From the Assemblies of God New Service

** BEYOND GRIEF - Feb 27, 2004

   "I must be crazy," Darla Weaver thought, trembling as she dialed
   the number to Pregnancy Assistance Center North. "My abortion was
   18 years ago. What am I doing?"

   You might not guess it unless you've been through what Darla
   Weaver, wife of Assemblies of God Chaplain and soon to be A/G U.S.
   Missionary Randy Weaver, has been through. But, oddly enough, her
   story is like that of thousands of other women. She carried with
   her the guilt of an abortion from the time she had it until one
   frantic night in 2001 when she made that near-hysterical phone
   call that would change her life forever.

   THE SET-UP

   Darla grew up on a cattle ranch in Texas. As a child, she was
   abused and molested. As a teenager, like many others who have been
   molested, she searched for real love in a boyfriend, only to find
   herself pregnant and afraid. She was just sixteen. She didn't want
   to abort, but through various factors and influences in her life,
   she felt she had to. She and her boyfriend went to the abortion
   clinic twice. They just couldn't bring themselves to do it the
   first time, but the second time she felt she had no choice, so
   she did.

   THE FIRST PHASE OF HEALING

   Darla was miserable and numb. "All I knew was that my baby was in
   heaven, but I was going to hell. I had to find a way to get to
   heaven so I could hold him," she says. "My arms actually ached. I
   missed him that much." So her search began. Turning to a church in
   Temple, Texas, she found the Lord.

   When she got saved, she did receive an amount of healing from
   being abused. But the grief over her baby remained.

   "Many women who have abortions take years and years to even admit
   their true emotions. We deny ourselves the right to grieve,
   because we were the ones who took the life of our unborn child.
   How could we grieve over something we chose?" Darla explains.

   And yet, the grief was there. Though she had gotten saved, she
   experienced years of "a downhill sliding" deeper and deeper into
   the traps of guilt, anger and shame.

   POST ABORTION SYNDROME

   After having an abortion -- or often multiple abortions -- many
   women experience what is called Post Abortion Stress. Behaviors
   and feelings include guilt, anxiety disorders, avoidance
   behaviors, psychological numbing, depression and thoughts of
   suicide, flashbacks, fertility and bonding issues, survival guilt,
   and self-abusive behaviors.

   "Post Abortion Stress Disorder is a form of Post Traumatic Stress
   Disorder that Vietnam Vets experienced. Abortion is a trauma that
   affects a woman that deeply," says Darla.

   REDEDICATION

   Darla experienced nearly all of the post-abortion symptoms in one
   form or another. She tried to kill herself twice. She abused drugs
   and alcohol to cope. At times she cried uncontrollably. And most
   long-lasting were the numbness, anger and flashbacks of the
   abortion and events surrounding it.

   A NEW LIFE

   Three years after salvation, Darla finally surrendered her entire
   life to Christ. "I had given my heart to Christ, but because of my
   past, I couldn't accept God's love and forgiveness to use however
   He chose." Shortly afterward she met and married A/G Chaplain
   Randy Weaver.

   Darla went, within only a few months, from a valley of desolation
   to climbing the mountaintop of forgiveness, marriage and ministry.
   As a chaplain's wife, she found herself in a position to minister
   to others. And she did. She used her testimony to share and pray
   with women who had abortions whenever she was in contact with
   someone who shared the experience with her.

   But still Darla was not completely healed herself. The abortion
   wound was still deeply buried inside, in an area of her heart that
   she couldn't deal with on her own.

   THE FINAL STAGE OF HEALING

   "On average," says Darla, "A woman won't come for help until ten
   to twenty years after an abortion. I have even heard of women who
   carry their secret to the nursing home before dealing with the
   pain."

   Flash forward to 2001. Darla and her husband, still a Chaplain and
   US Missionary, had been married thirteen years. The abortion was
   almost eighteen years ago. Despite having two beautiful children,
   and a powerful, effective ministry with her husband, the guilt and
   shame and anger over her abortion still haunted her.

