Anita Coon Part 2

[00:00:04] Welcome to Women Worth Knowing, the radio program and podcast hosted by Cheryl Brodersen and Robin Jones Gunn. Well, beautiful listeners, we are back with Part 2 with Anita Coon. When we left off in our last episode, Anita was telling us her God story. That's so remarkable because she had done a very brave thing and gotten on a plane escaping a cult.

[00:00:30] And so she and her three children are trying to get out of Ohio. And that's where we left you, listening to her story, which I just want to touch on that, that when you are trusting the Lord, there are some things when life is so chaotic and crazy and you just trust the Lord and you do the next right thing, He meets you there. Even when you couldn't fit everything in the taxi that you called, you had to get out, get out, get out.

[00:00:58] And it's not all fitting in. And then your guardian angel pulls up in another taxi or whoever that driver was. And with just the right amount of money. Yeah, just the right amount of money. So tell us more, Anita, about how God's been working in your life. Well, we got to finish this story.

[00:01:18] The three kids and I landed back in California and I beelined to church and found Romaine, who didn't have an office, never did. Never did. He sat in the back of the sanctuary. And I just poured out my heart. And the whole time the leader of this cult had been saying, oh, I'm submissive to Calvary Chapel. Romaine is my boss. And it was all a lie. And so when I told Romaine what was going on, he said, do not go back.

[00:01:46] And that's a little unusual. So I felt secure in that I had made the right choice. And I was at church every single night. On the few nights where there wasn't church or whatever, I went to a different, a tiny little Calvary Chapel in Huntington Beach with Steve's sister.

[00:02:12] And he, of course, is still in Ohio doing, serving God. I'm saying it, you know, the way he was saying it. And we were sitting in church one Sunday morning and the Lord gave me a vision. I'd never had a vision before. And I saw Steve standing next to me with his arms raised and worshiping. And it was really unusual because he had just sent me divorce papers.

[00:02:41] And so I didn't, it was clear, Cheryl. It was, I saw this. And so after the service was over, I went back to the pastor and I said, I saw this thing. And I explained it. And he said, you hold on to that. That's a vision from the Lord. And I sometimes think when we're standing in church worshiping. Wow. Yeah.

[00:03:08] You know, 50 some years later, you know, God knew. God knew what he was doing. So how did Steve come back? What happened? The Lord, the Lord spoke to him. It had to be the Lord to speak to him because every, I cried, I tried and nothing. So I just had to let God work in his life. And he did. God did. And it was several months. Quite a few months. And then he called and said, I'm coming.

[00:03:36] And so I was skinny and tan and, you know. Were you scared at all? No. No, no. Because I loved him. And you had gotten the vision. Yeah. And I loved my husband. And so, you know, he came back. We were living with my parents and he got a job. And we settled in a little tiny house in Huntington Beach on 10th Street with our three kids. And we were just at church constantly.

[00:04:05] Nothing could pry us away. Because after you've been in a place where there's not worship and there's not the word being taught. No truth. Yeah. And it's very haphazard and ungodly. When you settle it into reality, it's beautiful. Mm-hmm. But I had never cooked dinner for just my own family. Wow. I cooked dinner for 30, 40 people, but not, you know.

[00:04:34] So it was unlearning a lot of unbiblical things and learning, you know, what's real and what's true. I mean, I remember asking, well, is this doctrine real? Is internal security real? Is what's real, you know? Just very confused. But the Lord brought people across both of our paths, your mom being one. And she was just beginning to teach Joy of Living. This was 1980. Yep. Yep. And the Fellowship Hall.

[00:05:01] And I remember thinking, that's a picture of a godly woman. That's what I needed. I needed to have a model to follow, you know? You know, I have a friend who told me that she learned more from my mom's stories than from my mom's teaching. Yeah. It was when my mom told the story, she'd be like, oh, that's how you live it out. Right. You know, because you can be hit with truth, but you really need that example or to hear how it's lived out.

[00:05:30] You know, how do you pray through something like this? How do you pray? How do you? And my mom was really, really good with the illustrations and the how-tos. And, you know, so she did. I remember the Joy of Living studies because we did a couple of those. And then I wrote studying Colossians and said, Mom, I can't do Joy of Living anymore. We're going to do our own. And she's like, really? Send it to me. So I sent it to her.

[00:05:58] And then she, as I like to say, greatly improved it. I did a couple more and she greatly improved those also. And so that's how Joyful Life got birthed. And so many were discipled by that ministry. And it was things she would say because she would come off in the beginning full of grace and love and truth. But she had a gift of exhortation. Oh, boy, did she? That is rare. Yes. Because... I felt it.

[00:06:26] You could see her script and you could tell she was going off script. And it hit your heart. But it wasn't condemning ever. And then she would build us up and encourage us. My women, my Joyful Life women would never watch soap operas. And we're like, okay, should I have soap operas? Oh, she hated soap operas. Yes. I don't know what's real.

