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Happy Days Ahead!
"Happy is he that hath
the God of Jacob for his help,
whose hope is in the Lord
his God."
Psalm 146:5
John had written just a line or two on the back of his prayer letter to
Linda after Lynn had passed away.
Now, over six months later, at the NTM Bible School, John decided to
answer a little note and poem that Linda had sent him. Dave Calderwood
had a lot to do with John writing Linda and Linda writing back. Dave
and his wife, Ann, had been in England and had visited John, but lived
at the Sanford Headquarters where they saw Linda frequently.
As
John sat at his desk, he had perhaps 20 or 30 letters waiting to be
answered. However, his thoughts were about Linda Christensen. Linda
Christensen. Hmmmmm...This time, John could hardly wait to write her
again!
John mailed his letter to Linda. He really hoped that she would answer
him back. Her reply to his letter arrived a few days later.
Little did they know, that was the beginning of their courtship, an
ocean apart!
The Lord had wonderfully allowed their first notes to get to their
destination safe and sound. Imagine if John's note, hastily written on
the back of his prayer letter, had never gotten to her? Or imagine if
Linda's little note and poem to John had been lost in the mail? Or if
John's letter back to her had been lost? That would certainly have
ended their courtship, even before it began.
John sent Linda a cassette tape recording of him and Sarah telling about
themselves and a little about what it was like to live at the Bible
School. Linda reciprocated by sending him a tape of her playing the
piano and a recording of her and Timmy singing a little song:
"Oh Timmy, do you love Jesus?"
"Oh yes, I love Jesus!"
"Are you sure you love Jesus?"
"I'm sure I love Jesus!"
"Oh Timmy, do you love Jesus?"
"Oh yes I love Jesus, because He first loved me."
"Oh Mommy, do you love Jesus?"
"Oh yes, I love Jesus!"
"Are you sure you love Jesus?"
"I'm sure I love Jesus!"
"Oh Mommy, do you love Jesus?"
"Oh yes I love Jesus, because He first loved me."
Together
"Oh how I love Jesus!"
"Oh how I love Jesus!"
"Oh how I love Jesus!"
"Because He first loved me."
Photos followed the first few letters. John's first photo to Linda was
of him locked in the "stocks," when he and Sarah had visited the old
city of Leeds. Linda liked his smile. Linda then sent her first photo
to John. Linda's photo really looked great to him! The photo was of
her with Timmy resting his head on her shoulder. And so, their letters
literally flew back and forth to each other across the "duck pond."
Month followed month and soon it was January 1982. Secretly, Linda had
hoped that John would visit her during the spring break of 1982.
However, John wanted to wait until Sarah had finished her school year
before coming to America. One thing was certain though; their "love"
for each other was growing, despite the thousands of miles that
separated them. Although they never actually used the word "love" to
one another in their letters, their affection grew week by week.
John made the decision sometime in February that he and Sarah were going
to move to Sanford. By that time, he longed to see Linda and Timmy.
Linda was excited to hear this news! John asked her if he should sell
his linens, towels, kitchen towels and dishrags. Linda's answer was,
"You do what you think is best." She did not want to commit herself to
anything, without them seeing each other in person.
John began selling many of his things, including all of their furniture
and most of their household items. He packed everything that he could
into three tea chests. Everything else he would bring with them in
suitcases. The address on the tea chests and bill of lading simply
read: John H. McGhee, Port Authority, Jacksonville, Florida. He
planned to pick up the chests himself, once he had arrived in Sanford.
(The plan was if things didn't work out with John and Linda, John would
move to Canada with his tea chests and suitcases!)
Before leaving England, Linda wrote him to ask what he would like to
have for their first supper together. He promptly wrote her back,
"Hot
dogs, please." The only hot dogs that he had eaten in Indonesia and
England were from a can!
Continue...
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