The blessing of Christian community.
On November 22, 2008, while New Zealanders Rowan and Margaret Smiley were away in Auckland, the power supply to their house shorted out. Consequently, their kauri (all-wood) villa burned to the ground. Here's their story...
The Monday after the fire, we visited the burn site with our pastor. When we returned to our home all that was left was some charcoal and the shells of the refrigerators. Everything was gone; the heat had been so intense that the brass taps had disappeared, and the glass and pewter had melted. Trees 100 meters away had caught fire. Among the debris we sighted some white objects. As we cleared away the rubble, there in the ashes were four tiny china angels from a set of six that we had collected from the Crystal Cathedral Ministries over the years. Three of the four were intact, the fourth was split perfectly in two and we were able to repair it.
The survival of these angels, in what must have been intense heat, has been told over and over by us and by the Crystal Cathedral Ministries staff in Australia. It has caused many to think about God and what they believe. We are so blessed to have a fantastic community surrounding us and caring friends and family around the country and the world. This experience has affirmed in us a number of valuable lessons:
1. People matter.
2. It is harder to receive than to give.
3. God doesn't send adversity, but he does give us the strength to handle it.
4. You can witness even when you aren't present.
5. God can take our worst nightmares and use them for good. We are so very grateful for the support and prayers from the team at this ministry!
Rowan & Margaret Smiley
