Great Times in North Dakota

Last week, we were in Jamestown, North Dakota. We had been there only a day or so when Bill and I went for a walk at the reservoir, where there is a nice walking/biking trail. We struck up a conversation with a man and soon fell into step with him. We had a great walk with him and when it was over, Bill prayed for him in the parking lot for his diabetes. That was the beginning of our relationship with Delbert Nitschke.

Several times through the week, we met Delbert at the reservoir and once he came to our trailer for a late-night chat. Delbert had been seeking God, praying more than he ever had in his life. We talked to him about the necessity of being baptized in Jesus' name. It did not take him long to gain an understanding of the oneness of God. One night, Delbert's daughter, Carrie, met us for a walk and we sensed that she also loved God and longed to learn more about Him.

They and their family came to the Friday night service and came back Sunday to be baptized in Jesus' name. A Hispanic man who could speak very little English decided to get baptized also.

   

Turns out that Delbert and Carrie have a lot of connections to people in the church and have known several of them before. Pastor Woods used to work at Cavendish, where Delbert works. He now works at Goodrich, where Carrie works! Sunday, Carrie's mother came to church and remembered us from our last visit, when we went to Mill Town Herbs, where she worked as a therapist. There were several other connections, but I don't remember them all.

About two years ago, Carrie had a wonderful experience with God. It must have been a wonderfully joyous experience, because she described it with as much feeling as though it happened yesterday; she said she felt the residual effects of that experience for days. She thought that was when she received the Holy Ghost. As we talked with her about the biblical model for receiving the Holy Ghost, she asked, "Then how do I know when I've received it?" What a great question. This opened the door to talk about the examples of people in the book of Acts who knew they received the Holy Ghost because they spoke in other tongues, or languages foreign to them. We are trusting that God will continue to work in this family and fill them with the Holy Ghost, adding to the good things He has already done.