   "In a desperate attempt to learn how to love, I picked up a book
   in a bookstore, and heard God say, 'I want you to read this.'" So
   she began reading the book, called "Won by Love: Norma McCorvey,
   Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade, Speaks Out for the Unborn As She Shares
   Her New Conviction for Life." "It was very powerful, and I
   identified with it so much," says Darla. "At the end of the book,
   it says to contact your local Pregnancy Crisis Center if you are
   having a hard time dealing with an abortion."

   "So I called and told them that I wasn't pregnant, that I needed
   to talk with someone about what happened 18 years ago. I thought
   they'd think I was crazy. But I was wrong. I guess I thought only
   teenagers went to Pregnancy Crisis Centers, but it turns out they
   help a good amount of middle-aged, adult women whose abortions
   were years and years ago."

   The counselor Darla spoke with assured her that she was perfectly
   normal, and that she would be able to make it. Through their
   recommendation, she enrolled in a Bible study called Post-Abortion
   Counseling and Education (PACE).

   "It was there that I finally saw how much this had affected me,"
   says Darla. "Abortion affected my whole outlook on life. I felt I
   couldn't trust anyone, that I was being judged, and that I
   couldn't reach out to anyone. This one act became who I was, not
   what I did. I was a monster in my own eyes. I couldn't see myself
   the way God sees me. I couldn't feel and I couldn't love from my
   heart. But the wall between God and me finally came crashing
   down."

   A NEW OUTLOOK

   In this safe community of other post-abortive women, Darla felt
   able to open up and share her deepest feelings. It was there that
   she was finally able to accept and believe God's deep love for
   her, and His forgiveness. With His help through the program, she
   was able to work out her feelings. And this time, she found the
   complete healing and forgiveness she had so long lived without.

   WHAT'S IN A NAME

   Months before entering the PACE program, Darla felt a strong
   desire to name the baby she had aborted so many years before. She
   felt it was a boy, and his name would be Joshua. "I know it seems
   strange at first to people who haven't been through it," she says,
   "But it was amazing. When I went through the PACE program, naming
   the baby was one of the things we were encouraged to do! The other
   women in the study found comfort in it, too. Naming Joshua brought
   me a type of relief. He was a baby. He was a little person that
   God loved and had a purpose for."

   Every year, as part of the family tradition, each of Randy and
   Darla's children get a new ornament to put on the tree. That year,
   Joshua got an ornament, too.

   -- Janella Hartsell
                                                                      Back to Top
-----------------------------------------------------------
** MINISTERING IN DIFFICULT PLACES: A CHAPLAIN'S CALL Feb 18, 2004

   More than 600 "enemy combatants" of the United States are being
   held by the military at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay,
   Cuba. Because of intense scrutiny from the media and international
   community and the fact that the war on terrorism has no end in
   sight, life at the prison for those who serve there can be
   stressful -- especially for chaplains since one of their own was
   charged with breaching security last October.

   But where others might crumple under pressure Assembly of God Army
   Reserve Chaplain (Maj.) Daniel Odean, the Joint Detention
   Operations Group chaplain at Guantanamo, is flourishing. The
   reason for his success, he reluctantly suggests, is the fact that
   he is only doing what he signed on to due: serve those in his
   charge.

   Recently, Assemblies of God US Missions spoke with Odean about
   serving as a chaplain while negotiating difficult and stressful
   circumstances. Following is our exclusive interview with him.

   AGUSM: What are your main responsibilities?

   Odean: I serve as a chaplain for Joint Task Force (JTF) Guantanamo
   focusing primarily on the Joint Detention Operations Group (JDOG)
   that consists of service members from all branches.

   The JTF conducts operations for detaining, securing, sustaining
   and worldwide escort operations of suspected terrorists to Camp
   Delta (the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay) in support of Operation
   Enduring Freedom and Global War on Terrorism.

   I also serve as an advisor to the commander on religious, moral,
   ethical and morale issues.

   As the JDOG Chaplain I minister to more than 1,000 troopers, but
   also ensure that appropriate free exercise of religion is
   maintained throughout Camp Delta.

   This is done through advising command, communicating with the
   Military Police and ensuring that the detainee population has the
   religious items they are allowed to have and which are approved.

