Irvin W. Nelson's Obituary
Irvin W NelsonDecember 10, 1919 to August, 6, 2004Irvin was born in North Dakota to Christian parents, 12 miles from the town of Lansford, on a cold December day when it was 30 to 40 degrees below zero. When things were going wrong during his delivery, IrvinÂ's dad and the neighbor lady got down on their knees and prayed. Before the doctor arrived, everything had turned out all right. So Irvin had to admit, the Lord had been with him from the beginning, even before he became a born again Christian. Irvin grew up in a home where he was taught the Christian way from his earliest years. But as Irvin grew older and into his teens, he thought he could arrange his own life the way he wanted to, and give his life to the Lord later. But God made sure things didnÂ't go the way Irvin had planned. World War II came along before Irvin had made any plans for his life. He prepared to go to war when his number in the draft came up. He took preflight exams to train as a pilot in the Air Force and passed with very good marks. As the time grew near for Irvin to go, he felt the Lord was telling him, Â"If you will give up flight school and do it My way, I will bring you back.Â" Reluctantly, Irvin gave up the piloting program and just enlisted in the regular Air Force. Irvin found himself in Europe during the Normandy Affair and there were about five or six occasions when it was doubtful he would see another sunrise. Irvin knew that if the Lord had not intervened on his behalf, history would have been different. So Irvin was careful not to do the things the other fellows were doing, and because of his training at home, he knew that if he expected the Lord to keep His promise, Irvin would also have to keep up his end of the bargain. Irvin came through the war without a scratch, however while homeward bound on the carrier Â"EnterpriseÂ", they ran into one of those infamous hurricanes five or six hundred miles out of New York. The Captain made the remark that night that it was unknown if they were going to make it back safely. At midnight, the waves were at least sixty feet high. At 8 oÂ'clock the next morning, when the sun was breaking through, Irvin got up and looked out the porthole, he noticed the waves were now about thirty feet high and the storm was breaking. As Irvin stood looking out the porthole he saw the skyscrapers of Manhattan. He stood in awe watching them every time the ship topped a wave. Irvin heard a voice behind him speaking clearly, Â"I am still able to keep my promiseÂ", as Irvin turned quickly around and found no one there. You would have thought that would have been enough to impress any young fellow and that now was the time to serve the Lord, but Irvin still did his own thing. He went into business, got busy with the every day cares of farming, and continued doing it his way for several more years. One winter, Irvin and a friend spent some time in California, and decided to fly to Hawaii. While in Honolulu, just after they had checked into their hotel, everything began to shake. They began thinking, Â"what is going on?Â" The volcano on the big island had begun to erupt. They tried for several days to get a flight to fly over the volcano to see it. Finally one evening at dusk they were able to get a ticket to Hilo, Hawaii. They were supposed to fly over the volcano, but there were some scheduling problems. Just after midnight on a moonlit night, Irvin and his friend were put on a plane back to Honolulu. As they flew out to sea, the plane turned around and flew back over the volcano at an altitude of about 1, 000 feet. Irvin was standing at the door of the plane looking out the window at the volcano erupting (which was a mile and a half long and 100 yards or more wide). As Irvin stood and looked down at that molten rock, he heard the voice speaking to him again, saying, Â"ThatÂ's a preview of Hell and youÂ've fooled around long enough.Â" This was a pretty sobering experience for Irvin and he finally decided it was time for him to dedicate his life to the Lord. Irvin has always appreciated the LordÂ's love and mercy, especially while in Europe and in Hawaii where he was reminded that he was wasting precious days of grace. The next winter when Irvin came to Portland, he was determined to seek the Lord even to the point of telling God, He could make the arrangements for his life from there on. The Lord did a little more arranging for Irvin and found a wife for him who was willing to live in North Dakota even though she was from the big city. Irvin and his new wife had a good life while in North Dakota and the Lord was always with them. The Lord had always provided for them and they appreciated His continued blessings. Irvin would always caution those that thought they could do without the Lord; saying Â"Be sure you do not find yourselves getting more than a preview of what eternity in Hell will be like.Â"IrvinÂ's favorite Bible verse is Malachi 3:16Â"Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.Â"
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