ADVENTURE
Jerry and Maxine Share Eritrean Saga
Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Falley
May 31, 1957
Maxine and Jerry
Courtship days
Sharing The call
“Dating the girls” consumed a lot of my time during high school so upon entering Bible school I chose not to date and to focus on finding God’s will for my life. My sophomore year, Maxine Koerner shattered that commitment!
Maxine’s bright smile with a big dimple, her cheerful disposition and deep devotion to the Lord captured my attention. Her beautiful soprano voice, skillful touch at the keyboard and years of leadership within her home church’s youth group were qualities that seemed tailor-made to assist me in fulfilling God’s call to missionary work.
We began dating and six months later began thinking and talking about marriage. It was then that the tension began to arise concerning God’s plan for my life – missionary service in Africa. Could we share the call and ministry?
As a child, Maxine accepted Jesus as her Savior and believed that the Lord wanted her to serve Him in full-time ministry. But, she had never experienced a specific call to missions. Was her call to missions a prerequisite to our consideration of marriage? It was a big question and created a dilemma for us.
One morning during my devotional time, I was reading in Genesis 12 concerning Abraham’s call to the land of Canaan. I noted that he took his wife Sarah with him. She accompanied him without a definite call of her own. Wow! I found the answer!
Immediately I went to the girl’s dorm and asked for Maxine. She walked down the steps to greet me and I related to her the story of Abraham and Sarah. Then I blurted out, “Maxine, if it worked for Abraham and Sarah, it will work for us too!”
Six months later, I placed an engagement ring on Maxine’s finger and we were married the day after I graduated. Maxine has become an equal partner with me in fulfilling God’s call to fulfill the Great Commission, allowing me to be the pace-setter in achieving that goal.
It’s been a wonderful marriage as we learned to share the call!