By Missionary Chuck SlighOn June 2, 2003 Norma L. Sligh, my mom and a precious, godly lady, helpmeet, and servant of the Lord, went to be with her Savior. As I preached my own mother’s funeral on June 6, I could not help but thank God for such a mother!
Mom’s life was unique from day one. Growing up on a farm outside San Antonio, Texas, she rode a horse to school every day, and from the age of 11 routinely flew her father’s airplanes in the early days of flying. However, Mom carried an ache in her heart. Rejected by a stern, unloving father, she was unloved and unhappy. In 1949 she met Allen Sligh, and within five months, they were married on Halloween Day! Dad brought a ray of sunshine in Mom’s heart with his winsome personality, but the hole in Mom’s heart was God-sized, and only God could fill it. Their lifestyle was the party scene, and nothing of that life brought peace and satisfaction.
In the midst of it all, God gave them two children. Al, the older of the two, was a precocious, charming boy—and the idol in Mom and Dad’s life. While stationed in Okinawa, God took their idol away: In a tragic accident, Al was electrocuted to death. It was only then that Dad and Mom ever entertained serious thoughts of God and eternity. During this time of hurting deeply, and coming to the end of their hopeless efforts of “reformation”, my grandmother shared the Gospel with my parents and they were gloriously saved.
True salvation brings radical change in a person’s life, and that is what Mom and Dad experienced. Their life from that day forward was a whirlwind of service for God and others. Mom and Dad helped to start the first Independent Baptist church in Smyrna, Tennessee, in our own home, and after Dad’s retirement from the Air Force, they served as missionary school teachers in Okinawa—the very place their son had died! It was in Okinawa, at the Maranatha Baptist Church, that Mom and Dad began serving in U.S. military missions. They served there for 6 years, established a church to the military in Puerto Rico, and established another church to the military in Balboa, Panama, where they served for 19 fruitful years. They spent their last years of ministry together as fill-in missionaries for BIMI military churches in the Far East.
It has oft been repeated that behind every good man is a good woman. It is oft repeated because it is true. Dad served God with all his heart, but beside him stood one of God’s most selfless servants. God has used Dad to bring countless hundreds of servicemen to Christ, but what brought many of them to church in the first place was Mom’s “open house.” Most any time you visited the Sligh home, you would see a houseful of GI’s and their family members. Mom would feed them physically and then feed them spiritually.
And Mom was every bit the soul winner Dad was. Almost every conversation with Mom would end up with a discussion of the Lord and your relation to Him! She won many men, women, and children to Christ.
God used Dad to bring many men to spiritual maturity and service for God, but Mom ministered to their wives and many single female soldiers who needed a mentor and an example of what a virtuous, faithful Christian woman is like.
Mom was also a diligent student of the Word. Almost every page of her Bible is underlined or highlighted with her unique color-code system, with copious notes on difficult passages, personal applications of verses to her life, and notes on Bible words and doctrines. Her notes alone are priceless, and would put many a preacher’s Bible study notes to shame.
Mom had eternal values. One former member of their church in Panama remembers pitying them for their threadbare couch. He writes, “She looked at me with a smile and a genuine gleam in her eye and said, ‘Jacob, I decided some time ago that I was going to minister to people, and not to furniture.’” Because of her (and Dad’s) emphasis on eternal values and love for God, three of their children serve the Lord in full-time Christian service.
Mom’s one desire in life was to be used by God, and her great love was military personnel and their families. She was looking forward with anticipation to going with Dad to Guam to start a new work to U.S. military personnel, which Dad has decided to follow through with, knowing that would be Mom’s desire. BIMI has honored my mother with a memorial fund in her name to advance the cause of missions to military, immediately in Guam, and further ahead, military missions in general. Nothing would please her more than for Christians to contribute to the cause of military missions.
Memorial Fund
The Sligh family asked me to establish a memorial in her honor. This we have done. You can make donations to this by sending the contribution to Baptist International Missions Inc. PO Box 9215 Chattanooga, TN. 37412. It should be designated for the Norma Sligh memorial, BIMI Memorial fund #842. This will be used to help start the church in Guam as Brother Sligh plans on going ahead and start the church.
Dr. James Kennard
Military Director
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Edited by Rosalie Anger
My name is Debbie Martin. My husband has been in the Marine Corp for 15 years. We have three children, Brian and Lisa (7 year old twins) and Alex (6 years). My husband and I have been on Okinawa for 2 1/2 years. I wanted to write out what the ministry of Chuck and Linda Truitt has meant to me.
