Harvest Time is a weekly podcast from KHMG. Pastor Gary Walton interviews Harvest Baptist Church members, friends, and special guests.
Welcome to Harvest Time. My name is Chris Harper, and our host on this program is pastor Gary Walton, the lead pastor at Harvest Baptist Church. Every week, we spend these 25 minutes together telling you the stories of our church by interviewing our members and other friends in the ministry. We'd like to invite you to join us at Harvest Baptist Church this week. There are 2 services every Sunday, the first at 8:45 AM, the second at 10:45 AM.
Chris Harper:We have Korean and Japanese translation during the 10:45 AM service, and that's also when we livestream at hbcguam.org, hbcguam.org. This week, part 2 of the underappreciated ministry of the Holy Spirit from John 14 through 16. Let's begin today's harvest time by welcoming pastor Gary Walton. Hi, pastor.
Gary Walton:Hey. Hafa adai, Chris. Yeah. I'm excited about coming back to part 2 of this little short series about 4 weeks when we're just doing a biblical study of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. I think I said last Sunday that, you know, a lot of people know the story of Jesus.
Gary Walton:That's what we celebrate at Christmas and Easter. Many people are familiar with the story of God the father through the teachings of the scripture. But if you ask them, you know, who is the Holy Spirit? What's he do? There isn't always as much clarity on that.
Gary Walton:So, we're trying to teach through that and actually John 14, 15, and 16 are a real clear description that Jesus gives of the comforter that was going to come. And we're just walking through those texts asking some important questions and we'd love to invite you to come and join us, this Sunday as we continue on part 2 of, I think, about 4 parts just before Christmas. Well, I'm really glad to welcome Josh and Jessica Thaler, to Harvest Time. First of all, welcome you guys. Glad you're with us.
Josh Thaler:Yeah. Thanks for having us.
Gary Walton:I've known, the Thalers for a long time actually from before they were married. Yeah. I think Faith and I have been, friends with you guys for about 10 years, I think.
Josh Thaler:Yep.
Gary Walton:So they're new here on island about 4 months, I think. A little bit more than 4 months, moved their family. Josh is the new athletic director at Harvest Christian Academy, teaching, in the math department Mhmm. A couple other areas. Jess is here.
Gary Walton:She's a teacher aide, and both of them are passionate about God's church and, have become involved already with a number of areas. So for maybe officially, I guess, on the radio, we'll welcome you to Guam too. It's been a whirlwind for you. Right?
Josh Thaler:Yeah. Yes. Very much so. It was, kind of making the choice to move to Guam was a quick one. Once we made that choice, it was a quick turnaround, but definitely glad we're here, and we we feel like God's led us here.
Josh Thaler:So we're excited to be here.
Gary Walton:Yeah. Yeah. Great. Jess, you guys have 3 kids. Tell us about your boys.
Jessica Thaler:Yeah. They're wonderful. We have a 4 year old. He just turned 4 a couple weeks ago, and then we have a 2 year old. And then we actually when we came here, we were 7 months pregnant.
Jessica Thaler:Mhmm. And so then gave birth shortly after getting to Guam and, he's wonderful. They're all amazing. And they've transitioned really well. Yeah.
Jessica Thaler:That's been great.
Gary Walton:Yeah. That was a I know for a mom well, dad too, but it was a big question. Right? I mean, I'm gonna ask you about this in a minute, but it was a big transition, for you and always concerned how our kids do. So Yeah.
Gary Walton:It's exciting to know that boys are doing great.
Josh Thaler:Mhmm.
Jessica Thaler:Yeah. Definitely God's provision in that because that was a big deciding factor about what our next steps were gonna be.
Gary Walton:Yeah. Yeah. Josh, you were, tell us recently. So you were, teaching, coaching in Michigan. Right?
Gary Walton:Tell us a little bit about that just recently and then we'll back up before that.
