Beyond Ames Reunion 2007

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Dear friends of Mike and Maureen,

I just talked to Maureen this morning, and Mike’s health situation is again very, very critical. This past Wednesday night, Mike broke out with a severe case of hives on his arms, legs, feet, and midsection,and it has just not gone away. This is causing a terrible burning, and this is on top of all the other medical problems that Mike presently has, and that you have been informed of in the past few weeks. Mike and Maureen have consequently been having sleepless night the past few days because of this recent breakout of hives.

Pray for God to intervene, for these hives to go away, for Mike and Maureen to get some sleep, for Mike and Maureen to know if there is anything else that they should do, and for Mike to be able to eat food (Mike has not been eating much food at all lately, and has lost a lot of weight.) Pray also that God would pour out his grace, peace and comfort upon them. 2 Corinthians 2:2-11.

I need to mention a couple of other things. During the past few weeks you have received a few emails from Maureen and others about Mike’s condition, and you might think that only recently have things been very difficult for Mike. But let me just give you a little perspective - I have been a close friend with Mike for nearly 30 years, going way back to the late 70’s. During this period I have talked to Mike on the phone literally hundreds and hundreds of times; and during the past 10 years, we have talked most every week. And I cannot ever recall a time when Mike felt completely well. His chronic health condition has continued thru all these years, with pain and suffering literally every week, and most every day. Now the severity of this pain and suffering has ebbed and flowed over the years, but in general it has gotten worse over time, and much worse these past few years.

You have most recently heard about his health condition these past weeks because of the severity of his condition, which has been extremely critical, and close to life threatening. And that’s why there have been more regular requests for prayer for him as of late. But life has been very hard for Mike and for Maureen for over 30 years - the trial has been extremely difficult, but now even more so than ever. And so keep praying for Mike, and for God’s will be to be done.

It really is a miracle that Mike is alive now, and who knows how long God wants Mike to remain in his body before God takes him home. 2 Corinthians 5:1-9. I know that Mike is a man of hope - we have talked about this many times - and his desire is to go to heaven. Mike knows very well that to live is Christ and to die is gain. But he knows that for now, God wants him here. And so pray that God pours out his grace, and pray that Christ would be exalted in his life at this time.

Let me also encourage you to keep Maureen in your prayers. As much as you need to pray for Mike, you need to pray for Maureen too. She has been Mike’s caregiver for all these years. It has been exhausting for her - she loves Mike and is thankful to be able to serve him, but nevertheless, we must pray that God keeps strengthening her as well. She has a full time job, and then comes home every day to take care of Mike - indeed, she is going 24/7 - and this has been going on for 30 years. And yet she has remained so faithful.

But let me also say that I don’t know of any couple like Mike and Maureen who have exhibited the grace, joy, peace, hope and love of God thru an extremely difficult trial like this. Week after week I am encouraged by Mike and by Maureen, as I hear how they continue to trust in the Lord and in His word, and continue, by God’s grace to persevere. Amazing grace, and all for God’s glory.

Thanks again for your prayers, for they are part of God’s sovereign plan and will help to fulfill His eternal purposes. We will try to keep you updated.

Steve Hogan

Posted on January 12th, 2008 by Steve Hogan
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Saturday August 18th was amazing!  The number of saints who came was overwhelming, way beyond what I dreamed of. Reva has compiled a list of e-mail addresses to help us continue the conversations and friendships which were renewed at the reunion.  Thanks Reva and Greg Merchant!  A number of folks took pictures and I am sure they would like to share them with us.  Maureen Stohlmeyer gave me her photos and I used these to start a web site for photos.  Go to photo gallery to see these great shots.  You can add your photos  to this site as well as downloading the photos you would like to have on your computer. 

Posted on September 3rd, 2007 by Scott
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I lived and served in Ames from 1975 until I believe it was 1987.  In 1987 I moved to Bloomington, Minnesota and was involved with the church there.  After two years in the frozen north God moved me to Marion, Indiana to be involved with a Christian ministry that handles behaviorally disturbed teens in a residential therapeutic treatment program.  I was a teacher there for 13 years.  During the normal school year I worked at Marion.  During the summers I worked with the same type of student on a lake in a remote part of Ontario, Canada.  I was a girl’s team leader for the first two summers and taught survival training along with assorted other duties for the other eleven summers.  For most of those summers I had a small boat and motor so that I could go fishing and take staff members out and put them on fish.  I spent ten to twelve weeks each summer without electricity or running water.  I saw many a beautiful sunset and influenced many students.  This work was quite stressful.  Still, the Lord designed this time to let me have a little taste of fishing heaven.  I caught many walleye, pike, perch, small mouth bass, and lake trout.   After 13 years of this I quit and took a year off to destress before the boys with the white sport coats with the tie-behind sleeves showed up.  Then I taught science at a Christian school in Toledo, Ohio.  I didn’t really care for that.  I spent the next year substitute teaching and trying to get into teaching in China with a certain organization.  Around December I found out that they couldn’t use me.  That spring I interviewed and took a job with an organization called NICS or Network of International Christian Schools.  They directed me to teach science classes at Pyongtaek, South Korea.  I am in my third year teaching in this school.  I teach life science, earth science, physical science, biology and either chemistry or physics (they alternate each year) each day.  It’s a lot of work, so much that I’d only do it for Jesus.

