The Mighty and Merciful Hand of God

“And when they were come, and had gathered together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them,” - Acts 14:27a

In this article, I would like to try to give an account of the hand of God working to deliver Elder Vernon Johnson and myself home from South Africa when he became gravely ill. I thank all of those who prayed for our deliverance. I assure you your prayers were heard and answered! I would also like to thank all of those who worked diligently here in the States to help us. I know there were a lot more people working than I record in this article. I apologize if I am unaware of your labors and have left you out. But know this, your Father in Heaven knows and I am thankful. There are many details of my trip from my journal that I have left out of this account. Most of those details are my personal experiences of my first international trip and stories about the people I met. I hope to share those accounts at a later time.

“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?”
- Jeremiah 32:27

Monday, July, 8, 2013

As our time drew closer to flying out of DFW, Brother Vernon and I were in great spirits looking forward to the journey and work that lay ahead of us. We shared many stories of our ministries and had beautiful Scripture discussions. We both were wondering what the Lord had in store for us as several of our initial plans for the trip had not come through. Vernon mentioned to me that he had had a UTI about a month before but was taking medicine and felt well. He was thankful to be able to go.

I had never flown internationally before so there were a lot of things that I recorded in my journal that were very exciting and/or very different for me. I have not included those details here, but I would like to share the last text I got from my wife, Sister Terri, as we boarded the plane in Dallas. It is a beautiful prayer.

“Heavenly Father, Thank you for Bryce. I pray you be with my husband, my brother in Christ, as he goes on this trip. Keep him safe. Give him peace. Protect him. Give him the courage to teach your perfect grace to your children that he will meet. Fill him with joy beyond measure. Let any discomforts be as nothing compared to this opportunity to preach the gospel. Fill him with a passion for You that will be a blessing and an encouragement to all those around him. In Jesus precious name I ask these blessings. Amen.”

As I look once again at this prayer, I am amazed that she prayed for the very things that I would need though for very different reasons than either one of us expected!

The first leg of our journey was a flight from DFW to Washington, Dulles. This flight was uneventful. We then had a very long trip ahead of us for seventeen and a half hours from Washington to Johannesburg, South Africa. There was one stop along the way in Dakar, Senegal, to get new pilots and crew. It was on this stop in Senegal that I first learned that Brother Vernon was having problems. I went back to his seat and his face was a very deep red. He said that he had run fever on and off for the entire trip over the Atlantic. He said his antibiotics should start working soon and he would be ok.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

The next leg of our flight was nine hours long, half over several countries and half over the ocean. We arrived at Johannesburg, breezed through customs, and found our bags quickly. We had a little wait while looking for Macmillan, our local contact. It was only about twenty minutes though and we had found our ride and were headed to Pretoria. A friend of Macmillan’s named Richard had a nice Nissan for us to ride in.

Both Johannesburg and Pretoria are very large modern cities. It was already dark outside before 6:00 PM because it is their winter time. We stopped in Pretoria to get some food for our meals. The Lord really looked out for me here. I was tired and kept forgetting to look to the right for cars as we crossed the street. The cars here don't slow down and I had several close calls where I jumped back on the curb. The last time I crossed the street I remembered what we were taught as children in school, “Look BOTH ways before crossing the street!”

We arrived at the compound where would would be staying. Our hosts unloaded our bags and we went into the house for some good fellowship. Before dinner, one of the young ladies came to Vernon and me with a basin and pitcher of water. She knelt at our feet and poured water for us to wash our hands. It was very humbling. I think this is a tradition for visitors in her native country of Zambia. After a good meal, we went to bed around 11:00 PM. Vernon and I both slept some. We know that each of us got some rest because we took turns waking one another up snoring.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

As soon as we woke up, I knew Brother Vernon was not well. He was red in the face again. He was also very weak and shaky. I tried to get as much water in him as I could and he had some small salt packets he took. There was no heat in the house and the walls were thin. I think the cold (40 degree) air added to his problems. He told me before breakfast that he needed for me to take over and leading the teachings. I had planned to just be a supporting role and help him, but I could tell he wasn't strong enough to give a long discourse.

We had breakfast which seemed to help Vernon a little but he still wanted me to take charge of the teaching. We were to meet at 10:00 am for our first session, but, as I learned quickly, in Africa times are “estimates.”

