PREFACE

During my many travels to the various mission fields in the nations where we sponsor workers and projects, I have experienced many “divine appointments”; encounters with people and situations which years later proved to be of great significance both historically and spiritually. The beginning of one of these encounters took place the month I returned  from Germany’s Mission, exactly 40 years ago.   Below, I have published the story in full.  It is a Christmas gift to you which I trust will encourage you in your faith walk with God. 

A CHRISTMAS STORY by R.K. Ulrich

From my seat in the balcony, I glanced around the white cathedral’s sanctuary, festively decorated with hundreds of red poinsettias, filled to capacity with men and women in their best attire.  The massive, magnificent pipe organ above the altar provided a majestic background for the 100 voice choir and full orchestra of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church (CRPC) as the magnificent annual Christmas performance of Händel‘s Messiah echoed throughout the building.  Leaning back, while enjoying the rich beauty of the sights and sounds of the music, pondering the profound depth of scripture verses from Isaiah to Revelation describing our Savior, I began sobbing and simply could not stop.  It was a heart cry of intercession on behalf of the hundreds of wonderful brothers and sisters I had met from the underground, suffering church in countries behind the Iron Curtain while serving a two year tenure with an East European Mission located in München, Germany. Just a few weeks prior to this, I had returned permanently to the States from my stay at the Mission with a commission from the Lord: a vision of a bridge spanning America, Europe, and the Soviet Union with the words, “Return to the States and be a Bridge – do not build one!“ I was to be a voice in the West, representing the believers who were suffering for their faith in the oppressive communist countries, while being a conduit for bringing resources from the believers in the West across this Bridge to the East (2. Cor. 9:6-15). During this concert, I had a sense that in God’s providence, this was a significant moment beyond what I could at the time see.  RPC’s dynamic senior past, Dr. D. James Kennedy was well known for his strong stand against the evil of atheist communism, calling it with its rightful name a Religion. A few months later, via one of the teachers at their school< Westminster Academy, I was invited to the speak to the student on missions, and later, I was invited to participate at the church’s annual week-long missions conference. The Bridge was given a generous donation of $1,500 for my participation—the exact amount I needed to go on a mission trip to Romania.

MISSION TRIP TO ROMANIA

In the summer of 1984, I traveled to Romania under the auspices of the Mission in Germany. It was one of my many courier trips during which a co-worker and I would clandestinely deliver Bibles and other Christian material to our specific contact persons within the country. This time, the Director in Germany asked me if I would take a side-trip to the city of Cluj, located in Transylvania (a part of Romania dominated by ethnic Hungarians, home of the notorious Dracula ) to check out the situation for a Christian leader who had asked for help.

After the delivery of the prescheduled material to our precious believers, my co-worker and I drove through mountains and forests and arrived in Cluj late one the evening so that we could evade the infamous Securitate (secret police). We found the address, sneaked into the dingy apartment building, and tapped the secret signal on the appropriate door. A stately, elderly gentleman opened the door and, without a word, waved us into the apartment which indicated that he was a cultured, well read intellectual. He introduced himself as Dr. Istvan Tokes. Quietly, in German, he began to tell an incredulous story. He was a senior Professor of Theology at the Reformed Seminary in town, and had for years been intimidated and threatened by Ceausescu’s leaders to collaborate with the government’s atheist agenda against the Christian believers. “At times, the pressure became too great; I gave in and helped spread disinformation through the church”, he admitted, tears running down his cheeks. He continued, “I have a son, Laszlo, who is a youth leader in one of our churches in the city of Timisoara. There is revival among the youth there. Watching their faith and courage made me repent, so lately, I have also been openly speaking and standing up for the church of Jesus Christ!”

Istvan then told us that he had learned that government officials had secretly plotted to kill both him and his son — one to be caused by a car accident, the other by radioactive material placed in the door post of his house. He then handed me a typed three page statement in German, outlining details of Ceausescu’s atrocities against the church and a plea for him and his son’s life. Would I bring this document to America and give it to influential people, preferably in Washington DC, who could make their situation public? I accepted it, so after we prayed and said goodbye, I took the document, hid it in one of my boots — aware that, if discovered, I might be arrested and charged with Western espionage.

CONTACTING CRCP

On my ay back to the States, I pondered who to contact.  I did not know any prominent American government officials! Back home, I translated the document into English. Suddenly, I remembered that the funds for this trip had actually been provided by CRPC — why not contact Dr. Kennedy? I made an appointment, and Dr. Kennedy graciously gave me ample time to present my plea for helping save the lives of these two servants of the Lord.  “What can I do?” he asked. “Please inform people who can give this maximum exposure”, I said, while handing the original and translated documents over to him, “Ceausescu will never kill those two men if he knows it will give him bad press in America, and he might lose the Most Favored Nation Status.” Dr. Kennedy promised to pursue the matter. I left, confident that the Tokes family were in God’s hands and under His protective wings.

1989 — FALL OF THE IRON CURTIAN

In the late eighties we watched media reports on freedom movements  emerging in Eastern Europe — from the Pope’s visit to Poland and the Solidarity uprising led by Lech Walesa, to an intensifying wave that, in the Fall of 1989, caused largely bloodless political upheavals in Poland, Hungary, then led to a surge of mostly peaceful revolutions in East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria, named “The Velvet Revolution.” Romania was the only Eastern Bloc country to overthrow its communist regime violently and execute its Head of State.

