Our Chelan Experience

Today I was praying for a friend of mine that is staying in Chelan. After my prayer time I began to reminisce about the years that Don pastored in that pretty resort town. I was humbled as I thought about the lives that God changed at the altar in that little church.

During the summer Don took a part time job working in an apple orchard. He was assigned to work along side a young man in his middle twenties. As they pruned trees, Eugene passed the time by sharing with Don all the reasons it was silly to believe in God. Every night during prayer time, Don would pray for Eugene and ask God to let him see this young man through God's eyes. After several months and much prayer, Eugene came to church and gave his heart to the Lord.

A revival broke out as Eugene gathered up his friends and brought them to church. In one month over 12 young man had given their hearts to God. They were hungry to learn all they could about God, so they not only attended every service but were often at the parsonage asking questions of Don and going through Scripture with him. I did my best to keep cookies, brownies, and simple meals made for these young people.

One Sunday evening after church our living room and dining room were filled with young people. I felt so bad because there were no treats made and all I could find to feed this hungry group was a couple packages of hot dogs and a large can of pork and beans. One young man walked over to the cookie jar and took off the lid. I apologized, sharing that I didn't have the ingredients to make cookies. The young man said, "Hey, guys, the Hintz's need some food. Let's pray." They grabbed hands and begin to pray that God would send us the food we needed.

The next morning at 6:00 am the phone rang. It was one of the men in our church. "I was just working in my orchard and the Lord laid it on my heart that you need food,"Bro. Stoker began. "I'll be in town in an hour and I'll take you over to Safeway to get what you need."

Don and I woke the girls and started getting ready for a trip to the store. "I'm nervous about this," I confided to Don. "We are out of so many things and I'm embarrassed to share our needs with Bro. Stoker." "God has answered our prayer so we're just going to have to trust Him, " Don responded.

When Bro . Stoker came to the door he apologized for not having time to go with us to the store. He gave us $60.00 and made us promise we would use it for food and supplies, not for any bills. We both were praising God while we walked through the aisles of the store getting flour, sugar, oil, shampoo, laundry soap and every thing else we needed. $60.00 in 1971 went as far as $200.00 or more today.

Just as we were putting the last of our groceries in their proper place, there was a knock on the door. It was a woman from our church. "I was in the grocery store picking up a few items last night, and the Lord laid it on my heart that your pantry needed refilling. I have a few things in the car if you would please help me bring them in," she said. To our surpise she had brought us 25 lbs of flour, 25 lbs of sugar, a gallon of vegetable oil, 2 lb block of butter, 20 lbs of potatoes, 5 lb bag of rice, 6 lbs of hamburger, 2 whole chickens, a family pack of pork chops, a box of apples, and some candy for the girls. I stood looking at all that food and couldn't do anything but cry. God knew our small packages of "basics" wouldn't go very far with all the young people we fed and He made sure we had plenty to last for awhile. Our pantry was packed and so was our back porch.

Don called up Eugene's home and left a message on his answer machine, sharing how God had answered their prayers. That evening a whole group of young men saw for themselves that,"The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their cry." (Psalm 34:15)

As I pray for my friend in Chelan I know a miracle from God is needed. "I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago." (Psalm 77:11) and remembering God's provision thirty years ago will build my faith for the present situation with my dear friend.