I spoke for about an hour and half about the Total Depravity of man. There were eight men in attendance including Macmillan and Jeff Chabala who already believe Primitive Baptist doctrine. I was still weary and lost my train of thought a few times but the Lord blessed me to regain my thoughts and keep teaching. I began by saying that we must have a common starting point when discussing salvation. I said that we must understand the nature of man in order to see what is necessary for salvation. I showed that Adam was our federal head. When he sinned, we were all declared guilty. I then spoke about the extent of the damage which is spiritual death and complete inability to save oneself or even the desire to do so. Brother Vernon closed out this session with a reminder of how this affects a person’s ability to believe and respond to the gospel. This point was going to be used to segue into the doctrine of the new birth and irresistible grace that we would teach the next day. We ended our session by giving the men some reading assignments from Brother Vernon's Bible Study booklet. We planned to come back at 4:00 PM for a question and answer session regarding total depravity.

After lunch, Brother Vernon and I both took a nap. I slept well but Vernon had another bout with fever and was even weaker when we gathered back together. We answered some good questions about what spiritual death meant. Most of the men responded very positively to these Scriptural truths but one man, who was quite proud of his “free will” beliefs objected to the notion that man was truly spiritually dead in sin. Even though Brother Vernon was very weak, he was able to courageously defend the Lord and His right to sovereign grace against this man’s unbelief. God gave Vernon wisdom to see how the man was avoiding Scripture and trusting in his own doctrines. Vernon was patient with the man but firm. Vernon realized he didn't want any help understanding the doctrine. Vernon asked him to define John 8:48 which clearly shows you must be born of God in order to to hear God’s words. The man quickly silenced himself.

Looking back, I now know how sick Brother Vernon was at that time. Part of his illness included “altered mental status,” but, by the providence of God this man could not resist the wisdom and spirit by which Brother Vernon spoke! (Acts 6:10) The Lord gave Vernon wisdom and strength to overcome his illness for a time.

By this time, Vernon was not well at all. He did not eat much dinner. Most of the dishes were tasty but very strongly flavored. We met with Jeff Chabala around a small fire outside so Vernon could warm himself. The houses have no insulation and no heater. These were good discussions about Jeff’s likely future as a Primitive Baptist and all of the obstacles to church building in African countries because of government intervention. I found Jeff to be cordial and inviting. He has a dynamic personality that draws people to him. He believes our doctrine and should prove to be an excellent minister of the gospel.

Vernon felt horrible at an early bedtime of 8:30. I gave him a sleeping pill to see if it would help him and I took some sinus medicine because I had developed a very bad headache. Neither one of us slept much at all. My headache got so severe I took more medicine but could not get much relief. Vernon got much worse and didn't sleep at all. I guess it was about 1:00 AM when he told me he needed to go to the hospital. His medicine was not working.

“And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.” - Psalm 50:15

I sent texts to Terri and Mark Hasenmyer asking them to pray. I sent Sister Hazel, Vernon’s wife, a message as well.

We realized that Brother Vernon needed to be in an American hospital. The hospitals here may have been able to diagnose him, but staph infection is a huge problem in South African hospitals as well as a very high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS from any needles used there. He wanted me to stay and continue teaching. I wanted to stay as well, but I believe the Lord allowed me to get the horrible headache I had so that I would listen to Him and not trust myself. I told Vernon that I remembered that Jesus sent out the disciples two by two. If I stayed, then I would be just one. I then, through tears, begged God for help. I prayed for Vernon and myself. I told God that I felt that I was to help Vernon get home rather than stay and preach. I asked God to plainly show me if I had made the wrong decision.

We both kept getting worse so I called Mark to ask advice. He had called Elder Tim McCool who told us to get out of the country as fast as we could. I asked Mark whether I should stay and he said the very words I said an hour before. “Two by two brother. If you stay, that's only one.” God, in His gracious providence, by having Mark speak the very same words gave me my answer. I knew I needed to go and get Vernon home. I called Terri and she contacted South African Airways to see what it would take to change our tickets. We were told to get to the Johannesburg airport as soon as we could. There was going to be flight on Friday at 5:00 PM we could both get on.

It was at this point I truly understood how far from home we really were. I couldn't just put us both in a car and drive home for a few hours. We were about to face a very long thirty-six to forty-eight hour trial. Little did we know how the Lord and His children were already working together for us and our deliverance!

After several more hours of pain on both our parts, I got a sense of peace about my decision to go home with Vernon. We both slept for a few hours after that. This was enough rest for us to face the next part of our journey together.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

We awoke to a very cold day at 8:00 am and immediately packed our bags. We told Macmillan what we needed to do. He was very sorry but made preparations for us to get a ride back to Johannesburg. Neither one of us felt like eating. Angela, Macmillan’s wife, had taken such good care of us and she was very concerned that we weren't eating. She made us some hot tea which helped Vernon shake his deep chill somewhat. Humphrey came to pick us up around 10:00 am in a borrowed car. I was scheduled to preach at his church on Sunday morning. He was disappointed but not mad. He insisted that he drive us because we had come to help him. After spending several minutes trying to get our luggage in the "boot" of the small car, five of us crammed inside a car intended for four with our carry-on luggage and one bag in our laps.