ROMANIA’S NICOLAE CEAUSESCU

Nothing matched what happened in Romania! For his 21 years as Romania’s president, Nicolae Ceausescu, one of Communism’s most cruel and oppressive dictators, kept up a reign of fear, suppressing all opposition with the help of the brutal Securitate, with the largest network of spies and informers in Eastern Europe. In December 1989, his downfall came as a result of his violent overreaction to public unrest over issues such as food shortages. A week later, I read an article in a major newsmagazine which featured Romania’s bloody revolution and revealed an incredulous tale. Following is a summary of events:

LASZLO TOKES — THE MAN WHO SPARKED THE REVOLUTION

It began on December 15, with demonstrations in the western city of Timisoara against the harassment of a dissident ethnic Hungarian Reformed Church pastor, Laszlo Tokes, who had the courage to speak up against the atrocities in his country. On that day, an order was served to remove Laszlo from his post, causing his congregation to demonstrate against the order, which was violently put down by government security forces. The revolt blazed a trail to Bucharest and the rest of the country. This soon swelled into a massive protest, in which slogans like “We want bread” soon turned into “Down with Ceausescu”. Ceausescu sought to restore his own authority, but amid bloody street battles on December 22, an angry mass of people stormed Ceausescu’s offices. He fled by helicopter, but was seized outside the city. In a summary court martial held in secret he and his wife, Elena, were accused of killing 60,000 people, and on December 25, Christmas day 1989, they were shot to death.

Dr. D. James Kennedy recounts in one of his books, “Interestingly, in the providence of God, I may have had a small hand in that situation. In the mid‑1980s, I had been asked by a woman missionary, working behind the Iron Curtain, to write a letter to Nicolae Ceausescu. She wanted me to tell him to stop harassing two pastors in Romania,  a father and son who was a youth minister. Frankly, I felt such a letter would be in vain. Why would a Communist dictator hundreds of miles away listen to an American preacher? But I wrote it anyway, and I mentioned that the eyes of the world would be on the situation. After the tyrant’s fall, I received a note from the missionary thanking me for that letter, a letter I had forgotten all about.” She said that after my correspondence, ‘although the harassments did not stop against the Tokes family, they had diminished. The important part is that their lives were spared.  The name of the minister was Laszlo Tokes, the man who had been instrumental in the fall of Communism in Romania and sparked the fall of the Iron Curtain!

From R.K.’s Corner

40 years ago this month, The Bridge International was established in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  I had returned to Florida after living two years in Germany, where I had administrated the children’s department at an East European Mission in Munich combined with being a one of their clandestine couriers, bringing  provision of Bibles and Christian educational material to persecuted believers in the underground churches behind the communist Iron Curtain. Upon my return to the States, I carried with me a vision God had given me during my last courier trip to Bulgaria: a bridge spanning between the United States, Europe and the Soviet Union with the commission to return to the States to “be a bridge – don’t build one”.  I understood it to mean, don’t build an organization with costly overhead and structures, but be a bridge of living stones according to 1. Peter 2:4-10 where the foundation is based on servanthood relationships and the love of Jesus is the mortar holding them together. 

All the ends of the world, Shall remember and turn to the Lord.
All the families of the nations, Shall worship before You. For the kingdom is the Lord’s, And He rules over the nations. Psalms 22: 27-28

Gerry (Geraldine) and Cal (Calvin) Ray met in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1967 while attending North Central Bible College.  I (Cal) flew from my home in rural New York State, by way of Kennedy Airport in New York City, planning to become a full-time pastor in my denomination.  Gerry took the train from Cumberland, Maryland and enrolled in Christian Education.

We were married one Christmas wintry night in 1969.  We eloped and drove all night to a little town in upper Michigan named Iron Mountain.  Michigan was the closest of four states in the US which allowed marriage under age twenty-one without parental permission.  We were both twenty and agreed marriage was in the Lord’s desire for us – it certainly was ours. Our parents, God bless them, were informed over the following week.

While Gerry worked at a city hospital, I completed my studies and used the musical talents God had given me. I played piano, sang with various college teams and coordinated a group of students for street meetings in downtown Minneapolis and suburban North St. Paul. After graduation I was honored to serve as a full-time assistant pastor within Christian Education in Hudson Falls, NY near the Adirondack Mountains.  In addition, I drove the Church school bus on Sundays and once in a while chosen to preach the Sunday message. One of my first sermons was on Priscilla and Aquila (Acts18).  I explained how these two “women” helped Paul in his ministry. Again, more zeal than preparation!  Our first daughter, Stephanie, was born in Hudson Falls.  I remember her always being wide awake, even when quiet. In the middle of the night, when we would check on her, her eyes would be wide open.  She was, as you might expect, a delight for both of us and the whole congregation.

Our next assignment caused more maturing of our lives. God had been so good to us; we lived through those early years in His protection and presence. In 1973, we took leadership responsibility of a small church near Ithaca, NY. The church families were meeting in the two-car garage of the parsonage, but soon new growth required a larger facility. A new sanctuary was built on the property and mostly constructed by skilled workmen in the congregation. With today’s prices, it’s hard to believe the total cost of the new building was only about $5,000 for material and a little labor. God was so good. Gerry and I helped to install the styro-foam panels on the cathedral ceiling while being pregnant with our second daughter, Kristy.

The Holy Spirit began to encourage us to seek out teaching from a broader expression of the Christian faith instead of being limited by our denomination traditions. Although Gerry and I were busy with church growth and two girls in diapers, we went to Ft. Lauderdale to meet with leaders at Good News Fellowship regarding witchcraft, the occult and deliverance—subjects rarely discussed in a denominational setting. We also met with pastors in the discipleship movement near Ithaca regarding family priorities, their private Christian school (thinking of Stephanie and Kristy) and discipleship. By the end of 1977, after sharing much of my discipleship investigation with our congregation, we were asked to leave the church or return to a more denominational ministry.