[00:06:52] So, you know, we just learned from her steady diet of the Word of God. And the kids were... Meshaya was in kindergarten here. And as they got older, we had another child. And so four to top it off. And I met such godly women. That's where I met Janie Alfred when my daughter was... With a doll. First grade, yeah. And Marianne Hilton. Right. Oh, right. They pulled me on to the agape board with Bonnie O'Neill who was just being formed.

[00:07:23] And so I had... That was at our school. Yeah, that was at our school. And these are great women. And another thing is they came up with the first cookbook for the school, which I still have a copy of. And it's fantastic. Yes. It's splattered with stuff. But it's really good. It's one of the best cookbooks ever. But that was, again, my mom had that desire to disciple the younger women. And she felt as an older woman, which she was probably in her 40s, late 40s, that...

[00:07:49] I know she would have been in her 50s, but she had this desire to disciple. And she would... You know, the tightest woman who would teach the younger women how to phleoteknos. And she always brought that up, too. And it means to cooperate as well as to love. Yeah. And to be a help to their husbands and to their children. And teachers of good things. And so she took that seriously. And so the cookbook...

[00:08:16] Oh, I remember she was saying, okay, which of my recipes do you think I should give? Which are the best? Which would minister the most? And in that cookbook is Chuck's favorite walnut cake. Chuck's favorite smoothie. Chuck's favorite... It's like everything is... For Noah. Chuck's favorite. Yeah. Yeah. So all of those things all predicated with Chuck's favorite. That's what she called everything. It was so fun. So now you're in joyful life. And now what drew you?

[00:08:42] Because I'm just going to tell our listeners right now that you're leading the prayer ministry here at Calvary and have been for... Is it... Over 30 years. Over 30 years leading it. Well, and as you mentioned... Over 25 years. Your mom was considered the old lady at 40. Yes. And Anita was telling me about when she was considered the old lady. She's at 40 when she started praying. Yeah. Tell us that story. It's just so beautiful.

[00:09:07] So one of my children had a problem and all my praying wasn't working. So my carpool person, Debbie Morris, said, get in my car. We're going to prayer. The woman's intercessory person. And I said, you can't walk in there. Those ladies are like appointed by the board or something. You can't just walk in that room. And she goes, nonsense. I've been dozens of times. And so we came in to get prayer.

[00:09:36] And I remember the ladies had white hair and they spoke scripture. But just right to your heart. Like I had never seen a bunch of them in one room before. There were like 20 of them. The lawyers have gathered. And it was just amazing to me to see those ladies.

[00:10:03] And so the Lord answered our heart prayer. But I couldn't not come back. And it was, I was leading. I had led MCA prayer, our school prayer, junior high prayer, high school prayer. But in that room, I didn't open my mouth because I just wanted to hear everything. And your mom was part of it.

[00:10:29] And Carol McClure, Pauline Murray and others who are in heaven. And I just remember thinking, how do I ever jump from where I am? A busy mom with four kids. Helping run the school. Doing stuff. Being involved in everything. Along with Steve. He was involved in all kinds of men's things. How do I get to be able to sit still and turn into one of these ladies? You know. Well, you learned that you don't sit still. No.

[00:10:56] And I think that's an impossibility for you, knowing you like I do. But, you know, one of the things, too, is I tell people because a lot of people say, I don't know how to pray. And you're then doing a prayer meeting. Yeah. And just like you did, listen. And then it begins to pray because, you know, prayer is a natural conversation with God that we know. So you are at the prayer meeting and you're one of the youngins at that point. You know, and you still don't have white hair.

[00:11:25] So you're still a youngin. So you were there and you begin to learn the secret of the power of prayer. Yes. Yes. God answered so many. Just miracles. We would pray in the morning. We still have the same format. We go for worship.

[00:11:52] And then we have an hour where we break into groups and pray over all the pastors and the staff at Calvary. I was telling Robin she gets prayed for. No, I love that. She said, you're on our list. You're on our list. I haven't met you before. It's nice to meet you because I've been praying for you. I mean, what a gift that is. I mean, let's just say that, Anita, like the gift that you have given in being a faithful prayer warrior is unseen, ununderstood. And that's why she's a woman worth knowing.

[00:12:20] Any woman who prays is a woman worth knowing. For all of us, that power that we have when we go to God and he answers prayers, as you're saying. And there's such a sense that the behind the scenes is just as it. I mean, it's more important in many ministries than all those who are making the wheels turn because it's that foundation that's being laid to seek the Lord and to be drawing near to him.

[00:12:49] And then he draws near to you. Now, when you were a young woman, you were coming to this prayer meeting. Did you ever imagine that you'd be the leader of it? No, never. But some other things were going on at the same time, too. And, you know, as in all of our lives. But, oh, so in the order of the prayer room, I just want to mention this.

