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Jan Moses Greetings from the Moses Clan:
Journal
Thursday, February 15, 2007 12:11 AM CST Jan Moses Memorial Service – Feb. 12, 2007
The children and I opened the service with a bang (party bottle poppers) as we shouted, “It’s Mom’s year of Jubilee; she’s happy now and forever free!” Each read some of Jan’s favorite Scriptures and gave an affirmation of Mom. All of us recited her theme Scripture – Isaiah 43: 1-3.
We watched a 10 minute slide/video presentation of Jan’s life. Jan concluded with the example of the peanut. “When you take a peanut, what remains is the shell. You throw it away. The real me, who I am, the essence of Jan, has gone on to be with the Lord in heaven. This body here is just the shell, but the NUT has gone on ahead.”
I expressed appreciation for all who ministered to us during our cancer adventure, but especially appreciated Peggy Hodges long labor of love, and the International Mission Board’s faithful support. I also introduced Selah Helms and Bro. Miles Seaborn who both spoke affirmingly and affectionately of Jan. Jan’s step-mother, Judy Joness, sang a special number in Jan’s honor.
We watched a 5 minute video of Jan explaining her favorite song, Blessed Be Your Name. The song expressed Jan’s commitment to bless the Lord regardless of her circumstances. Shirley Coleman led us in singing the song with Karyn Laing at the piano.
Next, we watched a 12 minute video of Jan talking about her life, cancer, death, and eternity. Most of what she said I have already posted in the past five updates. Following the video, I gave a 15 minute eulogy, which I’ll summarize below. Martha then read her poem (see previous update), Shirley Coleman sang Find Us Faithful, and Bro. Bob Pearl of Birchman Baptist Church, closed the service with prayer.
“When I first met Jan, she had curly hair, a big smile, and a bounce that reminded me of Tigger, the jovial Winnie the Pooh character. But she was passionately serious about her relationship with the Lord, Jesus Christ.
It didn’t take me long to realize that she could have been almost anything. With a B.S. in Biology from UVA, she could have gone on to become a doctor. Her medical knowledge always amazed me. She could have been a college professor. She could develop curriculum and teach five grade levels at one time. She could have been a public relations officer. She could listen well and talk to anyone. I think she could have won the Science Nobel Peace Prize she dreamed of while in High School. I also think she would have made a great circus clown.
But she chose to answer God’s call to be a missionary. It was this calling that God used to bring us together. We were married here at Birchman on Dec. 31, 1983, appointed to the Foreign Mission Board in Dec. of 1985, and began 19 years of wonderful ministry on the Philippine island of Panay. Jan was a mother, teacher, counselor, WMU advisor, assistant church planter, and a friend to many. But I think most people enjoyed Jan because she would make them laugh. There was never enough time around the dinner table to listen to all of her stories.
Jan was instrumental in the salvation of hundreds. Through her prayers and witness, she contributed to the spiritual growth of thousands. She was a partner in the planting and growing of many churches in the Philippines. During the past three years, we have received hundreds of letters and notes from friends in the Philippines, many who would be here today if they could. (I then read a letter from one of our co-workers written in May of 2005, where she said, “Jan, always remember that there are many people here in the Philippines whose lives you have touched.”).
Jan and I didn’t answer God’s call to missions reluctantly. We didn’t feel forced into it. We never felt it was a sacrifice. We became missionaries for “the joy set before us.” The joy of being on the front line of missions and partnering with God Himself in redeeming a lost world. The joy of seeing lives transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
What do you think Jan would have said to God, if, 21 years ago, God would have told Jan, “Jan, I want you to sign on to be my missionary to the Philippines. It will be hot and sweaty. You will have to live for a time in a tiny apartment with no running water. You will have to move your family and belongings more than 15 times. You will experience malaria, dengue fever, typhoid, and amoebic dysentery. Then, you will suffer for three years with terminal cancer.”
What do you think Jan would have said?
Jan, whose number one goal was to bring glory to God; who understood just how much God, through Jesus Christ, had forgiven her for her sins; whose desire in life was not to have a big house, a comfortable life, or financial security; who understood God’s purposes for suffering; who knew that the means by which suffering comes doesn’t matter near as much as our response when in the midst of it; whose heart-dream was to hear Jesus tell her in heaven, “Well done, my good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master.”
What do you think Jan would have said to God?
I know exactly what Jan would have said, “Lord, sign me up.” Jan would have none of us think that somehow she was deprived of anything here on earth. Indeed, Jan experienced a joy that few people ever find. Now she has eternity to enjoy the rewards of her faith and service. Jan would gladly say, “It was well worth going through the suffering, to have what I have now.”
Jan is more alive now than she ever was here on earth. She has no more cancer, pain, or sorrow. She is free forever from the entanglement of sin. She is free from disease, aging, and hurt. She has more joy in God’s presence than anything this world could ever offer. As she was fond of quoting, “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, mind has not conceived of all the Lord has in store for those who love Him.” Jan also has the joy of knowing all her children will share eternity with her.
On January 10, Jan experienced a subsequent swelling in the ventricles of her brain. Much of her thinking and memory was affected. But on January 9, while still in ICU, Jan had asked me, “Mark, do you think I’m going to die.” I told her that the doctors think so, but that they had thought so two years ago. Jan smiled. I then said, “Jan, if the doctors are right this time, are you ready to go.” With an even bigger smile, she said, “I’ve been ready for a long time.” Those were her last words to me, with all her thinking and memory intact.
Jan was one of the most intelligent persons I’ve ever known. She used that intelligence to study God’s word, to minister in God’s kingdom. But it wasn’t her intelligence that brought her into a relationship with the Lord. In her last year of college, she made the step of faith that God requires for anyone to know Him personally and intimately. From then on, Jan experienced God’s love in her life, His power on her life, and His joy flowing through her life, to you and me.
JAN LOUISE (JONESS) MOSES:
Born on December 31, 1956.
“Born again” in 1978.
Promoted to heaven on February 8, 2007.
Read Journal History
Links: http://www.tribeofmoses.blogspot.com/ New Page for the Moses Family (4/6/07)
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