It was time for us to re-evaluate our original plans, hopes and dreams, an ultimately wonderful and beneficial experience. Although scary at the time, we needed to submit to the direction of God, regardless of our fears. Now we needed a new home, a new job and a new place to gather those who had also heard the call to move on and wanted to continue with us. The final months of being a senior pastor and leading a congregation, not welcoming my non-traditional Biblical perspectives, had exhausted me and our marriage relationship. Most of all, we needed someone to disciple us as a family and to teach us deeper ways to grow in Christ. God graciously took our hand into His and led us into the unknown. We completely committed our plans, hopes and dreams to Him.

In 1978, we determined to connect with the discipleship movement.  We joined one of their satellite fellowships north of Ithaca, bought our first home and I started working in the printing business. The next ten years we concentrated on improving our marriage, learning to be better parents and giving ourselves to the Lord in new ways. Church fellowship was so different and refreshing, after “working” full-time in the ministry. We enjoyed a closer walk with the Lord in our family and date night became a new habit. I served as the church worship leader and Gerry taught kindergarten in the Christian School.

At this time, we met the precious people still so important in our lives.  Ken and Faith Negvesky (Bridge Intercessors), Ken was one of our pastors, and Ragnhild Ulrich (Bridge Founder) was the Christian school Principle. These people, and many others, taught us, prayed for us and yes, discipled us. We learned about the Kingdom of God in so many important ways.  It is still a privilege to know and work with Ken, Faith and Ragnhild at the Bridge.

Ken challenged me in such way that it changed my intimacy with Jesus.  One day, he explained how many Christians meet and know Jesus based on “head” knowledge (learning, reading and mental acceptance) and have missed the essential “knowing” Him that comes from the heart (a loving relationship, discerning His voice, sensing His direction). I thought, what Ken was teaching applied specifically to me. I enjoyed studying the Bible and reading Christian writings by a number of authors, but recognized that I did not have the heart-based relationship that I wanted. I could not honestly sense the desire Paul expressed in Philippians 3:10-11; “I want to know Christ – yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in His death.” The scriptural meaning was foreign to me.

During the next several months, I got up before daylight and drove to a nearby park, watching the sun arise and reflect on the lake. During those early hours I endeavored to meet with Jesus in my heart by listening to worship music, reading scripture, praying loud prayers and sometimes crying for mercy. After several weeks, my heart began to connect with the Spirit of the Lord and my relationship with Jesus changed up to this day. David prayed in 1. Chronicles 29:10-13: “Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours…In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.” I could now understand David’s enthusiasm. The Lord then taught me His ways out of Psalms 24 for the next three months. I will always remember those practical lessons the Lord placed in my heart from that Psalm.

In 1990, I left the printing business and began working for a high-tech manufacturing company, resulting in ten years of a bit of international travel. One of our church pastors was involved in Prayer Walking, so during my traveling days abroad, I would walk and pray for the cities where I was working. Most of my trips were to British Isles cities such as London and Edinburgh.  For a time I had an office in Paris where I, sometimes with Gerry, visited three times a year.  It was during those many trips my desire to pray for the nations began to grow.

I did get to Asia on a few business trips. During a bus ride from an airport to my hotel in Puna, India, I saw people living in mud igloos. On another same day in New Delhi, those visiting Gandhi’s memorial drove in Mercedes Benz vehicles and wore extravagant sarees. The extremes in the caste system were astonishing. While in the Philippines I saw rows of shacks along river banks next to successful manufacturing plants. I had heard of this kind of poverty, now saw the lack of compassion and support from the surrounding culture.

I worked for the high-tech company for twenty-five years. After that we retired to Rochester, NY to be close to and prioritize our children and grandchildren. It seems like God has taken Gerry and I a much different way than we expected. Although my goal was pastoring, we were led toward business. We worked in real estate, retail sales, and even owned a Christian Book Store, which Gerry managed full-time. During the years we continued to volunteer as teachers, worship leaders, conference administers, church secretary and other support ministries when there was a need.

It was about three years ago that we joined the Bridge Intercessor prayer team. We are so privileged to stand in the gap for the ministry and needs of our international friends. Each week the team conferences for prayer on Tuesdays and Fridays. We agree together for prayer requests which come from the Bridge harvester’s correspondence or from our bi-monthly Skype meetings. Every other Monday we meet with many of the harvesters on Skype face to face. We love those meetings. We get the updates and prayer requests in person and build eternal relationships.

Besides getting to know and love the individual harvesters and their families, God has given me a desire to pray for Cuba, Haiti and India. I visited India twice while traveling overseas, but have never visited Cuba or Haiti. However, I pray for Godly leadership in those nations, asking God to raise up a Moses or a David to bring glory to God out of chaos and corruption. The “Pharaoh’s” of these nations demand spiritual servitude to the evil kingdom, to the enemy of the Cross.

Gerry has a special burden for children. Especially for those who are being aborted, misused and abused around the world. We ask God for protection over the children of many nations and often pray for the children of the Bridge harvesters and, for a few, their grandchildren. We know the enemy is set on the destruction of the next generation. We are certain our prayers and decrees make a difference in the heavenlies with results on the earth.

We live in a time when there is much evidence of the last days. Isaiah called it “the day of the vengeance of our God” (Isaiah 61:2b). The weapons of our warfare against the enemy are prayer, the Word of God and worship. I encourage everyone to get close to the heart of God so they may pray His prayers, decree His scriptures, and worship with warfare in their spirit. Listening and responding to Him from your heart, as well as your mind, brings you closer to His purposes. We need to align our lives with His divine plans.

Gerry and I are living in Rochester, NY and spend a lot of time with our family. We are careful to make our children and grandchildren a priority while they are in high school and college.  Gerry is busy with another business using her creative talents. We are both celebrating our seventy-fourth birthdays this year and in December fifty-four years of marriage. We still find our joy with God in the morning hours. To God be the Glory.

