IN LOVING MEMORY – MRS ADRIA (VIRGINIA LEE FERGUSON)

Jeanna Park was given the honor to present a tribute to Adria’s life at her funeral, which you can read below.

My name is Jeanna Park. Thank you for allowing me the privilege to talk today about Ms. Adria.

That’s how I’ve always addressed her, even as an adult, because I met Ms. Adria when I was about 5 years old. So I’ve never been able to call her just Adria. Ms. Adria & Mr. Steve were the children’s ministers at my church, but they were much more than that to me. In my childhood, I spent nights & weekends at the big property & at Marnel house with Faith & Evie & Mary. I went with them to the tv station where they filmed their show, The Star Family Singers, which ran on channel 22 for 15 years, and to many other different outreach & ministry opportunities. I was a member of HWH Club, which Adria co-founded, & I won a bicycle at church for being the 1st girl to get all 12 badges. I never got to take that bike home though, because my mom said I already had a bike & made me give it away to someone else. 30 years later, I’m still kinda sad about that. But I digress.

I grew up watching, loving, and respecting Ms. Adria. She even came to my choir concerts & musicals when I was in high school. And as I got older & I struggled with life & the calling that God had for me, Adria was who I would call. She listened & then she would pray for me right there on the phone. She never judged me or even tried to sway me one way or another. She just prayed for me.

About 12 years ago, I asked for permission to carry the HWH Club to México & Cuba where my father has been ministering for over 25 years. Since then, hundreds & hundreds & hundreds of children throughout Cuba, Mexico, and Honduras have been memorizing the Word & growing closer to Jesus. A few years ago, not long after Steven passed, I was honored to take Adria to Honduras to see children in several remote mountain villages who are members of the Club. She was able to see the fruit of her & Steven’s ministry & I was really struck at how full circle everything had come in our relationship. On that same trip, we birthed the idea to open an elementary school for children who live in slum areas. Adria was 1000000% sure that the idea was of God and we needed to do it, even if we didn’t have the funds for it. We prayed, and she prayed harder. Today, we have 65 students, from pre-school to 3rd grade, children who otherwise would not have access to education. 65 children who live in the most dangerous communities that you could imagine, now have hope for a future. And Adria knew it should happen before we did. I took her to some fairly dangerous places on that trip & I never once saw her afraid. Because of the language barrier, she didn’t feel that she could interact very well, but I watched as she loved on every person that she came into contact with, just as she had done around the world for decades. She read books & tracks to children, gave away salvation bracelets, sang songs, & taught a couple of kids to play guitar. But most of all, she prayed.

As we were leaving Honduras, at the airport, we walked into a store that sells really beautiful bags & purses. I had seen this gorgeous backpack a few months before & it was still there, so I was standing in front of it ooh’ing & aahh’ing. She grabbed it & said she was going to buy it for me. I think that’s the first time I ever raised my voice at her. Absolutely not! I was not about to let her spend that kind of money on me. But she marched up to the counter, and started chatting the with guy standing there, while handing over her credit card. We kept arguing at the counter. I told him I loved the bag but couldn’t justify spending that much when I was on a missions trip. So then Adria jumped in and told him aaaallllll about our ministry in his country. Long story short, I got a free backpack, and he never charged her credit card. Turns out, he was the owner’s son, and Adria had touched his heart with all of her stories. Just like she touched the hearts of every person she met, not limited to the people in this sanctuary today. That’s who Adria was, and I witnessed that for my whole life. People wanted to draw closer to her, people wanted to help her, because she was unashamed about Jesus and who she was in Him. Galatians 5:22-23 talks about the Fruit of the Spirit – and if you were a student of Ms. Adria, you are right now singing the song in your head. As I was rereading that verse this week, I was drawn to the verses immediately after, verses 24 & 25, which say “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” Adria was the embodiment of these verses. She oozed the fruit of the Spirit. And she kept in step with the Spirit in every moment of her life.

My parents really wanted to be here today, but unfortunately were called to minister outside of the country. Before they left, we talked a lot about Adria, sharing different memories & stories. My father said that she was an angel on earth; he never once saw her angry or upset, she never complained, and she always always always found the positive and the joy in everything & everybody. My mother had an even closer relationship with Adria, I think largely because they both understood what is was like to support & work with their husbands in service to the Lord. They shared many meals together, they sang together & to each other, but most of all they prayed together & for each other. Mom said the same thing that my dad did. Adria saw the good. She always had gentle & loving words. Adria was one of the strongest people that we have ever known. And the kindest. Adria saw people as Jesus does.

I could stand here for a lot longer and tell you stories about children whose lives have been changed by the HWH Club. The seeds of Jesus’ love that Adria planted literally goes around the world. But her most loved seeds are her beautiful children and her amazing grandchildren. She loves all of you fiercely. Passionately. Proudly. I observed that my entire life. All of us in this room are blessed to have known her. Blessed to have been loved by her. To have heard her sing. To have been taught by her. To have been prayed for by her. As Paul commanded to Timothy, Adria lived as an example to believers in her speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity. She never neglected the gift that God gave her.

Phillipians 1:3 says I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. I want to encourage all of you here today, as you walk out of this church building, every time that you think of Adria, remember how she loved us and others, thank the Lord for her life, and ask Him to help you love like Adria loved. Let us carry the love that she modeled to the rest of the world.