CREATIVE CELEBRATION

 

It is not every day that a person attends a 100^th birthday party. Carmen and I had that privilege recently. Her aunt, Gladys Toews, celebrated one hundred years. However, it was more than just a celebration of a hundred years on earth Those gathered in Waseca, Minnesota, celebrated a life lived for the glory of God.

Carmen’s brother, Don Odens, was asked to share a brief history of the ministry of Gladys and her husband Jake Toews. They spent most of their adult lives serving as missionaries in the Philippine Islands. They were involved in the organizing of more than two hundred churches in that country.

Two of the stories Don shared provided a fascinating insight into the lives Jake and Gladys shared together. When Jake was eight years old, the offering plates were being passed in church. When the plate came to him, he set it on the floor and stepped into it. “I am giving myself to serve the Lord,” he announced to the congregation. That was the spirit with which he and Gladys served their entire lives.

The political leaders in the Philippines were faced with several areas of rebellion in those days. They were glad to give missionaries freedom to work in those provinces because they knew that if the people came to Christ, they would be good citizens. The Toews, along with fellow missionary Jim Cook, decided to make a movie to show people back home what they were facing. So, they hired a group of men to play the part of the rebels in the film. Only later did they discover that they had actually paid some of the rebels to play themselves in the film.

It was a joy to share this birthday celebration with Aunt Gladys who has been a widow for several years. It was an even greater joy to remember the faithful service she and her husband rendered to the cause of Christ.