Remembering Terry

Recently, a friend of mine and missionary in Atlanta passed away due to complications arising from treatment of a brain tumor.

Terry Moncrief was the kind of guy that would minister to someone no matter what was going on. I think that I will have a vivid memory of both Terry and my Hurricane Katrina experiences.I had planned to travel to Atlanta the second week in September to interview Terry and others about the Moncrief Center. But since we were evacuating I sent an email to Becky to see if I could meet with Terry the first part of the week (August 29). She said that Terry wanted to see me so I went.When I got to the hospital, I had to put on a hat, mask, gown and gloves. Terry's immune system was very weak. I went in the room and exchanged pleasantries. I had not seen Terry for about 15 years (Terry taught me and two of my friends the Survival Kit after I accepted Christ).On the TV, playing without the sound, was a news channel covering the hurricane's landfall. Becky had told Terry that my wife, Karen, was still in New Orleans. Several times during the interview, Terry would stop and pray for me, or offer a scripture or word of encouragement. Most of the time, he was whispering because he was so weak.His voice seemed strongest when he was comforting me. Strange. It was almost surreal as I reflect on the situation. Here was a man who poured his life into his ministry (his family continues to do the same), and after battling cancer for nearly ten months, I am sitting in his hospital room watching a storm destroy the city I called home. It was as if God had set the appointment for me. I was getting one last lesson from my earliest discipler. How could I be concerned about losing my possessions when a life of ministry would sustain me?