A little news from the Samuels: I turn 50 on May 15, and on June 1st I have decided to retire from the water district and begin drawing on my pension. I have bought a one-ton dually MegaCab Dodge with a 35-foot 5th wheel, and after I sell my house I plan on touring the states for a year with Donna and our four kids. We want to visit various friends, churches, ministries… - and museums and national parks also. We also are praying about the possibilities of being involved in ministries abroad – but we probably will buy property either in Missouri or in Texas first. (For only $200 per month a family can live comfortably in India – and only $600 per month in Bosnia - which was part of Yugoslavia.)
As I ponder the possibilities for future ministry in the gospel, some of the scriptures that I sometimes pray over include:
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jer. 29:11).
And: “He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah” (Ps. 47:4).
May the Lord choose the best for all of you as well.
Blessings in Christ Jesus,
Rick, Donna, Alicia, Johnny, Moses, & Christiana
P.S.: After two months I shall not have access to email at
samuel@irwd.com. Our personal email is
butterflycopilot@yahoo.com. If you would like us to visit you on our journey, send us an email!
Dear, dear Rick...
You haven't changed. You weren't corrupted. In this e-mail, I hear the voice of the brother I loved (not romantically, of course, but as a friend). I remember your dreams of the simple life; I remember your work at the water company and how you told me once how healthy the water was because it was full of minerals! I even remember how you ate canned vegetables!
And I remember Donna fondly as well. She was (and hopefully still is!) such a sweet, gentle sister. You seem happy. I will be blunt: you seem to have escaped the fate of Steve Husting. I always admired Steve for his freedom in Christ. His faith was a hope and inspiration to me while I tried to navigate the dark waters of the Assembly. Truth to tell, I was a little jealous when he chose Shirley to be his wife. I remember how in love with her he was, how happy. I remember shortly after they got married how she told me, with some surprise, that he "let her do as she wished."
Well, the Assembly took care of THAT. When I came back and visited the Huntington Beach Assembly in July, 1997, Steve had lost his freedom. I discovered that he had become a religious fanatic and a petty tyrant. Steve embraced the teachings of the Assembly as enthusiastically and wholeheartedly as he had once embraced Christ, and that was his downfall. He exchanged his freedom in Christ for the extreme legalism of the Assembly system. I was so sad and disappointed -- it was so obvious to me what had happened. Now that I have heard so many stories of what it was like to be an Assembly wife, I shudder to think of what he might have put Shirley through.
But you -- you escaped. You somehow managed to hold onto your personal integrity and personality. I don't know how, but I'm so grateful and glad! Blessings on you, Donna, and your four children. It is SO like you to sell your house to see the world. Even your comments about how cheap it is to live in India and Bosnia is the Rick Samuel I knew. I will definitely be in touch by e-mail. I would love to see all of you if you choose to visit Colorado.
May the Lord bless you and keep you
May His face shine upon you and be gracious to you,
Amy Cahill born Amy Russ
