“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” Psalm 116:15
Grace Frizen has been ushered in to the everlasting presence of her King. What a woman. What a representation of a faith and life that I want to emulate.
Jack and Grace Frizen are some of our heroes here at PIONEERS. In fact, we even have a building named after them. After studying at Wheaton College, Jack was snatched up to serve in WWII. God used the time Jack spent stationed in the Philippines to give him a heart for the world, a heart for Asia, and more specifically, a heart for the Filipino people. After returning to the US, Jack along with several other GIs founded the Far Eastern Gospel Crusade, now SEND Int'l. While serving on the board and attending Columbia Bible College, Jack met his wife, Grace. Together they served for eight years as missionaries in the Philippines and then was Executive Director of the IFMA, Interdenominational Foreign Mission Association, for 30 years.
This sweet couple are truly lovers of the King and soldiers in his Kingdom. God has multiplied their humble work 100 times over! SEND Int'l is a major mission agency that, among other places, has been toiling the soil in Japan for decades. The Philippines was an unreached nation when the Frizens went in 1954, but with a 16% Evangelical population, the Philippines is now becoming a significant missionary-sending country. With the IFMA, Jack and Grace had the privilege of encouraging and empowering missionaries and mission agencies to do the work God has called them to. This support role continues today as Jack serves as a missions consultant to PIONEERS.
Dr. Frizen (as we call him, pronouced fri-ZAIN) makes me smile. I love seeing him around the PIONEERS campus. He always has a smile, a hand squeeze, or a hug for you. And he espouses words of encouragement and wisdom that comes from a deep heart of love. Grace has had dementia for several years, but even when she would occasionally visit campus, her eyes spoke compassion as she reached out for a hug.
Two weeks ago, Dr. Frizen gave an update on her condition. He described the pain of checking her into an assisted living situation, of watching her personality change from the woman he knew, and of kissing a wife who doesn't recognize him. The doctor did not think her body would fight the cancer much longer. "For the past six weeks, I've had a taste of what it's like to take care of her 24 hours a day, and it's not been easy," he said. "But she took care of me for over 50 years." As I listened to Dr. Frizen's expression of love for the wife of his youth, tears streamed down my face. It was so pure, so beautiful.
And now, she's home. Pray for Dr. Frizen as he grieves and rejoices for her at the same time. They've lived well - not without pain, but with a great confidence as they walked hand-in-hand with Almighty God. A life worth living.
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