Beirut, Lebanon
Thursday, June 12, 2014
.
GOD MOVES IN - SHILOH THE REST GIVER
Rev. Fred. D. “Bud” Acord
[I am always floored when I hear of either direct or distant relatives of mine who were missionaries abroad. A few months ago we were visiting with my Uncle Jack and Aunt Gail Acord, who are long time supporters of us in missions. They told us about Uncle Jack's cousin, Fred "Bud" Acord, who was a missionary in the middle east. It was the first time I had heard of it. They gave us a book that he had written of his missionary adventures and felt that we might be able to relate to him as he faced so many challenges in his missionary journeys. We loved the book and have asked permission to post his book up here on our missions blog. Bud Acord is much older now and we are still hoping to meet him someday. The legacy of world missions in our family continues and we hope that enjoy these stories.
.
Chris Chin Chung]
PREFACE
To all my brothers and sisters in Christ who have given themselves to Him in a labor of love in seeking His glory alone in foreign lands, I pray that He will use this small testimony of His marvelous grace in opening the inward eyes of many a tired and discouraged soldier of the Cross.
FDA (Fred D. Acord)
BEGINNING WITH DOUBTS
The little train rattled and bumped across the sandy desert wastes and slowly climbed the bleak barren Red Sea hills where Kipling’s famous Fuzzy-Wuzzies lived. On across the land of General Chinese Gordon and his would-be rescuer, Lord Kitchner, who arrived too late to save him from the mobs of the “Mad Mahdi.”
Sweat poured from us as the torrid African sun beat down on the little railroad carriage. The small, whirring fan in the corner merely swirled the air around the compartment which was as hot as an oven. However, the movement of air, while failing to cool, did keep the flies from settling.
As we clattered on mile after mile, looking out over the scrub brush, we saw scrawny camels and goats grazing on the thorn brushes, and the round mud huts with their conical, thatched roofs. So this is it! Africa -the Sudan- the place where God has called us to labor in His vineyard. Not too pleasant a spot, I mused.
The little booklet, The Practice of the Presence of God, which I had been reading in between my gazing out the window, fell onto the table. My mind wandered listlessly from the scenes outside to my wife sitting opposite me and then to the contents of this booklet, “How in the world can this be?” I said to myself. Here is a land without the gospel, with very few Christian workers, and with many people to reach. And yet, this saint out of the Middle Ages advocates a do-nothing attitude. Practicing the presence of God is a good philosophy, but one must be practical and get on with the job. After all, we could just as well have practiced the presence of God back home in the U.S.A.
The more I thought about it the more I began to wonder. Just what is the true relationship between faith and works? I never had really defined it in my own mind. Faith and faith alone brought us into salvation offered by Christ, but after salvation what? “Faith without works is dead” James wrote. This must mean a rolling up of one’s sleeves and getting on with the job. After all, Christ had given His all for me, could I do less for Him? Wasn’t the reason why my wife and I were jolting over the desert sands in Africa? The saintly Brother Lawrence didn’t “turn me on.”
A BARREN AND BLEAK ROAD
A.W. Tozer in his book, The Knowledge of the Holy, wrote:
“Too many missionary appeals are based upon this fancied frustration of Almighty God. An effective speaker can easily excite pity in his hearers, not only for the heathen, but for the God who has tried so hard and long to save them and has failed for want of our support. I fear that thousands of young persons enter Christian service from no higher motive than to help deliver God from the embarrassing situation His love has gotten Him into and His limited abilities seem unable to get Him out of. Add to this a certain degree of commendable idealism and a fair amount of compassion for the underprivileged and you have the true drive behind much Christian activity today.”
That day as we traveled from Port Sudan on the Red Sea to Khartoum, the capitol of what was then the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, I would have been highly insulted had anyone told me that the motive for my coming to the mission field was simply to help God get out of His dilemma.
Many a mile has been traveled since that train ride. Since then, I have lived on the “backside of the desert,” both physically and spiritually, and I have come to see that my motive was really no higher than assisting God.
I had been taught to “stick it out,” so every time I was knocked down -and it happened many times- I would wearily, painfully climb back again. Didn’t the Lord require faithfulness in His stewards? The road back was also rocky and barren.
Enthusiasm for a cause lasted only so long. Deep differences with fellow workers caused heartbreak. David’s bitter experience was our portion, too: “The one with whom I broke bread has lifted his heel against me.” We had mistakenly thought that our battles would be fought with the Enemy outside the camp. We found that, all too often, it was just the opposite.
Three times within the first year on the field we submitted our resignation, but the Lord wouldn’t allow us to return home. Why, we didn’t know. Afterwards, we learned. Later on, He graciously allowed us to enjoy some of the sweetest fellowship with the finest saints on this side of heaven.
At other times, we were encouraged when God broke through, and a shaft of the light of His love pierced a darkened Muslim heart. Then the halls of heaven rang with joy, as did our own hearts.
THE RAT RACE
Our first term encompassed two continents -Africa and Asia; three countries -Sudan, Arabia, and Ethiopia.; and four years. That first term marked the end of our missionary career -or so we thought at the time. Much wiser after many experiences -some good, some bad- we packed our barrels and boxes and said goodbye to our much-loved Arab and Ethiopian friends. We flew in an old DC-3 across the Red Sea from Assab, Eritrea, one of the hottest places on earth, to another hot spot, Aden. There we boarded a freighter for the good old U.S.A. The words of a popular song, “I’m gonna settle down and never roam, and make San Fernando Valley my home” became our theme song, for our home was near this area. But we weren’t counting on God! He still worked in “mysterious ways His wonders to perform.”
