Janette Oke by Laurel Oke Logan

Author:Laurel Oke Logan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: BIO022000
ISBN: 9781441261854
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2012-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

The new church was beginning to feel like home. More and more faces were becoming familiar and the church services were fully enjoyed. During the years since Janette’s conversion there had never been an opportunity for her to be baptized. The churches where she attended had not had baptismals, and there were few streams that were convenient as an alternative.

At the time Janette had joined the church, she had promised the Lord she would be baptized at the first opportunity. So she was thrilled when she discovered that the Beulah church had a baptistery. After her arrival in Indiana, when the first candidates were to be baptized, she joined them. It was important to her to fulfill Christ’s command to His followers to “repent and be baptized.” She had repented and experienced an inner act of cleansing through the blood of Christ—now she was also baptized as an outward demonstration to others of her obedience and determination to follow her Lord.

At Thanksgiving time, the church threw a “pound shower” for their young intern and his wife. Janette was moved and thrilled with the many canned goods and variety of other food items. Though it seemed a bit ironic that she had to come to the United States to discover “Canadian bacon.”

Then the Christmas season drew near, and Janette felt the familiar excitement mixed with loneliness for her family. Parcels were mailed and Christmas cards sent. Counting faraway family and friends and local church people, she sent over three hundred cards, an incredible amount of work for someone whose life already seemed too hectic.

Her employment at the bank continued to go well, and when the bank’s manager came through to personally hand out the Christmas bonus checks, he shook her hand firmly and said, “I’ve heard about you.” Janette tried to hide her surprise. She had not felt she was doing anything worthy of special notice, but the attention and praise were appreciated—almost as much as the bonus.

Christmas Day arrived, and Eleanor and Janette teamed up to prepare the shared meal. It was the first time away from the family Christmas dinner table, and Janette felt her throat tightening with loneliness.

It also felt odd not to have snow for Christmas. The winter in Indiana was unusually mild, and they did their best not to notice. The newly acquired used television set in the Quantzes’ apartment helped to make the day pass, as well as a visit that evening with the Dycks, another young couple who had been classmates at Mountain View Bible College. But throughout the day thoughts of family members and the missed activity of home hung heavily in Janette’s mind.

Shortly before the New Year, snow fell and beloved sister June and husband, John, came for a visit. With them they brought their two young daughters, Karen and Cheryl, who seemed to think that sleeping on the floor of the small apartment was a treat. Janette and Edward slept on the foldout couch in the Quantzes’ apartment, leaving room for their guests in their own bed.

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