Josh Thaler:Yeah. So taught for 10 years. So, 5 years 3rd grade, 5 years of 8th grade, this year of teaching. 8th grade algebra has been, my 6th year at that middle school level, but coached for 13 years. So just most recently, took a year off, was not coaching.
Josh Thaler:So just, yeah, had a lot of extra time, extra energy of, where where God was gonna direct that in our lives, and, that's kinda where Guam started opening up.
Gary Walton:Yeah. You actually coached, the varsity team at the school that you grew up in, the school system that you grew up in outside Grand Rapids. Right?
Josh Thaler:Yeah. Yep. Yeah. School I grew up in, I've, 1 of 7, so as I was born into the community, went to sporting events watching my brothers and sisters play, kind of took when I graduated high school, I almost took a year off from kind of being a part of that school, but was still a part of the basketball program helping scout, opponents, for my, varsity coach at the, the year before. And, the next year, my sophomore year in college, I started coaching at that school, and it's just been
Gary Walton:a part of that community, my entire life, all 3, 4 years. Yeah. Well, your dad, I think, has been involved in in lower level coaching, kind of the development, you know, basketball. Right?
Josh Thaler:Yeah. So when I was in 1st grade, he started our youth basketball program. And up until last year, he he ran it for that entire time. So a lot of kids have gone through there. Again, small community, so it was, the kids that you had in 1st grade were the same kids that usually graduated our school as well.
Josh Thaler:So you get to know those kids for a long period of time and you got to see them develop over time. So it was, yeah, quite an experience and, yeah, he was he was a big part of kind of the development of our players.
Gary Walton:Yeah. Well, we're excited about that, the, experience that you're bringing to the athletic program at the academy. And, I know you're passionate about that, and multiple sports. I mean, you grew up playing basketball, coaching basketball, but, really, grew up playing basketball, coaching basketball, but really, we wanna see the, you know, the athletic program continue to grow. And we're excited about your leadership, so thankful for that.
Gary Walton:Jess, you grew up in the same community. You guys didn't know each other, but you grew up in the same general area. Right?
Jessica Thaler:Yeah. We, we're about 30 minutes away. So Joshua comes from a small farming community, like, true farming community.
Gary Walton:This is in Michigan.
Jessica Thaler:In Michigan. Yep. And then I am from right outside the heart of Grand Rapids. We could very easily get to downtown Grand Rapids. So kinda like different worlds actually.
Jessica Thaler:Very one was very city, one was very country. But, yeah, we didn't know each other at all growing up. Our our paths never crossed. We went to the same college at the same time, but we were in 2 different programs. So we didn't meet there either.
Gary Walton:Mhmm. Yeah. I think I was thinking about that Faith and I have known you guys for about 10 years. Jess, I think we knew you first. You weren't married.
Gary Walton:Right. So, Jess was friends with our daughter Amanda and Avey Bernard at that time, who's also been out here. The 3 of you were Yeah. Close friends, went to the same church. And then along the way, I don't know how that you guys met, and then Josh, you started coming to the same church.
Gary Walton:I met you then. Yep. Josh and I were part of a Bible study. I don't remember how that started, Josh. Did you ask about it?
Josh Thaler:Or Yeah. So part of the reason I started going to that church, Caleb Bettorff was just cousin. I kinda got close with him. So we we started that group up and had a a good group of young men, and, we're looking for a little direction, a little mentorship. So we asked, pastor Gary to kind of help help us in that.
Gary Walton:Yeah. That was actually a cool thing. I at this at that time, I wasn't pastoring. I was a part of a Bible translation society traveling a lot. But, yeah, Josh and Caleb had cool friends.
Gary Walton:So I you know, and they asked me to be part of it, and, we'd meet at our house Monday nights when I wasn't traveling. And, actually, I think you guys met at my house when I wasn't there sometimes. Yeah. Yeah. So but, yeah, I really, really enjoyed couple of years, I think, that group.