This chorus from the song Our Heart by Bob Fitts is for heartfelt worship:

Our heart, our desire is to see the nations worship.   
Our cry, our prayer, is to sing You praise to the ends of the earth. 
 That with one might voice every tribe and tongue rejoices.  
Our heart, our desire,  is to see the nations worship You.

From R.K.’s Corner 

If you want to know what a Servanthood Leader is, take a look at the testimony of the lives of Cal and Gerry Ray.  Their lives reflect Philippians 2:1-11, where the Apostle Paul describes Jesus, although being God, willingly laid aside His glory and became a bondservant of all!

I met Cal and Gerry and their two girls more than 40 years ago while living and working as Principal of a Christian school in upstate New York.  They had moved to the area and joined our fellowship.  As I came to know them, I was impressed by their willingness to serve others, often behind the scenes in quiet, unassuming ways.

A few years later, our ways parted. I moved to Florida; from there to the mission field behind the Iron Curtain. For decades we had no contact, till three years ago, Ken and Faith Negvesky who had become a vital part of The Bridge Intercessory Prayer Group, suggested that the Rays would like to join us. They did, and they have blessed us here on the  home front as well those we serve in the mission field by their spiritual maturity, their manyfold experience within both pastoral care and secular business, and their commitment to intercessory prayer!

By Corey Booher

Paul Lester Booher Jr. (78) of Indian Trail, NC, passed away June 29, 2020.  He was born in Toledo, Ohio on February 6, 1942. Paul graduated from North Miami Senior High and received an associate degree in Computer Programming from Davis Business College.  Paul served in the US Army from 1961-1964, obtaining the rank of Sargent E5.  During his enlistment, he began as a tank driver stationed at Fort Knox and transitioned to playing trumpet in multiple military bands and honor guards, receiving several accolades for his performance.  On April 7, 1972, he married Gloria Lynn Adams, and they had two sons, David and Corey, and he also had a daughter, Dawn, from a previous marriage.

Paul worked as computer programmer for most of his professional career for a number of companies, finally retired from Wells Fargo Bank an Assistant Vice President in the IT Dept..

Throughout his life, Paul and Gloria were always active church members.  He served as youth pastor, Bible study leader in multiple venues, worship leader in still others, and prayer leader/organizer for multiple organizations, meetings and fellowships

Paul’s greatest legacy, as attested to by the many letters, emails and phone calls we have received since his passing, was his tenacious belief and passionate pursuit of God’s love for all people.  Paul never met a stranger.  He found new friends in every restaurant, post office or workplace he visited.  Paul believed deeply in the unfailing mercy of God, which covers all sin.  It did not matter to him who you were or what you had done; his message was one and the same for all: God’s love is greater than our sin, and the death of Jesus on the cross forgives all!

Paul could not be convinced that anyone was a ‘lost cause’.  He maintained relationship with anyone willing to do so and would work hard to convince all that they were not beyond God’s grasp.  Through many forty-day fasts, trips to visit others and generous self-sacrificial giving, he yearned to communicate God’s father heart and love to any he felt God had placed across his path.  Anywhere he went, he would be ready to listen to the cashier, the toll attendant, or whomever needed to hear of God’s love or a prayer right there where they were standing.

Paul was a man of fervent, intercessory prayer, passion and always up for a good laugh.  He loved his family, especially his wife Gloria, whom he often mentioned and longed to meet again.  He will be sorely missed.  Though we mourn, we do not mourn like those without hope.  We look forward to the day when we will experience God’s love with Paul, in the presence of the One in Whom he so deeply believed.  HE WILL BE DEEPLY MISSED!

PAUL BOOHER— CHANGING NATIONS THROUGH  INTERCESSORY PRAYER
by R.K. Ulrich

“Lord, You know  the secrets and the depths of the wicked ruler, Enver Hoxha’s heart.  If You see in him no room for repentance and turning to You, Lord… please remove him,” Paul cried out with his right arm stretched toward heaven.  The room filled with a holy hush, then we all lifted our hands, binding the evil forces of Marxist tyranny over the Albanian people, and cried out for their  liberation  and open doors and hearts for the Gospel.

Since The Bridge’s inception in 1983, we had been graced with an extraordinary Bridge International Prayer Group, consisting of eight committed men who twice a month came together to intercede for the persecuted church behind the Iron Curtain in Russia and the communist nations of Eastern Europe.  Paul Booher and Bert Cole were the most passionate in this endeavor.

In early 1985, I had returned from a visit close to the border of Albania, and had first hand learned about the horrific persecution of Christians and dissidents in this fully closed nation  which prided itself of being the only fully purely atheist Marxist country in the world.
At the next prayer meeting, several hours of intense prayer focused on Albania, culminated in Paul’s anointed proclamation.  Three days later, I was informed that Albania’s dictator Enver Hoxha, had died of a heart attack.  This was the beginning of Albania’s liberation from tyranny. In the Fall, 1985 I published this issue, the front image depicting their Marxist message: “Religion makes you blind, deaf, and dumb.”

It is in the field of prayer that life’s critical battles are lost or won…
In prayer we bring our spiritual enemies into the Presence of God and we fight them there.  John Henry Jowett

This initial Bridge prayer group was given a collective gift of intercession which effectuated nations with the kind of miraculous results which later would be reported through the international media—it was a very special time with a very special group of people, with Paul and Bert at the helm.

We were all members of the same church.  As years passed, changes took place and, for different reasons, all those men moved with their families out of the State of Florida to primarily Tennessee and North Carolina.  Steve and I lost touch with them, except with Bert Cole.  He continued to do the heavy lifting of prayer long distance for The Bridge.

