Beloved Intercessor,
Loving greetings from Florida. Philip and I learned last weekend that our beloved Papa
Doorn had made his journey to Heaven Saturday evening at 8:31. We are on our way to
Orlando to attend the celebration of his life.
I think it’s fitting for this prayer letter, that I share some memories about a great man of
God, who was used mightily in connection with this ministry, and with me personally.
I first met the Doorns’ at my dad’s house when their daughter, Susan, was just a baby.
They had recently moved from Wisconsin and were just beginning their ministry in
Brighton, Michigan. I was probably 15 years old. I was living with my grandparents at the
time, but my dad and stepmother, and my older sister began to attend the Doorns’
church, Christian Fellowship Center.
Some months later, my sister invited me to come to church and hear these ladies who
smuggled Bibles behind the Iron Curtain. I thought that sounded like a wonderful
adventure that I would enjoy, so I attended that meeting. Sigi Preik (who later married
David Oblander) was ministering that morning. The Holy Spirit really touched me deeply,
and all I could do was cry. I knew that there was something about these ladies that had
something to do with me!
After a few more months went by, these Bible smuggling ladies returned to Brighton. My
sister and her husband were staying with me at the time. I had just had my 18th birthday
and my sister told me she would take me to lunch to celebrate. She took me to a lady’s
luncheon sponsored by Mama Doorn. Sister Gwen was the speaker. While she was
ministering, I heard the Holy Spirit say to me, “I want you. I want you 100%, and I want
you right now.“ Weeping, I said, “Yes,” to the Lord, but later I began to have second
thoughts, deciding to go on to college for a year before I would serve Him. I was already
enrolled in the music school at Western Michigan University, and had some scholarships,
so it seemed like the logical thing to do.
About six weeks later was the first End-Time Handmaidens World Convention in
Dogpatch, Arkansas. The Doorns organized a group of us to go. I think by this time I had
started attending Christian Fellowship Center because I had become so hungry for God.
No one prophesied over me, nor did I hear anything that made me think about it, but
somehow I knew in my spirit, that if I went to college, I would never serve God, so I went
home and canceled my college registration and scholarships.
In that convention, as well as for many years that followed, Pastor Doorn stood
alongside Sister Gwen, helping her to emcee the meetings. During one of the services in
that very first convention, he stepped up to the microphone and said something along
the lines of, “Sister Gwen, I believe there are many End-Time Handmaidens in this
meeting. If anyone in this room feels that call of God on your life, you need to come up
here on the platform and let the minister’s lay hands on you. Sister Gwen will lead you in
a prayer of dedication to the Lord.” I’m sure that I was on my feet in an instant and
headed for the platform. Later, Papa Jim went back to the recording and transcribed the
words to the dedication prayer that we still say today.
The only World Convention he ever missed was when he was in the Philippines and
couldn’t get there in time.
Sister Gwen relied a lot on Pastor Doorn through the years. The first time they met was
when someone had arranged for Sister Gwen and Sigi to go to his church in Wisconsin.
When Sister Gwen and Sigi walked in the door, dressed in white saris, Brother Doorn
spoke up by the Holy Spirit and called them, “the handmaidens of the Lord.” The Holy
Spirit moved in a powerful way in that meeting, and when Sister Gwen had finished
speaking, Papa Doorn felt led to have everyone come and “lay their offerings at the
apostles’ feet.“ He had never used that terminology before. Little did he know that they
were getting ready to go to India and did not yet have the money for their trip. The
offering that was given that day paid their expenses.
It is always a blessing to me to be around people who are willing to follow the leading of
the Holy Spirit! Papa Doorn was a champion at that!
I sat in many services in his church, at our Conventions, and in our International School
of Ministry, where he taught for many years along with Mama Doorn, June Lewis, and
Sister Gwen. Later on, Gene Little joined faculty.
It has been in my heart for a long time to make these life-transforming Bible school
teachings available on the Internet. Please pray with us to get that vision accomplished.
As the harvest comes in, it will be imperative to have foundation-building materials
available that will help people grow up in the power of the Holy Spirit into mature sons
of God who are able to release His Glory in the Earth.
That school was always a place where the Holy Spirit could freely move. He often did so
in the classes, and Papa Doorn was always faithful to follow His leading, as did the other
teachers.
Papa Doorn also loved to worship. It was not unusual to see him dancing before the
Lord, waving or twirling his handkerchief over his head. It was also not unusual to see
him become so overwhelmed by the Spirit that he couldn’t stand up without someone
helping him. Sometimes he would have to be seated in a chair for people to come by and
let him lay hands on them because he couldn’t stand up to go down a prayer line.
