Q2: Same as Above
Q3: Greenville, SC
Q4: Locomotive Engineer
Q5: Pam (Carver) Snyder
Q6: Mason Snyder - 22
Sterling Snyder - 21
Q7:
Q8: His vision for youth ministry and the leadership team he put together are responsible for my salvation.
Q9: The Adventure of Life! I can catagorize them into two stages BS and ABS (Before Salvation / After Being Saved).
BS - I was blessed to grow up in a Christian home. My parents were career missionaries. I don't ever remember a time when I did not believe in God. But I witnessed so much legalism and hypocracy in other missionaries and both saw and experienced the damage it causes. It turned me away from God and Christianity. And I knew that without God in my life I was a better person than they were.
It wasn't until we came to the US of A in 1976 and settled in good ole Lynchburg, VA that I saw another side to Chritianity. Doug Turner was the first TRY leader I met who impacted my life. He showed me that Christians can be happy and enjoy life and loved me unconditionally, inspite of me. After Doug, I figured the other leaders couldn't be too bad and I startd to hang around more and more. He opened the door in this adventure for me. It was a year later at summer camp in New Jersey, at the Marcucci Farm, when I told Dennis Henderson I wanted to have Jesus in my life - a year of observing to see if these happy Christian people were for real or hypocrates like the rest of them. I lacked the joy, peace and contentment in my life that only comes from God. I wanted to "know" Him and have a real relationship with Him rather than just believe in Him, His existnce because that is what I was always taught. With BJ Thomas and Evie music playing over the loud speakers, Dennis prayed with me and personally introduced me to my Lord.
ABS - I was real involved in TRY/YAF thoughout my Jr and Sr years at LCA, singing in All Gods Children, Young Believers, playing football and basketball in the TRBC league. TRY/YAF became my life.
The examples lived by our youth pastors those years taught me many lessons that have grealy impacted my life - even more so than what they preached. And I have to mention Larry who made me feel welcomed and at home in All God's Children. I learned a lot of "real life" lessons observing him those years. In some very stressful situations, although not perfect, he always sought to do right and honor God. He was the "real thing" and consistent.
Life progressed - college, grad school and grad school, marriage, kids and career. This was when the rubber hit the road (you thought I was going to say where the rubber met the road) and those lessons I learned resurfaced in my life - it was test time. I cannot say I always passed, was consistent or was an example to be followed. I have exerienced just about all there is to experience. To name a few, two different business ventures failed due to improprieties of Christian partners, corporate buyout in another business resulting in prolonged unemployment, financial ruin, depression, brian tumor, bad car wreck, etc. (and there is much more). For years I struggled and asked God to help me learn what He was trying to teach me, why was I a slow learner, why wasn't I "getting it", were constant questions I kept asking myself. Then I reached a breaking point when I cried out to Him and told Him I wasn't Job...He had the wrong man! I threw out all the bibles I had, quit church and gave up on God. My struggles continued several more years before life started to turn around for me. I can't say I had a Damascus Road experience. After job hopping for years I started a new career that I love. I had passed the 40 milestone and gnawing at me was my search for significance. And guess who was behind that? Yes, it was Him. And that single set of footprints when I was trying to make it on my own, you know were His, carrying me. This is so much more than a cliche' to me. When my eyes were opened again and I saw that "He was there all the time" I prayed, asking Him to "take me back...to the place where I first received Him". Music has played a huge role in my life. The words to "Through It All" resonate in my mind and heart. And so many of the songs we learned and sang those years have brought to home so many truths and have been such an inspiration to me.
I regret I will not be able to attend the reunion. When I received the link to "Jesus Is Still The Answer" I knew I had to write this. That song stuck in my mind and mouth all day yesterday and last night. It brought back a lot of these memories of my life and I could not sleep, feeling burdened to write this. I hope and pray that if anyone reads it they will be encouraged and blessed. I am grateful blessed to serve a living God and to have been a small participant in the ministries so all our YAF leaders.
Q10: The Lord has answered my prayers for significance in my life. He has allowed me to go back to my home in Liberia, West Africa, leading a number of missions teams to help rebuild this war torn country and the devastated lives of so many.
Over half the population of 3.5 million people is under 15 years old, the average age is 18.
Over 25 years of civil unrest, 15 of those years being all out civil war have devastated the country. There was no public electricity or running water and nearly no schools for 15 years.
There is no where else in the world where we as Christians can help rebuild a nation and its people with the same impact that we can in Liberia. And right now its a race, either the Christians will step up to the plate and do it or the muslims will - and they are there.
In the last 3 years we have been able to do so much, yet so much more needs to be done. In everything we do it is because God loves them and sent us. We have been able to rebuild a building for a mission organization, put wells in villages and orphanages, distribute children's clothes (Gerber Childrenswear has donated thousands of $$$ on several occassions), provided medical care, provided a large generator to supply electricity to a mission compound housing a hospital, radio station, school, HQ for Samaratans Purse, and housing for many foreign missionries, conducted management training sessions for national ministry leaders and in several government departments, providing 30 scholarships this year for kids to go to school (no free schools) and conducting evanglistic services with preaching and singing. I have not, nor could I have done all this by myself. But God gave me a mouth to tell others of the needs and His faithful have stepped up to help do these things. And since I am not a preacher it is my joy to simply share Christ's love in action in all we are doing there.
The youth of this young country desperately need our help. I have camp facilities waiting for someone to go run a camp program. I was told, If I will run or get someone to run a camp, the facilities are mine for the using...FREE! Anyone intersted in getting involved in any ministry opportunity in Liberia? Please call me at 864.363.8517.
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