Greetings!: March 2022

Saturday, March 26, 2022

Splat!

I had big plans for this week. We only had one appointment scheduled so I planned to do some writing for this blog as well as my hymn blog. But it wasn't to be.

We have a second car, a 2009 Toyota, which we seldom use. And during the pandemic it basically sat on our driveway and collected all sorts of dirt. It hadn't been washed in over two years and really needed it.

Our auto mechanic kept suggesting replacing all four tires. They had adequate tread and looked fine but he felt that due to their age they weren't safe. But I kept putting it off because we used the car so seldom and tires were expensive.

Then we saw a good tire sale and decided it was time to buy. But I was embarrassed to take the car in without it being cleaned. I was afraid that the automatic car wash would not be good enough so I chose to do it by hand at the local car wash.

After several times around the car I was almost satisfied. Except for one spot it looked great. So I decided to use the brush on that area. I finished that, returned the brush to its holder and went for a final rinse.

Suddenly I found myself on the concrete, flat on my face. It happened so fast. I don't know what happened. Did I trip? Did I slip? There was blood everywhere and my glasses were broken. I don't know how I got up, but I did. My wife got out of the car and tried to help.

Thank the Lord there was a MedExpress close by and we headed there. They took me in right away and a nurse began to clean me up. Finally a doctor came and two hours later I left with 12 stiches in my nose. The next two days my eyes began to get black and blue and I looked like a raccoon. I still need to have the stitches removed this weekend but I have no idea how long I will have the black eyes. And it will take a few weeks to get new glasses.

I thank the Lord that it wasn't worse. No broken bones. No broken teeth. No concussion. No damage to my eyes.

But I have missed a week that I needed for writing. However, the Lord is in control.

Saturday, March 19, 2022

A Godly Heritage

In her casket were two bottles of Old Milwaukee beer and a cigarette.

We certainly were surprised as we viewed the body of the mother of one of our Awana leaders. We heard that she had told her family that she wanted to be buried with her beer and her cigarettes and the family honored her wish.

I imagine that her son was probably embarrassed by this family decision and it made me realize how difficult it must be to be the only Christian in your family. As we drove home from the viewing my mind was directed to Psalm 16:6 that proclaims, “Yea, I have a goodly heritage.”

Yes, I am so very fortunate to have a goodly, Godly heritage, and so are you. Please don’t ever forget it and never take it for granted.

Your heritage begins with your parents. Your dad and your uncles, Craig, Ken and Tim, all came to know the Lord as children. The Lord allowed all three to marry wives who knew the Lord as Savior. All have tried to raise you and their families to honor the Lord.

Grammy and I also asked the Lord to be our Savior while we were young children. We have tried to live lives that please Him. On our honeymoon the Lord led us to Psalm 92:13, “Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.” We have tried to follow this promise all of our married lives. Elsewhere in this book you will find the principles that we have tried to model and pass on as our legacy.

Your parents also had uncles and aunts who loved the Lord and were active in many areas of service and ministry. Uncle Terry, Aunt Kendy and Aunt Sue also accepted Jesus as their Savior when they were children. Uncle Leon served as a pastor in several churches after completing Bible school.

The goodly heritage also includes your great grandparents. Grammy’s parents – Gramps and Muz Bickle - both loved the Lord. They made Him central in their family life after Gramps accepted the Lord as his Savior later in his life. They loved to entertain visiting preachers and missionaries. Muz taught Sunday School. Gramps (Glenn Bickle) had a special gift of evangelism and was responsible for leading many people to the Lord. Sharing the Gospel with others was his greatest joy. He was very active in Gideons, taught Sunday School and led prayer meeting. He and Muz were very faithful in their prayer life and they prayed daily for their children, their grandchildren, and their great grandchildren.

Muz (Mary) was a Deitrich and was the youngest of five children – Ray, Bob, Ethel and Hattie who died as a child. In the latter years of his life, Grandpa Deitrich lived with Gramps and Muz until he died. His father was a preacher. Gramps had two sisters, Ruth Lewis and Miriam Hubler and one brother, Floyd, who died when he was young. Your dads might remember Mom Bickle who came to know the Lord in her later years.

