On June 16, 2004, we celebrated my mother’s 100th birthday in Caldwell, Idaho. Although she was weak, she seemed to enjoy the occasion. She enjoyed the pink roses, the birthday balloon, the chocolate ice cream, and the presence of loved ones. She seemed less impressed by the letters of congratulation from the US president and the governor of Idaho. She especially enjoyed singing hymns with her family.
When we sang, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” she joined us, singing alto. When we sang, “I Know the Lord Will Find a Way for Me,” she lit up with joy—especially when we got to the second verse: “Won’t it be grand to hear him say, ‘Well done!’?” At that point, she nodded her head.
On Thursday morning, June 24, Mother went home to be with the Lord. My brother Darol and I preached her funeral Sunday June 27 at the church in Nampa, Idaho. Scriptures, songs, and prayers were led by family members. Her body was laid to rest at Hillcrest Memorial the following morning.
Christine H. Ady was born in Nocona, Texas June 16, 1904 and lived on this earth 100 years and eight days. She was a missionary at heart.
After retiring at the age of sixty-two from teaching in public schools in Oklahoma and New Mexico, Mother went to Taiwan with Maudine and me and served as a missionary for three years. There, she taught dozens of Chinese young people in her home and led many of them to Christ. She also taught Ladies’ Bible Classes for Chinese women and missionaries’ wives and was affectionately known as “Mamaw” all over Southeast Asia.
When Mother became too old to travel abroad, she became a missionary in Nampa, Idaho. There, she was actively involved in the Joy Bus ministry and sat with several of the Joy Bus kids in worship. One of her Joy Bus girls is now the preacher’s wife at Nampa.
At the same time, she taught hundreds of WBS and WEI correspondence students. She spent many hours searching the scriptures in an effort to answer her students’ questions. Many of these students became Christians through her teaching. Some of them are now preaching the gospel.
When the Sojourners came to Nampa to conduct Vacation Bible Schools, Mamaw walked the streets with them, knocking on doors and inviting neighborhood children to VBS. Then, she taught them and baked cookies for them.
In her later years, Mamaw made quilts for children’s homes and lap robes for elderly people in nursing facilities.
Mamaw was truly a worthy woman. Today, her family and friends “rise up and call her blessed.”
At her family’s request, memorial gifts may be sent to WEI in her honor.
Almost every month, we receive reports from the Buduburam Refugee Camp in Ghana that more WEI and WBS students have been baptized into Christ.
Greg Larson and Jean Keplinger conducted a seminar at Buduburam in early April. One hundred thirty-eight WBS/WEI students attended, and four were baptized including Massawalla Gweah and Magela Kromah.
On May 7, John Travis reported that five people had been baptized: WEI students Louise Knuckers and Jacob Roberts, WBS students Evangeline Kyne and Clarence Jackson, and Nations University student Charles Worjloh.
On July 4, John reported that Greg Larson had conducted another campaign at Buduburam. Between 500 and 800 persons attended every night, and 16 souls were won to Christ.
Three days later, John wrote, “We are happy to inform you of the baptism, yesterday, of George A. Gbocco. He was born in February 1980. He had being an active student of English, and I am impressed of his final decision.”
Praise God for the great work that is going on at the Buduburam Refugee Camp in Ghana!
The church in Durrës, Albania is growing. Alfred Zike reported in June that three people had been baptized into Christ during the month of May:
“May 1st, Ciana Zotaj was baptized in the Adriatic Sea. May 1st is Labor Day and so a holiday in Albania. The church went on a picnic on the beach between Durrës and Kavaja City. We had a great time playing football, volleyball, and other games, and having a picnic lunch together. Diana confessed her faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and was baptized for the remission of her sins.
“May 14th, Klaudio Hyseni was baptized for the remission of his sins based on his confession of faith in Jesus. Many prayers on his behalf brought forth the fruit of the patient work of Shelly. She is happy, and we too shared in this happy time singing songs of praise to our heavenly Father. Hallelujah!
“May 26th, Juli Dako, sister of Denada Dako, was baptized too. Çimi, another worker in the Durrës team, taught her the Good News.”
On July 4, Ray and Shelley Wheeler wrote, “We are excited to announce that on June 9th, Orki Tirana was baptized into Christ. Orki is the 14 year old younger brother of Megi Tirana who was baptized in August of 2003.”
Ty Pope adds, “It is exciting to see more boys accepting Jesus. With study and prayer, the many young men here will be wonderful leaders in the church in the future.”
Kevin and Allison Morrill and Xhumert Nuro have good news from Pogradec, Albania: “On June 20, 2004, the church in Pogradec received a new sister in Christ. Kandita Hasa, who was Muslim by name only, decided to follow Christ. Kandita had studied with Allison for five months before making her decision. She also studied with Xhumert in Albanian when she showed an interest in baptism. Kandita works as a music teacher in a village nearby and is the mother of a six year old boy, Ulli. Kandita’s faith and her warm smile have been a great blessing.
In their July 4 newsletter, Bill and Nancy Saltsman wrote, “At about 2:30 PM Albanian time, Lorena was baptized. Lorena is 17 and will start her last year of high school this fall.”
In her May newsletter, Ellen Walker reported that Carl Mitchell had conducted an outstanding four night seminar in Tirana. An average of sixty people attended the evening sessions, about thirteen of whom had never been to any church activities before.
Carl’s seminar was followed by the Annual National Youth Day. An estimated 200 young people attended. Bubba Cook spoke three times at the Youth Day and also preached for the church on Sunday. Bubba and Lavinia Cook are missionaries in Bucharest, Romania.
Ellen concluded her report by saying, “You’ll want to know about the addition of two new souls to the Lord. On April 17th, after the Youth Day, Bledi’s student, Valbona Laçi, put on her Lord in baptism. And on April 22nd, my student Ermal’s sins were washed away in the blood of the Lamb. Ermal Musabelli is a quiet young man who started dating one of our Christian young ladies about a year ago.
“Praise God for the way he works things out!”
In April, Virgil and Jackie Jackson reported that the Vlorë congregation had hosted the annual National Ladies’ Day conference. “One hundred and twenty women from six congregations met in Vlorë to sing and share and listen to Eleni Melyrritos. She and her sister Dina came from Athens to speak about Truth and Love. Eleni’s enthusiasm is obvious to all who meet her, and it was a real blessing to have these dedicated Greek sisters with us.
“Meanwhile, a small group of men met in our classroom to assemble sack lunches for the women.”
In lieu of a summer campaign this year, Tom is concentrating on language study. Send Tom a note of encouragement at tommetro@comcast.net
As we write this Update, Tom Langley is in Romania conducting summer campaigns in Oradea and Arad. He says, “Things are exciting here in Romania. We are very busy. We have 66 WEI students studying in Oradea, and 36 in Arad. Both students and teachers are very pleased with the early stages of our studies.”
Tom has asked us to express his gratitude for the warm reception he has received from the many congregations who have recently hosted WEI presentations. He also asks for your continued prayers and financial support.
Maudine and I want to thank you for your generous support both financially and emotionally. We have received dozens of sympathy cards and email letters from you expressing sorrow over my mother’s death and sharing our joy over her victory in Jesus. She is now at home with the Lord, and we are at peace—as she is.
We love you, and we thank God for you every day.
—Dick and Maudine Ady
