JAARS Volunteers Speak

Truck driver Lloyd Harder scratched his head and tried for one last time to solve the logistics problem presented by his latest assignment. One missionary family. A house full of furniture. Plus two vehicles. Lloyd’s job was to relocate all of the above from Toledo, Ohio to Van Nuys, California.

All he needed was a trailer with e-track, a kind of shelving device that enables the trucker to pack in layers. His own trailer, which he loved to use in his trucking work, didn’t have that feature. No available JAARS equipment had it either. Worst of all, he’d just heard from the huge Charlotte rental operation he’d planned on using that not one of their vehicles had e-track. Lloyd decided he’d better plan on building some platforms into one of their larger trailers. He picked out a trailer from the selection of hundreds, then began to look it over.

As he opened the back doors he gasped in amazement—the trailer was fully equipped with the latest in e-track. “That’s logistics track,” explained the assistant. “You stumbled onto one of the very few we have with that feature.” Lloyd shook his head in astonishment and grinned. “I love working for the Lord,” he said. “You never know what great thing is going to happen next.”

Lloyd’s wife, Linda, shares his enthusiasm. “We’d always planned on doing missions when we retired. We didn’t think it would be possible earlier.&rldquo;

The Lord had other plans for them, however, and the obstacles melted away: first, a brother moved his family in order to run the family businesses so that Lloyd and Linda could do some short term service with JAARS, then later they were able to purchase a 12’ tractor-sleeper so that Linda could truck with her husband while keeping up with her diabetes treatments.

At present they’re spending several months of the year trucking with JAARS. Lloyd does the loading and driving, while Linda puts her organizational skills to use by helping young families through the trauma of final packing, sorting, and relocating.

Their desire to work with JAARS for Bible translation was birthed through a friendship with a JAARS pilot and his family, and sealed with the trip of a lifetime. In 1988, the Harders traveled to the country in southeast Asia where their pilot friend worked, taking with them their three youngest daughters. Their friend flew them to a remote location where translators Andrew and Anne were working among the K. people. Through the work of a mission, the K. people had seen their first white person in 1972. At the time of the Harders’ visit, Andrew and Anne were involved in training local people in areas of animal husbandry, health promotion, agriculture and literacy. The gospel message was being translated and new churches were springing up. The K. people were striding from darkness into light. “Just look at the difference one couple can make,”" Linda shared with her husband.

The other vivid impression which they took away from their village visit was that Andrew and Anne depended on many other people outside of their location to serve in their role as translators. They relied on school teachers, pilots, radio technicians, secretaries, and, yes, even truckers.

The Harders have since discovered an exciting freedom in volunteering for JAARS. “The work we do is flexible—we can stay as little or as long as we want. JAARS tailors the job to our experience and needs. Naturally, we miss our children and grandchildren, but the JAARS family gives us a deep sense of community, and we have new volunteer friends we meet up with year after year. We want to do this job for as long as we are able. All of our talents are needed to get the Word out to the world.”

It is unbelievable the difference one couple can make, and the effect keeps on multiplying.