Chris
Began Her Provo Ministry in 1985Chris
Began Her Provo Ministry in 1985
FEATURED VIDEO:
aprayernotebook.net/provo/Chris-Wise-Lanyon-Library-Provo-Jan21-2010.mp4
While in Nassau at The Christian School, the missionaries would
attend the BIMI conferences.
There they would hear from other missionaries and pastors serving churches in
the Carribean Area.
BIMI stands for
Baptist International Missions
Incorporated. It is a very large missionary organization serving countries
[11 Regions]world-wide, including Africa, Carribean, Central America, Europe, Far
East, Far North, Military, South America, South East Asia, USA.
[ It is
interesting to ALSO note that
the Rowleys
used minor support from BIMI in their New England Church Planting of
Truth Baptist Church!
Yours truly experienced a mountain-top month doing that in 1980, only moving
there in 1983.]
It was at these BIMI conferences Chris would hear the pleas of area Pastors as well.
Such was the case for Provo Bible Church. While in Nassau, Chris had received a call, a request from a devout Christian educator of children, with ministry to women & children to go to Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands, to start a Christian School at a minimal cost, starting with preschool then to add one grade each year to the school.
Provo,
was the church's location
in the Turks & Caicos Island's most Western
Island, and so Chris discussed this with the pastor. It was the only island of the
chain to have an International airport with one runway of sufficient length to
land bigger planes. Provo Bible Church could greatly benefit from a nursery day school
to serve the day care need of many island workers.
In 1985 she decided it was time for her to take on a greater challenge, and she
did enjoy working with 4 and 5 year olds while she taught her 2nd grade class in
Nassau
Christian School.[See their profile in
detail at
https://www.facebook.com/nassauchristianschools/
]
Upon arriving she busied herself in as much ministry as the day gave
opportunity.
Weekdays began with the morning nursery day care until noon. This meant Bible
stories, snacks, missionary stories and lots of variety to keep the 5-10 minute
attention span moving on to each portion of the pre-kindergarteners time away
from home.
In the afternoons she would do public school Bible lessons OR plan the next days
work OR visit students both in school and for church depending on that day's
schedule. In the evening she would take care of house chores and food
preparation.
Wednesdays there was nursery duties for the midweek services to prepare for.
By the time Friday night came around there would be a full day of visitation
beginning about 9am. I knew this because when it came time for me to call her in
March of 1988, I could only speak with her for about 10 to 20 minutes and ONLY
on Saturdays. It was all right though, because at $1/minute it became very
expensive to speak very long with her so I just had to wait as we made our plans
for her departure.
Sundays were packed full of busing children and parents to Sunday School and
Church, Junior Church and nursery duties with workers followed by busing them
home after services. Sunday Evenings might have been a bit less pressure but
never omitted each week.
Also, They had only achieved preschool by 1987. Before the plan could be accomplished, a government school was available on another island for free. So the people without much income could only choose that. [updated by Mary ann Wise Davis]. This contributed no doubt to the Pastor’s decision to change course in favor of a youth pastor. Ministry change was in the works however, because her apartment became a crucial
need for an incoming Youth Pastor.
Also Teenagers were now remaining on the island full time instead of being transported to other islands for education so there was more youth work opportunities abounding.
Christine had to face the fact most missionaries face:
there is no work
remaining status quo indefinitely. Now she had to make the plans to move to
another field, possibly to another island or country. Grand Turk was in her
thinking and praying, but for several reasons unknown to myself, she had no
peace going in that direction.
God was moving her to the USA and she had carefully
avoided thinking about that for all of her 15 years in the Carribean. Could God
be bringing a young man into her life at long last? [This was a strong desire
she had before her salvation at High School graduation, and God firmly prevented
her at that time.]
Her struggle however was, "How can I leave the needful foreign mission field?
How can that be God's will for me? Perhaps God is calling this young man to my
mission field? What a blessing that could be -- having a helper here with me!” Wow, the more
she thought about it, the more it excited her. In late March,
BIMI was having their spring Conference. "I'll invite Patrick to that!"
But “that” was not to be, and she had to wrestle with the
one other option. Many fears
haunted her heart about the unknowns of marriage. And she had less than
favorable experiences in her past acquaintenances that were not
the happy ideals she hungered for in her marriage.
But yours truly was just getting a newly begun business that required labor days
and evenings part-time with no one to help the offices to be cleaned on a
regular schedule. God said "No, you are not to go to the Carribean for her, I
want her to come to you."
By
the beginning of June the school year came to an end, and the Pastor was eager
to begin training a young man for his position, and pride so typical in men and
their chauvinistic ways entered the picture undoubtedly.
These were not pleasant days but Christine kept herself encouraged in the Lord:
Is. 26:3: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee
because He trusteth in Thee!" These were words much easier said than done.
During this time Martha Rigby and her sister Miriam were entering their upper
teenage years and saw the need of taking over for Christine.
There developed a strong urge to build the nursery program into a full fledged
Christian School to seize the early Bible training the kids were getting in the
nursery in both sisters. John Stormer, in
Growing Up God's Way
[from chapter 5, see left inset], said a child's growing mind can
accomplish crucial raw knowledge for living before the age of 6! And the Island's children
grow up faster than some other average children and training them
after nursery school becomes a critical step for their success!
Thus the road to CT became clearer and clearer to Christine, but not without
uncertainties. “What if Pat rejects me?” You see, yours truly wondered about
God's will in much the same way. Why would God make a missionary leave the
needy mission field in a Third World Country to surrender to the easier life in
America? It IS easier here than Provo was for her, but, in my New England
World, life was only a little less challenging, and we both began to realize that
'mission fields' seldom change the difficulties. Forms of the struggles are just
different and both fields have ‘mankind’ as the central troublesome point!
These photos were
taken just before the Library Naming Assembly had begun:
Chris
[see captionned box] January 21, 2010
Right side of the Auditorium
Christine began her plans, first to leave most of her
materials on the Island — where they were sorely needed — and also expensive to take back to America. She would
just have to trust God to provide wherever He would lead her.
She was 39 and still beaming with God's strength, though the 15 years on the
field had certainly taken a toll on her physical life. Entering into marriage,
if that was next, was more of a challenge than if she had just come out of
college when she’d been in her early twenties where she would have had more of
the motherly strength to bear children and become helpmeet material. She would
need to trust God to give grace for this new phase of her life.
Her Provo Days would end early in June and she would have only a few short weeks
at home. No long phone conversations. Much more feasable and less expensive
communication now! She was to arrive at Bradley International Airport on June 28, 1988. THAT began a 5 weeks ‘whirlwind’
courtship in person for her that
spun incredible joy!
Here are some representative pictures of joy that was long awaited and so full of pleasures forevermore pictured in scripture: Picture 1 is of some of her first hugs after the ceremony!
Pictures 2-3 are in CT upon returning from the wedding trip.
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