<TITLE>02. Par 5-8</TITLE>L-5 While I was in Africa I kind of fell in love with Roy Weatherby's rifles. But I never could think I could afford one of them. And so they was... Some of my friends would've probably got me one if I'd have let them. But I couldn't... As I told Brother Thomas this afternoon, I couldn't think of letting some of my friends buy one of those expensive rifles for me, when I know missionaries hasn't got shoes on their feet. I couldn't feel right with the rifle.
So a friend of mine came. And I had another rifle there that a man gave Billy Paul. And he run the Weatherby Company in Indiana. And he said, "Let me have it bored out for you, and make a Weatherby rifle out of it." Well, happened to be, he never bored it right, and I put the shell in to fire. About six tons of explosion right in my face, and about as high as those curtains, just red fire. The barrel went on the fifty-yard line, the stock went this way, and the gun melted in my hands. And I couldn't see and hear nothing for a few moments.

L-6 And when I could pull my hands open like this, to get my eyes open, this eye on this side, I could see blood shooting out like that. And I held my hand up like this, and this tooth was knocked off here where a piece of shrapnel went in--sewed a big ring around my face. And fifteen pieces just made a half-moon right under my eye and went all the way to the back of the eyeball, but never touched the sight.
And so when the doctor examined me, when he took me over there, he said, "Only thing I know, the good Lord must've been setting there with His servant or you wouldn't even have a head and shoulders on, for all that explosion."

L-7 So these are all good days and good times for me. I'm--I'm glad to be here, just... So I feel by that, that the Lord wasn't finished with me yet. And maybe wants me to try to speak a little bit more for His people and to try and help. And I'm here to do all I can to make life a little easier for you, and try to help the best that I know how. So you'll pray for me, I'm sure.
And... Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Brother Vayle was just telling me that the amplifier here, it's only--it's got just a small mike. Can you hear back there all right? You can hear. That's good.
So I never lost my sight, nor my hearing. I got a whistle tied down out here somewheres yet. And this right eye has got astigmatism in it. I suppose that's the way you pronounce it, it's nervous, shakes. But it'll be all right; it'll be just fine. So everything will be just fine and dandy. And I know it was for some purpose. We know that our Lord is always true, when He said He'd make everything work that way. So I'm just trusting it to be that way.

L-8 He has told me many things, and let me bypass many troubles. But you know, He can't let me bypass them all. We got to... We ministers have to suffer as well as you people there. The Lord sometimes speaks and lets us know how to bypass troubles, and do things. But remember, we get right into those places too, where we have to suffer right along with the rest of them. And it's really more harder on us then it is on you, seems like. He just holds off a long time for us, you know, doesn't answer all the time. So but we're thankful that He always comes riding in on the wave. And so we're thankful for that.


<A HREF="P3">Next Page</A>