First of all moving 6,000 miles away from home and leaving everything that is familiar is not an easy thing to do. Our second Sunday after arriving in Okinawa we found ourselves at Maranatha Too Baptist Church. It happens to be the only independent Baptist Church on the north end of the island. There we met the Truitts, who welcomed us immediately into their church, their home, their family. Linda became a close friend, confidant, and an all knowing source of information about life on Okinawa. She was able to help me the time my Japanese neighbor brought over some purple paste wrapped in a large leaf with a string tied around it. Linda informed me that this is the traditional New Year’s dish and that it was rice paste with purple sweet potato mixed in. She also told me that you eat the purple paste but not the leaf. It was a blessing to have military missionaries here who could explain the Japanese culture and traditions.
Linda has also taught me to pray about everything - even the progressive dinner ham that was in my oven several hours before we all arrived at my house for the main dish. When I was fretting about the possible outcome of my ham and watched our anticipated arrival time pass, Linda simply said, “Did you pray over it?” The ham was delicious and still talked about by a church member two years later!
The Truitts have demonstrated true hospitality, love and the need for fellowship. Linda has taught me by example the importance of accepting people how and where they are and just to love them. They open their house and provide a meal to all the single and unaccompanied military every Sunday. By their example I have learned to be more hospitable, and that God provides.
Service for the Lord takes on new meaning while overseas. I have learned that serving the Lord can be done in many ways. The yard work and weekly church cleaning are done by the Truitts and the church members. It is hard to be a pew warmer in a church where there is a revolving door. The membership is always in a state of flux with members being sent around the world.
Being here in Okinawa and part of a ministry to the military, my eyes have been opened to the importance of missions. We have had the privilege of meeting missionaries to the Japanese, Thailand, Singapore, and Cambodia. Here I have seen people praying to and worshipping everything from dead ancestors to graven images. I thought that stuff only happened in Moses’ time. I thought at least everyone had heard of Jesus, but I was wrong. I had no idea that there is such a need for missions.
God has called the Truitts to the challenge of military missions and for our sakes, I am glad they are here. I don’t think I can express what an impact they and their ministry have had on so many people. They have truly been like family to us. They have touched our lives forever.
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My name is Debbie Martin. My husband has been in the Marine Corp for 15 years. We have three children, Brian and Lisa (7 year old twins) and Alex (6 years). My husband and I have been on Okinawa for 2 1/2 years. I wanted to write out what the ministry of Chuck and Linda Truitt has meant to me.
First of all moving 6,000 miles away from home and leaving everything that is familiar is not an easy thing to do. Our second Sunday after arriving in Okinawa we found ourselves at Maranatha Too Baptist Church. It happens to be the only independent Baptist Church on the north end of the island. There we met the Truitts, who welcomed us immediately into their church, their home, their family. Linda became a close friend, confidant, and an all knowing source of information about life on Okinawa. She was able to help me the time my Japanese neighbor brought over some purple paste wrapped in a large leaf with a string tied around it. Linda informed me that this is the traditional New Year’s dish and that it was rice paste with purple sweet potato mixed in. She also told me that you eat the purple paste but not the leaf. It was a blessing to have military missionaries here who could explain the Japanese culture and traditions.
Linda has also taught me to pray about everything - even the progressive dinner ham that was in my oven several hours before we all arrived at my house for the main dish. When I was fretting about the possible outcome of my ham and watched our anticipated arrival time pass, Linda simply said, “Did you pray over it?” The ham was delicious and still talked about by a church member two years later!
The Truitts have demonstrated true hospitality, love and the need for fellowship. Linda has taught me by example the importance of accepting people how and where they are and just to love them. They open their house and provide a meal to all the single and unaccompanied military every Sunday. By their example I have learned to be more hospitable, and that God provides.
Service for the Lord takes on new meaning while overseas. I have learned that serving the Lord can be done in many ways. The yard work and weekly church cleaning are done by the Truitts and the church members. It is hard to be a pew warmer in a church where there is a revolving door. The membership is always in a state of flux with members being sent around the world.
Being here in Okinawa and part of a ministry to the military, my eyes have been opened to the importance of missions. We have had the privilege of meeting missionaries to the Japanese, Thailand, Singapore, and Cambodia. Here I have seen people praying to and worshipping everything from dead ancestors to graven images. I thought that stuff only happened in Moses’ time. I thought at least everyone had heard of Jesus, but I was wrong. I had no idea that there is such a need for missions.