[00:13:16] At noon, after we've prayed for the church and staff and missionaries, we have 100 missionaries as well or more. People come in to receive prayer. Just anyone. Not necessarily from our church. Because, like I said, Pastor Chuck talked about this prayer ministry in every one of his books. And he used to talk about it from the pulpit. And I'd want to say, I'm part of that. I'm just a little person. But, you know.

[00:13:43] But he promoted it as very, very integral. And he would come in and get prayer sometimes, too. But anyway, at noon, people come in to be prayed for. And we have seen barren women have children. We have seen people healed. We have seen people get jobs. We have seen, I just can't enumerate all the miracles that we have seen.

[00:14:10] So it's not a sacrifice or such a hard thing to take a day and fast and go pray. It's such a blessing. It's so fun. It's so energizing. And it's just a beautiful ministry. You know, what a wonderful thing to be part of that. But then, too, you're still involved with Joyful Life. And you lead the Mommies and Babies group. Can you believe that from, you know, praying with these, you know, older women and women?

[00:14:38] You're teaching women to pray, too. I know that you have that gift of discipleship, of bringing women in and saying, pray with us and teaching them to pray. But you also are doing the Mommies and Babies, which is amazing. But you also do like a grief ministry. Tell me a little bit. Lord, heal my hurts ministry. Right. And tell me a little bit about how you got involved with that and, you know, what that is.

[00:15:05] And maybe somebody who wants to start one at their church or even a prayer ministry. That's we want you to give a plug for those things. So when we built our high school, a gal named Joy Newman was put in charge of our kitchen. And she would be making hamburgers on Friday and tears coming down. And people thought she was crying because of the smoke. She said, Anita, I'm crying because I can't go to Joyful Life anymore.

[00:15:34] Could you please start teaching a Bible study at night so that I can still get it? Let's get, you know, teaching. And so we thought, OK, there'll be just like four of us. Well, we taught that. I taught that study for over 35 years. Wow. And that's where we learned about Kay Arthur's ministry and her book, Lord, Heal My Hurts.

[00:15:57] And so I taught it there first and then I've taught it at shelters for women who have just gotten out of prison. I've taught it all different types of places. It's a 14 chapter study, but we have a couple extra weeks for intro and so forth. So we're actually beginning to teach it on January 29th at 630 in our prayer room.

[00:16:24] And this will be the eighth year that I've taught it here at church. And it's just a blessing. There's about 20 some women that come and it's, you know, it's a journey to healing. But it's all through God's word. It's all, if you know Kay Arthur. Well, and what's so great about doing it starting in January is fresh starts new year.

[00:16:50] But when you think about how so many studies usually start in the fall and then there's all those holidays. So here's someone pouring out their heart and then they have to stop for two weeks, you know. So this is such a great model, as Cheryl was saying, tell others how to do it. Think about starting at the beginning of the year when there's more of a chance to just go through the curriculum.

[00:17:15] And one thing that's great about Kay Arthur is there is a curriculum and there are scriptures and it guides you all the way. There's homework that you do. Yeah, which is, you know, me and homework. I just think that that's the way to a woman's heart. It's just to have to write and to journal and to pull out the depths of that. But then to be in a safe place. Right. To talk about it. Where you're absolutely safe. So important. You couldn't do that ministry without lots of grace and love.

[00:17:41] It's just, again, watching women be healed. It's so special. And, you know, I find that women that are healed go on to be healers. And that is also an amazing thing. I mean, you started this because you had hurts. Right. And you were healed. And now you've become a healer.

[00:18:06] And then I do know that some of those women, she siphons off into prayer where they become true healers in prayer and ministry. Yeah. Which is really it's healing when you minister to others. So, Anita, in these last minutes, I want to talk about now you kept Steve. You're still with him. How many years has it been now? 53. 53 years. Is that a testimony to the Lord right there?

[00:18:35] And so Steve, too, how long ago did he retire? Steve is a workaholic. He will never completely retire. But when we were in our 30s, late 30s, maybe early 40s, Steve really had a burden to do evangelism. So he went to Brian and he said, where could I travel to that that church would be open to evangelism?

[00:19:03] Well, unbeknownst to him, I had been assigned in the prayer room to pray for the European missionaries. Oh, my goodness. Not the African missionaries, you know, these guys. And so every week we prayed for all those names of all those. We had little cards. And so Brian told Steve, here, go to Newcastle. Go here. Go here. Go to the Ephraim and those guys, you know, different places. They're in South London. South London.

[00:19:30] An offshoot of the church that Brian started. And so we started traveling and he started doing evangelism. And I started mentoring the wives because they didn't have a pattern. What a great combo you made. It was so good. It was so fun. Well, you know, Anita's being pretty. She's not saying the whole truth. So let me just say this. The whole truth is she would go to a pastor's wife and she ministered.

