ASR—ANGELS STANDING READY
By Rick Egan April 23, 2022
I am an ASR member from Bloomington, IN, Heaven Bound Hoosiers Chapter. Recently I was blessed to have another ASR member be an angel to my family. As a parent/grandparent we can’t always be near to help a family member when they are in trouble. Such was the case when my granddaughter, who is backslidden, got herself in a mess. She had gone to Alabama with a friend and became stranded there. She found someone to take her to Mobile to the Greyhound bus station so she could come home. Of course she did not have enough money for a ticket and called papa for help. I got her a ticket and she called me later that night to tell me she was on the bus. Then I didn’t hear from her until two days later. She had lost her ticket and was now stranded in Atlanta, Georgia at a homeless camp near the bus station. I had been to a meet and greet just the week before and the speaker, Bro. Tony Sell, was talking about how we have a network of ASR members all across the country. While praying on what I should do the Lord brought his comments to my mind. Immediately I called my chapter president, Bro. Mark Wever, and ask him if he knew anyone from that area in Georgia. He did. He called Bro. Greg Pray, and gave him my number. When Bro. Pray called he said “What can I do for you?” I told him the situation and he said “I’m a papa too. I’m on my way”. To make a long story short, the bus station asked for her confirmation number and issued her a new ticket. Since she was not in a safe environment in that part of the city, and her bus would not leave out until the next evening, Bro. Pray and his wife took her home, cared for her, then took her back and made sure she got on the bus. She made it home safe. I can’t thank the Lord enough for Bro. and Sis Pray! They were angels standing ready in this time of need. Please pray for granddaughter Julia’s salvation.
I am always amazed how wearing our patch opens the door to witness and pray for those who are in need of the Lord. The following is a testimony from a man I met at Rural King in March.
My name is Mark “Grizzly” Gerwig. I have been in perpetual motion for the last 42 years of my adult life. I served in the US Navy, survived a dangerous career, and retired. I continued working overseas as an US government contractor on many different continents. God has always been with me. I have not always listened to God. Unlike Jonah, I never ran away from God. I did have an issue with what I wanted versus what God’s direction was for me. Anytime I tried to do what I wanted, God would break me down just enough that my desired goal was out of reach. I ended up going the direction God had intended for me anyway, although it took me a very long time to recognize this. A recent series of incidents created two surgeries and 14 months of rehabilitation and recovery. In the isolation of time, I wrestled with where God wanted my life to go next. I prayed and read my Bible, and the fires on confirmation were still silent.
One day I was going into the local bank. I saw an older gentleman with an US Navy hat. We struck up a conversation that led to God, Jesus, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He invited me to come to church with him. I hesitated as I do not like large tightly packed crowds from my time in the service. The gentleman said that he could see in my eyes that I really needed to go to church. I did not go to church. I failed to recognize God’s First Angel. That labored hard on my mind for weeks.
On March 18, 2022 I went to Rural King to check out the firearms and ammunition stocks. As I headed that direction I saw a mountain of a man sporting biker gang colors. I was not only astounded by his size but his age to still be flying biker gang colors. My fearless curiosity got the best of me as it often does. I approached the gentleman and politely asked him whose biker colors he was flying. I also complimented him on being the oldest biker I had ever encountered. He smiled and said that the colors were not of a biker gang but from a Christian Motorcycle Ministry called the Azusa StreetRiders. I have been all over the world and had never in my life encountered a Christian biker. We talked for the better part of an hour about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in relation to witnessing to people as the motorcycle ministry traveled on road trips.
Near the end of the conversation, Mr. Rick Egan, ask if I went to church anywhere and invited me to come to his church. Again, I was hesitant. He reassured me that it was a small church full of a loving group of people from all walks of life. I said I would think about it. This encounter was God’s Second Angel. I had learned from my life’s travels that when God is reaching out to you not to ignore Him. I labored and prayed over Rick’s offer for salvation from the chains of my past. I feared that I may scare the church members or say something from my past that would be hurtful to them. God had my attention. I got up Sunday morning found the church, went in and waited in the back for Rick. He was not there when I arrived but showed up just as service was about to start. He was very surprised to see me.
I, being a hard well-traveled sailor do not cry, but that day I had a steady river of saltwater flowing from my eyes as my heart and soul were set free from all the pain, death, pestilence, famine, and human suffering that I had endured in my travels in service to God and my country. The Greatest Weight that I was set free from was the concept of “Winning the War”. My job was never to “Win the War’, but to hold the line against all the evil entireties that would destroy God’s country. Our United States of Americas One Nation under God.
As my heart healed and the holes in my soul disappeared by God’s Grace, a sign flashed up on the church wall, “You Belong here!” I was home and set free!! All this happened because God’s biker was flying his colors that opened the door for me to come home to God’s house. I am no longer wandering through life, but now to the foot of the cross for healing and salvation at the (Apostolic) Church of Jesus Christ. God Bless America!!!
Mark came to church that Sunday morning on 3/20 and repented, on Wednesday 3/23 he took part in Communion and Foot Washing, he was there on Sunday 3/27, on Wednesday 3/30 he was baptized in Jesus Name, and on Sunday 4/3 he received the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!! When we wear our patch we never know what opportunities God will put in our path. Let us always strife to be angels standing ready to do His work. I am thankful I could be an angel for Bro. Mark Gerwig!
