Four months later Pastor Rouse arranged his first meeting with us, for prayer meeting and a business meeting. Though it was late by that time, he and I then discussed a serious moral problem that it was premature to bring up at the business meeting. When he finally drove me home, we spent another hour considering how to handle the issue, as it involved inappropriate relations between the head elder and Dorcas leader.

Meanwhile, despite her miserable feelings, my wife, Pat, did business ingathering as scheduled that day. She even managed to prepare a meal for Pastor Rouse and me but, unable to eat, excused herself and went to bed. Unknown to me, long before we continued our discussion in front of our little apartment, she had been on the stool in our tiny bathroom with her head and shoulders over the sink, unable to move. The pain, for which she had taken three weeks of back treatments, had finally terminated in a ruptured tube (ectopic).

It was midnight when I finally entered our apartment. Finding her in desperate pain, I carried her to bed, but was then faced with a dilemma; for she was unable to breathe. When she started breathing again I rushed to the neighbors, awakened them, and phoned the hospital. As technicians prepared her for surgery, the doctor explained that a ruptured tube was one of the most serious emergencies and that he could only give her a 50% chance of survival.

Before long the lab technicians came to secure two pints of blood (fortunately I am O negative, a universal donor). It was several hours before she was out of surgery and brought to her room. At last I had reasonable assurance that she would make it. The busy nurse in that small hospital with no bed guard rails, asked me to stand over her to see that she did not role out. She later entered the room just in time to shove a chair under me and grab me as I passed out.

That not to be forgotten morning, April 27, 1954, was my birthday and the day I was scheduled for senior comprehensives. In order to give my full attention to my ministerial work I had chosen to take no time at all to review, trusting the Lord to help me with my answers. Now exhausted emotionally as well as physically, when I went in to College Place early to inform my wife’s parents, my brain seemed numb and some of the most common words eluded me.

Going a little early to my comprehensives appointment, I informed my major professor of the circumstance. He immediately assured me I would not need to take it that day, that he would arrange a later time. But, I told him I did not want to delay it, as I faced to many unknown problems I had no idea what would be a better time. I just wanted him to know the circumstances. But the only need for that was that they be aware of divine intervention, as my mind has never been clearer and I seemed prepared for each question. I did have one problem; but it merely testified to the blessing of the Lord. When asked to outline the history of the Christian church from apostolic times, I unfalteringly gave a full outline. But when I came to the 16th Century Reformation I simply could not think of Martin Luther’s name.

One thing I had to do was to cancel our reservation of quarters at the Seminary, as there was no way to finance fall attendance. I had chosen to take a year at Andrews before entering the work and now it was too late to place my name for a pastoral call. So we accepted a call for me to teach and Pat to cook at the Bristol Bay Mission School, Aleknagik, Alaska. But that was a difficult challenge. For the promised assistance by the principal never happened and summer school hardly prepared me to teach all classes for 27 students in all eight grades.

Knowing there had been no pastor for the Fairbanks, Alaska church for two years, as there were no funds for the salary, the Moody brothers and their wives, with whom we worked at the school, contacted the conference and offered to cover half of our salary if they would send us there. The president informed us that we would not be able to live on the salary, which was 10% less than that for teaching, and a mere $57.00 cost of living allowance, was nowhere near enough to compensate for the high very cost of food and all other items. It would take most of our $190 per month salary just to pay the enormous fuel bill, where temperatures might stay lower than 50 degrees below zero day and night for weeks. But trusting the Lord to provide we arrived there on July 4, 1955.

How we managed we never did know; but with Pat’s baby sitting and the Lord’s blessing on our little we even contributed $30.00 a month for the new church School, which the Lord miraculously directed us in establishing in the fall of 1956, shortly after the birth our daughter, Leanne, which itself seemed a miracle. For the doctor had informed us that, with Pat’s other tube totally blocked, there was no hope of having a child of our own.

Arriving at the Fairbanks church, we found only four men and a dozen women. And one of the men had been asking for his membership to be dropped for two years, while the acting leader informed me, “Its all yours. Don’t ask me for money or time until I get my house built.” These families each had two children who needed church school, as did another member with two children, whose husband was not a member.

I soon shared with the church the spirit of prophecy admonition that wherever there are five or six children plans should be laid for a church school and reminded them that although that seemed impossible, our duty was to lay plans and it was God’s responsibility to help us carry them out.. Deciding to charge no tuition, we asked our members to make pledges of $15 per month and those who could to pledge more than one, while the conference helped us remodel the church basement. The pledge response was excellent. With us, a few pledged two units. But this was not nearly enough, so, having done what we could, we made it a matter of prayer and shared our plan with visitors during the summer of 1956.

Meanwhile, as time for school approached we had no teacher and not one of our six children was assured. The two families refused to commit themselves and the non-Adventist husband declared emphatically that his children would never go there. Meanwhile, my non Adventist cousin by marriage liked our plans and committed his three girls. And two other families I contacted had pledged $15.00 each for one child. But we went right up to the day before school was to start with no teacher in sight. Then the phone rang and our president, Elder Zumwalt, informed us that a Betty Montgomery was suddenly free from her teaching assignment as a local member decided she wanted to teach.