[00:19:57] And I have one pastor's wife that she called aside and she washed her feet and prayed over her. And it ministered so much to my friend. And then I knew another group of pastor's wives that I was trying to talk into reading their Bibles every day. And I was not having headway with them or an influence. And Anita did. Stubborn London women. And she was able to talk straight to them. All the things that I had tried to say.

[00:20:26] And they began. And so it really is an outstanding partnership. You know, Steve gets them saved and Anita gets them into the Word. And you've been doing a lot of that lately. But again, right now, Anita is still doing the prayer. She's doing the mommies and babies. And she's doing the Lord heal my hurt. And I bring this. And I disciple women. Yes. Still some of the women from back then. Yes. Weekly.

[00:20:54] And even internationally on the internet. But I bring this up because, Anita, you're in your 70s. Yes. Your early 70s. And you have not slowed down for Jesus. No. And in fact, you and Kathy Gilbert are the only women I know that seems to speed up. The older you get. True. In service for the Lord.

[00:21:15] And I really wanted you on here, especially to inspire some of the older women that, you know, don't lay down those gospel shoes yet, you know. And so we've got about four minutes. But can you give a word of exhortation to these women and even invite them to three minutes? Some of the ministries that you're involved in.

[00:21:40] And, you know, all that transpires in your life from being, having disadvantages and things that are hard, challenging, hard marriages, hard. Children. A cult. Yes. Hard children. Who turned out wonderful. They did. May we ask? Yes. Yes.

[00:22:09] Contribute to us learning how to be on our knees and how to be broken before the Lord. I mean, the whole seven years in Ohio, I had a King James Bible and a Strong's Concordance, which was, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Strong's Concordance. With duct tape. Yeah. You can use it to press flowers. Yes, you can. And oil, I think. But those were formative years that I didn't realize God was stripping me of everything, calling me aside. Just me and Jesus.

[00:22:38] You're nursing a baby. What can you do? But read the, I mean, you can't be doing much else reading the Bible, you know. But everything that he allows in your life is for not just a good purpose, a beautiful purpose. Amen. As it unfolds, it just radiates God's beauty. Yes. You know, it doesn't matter how dysfunctional you are as a person.

[00:23:02] But what the beauty I see here is just that faithfulness and not pulling back, but just being available and letting God lead you. Yeah. What a difference it would be in all of our lives if we just had that simple faith to just, Lord, what do you want? I'm yours. I'm available. Lead me. And it's clear that that's what you've done. I appreciate your role modeling that for us. Now, I want to ask you in closing, how many grandchildren do you have? I have seven. So you are still praying.

[00:23:33] Yes. Some of those are our kids are similar in age. Yes. Yes. And have crossed paths many times. And that's one ministry that I just absolutely was called to pray for Char. Char is now the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa. And he also happens to be my son. So I'm very, very blessed mother. But yeah, praying. And I remember even when my son-in-law, Michael, had the high school ministry. And he's new. Just entering the ministry. First time ministering for the Lord.

[00:24:02] He's been in ministries, but he's been ministering for the Lord. And Anita would be outside with a group of women praying for every kid that walked into that high school ministry. And he just took such confidence and security from that. I mean, I think, Anita, too, is you do whatever the Lord calls you to do. And you walk through those open doors. And you just never said no to God, which is pretty good. I have a motto.

[00:24:30] And I'm praying for spontaneous obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit in unexpected places. That's excellent. Can you read that one more time? Yes. Spontaneous obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit in unexpected places. I love it. And I have several verses that back that up. It's not just my words. Well, you know what? Maybe our listeners need to find those verses. And they can't if they'll just seek the Lord like you've sought the Lord.

[00:24:59] So I want to thank you, Anita, so much for being on this. It's a blessing. Women Worth Knowing. You've blessed us, too. And I know you're going to bless the listeners. So that was Anita Kuhn. Thank you for listening to Women Worth Knowing with Cheryl Broderson and Robin Jones-Gunn. For more information on Cheryl, visit CherylBroaderson.com or follow her on Instagram or Facebook. For more information on Robin, visit RobinGunn.com or follow her on Instagram or Facebook.

[00:25:26] Join us each week for a lively conversation as we explore the lives of well-known and not-so-well-known historical and contemporary Christian women. If you think there is a woman worth knowing, we'd love to hear from you. Email us at WWK at CCCM.com. We hope you've enjoyed today's episode. Make sure you rate us on your podcast app, subscribe, and share it with a friend. Thank you again for listening to Women Worth Knowing with Cheryl Broderson and Robin Jones-Gunn.

[00:25:56] Women Worth Knowing is a production of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa.