There are so many unsung heroes of the faith, the ones in the background holding others up, like Aaron and Hur in Exodus 17:2:  “But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.”

I remember a couple in Colorado who have supported us financially ever since we went on the mission field … $20 a month. We are in our 26^th year of service. I think of those who write and encourage us, and especially those who lift us to the Lord in prayer every single day.  The unsung heroes.

As I have traveled across the US visiting churches and ABW groups to thank them for their partnership, I have had the privilege to meet so many who support the work that God is doing around the world. So many quiet servants living out their days serving others in the name of Christ. They don’t seek recognition in this fleeting life… and are content to wait until they meet Jesus face to face and hear those words, “Well done”. That’s enough!

One quiet servant is Violet Rawlinson at Grand Prairie Baptist Church in Marion, Ohio. She and her husband, Allen, always arrived early to open the church, sweep the walk, shovel the snow. But Violet’s special passion has always been mission. In 1962 she started a Christian Service Circle, which remains active today, making lap quilts, pillows, and other items. Violet has been called the ‘queen of roller bandages’. Having served in DR Congo at the Vanga Evangelical Hospital, Bill and I know full well the value of roller bandages in mission hospital settings.                  

Last year, for Violet’s 98th birthday, the church gifted her with an abundant supply of old sheets. Violet rolls bandages every day, tearing the sheets into strips and then winding them up using a pencil. It wasn’t long before she was asking for more sheets. As Violet’s 99^th birthday arrives in June, we want to celebrate her heart and her gift of service to others in the name of the Lord over her long life.