Fast forward 28 years to 2013. Bert Cole had  decided to travel to South Sudan on a short term mission trip to help train a rural tribe establish micro businesses.  While there, he laid his life down for an obscure tribe in the South Sudanese bush. I flew up to Tennessee to participate in his funeral. My early morning flight back to Florida had a stopover in Charlotte, NC where I had to wait for several hours for the connecting flight.

Suddenly, I had a whisper in my spirit—I was compelled to call Paul Booher.  I called, “Do you want to have breakfast with me at the airport?”  A resounding “Yes”, so, at 6:00 am we were reconnecting after almost 30 years, and were reminiscing those early years of partnering in prayer. His beloved Gloria, had died the year before; he was desperately lonely and felt ready to go and be with the Lord and her. “I am finished here in earth,” he said.  The Bridge had during this time expanded to serving Christians in Central Asia, the Far East, Africa, and Caribbean.  The need for intercession was greater than ever.  As we were marveling at the many powerful moments in our past group, and I was sharing about the present, I found myself saying, “Paul, the world needs your gift of intercession.  Would you again head up our group, this time virtual on Skype which has been vacated by Bert, and befriend and pray for all our Bridge partners in the nation?” 

He accepted the challenge, and through that divine appointment, his life got a restart and a new purpose as he again rejoined our prayer group, and became a cornerstone of prayer and a friend to the many missionaries he served in the field.  Paul also passionately prayed for Steve and me!   He expressed often how much he loved it!  Steve and I and  our associates and foreign missionaries were graced with seven years of his gifts of love, compassion, encouragement, and enduring prayer which flowed from Paul’s heart.  He became a close friend, the kind you treasure!  Psalm 91 was one of his favorite scriptures as he reminded us all of the Lord’s love and protection!

Now, Paul is where he longed to be: in the presence of the Lord!  I could say much more about him, but I concur with his son Corey’s description of his father, and also concur with the words from some of our overseas Harvesters who were recipients of his intercession and love, as they express who Paul was to them:

YERMEK BALYKBEKOV – KAZAKHSTAN

My good friend and brother in Christ, Paul Booher was a great prayer warrior, filled with love towards people. I have never ever met such a faithful intercessor like him. He interceded for me, my family and ministry since we met on the Bridge Prayer Skype group.

I could feel his prayer over my life and almost all my prayer needs were met because of Paul’s prayers and dedication. He helped me going through a very difficult time in my ministry, always encouraging me to press through by the Grace of God. Surely, we will miss him a lot, however, I believe God is raising up a young generation of Christ’s warriors like Paul was.

         ROBERT AND SANDRINA YURJEVIC – SARAJEVO, BOSNIA

Shortly after arriving in 2013 back to Bosnia as missionaries, we were invited to meet with The Bridge International Prayer Team via Skype every two weeks. This team of prayer warriors, led by Paul Booher, has been an invaluable spiritual source of strength and encouragement to Sandrina and me. We had the honor of getting to personally know Paul, having met up with him for breakfast at Cracker Barrel several times through the years whenever we passed through Charlotte.
We came to love Paul as a friend and brother in Christ. Paul was passionate for the heart and Kingdom of God. He loved his family. He made us feel special – his zeal was focused and contagious. On my last trip to Charlotte back in the autumn, I contacted Paul to see if he was available to pick me up at the airport and to have dinner together. My flight was late, but he waited for me. We skipped the Cracker Barrel and made a quick stop at a Chick-fil-a. For about an hour Paul shared with me, besides his intercessory burden for the nations, his desire to see the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He wanted everyone in his life to be ready to meet Jesus, also. We will remember Paul as a man of faith, hope and love – he ended his race as a spiritual giant.

SARGON DANIALI CHAMAKI – TURKEY/IRAN

These are some points which summarize Paul’s engagement in praying for and counseling me!
What can I say more about him, than that he motivated me!  I had a  lot of love and respect for Paul.  He —
1.  Was always there, only a message away.
2.  Responded quickly to our notes
3.  Encouraged us to share our prayer needs as soon as they arose.
4.  Prayed diligently for our needs.
5.  Was always ready to encourage and exhort as well as tell the truth, even when it hurt!
6.  Was always Heaven and Kingdom oriented.
7.  Was always present in the prayer meetings, patiently took notes of all the needs and with great discipline wrote a report or minutes of the meeting shortly after. Was always encouraging and uplifting.

STEPHEN AND SOPHIA SCHMALZ – REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA, EURASIA

Paul was our prayer anchor. He had a well spring of hope and great faith for anything. He would always encourage us and remind us that nothing is impossible with the LORD! He  missed his wife every day of his life since she went to be with the Lord and he longed to see her again. That was not easy for him.  Praise the LORD,  Paul always had a listening ear and heart to us and we shared all of our lives with him for about five years. Thank you RK. You connected us. We feel a little lost now… But God’s grace is sufficient for us!

KEN AND FAITH NEGVESKY – RACINE, WI
Co-Leaders of the Bridge Prayer Group

A tribute to Paul Booher: For the past six years we have had the privilege of developing a friendship with Paul through praying for the “Harvesters” connected with R.K. and the Bridge International. Paul inspired and encouraged those men and women in the nations they represented. He had such a sweet but powerful way of exhorting his fellow intercessors! Paul was a dedicated intercessor and prayer warrior who impacted lives and nations for eternity. Faith and I will miss him deeply! He is with His Papa (as He referred to the Father!) Our love and prayers are with his family!

JOE O’NEAL – LORENZO, TX
Co-Leader of the Bridge Prayer Group

I loved that man.  I remember him decades ago, playing trumpet with me in the worship team at church.  I didn’t really know him in a personal way until these last four years.