God has called the Truitts to the challenge of military missions and for our sakes, I am glad they are here. I don’t think I can express what an impact they and their ministry have had on so many people. They have truly been like family to us. They have touched our lives forever.
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Praise notes:
Missionary Steve Nutt writes about an Okinawan family who attended services at Maranatha Baptist for about six months. One Wednesday night at the invitation the husband raised his hand, for the first time, as being lost. Paul Fischer, a missionary to the Japanese, was visiting the service, and dealt with the man, and he was saved.
Pete Heath in Sasebo, Japan also mentioned about a young Japanese man who attended a Wednesday evening service. After the service was over Brother Heath, who speaks Japanese, shared the Gospel with him and he was wonderfully saved.Gary Craft in Wiesbaden, Germany has had over 100 in attendance for five straight Sundays. The Heneises also in Germany, had a record attendance on Easter of 85. They also had five young ladies make a decision of trusting Christ as Savior.
Bill Griffin in Yokosuka, Japan, led a Navy officer, who had attended services with his wife, to the Lord and recently baptized him. The Navy officer was a Muslim.
The Websters at Yokota Baptist Church in Japan were averaging between 155 - 160 last fall. At the first of this year they were up in the 180 range. In April they had Pastor Randy Chovan of Pasco, Washington to preach revival services for them with many people being saved and baptized. Since March 23rd they have been at 200 or over every Sunday. In two months they have seen 35 people saved, 16 baptized, and three families join the church.
The Monteiths, who also minister in Japan, mentioned that their Sunday Worship has been up, enrollment in the academy is up for next year, and the enrollment in their Bible Institute is as strong as ever.
The Hornbecks and Simensens both work with the Rhein River Baptist Church and have a ministry at the Coleman Center (prison). They have recently had 35 inmates in attendance for services which is about half the prison population. They have seen a good number saved and attending discipleship training classes.
Rick Bonds and the folks at New Hope Baptist Church set a date for a “Dedication Service” of their new facilities for May 24th. They have invited many folks and the local commanders to the service. Missionary Herb Curriden who pastors the Eiffel Baptist Church preached the dedication service.
This year’s conference was held in Sasebo, Japan hosted by Lighthouse Baptist Church. Pastor and Mrs. Heath and the members of this good church did an outstanding job making us all feel at home. Most of our military missionaries in that part of the world were able to attend. Dr. Kennard and Dr. Alverson were also there.
Missionary Steve Nutt writes about an Okinawan family who attended services at Maranatha Baptist for about six months. One Wednesday night at the invitation the husband raised his hand, for the first time, as being lost. Paul Fischer, a missionary to the Japanese, was visiting the service, and dealt with the man, and he was saved.
Pete Heath in Sasebo, Japan also mentioned about a young Japanese man who attended a Wednesday evening service. After the service was over Brother Heath, who speaks Japanese, shared the Gospel with him and he was wonderfully saved.Gary Craft in Wiesbaden, Germany has had over 100 in attendance for five straight Sundays. The Heneises also in Germany, had a record attendance on Easter of 85. They also had five young ladies make a decision of trusting Christ as Savior.
Bill Griffin in Yokosuka, Japan, led a Navy officer, who had attended services with his wife, to the Lord and recently baptized him. The Navy officer was a Muslim.
The Websters at Yokota Baptist Church in Japan were averaging between 155 - 160 last fall. At the first of this year they were up in the 180 range. In April they had Pastor Randy Chovan of Pasco, Washington to preach revival services for them with many people being saved and baptized. Since March 23rd they have been at 200 or over every Sunday. In two months they have seen 35 people saved, 16 baptized, and three families join the church.
The Monteiths, who also minister in Japan, mentioned that their Sunday Worship has been up, enrollment in the academy is up for next year, and the enrollment in their Bible Institute is as strong as ever.
The Hornbecks and Simensens both work with the Rhein River Baptist Church and have a ministry at the Coleman Center (prison). They have recently had 35 inmates in attendance for services which is about half the prison population. They have seen a good number saved and attending discipleship training classes.
Rick Bonds and the folks at New Hope Baptist Church set a date for a “Dedication Service” of their new facilities for May 24th. They have invited many folks and the local commanders to the service. Missionary Herb Curriden who pastors the Eiffel Baptist Church preached the dedication service.
This year’s conference was held in Sasebo, Japan hosted by Lighthouse Baptist Church. Pastor and Mrs. Heath and the members of this good church did an outstanding job making us all feel at home. Most of our military missionaries in that part of the world were able to attend. Dr. Kennard and Dr. Alverson were also there.