While at home we tried to resign from the mission, but God wouldn’t let us. The bitterness of betrayal was still too much with us, and we had no desire to return to the field. However, circumstances changed and personnel were removed. So back we went to Aden after our furlough. A more Godforsaken place would be hard to imagine. Many who passed through said: “Only God Himself could make you like this place!” He did, for we loved it. The dirt, the squalor, the torrid heat. The lovable Arabs and Somalis were our people. Aden was our home.
Spiritually, my walk was from valley to mountaintop to valley. I was steadily slugging away but had horrible feelings of utter inadequacy and constant frustration. This was a learning experience. But what a place for a soldier of the Cross to be. What a humiliation for a missionary! If the folks back home only knew what kind of missionary they were supporting. What I didn’t realize then was that my Lord wanted nothing more from me than acknowledgement of total inadequacy, utter failure, and complete ineptness. However, that was absolutely contrary to all that I had been taught or believed.
Years passed and there was so little to show for the heartbreaking work of trying to lead Muslims to Christ in the port city of Aden. One of my letters home at the time tells a bit of the story.
ADEN, ARABIA
Out of these sun-swept deserts in 620 A.D. came the prophet Muhammad with his ‘revelations’ from Allah and the declaration, “There is no God but God, and Muhammad is his prophet.” With the shahada (witness) emblazoned on their standards and ringing from their lips, the Arab hordes swept out of Arabia’’s sandy peninsula, pushing westward across North Africa to the very threshold of Europe, and eastward onto the confines of China. In this cradle and heartland of Islam, the evil one does not easily let go of his subjects.
And so, when a group of six young men walked down into the blue waters of the Gulf of Aden in 1959 and identified themselves with Christ in baptism, our joy knew no bounds. At last, after years of toil, the cross was struggling upward against the forces that held it captive for centuries. The banner of the cross would yet fly above the crescent of Islam!
We sent word home. “Pray! Pray that these will grow.” The believers grew in the Word. They loved their little fellowship. They gave freely of their frugal means. Their testimony sounded into the city, and our hearts rejoiced. But unknown to us, the thunderclouds were gathering.
The first young convert left Aden for the United Kingdom. He had gone through much persecution. Perhaps he wanted respite. Who could blame him? But our hearts were saddened to see him go.
The second wanted a wife. There were no Christian women. At his age, it was unheard of to be unmarried. So he took his hand from the plough and headed back. Our hearts bled.
The third became entangled with the “things of the world.” He found morass so thick that he could not get out -much like some Christians in the homelands who have never experienced the pressures he knew.
And so the evil one moved in and, expert marksman that he is, picked off these new babes, one by one. Our hearts cried to God. We wrote, “Pray,” for only prayer could save the day.
We went home on furlough. We heard that one of the remaining three had gone to Somali Republic as a missionary from our tiny church, and we rejoiced. We asked people to pray for this one. But the evil one had not taken a furlough. The report came back that this one, too, had slipped. Our first missionary, a casualty!
Then there were two. We returned from furlough to find that one lad was not the same lad we had left. He was moody and morose. He looked inward and saw no one but himself. We tried to lead him gently back to his first love. We prayed. We asked for prayer. He listened, but rebelled. He turned from the wooing of the Holy Spirit to the siren song of Communism.
Now one remains. Praise God, he is standing firm. But my people, for the Lord’s sake and His testimony in this dry and thirsty land, pray. Pray for this one that he will not grow discouraged.
In the homelands you told me countless times, “You can count on my prayers.” We are counting on you to fulfill your promise, until we see the work “take root downward, and bear fruit upward.” We cannot do this work alone. Will you watch with us?
And so we continued to pray and witness and hold on. It wasn’t easy. Outwardly, everything was going smoothly. No finer missionary co-workers could have been found anywhere. A schedule of activities kept us busy from morning until night -many times late at night. Witness was given out daily through the dispensary. The bookshop and reading room were means of contact and witness. Classes, visitation, colportage, Sunday school and preaching services all added up to a constant round of activities.
Inside, it was different. All the busyness couldn’t cover up the dryness and barrenness that were then my portion. My wife hardly discerned my problem. Night after night, I would stretch out on the floor of our little radio studio and cry out to God. But the heavens were as brass. The spiritual dryness became worse until finally, in total desperation, I asked the Lord please to remove me from the scene. I wanted Him to send me home, for I had no desire to live like that any longer. I couldn’t have gotten any lower.
WILLING TO DIE?
He heard and He understood. But I wasn’t sure that He heard. It seemed to me that He was being very indifferent. Then I got the message. He had heard, all right. Now he began to probe -deeply, relentlessly. At times I wished I had kept my mouth shut, for He never let up until He accomplished His purpose. He asked if I was actually willing to die. To lay down my life there in that faraway land? I replied in the affirmative. Hadn’t I told Him before that I was willing?
Aden at that time was the target of terrorist attacks against the British. Bombs were constantly dropped and grenades thrown near our compound. I knew only too well that I could easily be a victim of the terrorists.
Then the Lord began asking questions from another angle. Was I ready to give Him the lives of our two girls also? That was another story. These two little ones were precious to us. In my mind’s eye I could see them being torn apart by a terrorist’s grenade. I could not say “yes.” But He would not let me off. After three days of bitter struggle, I finally gave in and said: “All right, if that is what you wish, You may have them, too.” Tears flowed. I was broken before the Lord.
Next, I had to surrender my wife, Dot. The struggle was fierce. The Lord would not let me go one step farther until the issue was settled. There was no side-stepping it. Finally, after much heart searching, I laid them all at the altar. Dot, Janie, and Marnie. Daily I expected a bazooka shell to come screaming into the mission house to send us all home to glory in a cloud of smoke and crashing rock.
