Update from the Foster's in Upstate NY

Greetings Friends,

I hope you are experiencing the love and the grace of God in tangible ways today.  I wanted to provide an update, as to some of the things that are going on with our family here in NY.  As you can imagine, with every move there is a lot of work involved, so we have been consumed with cleaning, painting, unpacking, etc.  We’re anxious to begin our journey here and we are excited about what God is going to do in this small corner of the world.

My wife and I fully understand that we are in the beginning stages of the work that God has for us here and we are excited, but neither of us were prepared for the news we heard yesterday.  I’d like to share it with you, as God comforts us in knowing that we have heard his voice and we are where he wants us to be.

About 3 weeks ago, I was speaking to my sister’s mother-in-law, who lives just down the road from us.  She was insistent that there was a man who needed to speak with me, from Pine Crest Bible College.  I wasn't opposed to meeting him, but I didn't understand the importance of this meeting.  Needless to say, my sister’s mother-in-law approached me a couple more times to see if I had heard from the man who wanted to meet with me.

One day, I was checking my mail at the Salisbury post office and noticed that she pulled in the parking lot.  When she saw me, she handed me a little white piece of paper as she said, “This is the man who wants to meet with you.”   The paper read-“Pablo Molina.” 

I found Pablo on Facebook and sent him a friend request.  We began a short dialogue through instant message and arranged our meeting.  I met with him yesterday (Saturday) at 6:30 pm in the cafeteria at Pine Crest Bible College.

In our meeting, Pablo shared a story of two brothers who he remembered.  The older brother was my brother Greg who was tragically killed in 1994 in a train accident.  I was the younger brother in the story.  God used the death of my brother to save many people in our family, but our family didn't know what happened to Greg.   Listen to what happened, just a couple of days before his death…

This was just revealed in its fullest form yesterday – 19 years later.  I believe God providentially stored this information for our return here.  He is mighty to save!  None of his work is in vain.  It’s all for his glory!  

What a great way to open this chapter of our new journey.  Obviously, this was 19 years ago so this is "based" on a true story.  I've re-created the event according to the way I remember the pizza lab, how I remember my brother and combined it with what Pablo shared with me, so that you can understand what literally happened here.  

God bless you!

Jimmy

It was April 1994, when Pablo turned over the key to the fifteen passenger van that would soon escort him to Dolgeville, NY.   Pablo was responding to the voice of God, as he pulled out of the Pine Crest parking lot in route to the Pizza Lab in the Village of Dolgeville.

It was at the Pizza Lab, that Pablo would minister the gospel of Jesus Christ each Saturday night.  His heart was heavy for the youth that had wandered away from God, in this small town.  Pablo loved God and God had given him a burden for this small town and the youth that lived there.

As he walked into the small pizzeria, he received many glares from the troubled teens, who he was seeking to share the good news with that night.  As Pablo sat down, many of the teens drifted to the back of the restaurant towards the game room, to stay as far away from this preacher as possible.  Pablo felt their unwelcoming hearts, but knew that God had called him to this small restaurant to bring hope to those that rejected him.

Pablo approached the counter and ordered the Pizzas’s that he would share with the teens, in hopes that God would open a door for him to speak into their hearts and encourage them.  Although, most times he would be rejected, mocked or made fun of for his beliefs, occasionally he would have an opportunity to share the gospel with one of these teens.   He even had the opportunity to pray with some of these kids at times.  He knew that his work was not in vain.

The kids that he had an opportunity to pray with asked for prayer regarding their home life, some struggled with drug and alcohol addictions; some were exposed to physical and mental abuse, some lost parents to death, some lost siblings, some came from broken homes.  They were all good kids that had high hopes for a future, but wandered from God and were lost.

As Pablo sat down at the booth that would ultimately become his pulpit for the next two hours, he looked up and observed one of the two brothers that would taunt him the most.  He thought these two brothers might be twins but he wasn’t sure, because one looked older than the other.  The older brother stood at the counter in his long black trench coat, waiting for the owner of the Pizza Lab to exchange his wrinkled up dollar bill for four quarters. 

As he walked by Pablo’s table, a strong odor of alcohol followed him as he hurried back to the game room.  Pablo observed him handing the four quarters to the younger brother that would eventually deposit the two quarters into the pool table.

Pablo had heard that these two brothers liked to drink and that they liked to fight.  As a matter of fact, the front of the Pizza Lab had become their boxing ring on Saturday night.  They would drink, smoke marijuana and occasionally use harder drugs and come to this place waiting for their opponent to be exposed.  Once exposed, the herd of teens would flock to the front to watch the fist fight unfold.  Many times, the local police would arrive and separate the teens and send them home.

However, this Saturday night would be different.  The purpose that Pablo was sent to this place would be fulfilled tonight.  The only fight that would take place on this ground tonight would be the war in heaven over one young man’s soul.  This was a special day and all the angels in heaven would be rejoicing over the one sinner that would soon turn to the Lord.

As the light on the open sign went out, the group of teens moved towards the front door.  Each would be dispersed to a different location.  Some would head home, some would walk the town, and some would drift to their drinking or smoking spots.

Pablo cleaned up his table as he began to prepare to depart towards his home.  As he was cleaning up, he noticed the older brother (from earlier) in the black trench coat, picking up the pool sticks in the back room.  Pablo made eye contact with him and struck up a small conversation.  As they moved towards the door, approaching the small crowd that lingered in front of the Pizza Lab, Pablo began to dig deeper into this young man’s life.

They continued their conversation outside for a while and eventually they were the only ones standing there, as the crowd dissipated.  The young man began to open up to Pablo, sharing many of his struggles openly with him.  He didn’t know how to get out of the bondage that entangled him.  He wanted to live rightly and he desired to do well, but he didn’t know how.  Pablo shared the hope of Salvation with this young man.  Pablo shared the gospel with him.  Pablo told him that he could be a new creation in Christ if he believed and that there was a way out of sin and bondage.  The “old man” full of anger, hurt, and pain could die and the “new man” could be resurrected.

The young man wanted to be new, he wanted a hope and a future, he wanted to be forgiven and cleansed from any bondage that had made him a slave.  The picture from heaven was beautiful as Pablo led this young man to the Lord.  The angels in heaven rejoiced as they welcomed the soul of this once lost sinner, into the holies of holies.  The Spirit of God was awakened in this brawler’s life, as he whispered; “amen.”   Heaven erupted with singing and praise!  He was new!  He was saved!  He was a part of the holy family of the King!  He left that pizzeria a new man in Christ.

Pablo was excited about the opportunity the Lord had given him that night.  He hopped in his van with his heart pounding, thrilled about the miracle God just performed.  His heart was happy as he drove towards home.  But the truth is, Pablo didn’t fully understand the significance of this moment.  He didn’t fully understand how God would use this moment to impact a person, a family and a whole community.  To be continued…