Prayer request:
Our missionaries in Europe are experiencing a financial squeeze because of the U.S. dollar devaluation against the Euro dollar.
The Griffin’s will be taking their first regular furlough in 15 years. Gwen has some medical problems that need to be taken care of and they will be visiting their supporting churches also.
Mrs. Alverson finished her scheduled chemotherapy treatments March 3rd. Her CT scan and CA-125 test results showed no sign of cancer left in her body. Her Doctor wanted her to have another 18 months of treatments because 50% of all ovarian cancer patients have a recurrence of cancer. She has decided to not have further treatments but she needs our prayers that the cancer will stay dormant.
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Many of our military churches have had a large number of people deployed since the Iraq war started. The following is a sample of the ways the churches have dealt with the situation:
Jason Heneise in Germany reflected that the last couple of months have seemed to go by as years. Several of the church families are separated due to the war in Iraq, and the rest of the men are scheduled to leave in the coming days. Outside of mass military briefings, most of the ladies have not heard directly from their husbands for over a month now. As discouraging as that may be, they were all very thankful to the Lord for His protection over the men as they have been actively engaged in the war operations. Jason said that with all that is going on the mood of the church has become more somber. Praise the Lord souls are still being saved and folks getting baptized. The focus of the people seems to be returning to serving the Lord and not as concentrated on the war. Visitation and other ministries to get the Gospel into the community are receiving more attention. It is somewhat different without the men but the sowing and reaping of souls continues with God’s blessings.
Rick Bonds in the Netherlands & Germany mentioned that the people at New Hope Baptist Church put together small “care bags” of candy and cookies, etc. for those wounded in the war. They then took the bags down to the hospital at Landstuhl, Germany and gave them to the troops. Brother Bond’s people were only able to see a few of the patients but left about 80 care bags at the hospital for others. The wounded men effected all who came from New Hope Baptist causing tears as they spoke to the men and thanked them for their sacrifice. The wounded men in turn were very appreciative that Brother Bond’s people had traveled four hours by car to visit them and pray for them.
Dr. James Kennard, BIMI Military Director, request that God’s people pray for the Christian military personnel because they are our witnesses to their buddies at this time. He believes that there is going to be many young men and young women come to know Christ as their Savior there in the Persian Gulf area. So please pray for the Christian service personnel as they witness that many will be saved.
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Jason Heneise in Germany reflected that the last couple of months have seemed to go by as years. Several of the church families are separated due to the war in Iraq, and the rest of the men are scheduled to leave in the coming days. Outside of mass military briefings, most of the ladies have not heard directly from their husbands for over a month now. As discouraging as that may be, they were all very thankful to the Lord for His protection over the men as they have been actively engaged in the war operations. Jason said that with all that is going on the mood of the church has become more somber. Praise the Lord souls are still being saved and folks getting baptized. The focus of the people seems to be returning to serving the Lord and not as concentrated on the war. Visitation and other ministries to get the Gospel into the community are receiving more attention. It is somewhat different without the men but the sowing and reaping of souls continues with God’s blessings.
Rick Bonds in the Netherlands & Germany mentioned that the people at New Hope Baptist Church put together small “care bags” of candy and cookies, etc. for those wounded in the war. They then took the bags down to the hospital at Landstuhl, Germany and gave them to the troops. Brother Bond’s people were only able to see a few of the patients but left about 80 care bags at the hospital for others. The wounded men effected all who came from New Hope Baptist causing tears as they spoke to the men and thanked them for their sacrifice. The wounded men in turn were very appreciative that Brother Bond’s people had traveled four hours by car to visit them and pray for them.
Dr. James Kennard, BIMI Military Director, request that God’s people pray for the Christian military personnel because they are our witnesses to their buddies at this time. He believes that there is going to be many young men and young women come to know Christ as their Savior there in the Persian Gulf area. So please pray for the Christian service personnel as they witness that many will be saved.
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Missionaries of the Day
Thursday, September 9, 2010
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Jonathan & Heidi Huff - TOGO
Robert & Gail Huffman - FRANCE
Don & Helen Hughes - USA - NEW YORK
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Jonathan & Heidi Huff - TOGO
Robert & Gail Huffman - FRANCE
Don & Helen Hughes - USA - NEW YORK
Military Director
Dr. James & Gail KennardRead more about the Kennards.
Email: Dr. James Kennard
He can be contacted through the BIMI office
(423) 344-5050.
Assistant Military Director
Jeff & Joyce AlversonRead more about the Alversons.
Email Jeff Alverson
He can be contacted through the BIMI office
(423) 344-5050.