Paul was always a person In could go to as a sounding board to discuss the world, life and the current events throughout the world.  What I loved most about him, was that he was a true prayer warrior, and I am honored to have known him.

 

PROLOGUE

In honor of the memory of Paul Booher, would you consider giving a donation to to his son, Corey Booher, who lives in Poland and is a full time missionary there with his wife and two children!  Just click on the DONATE button above and it will take you to our donation page, where you can give via PayPal and credit/debit card.  Please mark your gift “POLAND WORKERS”.  THANK YOU!

INTRODUCTION

My earliest and fondest memories during summertime, was to visit my father’s relatives.  After a six hour bus and train ride from our village to my grandmother’s home, upon arrival, I would run past everyone into the house, hurry up the long, steep stairway leading to the second floor, open the door and run into my grandmother’s apartment — right into her arms: ”Here I am!”  The cookies and milk were always ready. After a little chat came my favorite moment: She placed me on her lap and, at my eager bidding, began telling stories from her life and from the big, black Book always lying open on her table. A vivid storyteller, everything came to life through my grandmother’s words as the characters of the Bible walked out of the pages through her stories and became real people in real life! I sat spellbound as hours passed, not realizing then that through her vivid talent, the Living Word of God was being established in my heart.  It became my guide at 20 when I began seeking truth after a few years of self-declared atheist.

BERNTINE’S EARLY YEARS

To the human eye, there was nothing impressive or outstanding about Berntine Kjeldaas. Born in 1867 in Røra, a village in the Viking fjord (ocean inlet) near the city of Trondheim, she did, however, distinguish herself as one of the very few women of her day who attended college.  While there,  she encountered a spiritual awakening through the Pietist movement of lay revivalist and community transformer, Hans Nielsen Hauge. She came to faith in the living, resurrected Jesus Christ, and the Bible became her guide to life!

After college, Berntine returned home, and was ready to begin teaching in the local school she had attended as a child.  But her old  school Master had other thoughts. Peter Kjeldaas, still Headmaster and bachelor, was 20 years her senior.  He had also experienced a personal spiritual renewal; he had embraced a living faith in Christ through the Danish revivalist, N.S. F. Grundtvig, who impacted the more educated and cultured layers of society with a call back to living, personal, practical Biblical faith.  He was ready for a wife, had fallen in love with Berntine, and asked her to marry him.

In 1890, Peter and Berntine married.  They had nine children over a period of 18 years, my father Torvald being the youngest. Together, they experienced some very busy, happy years while raising their children, managing the family farm, while she carried out the duties of  the school and community leader’s wife.  The underlying strength in their marriage was their personal Christian faith and deep love and devotion to each other.  Musically talented, everybody sang and played various instruments—their home was always filled with the happy sound of music.

WIDOWHOOD

Then, a few days before Christmas 1913, tragedy struck. My grandfather suddenly died of a heart attack while waiting on the train at the nearby town on his way home, his backpack heavy with gifts and  goodies for his family’s Christmas celebration. Joyous anticipation suddenly turned to grief.  Berntine was left with five children under the age of fourteen still at home. Managing life alone and caring for her children’s needs was strenuous, but she worked the farm for 10 years before she decided to sell it.  With the proceeds, she moved into the center of a larger town, Stjørdal.  There, she built a multi-family home from which she started a small business selling milk from the farmers to her neighbors and students of the nearby elementary school. This enabled her to continue following her children’s growth into adulthood and see them married with families of their own. Her focus was hard work, a frugal lifestyle, and her trust in her Heavenly Father’s loving care and provision.

Then World War II broke out. The German war machine invaded Norway and took leadership.  Five years of horrific terror ensued. A strong resistance movement arose among the Norwegians who refused to buckle under the Nazi leadership. This resulted in several being captured and killed, or deported to concentration camps in Norway or Germany.  A couple of members of my family secretly collaborated with the resistance,  but none lost their lives, although one uncle was imprisoned and sent to labor camp.  I attribute that to God’s protection over them, thanks to my grandmother’s prayers.

My parents, Torvald and Signe, married the year before the war and moved into one of the apartments in Berntine’s spacious two story building. My aunt, Borghild lived with her husband in the other apartment, with Grandma in two rooms upstairs, sufficient for her.

WORLD WAR II

In the beginning years of the war when Hitler’s “final solution” was not yet public, Grandmother would come downstairs from her apartment, telling my aunt, “Borghild, please listen to me. Something terrible is about to happen to the Jewish people – I read it in the Bible — we must pray for them and help them!” Brushing it aside as just talk of an old woman, no one listened to her pleas. But my grandmother kept interceding, although, to my knowledge, she never during her lifetime met a Jew!

Before the war, approx. 300 Jews lived in the city of Trondheim, most of them well respected, prosperous merchants. As the war progressed, secret messages came back from Norwegians detained in concentration camps in Germany: “The Jews are being exterminated— get them out of the city as quickly as possible before they are rounded up and deported to the death camps!” Members of the resistance movement took immediate action. They secretly transported some of the Jews individually to checkpoints near the Swedish border where they were hid till they were a group to be walked across the mountains into freedom. (Sweden was neutral during the war). The farmers in the area helped by providing food and skis during the winter to make it easier to cross the mountains. A number of Jews in Trondheim who had not been arrested by the Germans were rescued from the fate of Hitler’s death chambers, due to the courage of a handful of Norwegians who risked their lives—and my grandmother’s prayers!

Right after the war, Norway was devastated, but worse than that was the public realization of the gruesome fate of the Jews of Europe. Berntine, however, was not despondent. She would come downstairs and say to the family, “Don’t worry,­ God will use this to bring the Jews back to their land. He will give them back their country!” Again, no one listened, it simply didn’t make sense.  That did not deter her—she kept on praying and interceding for the Jews and their homeland which God was going to give back to them. In 1948, three years after the war, Israel became an independent country—the Jews began returning to their ancient land!

