 (This was an
e·mail version
due to our copy machine being down)
Dear Friends And Supporters Of The Robinsons
June 17, 2000
Greetings from Carriacou! I trust that all recipients of
this prayer letter are experiencing God’s abundant grace, great mercy, and blessings
as children of the King.
The middle of May our two crates arrived on Carriacou
and we were able to get them through customs and to our home in about five hours, which is
really good. Even better, customs treated us very good, and as a result, we had a little
more money to add to our vehicle fund! Praise the Lord! We desperately need to purchase a
minibus for church and personal use as I believe you will see from further reading.
I have been very busy in some ways, and the Lord has
been helping, but there are also times in which I seem to be stuck in the mud and getting
absolutely nothing done. The following is but only one case in point.
As mentioned above, we currently have some funds on hand
toward the purchase of a vehicle. We have been looking for one in our price range since we
arrived. The last part of May I thought we had come across a pretty good deal. A dealer I
had previously phoned on the mainland contacted me about a ‘1997’ Nissan Urvan,
which is a 17-passenger mini-bus. I was told that it would cost us just a little more than
what we had on hand, plus the cost of insurance and shipping it to Carriacou. I then spoke
personally with the ‘owner’ to verify the price and get an idea of the condition
of the vehicle. We then agreed on a date and time that I could see it at the dealer. A few
days later the salesman with the dealer phoned me to verify the owner’s price and
also the date, time, and place to meet him. The next day I flew to the mainland of Grenada
expecting to see and test-drive the much-needed vehicle.
Unfortunately, the trip was a complete waste! The
‘owner’ never showed up and I never got a chance to see the vehicle! I also
discovered that it was actually a 1996—not a 1997—which did not seem to be that
much of a big deal with the dealership. I also found that the vehicle was actually owned
by the supposed ‘owner’s’ father, who wanted considerably more for the
vehicle!
We have found that most of what we can currently afford
is some six to seven years old, has relatively high mileage, and will need obvious repairs
on the suspension, body, and interior—which is something we obviously don’t need
and cannot afford. Consequently, my search for a vehicle continues. It seems that what we
need will cost some $2,000.00 to $4000.00 (US$) more than we have on hand. We will
continue to wait on the Lord’s guidance and provision.
In the mean time I keep working on our old standby,
which we often and affectionately refer to as ‘Lazarus.’ I recently replaced or
performed all the following on our 4WD, 1997 Dodge Colt Vista station wagon. I replaced 2
ball joints, both lower control are strut bushings, 1 strut rod, 2 inner and 2 outer
tie-rod ends, 1 axle assembly, 1 c-v joint axle boot, both rear wheel brakes and rear
brake rubber cups, 1 clutch slave cylinder rubber cup, two lug nut studs, ignition coil,
ignition wires, distributor cap, 1 instrument panel/dash cover, and 1 sun visor. I also
rebuilt the other c-v axle joint hoping that it will last until I can replace it. Doing
all the above revealed that I also need to procure parts to; rebuild the brake master
cylinder, replace both McPherson strut assemblies, and do much needed body work and
painting. The interior upholstery is also worn out and needs replacing. Please pray for
our vehicle needs.
On top of the above I also need to do some serious and
involved motorcycle suspension work, troubleshoot and repair our copier, and try to get my
own PC back up and going (it cannot find any modem I install in it!). I also need to
construct a couple of cabinets and some bookshelves (It seems the list never ends)!
The more spiritual side to the ministry also has its ups
and downs. Our Sunday morning attendance runs anywhere from the high teens to the high
twenties, which is not too bad when we consider all that the church and we have been
though.
We are thankful that a number of children and a couple
of teens have recently professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Two young ladies that
moved to the mainland have began to turn around and walk with the Lord again after having
strayed for a couple of years. A few teenagers now seem to really be maturing in good
ways. We are also making plans to baptize one young mother in the next week or two. Please
pray for our flock’s continued spiritual growth.
Now for down side, which is more like an icy slope on
the backside of Mt. Everest. The account will probably read more like a cheap paperback
novel with a plot written by someone lacking imagination. But in any case, here goes.
Those of you who have been following our newsletters
will probably recall that a young man—some 32 years old—had been staying in our
home and filling the pulpit since I suffered the stroke in April of 1999. Since I have
mentioned this man’s name in previous pray-letters, and because of the nature of what
I am going to share next, I will not mention his name here. This is a bit lengthy, but I
hope to inform those who pray faithfully for us and this man, and hopefully avert having
to answer more questions in the future.
Simply put, since we have returned we have learned that
this man has conducted himself in a way that was inappropriate. From what I have learned,
our man had gotten romantically involved with a young woman who is in her early twenties.
She already had one four to five-year-old child by a man who lives on the Grenada
mainland. She also has two other children by a man with whom she has lived for a few years
in our community here on Carriacou.
