AJ & Doris - My Newest Heroes

The latest superhero move, The Avengers, has broken all kinds of box office records over the past few days.  More than likely, my first viewing will be in a few months when I can watch it on pay-per-view from the comfort of my own recliner and hit pause for the necessary potty breaks. That was probably too much information.

During my recent trip to Ukraine with the Singing Men of North Central Texas, I met a couple who have become my newest heroes.  AJ and Doris Stroud are the parents of one the men in our group.  How rowdy this group must be when we have to have our parents go along as chaperones!

Seriously, this trip consisted of 95 singers, and another 70 or so wives and “mission partners”.  Their role was to do the real work of the ministry.  In other words, if it didn’t happen on stage, they were doing it--going out on the street to pass out concert invitations, serving as greeters at the concert venues, conducting English lessons with locals before each concert, praying through the concert, and distributing free CDs and Bibles (more than 8000 of them) at the exits at each concert.  All of these mission partners are the true heroes of a trip like this.

So what makes AJ and Doris stand out among all these heroes?  Well for one thing, they celebrated their wedding anniversary on this trip.  They could have gone anywhere in the world to celebrate their anniversary, but they chose to spend it sharing our ministry. 

But that is only part of the story.  What really makes them my newest heroes is that this wedding anniversary was their 67^th.  No, that is not a misprint. These globetrotting octogenarians have been sharing life, love, and mission for 67 years! 

I got to visit with them for just a few minutes on our last morning in Ukraine and I told them how they blessed and inspired me.  If the Lord is gracious enough to allow me another 39 years of marriage to Mrs. Sweetie, I hope that we will be still looking for new ways to serve Him together.

A modern version of Philippians 3:13-16 says, “Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward — to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back. So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision — you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it."

Our lives matter so much to God that He doesn’t want us looking longingly backward.  AJ and Doris are already planning their next adventure with Him.

So am I.