   One of the most influential things in my life over these years was my encounter with a ministry called Gospelink.  They are about supporting poor pastor’s in certain countries.  These pastors must have experience in starting churches.  I supported two pastors in Zambia, Africa for a number of years.  I could write them through the organization and I would get letters from them a couple of times a year.  These guys were seeing large numbers of converts.  I decided to take a mission trip to Africa and see if these reports could be true. 

   Each summer Gospelink takes folk on missions trips.  I ended up going with about 75 people from all over the U.S.  We were broken up into teams.  I was with people from the middle of the United States.  We went out into the rural areas and shared the gospel in public schools, did some hut to hut evangelism, and showed the Jesus movie at night.  I presented the gospel (using Gospelink interpreters) and many hundreds of people responded for salvation.  It was overwhelming.  I know that our little team of about nine people had several thousand people respond to the salvation message by the end of our time there.  I have no idea how many of those people really got saved.  That summer the teams went to several African countries.  All the results were similar.  When I got back to the states I discovered that the life expectancy for Zambia was age 32.  Aids has ravaged Zambia and other parts of Africa. 

   I now support a pastor in the Ukraine, Malawi, and Mozambique.  Gospelink reaches India, Ukraine, and six African countries.  They have a web site–gospelink.org 

   If the Lord tarries and desires, I may promote this work after my teaching is finished. 

   I never married.  I am reluctantly realizing that at age 50, I am not able to keep up with the young bucks.  I walk slow, can’t always pick up consonants at the beginning of words, my vision keeps changing, the hair grows thick out of my ears etc.  I’m not dead yet but I’m realizing that the world belongs to the young.  Still, the Lord leads me in having a part in changing small parts of it. 

  I would love to connect with some of you people.  I expected to die with some of you.  The Lord has led differently.  In all my life I have never had better Bible teaching and modeling than I did when I lived with all of you in Ames.  I have had teaching as good but not better. 

Love in Christ,

Jerry Geist 

Posted on August 16th, 2007 by Jerry Geist
Filed under: Our Story | 4 Comments »

Hello friends!  So many years have passed since my brief sojourn in Ames from August 1974 to November 1975.   Since then my path took some twists  and turns but God was faithful and had His watchful eye on me.  Don’t want to give away all of my story but I’ll give you the highlights.  In 1988  I married David Barker.  We lived in Toronto for just over two years where we had our daughter Celidh.  She is now 16 and very much the picture of me in the banner on the Ames website page.  Hard to believe I was only one year older than her when I came to Ames that summer of ‘74.   We reconnected with Grace Community Church in 1991 after moving back to the Guelph area.  Looking back over my photos brought back so many memories!   I look forward to hearing your stories!

Posted on August 2nd, 2007 by Sharon B.
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Hi. Kathy and Scott Hanson alerted us to the big reunion. We definitely will try to be there. Is there anyone to check with as far as what we can bring? Our phone # is 262-268-0755 and our e-mail is benzoz@msn.com.As far as our story: After a journey too long to recount here, I had started reading the New Testament in the summer of 1975. Simultaneously, at the age of 20, I had decided to go to Iowa State to study farm operations, of all things, with the intent of being a back-to-the-land hippie type. One day while walking through the Memorial Union, I heard someone teaching from the Bible in a room. So I sat outside the room and listened, thinking it was some sort of class. After sitting outside like that for a couple days listening, I asked someone coming out what was going on and whether it was open to the public or not. He told me it was. So I started going. Mike Stohlmeyer was preaching and I had never heard anything like it before — someone actually teaching from the Bible. And kids were sitting around on the floor eating their lunches, as well as in folding chairs. Must have been about 50 people.After a couple days, in mid-October, I was sitting waiting for the Bible study to start and I met a guy named Dave Laugerman. We got to talking and I remember confessing to him how hard it was to live according to the Sermon on the Mount. He asked me if I knew I would go to heaven if I died that night. Of course, I didn’t. That night he came to my room on Hyland and shared the 5 spiritual laws to me. I dropped like ripened fruit, PTL!What followed is that Dave recruited me to help out at the Life Herald, I changed my major to journalism (not realizing that I was following in my Dad’s footsteps) and then worked for People and Sports and Today’s Student. Vicki and I got married the next August and moved into Pammel Court and then later University Village. Tim and Nancy Rude became a big part of our lives. We were part of the group that met on Hyland. I particularly remember, how Vicki went into labor with our first child, Ian, at Jim and Vicki Stanley’s house in University Village after we had just had a spaghetti dinner at Brad and Brita Meyers’  and walked through a driving rain.To wrap up, we moved with a team to Southern California in December 1979. In that team were the Allens, Corias, Raths, McCotters, Angie Walters, Mary Early, Ruth Genskow and many others. We moved to Milwaukee in October 1991 and now live in Port Washington, Wis. We attend Friedens Evangelical Church — www.friedenschurch.org — where I help head the small group ministry. I am taking classes online from Moody Bible Institute. Vicki and I have four kids — Ian, 28, Nick, 26, Katie, 21, and Torrey, 17. My job as a reporter with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel pays the bills. We thank God every day for his forgiveness and power and wisdom.I continue to learn that the more I learn about God the more there is to learn. My life verse, to which I cling every day, is Hebrews 12:2-3. Looking forward to see everyone, Dan and Vicki Bensonhttp://snortinghorses.blogspot.com/

Posted on July 23rd, 2007 by Dan B
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