What a low view I had of our gracious Lord! How little I really understood of His gracious dealings with His children. However, now I could more readily identify with Abraham when he was asked to give up his son Isaac. I understood a bit more of what Oswald Chambers wrote in his devotional entitled, Does My Sacrifice Live?
“And Abraham built an altar… and bound Isaac his son” (Genesis 22:9)
This incident is a picture of the blunder we make in thinking that the final thing God wants of us is the sacrifice of death, viz., sacrifice our lives. Not -I am willing to go to death with Thee, but- I am willing to be identified with Thy death so that I may sacrifice my life to God. We seem to think that God wants us to give up things! God purified Abraham for his blunder, and the same discipline goes on in our lives. God nowhere tells us to give things for the sake of the only thing worth having -viz., life with Himself. It is a question of loosening the bands that hinder the life, and immediately those bands are loosened by identification with the death of Jesus, we enter into a relationship with God whereby we can sacrifice our lives to Him.
It is of no value to God to give Him your life for death. He wants you to be a ‘living sacrifice.’ To let Him have all your powers that have been saved and sanctified through Jesus. This is the thing that is acceptable to God.
An air of expectancy was aroused after this struggle. Daily I expected something to happen. There were explosions to the right of us, to the left of us, and in front of us, but none came into our dwelling. Some were quite close though! Still there was a personal dryness and a barrenness that would not go away.
THERE WAS A MAN… SENT FROM GOD
When would the answer come? Why did He wait so long to answer? How long would I have to go on in this keyed-up state? To put it mildly, it was an extended traumatic experience.
Then He answered, in His own timing and in His own wonderful way. I still marvel at it. There was a man sent from God, but to me he was an angel in disguise. His name, Major Ian Thomas of Capernwray Hall, England.
Every year in January the four missions working in Aden used to gather for a weekend retreat. This included special meetings and a time of fellowship in prayer for the work, the converts, the workers, and the mission in general. This particular year I had arranged with our field director in Addis Ababa to have a speaker from England who as coming out on a speaking tour to the various African fields of our mission.
To be very frank and blunt, I had grown tired of visiting speakers from the various homelands. Too many of them would come and tell the missionary what he should be doing and wasn’t, or what he was doing and shouldn’t be doing. Very few of them took the time (they were always on a very tight schedule!) to find out about the problems, difficulties, and challenges of the work, apart from a very superficial analysis. Some came to the field and spent a week or two and then became instant “experts.” Many went home and wrote a book about the area and the work, always illustrating it with lots of pictures, often “conned” off the missionaries. We had been told upon arrival on the field: “Write your book the first year, for they never stayed long enough or came back to put their “answers” into practice.
I wasn’t a bit enthusiastic about our “special speaker” when he arrived. He was staying at our mission which could mean a lot of extra work and late hours talking. Secretly, I hoped this fellow wouldn’t be too boring or take up too much valuable time.
More than once when a special speaker came out for a missionary conference, I had felt like Betty Elliott’s fictional character, Margaret Sparhawk, in No Graven Image, when she said:
Mr. Perkins…. proceeded to speak about bearing fruit for Christ, using the fifteenth chapter of John as his text. “The secret, beloved,” Said Mr. Perkins, “is to abide. Now isn’t that simple? You and I get so busy running here and there, doing things for Christ, trying to serve the Lord, when all He tells us to do is abide.” He explained in careful detail how the branches abide in the vine, and left me wondering, as I have wondered all my life, what Jesus meant by the word abide. The secret that Mr. Perkins had set out to divulge was still a secret to me.”
How many times I had experienced the disappointment that was hers. The secret of abiding remained a secret to me too.
But praise Him, “in whom the fatherless finds mercy,” this time the secret was revealed in a brilliant truth. The secret of the Christian life unfolded like the petals on a rose. I had spent long tortured years “working for Christ,” using all the well-known Christian terminology and cliches, and I was tired -dead tired of it. I wanted a rest -a rest from “fighting the good fight of faith.” And the Lord, blessed be His name, reached down into this weary heart and showed me that by death, life would come. He also revealed that life was for living, not dying!
How can I explain what happened? I can’t. All I can do is share with you the revelation which the Lord showed me about Himself. We had been having these special meetings with the four missions in a Royal Air Force chapel in Steamer Point which was surrounded by accordion rolls of barbed wire and armed sentries. The messages were good; they provoked thought. But still, I didn’t grasp the implications of what was being said.
A futile sense of desperation engulfed me. Then why in the world am I out here knocking my head against this solid rock of Islam? How can you say that I don’t love the Lord? Rebellion raised its ugly head. He’s just like all the other speakers, I thought, always telling us that we’re not doing it right! Why don’t they come out here and work? See if they can hack it! Hopelessness, emptiness, futility, and despair were washing over me like huge waves of the sea. I was more than ready to throw in the towel.
Then the major continued in a quiet voice, “None of us can really keep all of these commands.” I thought, “Is he putting himself in my shoes?” Then he said, “look closely at verse 24: ‘Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.’ The Lord isn’t asking or commanding us to do these things, but He Himself will obey His own commands through us as we allow Him to do so. He called us to Himself, and now He wants to do the work in and through us.”
I felt as if i had been hit on the head with a hammer. “What?” I stammered out, “God will do all these things through us?” He then explained that God did not want us to work for Him, but rather wanted to use us as channels through which He could begin to operate. It was as if a great light dawned in my heart and mind. I never had understood it this way before. This experience was greater than when I accepted Christ as my Savior. All the doubt, the frustrations, the anxiety, the utter hopelessness, and the futility melted away under the hot sun. Hallelujah! Christ had at last answered my heart’s cry. What a blessed relief! I couldn’t get over it. And it was so simple! Though this truth was not new, it was to me.
