She loved.....

One of the "perks" of being in this type of ministry is that we get to have partners who pray for us, encourage us and help us financially.  We get to meet wonderful people we may not have otherwise met.  One of those people is Martha Brown and her husband, Jim.  In 2006, we were visiting Nyssa Baptist Fellowship in Nyssa, Oregon.  There Martha told me that she was praying for us fervently and praying that we would go to Mt. Home Air Force Base.  She and Jim (though in their 80's) had us stay at their home, entertained us and fed us. They themselves had loved on airmen who were stationed in a remote station in Burns, Oregon.   We came away very encouraged.  Martha passed away this week, on my birthday, September 10.  I traveled to Nyssa to attend her funeral yesterday.  I got to see people I hadn't seen in years.  Wow! What a funeral!  It was 2 hours long.  She had arranged to have old time gospel music (large groups and a men's quartet among them). There must have been at least 10 songs.  They were so good, people applauded at the end.  Some of us were wondering if we should clap at a funeral.  There were all kinds of testimonies about their love for hospitality and for people., but mostly their love for Jesus. They also had a special place in their hearts for those airmen who came to their home in Burns. At the end, we filed past Martha's body and her 2 daughters and husband.  I had met Judy but didn't know Mary.  But when I greeted Mary, she recognized me from our prayer card on her parent's refrigerator.  She said, "Mom sure loved you." Then I hugged Judy, and she said "Mom loved you".  The funeral was a fitting tribute to a woman who loved and to her God who loves even more.