He Was Bold, And I Was Scared

 At the age of nineteen I became friends with a man that would change my life. Armando Calinisan was a dear brother who was saved in 1983 while serving the US Navy in Jacksonville, Florida. He was a Filipino and had come to America with his wife and two young sons. He would become a tireless bus captain, avid soul winner, and later a fearless missionary-church planter for Christ back in his homeland. While in Bible College, he took me with him many times preaching on the streets, and going door-to-door. It was this time he spent with me that helped me as a young preacherboy to become more willing to die to my flesh, face my fears, and be a bolder witness for Christ. This week, "Mandy" stepped out into eternity. However, his love for Christ and the souls of men will never be forgotten.

"Creekside Faith"

When I was just an eight or nine year old boy, my parents would take my siblings and I down to a nearby swimming hole called Lees Creek. We lived in the typical southern town, Van Buren, Arkansas, where my father pastored a Baptist church. It was at Lees Creek that we would spend lazy summer days splashing in the warm waters. It was also at this creek that my mother would have to muster up faith as she would watch my father playfully toss her children into the running water, leap off an old metal bridge, and pull all sorts of acrobatic stunts. 

Life as our mother, as well as that of being a Preachers' Wife has required this same faith over and over again. However,she has always risen to the challenges of living by faith. It is faith she learned when we were children swimming Lees Creek.