   Finally, I conduct worship services. I pioneered the "Soul
   Survivor" program, which is a contemporary spirit-filled worship
   experience. The JTF Command has supported it and the response has
   been great. God is using "SS" to touch the JTF!

   AGUSM: How do you respond to critics who say you, as a Christian
   chaplain, cannot meet the needs of Muslim captives?

   Odean: I am responsible to carry out the Commander's Religious
   Support Program and intent. At Camp Delta, the Commander is
   concerned with the Military Police's ability to maintain a high
   standard of military professionalism and excellence.

   I serve the Commander by advising on issues and concerns
   [regarding the detainees] that have been communicated to me while
   I am interacting with the MPs.

   This is all part of military ministry; it also creates
   opportunities to establish rapport and credibility that opens
   doors for ministry.

   AGUSM: In what ways do the detainees turn to you for help?

   Odean: I help manage detainee religious issues and promote
   religious sensitivity. I do not want to lead anyone to believe I
   have a counseling type relationship with the detainees. But I
   assist the Military Police with mission focus and by remaining
   firm, fair and consistent toward the detainees.

   AGUSM: At times you must feel that those you serve and the media
   scrutinize anything you do as a chaplain -- how do you deal with
   such pressures?

   Odean: This is a highly visible mission and the pressure, which
   that brings doesn't really bother, effect or intimidate me.
   However, I am very aware of it. I have to rely on God's wisdom and
   direction.

   I am supporting the mission by ministering to the spiritual needs
   of America's troopers while at the same time, ensuring that the
   detainees are able to exercise the essential basics of their
   faith.

   AGUSM: What do you say to those who say Guantanamo Bay is just
   another example of the United States being at war with Islam?

   Odean: U.S. Policy is that we are not at war with the religion of
   Islam; we are at war with terrorism. We are at war with the
   enemies of freedom. We are defending freedom here at Guantanamo
   Bay. America and the world are safer places because of missions
   such as this one and many others our military are involved in.

   AGUSM: How do you stay spiritually fit?

   Odean: I deal with pressures by spending time in prayer and
   studying God's word. I seek God on how to speak life into
   situations here. I pray for God to hover over this place and that
   He would stir the hearts of people. I also have a great Church
   Family here at Guantanamo Bay, which provides support.

   AGUSM: In doing your service how is Christ evident in your life?

   Odean: I make Jesus evident by being positive, understanding,
   willing to listen, supportive, steady and consistent in all
   things. When troopers speak to me about problems, issues or
   concerns, I try to focus them on the bigger picture of life while
   applying the Scriptures and asking if I can pray with them. I try
   to let them know they don't have to do this on their own, but with
   God's help and strength, they can accomplish all things.

   AGUSM: What lessons have you learned by ministering at Guantanamo?

   Odean: God has a purpose in all things and I've learned to trust
   Him more. I have had to trust Him to watch over my family. It is
   not easy to minister while separated from your loved ones, but one
   learns what commitment and sacrifice are all about.

   Deployments like this stretch people. Sacrifice and
   selfless-service are expected and cherished in the military. I
   have learned that America is a better and safer country because of
   those who are committed to serving in our nation's military.

   AGUSM: What has been the toll on your family during this
   deployment?

   Odean: Brenda, my wife, is a strong person. She is understanding
   and supportive. I could not be effective in military ministry
   without her unselfish support and her holding things together on
   the home front with our three kids. She has a harder job than me
   any day! She's my hero!

   AGUSM: What would you say to someone who is contemplating becoming
   a chaplain?

   Odean: We need more spirit-filled military chaplains. Yes, it is
   challenging and demands sacrifice, but the Kingdom of God is to be
   advanced and freedom needs defending. It's time to step up to the
   plate and allow God to use you in mighty way.

   For more information about the A/G Chaplaincy program, see
   <http://chaplaincy.ag.org/>.

   -- Kirk Noonan
                                                                        Back to Top
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
** CHURCH OFFERS MORE THAN SPIRITUAL TONIC - Feb 11, 2004

   They come for worship, teaching and an oil change.

