Before we came to Australia I had decided I would ask Paul if he would be interested in being prayer partners. This idea was sparked when I first met him. It was on a Friday morning following the Traditional service at church. I had finished speaking and off to the side of the church sat a little old man with a big smile on his face. As he stood I knew he was intent on talking to me. Sometimes you can just tell by looking at a person they are fully devoted too and in love with Jesus. It was that way with Paul. He approached me, shook my hand, and proceeded to tell me what a good message I had just given. He then went on to tell me how much he appreciated Adam, how blessed he was to have such a godly young pastor who was doing such a great job of leading the church. As he talked the conversation turned to how he had come to faith in Jesus. He was a young man in the Australian Air Force who loved to fly. One weekend he had some time off and decided to go to a Salvation Army gathering. The rest was history, he met Jesus there and his life was forever changed! As he shared his story tears streamed down his face and his smile never faded. He said the moment he decided to receive Jesus as his savior was the best moment of his life. Paul shared that once he'd met Jesus he had no more fear of engaging the enemy in dogfights..."I knew where I was going if I died!" This peace permeated how he led his squadron. Typically, when the enemy would be engaged the squadron leaders would fly at a higher, safer altitude while the rest would fly lower with guns blazing. With Paul's new found faith he would insist on flying the lower position in order to protect his non-believing comrades. He said, "if anyone was going to die in battle, it may as well be me than someone who didn't know Jesus!" Paul has a resiliency and purpose about life. He has had several life threatening strokes, brought back from death three times by paramedics, and has a constant prayer request: "I need to know from God what he wants me to do today!" In some respects, I think he may have been the inspiration for the Energizer Bunny, he just keeps going and going and going. He reminds me of my Grandpa Longcor and Uncle Ade Roth. He has an uncanny sense of humor mixed with Auzzy sarcasm and an unmistakable love for people and life.
I meet with Paul on Wednesday mornings at his home. His wife Audrey has water on for coffee and we spend time sharing what's going on in our lives, then we pray. When Paul prays it's like I'm sitting in the presence of a Saint, who is talking to his God...wait, I am! Just after the first time of praying together I knew I had made a great decision to meet up with Paul. I just hope I can keep up with him!
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