The car could not travel very fast and we weighed it down so much that the rear end very often scraped the ground. This trip was the first time that I got to really see South African terrain. It looked a lot like west Texas in most spots but it had more vegetation. There were also small mountains around the area, it reminded me of the canyons east of Lubbock. We drove through Pretoria. Wow! Very congested with cars but especially lots of people on foot. This is a very large city of several million but is had very primitive looking shops next to modern ones. The Dutch influence was very apparent in the names of streets. We traveled on a toll road to Johannesburg and easily made our way to the airport bouncing and scraping the ground all the way! We had a few close calls with cars, trucks, and pedestrians but Humphrey drove well.

When we got to the airport, we went into a parking garage. Humphrey accidentally backed into a post but thought nothing of it. Many of the older cars are covered in dents. Jeff, Macmillan, and Humphrey took care of our luggage and we proceeded into the airport. It was very difficult figuring out where we needed to go. The layout of the airport was different than in the States and the accents of those trying to help us were very hard to understand. We found the ticket counter and I told the agent we need to exchange our tickets for an earlier flight for a “family emergency.” On Brother Mark Hasenmyer’s advice, I did all of the talking and Brother Vernon stood there and smiled. If they thought he was contagious, we might never have been able to leave!

I told him that my wife spoke with South African Airways the night before and that there was flight available the next day (Friday) at 5:00 PM. He said, yes there was and asked for our other flight plans and passports so he could make the adjustments. It took a while to put all of our information in the computer again. During that time, Vernon and I talked about getting a hotel room there in the hotel and getting some rest. After about 15 minutes, the agent told us it would be 2,600 Rand each to make the changes. We expected this charge. It is about $250. When he gave us our tickets, he said we could check our bags and come back a little later to board. I thought I misunderstood him so I told Vernon we needed to grab our bags and go to the hotel. The agent said, “No, you need to check your bags now. Your flight is this afternoon in just a few hours.” Praise the Lord! A door had been opened to get us back even faster. As it turns out, we ended up being back in Texas with our families an hour before we were even supposed to leave South Africa!

We checked our bags and parted ways with our African brothers. My only regret was that we did not have much time to study together and truly reinforce the doctrines of grace. However, Macmillan said my teaching was very effective and taught a few of the men the necessary foundation for understanding salvation by grace alone. We all spoke of wanting to come together again but left it to the Lord’s will what would happen next. I know I was supposed to be here and I know I am supposed to be coming home early with Vernon. Other than that, I know it is only God Who gives the increase and I am satisfied with that.

Vernon was able to eat some fish and chips and I had their version of T-bone steak (enough said). They had Coke Zero! We had two each. The food and the fact that we were headed home revived our spirits. We rested in the terminal chairs. I went and bought a few trinkets for the kids and then we went through security. The first line of security only had a bag x-ray and a metal detector. I mentioned to Vernon that it seemed to light especially for international flight. Little did I know we were going to have our bags emptied and receive a full pat down at the gate.

We had a snack and some water. Vernon seems to do better when he can eat a little something that is bland. We loaded the plane and our seats were pretty terrible. I could not fit in my seat and my legs were tucked up near me. A very large (6 ft. 5 in) Zimbabwe man was seated near me with the same problem. After we took off, we had dinner and then we roamed the plane to find empty seats. Vernon stayed in his original seat with no one next to him. I found a pair of empty seats together about 40 or so rows back. I gave us a both a sleeping pill after dinner and we slept a little.

Friday, July 12, 2013 (somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean)

I woke up feeling the plane slow a little. I thought we were nearing our stop in Senegal. I was wrong. We still had an hour to go on this nine hour flight. I checked on Brother Vernon. He had rested some and had not had a fever for a couple of hours.

I returned to my seat and tried to get some more sleep. I couldn’t go to sleep so I thought I would look out the window. The skies were perfectly clear and, despite, the dim cabin lights, I could see stars. I glanced over toward the front of the plane and could see a crescent moon and its reflection in the ocean. I was surprised when I found the big dipper. It is normally high in the sky. But now it was below us near the horizon and upside down! The next evening, in Texas, I noticed the same crescent moon, but it was upside down compared to what I was seeing south of the Equator. In include this portion because these wonders of God’s creation were a big source of comfort to me. The Lord was allowing me to see the glories of His creation from a whole new perspective. It was if He was saying, “Look what I have done. I, the LORD, will deliver you.”