   With a holistic approach to the role of a congregation, people who
   attend Cedar Park Assembly of God in Bothell, Washington, turn to
   their church for help with everything from a sputtering car engine
   to anger management, from buying clothes to cutting compact discs,
   from getting married to being buried.

   Joe Fuiten, pastor of Cedar Park since 1981, has stretched the
   definition of church, moving beyond the Sunday morning service to
   meeting needs from Monday to Saturday.

   "What I want is the church to be the center of the community,"
   Fuiten says.

   To accomplish that, Cedar Park has four car mechanics on staff,
   offering a once-a-month fix-your-car day where costs include parts
   only. The church recently opened a 15,000-square-foot thrift
   clothing store, has a funeral home and cemetery, a sound studio
   for recording, a private kindergarten through 12th grade school
   that is the largest in the state with an enrollment of 1,536, an
   after-school arts program and eight licensed counselors.

   It's all aimed at linking to the community, providing
   possibilities for growth.

   "We create ministry outside of the church setting," Fuiten says.
   "We relate the mechanic to the Good Samaritan. The modern-day
   equivalent is repairing vehicles."

   Attendance isn't just the number of people in church on Sunday
   morning. Counting Spanish and Japanese services, the private
   school and the seven other campuses where services are held, more
   than 5,000 people regularly attend. Assistance provided by the
   church is based on a sliding pay scale, dependent upon income. As
   a result, only about 30 percent of the costs come from the
   offering plate and 70 percent from fees.

   Cedar Park's car repair ministry is three years old and is managed
   by Craig Brandenburg, who previously operated his own car shop for
   20 years. "The response has been incredible," he says. "We've had
   people get saved. We've had people get reconnected to the church.
   I'm overwhelmed daily with calls. We just try to show the love
   of Christ."

   For more information see the Cedar Park Assembly of God web
   site.
                                                                              Back to Top
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

** EVANGELIST DAVE ROEVER MINISTERS IN IRAQ - Feb 3, 2004

   Over 30 years ago, while serving in Vietnam in the Mekong Delta
   area, a white phosphorus grenade exploded six inches from Dave
   Roever's face leaving his face and body severely burned and
   damaged. This past holiday season, December 28 through January 10,
   2004, God called Roever to the Middle East to do perhaps what no
   other evangelist could do -- have access and minister to U.S.
   military troops and commanders in the Iraqi theater of war.

   While contemplating whether or not to attempt a visit to Iraq,
   Roever, an Assemblies of God evangelist, received a personal
   invitation by the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force to visit the
   troops. "I didn't need much encouragement, booming voices from
   heaven or hand-written notes..." Roever says. "My love for the
   military has not waned with the years, but has increased in these
   dangerous times. Yes, I felt very much the urging from the heart
   of God to minister to those who lay down their lives for others.
   Dangerous or not, I had to go."

   When Roever arrived by C-130 aircraft, which orange-peeled
   (spiraled) into a combat landing, there was no mistaking the
   serious risk that accompanied this ministry.

   Roever's first ministry stop was the Mortuary. Here the remains of
   U.S. service members and Coalition Partners who die in action are
   sent and processed. It is a solemn place where Roever was able to
   minister to the soldiers stationed there.

   From there, Roever was allowed to visit the Detention Center where
   "guests" from the "Deck of Cards" are located and then on to the
   military compound -- a former Saddam Hussein palace.

   That afternoon, Roever, his assistant Sean Campbell, Chaplain
   (Colonel) Douglas Carver and Master Sergeant Frank Zepp, chaplain
   assistant, traveled to the military hospital in Baghdad. This trip
   proved unforgettable as God's timing, once again, proved impeccable.

   The group arrived at the hospital and was informed that less than
   an hour ago, casualties had arrived. A convoy had been attacked;
   two soldiers had been killed and five others seriously wounded.

   As the group moved into the hospital and up the stairs, "A strange
   odor permeated my nostrils," says Zepp. "It will be a smell that
   will never leave me." Roever immediately recognized the smell, but
   said nothing.