THE FLOWING WATERS
In this wonderful freshness of new life in Christ, I was utterly immersed. For three months my heart bubbled with overflowing joy. The promised blessing surged round and out. I felt as if I were walking on air. Daily I watched expectantly to see what my living Lord was going to do in and through me. Each day began with the prayer, “Thank you, Lord, for what You are going to do today. Don’t let me get in the way. Take all of me - body, soul, spirit, mind, emotion, and will - and make me the vehicle through which You can manifest Yourself.” And the joy, the utter bliss, of being taken up with the living Lord was a sweet foretaste of heaven. In the evening I would sit on the bed by the air conditioner and talk with my dear wife until finally, she, too, came to understand this blessed “truth of truth.”
In the six short months before we were evacuated, my colleagues and I saw more accept Christ than we had seen in fifteen years of previous labor. One later said, “Oh, you were just reaping what you had sown.” Perhaps, but the Reaper was the Lord, and the mode of working was entirely different. “Lord, I don’t know whose hearts you have prepared, but You do, so lead us to them to us,” and He did. Our work was no longer the straining, burdensome toil that it had been before. Now we just left all in His hands, and He did what we could never do. Previously, we always gave mental assent to the truth that the work was “not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,” but we felt that we had to do our part, too. And that involved a lot of strenuous effort!
An article by me which was printed in our mission paper tells a bit of what was happening there in Aden during this time.
THE TERRORISTS HAVE STRUCK AGAIN…
My wife sat reading a bedtime story to our two little girls when a whistling noise cut through the night air, followed by the carr-rump of an explosion.
“What was that?” asked Janie. Fear in her eyes, little Marnie climbed into her mother’s lap. “I don’t know dear; it sounded like another bomb. But remember, Jesus is with us; let’s pray to Him now.” Prayer was made, asking for His protection and then the doors and windows were closed and the overhead fan turned on drown out any further noise.
Outside, searchlights played over the massive volcanic rock that broods over Aden, searching for the terrorists who had fired the bazooka. Truck loads of British Tommies, vehicles protected from hand grenades by heavy screens, roared to the area to cordon off traffic and set up roadblocks. We wondered where the terrorists would strike next.
Another night, and the Bible class came to an end. We went to the door with the eight young Somali men who had listened to the story of Christ’s redeeming love. As we opened the door, we were dazzled by a powerful searchlight mounted on a military vehicle in front of the building. Barbed wire stretched from the mission to the house across the street. British Tommies with snubbed machine guns searched our friends, looking for plastic bombs and grenades. The searchlight swept over the flat roof of the houses, tightly packed one against the other.
Another night and we were listening to the news. “This is your local British Forces broadcasting station. Here is a late bulletin. This evening at approximately 8:40 p.m. a bazooka was fired through the police station window. Two service men were injured and both are in serious condition. At approximately 9:30 p.m. explosive charges were placed under an oil pipeline. The explosive shattered the line and oil is pouring into the harbor and across the causeway. The road over the causeway is closed to all traffic until further notice. That is the end of the local announcements. Now some quiet music for your late evening listening pleasure.” We wondered where the terrorists would strike next.
Another day and Janie came running in from school. “Mommy, our headmaster told us not to pick up any schoolbags or pencils lying around. He said they might have bombs in them, and we could be killed. Mommy, do they want children to die too?” “I don’t know dear, but you must listen to your headmaster. Be very careful. Remember the teenager who came out from England for Christmas holidays? The terrorists threw a bomb into the house where they were having a party and she was killed.”
hatred, violence, bloodshed. Oh Lord, will it never end? How can You work when many people equate us with the hated ‘imperialists’? How can people come to know Christ and His love in circumstances such as these?
Another day two Somali young men came knocking at the door. “We want to talk with you. We are fed up with Islam.” Oh joy, God’s Spirit is not bound. Three hours of counseling later they said, “This is what we want; we want Christ as our Saviour too.” And two stepped over the threshold into a newness of life.
Another day and a girl with whom we had made contact seven years ago came. “I want to be a Christian,” she said, “I’m tired of my religion.” Another added to the Kingdom of our Lord.
Our former cook who had contracted TB and had recently been released from the hospital, but not yet allowed to go back to work, came day after day to sit in the reading room and study the Word. Then he vanished for three months. A week ago he came back and simply said; “I believe.” Another day and two more Somali young men asked to become Christians. Another day three Somali men came into the book room to talk. Soon they were hearing about Christ. One lad, who was eighteen, had come to our Sunday school for years. Now he was ready to accept the message. When I said it would be difficult if they accepted Christ because of their Muslim background, they said, “What, be afraid of man whose breath is in his nose? Did man create us?” And three more entered into the new life of Christ.
Another day and a young girl recently divorced from her husband was attending the clinic. After hearing the message she said she too wanted to become a Christian. Her sister, with whom she was living, took her to to the police station and accused her of becoming a Christian. The police said she was free to do as she wished. She is now receiving regular instruction.
The grenades, the bazookas, the time bombs are going off daily. Curfew is imposed. The streets are patrolled. Violence and bloodshed are the order of the day. Fear and strain are seen in the faces of many. And yet, amid it all, a greater more potent force is working. The Holy Spirit is moving in hearts. Our times are in His hands. Our security is in Him, and we are at perfect rest. Our task in days like these is to be totally available to the Holy Spirit so He may have no hindrance in working through our lives.