Gary Walton:Josh had cool basketball playing buddies, you know. And, you know, I felt young and no. It really was. I just thought a real positive time, I think, for you too. But Absolutely.
Gary Walton:Those young guys just growing in their faith, pursuing God, and so we had a strong connection with that. And then, you guys were dating about that time you got married when, Jess?
Jessica Thaler:We got married in 2015, and we had only dated a year. So we I think we dated for 9 months and then had 3 month engagement, and got married, yeah, in August of 2015. So it's been we just did 9 years. We came out here and celebrated in Guam. Yep.
Jessica Thaler:The first day of school was our happy anniversary.
Gary Walton:Yeah. That's awesome. Let's back all the way up. Josh, let's start with you. Tell us a little bit about, you know, your family growing up and then, your spiritual story.
Josh Thaler:Yeah. So, my family, a good, strong Christian family and, grew up going to church, being a part of church. Pretty small church, but I was saved, in my Sunday school class with my, teachers. There's 2 sisters. They're the Aubille sisters, and, they led me to Christ, at a young age.
Josh Thaler:And, yeah, went through kind of middle school, high school, having a relationship with Jesus, but, not really under not really sure how to kinda take that next step. So when college hit, God put some really influential Christians in my life, at college, but also, like I mentioned, with Caleb and was able to get plugged in with, some good really good groups. And, again, that's where, kinda, you you were a part of as well. But, that's where I was I was able to understand how to take my faith to that next level and how to develop a relationship with Jesus. And yeah.
Josh Thaler:So it was, it was really God's provision of of kind of high school, middle school. Didn't have a lot of Christian friends necessarily, but that freshman, sophomore year of college, God just started pouring them into my lives, and, I was able to really grow that way.
Gary Walton:Yeah. That, come just come back to it quick. That group, of guys that we met on those Monday nights, that really was a cool group of guys. And it wasn't I mean, it was guys that you knew, Caleb's son, but mostly, you know, your friends that you invited. And, yeah, I look back on that with a lot of fondness.
Gary Walton:I mean, they're, young guys trying to figure out life, serious about spiritual things, trying to figure out, you know, what it's gonna mean to be a man and, you know, trying to know what place God had in your lives. And that was fun walking along that journey with you. And I watched you, Josh, I mean, really take significant, you know, spiritual steps Mhmm. Along that time. God was doing a lot of cool things.
Gary Walton:So
Josh Thaler:Yeah. Yeah. And and really, yeah, I talk with Jess about this a lot. You know, growing up in that community and and kind of thinking about, you know, what I wanted to do. Again, my my family, really was part of that community for 100 of years.
Josh Thaler:Oh. So, like, I found a family in that community, and it's just kinda was ingrained into me that it's just like, alright. When I graduate, I wanna get my teaching certificate and, come back and teach here, coach here, and just kinda spend the rest of my life in this, in this community. And then, you know, kinda and, end of high school into college, I got to the point where I was like, I think I think God's gonna provide all these things, but then he's gonna say, alright. But now you have to give them up and go somewhere else.
Josh Thaler:Mhmm. And I think in the last 2 or 3 years, we've really been kind of, talking about that more seriously and, like, alright. Where is God leading us? Because, as happy as and as comfortable as we are in this community and our lives right now, you know, with family 8 minutes away and other family, you know, 10 to 20 minutes away, We were feeling God getting ready to move us. And, and then and, again, that's where Guam stepped in.
Gary Walton:Yeah. Yeah. That was a that's a big thing. You know, well, actually, Jess, let me back up to you and then let me come back to that because you have a similar story in some ways of that same area. Right?
Jessica Thaler:Yeah. Yeah. So I grew up in a Christian home. I was saved when I was 5, prayed with my mom. And then, yeah, kind of growing up, I I cared a lot about Christ.
Jessica Thaler:I knew a lot about, like, needing to witness, but also just cared about myself a lot too. And so it really wasn't till college that, God was just revealing a lot of idols in my life. And I just remember praying, like, Lord, I just I just wanna feel like, I wanna know that you're real. Like, I wanna feel you and experience you. Mhmm.
