When Ivon Wilson began to be interested in Hazel Frymire, he invited her to go with him for dinner. She turned him down due to a scheduling conflict, explaining that she needed to attend a Gospel workers’ meeting. Brother Ivon recognized that this young lady was putting God first. He knew a woman who made a choice of that nature would make the kind of wife he hoped to have. Later, they were married and served the Lord together for over sixty-five years.

In Brother Ivon’s testimony, you will read that when he was a teenager, a gust of wind had caught the sail of his boat and jibbed it across the deck, knocking him into the water. A couple of years ago, he showed me that spot on the Willamette River in Portland where he nearly drowned. Although he had been reared in a God-fearing home, Brother Ivon related that until then he had no thought of becoming a Christian. However, that incident caused him to consider eternity, and ultimately, to give his life to the Lord. In 1950, not long after he was saved, Brother Ivon began working full time for the church. He continued to do so in a variety of capacities until his passing a few months ago.

One Thursday not long after Brother Ivon and Sister Hazel were married, he asked her, “How would you like to live on the Lower Light?” The Lower Light was a missionary vessel owned by the Apostolic Faith organization at the time, and it was suggested to Brother Ivon that the boat needed a caretaker. Sister Hazel asked, “When would we go?” and Brother Ivon’s reply was, “Monday.” She was indeed the kind of wife he had hoped for! They moved to the Lower Light and lived on that boat for nearly eight years, helping take the Gospel message to villages up and down the coast of British Columbia and Alaska.

That willing response to help out wherever God led was typical of Brother Ivon. His entire life revolved around serving the Lord in the Apostolic Faith work. About a year before his passing, when Brother Ivon’s health was failing, it was arranged for him to video his thoughts about serving God. He spoke in glowing terms of God’s faithfulness and the miracles he had witnessed throughout his life. He expressed gratitude for his upbringing and how he was blessed by having served God in our church. May his testimony in this edition of Higher Way magazine inspire all of us to faithfully serve the Lord.