UNDER HIS COMMAND

CHAPTER I

In 1815, Joseph Skinner, Jr., from Perquirmans County, North Carolina, arrived in Franklin Township, Wayne County, Indiana, and purchased land from the government. He was of English descent, of Friends or Quaker faith, and belonged to the Union party. He was my great, great grandfather. I (Boyd) was born to Morrison G. and Meta Grace Skinner on October 2, 1922, just about one-half mile from the original purchase. For generations the Skinners had been farmers.

Mother’s people were of German-Lutheran background. My Grandfather, Conrad H. Zurwellen, was born in Osnabruk, Germany. After serving in the army (and later would have to serve again), he decided to come to the United States of America. He was twenty years old at this time. He had prepared for the Lutheran priesthood. At that time every man had to have two professions; his second profession was that of a miller. He moved from the east coast to Ohio. There he met Grandmother and married. He had a mill in Ohio, and in the depression years so few could pay their bills that his mill was forced to close. They moved from Ohio to Springhill Mill just north of Richmond, Indiana, in a covered wagon. There was no German-Lutheran church in Richmond, just the English Lutheran. So daily, with his German Bible, he taught his children and prayed. He had desired that one of his six sons would enter into the ministry. That desire would not be fulfilled until another generation. My mother gave two sons to the ministry.

My mother was converted at 18 in a Methodist winter revival. She was baptized a little later through a hole broken in the ice. She graduated from Ball State Normal School and taught for two years. Later she married the older brother of some of her pupils, Morrison G. Skinner. They were married at the Methodist parsonage of Fountain City and united to form a Christian home.

I was the fourth child of that home and at the age of nine was converted during a revival in the nearby village of Whitewater. Just a few months before this, a new pupil from the city arrived at our grade school. Soon he had influenced a group of boys, teaching them to steal, to smoke and to disobey. I was one of this group. I was and always will be grateful to that group of men and women who sought and pleaded with God until revival swept over the community.

It was wonderful to see dozens of men, women, boys, and girls seeking the Lord. God so moved until the revival swept through our grade school and high school. Many members of our basketball team were saved. This revival transformed our community.

In a few months God began to call young people into Christian service. Many went into the ministry. Some went into the teaching field. Two of the young men became missionaries.

In choosing a Christian college, I chose Asbury, located at Wilmore, Kentucky. There I became involved in mission work along the Kentucky River settlements and also in Lexington. The second year I was asked to take charge of Town Visitation. Fifteen teams of two each, visiting from home to home in Wilmore, resulted in people getting saved, and in preparation for revival time in the Methodist church in town.

During 1942-45, our nation was involved in World War II. Since I was given an educational deferment, I felt that I must do more than just study. At that moment an invitation came to pastor on the Richmond District of the North Indiana Conference of the Methodist Church. I became pastor of the Millgrove circuit near Hartford City, Indiana. The majority of my parishioners were farmers, except for the small village of Millgrove that numbered fewer than 100 people.

During the second year on the circuit, one of the young men introduced me to his girl friend. On our second meeting, she suggested that we have a double date with an "Aunt Neva" as the other girl. All went well. So after a few scattered dates and several letters, (a pastor of three churches has his hands full), and a stretch of nine months in the U.S. navy, we were married on February 4, 1945. (We actually slid into that wedding, as all of the roads were covered with ice.)

I (Neva) had the privilege of being born into a wonderful Christian-German home where we had family worship each day. As a child I felt a heavy burden of sin in my heart. All alone I knelt by my parent’s bed and asked God for forgiveness. His presence came in a glorious way.

We lived on a farm near Geneva, Indiana. It was located near the West Berne Missionary Church where we attended. Usually each month we had a missionary speaker. Naturally I became enthusiastic about missions.

It was interesting how I met my husband. A niece and her boy friend were anxious to find a wife for the Methodist preacher in his town who was a bachelor. She wrote and asked me if I would be willing to have a double date to meet him. This was our first meeting. Later on he asked me the big question about marriage, plus another question as to whether I would consider the possibility of going to the mission field if the Lord so directed. The response to both questions was yes. The Lord blessed our home with three daughters: Carolyn, Marilyn, and Avelyn ... plus one son, Timothy. As I brought up the family, I did only part-time college work.

During a revival service at the church my husband pastored, I made a complete consecration to God’s will for my life. Soon after that, doors began to open for us. It was through the vision of the Youth for Christ (holiness) of Hamilton County, Noblesville, Indiana, that our friends rallied to support us to Bolivia. We left in 1950 to be with the Union Bible Seminary Mission of Westfield, Indiana. In 1953 we accepted the challenge of beginning a church in Arica, Chile, S.A.

We were able to keep a secret to surprise our parents with the announcement of our son Timothy’s arrival on March 13, 1954.

Each of our children was an asset to us in the work of the Lord as we planted churches. Their home schooling was with the Calvert Correspondence School. For high school they went to the New Tribes Mission School in Bolivia. With this training they were well prepared for college. Carolyn is a French and Spanish teacher in Pennsylvania. Marilyn is a nurse working for Hospice in Sarasota. Avelyn teaches English in high school in Pensacola. Timothy and Carmen live in Waverly, Ohio. Carmen is in charge of a clinic.. Our three daughters are married to preachers. We are proud to have eight grandchildren.

It is an honor to be a part of the Bradenton Missionary Village. We enjoy working in the Bayshore Church of the Nazarene with Rev. Lyle Parker, a former missionary to Bolivia.

After I (Boyd) graduated from Taylor University in 1947, we moved to Asbury Seminary. While there we pastored the Cassidy-Ishmael Chapel Circuit. During that time our third daughter was born. In Cassidy we had a good summer revival with Garnet Haley as evangelist, and Dorothy Wells as singer. The old church was stirred and God moved. While in seminary we had classes both summer and winter.

It was in April of 1948 that God led me through the crucifixion of self, into the fullness of the Holy Spirit. With His presence came purity and power. No longer were there questions concerning God’s plan, but just knowing His directions and then taking them. One Sunday in April of 1950, while praying, God spoke "You will be in Bolivia by November."