Jessica Thaler:Like, like, I just wanna know that you actually love me. And it was really just this beautiful moment. I was working up at a summer camp and, I love singing. And there was one week where I completely lost my voice. So I was sitting in the worship service, but I couldn't sing.
Jessica Thaler:And I was just listening to the congregation, and I just remember the the words of the song said it was talking about the cross, and it said, my guilt and pardon, there I see. And I just remember breaking down into tears, and just thinking about how incredibly guilty I was. Mhmm. And but then, it was it was just this wave of I am pardoned. And I'd never really felt that before.
Jessica Thaler:And just in the middle of everybody else just worshiping, just really praying, like, god, I'm pardoned. And that is so beautiful. And you do love me. You love me this much that you would you would look at all of my guilt and you would say, but but you're clean. You're pardoned.
Jessica Thaler:So that was kind of a turning point in my life that it was my sophomore year of college of just, really, I think my faith becoming my own, not just because this is what my family does and this is what we grew up doing, but kind of the why behind what I believe. Mhmm. And that was a really good really good moment that opened up a lot of doors of, ridding my life of idols and deciding for myself, like, what does this mean to be all in for Christ? So yeah.
Gary Walton:It's, it's a big move, you know, for you guys to come from, you know, both of your families. I mean, you kinda talked about this centered there. Josh, I didn't even know that for 100 of years for you.
Jessica Thaler:Yeah. Like, they have a bicentennial farm. Like, their family's been there over 200 years.
Gary Walton:Yeah. The
Jessica Thaler:same the same farmhouse and
Gary Walton:Yeah. And I know your, well, I know, you know, your family, brothers, siblings. You said 7 kids. I know your siblings as well. Everybody's there.
Gary Walton:Right? Everyone's there. Everybody's there.
Josh Thaler:Out of
Jessica Thaler:all I'm one of 3. He's one of 7, including parents. The farthest family is 45 minutes.
Josh Thaler:Mhmm.
Jessica Thaler:Which is very unusual, very rare. It was a blessing.
Gary Walton:So, I mean, how do you get to Guam? How do you get to harvest? What's, you know, Josh, you started with this story, but God began sort of giving you both a little bit of unsettling. Right? Yeah.
Gary Walton:Yeah. No. Again, like I said, I think my my unsettling. Right?
Josh Thaler:Yeah. Yeah. No. Again, like I said, I think my my, unsettling probably began, you know, 10, 15 years ago where, again, I felt like God was gonna give me everything I was hoping for, but then asked me to Beautiful home.
Gary Walton:Great job. Family and extended family all around. This is the American dream. Right?
Josh Thaler:Yep. Yeah.
Jessica Thaler:Yeah.
Josh Thaler:Yeah. Absolutely. And then just sign us up to go.
Jessica Thaler:And then I just start rambling at dinner. Yeah. No. We we had just felt, and about the year before we talked to you, Gary, when we went and had dinner, that God was just kind of stripping away some of the ministries that we had been involved in. And at that point, we were just like, lord, like, what are you doing?
Jessica Thaler:These are things that mean so much to us that we, we really care about what we're doing here and why are these things just being taken away from us. And we really just felt that the lord was getting us ready for something big. And so we spent about a year praying, like, we don't know what this is, God, but but get us ready for this big thing.
Josh Thaler:And we didn't know if that was, same community and just, you know, different job or different, or a different community or or what. So we're we're totally open to what was gonna come next. We're trying to stay with
Jessica Thaler:the money. And I had I had stopped teaching, to stay home with our 2 boys. So we just really felt like we were in this unique situation where I didn't have any job kind of holding me down, where we really had a clean slate of open possibilities. So it was like, alright, Lord. Just you you direct us,
Josh Thaler:where we need to go.