My parents, Grandma and Grandpa Kauffman, were charter members of our church, Faith Bible Fellowship Church, in Lancaster. They were very instrumental in getting the church started in 1950. Grandma taught Sunday School, was active in Womens Missionary Society and Awana and had a CEF club for children in our home. They took us to almost every church service, all of our lives, even when it meant going by train or bus or driving 40 miles to get there. For well over 50 years Grandpa (Horace Abraham) taught Sunday School, was an elder, served as church delegate, handled the church financial records, and served as financial secretary for the Bible Fellowship denomination and worked in Awana. He also served on the boards of Berean Bible School, Lancaster Christian School, and Calvary Homes. His life was devoted to serving the Lord and setting an example for his family.

Grandma (Aletha or Dolly) Kauffman was a Wise and grew up in the Herndon area before moving to Sunbury. She was one of seven children born to Mammy (Alice) and Pappy (Lloyd) Wise – Sis Neidig, Anna Mahlon, Phyllis Gaugler, Bud, Sam and Richard Wise.

Your great great grandfather, Grandpa Kauffman’s real father, Horace Abraham Kauffman, died during the flu epidemic of 1918 when Grandpa was just 16 months old. He had one real sister, Ellen Derck. Grandma was then encouraged to marry a friend of his, Norman Wolf, and they had two daughters, Beatrice Derck and Thelma Smock. Thelma married Bob who became a pastor for over 50 years in our denomination. Ellen and Beatrice married brothers – John and Marlin. All the family loved and served the Lord and they were all very instrumental in my Christian growth.

Norman Wolf became a real father to Grandpa Kauffman and a special grandfather to me. He served as a pastor for over 65 years. He performed our wedding ceremony and was our pastor for several years while we were in Sunbury. He was a real pastor with a heart for his congregation. He was a man of prayer. He was the most Godly person I have ever known and was a great influence on my life.

Grandma (Esther) Wolf also came from a family of believers. Her brother, Timothy Gehret, was a pastor and a presiding elder in our denomination for many years. Another brother, Myron was an elder in our Bethlehem church. His wife, Lizzie, was a brother to Grandpa Kauffman’s real father. Grandma Wolf’s father, A.B. Gehret, was also a pastor. I remember her mother, Grandma Ettinger, who died in 1944.

Your great great great grandfather was Charles L. Kauffman (1861-1942). In 1896 he was appointed postmaster of Zion Hill. He too loved the Lord and several times took Grandpa Kauffman to services at Holiness Camp Meetings. Part of his farm was used for the Zionsville Bible Fellowship Church where the Wolfs are buried. His father – your great great great great grandfather Abraham Kauffman (1840-1889) was the last secretary of the church to write the minutes in German. His father was Samuel (1840 – 1889) and his father, your great great great great great great grandfather, Abraham (1780 – 1860) was one of three brothers who came here from Germany. He settled in the Lehigh Valley.

There are so many more stories that could be told, but I hope that you see that you indeed do have a goodly, Godly heritage. However, such a heritage means nothing when it comes to your personal salvation. It is your responsibility as an individual to accept the Lord’s free gift of salvation and experience the forgiveness, which he gives. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. It is my prayer and my deepest hope that you will make this vital decision and someday when the Lord returns you will be with the Lord and all of us who have gone before you.

Saturday, March 12, 2022

Beware - March 18, 1958 (LB)

Looking Back - While listening to the weather report for this weekend, my mind went back to 1958 when a weather forecast called for snow flurries. But the weather on that Saturday was much more than just some snow flurries. So I am repeating this blog which I shared a few years ago. Hopefully this weekend will not be a repeat of 1958.

It was Saturday, March 18, 1958 - 59. I was excited because my high school choir director was taking me and a classmate of mine to Harrisburg to hear the concert of the district high school choir. At that time beither of us knew that the following year, our senior year, both of us would audition and be named to the choir.
What we also didn't know was that an unexpected snow storm was about to hit. The morning weather forecast made no mention of snow, except for the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal which did call for a few snow flurries. But by late afternoon a light rain began to change into big wet snowflakes. I don't recall these huge flakes, but one report said that some of them were two inches in diameter. And the snow fell for over 28 hours and had a huge impact on the region. While only 13" of heavy wet snow accumulated in Lancaster city, 2 to 3 feet of snow fell across the higher terrain of northern and eastern Lancaster county, including Lititz. About 30" fell in the Ephrata/Adamstown area and an astounding 50" was measured at the Morgantown exchange of the PA Turnpike.