Our stop in Senegal had several security checks with the seats and our bags. I lost my open seat to oncoming passengers. I rode for 8.5 hours without being able to stretch out or sit up straight. There were also two young boys yelling at their mother for most of this leg. I slept less than thirty minutes total. This was definitely my welcome to international travel. Thankfully, whenever I looked over at Brother Vernon, I saw he was able to stretch out a little and got at least four or five hours of sleep.

Friday, July, 2013 (in the USA!!!)

We raced the sun around the earth but it lapped us. we left Johannesburg as the sun was setting and arrived in America as it was coming up. We made it to Washington DC over an hour early. We deplaned and road a huge shuttle over to immigration. We were both concerned about how long immigration and customs would take. We didn’t think we had enough time to make our connection. Here is where the blessings of the providence of God really shown through. We walked straight through immigration without having to wait in line. Neither one if us spent more than a minute with our respective officers. We met up on the other-side, both with a look of disbelief at how fast that was. I put my arm around Brother Vernon and just kept repeating the word “Providence!”

We then went to get our bags. After a small jam was cleared in the conveyor, we found our bags very quickly. There were over three hundred people on the flight and all four of our bags came out in the first twenty or so. Providence! We then went to customs and again there was no line. We were screened in about 10 seconds. Providence! We then put our bags back on the conveyor to be checked in and proceeded to our gate. That was amazingly fast! I would say from the time we got off the plane until we were at our next gate was less than fifteen minutes. Ten of that was spent walking. There were people had spent several days trying to get back to the States from places much closer than Africa. By God’ mercy we were about to board our last flight and be back in Texas in less than 24 hours total. And this with tickets that were exchanged! Providence!

We had enough time to get some vitamin water for us both and a small snack. I sent emails and texts and we both called our wives. Elder Stephen Bloyd called me to let us know that they had a car waiting for us to take us to a house or the hospital if needed. He was thankful to hear that we would be able to continue on home. I am very thankful for the PB network that sent up prayers and did things to help us during this great trial. I am it sure I will ever know who all was involved but I know a number of brethren were in the effort. At this point, when we were both just sitting there, Brother Vernon thanked me and said, “You probably saved my life.” These words still humble me greatly. I am thankful the Lord used me in whatever way to deliver this dear brother.

We loaded our plane and left Dulles a little late because of a rain storm. There was no jet way so we added some rain to our already weary (and somewhat smelly) bodies for our last flight home. I remember the wheels of the plane leaving the ground and was awakened by the drink cart about 30 minutes later. I knew Brother Vernon needed more fluids so I reached over the seat in front of me and woke him out of a VERY deep sleep. This flight was only about two and a half hours.

About an hour from landing, I began to reflect on what all had occurred the past day or so. I am thankful for the courage, bodily strength, patience, and humor that each of have been blessed with. These were the very things that Terri had prayed for! Periodically during the trip, I would ask Brother Vernon how he was doing. He would always smile and say, "fine." I would then give him some math to do in his head about time changes or travel times. When he was down, it would take him a little longer to answer or he would correct himself after he realized he made a mistake. He realized that I was using this to evaluate his condition of mind. He would then say, "are you just checking on me?" We would share a smile.

I heard the engines slow and out plane began its slow descent. I said out loud, “I never thought the sound of jet engines slowing down could be so sweet.” My seat partner, a man who traveled the world regularly just smiled at me. I glanced past this man and saw the Red River. Again, out loud, I almost shouted, “That’s the Red River. That’s means we’re in Texas!”

We deplaned and I was very disoriented. I didn’t know which way to go. Suddenly, the man that I had been helping for these past few days, put his arm on my shoulder and said, “It’s this way.” Brother Vernon and I came though the exit doors and saw Sister Hazel first. We went up to her. She was weary and anxious. She looked at Vernon and said, “You just wait a second.” Then, she hugged my neck and thanked me for bringing Vernon home. I really didn’t know what to say. The Lord had done it all and I was blessed to see Him working providentially in a very mighty way. They hugged and then pointed me to Terri and the kids. We had a wonderful reunion there in the airport.

We got our bags,tearfully said our goodbyes and parted ways. I went home cleaned up and then went and got a Whataburger. Vernon, I believe went home briefly to clean up and then went to the emergency room. The doctors there were able to diagnose him with Sepsis related to his previous UTI. I don’t know a lot about the illness but my little research and the reactions of the medical people I have told this story to show me that it was indeed life threatening and needed immediate care. After lots of IV fluids and antibiotics, he actually got to go home that evening.

“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.” - Psalm 43:5

“Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD, make haste to help me.” - Psalm 40:13