Arnold Guhr (1923-2007)
Written in Koerner Heights Mennonite Brethren Church (Newton, KS) choir member’s booklet:
“As a 9-year veteran of Celebration Choir, Arnold’s favorite song is “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” He enjoys singing in the choir because of the gift God has given him.”
Malinda Guhr (1927-2013)
As part of Malinda’s testimony to transfer membership to Koerner Heights Church, Malinda responded to two questions.
Have you come to the place in your spiritual life where you know for certain that if you were to die tonight, you would go to heaven? Yes
Suppose you were to die tonight and stand before God and he were to say to you, “Why should I let you into my heaven?”, what would you say?
“Believing by faith in God’s Son, trusting Him to forgive my sins and acknowledging Him as Savior and Lord.”
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Please describe briefly the experience concerning your decision to follow Christ.
“Although I was raised in a home where we had daily devotion and prayer, attended Sunday School and Church regularly and was exposed to the gospel in many ways, it was not until I attended an instruction class for baptism that I knew that I myself had to make a decision to believe that God’s Son died for my sins and that I had to ask for forgiveness and the new spiritual life He offers.”
For a baby shower for Arlene, Malinda wrote a devotional based on Psalm 139:14-16.
God is involved in the development and birth of a child. The arrival of a baby is one of the greatest miracles that a new mother can be a part of. In fact, you may be feeling some of the same wonder at the birth of your child that was expressed almost 3500 years ago by the Old Testament author David. In Psalm 139, he praised the God who had formed him in his mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous and how well I know it. You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion! You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book! Psalm 139:14-16 The Living Bible
We wonder about the kind of world our children will face as young adults. Is this the right time to bring a baby, so fresh from the hand of God, into the world? But the scriptures are filled with examples of children who were reared in difficult situations. And because God was vitally involved in those childbearing and child-rearing experiences, it really was a good time to have a child. Those biblical children experienced good things in their lives and were mightily used of God.
We also can expect God to help us in a similar way with potential problems facing our children and grandchildren in these evil days.
Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Prov. 22:6
God promises,
I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Psalm 32:8
If our children and grandchildren are instructed by our words and our prayers and our lives, if they grow up in the overflow of love, the risk of having children is turned into a challenge. And the rewards for us can be among the choicest blessings God has for those in His family!
Marilyn Koehn, one of Presbyterian Manor’s staff, interviewed Malinda when she lived in the nursing section of the Manor. This is what Marilyn recorded concerning the way Malinda coped and what her strengths were:
Malinda says that she “looks up to the Lord” for strength. She is a positive person who says that she always looks for the best in any situation. There is “nothing she can do but the best.” It was when talking about her strengths that Malinda brought up her health. She told me that they think she has Parkinson’s because her sister has it and she has some difficulty with balance. However, she did not seem to be disheartened by this—instead mentioned looking to the Lord and the strength that that provides for her. She also said, “We’ll make it through somehow,” once again pointing towards her positive demeanor.
