3. Warsaw Nursery, We Went Through Fire and Water

But You led us to a place of abundance. (Psalm 66:12)

A baby nursery in Warsaw, Poland was the setting for my amazing encounter with God. “God, You are doing so many amazing things, and yet no one even knows!”

This prayer stands against a backdrop of personal and holy history. The time has come to part the curtains and share the history with you.

It was June 1979, and I was alone with our eight-week-old infant in the tiny yellow room set apart as our baby nursery. The memory is so real; I can still visualize the pastel border around the top. The yellow crib, the yellow quilted blanket chest, the yellow dresser, and a highly valued rocking chair filled the limited space. A yellow quilted bedspread purchased in a communist store hung as a somewhat-attractive curtain for the single window. A piece of plywood stood on the floor. Each evening this large board was inserted into the window to block out the bright light that came with summer sunrises. 

My family was at the park on this warm June afternoon, and I was alone with our little baby. In the quietness, I found myself pondering the inevitable result of working as a missionary in a closed country. As covert missionaries with a code of silence, there could be no bells and whistles, no newsletters, no phone calls to missions committees back home. It was imperative for everything to be done undercover and under silence. 

Here in this simple baby nursery something remarkable took place. I stood at the changing table praying, and pouring out my heart to The Lord. “God, You are doing so many amazing things, and yet no one even knows!  We can’t even talk about it! We can’t tell the great and mighty miracles that You are allowing us to see.” 

I will never forget what happened next.  God spoke to my heart with these powerful words: “Debby, you do what I have called you to do today; you take care of this little baby. And one day, the day will come when you can tell My Story.”  

That ‘one day’ has come. The day He promised in 1979 is now here in 2015. Stories I’ve carried for decades in a precious place deep within in my heart are waiting to be told.

I want to tell you of The Soldier on the Train, The Need for an Antibiotic, and Seeing My Mother in the Hands of the Communists. I want to tell you what it was like to give birth in a communist hospital, A View from a Gurney. Somewhere along the way, I want to tell you the story of The Moscow Circus. These, and many more, are simply personal vignettes that put God's incredible faithfulness on display. Yes, the day has finally come to tell His Story. The theme will forever be:

“We went through fire and water, but You led us to a place of abundance.” (Psalm 66:12)

Who is Michele?

Growth is an extraordinarily high value to me.

When I discover an enriching resource, I want to share it with you. Today, this is Michael Hyatt's interview with Michele Cushatt who says, "Nobody wants to talk about suffering, but it is invaluable." 

Michele is author of Undone, A Story of Making Peace with an Unexpected Life. On today's podcast with Michael Hyatt, "Lessons Learned in the Crucible of Suffering," she shares how she has managed to come to grips with a third diagnosis of cancer.  Her statement, "Death would have been far easier than life," is just one perspective of her story. Here she communicates her life-changing message: the unexpected is unavoidable, suffering is invaluable, if you do not resent or resist, and the reward is incomparable. 

To listen to the complete interview, go to: Michaelhyatt.com/Season 6-episode -01

2. Tanya, We Went Through Fire and Water

But You led us to a place of abundance. (Psalm 66:12)

“Hello. My name is Tanya.”

It was 1977. Larry and I were with our Polish language institute on a three-day cultural excursion to Krakow. This young woman’s abrupt introduction interrupted our early morning daze as we stood mindlessly in the lobby of our communist youth hostel. Others in our group mingled around, but she came directly to Larry and me. She wore an orange turtleneck sweater, though it was the middle of summer. Her short hair had a mind of its own; her worn jeans needed washing. Her only luggage was a well-traveled backpack.

“May I please join your tour group?” Her odd question, spoken in perfect English, made more sense when she explained further. “I am from the Soviet Union; my home is Leningrad. For the first time in my life, I have a passport to travel outside the borders of my country. I may never get this opportunity again. If I could travel with your group on your bus, I could see so much more than I can ever see traveling on my own.”

With approval from our leader-lecturer, Tanya from Leningrad boarded our bus. This providential work of God was rapidly redefining my definition of “divine appointment.” In a Polish youth hostel packed with travelers, He brought Tanya from the Soviet Union to us, two covert American missionaries. 

The opportunity to share the Gospel came soon, and Tanya listened with the hunger of the Ethiopian in The Book of Acts. I pray I never recover from her response when asked, “Would you like to invite Christ into your heart?”

“Yes, yes I would. But first, I need to tell you an unusual story from this past year.”

She continued. “I was walking home from university on a cold, November afternoon. My route took me past one of the Foreigners’ Hotels, and suddenly something fell on the ground in front of my feet. I looked up to see someone throwing books from a top floor window of the building, and one of these books landed there at my feet. I hastily grabbed it, tucked it in my heavy winter coat, and ran for my life. I knew if the police saw me, I would be arrested. Fortunately, I was able to make it safely home. With frozen fingers, I hurriedly unlocked the doors to our family flat. In the privacy of my own room, I removed the object form inside my coat. I was shocked to discover this Book was a Bible. I did not own a Bible, and I had never read a Bible.”

She kept going. “Since November, I have been reading it, and I am prepared. Without that Bible, I would never have been able to comprehend this conversation we are having. Now I understand; I want to respond to what you have shared with me. I want to invite Christ to come into my life.”

Heaven and earth stood still as two heads bowed, one head from Mississippi, and one head from Leningrad. Our heads bowed, and our hearts merged as Tanya invited Jesus into her heart to be her Lord and Savior. 

I have not seen or heard from her since. For her safety, we did not exchange addresses. I don’t even know her last name, but I know her eternal name is written in The Lamb’s Book of Life.  One day we will meet again at The Feet of the One whom Tanya from Leningrad came to call “her own.”

This heaven-orchestrated appointment taught me:
Different country
Different culture
Different language
Different government
But…
Same Gospel. Same God.

If you dare, I invite you to read further. 
Months, even years, passed before I learned, what I believe with all my heart, could be the other part of this story. In the chill of the Cold War, one of our personal ministry donors and dear friend, Miss Scottie from Mississippi, was part of a delegation to the Soviet Union. Her highly guarded trip included Leningrad. Compelled by the Holy Spirit, she tossed her smuggled Bibles from the top floor of the Foreigners’ Hotel where she and her group were forced to reside. One by one, as she threw the Bibles from her window, she prayed for someone to pick them up. Yes, this is a true story.

One woman
     One Bible
          One student
               One missionary
                    One God
                         One Gospel