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June 3, 2006
In February of 2005 Gene and Lucy Veal participated in a missions
trip to Guatemala. A few short months later Gene went to be with the Lord. Please watch the video tribute by clicking on
the play button below, then read the story on down the page.
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Dear Friends, Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Visitors:
On Sunday evening, May 1, 2005, the Holy Spirit placed it on my heart to write several e-mails
to people I had not communicated with for about 10 days. I had arrived in Guatemala
on April 13, 2005 and had my brother-in-law Trent, and a good friend Craig
Monin arrive a week later. With all the activity I had not written or taken the
time to write any communications regarding the trip. And so I felt compelled
to write to several people, of whom were Gene and Lucy Veal. What follows is
a part of that e-mail I wrote at 7:22 in the evening, just as I was leaving for
the 7:30 p.m. church service:
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Hey Gene and Lucy,
What's up? Thanks for the response last week to my David and Goliath e-mail.
As usual Gene you provide great additional perspective. I intend to write
a bit more about how great it is to want to know more about Christ and the renewing of our mind in Godly wisdom and knowledge. When I make the time.
Well I need to get to the
church service. Gotta go. God bless
you both.
Jim
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What I didn't know was that Lucy had tried to call me on my United
States cell phone (which I had with me but had forgotten the charging cord at home in the
United States) and had left a message. On Monday morning at 8 a.m. she responded with this message:
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Jim
Please call me as soon as you can.
Lucy
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I didn't see her message until I checked my e-mail around 1 p.m. and I immediately called her. She told me that Gene
went home to be with Jesus Saturday night around midnight. We talked for only a few minutes and she told me the burial was set for Wednesday afternoon. I was very shaken and told her I would call her back, forcing back the tears. I hung up the phone and immediately began to cry. It was surreal. Why did this upset me so much? I walked
around the house crying in a dumb stupor. I was lost in a series of thoughts
trying to determine what to do. And the tears kept coming.
By way of explanation I had discovered a web site while doing some research
just six or seven months ago from which I ordered a cassette tape series. Gene
and Lucy operated the web site and Christian counseling service in Austin, Texas
and I had innocently ordered this series to support their ministry as I do from time to time.
I didn't have time to listen to the cassettes before my next trip to Guatemala
so I took them with me. The problem was, I had no way to play cassettes in Guatemala
except in our pickup truck. And, as the grace of God provides, I was to have
multiple times where I would have to wait for different circumstances several hours at a time in the truck. It was in the winter last year and the temperatures were 13° lower than normal; it was bitterly cold. We would go to a church to show a Christian film and I couldn't stay outside as was
my custom, so I would sit in the truck and listen to those tapes. And God spoke
to me so powerfully I was moved to listen to them over and over again. And He
provided the opportunity.
When I returned home I called the Ministry of Gene and Lucy and spoke with
Lucy, asking her to send me a copy of each cassette album they had. She suggested
I speak with Gene and so I did. We had a great conversation and he put together
a box of albums and shipped them out to me. We began a series of conversations
about our different ministries leading up to an invitation from me for them to come to Guatemala. Amazingly (we should be amazed at anything God does?)
the trip came to fruition in February, just a few months ago.
You can read about the day to day details of that trip here:
To celebrate Gene's days in Guatemala via the slideshow he created, CLICK here.
So here I am Monday afternoon in Guatemala finding out that a man I have known only a few months and have lived with for a
couple of weeks has died. And it is affecting me tremendously. Why?
Simply, because Gene was a tremendously gifted man. And a giving man. A man seeking God with his whole heart wholly
willing to give everything he had to other people to help them find God. And the answers to their questions and problems
that God provides in his Word. You see, Gene Veal spent his whole life seeking God. And all along the way Gene was prepared
by God to help other people. And he did so. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When he went to bed he had his phone. When
someone hurting found his web site and called in the middle of the night he got up and went to his office and counseled them.
He often said when someone calls in the middle of the night they are most in need of his help. This was the man Gene Veal
was. And I loved him as a brother in Christ, a mentor and a friend.
And so I cried, walking around the house, asking God what to do. I had to go to Texas. And so I began the difficult
task of making a phone call from Guatemala to the United States trying to find him a flight to Texas. It took almost 3 hours
but finally it was done. I began packing in preparation for my flight.
At the airport the next day I was still somewhat in shock, thinking about Lucy and what she must be going through. They
were so close, the epitome of the biblical definition of a husband-and-wife. Click the link below to see his Positional Truth
in Marriage web page:
Positional Truth in Marriage
Got continued to be good to me at the airport when I checked in. In Guatemala I am known as Jeem Goofy because of the Spanish
pronunciation. As I was checked in at the ticket counter the man looked at me and said you are Jeem Goofy? This touched
me as Gene got such a kick out of it he was constantly ribbing me and once again I was reminded of him. The man at the counter
knew something was amiss so I explained the pronunciation in English. I then asked about upgrading to Business Class but
the cost was doubled so I declined. After he finished checking me in he again apologized about mispronouncing my name and
told me he gave me The Business Class upgrade for free! God is good!
As I settled into the terminal to wait for the plane to load I reached into my briefcase for my Bible to read and realized
there was another book in there I hadn't remembered. It was a book on Calvinism Gene had given me with a Post-it note on
the front that said "For Jim". On our last visit we had discussed Calvinism and he had given me a cassette by John
MacArthur which I listened to several times but never got around to reading the book. As I looked at it he had written a
personal note on the inside cover:
Jim-
A simple presentation of profound doctrine. No other doctrine gives the Christian more confidence and assurance. May
God bless these truths to your heart and flood your understanding with light.
In his love-
Gene
II Corinthians 8:9 "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes
he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich."
Over the next nine hours I read this book and spent much time thinking about the things contained therein. Nine hours because
I had to fly to Atlanta and wait two hours to fly back to Texas. But it was worth it.
On Wednesday morning I began driving to the Veal house and God just flooded my heart was so many things. I drove and
cried and prayed and cried some more. I asked God to give me strength to not cry when I got there so I could be strong for
Lucy. When I arrived I was amazed to find she was so composed. Amazed to find so many people there. We talked and she explained
what happened the previous Saturday night. She said Gene had counseled and then worked on his weekly Bible lesson for his
web site. She thought it was odd he did his lesson Saturday as he usually does it Monday. She proofed it for him and they
went to bed. To read a copy of this lesson click the link below:
Click Here to Read God Is Faithful
Right as they went to bed the phone rang and an upset woman desiring to save her marriage was counseled by Gene for some time.
He then came to bed where shortly thereafter he simply went to be with the Lord. We should all be so lucky! With tears
in her eyes and a smile on her face she recounted the story. This was the second time in a few months I had seen a woman
face the death of a loved one squarely, glorifying God. The world was watching several months earlier when a friend named
Coye glorified her Lord and Savior just like Lucy was doing today!
At the cemetery the casket, the cheapest plainest one they had sat above the gravesite. It was exactly as Gene had requested.
As people began to arrive it was obvious that Gene's ministry had affected many people. Even Lucy was amazed that so many
were there. Many notes were handed to Lucy expressing gratitude for all Gene and Lucy had done for them. It was a simple
service designed to put what was left of a broken body in the ground. No more, no less. And it was a beautiful day and a
beautiful service. And God was glorified by all that happened.
One of the notes passed to Lucy reflecting upon Genes life was
2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Amen. Gene has finished the race and sits at the feet of his Heavenly Father. Where he belongs.
See you soon, Gene.
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