Initially it seems our man got involved with this woman
after she began attending services and seeking to have one of her children dedicated. He
then began to hold Bible studies with her in the house where she lived with the unsaved
father of her two youngest children. But, her boyfriend did not participate and was often
not present. From the pulpit—and often in direct communication—I have repeatedly
warned our folks (including this man) about the pitfalls of such one-on-one practices in
the name of ministry. But many often tend to ignore this counsel—especially when they
are attracted to the one with whom they desire to have ‘Bible Studies.’
In either case, it seems in time our man grew concerned
that the woman could be suffering abuse from her boy friend—at least, as he perceived
it to be occurring. Thus, he took up the role of being her protector and savior. But as
mentioned above, our man had been holding late and long ‘Bible Studies’ with the
woman when her boyfriend was not around. Over time this likely angered the boyfriend and
aggravated any preexisting trouble between the two.
One respectful neighbor—an older lady who is likely
Roman Catholic—reluctantly told me how she was awakened in the wee hours of one
morning by a loud argument. It was a confrontation place between our man and the
boyfriend. The boyfriend stood in the road in front of our house while our man and the
woman stood in our yard and/or house! Our neighbor told me that during the argument she
heard the woman loudly declare to her boyfriend that she no longer loved him, but loved
the Preacherman instead!
When the disturbance was over the woman moved out and
left her boyfriend. Our man then moved her into another house he had been overseeing in
Dover, a community about a mile from our home. Two weeks later, those in charge of the
house in Dover removed our man from being the overseer and the woman had to move once
more. Our man found another house for her, this time located in the village of Windward.
But after another two weeks the woman had a disagreement with the person who was in charge
of that house, and she had to move again. She then moved in with a young family in our
church.
It was sometime during this mess—some three weeks
after the dedication—that our man dropped a bomb on our congregation by announcing
that he ‘had plans’ for this woman and actually hoped to ‘marry her!’
This shocked our folks because the woman had simply stated that she was a
‘Christian’ on the morning of the dedication of the child, but she said nothing
more about her salvation experience. Many were also concerned about her spiritual status
because up into just a few weeks prior she had lived with a man outside of marriage.
Lastly, her manner of dress was anything but modest and godly—even after the
dedication service and her so-called profession of being a Christian.
Numerous folk in our church had been hearing rumors
about ‘their preacher being with’ this woman, but each had tried to defend him
by saying that they did not believe he would do such a thing. ‘Being with’ is
one way that West Indians say that two people are carrying on an intimate romantic
relationship.
One older man in our congregation had confronted our
preacher and told him that his relationship with the woman was wrong and unacceptable.
Other adults also voiced the same concerns with him, but he refused to correct his
behavior—until it came to a head at last year’s Christmas program.
The Christmas program reportedly turned into a fiasco
when an older woman interrupted the service and confronted the preacher about his
behavior. He responded in anger and refused to accept fault. As a result, most people
ceased to attend our services from that point on. Some even came right out and said they
would no longer attend WBC as long as this man continued to fill the pulpit.
A week or two later, sometime in January, our man
stopped holding services altogether because no one else was coming. The only thing he
communicated to me during this time was that our people were ‘discouraged,’ but
he omitted to tell me about the real reasons for the problems (Wonder why?).
Simply put, we returned to Carriacou on April 12, only
having to deal with a full-blown scandal! Our man says that he broke off the relationship
after he finally admitted to himself that the relationship had caused problems in our
church. A short time after the relationship ended the woman returned to live with her
boyfriend where she remains to this day.
In personal discussions with me, our young man and the
woman have both denied having been being physically intimate. The man was direct in his
statement to deny that intimacy had occurred. However, the woman initially would only say
that ‘whatever our man had told me’ was the truth. Yet, after going in circles
for quite some time she finally came right out and also denied that intimacy had occurred.
There are no other known facts to the contrary, thus I am taking their word and acting
accordingly.
Also, while stateside I had repeatedly stressed with
this man that under no circumstances was any of our vehicles to be driven, and that my
tools were not to be taken from our home or used. Good tools are very difficult to obtain
and expensive to replace here. Each time I spoke with him and asked about the tools and
vehicles, he assured me that everything was ‘fine’ and just as I had wanted.
But shortly after we arrived I discovered that the man
had taken out my motorcycle and wrecked it in December, doing considerable damage to it!
He doesn't know how to drive a car or ride motorcycle—and quite naturally he doesn't
have a license. Yet, for a reason he could not explain he decided to ride it for several
miles across some very bad roads to a job site. As would be expected, the quick 250cc dirt
bike got away from him. He admitted this only after I confronted him after we returned in
April, yet he had told the older gentleman in our church that he had told me about the
accident months earlier.
It was only by God's grace our man did not run into
something—or someone—or even kill himself! He also took some of my tools to use
on his job as a construction worker and carpenter. He explained that he did so because one
of his had ‘mash up’ (torn up). Unfortunately, he broke one item and then threw
it away—again, only admitting to what he had done after I had noticed that the item
was missing and asked him about it!
