Dear Family Member:
Bible stories offer valuable inspiration and encouragement. Yet, they cannot replace the power of personal testimony from our present day. Seeing people’s lives reunited is exceptional and promising and can be inspiring for many. Meet Steve and Marilynn and hear their uplifting love story:
At the tender age of 15 years old we met in Northern California at a Greater Bay Area meeting for church youth. We felt an immediate attraction and admiration for each other. Given the two-hour driving distance between us and the absence of cell phones, we relied on letters with occasional long-distance phone calls. For the first few years, we met only once or twice a year, making each other’s letters and phone calls especially cherished.
I was a senior in high school and Steve attended Santa Clara University as a freshman. The next year I attended Oakwood College (now Oakwood University) in Huntsville, Alabama. Imagine my surprise when I gazed across campus and saw Steve walking toward me! He had felt God urging him to transfer to Oakwood and told the Lord that he would only go if God supplied the money for tuition. Shortly thereafter he was hired as the second African American bellman to work at an established and well-known San Francisco hotel. Amazingly, through this job, God blessed Steve with enough money for tuition to attend Oakwood.
Being at the same college allowed us to see each other frequently, enjoying church services, Bible Camp, and social activities on campus. Steve had the opportunity to meet several of my relatives and many of them loved Steve like he was part of our family. I was privileged to meet Steve’s mother, one of his sisters, and two brothers during those college years.
I transferred to Loma Linda University on the west coast for sophomore, junior and senior years, while Steve continued at Oakwood. We still wrote letters and called each other. Though not voiced, we both believed marrying after graduation would be our next step, but extenuating circumstances brought an end to the relationship six years after we met, and our paths diverged. We were disappointed when that old serpent thwarted our plans.
Fast forward, many years after our initial meeting: we had both finished colleges, married, had children, worked in our careers, and now Steve was single, and we were in our golden years. Steve’s best friend found out that I had become widowed and informed Steve of my status. When the time was right Steve called, we began to talk, and the initial spark reignited. We watched as God brought us back together, giving us a second chance. Fifty years after first meeting we got married in a beautiful chapel at the historic Mission Inn Hotel. Steve organized the wedding and it was one of the best days of our lives. Although our parents had passed away, many of our relatives, including elderly family members in their 80’s who had met us during our college years, attended to share in our joy. We are deeply grateful that God is a God of Second Chances, restoring the years that had been lost. All praise, honor and glory to His Name!
We have known both Clifford and Freddie for many years. As children Steve and Freddie grew up attending the same church in Oklahoma City, Clifford and Mary, my mother, were first cousins. In the mid-1980’s Steve invited Clifford and Freddie to come and present their story to the Seaside Church where Steve was pastoring. In the late 1980’s I invited the Harrises to tell their story at my church in Pomona, CA. We have witnessed firsthand the redemption and consistency that Clifford has exhibited. We have seen God bring cousins Clifford & Freddie together in marriage and grow DAP to include several properties, landscaping businesses with trucks and equipment, and up to one hundred men have graduated from the DAP program. Many of these men have gone on to hold church memberships, stable jobs, get married, obtain college degrees, and live lives that glorify God. Clifford & Freddie have been given a front row seat to see fulfillment of God’s promises to heal, sustain, and restore their own lives, and blesses them to share with others what God has done for them. And this only happens through the power of God when we accept His gift of salvation and sanctification. This is our God of Second Chances!
Think about it, how many men addicted to drugs do you know who have successfully overcome their addiction and consistently live a life submitted to God? That is the miraculous beauty of this program. God calls us to do what is within our power to support ministries like DAP that help people learn to love Jesus and overcome through His power. That’s why we support DAP monthly.
At DAP, you see the tangible results of your financial gifts –transformed for the Kingdom. God will bless you as you demonstrate trust in Him by helping this worthwhile ministry. Is God calling you to support DAP? If so, don’t delay. This is your opportunity to be part of this phase of His work for His glory.