Another day. We look forward to see what He will do. With whom will He bring us contact? Whose heart will He open next? The terrorists may strike again - doubtless they will - but even against the backdrop of violence and hatred, God is working in Aden. It’s an exciting life - with HIM!
That’s how it was during our lasts six months of our time in Aden. Another letter written tells the reason for our evacuation.
TERRORISM CLOSES ADEN
Most moves are planned well in advance. Not our move out of Aden! Around the first of the last year, we saw numerous souls being saved. Here was the harvest coming after years of tears and toiling.
The scene was different in the political realm. Terrorism against the British Forces had been going on for some time with plastic bombs, grenades, and bazookas. Then word was receive that terrorists would include “soft targets,” that is, women and children.
A bomb was thrown at the airport into a crowd of children returning to England. Booby traps made out of thermos bottles and school bags began taking their toll. One of our school children was killed a block from the mission. Guarded with machine guns, schools were closed and open periodically.
A senior British police officer was machine-gunned to death while driving to work. The speaker of the Legislative Assembly was machine-gunned to death after a game of tennis. Demands were made to recognize the terrorists as a political party.
When Britain suspended the Constitution and dissolved the Assembly, a riot followed in which over seventy cars were burned and the Danish Mission was burned and looted.
Any white person was automatically ‘British,’ and we were becoming an embarrassment to our national friends. But ‘peace which passes all understanding’ was garrisoning our hearts and at no time was there any real fear.
Our shipping agent missed by seconds a time bomb which blew up his car. I missed another grenade by a few short minutes when it was thrown into a family standing on a corner. The man died, but the wife and the children survived.
Then came instructions from the SIM headquarters in Addis Ababa to close down operations. Some of us were directed home for furlough; some to other appointments. But there were some who could not change their addresses - Sa’eed, Omar, Muhammad, Salah, Hussein, and others. Aden is their home. The name of our little Aden church is “Nasserallah” which is translated: “The Victory of God.” Pray friends, that it may be so.
Because of the extent of the terrorists activities, the Lord led us out in His timing and in His way. We would have been as safe in Aden as in the middle of the U.S.A., but He led us out for other work. The believers were left behind. While our hearts were saddened by leaving them, we knew that our Lord, who was in us to live His life, was also in them to live His life. So we committed them to Him who had said, “I will never fail you nor forsake you.” The station staff was scattered; some to Somalia, some to Ethiopia, some to Australia. We went to California, for it was near our furlough time.
NEW ASSIGNMENT
The first Sunday in our home church after arriving from Aden, the pastor submitted his resignation. Some men in our church said, “The timing is perfect. Bud, you can step in as our pastor now. You have finished your tour of foreign work.” This did seem to me to be the timing of the Lord, so I accepted the pastorate on an interim basis. I stipulated that I would wait upon the Lord as to whether I should remain as the pastor or seek another area of service.
Our family spent ten wonderful months with these dear folk. Then the Lord in unmistakable terms showed us that we were to go to Lebanon. We were to work in the Arabic radio studio to help prepare programs for release over SIM’s radio station, ELWA, which is located in Monrovia, Liberia.
There were unsurmountable difficulties when we arrived, but we had confidence in Him who had called us there. By faith we turned our problems over to Him and watched Him work. And He worked miracles. In time the studio began to operate so that we would communicate effectively with the 110 million Muslims stretching from Morocco to Iraq. The following letter indicates some of the problems. We were thankful that the job was His. In complete reliance upon Him, we moved ahead.
ELWA RECORDING STUDIO
BEIRUT, LEBANON
April, 1967
Dear Fellow Laborers,
On the eve of the Battle of the Marne, French military legend has it that General Foch reported to Commander in Chief Joffre: “Hard pressed on my right. My center is yielding. Impossible to maneuver. Situation excellent. I am attacking.”
Our station ELWA is a David among the Goliaths such as The Voice of the Arabs, Radio Cairo, Radio Moscow, and Radio China. Out from the Goliaths goes the message of nationalism, Communism, Islam, and the happenings of the present topsy-turvy world. Budgets for their broadcasting times are astronomical.
“Cut your budget, pare your operating expenses. Insufficient funds on hand to meet the present costs.” Hard pressed on my right.
“I listened for the first time to your program and wish to know more about Jesus Christ. Can you send me literature to help?” An inquiry from a seeking soul. Postage, literature, books, expense. My center is yielding.
There is excellent program material available to “beef up” our Arabic broadcasts, but… they cost money! Impossible to maneuver.
To get the message of life to the seething multitudes of the Middle East who are like sheep without a shepherd, we need a strong signal. A 200,000-watt transmitter is envisioned to meet this need.
Arabic programs are needed to step up the time coverage into to the Middle East. Bibles, New Testaments, tracts, literature need to be sent to responsive listeners. All are contingent upon His resources. Situation excellent. We are attacking.
Rally round with your prayers and support as we go forth claiming the victory that has already been won!
In His Victory,
Bud Acord
EVACUATION AGAIN
Within a month after that letter was written, we were again being evacuated, this time during the Six-Day War between Israel and the Arabs.
My wife, two daughters, and I ended up on one of the evacuation flights to Athens, Greece. The airlines in their frantic turmoil to evacuate some 5,000 Americans from Beirut lost all but one of our suitcases.
Prior to the evacuation there were strikes and demonstrations. It was almost impossible to get downtown to our bank. Consequently when we were evacuated, we were practically without funds. The U.S. Embassy at the airport set up an emergency loan fund which was a big help. But the expense of four people living in a hotel and buying a few clothes to give us a change quickly consumed our meager funds.