When school started a week late all 11 children were present, though each day the non-SDA husband demanded that his wife take the children out. Meanwhile, she had in faith pledged $30.00 a month and did paintings and sold them to raise the money. On Friday, however, she finally took home all the books. But Monday morning the children were back in school!

As our attendance grew we sometimes had to have a few members sit behind the pulpit to allow seating room for everyone; it was thus evident that we must have a larger church. Though many who attended were not members and our financial base was still small, we called a meeting to discuss the need, not intending to begin raising money but to secure basic commitment.

When I finished setting forth need, dear old brother Anton Biro, a Hungarian who spent his summers there, arose and said: “I bin tinkin we goin need a new church and I got a tousand dollars saved up.” (A thousand dollars then was probably worth $20,000 in today’s currency, five or six months of my salary.).

As he sat down another member rose to match it, while others pledged lesser amounts. Pat and I had felt we should pledge $125 but dared to consider the possibility of $250. During that meeting, however, I was impressed that we should make it $1,000, but felt we must decide together later. Yet before the meeting closed, my wife arose and said, “I don’t know what my husband will think, but I feel impressed we should pledge $1000. That settled it. We joined brother Biro with his $1000 pledge, except that he had it in hand and we had no idea where ours would come from. Of course, as with the school before, the pledges fell far short of the need. But when we left a much larger sum was paid or pledged and plans were drawn for a church.

Meantime, my wife, who for years struggled with female and back problems that were ultimately cared for by a hysterectomy and back surgery, had with Leanne gone for help to to her mother in Washington, who worked for Doctor Hart. When I responded to a call in Washington, I sold every salable thing we owned for just enough to pay that pledge. Church members and the president insisted that we not pay it. But knowing the Lord had shown us what to pledge and would provide for our needs, I claimed the promise of Psalm 15:4: “... but He honoreth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.”

Arriving in our new district we were able to buy a house with no down. But, with not a stick of furniture, we needed to buy the furniture for $700 cash. Having no cash, I went to the conference office to see if we could get a loan. But president Bunker informed me that was contrary to policy. “But,” he said, “wait here.” When he returned, he began in a grave and forbidding tone, “Brother Moore, I just called Elder Scriven.” I had no idea what bad thing Elder Scriven, who was also my Alaska union president, had exposed, but decided to face it.

After a pause, leaving me hanging, he informed me with a broad smile on his face that he had called with an idea in mind, but before he could express that idea, Elder Scriven had stated how much they had appreciated our service and suggested that if the Conference could make a gift of $250 they union would match it with $500 – almost enough for the furniture and tithe!

Our experience in raising up a new church school in our Oroville-Tonasket district a year after arriving was in many ways a repeat of our Fairbanks experience. We built the school with donated labor. But the father of two of the six children, who volunteered long hours on Sunday and a couple hours on week days came to work one day greatly troubled. His wife had opposed the school and now declared her children would not attend there. Moreover, another was uncertain. Right to the last we were not sure of half of our six children.

Meantime, with pledges for five non-SDA children, when school started there again were 11! Starting on time was itself a miracle. however. Unable to dig the foundation footings until July 4, 1960, we worked virtually day and night to finish in time. (Both schools have operated without interruption ever since.)

In Fairbanks I had been 550 miles from Anchorage and the conference office and nearest pastor. When, after four years at Oroville-Tonasket, I confided to Elder Bunker that I had missed interning under a senior pastor and felt that was an important discipline. He almost immediately called me as associate pastor of the 1200 member, College Place Village Church.

Two years later, elder Peters, new head of the WWC education department, employed Pat as his personal secretary and supervisor of the student secretaries. He also invited me to join his department on an assistantship basis, to develop a guidance and counseling program while securing a Master’s in education. When, during that year, we received a call to Malamulo College in Malawi, Africa our visas were delayed just long enough for me to finish my thesis. With the help of nieces and nephews, we worked all Saturday night collating 220 copies of my 300 page thesis. I arrived home early Sunday just in time to receive the phone message that our visas were finally processed and we should plan to leave as soon as possible for Malamulo.

That was the greatest time in the lives of Leanne and David, whom we had adopted after a second tubal pregnancy. But we were able to remain in Malawi only 16 months. I contracted malaria as soon as the incubation period permitted and the doctors were never able to get it out of my system. During that time we raised money from family and friends to double our enrollment of Form I (high school freshman) students from 40 to 80, built 40 new desks and hired the new teachers needed. We also raised money to maintain that double enrollment the next year and to double Form II the following year, which began just after we had to leave, at Christmas time.

By the time they moved me to Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) I had nearly died of typhus and was so weakened by Malaria that I had to sleep around the clock except for two hours a day when by sheer force of will I worked in my Midlands Circuit office as Director of seven pastors, 25 schools, more than 120 teachers, and over 10,000 members in about 125 churches and companies. Without malaria mosquitos I gradually built up to the long days it took to visit all my schools twice in three months and to direct pastors, counsel, hire and occasionally fire teachers.

Before leaving 14 months later to teach at Solusi College, we put on a strong tithe education program and raised money to hire four high school graduates as pastors in training. While at Solusi, with the help of my mother we paid the tuition so these young men could come to Solusi. They have since carried some of the highest offices in the division, including president. Another of our students has for years served as General Conference Youth Director.

At both Malawi and Rhodesia our home was home for many of the young people. And it proved harder to leave our many extra children upon returning than it had been to leave family in going to Africa.