A Kinsmen Redeemer Love Story

By Sheila Johnston and Jerald Johnston

Readers, I hope you choose to walk through this book with Jerald and me. You will see the mighty hand of God move all through our lives. You will read of a time in both our lives when life hits us out of nowhere and barely leaves us holding on. This is a time when we feel we have reached the lowest point, a very dark hour, a place we feel we cannot bear. A broken heart and such hurt throws us into a pit of despair, leaving us wondering if this will ever end.

You ask yourself, "Will I ever feel whole again? Will there ever be a new and wonderful life for me. Or God forbid, is loneliness the only life I will ever know?"

Suddenly, God moves in and puts Jerald and me together with a project. We will work side by side for months repairing God's one-hundred-year-old country church. We take great pleasure in restoring God's house. Yet God has a greater plan. He is beginning a healing process on Jerald and me. This repair is needed much more than the needs of the old church. God starts bringing to pass miracle after miracle. Jerald and I are awestruck by His greatness. Yet God is not finished. The best now is beginning to happen. A beautiful love story begins to unfold.

I promise you, there will be times of laughter and some times of tears. Yet the most important thing will be when you finish this book. You will be uplifted and encouraged and, yes, awestruck by the mighty move of God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685172138

Book preview

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A Kinsmen Redeemer Love Story

Sheila Johnston and Jerald Johnston

ISBN 978-1-68517-212-1 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68517-213-8 (digital)

Copyright © 2021 by Sheila Johnston and Jerald Johnston

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Welcome to A Kinsman Redeemer Love Story by Sheila Kay and Jerald Johnston.

Our story is told with pictures and with words.

Faith Victory Center

Jerald and Sheila and the cherry trees behind the old Church. All refused to die. All found new life.

And he (they) shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth his fruit in his season, his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he does shall prosper. (Psalm 1:1–3)

Introduction: A Kinsmen Redeemer Love Story

A Kinsmen Redeemer Love Story

In this true love story, you will meet a couple of brokenhearted people who, even though they are devout Christians, were looking at a very dismal and lonely future. Both had faith in God but had found, through life experience, that living on planet earth can sometimes become overwhelming and does not make sense even if you are a believer. It seemed the only thing these two had in common is their love for Jesus Christ and a desire to serve Him. These are not teenagers. Both were born in early 1950, and both have experienced the blessings and difficulties that life in America brings. Both suffered tragedies and disappointments in their latter years that changed their lives forever and left them wondering, Is this how my life ends? Two different worlds with two different life experiences and many seemingly insurmountable barriers lay between them. So what could the Holy Spirit and the angels of God use to bring these two together? Would you believe an old historical church building with a bell tower, in desperate need of repair, just might be the answer? This love story is filled with times of grief, confusion, anger, hard work, comedy, respect, and sleepless nights with much prayer and many tears. Walk with Sheila and Jerald as the spirit of God and the angels work overtime (if that is possible) as God assigns them to His potter’s house where they slowly become willing to submit themselves into the potter’s hands and pray as one, Lord, not our will but thine be done. First you will meet and get acquainted with Sheila in part one of this amazing love story. In the latter part, you will meet Jerald as the Lord brings them together to complete each other and to fulfill the Lord’s purpose for their senior years. Laugh and cry with them as these two, who are both set in their own ways and have opposite personalities, struggle to learn how to work together to accomplish their God-given mission.

Love never fails// Jerald and Sheila

Why did we write this book? The short answer is we wanted to give hope to anyone that feels like their life is over and believe they have no choice but to submit to loneliness and despair in their latter years.

Another reason is we wanted to exalt the name of Jesus Christ by sharing our testimony of the love and compassion He freely gave to Jerald and me that kept us moving forward with a lively hope for a new life.

For when it looked like our lives were over, He gave us vision and determination to accept the wonderful future He had for us. He walked with us daily as we worked to restore this historic church building and bell tower, otherwise we could not have made it.

We slowly came to realize that as we were working to restore this church building that the Holy Spirit was restoring Jerald and me beyond what we could have ever imagined. We hope and pray that this historic church building and our redeemed home and property will continue to stand as a testimony and landmark to God’s faithfulness that will outlive us here in the Lodi community. Jerald and I want to encourage you, who are reading our story, to never give up on your God-given dreams. Our Heavenly Father is a good listener when we approach Him in faith, trust, and obedience, and He can make a way where there seems to be no way. It is our heart’s desire that this book demonstrates to all how God can take impossible dreams and bring them into a beautiful reality. Never forget your Father in heaven knows you better than you know yourself, and He knows what is best for each of His children; but it must be His way and in His time.

Thanks for stopping by. We hope you enjoy our love story.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge Him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5–6)

Our country neighbors

Chapter 1

The Early Life of Sheila Kay

George Allen and Patsy Duncan—Dad and Mom

My brothers’ first birthday with David and

Rick and my beautiful mom.

My name is Sheila Kay, and I would like to share an amazing God-orchestrated true love story with you.

To begin, I need to introduce you to the man and woman who would become my parents, Patsy Duncan and George Allen.

The Duncan name is especially well-known in Scottish history. It is connected to a strong spiritual heritage dating back to the days of St. Patrick, Columba, and of the Island of Iona. During the middle ages, this was a stronghold of Biblical Christian that impacted the whole of Europe and eventually the world.

The Allen name is also associated with much of the same territory. The early Scottish immigrants who came to America during 1700 and 1800 first settled in Pennsylvania and the New England states. Later they or their descendants began to head farther inland to better maintain their freedoms and religious liberties. They poled keelboats down the Ohio River then up the Cumberland and Tennessee River to settle in what is now the state of Tennessee.

Some of these early settlers, who were mostly of English and Ulster Scottish origin, made their home in a place which is now Campbell County. They and their descendants were some of the pioneers that populated this area, and over time, this small community would be named Caryville, Tennessee, and is still there today.

George and Patsy were born, grew up, went to the same school, began dating, and were married here in the little coal-mining town of Caryville. It is still a thriving little town near LaFollette, Tennessee, sets just off Interstate 75 at exit 134 and is a good place to stop and take a break.

George and Patsy’s early life together in Caryville had many challenges and difficulties, which is not unusual in coal-mining towns. The people that lived in this community were strong men and women who knew how to use all their strength and energy to survive every day.

George was raised in a home without church involvement or godly instructions and, therefore, had no spiritual biblical foundation.

Patsy’s upbringing was just the opposite. She was taken to a local church every time the doors were open. In fact, she, her dad, and her sisters cleaned the church every week. They loved attending the beautiful Baptist Church where everyone was welcome.

Early in 1950, George joined the marines for a four-year tour. In April of that year, while on leave, he proposed to Patsy, and they were married. In July of 1952, their first bundle of joy arrived, and they named me Sheila Kay.

I was the first of five children—Sheila, Dennis, James, David, and Richard.

When Dad finished his military service in 1954, we said goodbye to Caryville and made our home in Dayton, Ohio.

Dad had never been a stranger to whiskey called moonshine in those early days in Caryville, and he seemed to drink even more after we moved to Dayton.

I never did understand why, but it sure made homelife more difficult and confusing for my mother and me. At the same time, God was drawing my mother into a closer relationship with Him. I believe my dad’s drinking crippled him from being the