Situations like these can quickly cause frustration and anxiety. What were we going to do? How could we return to the States with no money? We could not go back to Lebanon. Must we sit and wait? But how could we sit there without any finances. What were we going to do?
I must admit in all honesty that there were a couple times - especially when were down to our last drachma - when I questioned God. I wondered if He knew what He was doing. But He did - as always!
In the front of my Bible I had a little excerpt entitled “What To Do In a Crisis” which was written by F.B. Meyer.
Never act in a panic, nor allow man to dictate to thee; calm thyself and be still; force thyself into the quiet of thy closet until the pulse beats normally and the scare has ceased to disturb. When thou art most eager to act is the time when thou wilt make the most pitiable mistakes. Do not say in thine heart what thou wilt or wilt not do, but wait upon God until he makes known His way. So long as that way is hidden, it is clear that there is no need of action, and that He accounts Himself responsible for all the results of keeping thee where thou art.
“OK Lord, You’re responsible, and I thank You for what You are going to do. I haven’t a clue as to what action You are going to take on our behalf.” Another saying written on the flyleaf of my Bible from Andrew Murray was very apropos to our situation:
Cultivate the habit of rejoicing in the assurance that the Divine Wisdom is guiding you, even where you do not yet see the way.
And again we saw the God of miracles at work - always just in time, never too soon, nor never too late.
We were found by a Greek friend who used to be in our mission in Ethiopia and the Sudan. He was now working among his own people in Greece. He led us to a Christian lady who ran a local travel agency. She very graciously secured for us two rooms over a cobbler shop in Lutake, a little village near Corinth. Our finances were quite limited, so our main food was coarse brown bread, cucumbers, and a little milk for the girls. Once we had roasted octopus legs which were a real delicacy.
One morning after breakfast, my wife said she wondered what in the world we were doing there - rearing our kids in such upsetting conditions. But after our morning devotions little Janie prayed; “Lord, thank you for our food. Send us the money that we need, and find our clothes. Amen.” And then in the next breath, “Come, Mommy, let’s go to the beach.” My wife said, “How wonderful that the girls are learning to trust the Lord so completely so early in their lives.” Rather than bemoaning the fact of the unsettled conditions, the children were realizing that the stability found, not in places or things, but in the Person of the Lord.
The following letter was written home while we were in Greece.
ATHENS GREECE
July, 1967
Dear Friends,
A vacation in Greece never entered our remotest thoughts, but due to the Middle-East explosion, here we are!
Situated between the Acropolis and the sea port of Piraeus is a section if Athens called ‘Kallithea.’ Here Greek refugees have come from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East to settle down in their homeland. Here too we find ourselves, refugees among refugees. In a larger sense, we who are His are all refugees in a foreign land, awaiting the time to go to that far country, our true homeland.
We were evacuated by air from Beirut on June 7th, along with thousands of others in the Middle East. No one at that time realized this would be the shortest war in history. The situation has cooled down considerably but it is still tense, and the State Department will not allow us to go back. Bud has filed for a waiver to return, but no dependants are allowed as of yet. So now we are waiting in the home of former SIM missionaries, Mr. and Mrs. Nick Simponis, who graciously allowed us to stay here while they are on vacation in Thrace.
Word was received from our Lebanese friend to whom we turned over our work that tapes are still being made by two lads who worked with us. This is a wonderful answer to prayer and may portend the eventual turning of the work over to them.
Do pray that He who works all things well may work this out for His glory, and that He will guide to a soon return to Lebanon or to the place of His appointment for us. Pray that many disillusioned Ishmaelites may tune in and listen to the message of life that points to the “All Victorious One.”
Pray with us for the locating of our baggage; all but Janie’s suitcase and Dot’s train case have been lost with all of our clothes. Our apartment in Beirut was closed and locked ‘as is.’ Pray too that He shall keep it safe.
Can we not say with Job, “Does not He see my ways and number all of my steps” (Job 31:4)? Our position here is no accident, no accident that occurred while God’s head was turned. There is a purpose, though we cannot understand the purpose. We can still trust that it is part of a plan drafted by a Perfect Mind. How exciting to be caught up into His plans and purposes and to look expectantly to what He is going to do.
Lovingly yours in His sufficiency,
The Acords
BACK TO LEBANON
BEIRUT, LEBANON
August, 1967
Dear Praying Friends,
“He know’s the answer for every situation - if you believe this you will be as ‘panic-proof’ as Jesus Christ.”
How truly blessed to know the deep peace of the reality of a living, indwelling Saviour and to know - He knows - and to simply rest in all that He is, now, for each situation that arises.
The State Department lifted travel restrictions to Lebanon on the 11th of July, and Bud returned on the 16th. Dot and the girls arrived safely back on the 23rd to a grand welcoming feast which our neighbors - Lebanese, Greek, German, and English - in the apartment had prepared. Our apartment with all its contents kept safe for which we praise Him and thank you for praying.
Lebanon is fast returning to normal and the anti-West feeling is not generally noticed. The economy of the country has been hard hit, especially the tourist business, but it is slowly recovering.
Eighty-five programs have been produced since returning from Athens, and now our studio is in the process of being dismantled. A printing press moved in next door which forced us to leave because of the noise. Praise the Lord for answered prayer in finding another location which is far superior to the damp, humid basement in which we had been working. Now we shall be on the top floor of an apartment, out of the busy city, and with a lovely view as an ‘extra.’
From our mailbox this past we have received letters in response to our radio program from Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Liberia, Nigeria, France, Iraq, Egypt, and Syria - a wide spectrum of the Muslim world. Pray that the messages will come through loud and clear.
