Sermon - Reverend Shannon
San Jacinto Newstimes , August 2007

San Jacinto News-Times
August 23, 2007
  
Back when I was a kid growing up in  Liberty, aside from the county fire or the occasional run of the fire truck, there wasn't much excitement to be found.  But one day, for a few hours that all changed when John Wayne came to town.  A couple of people decided that Liberty needed a Liberty Bell, which is a story for another time, and when the bell arrived they invited "The Duke" to ring it for the first time on the courthouse steps.  Moon Young, the late  Cleveland photographer, captured the moment on film.  I don't recall how close I got to John Wayne that day, or whether he shook my hand, but it was close enough to make me feel like I had met someone special.  
Over the years I've met a number of special people, and most of them, unlike John Wayne, weren't special because they were famous.  They were special because they had given up the blessings of life in  America to share their Christian faith in those far away places with strange sounding names.  Let me tell you about several of them.
Dr. Elizabeth Truly came to our home when my wife and I were still in our twenties.  She was speaking in churches in our Baptist Association, and we offered our home for her to stay a couple of days.  By that time Dr. Truly was in her sixties and I am sure that staying in a home with a young couple and two small children was quite an experience for her.
Dr. Truly had never had any children of her own; in fact, she had never married.  While still young herself, the Lord had called her to the mission field, and having left family and friends and homeland behind, she had for nearly 40 years served at a Baptist girls' school in  Abeokuta , Nigeria.   When she visited with us, one of the few things of value that she had was twenty-dollar gold piece that she had found while digging in a flower bed at the mission school.  She felt it had been lost by an earlier missionary back in the 19th century, and she said that she had always hoped that he hadn't gone hungry.   Dr. Truly told me that she planned to leave the gold piece to a niece when she died, and if she did, I'm certain that every time she looks at it, like me, she remembers that very special person.
Eliel and Lynn Salles were in our church just this last Sunday.  Lynn, who is Fannie and Joe Cochran's niece, first visited our church several years ago before she and Eliel met.  At the time she, too, felt the Lord calling her to the mission field.  Joining with a missions organization called Operation Mobilization, she prepared to leave her family and life in America to follow God's will for her life.  Along the way she met Eliel, who is from  Brazil .  Eliel also felt the Lord leading him to share the gospel message.  Lynn and Eliel were married and now have three small children.  They have served for six years  as church planters in North  Africa .
Life is not easy for this young couple, living as they do on the edge of the Sahara Desert, and when their babies were born, Lynn's mother had to fly half way around the world to be with her daughter.  But Lynn and Eliel are some more of those special people who think it more important to share their Christian faith with the world, than to enjoy the pleasures and comforts of home.  When they spoke to us Sunday, we could all tell that they were special.
Dr. Glenn Gaines is a veterinarian.  I first met Dr. Gaines when we served together on the board of trustees for Texas Baptist Children's Home and Family Services.  He and his family lived in Brenham where he had practiced veterinary medicine for a number of years.  The children's home also has a facility for boys near Brenham called Miracle Farm, and Dr. Gaines has given many hours in caring for the horse and livestock there.
He was an active member in his local church when God laid it on his heart to use his skills as a veterinarian to share Christ.  He and his wife Kathy prayed long and hard for the Lord's direction.  Finally, the way became clear, and Dr. Gaines left his practice in Brenham to join a group of other Christian veterinarians in an organization called VETNet.  He and Kathy are now in Mongolia , where they are working to improve livestock programs and to share their faith.
 In a card I recently received from them, they asked for prayer for good health as they are in a country without quality healthcare, and for peace and a real sense of God's control for their family members as they have moved so far away from them.  These, too, are some very special people.
 The interesting thing about special people is that anyone can be one.  Anyone who is willing to listen to God and follow the directions of His Spirit can become special.  They may never be famous, but they will always be special. 

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Dr. Don M. Shannon, Pastor
First Baptist Church , Coldspring