Gary Walton:You were very invested in your church. Right? And I think that's an important piece. It wasn't like you're out there with nothing to do Yeah. And trying to figure out.
Gary Walton:You were I think, in fact, I think that's when and how God calls us like he did you guys. You were very invested.
Jessica Thaler:Yeah.
Josh Thaler:Yeah. I think apart from our family, the church was the most difficult thing to leave.
Jessica Thaler:Yeah.
Josh Thaler:And, and they and that was, you know, part of the process, and I'll let Jess talk about this. They were the the wind in our sails as we, made the choice to leave to go on.
Jessica Thaler:Yeah. It was very cool. Yeah. First Baptist Church in Middleville. If you're ever in Michigan, that's where you need to go.
Jessica Thaler:They love the Lord, and we were very involved with, yeah, a lot of ministries there, a lot of different things there, worship, youth group. Yeah. They did a kid's clothing exchange, and we were we were all in. We had good life people there. And that was what was really validating about, when we had met with you, Gary, we kinda started talking about Guam, about yeah.
Jessica Thaler:Maybe come out and teach. We kinda had some touch points with Guam. So I have a cousin that's lived out here for about 20 years. Mhmm. One of my best friends, Amy Bernard, she came out here, almost 9 years ago because she missed our wedding, because she had to come start school.
Jessica Thaler:So it's always kind of been a running joke for us of like, well, we'll just go to Guam and then, yeah, Walton's moved out here. So so when we got together with you last February, and we're just talking about we're just really comfortable in our life and that's not sinful at all. But we do feel like God is preparing us for something. And you were like, well, this was just dinner. I'm not trying to recruit you, but I can tell you about harvest.
Jessica Thaler:So, yeah. We had started that conversation and then, we had brought it to those friends at at at BC. I thought
Gary Walton:that was really sweet. It was very powerful Yeah. Listening to you guys through
Jessica Thaler:that. Yeah. We had asked a group of 3 families, our our really good friends. We just said, we don't have a lot of time to make this decision, and we don't wanna miss anything. We don't wanna be excited or blinded.
Jessica Thaler:Like, we need you guys to help be our eyes. If there's something here, some massive red flag, like, please just help us know. So we all took some time, separate. Like, can you guys can we pray? Can we fast?
Jessica Thaler:Can we and then come together later? And it was really validating because all 3 of those families came back without having talked to each other and all basically said the same thing. Basically said, we think that this would be a mistake not to do. We think God is preparing you for this. And,
Gary Walton:a
Jessica Thaler:lot of just keep taking the next step Mhmm. And asking God to reveal any red flags or we had so many questions. We had so many conversations with you, Carrie. Where I would just come with my notebook of questions and say, alright. And we would but we would go into those saying, they're not gonna answer all these questions.
Josh Thaler:Yeah.
Jessica Thaler:And then you would answer all of them and there were answers that we were very comfortable with. Mhmm. Where it was, like I said, a lot a lot of it was family. We were worried about the family, the boys. But, yeah, then then those those friends from church just all coming in and saying, like, we we don't want you to leave, and that's what makes us even harder to say that we think that God is calling you
Gary Walton:to go. Mhmm. Josh, what's, you know, the sense of, yeah, you're leading your family, you ingest together, you know, desperately wanting to pursue God, openness, but still, you're moving your family away. How do you navigate all that?
Josh Thaler:Yeah, I think kind of making the decision, we knew that that was going to be the biggest struggle of adapting to, like, focusing on our family where, again, we were we were able to rely on, grandpas and grandmas and aunts and uncles, uncles so much, that we're we knew that it was gonna be time for us to grow together because we were gonna have to rely on each other. And and and we were just talking about a couple days ago, that, you know, that God's been faithful in that, and he's given us strength even with the 3 boys who are outnumbered now. But, it's been, yeah, it's been awesome. And, we knew this would be a time of growth for each other and a spiritual growth as well, stepping away from the comfortable into, the unknown. But, again, where God leads, he's gonna be faithful, and he's gonna help us grow in that.