We found long-time friends from Aden in the midst of busy Beirut who were in Ramallah, Jordan during the war. They escaped to Amman with hardly anything, and this is their second ‘exodus’ from Israel. Do pray for them that God will guide and supply in the days ahead.
Pray much for ELWA’s signal going out to the war-torn Congo, Nigeria, and the Middle East. May the message be the herald of His soon coming. MARANATHA!
In deep Christian love,
The Acords
BEIRUT, LEBANON
June, 1968
Dear Prayer Partners.
We live in exciting days and it’s hard to know what the next day may bring forth. How wonderful to know “The Lord of all our Days” and how blessed to rest in Him and see His hand guiding, directing, and bringing to pass His plans and purposes.
“In Thy strong hand, I lay me down; so shall the work be done. For who can work so wondrously, as the Almighty One?”
The ‘Rest of Faith’ is so practical; just resting day by day in all that He is and allowing Him to do the work in His way and for His glory. It’s a sure answer for life’s many frustrations!
It was a year ago when we flew out as evacuees for the second time from the Middle East, not knowing whether we would ever return or not. How frustrating it would be to try to figure out our own plans! How much easier to rest in the plans Another has made for you.
Since coming here, we’ve seen some 1300+ programs go out, plus hundreds of Gospels, tracts booklets, and correspondence courses. Letters have come from all over the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe, mainly from Muslims who are eager to know more about our Lord. It’s fascinating to see the hand of the Lord at work.
Our hearts were thrilled by a letter received last week from one of our Aden Arab Christians - one who came to know the Lord in Aden when he was forty. He has been the representative in London of the now defunct “South Arabian Federation” and is retiring from that position. He wrote: “While the new Aden Ambassador prepares to present his credentials pray with me that I shall be worthy of the calling to present to Him those ‘credentials’ which He had prepared for me and every one of you to be His Ambassadors at large. It is a fascinating experience day by day to watch the hand of God at work on His master plan for mankind. The love of God and the obedience or rebellion of man are evident everywhere. I experiment on this knowledge daily and long to share it with all. Since it is only He who guides to the knowledge of Himself, and since He has appointed men and women across the world to be instruments of that knowledge, let us pray in action for one another to make it common and effective through all.”
Praise the Lord for this born-again Muslim man from the barren rocks of Aden.
In His Great Love,
The Acords
BEIRUT, LEBANON
March, 1970
Dear Praying Friends,
Shades of Aden! Again the rattle of machine-gun - the sharp staccato bursts of automatic rifle fire - the ka-rummph of rockets.
Over a little rise of the pine-covered slopes from our flat lies a Palestinian refugee camp, one of many here in Lebanon. For months there had been shooting in this area, but it was simply the training of the commando forces which harass the enemy to the south. Now it was heavy and sharp, and we could see and smell the smoke of gunpowder. It had started sometime in the black of night - or was it morning - we’re not sure except that it was pitch black outside. Our smaller girl, Marnie, cried to her mommy. “What is it, Mommy? What is it?” She had been reared in the turbulent fighting in Aden and perhaps this brought back long forgotten memories. Mommy quieted her and have her a glass of water. Then she said, “Oh, I know Mommy, they are starting the Easter celebrations.” Windows and shutters were closed and soon she was again fast asleep. Easter is celebrated here in the Near East by Christians in many different ways and the use of firecrackers is one. (These weren’t firecrackers!)
It was the Thursday before ‘Good Friday’ (Yom al Hazenah, ‘the day of sadness’ in Arabic). It was a sad day to be sure; many were killed and wounded as the battle flared on and off for hours. At our recording studio we continued to record messages; fortunately our studio was soundproof enough that the ka-rumph of the rockets didn’t enter.
That evening it was deadly still with only sporadic firing. We sat on the balcony of our flat and looked over the city that was torn with strife and tension, and wondered how long the freedom to work here would last. It’s anyone’s guess; God alone knows. The transistor radio was switched on at nine p.m. and clearly across the ether waves came the voice of Dr. Suhail Zarifa in Arabic. “This is Radio Station ELWA broadcasting to the Middle East from Monrovia, Liberia.” Then began one of the programs which had been produced here in Beirut.
Where the Atlantic Ocean washes the sands of Liberia in West Africa, the message was beamed across the sandy wastes of the Sahara Desert to Algeria, Libya, Egypt, and into Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq. Over the airwaves went the message of a God of love who can bring peace to these turbulent, strife-ridden lands.
Easter, the remembrance day of our risen Lord - triumphant over death, hell, and the grave. “He lives, He loves, Christ Jesus lives today,” and He lives here too, amid the gun battles, the hatred, the tension, the bitterness. He alone is the answer to this war-torn area; neither the politicians nor the U.N. have the answer. Will you pray with us that the messages of Christ’s redeeming love will find a dwelling place in hearts filled with fear and hatred and replace it with love and peace and the reality of a living Savior? Pray, too, that this land will not fall to forces that would cause the missionary work to close. And brethren - pray for us!
In His Abounding Grace,
The Acords
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO
September, 1972
Dear Co-Laborers in Christ,
Greetings in Him whom the Arabs call Al-Mujib (The One Who Responds to Every Need). Isn’t He our Wonderful Lord? Indeed He is!
1965: Evacuate Aden; Leave for Los Angeles
1966: Los Angeles to Beirut, Lebanon
1967: Evacuate to Greece (Six-Day War)
1968: Hazmieh to Sabtieh (within Lebanon)
1969: Al Humduililah (Praise God); we didn’t move.
1970: Beirut to Los Angeles
1971: Los Angeles to Colorado Springs.
