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This is my wife, BJ (Brenda Jean), holding a friend's lamb. There is quite a miraculous  story about how we came to meet the owner of this cute little wooley creature (more on that in a moment).
BJ and I met for the first time at Ohev Yisrael Messianic Jewish congregation (Jews who believe in Jesus) located in Newington, Virginia. We began dating on February 12, 1993, and were married on August 15 of that same year. The first indication that there was something special the Lord seemed to be planning to do with us, came when we went with a group from her former Catholic congregation to the, "March for Life," in Washington, DC, which for those who may not know, is a peaceful demonstration to protest the practice of abortion in our country. As we walked towards the speakers platform before beginning the actual march, which started near the Washington Monument and ended near the Supreme Court building, I was approached by a reporter from a Christian magazine for an interview. Later on, another reporter (a Jewish woman from the Washington Post), interviewed both of us, and several of BJ's comments were featured starting on the seventh line of the front page of that paper the following day! Also, though many of her Catholic friends were actively trying to speak with passers by, offering them brochures and other materials (which the people refused), even though BJ and I were just standing their listening to the speakers, many people we didn't know were coming up to us and asking us to pray for them.
After the march was over and we got back on the bus and took our seats, we began seriously talking about what had just happened, and were of the impression that our relationship was to start heading in the direction of marriage. One thing BJ and I have in commonis a great love for animals, so with this in mind, I would like to share a bit more about the lamb and how we met it, and it's owner through a pretty remarkable set of circumstances.
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Interestingly enough, this all happened very close to Passover. For those who may not be aware, Passover is a festival
established by God in the Old Testament. Just four days prior to
Passover every year, a lamb less then one year old was to be taken into
each family's home for four days, and then after that time, the lamb
was to be sacrificed, and the blood of the lamb placed on the door
posts and lintels of the home. The lamb's blood was a sign that the
angel of death was to, "pass over," that house so that all those in the
house would be saved from the tragedy that was about to take place.
Many years later, it is our belief that Yeshua (Jesus' name in Hebrew),
took a piece of matzah (unleavened bread) on the evening of Passover,
gave thanks, broke it, gave it to His disciples and said, "This is my
body broken for you....do this in remembrance of Me." Later that same
day (according to the Biblical reckoning of time {days start at sundown
according the Bible}), Yeshua (Jesus) was crucified as the ultimate,
"Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world." If you'd like to
read and see a pictorial account of how we came to be at this animal farm holding lambs, please visit
BJ's web site entitled, ANIMAL RESCUE 911 .
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This is our male cat, Storm, and he most certainly lives up to his name!
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This is our female cat, Jaspurr.
Not only is she a real GEM, but she is almost constantly Purring!
Like young Cristian, Storm and Jaspurr are, in a manner of speaking, sponsored as well. We acquired them about 4 years ago from an animal rescue organizaion in Virginia, and had to go through quite an application process to, "adopt," our furry friends, but over and over again, we find ourselves blessed for having made the decision to include them in our family. Not long after hurricane Katrina came through, I had an interesting experience concerning our cat's names.
I'd decided to go on a missions trip with a congregation in Townsend, TN to assist in the relief efforts following the hurricane. We had rain most of the way down to our place of ministry (Folsom, LA), but several hours prior to reaching Folsom, we passed through Jasper County, and it was in Jasper, that we encountered one of the most heavy, "Storms," I think I've ever ridden through!! In fact, we heard on the radio that several tornadoes were on the ground just north west of our location, but the Lord protected us, and brought us to our destination. As time permits in the future, I hope to upload a few photos from our missions trip, so be sure to check back from time to time.
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