He and Mama Doorn walked in a powerful revival anointing that they acquired during
the Latter Rain Movement in the late 1940s. And God used them in a mighty way during
the Charismatic movement as well. They were always ready to release the Glory
everywhere they went, no matter who they were with. I loved hearing the many stories
that they shared of the intervention of God and release of His Holy Spirit as they
ministered in the nations.
Papa Doorn was always a peacemaker, and applied wisdom and understanding in
complicated situations to help people find one another in the spirit. One of the sayings I
remember him repeating many times was, “Be nice to Jesus.“ In other words, when a
brother or sister in the Lord annoys you, just remember that Jesus lives inside of that
person too, so it will help you to be nice to that person if you see Jesus instead of the
perhaps immature behavior of that brother or sister.
Papa Doorn (like Sister Gwen) was all about the nations. He went to over 60 of them in
his more than 70 years of ministry. He loved missions! He and Mama poured themselves
into Haiti and the Philippines for many years, even while they pastored. Then they took a
leap of faith to leave their church and trust God to take them to the nations and to
minister all over the United States as He opened the doors.
Philip and I never had the opportunity to travel with them, but the rest of the Buss family
did. Philip’s parents and his two brothers and their families went to Argentina and
ministered alongside the Doorns with their anointed music.
Earliest connections: I had known from the beginning of my experiences with the Doorns
that there had been some connection between him and my stepmother. I assumed that
they had gone to school together, but about this time last year, during Black History
Month, Papa Doorn shared on one of his “Moments of Meditation“ videos on Facebook,
the story of how our first connection happened.
Papa Doorn grew up in the Dutch Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and while
he was in his pre- and early teens, the neighborhood began to change ethnically. His
pastor got a burden from the Lord to hire a missionary who would begin to interact with
the community around them for prayer, sharing the Gospel, and helping in any way that
they could. It turns out that the missionary that they hired was the lady who later
became my stepmother! Even though neither of them were Spirit filled yet at the time,
she prophesied over him that he would become a missionary. They reconnected some
25 years later in Brighton, Michigan, after they were both Spirit-filled and she had
married my dad. If you want to hear the whole story, you can click on this link.
If you want to watch the Celebration of Life service for Papa Doorn which will be
available by Livestream on Facebook & YouTube on Saturday at 1:00 pm EST, you can
click on one of these links:
https://m.youtube.com/@JudahLive
https://www.facebook.com/judahlive
Here’s a link to his obituary: https://www.degusipefuneralhome.com/obituaries/RobertDoorn/#!/Obituary
Ivan Tuttle—To Hell, Heaven, and Back: I hope you have listened to our most recent
podcast by this time. If you haven’t, here is a link where you can go and enjoy it. Episode
145: “Releasing the Greater Glory” with Ivan Tuttle Part 1 – Global Outpouring In 1978,
Ivan Tuttle developed a blood clot in his leg that broke loose and went to his heart,
killing him instantly. Even though he had loved the Lord as a child and teenager, even
going to Bible school, he had been led astray and had fallen into drugs, alcohol, and sin.
The instant he died, a horrific demon grabbed his left wrist and pulled him out of his
body. He tried to fight it with no success. Then he looked back at the bed and saw his
body lying there. He was taken to Hell and saw multitudes of people imprisoned and
being tortured. The heat was unbearable, and the stench horrific. Just before he was
about to be bound there for eternity, he heard a Voice ring out, “It’s not his time. You
can’t have him. I made a promise to his mother “. The demon released him, and he was
instantly translated to the gates of Heaven. An angel showed him many things, including
creation, events in the Bible, and the coming Glory.
Listen to the podcast to get an idea of what God is going to do when Ivan comes to
Engeltal, March 23-25. Please consider registering and coming to be with us. It will be
life-changing!
Please have a look at the other events that are posted in the side column of this letter. I
hope you are praying about coming with us to Israel in November. It’s going to be lifechanging!
Once again, we want to say a big thank you to you for your prayers and support! We are
very, very deeply grateful!
Your handmaiden and servant,
Sharon and Philip
Please pray for God’s Visitation to Haiti!
Gangs are taking over and occupying the area of Bon Repos. The devastation there is
catastrophic to put it mildly.
Corrupt Oligarchs and warlord gang leaders and their gangs control it. We all pray that
something is done to stop the killings, destruction, sex trafficking, rape of children and
women, kidnapping… It’s horrific. The gangs killed a large some of police last
week. After killing them, they lined them in the streets. They cut off their hands and
feet. They laid their guns on them, put lit cigarettes in their mouths and took picture of
the murdered police for everyone to see…… It’s savage. Thank you for your continued prayers!