1972: “Daddy, are we going to have to move again?” queried Janie and Marnie.
The work with the International Christian Broadcasters was completed (we were on loan to ICB from SIM) and so was spread the matter before the Lord.
“No qualifications on your guidance, Lord. Wherever You want us, that is where we want to be, whether in Lebanon, Liberia, Ethiopia, Ghana, U.S., or wherever else; for in the center of Your will alone is perfect peace - geographical location has nothing to do with it.”
So we waited on the Lord and wrote to our mission director. There were many areas and countries in which we could work, but he said, “Seek God’s will as to where He wants you.”
God heard the heart cry of our two little girls who had done a lot of moving in their short lives and for now we remain in Colorado Springs. Bud is taking up a regional representative post for the mission which covers the states of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming Kansas, North and South Dakota. Only a few months back this position was not open - but in His timing He arranged it all.
The Arabs have another name for God: “As Sabur” (He Who Times All Things Perfectly).
Al-Mujib and As Sabur is our Lord who only does wondrous things, Amen!
Pray with us and for us as we move into this new ministry. Pray that God will make of Bud “a sharp threshing instrument, new, and having teeth.” We are also working with some of our beloved Ishmaelites in this area.
Yours In His Love,
The Acords
CONCLUSION
In her song, “Anywhere with Jesus,” the song-writer Jessie Pounds, sums up our testimony to God’s constant grace and goodness to us.
Anywhere with Jesus can I safely go,
Anywhere He leads me in this world below,
Anywhere without Him dearest joys would fade,
Anywhere with Jesus I am not afraid.
Anywhere with Jesus over land and sea,
Telling souls in darkness of salvation free,
Ready as He summons me to go or stay,
Anywhere with Jesus when He points the way.
Anywhere! Anywhere! Fear I cannot know
Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go.
That’s the summation - anywhere with Jesus who said, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” We have found that geographical location is not the criterion for the Lord’s service. The criterion is the center of His will - only and always. And so we rejoice in the ministry He now has for us here in the States.
We would not trade our experiences in the Middle East for all the coffee in Ethiopia. However, we don’t look back on them. Our God is the great I AM of the present tense. We are experiencing His all-sufficiency day by day in the work which He has for us now. We have found, wherever we may be, that all He wants from us is that we be available to Him, twenty-four hours in the day, Then He can work in and through us in whatever way He chooses. When we do this, then we see, not what we can do for Him, but what He can and will do through us. There is a world of difference between the two.
To know this “rest of faith” in our Lord has been the transformation of our Christian lives, which is summed up in Galatians 2:20 (N.E.B.)
“I have been crucified with Christ: the life I now live is not my life, but the life which Christ lives in me; and my present bodily life is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
His life in us is all that is necessary to meet the most trying demands of the here and now, whatever and wherever they might be.
Although it may seem that the most difficult and trying times were in the Middle East, we have had our share of them right here in the homeland as well. We have found Him absolutely sufficient for each and every one of them.
“Now may the God of peace - (Who is) the Author and the Giver of peace - and Who brought again from among the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood (that sealed, ratified) the everlasting agreement (covenant, testament), strengthen (complete, perfect) and make you what you ought to be, and equip you with everything good that you may carry out His will; (while He Himself) works in you and accomplishes that which is pleasing in HIs sight, through Jesus Christ, the Messiah; to Whom be the glory forever and ever - to the ages of ages. Amen - so be it.” Hebrews 13:20-21 (Amplified Bible)
EPILOGUE
It has been twelve years since this little testimony of God’s grace was written. Our two girls, Janie and Marnie, are now happily married and now Dot and I have moved up into the mountains west of Colorado Springs. Our little home is surrounded by pines and fir trees and is named “SHILOH” which means “THE REST GIVER.” We find rest here away from the hustle and bustle of the city as have many others who have enjoyed the serenity of its location.
The years have seemingly flown by, but they have been and are ever filled with awe and wonder at the unique way in which our wonderful Lord works in the lives of men and women, boys and girls.
Our travels have taken us back to Africa a number of times and twice back to our beloved, beleaguered Beirut. The Lord has been pleased to use our experience as a help to many a tired soldier of the cross, both missionaries and pastors alike.
Major Ian Thomas has two Torchbearer Bible Schools here in the U.S., one in Colorado and one in Texas, where I have the privilege of teaching for a week at a time during each semester. It has been a real joy to see these young students come alive with the truth of the indwelling Christ. How wonderful that they will not need to spend the fruitless, wasted years of wandering around in the waste-howling wilderness.
The Lord also led us to an Arab whom we had formerly known in Beirut. From seemingly nothing, God has brought about through this friend an Arabic ministry that is reaching out to thousands of Arabs that are now in the U.S. and Canada, as well as other parts of the world.
Our Lord has given Dot a varied ministry to women of all ages through Bible studies and personal counseling. She says that they years of mothering two small girls have passed all too quickly and yet through these experiences she has learned to depend on the Lord consequently is better equipped to teach and counsel young mothers.
“And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about…” Yes, the stories are endless of how our Lord is actively at work in the lives of many people, young and old alike, and it is exciting.
What a wonderful truth we continue to share with His children who are fearful because of the events that are taking place in this old world, tottering on the brink of eternity, i.e., “for we realize that our life in this world is actually His life lived in us” (1 John 4:17 Philips).
“Now to the One who can keep you from falling and set you in the presence of His glory, jubilant and above reproach, to the only God our Savior, be glory and majesty, might and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all time, now, and forevermore. Amen” (Jude 24-25 NEB).
FDA
“SHILOH”
Divide, Colorado
1984
