed that Jesus could forgive such great sins as mine. Rejoice because even through sickness and death God has done great things in my life, and yours. Rejoice because this is not the end, it is just the beginning.

Rejoice! Again I say rejoice!

I will see many of you soon.

Andrew W. Mark

(Hat tip to Kim)

With Our Savior

With Our Savior

via Grace's Journal by Grace Mark on 2/7/09

Its 11:30 am Pacific time. Just got a call from Grace that Andrew is now in the presence of our Father. We praise the Lord that he called Andrew to be His and that Andrew is now rejoicing before the throne of grace without pain or suffering.

Please continue to pray for Grace, AJ and Gracie and the rest of the family, that the peace of God would continue to be a comfort to them.

Details on the funeral will be forthcoming. It will most likely be on Tuesday and Grace and the family would love for whoever can make it to be there. Also in lieu of flowers, a fund will be set up for AJ & Gracie. More details on that to come as well, but if you are interested in contributing to that, please email fundforajandgracie@gmail.com and I will send you the details when I have them.


Thank you all for praying and for your encouraging remarks and for continuing to lift this dear family up in your prayers.

Catastrophe in Zambia

I received this email this morning from my friends ministering in Zambia:

Dear Prayer Partners,


Yesterday, at 5pm a horrible storm swept through our area of Ndola and destroyed our church structure, injured our pastor in training, ripped a fourth of the roof off of the library/institute building, soaked most of the library books, and destroyed a portion of the church property's wallfence.

The devastation is severe.

Our pastor in training was in the church tent (40 feet x 30 feet) with the church treasurer when the wind picked the structure up and slammed it back into the ground. Part of the steel frame hit the pastor in the head and opened a large wound. When we arrived at the scene his church shirt was covered with blood. I checked him for a concussion and sent him for treatment.

The tent is a total loss, the steel frame is wadded up and bent into an unrecognizable shape. The tent itself is torn and and in places literally shredded. The church benches are undamaged, but the hymnals, pew Bibles and other church documents are lost.

The library/institute building had the asbestos roof and purlins peeled off. About a fourth of the roof on both sides was completely swept away. The rain then poured into the library and ruined probably a third of the books. We had a supply of donated Bibles and New Testaments in this building also, all were damaged by the water. We lost over 50 Bibles and over 500 New Testaments. The library and institute is now closed.

A portion of our wallfence was also blown down. This is a very sturdy cinder block wall that was properly built and reinforced. It was pushed over as if it were nothing.

We praise the Lord that the pastor in training is doing better today and that no one else was injured. The ladies had been holding a special service in the afternoon, but thankfully they were already home when the storm hit.

We will continue on.

I have received a personal loan from a local businessman and have already today began repairs on the library/institute building. The library/institute will have to remain closed until after our furlough. This will allow the church (which is our priority) to be able to use the library/institute building for services.

The loss of property from this storm is well over $10,000.

Please. please pray with us.

Already rumors are circulating that this is a curse from God on our church. People are often swayed by these type of malicious rumors and it concerns us to have this disaster after the church fire 3 years ago.

This has hit me and Jill especially hard. Emotionally, we are drained. We are doing our very best to serve the Lord here alone and it seems that we are visited again and again by disaster. Please pray that we will be spiritually and emotionally encouraging to one another and to our budding Christians.

The same storm knocked out the power to our home and so I am at an internet cafe writing to you. We are not sure when we will have power again.

Again, please pray for us and for Calvary Baptist Church.

On another note, please also pray for Andrea, she has been very sick with a stomach flu or food poisoning. On Saturday evening she vomited over 30 times.

Thank you so much for your partnership with us.


No Turning Back,
Andrew S. Schultz

Please pray for Andy & Jill and consider sending them money to help them recover from this terrible loss. They are preparing to leave the country soon for a furlough. Consider how incredibly difficult this will be for them to leave the local church in that state. You can donate money to their ministry by clicking here or by mailing a check to BIMI using the following address:

Andrew Schultz Family #821
c/o Baptist International Missions Inc.
P.O. Box 9215
Chattanooga, TN 37412 U.S.A.

(NOTE ­ when using this method, please be sure to designate your gift in the memo section: Andrew Schultz Family #821 in ZAMBIA)

Andrew's "Sooner than Later" Post

Some of you may remember posts here on this blog about Andrew's battle with cancer this year... Andrew received some difficult news regarding an MRI: the cancer has spread into other parts of his body including, apparently, his spine. If the spine in fact has a cancerous tumor on it, it will not be operable. Andrew and Grace have decided to take a different approach to this next phase. Instead of trying to find ways to kill the cancer, they are going to find ways to enjoy the quality of life he has now--to make the most of what remaining days God grants him.

Please pray that they'll have great wisdom in discerning treatment methods, pain-relief methods, and moreover that God would continue to be magnified in their lives as The Greatest Treasure... for to die is gain.

Please Pray for Rhett

My brother, Jonathan, and his wife, Amanda, were blessed last week with the birth of their third child, Rhett Bradley. Little Rhett has had to be kept at the hospital because of some health issues that at this time aren't very clear. Reading this post from John Piper today reminded me to pray for Rhett's health to improve, but also for Jonathan and Amanda's faith to grow even more through this trial; that through this trial, they would cling more closely to Christ than ever before.

 

 

Sent to Blogger by fuller_paul via Google Reader:

 

 

Preparing for Sudden Suffering

via Desiring God Blog on 9/23/08

(Author: John Piper)

Recently I wrote that we seldom know the micro reasons for our sufferings, but the Bible does give us faith-sustaining macro reasons. It is good to have a way to remember some of these so that when we are suddenly afflicted, or have a chance to help others in their affliction, we can recall some of the truths God has given us to help us not lose hope.

Here is one way to remember. Five R's (or if it helps, just pick three and try to remember them). The macro purposes of God in our sufferings include:

Repentance

Suffering is a call for us and others to turn from treasuring anything on earth above God.

Luke 13:4-5 - Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

Reliance

Suffering is a call to trust God not the life-sustaining props of the world.

2 Corinthians 1:8-9 - For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

Righteousness

Suffering is the discipline of our loving heavenly Father so that we come to share his holiness.

Hebrews 12:6, 10-11 - The Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.... He disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Reward

Suffering is working for us a great reward in heaven that will make up for every loss here a thousand-fold.

2 Corinthians 4:17 - This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

Matthew 5:11-12 - Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.

Reminder

Suffering reminds us that God sent his Son into the world to suffer so that our suffering would not be God's condemnation but his purification.

Philippians 3:10 - ...that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings.

Mark 10:45 - The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

 

 

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Please pray...

While I didn't know Brent in a very personal way except through business contact buying books and a brief email interchange about his education at Bethel, my heart grieves for this brother in Christ. Please keep he and his brother's family in prayer. Ask that God would use this in their lives to deepen their joy in Him and that others would see the strength that only comes from Him.

Here is an update I received yesterday afternoon from him:

From: C. Brent Cloyd
To: fuller_paul
Subject: Update my Niece - Virginia Tech Tragedy
Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2007 16:31:43 -0500

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

My family and I are so grateful for your prayers. hundreds of you responded to let me know you were praying and I can assure you I read each note.

I just recieved word from my family in Blacksburg that they have posititvely identified the body of my niece Austin Cloyd.

Please be in prayer for my my Brother Bryan and his wife Renee and their son Andrew. This is a terrible tragedy for all people involved. It is very personal when it is one of your own. In times like this we need a savior. It is good to know that in times like these we have a savior. I will be going to Blacksburg soon. Please pray for all of us.

Thanks,
Brent