PNEUMONIA AND MIRACULOUS HEALING

I was born in February, 1945 three months before the war ended, the third war-child of my parents. After five years of German occupation there was very little food, and everything was either destroyed or depleted. At nine months old, I contracted double pneumonia. There were no antibiotics, not even an aspirin to help reduce the fever. I ended up in a coma for twelve days; my limbs were turning blue, my lungs filling with fluid. When the family doctor arrived, he took my father aside and explained that I would surely die during the night; he could hear the “death rattle” in my breathing. If I were to survive, I would certainly be severely brain damaged. He would come early next morning to fill out the death certificate and remove me.

My grandmother came downstairs to find the nurse and my parents standing helplessly around my cradle. Had they prayed for healing, she inquired. No, not really, it was not customary. Berntine then lifted her youngest granddaughter out of the cradle, held me toward heaven and prayed, “Father, Ragnhild belongs to You, so You can take her home. But if You let her live, I’ll commit her life to Your purposes!”  Then she asked the nurse if there was anything else that could be done for me. The nurse nodded, as she remembered one remedy, although dangerous for the heart. She filled one bucket with very hot water, and one with ice cold, then she dipped me alternately into the buckets. Circulation gradually came back into my limbs. They wrapped me in a warm blanket and laid me back into the cradle.

The next morning when the doctor arrived to check on me, I was awake, alert, cooing in the cradle. I was completely healed with no signs of mucus in my lungs! My grandmother’s plea before the Father’s throne had effectuated a true, medical miracle! Puzzled, the doctor mumbled, “The Real Physician has been here before me, I have nothing to do.” He left empty handed!  During my childhood I enjoyed a very special relationship with my grandmother, realizing now in retrospect that she gave me special attention also as part of fulfilling her promise to God to guide me in His ways.

INTERCESSION

After the war, Berntine was part of a group of women who established the first local chapter of intercession for Den Norske lsraelsmisjon. I remember well as a little girl holding her hand as we walked to the one of the homes where the meetings were alternately held. Opening the door, I would see a handful of stern looking elderly ladies gathered. They first spoke on issues of concern regarding Israel – of which I remember nothing. Then they kneeled and folded their calloused hands. There were furrows between their knuckles as a result of years of clenched hands lifted up to heaven in petition for the needs of others.  They began interceding and crying out to God for Israel and the Jewish people.  I recall the aroma in the room: a mixture of mothballs, fresh coffee and hot, newly baked Norwegian pastries, mixed with something entirely different— the awesome fragrance of the presence of God! It was my first exposure to true intercession, the kind that changes nations and effectuates God’s purposes in people’s lives! I did not know then that a tremendously rich heritage was being imparted into my life, from which I have benefited greatly in the decades since then.

MY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

My grandmother died when I was fourteen, which was a great loss for me and the family.  I wandered away from my childhood faith, found the 1960’s a seemingly glittering world beckoning with fascinating philosophies and secular humanism.  I fully embraced it, and at sixteen declared myself an atheist. However, four years later that bubble burst when I was drawn into occultism and encountered a dark, very different spiritual world—far from the power of God’s Kingdom and my grandmother’s faith!

At twenty, while in college, I finally “woke up“ and decided to give God a chance by reading the Bible, which brought me face to face with the risen Jesus Christ.  I embraced Him which forever changed the course of my own planned future. I immediately knew that it was primarily my grandmother’s cumulative prayers which had precipitated the intervention of the Holy Spirit Who h caused me to commit myself to Christ and His Kingdom! I had come “home”, life returned to the Word which for years had been as boring as a phone book. Bible study became an exciting journey again as I identified with the men and women of old who embraced God’s Kingdom in faith.

A deep desire grew in me to visit Israel, but I avoided taking a group tour, waiting for the right timing when I would experience Israel as an insider through people of the land.  That took place in 1983, 18 years later.  In 1997, I visited Israel, again. I met the leader of a Messianic group from among the 15,000 Ethiopian Jews who six years prior had been rescued from Ethiopian genocide.  They had been given a spiritual home in the facilities of the Den Norske Israelsmisjon in Tel Aviv. Watching the jet black Africans and the white, blond Norwegians embrace in love, I knew my grandmother’s prayers were part of this—bringing believers together as one Body, with one Faith!

R.K.’S CORNER

We trust you and your family are doing well  while enduring the many adjustments to life under the restrictions of the Corona virus.  At times, being absorbed in taking care of the many concerns on the home front, I find myself losing sight of concern for those we serve in the nations who encounter far more restrictions and challenges in their daily lives than we can imagine.
Yet, when we connect on Skype, or via other media, they testify with thanks to God for provision and protection.  Psalm 91 is one of the favorite scriptures we recite to each other … it is a reminder that our destiny and future are in His hands! He is the Lord of history, He enacts His purposes tangibly through generations!
This is a testimony of how the Lord often calls an individual from one ethnic group to embrace His purposes and goals for another.  Often His tool is that individual’s prayers.  My own grandmother, Berntine Kjeldaas, who was also instrumental in my salvation and call to the nations, was one of them.  A Norwegian Viking has nothing in common with an Israeli Jew, but my grandmother received a supernatural, prophetic revelation of God’s heart and purposes for Israel and the Jewish people, and faithfully carried that burden by intercession throughout her life.

Would you consider taking up the banner of prayer for our Harvesters and help support them financially?  You can find their many powerful and exciting testimonies on this website!

