August - Lake Union Conference - General Conference of Seventh ...

now a nurse and a mother and is doing beautifully. Somehow,
I think it brought them closer to the Lord. That’s what
tragedies usually do.
How do I see God Well, God is my loving Father. I
don’t have an earthly father anymore, so God is my heavenly
Father; and I have the privilege to communicate with
Him anytime I want to, day or night.
My husband and I met in Colorado where I got my
nurses training. God must have had His hand in the two
of us coming together, because he was a wonderful man.
We had a good marriage and raised four children—two
sons and two daughters. I have eight grandchildren and six
great-grandchildren.
When my husband passed away in 1999, we had been
married a little more than 50 years. I was quite lonely. I
moved to Bessemer, Michigan, to live with my son, Monty,
and his wife, Winona, for two or three months until I
found out about this house. One evening, we came here to
look it over. I said to Monty and Winona, “I don’t know
what to do, because my husband was usually good at making
decisions. We just have to pray about it.” So we stood in
the kitchen and held hands and asked God to guide in my
decision-making. Later, we met with the real estate person
and I made a bid that was accepted. Later, she told me that
the owner had received an offer quite a bit higher than what
I had given him and he said, “I can’t do this to that woman.”
So he honored my offer. I have appreciated that.
I read my Bible morning and evening and have my
prayer. I don’t function without it. I just started reading
the Bible through. I’ve done it a number of times. I’ve read
most of Ellen White’s books and some I have re-read.
I’m writing to three prisoners. One says he’s glad he’s
been incarcerated because that’s where he found Christ. He
writes the nicest letters. They all do. So I’ve gotten [Ellen]
White’s books for them. After reading The Great Controversy,
one guy said, “I love it, I love it, I love it!” He just couldn’t
get over that kind of book. He said that it shows him how
his brothers and sisters suffered through the Reformation,
through the persecutions and all. He calls them his “brothers
and sisters!”
These prisoners are so lonesome and need people to
communicate with them. I enjoy their letters. They uplift
me. I try to write encouraging words and tell them about
my garden, things that I do and the music I like. Then I ask
them about different things. I had mentioned that Jesus is
coming soon, and this one guy, Lizardo, said, “When we get
to Heaven I want to give you a big hug!” So I’ve got a hug
promised.
We have a friendly church. It started small, but some
years ago Maranatha came and built on to it, and now we
have a beautiful sanctuary. We didn’t used to have any children
either but now we do. They’re the life of the party. I
feel at home here now.
Every Monday morning, several of the
women gather in my home for prayer. We
talk about different things we need to pray
for and situations that come up, and then we
spend a good half-hour in prayer together for God’s blessing.
I look forward to it. We just all enjoy being together.
I feel that I don’t have much to offer, but I guess it’s
more than I realize. That’s what Winona says, “Mom, you
do more than you think you do.”
I feel that God is with me. Before my husband passed
away, he was afraid he didn’t have enough saved up for me
for the rest of my life. I said, “Don’t worry, honey. God will
take care of me.” And He has.
Edna Hollenbeck is a member of the Bessemer Church in Michigan; Gary
Burns is the communication director of the Lake Union Conference.
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