Vita of Ronald Ginther, 1942 - Rapture!

RONALD D. GINTHER

EDUCATION: Eastern Washington University awarded me a B.A. and a M.A. in English. The M.A. degree is a Master of Fine Arts equivalent. My creative writing thesis was rated publishable by a graduate committee chaired by an author of nationally known mainstream books. Three undergraduate years were completed at Augustana College, Sioux Falls, S.D., a nationally renowned private college. I also studied at Pacific Lutheran University for two years, one in elementary education. My high schools were Puyallup High (1 year) and Augustana Academy, Canton, S.D. My Bible school experience has been: Graduated from People's Bible Institute, People's Church (now Covenant Celebration Church, Tacoma, Washington), and a degree, Graduate Studies, from Genesis School of the Bible (the name PBI took after it was given to a new church started in Spanaway, Washington.

TEACHING, WRITING AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS: My love of English, writing, and literature led me to teach composition, grammar, speech, British and American literature at three colleges in Washington, Oregon, and Kansas. It was for my enjoyment that I became a feature columnist and writer for two newspapers in Graham and Eatonville. Interested in promoting worthy causes and people, I wrote articles that were published in two national magazines, one the official magazine of the E.L.C.A. My biography of a Romanian refugee was printed with a foreward by Charles Duke Jr., an Apollo Mission astronaut. Presently, I am completing a science fiction series, done in a mode which expresses my passion for portraying ancient civilizations and our enormous debt to them. In college and high school I was a newspaper editor, and I participated in oratory, declam, choir, debate, the college literary magazine, and plays.

OTHER EXPERIENCES: I spent three years in the Air Force and was a certified Veterans Tutor at E.W.U. (it was Eastern Washington State College, when I attended, but quickly changed my last year or so there to university status). Three trips to the Middle East and one to England were trips of discovery that showed me that literature and history were living things. I have created a number of websites for my South Dakota pioneer family heritage, as well as sites for Bible study, Northwest poetry, and science fiction. Another site promotes poetry and play writing and encourages self-publishing. The sites have attracted tens of thousands of hits or views.

CHURCH: I had been a member, regularly attending, my parents' home church, a Lutheran church (Mt. View Lutheran, Edgewood, WA), in my years from infancy to adulthood, a non-denominational church during and after it moved from sites in Spanaway and Elk Plain to Eatonville and, due to the authoritarian problems the founder had, became a toxic, legalistic church after some years, a Quaker or Friends Church in Netarts, Oregon, for several years, the Elbe church in the foothills of Mt. Rainier for a year or so, and a Baptist church (First Baptist Church, Puyallup) for a year, then another Baptist Church (Northwood Church, Puyallup) for three years, and finally Praise Chapel (Church of God in Christ), Puyallup, for something over eight years until the present year of 2006. After about two years of praying about it, the Lord led me out, and I am seeking him about my next church, which hopefully is in my immediate area, which would spare me a lot of driving (I had to drive something like 50 miles to two of the churches listed--and now the price of gas is just too high to absorb). Update: I found a church in Bonney Lake where I moved from Puyallup in late 2012 (Mother passed away in Spring, 2011, so there was no reason for remaining in Puyallup without her presence there, and my sister still lived there, and another sister in Tacoma, but they were the only family I had I kept up with, as my two brothers, oldest and youngest, passed away too within weeks of Mother's Homegoing.--Ed.).

Marital status: I am single. It can be done with God's enablement. I have been single since a divorce early in the last decade. It was not my choice, as I believe in the sanctity of marriage. I thank God for preserving me through the ordeal and afterwards during the long period of recuperation. I am now married to Christ, which means he is my Lord and he loves me as his son and his child, and I am content with that, for the rest of my tenure on earth, if that is to be my destiny.

Job: I have been a teacher at two community colleges in Oregon and Washington, and a teacher at a church college in Kansas, but I always felt too stressed in this work, though I love teaching literature, American and English, as well as composition. So I took a security guard job, which has continued well over fifteen years. [Update: I retired from it starting 2021). This enabled me to continue writing and also to develop the nine websites I now maintain on the Web. I doubt very much I could have done the websites if I had been teaching--which I found demanded practically all my time after school, not to mention my energy. I am still doing guard work until such time as the Lord gives me an alternative means to earn a living, which I am praying will be my writings on the internet, published as e-books. I find security guard work just enough to live on, with Social Security helping out some too. I am now living with my aged mother, who at 97 is a joy to be with, as she continues to be a faithful, vibrant witness of Jesus Christ, to everyone who crosses her path. We fully expect her to reach 100 years of age, if the Lord tarries. She is a powerful woman of prayer, and I know the Lord has kept her here for our sake, to interceed for all of us, not just her family. She has great-grandchildren now by the score--and delights to write to them, and they love her dearly. Her example and life and witness of Jesus are an inspiration to hundreds of people, and thousands over the years of her long life. She is now the oldest active member of her church, serving as a deaconess with my deaconess youngest sister to go by car and give communion to shut-ins and share the Gospel and bring them to Jesus as Savior if they have not previously made a decision and been born-again. She has led two centenarians to Christ, and numberless others. She has also been a long time participant of her church's prayer chain, and a great supporter of the Tacoma Seamen's Mission, which shares the Gospel and many practical helps to the visiting seamen to Tacoma's port from all over the world. Her influence, thus, goes out world-wide, and she receives letters of gratitude from seamen from overseas, for every year she prepares something like 37 Christmas gift boxes, with the donated items from her church, to be distributed before Christmas to the seamen. I could go on, but this is enough to describe her in my life. I try to make it easier for her at her own home, and I take care of the flower garden--but she does for herself too, and we are doing fine, thanks to the Lord's provision and His constant help and healing.

I owe my mother a very great debt, probably the greatest influence and help to me other than Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I have so many people to commend, who have been powerful in my life--but she stands foremost after Christ. I am most fortunate, for the Lord did not leave me to make it alone, with Him in heaven and me on this lonely, difficult earth. He has given me, richly, His living Word. Even with my mother present, I am not able to make it without His Word constantly, daily, being my comfort and my guide. I am blessed in all ways! The Lord is good. Let us all praise Him for his goodness to us.

I have various favorite beloved scriptures, and even hymns I would like to share (given time), that have been my "help and stay" in large measure, during the dark moments which come to every Christian--those "light afflictions" which drive us closer to the Lord, and which He uses to perfect and train and prepare us for the Glory that is to come. I still need to learn to praise Him while in the various difficulties--but I am working on it! I realize it pleases the Lord most that we praise Him while in the prison of affliction, not when we are outside it, where it is so much easier.

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