Still Got Shirt

Dr. Neblett speaking at Restoration Intl. Camp Meeting hosted by EVI

June 04 

Before I left Loma Linda, I visited Hands On Medical Massage School.  Corolla, the lady who runs it, is doing a great job. I believe this is one of the best massage schools around. Apparently,  Angela Aho graduated from that school the 

night before I came to visit. They said that she grew a lot while at school and that she gave a wonderful parting speech. I called Angela to congratulate her. She was at the beach with her mother. Angela has already netted two jobs. One in a clinic and another for a Chiropractor.

That evening I was invited to a Tupperware party. Only, it wasn't Tupperware, it was pots and pans called Saladmaster. Very impressive. The world is killing us by selling us pots made of aluminum, stainless steel and cast iron. The Salamaster pots are suppose to be very good for our health--titanium.  Actually, I think they are, but I can't afford to spend $10,500 for a set. Can you?

June 05

I flew back home. Wrote two articles in flight for our magazine, Faith Ventures. 

June 06

I preached in Copper Mountain (two and one half hours away from EVI.) I spoke on being decisive. Barbara Taylor, one of my board members, was there. She had surgery on her face for cancer. It must be a different kind of cancer because they really went deep with the knife. I felt bad for her. She came to visit EVI and I offered her a free session in the Lifestyle Center. She doesn't want a free session. She thinks we are not to run a business that way. I think it is just the way to run a business for God. Give and . . . guess what God said He would do? 

I'm organizing a letter-vote from my board for my wife in Africa. She is planning a board of trustees for her organization, and a change of by-laws to fit the African mind. I must get my board to approve these changes because she is still under our auspices.

June 07, Sunday

I spent the day fixing toilets, water faucets, doors and windows. I like that. Doing something practical is a great change from office work. Steve Grabiner called. I've forgotten what he initially wanted, but he did ask if I wanted to spend a three day weekend retreat in the mountains in the fall. Yes I would. I think that hiking, reading and praying would do me/us a world of good.

I bought a camera on this day. It works great and now I should be able to post a few pics for your pleasure. (If you can get me to use it.)

June 09

My new accountant drove in today, Leonard Smith and Sally. They are a pleasure to mix with. We unloaded his truck and then went to a Church Business meeting. I just love meetings. In this one at least we voted to sponsor Deneice Van Order $100 per month for two years as she works with my wife in Africa.

This weekend we are hosting a Restoration International Camp Meeting. There was probably one hundred people at the first meeting. It is suppose to swell to two hundred people tomorrow. Dr. Neblett and his family are the guest speakers. It's a rest for me. I can just sit back and enjoy the spiritual emphasis.

What follows is a little article I am including in this month's Faith Ventures about our Lifestyle Center:

 Still Have Our Shirts

It looked and felt like another miserable failure. Not one lifestyle guest registered for treatments in January 2009. We had suffered through a bad year in 2008, and it wasn’t until October and November that the Lord, in His mercy, turned things around for us. December dipped slightly, but January tanked. . . again! In the words of Yogi Berra, the famous New York Yankee ball player, it was “deja-vue (with its sinking feeling) all over again."

Unexpectedly, during a very ordinary moment in an Executive Committee meeting, God gave us an out-of-the-box idea. Someone suggested we invite Jim Gilley, the President of 3ABN, and C.A. Murray, his Production Manager, for a free lifestyle session. We heard that Jim had survived triple by-pass surgery, and that C. A. had prostate cancer. Naturally, being Christians, our hearts went out to these servants of God. 3ABN had been a trememdous blessing to Eden Valley in 2008. Four times they had given us valuable air time. It seemed little to us to offer them something of real value in return. During the discussion, however, we began to wonder why we should limit the blessing to just two individuals. Why not offer a lifestyle session to every staff member at 3ABN on a donation basis?  A donation basis? gulp! Isn’t that a bit risky?

What if we realized little by way of returns? Might we not lose our shirts? Keeping our shirts is important, especially to the business minded among us. Yet, to a man (and woman), we felt impressed that the risk was worth taking.

The potential loss turned out to be great gain to Eden Valley. Many at 3ABN took advantage of the offer and healthwise they needed to. Those who most needed it could never have afforded our medical care. Which begs a question: Why should only God’s richest missionaries enjoy His natural remedies? There is something about that idea that rankles in my brain. There has got to be a way to serve the poor as well as the rich among us. This once, at least, we found pure pleasure in treating everyone who needed it-- the small with the great, the poor with the affluent.

C. A. Murray and his wife, Irma, was the first to arrive. He stayed the longest and bounced home to announce, on air, that he had found healing at Eden Valley. Soon after he returned to Eden Valley, cameras in tow, to film an hour long documentary of Eden Valley’s Lifestyle Center. The value of that gift was not lost upon us. We’ve been praising God ever since. We are mutually blessed.

Our Lifestyle Center has been full since. Every month, February through July and perhaps into the fall, will see every room filled. True, because some came on a donation basis, every month has not been a financial bonanza--but we are in the black and we relish the opportunity to serve people in greater numbers.

 Again, we are convinced that we can never outgive the Lord. If or when the count gets low, we will again look for ways to bless greater numbers . . . and still keep our shirts.

Side note:

We did a little research and found that since 1999 we've taken care of 230 cancer patients. 160 of those patients are still alive, 77 have been alive for more than five years. That is something more than 30% success rate. What is the success rate for chemo? I'll bet it is quite a bit lower than that. 

So says the Preacher to his tribe.