FROM R.K.’s CORNER

In this issue, Ken and Faith Negvesky, colleagues in the seventies and good friends for 40 years, present their life’s journey in their own words.  When most couples reach their 60s, they begin to downsize and prepare for a secure retirement close to family. Ken and Faith, rather, on the prompting of the Lord, followed His guidance and moved from Upstate NY to Racine, WI, from where they are training and discipling millennials both locally and overseas – especially in Asia.  As intercessors, they are a vital part of the Bridge Intercessory Prayer Team who faithfully and regularly minister to and pray for our field partners (harvesters) abroad. We are grateful for their commitment and enduring love toward Steve and me, and each one of our Bridge partners!

KEN AND FAITH NEGVESKY

“Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” Ephesians 6.13

Every one of us has a story! This is our race that Father has set before us and called us to run Heb. 12.1-2.  In the Bridge Report this month, it is our privilege to share some of our – His – story  with you, Bridge partners.

We are SO honored to be part of the Bridge Intercessory Team for our harvesters around the world. With R.K. and the harvesters who are available at the time, we Skype every other Monday and as an intercessory team, pray every Tuesday and Friday mornings for their requests. Praise God – He has answered so many prayers for His glory, and on behalf of our Bridge harvesters!

Let us go back to our first connection with Ragnhild via Love Inn (now Covenant Love Community) Freeville, NY 1977, where we arrived as young marrieds in the first years of pastoral ministry.  We were all so hungry for the Lord, to seek first His Kingdom, and learn how to live together in covenant community!  We became part of the pastoral team and enjoyed working with R.K. in her leadership role as founder and principal of CLC School. We served until, in 1980, she moved to Florida, then on to Germany, and upon return, two years later, founded The Bridge. The fruit of R.K’s labor remains, as CLC School www.clcs.org is still going strong, coming alongside parents to train their children in the ways of the Lord and His Kingdom. (Our daughter, Cora Negvesky Hunter, is part of the team & our grandson, Jermaine, is a 7^th grade Student.)

I was the senior leader of the church from 1995-2013. It was exciting for us to follow the Lord and learn to be His disciples while training others in the Word of God. Faith and I loved mentoring men and women to prepare them for their callings in different areas of life. I especially had a passion to preach and teach God’s Word and principles for transformation toward maturity. God also gave me a passion to stand alongside our small business owners.

In 2012, the Lord began to seriously challenge our hearts, indicating He had some radical changes ahead.  This was a bit surprising, as we had entered our 60ties believing we’d probably spend the rest of our lives in Upstate New York. But God had other plans and hopefully, we’ll never get too old to hear and obey Him!  Through a series of divine appointments and a strong undeniable leading of the Lord, we were led to resign our eldership position at the church and step out in radical obedience and implicit trust. He was calling us to leave our position, our two daughters and six grandchildren, as well as the relationships we had built over 30+ years and move to Racine, WI. (Our son was living in WI, but was our only connection to the area.)

Our deepest passion has always been the Lord Jesus Christ Himself! What did He want for our lives and calling?  In His  grace, He was leading us into the unknown and into a season of obscurity where our identity was in Him and Him alone, not our position or gifting. He drew us away and aside to prepare us for a deeper ministry of intercession and spiritual warfare.

We moved to Racine in May 2014 for a time of rest, re-tooling, and becoming more intimate with the Lord. We worked part time with GoStrategic www.gostrategic.org, located in Santa Rosa, CA as U.S. Directors of Facilitators for the two online schools the ministry offers. These two year courses train men and women in Biblical world view – www.strategiclifetraining.org and facilitate them in Biblical business principles  – www.businessleadershipschool.org.   We also facilitate groups in each course, both in the U.S. and internationally.

For the past two years, Faith has been facilitating a Strategic Life Training group (SLT) in Singapore. We were privileged to attend Transforum Asia there in June and Faith personally presented graduation certificates to her stellar group.

I was one of the key note speakers for the conference, exploring how we are to be the church in these challenging times. There, we connected with many wonderful believers from 12 Asian nations! The schools continue to grow in many of them. We see a profound hunger for the Lord in many youth in the nations! It is our desire to pray for them, disciple them, and influence as many as we can! They need us; we need them – generations joining together!

When we first moved to Racine, a young woman with a prophetic gifting who did not know us, told us, “The Lord sees your life and ministry like a huge log with much depth and content. He is cutting up the log in strategic pieces for multiplication, not destruction.”   What a comfort and encouragement that word has been and how true!  Like a pie, our lives and pastoral ministry are now expressed in different pieces in strategic ways:

•  part of or lead four intercessory groups: The Bridge Team, GoStrategic International Ministry, Dennis & Jan Peacocke, founders/heads of GoStrategic, and Kingdom Ministries USA, an apostolic network to which we belong.
• train GoStrategic school facilitators, remotely lead SLT & BLS groups and speak at conference (Transforum) workshops.
• provide pastoral care for a pastor and his family in KMUSA.
• still connect with several business leaders who were part of our church
• in New York, to give pastoral insight and counsel. I am also spiritual director for a Cornell Agricultural Professor who mentors young men and women from around the world in Kingdom principles of agriculture and philosophy.
• serve in our local church, Living Light Racine, in a variety of ways of leadership and service.
• love to give insight and counsel to couples considering marriage or have been married for a number of years, drawing on our walk with the Lord and one another for our past 44 years of marriage.
• work part time at Panera Bread; having the opportunity to interact with 20-30 year somethings, sharing the Lord and hope and happiness of marriage so unfamiliar to many millennials.

As Faith and I approach our 65^th birthdays, we are vibrant and eager for the Lord to continue to use us both at home and abroad for His glory and honor. We have no plans to retire. “O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you.  I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. You unfailing love is better to me than life itself; how I praise you! I will honor you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.” Psalm 63

MAY HIS KINGDOM COME AND HIS WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN!!!!