Unfortunately, the man seems to have been continually
avoiding me since then, claims that work has been keeping him from attending services. He
claimed to be staying on his work site to ‘save on transportation.’ His
explanation here is understandable to a degree, but not understandable as to why he is
supposedly staying there nonstop nearly ninety percent of the time. He has used the same
excuse for not attending an agreed upon meeting between he and I, and also the older man
in our congregation who had confronted him months earlier. He did not even bother to phone
us or contact us in any way, even though I sent messages to him at work asking him to
contact me. I even tried to go see him at work, but the day I tried the road was blocked.
When he finally did show up again he acted as though everything was fine, and he offered
no explanations for his obvious absence. He and I were supposed to meet Saturday, June 10.
But when I phoned to make sure he was where he said he would be, he never answered the
phone—just as he has on nearly half dozen other prior occasions.
He has disappointed and let many people down here. They
have told me so in person. He has also called into question what we stand for and teach at
Windward Bible Church. Some in our congregation have told me some of the unsavory things
that others have said to them about this man and our ‘church.’ At best it is
embarrassing, at worse it is sickening. I grieved over this man’s spiritual state. He
is guilty of breaking several biblical principles that set the standards for overseers and
servants that minister in any local church. They are as follows:
 |
He did not remain ‘blameless’ [live above reproach and left himself
open to censure because of his behavior] as the overseer of our flock. (1 Timothy 3:2)
|
|
|
He did not maintain ‘good behavior’ [modest and well ordered lifestyle]
(1 Timothy 3:2)
|
|
|
He did not maintain a ‘good report’ [good witness as a believer] to
those in the community who are not professing believers and need to be won. (1 Timothy
3:7)
|
|
|
He is guilty of being ‘doubletongued’ [saying one thing to some and
something else to others to deceive] (1 Timothy 3:8)
|
|
|
Being unequally yoked with someone whom he did not know for sure was a true
believer. (2 Corinthians 6:14)
|
Pray for me to have wisdom and patience as I deal
with this young man. To date I have not ‘lost it’ or demonstrated any anger
with him, even though I have calmly told him that I have been disappointed with him. Please
pray for this man. I have no idea what he is thinking is right now, but he seems to be
hoping he should be able to pick up and continue just as things were right before we left.
Pray that he will respond in a biblical way as we take biblical steps to restore him to
fellowship.
I finish this prayer letter on a more positive note, and
also offer a note of praise. For nearly eight years we have been trusting the Lord to
provide a place of meeting and worship in the Village of Windward. Well, we have recently
entered into a verbal agreement to rent a nice building in Windward! It is 21’ by
47’ (nearly 1000 square feet in area) and located in a prime area in Windward right
on the road and next to the shore! It will cost us only about $190.00 a month (we are
already paying $130.00)! Praise the Lord! We hope to formalize the deal early next week,
and we also plan to write more as progress is being made.
This building is so much more suitable for us in so many
ways that there is no comparison to our current facilities. We will have to do some
painting, procure and install a few outlets and a transformer, work on the lights, and
also make and install a sign. Please pray for the deal to be finalized without problems
and for us as we make the move. Because of medical bills we are still paying off, we are
looking to the Lord to supply the additional funds for the monthly rent and materials
mentioned above to make the building really nice! Please pray for this need as well.
In our services I am currently teaching through 1
Timothy on Sunday mornings and Proverbs in Sunday school. On Sunday nights I have recently
began a series of messages on different aspects of the Lord's return. I am now doing a
series of various topical messages on Wednesday night. Pray that the Lord will use the
messages to encourage and challenge our people.
I am doing okay, but I still have some health struggles
that I have to deal with on a daily basis. It can be discouraging and frustrating at
times, but God's grace is sufficient and His mercy is great. Please continue to pray
for us all to have good heath.
Linda is working hard having ladies Bible studies on
Fridays and meeting with the children on Thursdays. She is also still unpacking, cleaning,
and home schooling.
Jeshua is hoping to soon complete the seventh grade
through home schooling and looking forward to spring break. He has several young friends
that stop by and spend time with him daily. Some of these young ones are now taller that
me!
We stay in touch with Tabitha with frequent long visits
via video conferencing over the Internet. It was relatively inexpensive to set up, and
even better, it’s free except for our regular ISP connect time. The Internet
connections can be iffy at times, but it is really nice to be able to ‘see’ her
and other family back in West Virginia. We are currently using Intel’s Video Phone,
but are also set up with Microsoft’s NetMeeting. If you are so equipped and would
like to conference with us just drop us an e·mail to let us know when and where to meet you
online.
Thanks to all of our supporters and prayer partners for
faithfully standing with us in ways that boggle the mind and humbles us. Our God is
sovereign and all powerful, and his children ain’t bad either! Thanks for
touching our lives with yours. We labor with you in His power for the glory of God and the
building up of His Kingdom.
Still looking up for Him as your coworkers,
Walter Robinson II
Copyright © 2000 Last Chance Ministries. All rights reserved.
Revised: June 13, 2006.
|
