From: Ariel Keith, Delhi, NY
I composed this letter for the occasion of Apostle John and Carmen’s 50th Anniversary, today I wanted to share it as a tribute to Apostle John.
Dear John and Carmen,
For many, many years you have been bondservants of our Lord. Countless miles you have traveled, countries you have impacted, lives you have touched. At this celebration of your life together, I wanted to detail some specific things that made a difference in my own walk.
You visited Norman, OK, in the early 2000s. John spoke of his years in university, and how Carmen said, “Well if you’d sell some of your books we could pay off the mortgage!” That brought laughs all around. Then, how the Lord said, “Close all your books. Now I am going to teach you.” This anecdote quickened a yearning in me. I did not go to college, choosing to get married young and build a life with Jonah. But I am a self-proclaimed bookworm and when you spoke of how the scriptures were not necessarily written to reveal, but rather to hide mysteries, my heart began to say, “Oh, yes, Lord!”
Fast forward about 15 years and 6 kids… I was reading of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus joined by a Third. How their hearts were burning within them as Christ opened the scriptures on their walk. Before their natural eyes recognized Him, He showed them all the things pertaining to Himself in His Word. I began to cry, “O Lord. WHAT DID YOU SAY?!?” Just as in Zechariah, there seems to be a heavenly messenger detailed to answer anything the young prophet asks, so I felt the Holy Spirit took me by the hand and began to lead me through His written word, “opening my eyes, that I may behold wonders from Your law.”
Again, fast forward to 2020. I began to seek His face in understanding the revelation of Jacob’s ladder, as well as Christ saying, “You think this is amazing?? I tell you, you will angels/messengers ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” The Lord is referencing Jacob’s vision, but I did not understand any more than that. I prayed for a deeper level of what He meant, but I didn’t get much further. Shortly after, our local body was part of a Zoom broadcast that March, and Apostle John taught about the “coming/revealing of the Son of Man” and what that meant for us as the corporate “one in the likeness of the Son of Man” in Daniel’s vision! Unequivocally, I knew my answer had been sent!! We are the ones who are messengers; we bring heaven’s perspective down to the earth; we are the ones in the likeness of the Son of Man, the corporate Christ!
So, I just wanted to detail some of the part you both have had in touching my life. Just as John said many times, “Your Word does not return empty; it reaches the target!” Truly, the Living Word in both of you has accomplished much, and continues to do so!
With thanks and appreciation for all your years in Christ,
Ariel Keith
(from Tabernacle of the Congregation, Delhi, NY)