   The group was informed several of the soldiers have already been
   operated on and were resting, so they are escorted into ICU Ward 2.
   Here, surrounded by comrades, a soldier lies still . . . he has
   shrapnel lodged in his neck near his spine. Roever, Carver and
   hospital Chaplain Roderick Mills gently lay hands upon the soldier
   and pray over him.

   The group made its way toward ICU Ward 1. The odor noticed
   earlier, now became more powerful than ever. As they entered the
   ward, they saw a young soldier lying on a table, doctors working
   frantically over him. The soldier had third degree burns over 100
   percent of his body. The young man was conscious. He was dying.

   The smell? Burned flesh. The scene is indelibly imprinted in
   every mind.

   "The soldier looked at peace, but the treatment he was receiving
   looked excruciating," relates Zepp. "No, he was not ugly, nor
   repulsive; he was a beautiful human being...."

   Roever moved to the young man's bedside. The doctors pause and ask
   Roever to pray for the young man. As Roever prayed, emotion and the
   presence of God filled the room, tears spilling silently from
   every eye.

   "That hospital was no longer a hospital, but a sanctuary," Roever
   would later say. "The bed that [the soldier] was lying on was not
   a bed; it was an altar. And lying on that altar was not just some
   soldier, but a sacrifice for the cost of freedom!"

   The young soldier survived a few more days before dying in a
   stateside hospital surrounded by family and a chaplain. "I had the
   privilege of praying with him on one of his last days on earth,"
   Roever says.

   As Roever continued on his trip, ministering to hundreds of
   soldiers, he used this impacting first-day experience to speak
   into their lives.

   Although the dangers of such a trip would seem readily apparent
   through the ongoing media coverage, it's not until one reads the
   "diary-style" reports of the chaplains escorting and meeting with
   Roever that the balance between life and death become almost
   palatable. On more than one trip, gun safeties were released and
   readied to fire. The reality of combat just a breath away. Though,
   as one chaplain succinctly said in reflection, "You can't know
   what it's really like unless you've experienced it."

   However, God's hand of protection is over Roever during his entire
   visit. He traveled to 14 different locations, often by Humvee or
   Blackhawk helicopter, and remained unscathed.

   During Roever's grueling travel schedule, he received what he
   called a surprising level of respect and access from the Armed
   Services. He was able to visit and pray with Lt. General Sanchez,
   the man in charge of all military activities in Iraq, as well as a
   number of camps and commanders.

   "The greatest and most wonderful surprise was to see the level of
   commitment, determination and will to win, regardless of personal
   sacrifice, by our incredible troops serving for our freedom
   throughout Iraq," he says.

   "I was privileged to minister to hundreds of soldiers from Baghdad
   to Tikrit," Roever says. "The open heart and tender spirit of the
   troops made ministry extremely easy. I came across hundreds and
   hundreds of soldiers I had met with on previous occasions. I was
   no stranger at any time throughout the entire country."

   The time Roever spent in Iraq proved meaningful to hundreds of
   troops. But Roever is quick to point out that today's military
   chaplains are the ones to be commended and supported.

   "The hearts of our military fighting men and women are very tender
   at this time," Roever states. "The chaplain is becoming a hero to
   the troops because today's chaplains don't hesitate one second to
   be on the front lines where the smells of smoke, blood, burned
   flesh and gun powder singe the nostrils. The chaplains are
   fulfilling a role today I could only have dreamed of experiencing
   in Vietnam. God bless our President and military leadership who
   see the value of the role of the chaplain in today's military.
   They are doing an awesome job in Iraq and Afghanistan."

   Roever himself returned from the experience, changed. Having
   recently received the Purple Heart from the U.S. Navy (34 years
   late) and having toured the region including Afghanistan and now
   Iraq, he says a "sense of completion is taking place" in his
   own life.

   "I thank God I have been able to serve in the capacity I am now
   serving, which I honestly feel is more productive than my services
   rendered during Vietnam," Roever says. "It is a pleasure to
   represent the body of Christ and certainly the Assemblies of God
   in such a fashion."

   More information about Dave Roever's ministry.
   Learn more about becoming a chaplain.

   -- Dan Van Veen                                            Back to Top