In Harrisburg we first stopped for a brief visit with our choir director's mother and then we headed for the concert. When the concert ended we were surprised to find that several inches of snow had fallen and we began our trip home to Lititz through heavy snow. I don't remember how long that trip took, but it was memorable. Numerous times we had to push our car as well as other cars that were stuck on the highway blocking our way. At times the highway was impossible to see. But thankfully some how we finally got home. It was a scary trip that I will never forget. Later, after becoming a teacher myself, I began to realize what a difficult experience it must have been for our director to transport two of his students through that dangerous experience that night. I hope that I thanked him.

But that wasn't the end of the experience. Under the weight of the wet snow, it didn't take long for trees to start snapping. Wide spread power outages took many days to restore and even the PA Turnpike was closed for a number of days. Drivers were stranded on the Turnpike. Even the trains of the Pennsylvania Railroad capitulated that last full day of winter. There was no service at all between New York and Washington after a power failure at Havre de Grace. Six passenger trains were stranded there.

By March 20, the newspaper was calling it a "sneak storm" that left 75,000 homes without electricity, with "no estimate of restoration." Meteorologists now suspect that this storm was a powerful "nor'easter" that blew up the Atlantic coast. Milder temperatures at the shoreline meant that larger accumulations came inland. Philadelphia and New York City each got 11 inches.

The storm cut off all access to Lititz for over a week. Huge drifts closed the Lititz Pike (Route 501) and all the smaller roads into town. There were pictures of drifts as high as the telephone poles near the Lititz Airport. Half of Lititz lost electricity. Fortunately our half of town retained power. My friend actually stayed at our house for several days because his parents had no power or heat at their home. Shrinking supplies of necessities also created a problem for borough residents. Several days later, a train was finally able to get through the drifts to deliver bread, eggs and milk to the residents.

As I recall this experience, I can't help but be thankful for the Lord's protection, especially on that dangerous trip home.

But I also recall how times have changed things. Today we have instant weather updates available on television, radio, smartphones and the internet. None of that existed in 1958. And today we have huge modern plows and blowers to open the highways and we have workers trained to deal with these situations. But, unfortunately, drifting and loss of electricity are still dangers to deal with.

And so when people think winter is over when we hit March, my wife and I often reply, "We remember 1958", and we do!

As I was doing some research for this blog I came upon an interesting video of the "Storm of 1958". Here is a link in case you are interested. 1958.

Saturday, March 5, 2022

Horror

Today television brings the horror of this sinful world right into our living rooms. We helplessly view while others suffer. We see real situations that we could never predict.

It was just yesterday that we watched while people tried to get out of Afghanistan as America left many of them behind. I will never forget scenes of people trying to hang on to airplanes as they were taking off or of parents handing off their babies to those who were leaving. How scary it must have been for those left behind.

Now this week we are horrified by the images and news of those in Ukraine as their homeland is being invaded and destroyed by the Russian army. More pain and sorrow than we can even imagine. What would we ever do if we were in their place?

Many folks are hiding in their basements or bomb shelters or in subway tunnels as the invaders destroy their neighborhoods with bombs and missiles. They are running out of food and water. They have no hope.

It hurts to watch pictures of pregnant women or even worse, hospital nurseries which have been forced to relocate to the subway tunnels for protection. Will they survive? If they survive, what hope do these babies have?

Then there are the scenes of huge lines of cars and trucks and overloaded trains as millions try to escape their homeland. And then there are the tearful scenes of fathers saying good bye to their wives and children as they are separated at the border. The men are prohibited from leaving and must stay to fight the invading Russians. How heartbreaking!

And yet one must admire the way the Ukranians are trying to defend their country, making bombs and blocking the roads. They are willing to sacrifice their lives to try and defend their homeland. But what chance do they really have against the massive Russian force?

And who will help them? Unfortunately not sanctions as severe as they may appear to be. The world is being deceived while Puten laughs.

I believe that we are watching a real Satanic battle. Puten must be controlled by Satan to lead this evil battle. He reminds me of Hitler and his evil attacks. I wonder what is was like here in this country as Hitler captured one country after another. Of course folks didn't have television then to bring that evil display into their living rooms, they just had radio and movie news clips. And the world waited almost too long then to stop Hitler. Could the same thing happen again?

So we will just have to watch and see what happens. How many will die? Will the invasion spread to other countries? Will oil costs and disruptions affect the world? Will our finances suffer? Will the world be looking for a new leader? I can't help but wonder how all of this plays into the end times.

What would be the best solution? That's easy, the rapture. Hopefully it may be sooner than we think.

(1) This world is not my home, I'm just passing through.

My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.

The angels beckon me from Heaven's open door