Well Done, Uncle Peter

WELL DONE, UNCLE PETER

Yesterday another one of our heroes went home to be with the Lord after a short battle with pancreatic cancer.

Known to thousands as "Uncle Peter," Peter Kolody was one of those heroes that made an impact on my life. He was one of those guys who was just there when you needed him. God gifted him in so many ways. He was an incredible cook as well as a skilled plumber.

During my childhood our church made it possible for kids to earn a free week at a Christian camp. To earn the free week, we had to memorize Bible verses -- and lots of them. The cool thing was that we thought the memorization of God's Word was to get the free week at Camp Sandy Cove or Camp Sandy Hill. But the real motivation was to get us kids to hide God's Word in our hearts.

We were each assigned someone to "hear" our verses, and guess who I was assigned to? Uncle Peter! Each week he faithfully listened to my verses and encouraged me to keep at it. But the biggest surprise of my life was when I got to Camp Sandy Hill, guess who our cook was that week? Uncle Peter!

Years later I was attending Philadelphia Biblical University as a part-time student. I was assigned to work in the maintenance department for several months and guess who was our plumber? Uncle Peter! In fact, Peter went on to serve for many years at PBU both at the center city campus and then at the campus in Langhorne. I don't think the University has a clue how many lives this gentle giant has impacted over his thirty five years on staff.

At our Memorial Day weekend concert, we honored Uncle Peter. He was a hero in his own right for serving our country in the Navy having been assigned to naval ship, Gambier Bay. Hundreds of men's lives were taken on October 25, 1944. His story is powerful and God used his testimony to encourage thousands as he quietly shared how God had spared his life in an amazing way.

His story will never be on Fox News. In fact, my guess is that very few of our Keswick family even know who he was. But he was a faithful servant of the Lord, and a good friend and mentor. I will miss his smile and his wit. I will miss his encouragement and prayers. I know that our loss is heaven's gain. And I have a sneaky suspicion that after he has had some time to see his Savior, a little blonde girl by the name of Lindsay Bear, who Uncle Peter adored and prayed for, ran over for a big hug ... and Uncle Pete's famous line would be -- "Hey, there doll!" Uncle Peter -- we love you! Thanks for your ministry in all of our lives. -- Bill Welte is President and CEO of America's KESWICK.

God's WORD for YOU: Psalm 10:12; Acts 19:1-20

Think about this: He has great tranquility of heart who cares neither for the praises nor the fault-finding of men. He will easily be content and pacified, whose conscience is pure. You are not holier if you are praised, nor the more worthless if you are found fault with. What you are, that you are;
neither by word can you be made greater than what you are in the sight of God. -- Thomas a Kempis