John and Kay Abbott, Jr. Equipping Missionaries for Tribal Church Planting 
Preacher, Farmer, Welder…and Trickster! That was my Grandpa.
Here’s a couple of Grandpa’s ingenious tricks:
Grandpa’s favorite trick on Grandma:
Many hot summer, dusty days in an old beat-up car with no air-conditioner, my sisters and I would tag along with Grandpa and Grandma on their way to town. Why? Because we knew if we went along, Grandpa would stop at Dairy Queen. Now you have to realize that Grandpa’s car had a lot of rust, and so inside…well…came a lot of thick, suffocating dust! Furthermore, Grandpa would look at us and wink, as we watched him turn the heater on. Yup, you read me right. He’d turn the heater on with a sly grin directed at us, and sit back and wait to see how long it took for Grandma to complain of how hot it was outside today! It’s no wonder I get carsick easily. Just writing this brings back the thick smell of heat and dust clogging the air in the back seat of Grandpa’s car. I guess we all suffered from that trick.
Wait, there’s more. Anyone remember his trick with the tape measure?
A lot of you reading this have probably experienced Grandpa Pony’s measuring tape. Grandpa was a farmer, and never without his handy measuring tape tucked in his overall’s pocket (he was definitely an overall wearer). As the unsuspecting victim would sit watching TV, Grandpa would slowly and quietly feed his measuring tape out and over the head of the unsuspecting. I’m telling you, he became quite good at keeping that tape stiff to reach from where he sat to the top of a head some 10 or even more feet away! Then he’d tickle that poor soul’s head with the tape, quickly and quietly using the auto button to return the tape, and of course pretend to be doing something else, so that the unsuspecting, after scratching his head and looking around to see what had ruffled his hair, had no idea what had just attacked him. Of course we got used to it, and knew who the culprit was, but it became just as fun to watch him do it to some new victim.
Also a Man of God
My Grandpa was not saved until in his 40’s, my age now. And he was one of those who was on fire for God from that point on. Very outspoken, he used every occasion he could to tell others how God could change their lives, just like God had changed his. He pastored a small church, spoke at camps, did VBS’s, juvenile detention Bible studies, went to Alaska to help missionaries, and the list goes on until his passing away when he was in his 90’s.
One of his Favorite Object Lessons:
One of his favorite object lessons was to pull a bill from his wallet and hold it up in front of a bunch of kids and say, “If you want this come, and get it. It’s a free gift.” I watched him do this many times, and it always turned out the same…all the kids would look at each other, glance up at him to see if he meant it, and then after several moments, one brave kid would jump up and grab it, all the while looking around to see if there was some “string attached.” Then Grandpa would explain that it was truly a free gift from him, just like salvation is a free gift from God. The kid kept the money, and all the kids learned that God has a free gift, no strings attached, for those that accept it.
Some of his favorite sayings:
- Keep Looking Up – He’d say this, and write it on his letters
- Don’t miss heaven by a foot – meaning the difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge
- He’d talk about his chest falling down to his drawers – his “chest of drawers”
- He always had schwan’s ice cream bars to pass around…then when you’d eat one he’d look at you and say “Why you puttin that under your nose?”
- He’d ask if you’d “heard about the gospill” – used this in the hospital to the docters and nurses.
- In his later years, When asked “how do you feel” he’d always wiggle his fingers, meaning “so-so”
I learned alot from Grandpa
I still remember distinctly the day my Grandpa asked Reverend Moritz (AMF Missionary over several churches) if my sister and I could teach VBS for some of those churches that year. We were only 12. To make a long story short, my sis and I were quizzed for a good part of the afternoon by a somewhat skeptical Reverend Moritz, and ended up teaching VBS alongside Grandpa for the next 8 or 9 years! And we weren’t the only ones Grandpa would get involved, he would get lots of other family and friends involved, too. We enjoyed doing Bible studies, Nursing Homes, and Juvenile Detention centers with him. His example, and desire to see us involved in spreading the gospel was contagious, not only to us, but to anyone he met. I know his impact on my life played a part in me deciding to become a missionary.
For more pictures of Grandpa, click here!
