#14 June 6,
2015 - Prayer Requests & News by Dorothy Callies
News: Please pray for Ruth Eckstein's husband, Bill who was in the hospital for ten days and the doctor said that he could be gone anytime. Bill is 80 years old and he has many health issues. Please pray for family's strength.
On Friday morning, June 5th, Tony, Albert, Bob and I went to visit Bill at the hospital after we met for Bible Study. Ruth and Bill was happy to see us group visiting him. Kay, their daughter was also there. Kay looked so tired so please pray for her strength. Kay drove one hour from Urbana, Illinois to Bloomington, IL to be with her parent. Jack, her husband provided transportation for Ruth since he got lay off from work. Ruth and Kay shared that they are planning on hospice at home since Bill wants to be home and Ruth could be close to him.
Little history about Ruth and Bill. They go way back to Rev. Couch's time when Lloyd was traveling on Sunday afternoon to minister at Peoria Outstation in 1968. The group that came together were Ecksteins and two daughters, Braddys and two daughters in one van, traveling from Normal to Peoria which was an hour drive. Ruth and Bill accepted Christ. The group requested Rev. Couch to find a pastor to Normal Assembly of God at Franklin Ave.
That was where Rev. Couch asked Rev. Tony Callies if he could do the outstation ministry from Rockford to Normal two times a month in 1969. It was two hours drive each way. Until May 1969, we became pastor to the Deaf church then, but we had Super-8 movies to finish up the Rapture, the Tribulation Saints, and the Rich Man. So we continued traveling two times a month until we moved Dec. 1969 to Normal.
We were living in Rockford, Illinois for one year and Tony worked as a night janitor at Listerine Company for six days a week. I asked him if he would look for job first in Normal/Bloomington, IL before we move. He said, "No, we are going to move anyway, and by faith I would already have found a job." Well, we moved and he looked at the newspaper and saw the job ad, "Linotype Operator Needed" so he applied and got the job. Wow! God prepared the way!
So we had a group that involves Bill and Ruth Eckstein and Pauline and John Braddy since 1969. God really blessed the ministry until we had a growing group to average 15-20. They were also involved in being actors for the Super-8 movies, "Overconfidence, Power of Faith, This is Your Life, and Parable of Sower" (Now in DVDs). We were at Normal, Illinois for three years and God called us to minister to Peoria for another three years. We realized that along with Rev. Couch, we were "Church Planters" and others took over. The secret to this was "many hours of prayers" to get the new ministry growing.
Today, we have Albert Jones, as lay leader and Pastor Terry Newman who were former residents of Peoria, now lives in Bloomington, Illinois and participate with the Deaf Ministry at Assembly of God on Vernon Ave, Normal, IL to carry on the Deaf Ministry.
So Bill Eckstein has been with the Normal Deaf Church since 47 years. So please pray for God to bless him and his family be comforted with strength to endure all things in Jesus' name.
