Joe's Window

By Dr. Joe Yelton
Interim Pastor

A few days ago, Corinne and I entered the immortal halls of grandparentdom. At our ages, we are late entering the learning curve of what’s involved and being Sophia‘s grandmother and grandfather.  It occurs to me that she will graduate high school in 18 years.… When we will be 86 years old. And yes, in spite of the joy of this wonderful birth, it also occurs to me that there is a fairly pronounced likelihood that one or both of us will not be around any longer to watch her walk the stage. 

    Be assured, the vast majority of my thoughts, this past week have been filled…even overflowing with joy. Still, there is the nagging awareness that the sands in my hourglass are running low.

    We can’t slow the sand from slipping through. However, we can, with great intention and energy, build a relationship with Sophia, assuring that our pieces of her puzzle will be important.

In our Christian lives, we may come to a place in which the evidence indicates that we have been sluggish in our dedication to Jesus. The temptation can be overwhelming to accept our failure, lick our wounds, and continue doing as we’ve always done.

The better way would be a fresh commitment, starting right now. It’s never too late to do the right thing. If you have breath, you have an opportunity to become more of what Christ calls you to be. You are my faith-family, and it’s important that we not only remind one another of the joy of our salvation, but that we find fresh ways to encourage one another into a closer walk.  

I may or may not make it to Sophia‘s graduation. I’m sure gonna try. But this I can tell you, I am determined to be a more faithful child of God. That part is in my hands. Join me, please. First Baptist Sylva is an amazing enterprise of some of God‘s choicest people. But let us be reminded, if we continue doing as we’ve always done, we will continue getting what we’ve always gotten.  It’s not too late to walk the stage, wearing the gowns and banners of Kingdom achievement.    

– Joe

Mission Moment 5.15.24

Gennady and Mina Podgaisky  |  Poland, Ukraine

I (Gennady) met Bill 20 years ago. He came to the Village of Hope Foster Families Ministry Center in Bucha, Ukraine, with the first team of volunteers from North Carolina. They came to help to rebuild the former youth communist camp which was abandoned and in a state of disrepair. The camp was closed after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. This was Bill’s third trip to Ukraine. He, along with several other men, had come to Ukraine before on scouting trips, looking for a suitable property for the foster families’ ministry center.

Bill was a family man, who had raised several children and who had a long and successful engineering career which had taken him around the world. He worked hard and provided for his family as well as being active in his local church. Bill was not a preacher or a teacher; he was a hands-on kind of person. He showed his faith and dedication to the Lord through practical deeds of love and service to others. He has lived his faith by coming to Ukraine 19 times in the past 21 years. 

He spent his time being instrumental in managing the rebuilding of several buildings and making the whole property of the Village of Hope operational. He served as a “construction consultant” and helped to receive/lead/manage dozens of volunteer teams and hundreds of volunteers who came to the Village of Hope in the summers. In the years prior to the war, three foster families with up to 24 foster children lived at the Village of Hope. Bill saw his efforts coming to fruition, and he met and maintained a relationship with a number of the foster children who had come to and who grew up in the foster families residing on the property.

He was not used to being idle and doing nothing. Upon his retirement, he wanted to be useful and spend the rest of his life by serving others, utilizing his life and work experiences. He did it so well. Often just his presence, even with no words, encouraged and inspired others to do better whatever they were doing or to get involved in service to others. He was there when we needed him. He promoted the ministry of the Village of Hope stateside and spoke in many churches, recruiting volunteers and raising funds on behalf of the ministry. That was his life purpose, and he was a faithful servant in God’s hands. I want to be Bill when “I grow up.” Thank you, Bill, for your faithfulness, your example and your inspiration; you did well. 

Several years ago, my wife and I came to the heartfelt realization that we will never be able to retire, even if/when we reach retirement age. Regardless of where we will be living, there will always be people in need, hurting people, people who will need counseling, words of wisdom, encouragement, spiritual guidance or just our presence. We have been called by God to this type of ministry. We have been faithful to our calling, and God has not withdrawn that call upon our life. We will never be without “work.” 

We want to be like Bill, going and doing whatever he could, until he could do it no more. Bill passed from an illness on March 21, 2023. I know that when Bill met his Creator, he heard the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matt. 25:21) 

First Baptist Church of Sylva, 669 West Main Street, Sylva, NC, 28779, United States828-586-2095fbcsylva@gmail.com

First Baptist Church of Sylva

669 West Main Street | Sylva, NC 28779
828-586-2095

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