Bill MsQuiston

I was adopted at birth into a loving family and grew up as an only child in a small town with a small school. My father was a hunter and a fisherman; so I spent a lot of time outdoors fishing and hiking. I was a Boy Scout and played war with my friends. My parents were not regular church goers, but they taught me honesty, respect, and responsibility, while allowing me a sense of independence.

I attended Sunday school and later, Methodist Youth Fellowship, mostly for the socialization. I went through confirmation classes and earned my Boy Scout God and Country award, but did not really see a role for God in my life.

In May of 1982 Carolyn and I went on a Lutheran Marriage Encounter Weekend. Here was where God opened my eyes and heart to his role in my marriage and life. The  presenters’ shared stories about how their relationships with their spouses were similar to Jesus’s relationship to the church. I realized that my relationship with my wife, Carolyn, was one of unconditional, all accepting love.

I first saw this when my school principal asked me to work extra days in the summer in return for days off during the school year. God used the principal to give me the time off I needed, so that Carolyn and I could prepare to become Presbyterian Marriage Encounter (PME) presenters. After that experience my world changed.

As a presenter on PME weekends, God gave me the courage to share my personal thoughts and feelings with other people. Then He stepped in and set things up for my wife and me to present the first PME Weekend in Kenya. Over the course of several other visits, we were able to help the PME presenters in Kenya become self-sufficient.

God blessed me with the ability to listen and understand when others shared their experiences about how God’s words through our voices can change lives, both in the United States and in Kenya.

I was apathetic to God until I experienced how He was playing a role in my life – even when I didn’t realize it. Since then I have experienced the joy of living the way God wants me to. He has blessed my marriage, my family, and led me to find my birth family. He showed me the power of prayer when my newly found brother overcame two life threatening illnesses in less than 18 months.