Josh Thaler:And I
Jessica Thaler:think it's really been, like, astonishing how I like, I shouldn't be surprised. Right? Like, we shouldn't be surprised when God comes through for us, but, how much he has provided in the 4 months that we've been here has been Yeah. So incredible. It's it's just his faithfulness is amazing.
Jessica Thaler:Mhmm.
Gary Walton:Yeah. Yeah. And it's been fun watching you guys. I mean, you said your kids transition well, but but you guys have too. I mean, you you really have.
Gary Walton:You poured yourself in, and, starting to feel like home.
Jessica Thaler:Yeah. Yeah. I still stay home in me in Michigan, but they're both home. They're they're both home now.
Josh Thaler:Yeah. No. Every we're starting to surround ourselves with, a lot of good people and, people that love the Lord and, they're able to pour into our boys, which is huge. They're able to pour into us, which is huge. You know, my team in the athletic department is awesome.
Josh Thaler:Yeah. Some of the ladies that Jess is doing bible studies with, and just life with have been awesome as well. So that that's been massive for us. Mhmm.
Gary Walton:Well, I love the whole picture. I I really do love the the church component in here and your, you know, church friends, church family that loved you. You left a big hole there. You know, they all knew that, but we're able to come along and say, you know, here you can go. And also, and also your family, your your parents.
Gary Walton:Mhmm. That's hard. It's really hard. And, they released you, to come. And that's a big that's a big step too.
Gary Walton:I'm thankful for all of that. And, and this promise that god only, gives his best to those who leave the choice with him, and that's really what you've done. And it's cool, seeing that happen. What's god been teaching you through all of this?
Jessica Thaler:So much. Well, I I don't know. I think just to just his faithfulness, like I said, even just the fact just to, like, a short story, but, coming here and giving birth was very scary. It's very scary. We have
Gary Walton:amazing I thought, I thought that was gonna be the deal breaker. Right? Because we Yeah. Were you expecting when we first talked?
Jessica Thaler:Yeah. Yeah.
Josh Thaler:I tried to convince her. I I would go and she could give birth to Michigan. Yeah.
Jessica Thaler:You know what
Gary Walton:I mean? She was
Josh Thaler:not a part of that.
Jessica Thaler:I was like, no. You're not going no. Anyway, but just how how incredibly smooth the whole labor and delivery, everything was. It was really you could, like, tangibly feel the prayers of our friends in Guam, but also in Michigan. It had been a huge, prayer request that we had left with people in Michigan.
Jessica Thaler:Just like how do we how do we move and give birth without family and and friends here in support? But harvest really came along. We had a huge baby shower because we we got rid of everything. We came with 9 suitcases.
Josh Thaler:Yeah.
Jessica Thaler:We didn't ship anything. So kinda starting from scratch and and I think God has just been showing us that he will take care of us and that he'll fill those holes of the things that we left, to where now we have both. It's it's not like we lost all of these things in Michigan and these people in Michigan. Now we have them and he's also given us more here.
Josh Thaler:Yeah. And I think for me, just looking at the, the universal church, you know, we're moving across the other side of the world and, still be able to hear the same message of who Jesus is and what he does, just to see the the diversity of the the body, is awesome. We we really enjoy connecting with the different cultures and the different people, here. So I've really enjoyed that, and I think that's kind of something else that's been revealed more and more to us.
Jessica Thaler:Yeah.
Gary Walton:Well, thank you guys for being willing to listen to God's voice. That's not a light thing, and, it's cool to hear your testimony. I know it's gonna be encouragement to others. You've been you guys are killing it. Josh, you're doing fantastic.
Gary Walton:Jess, you guys are pouring into the church and ministry and, so we're thankful, for that. And looking forward, I think God's gonna use you guys powerfully in the years to come. So thank you for being willing to listen
Josh Thaler:to his voice. Absolutely. Excited to be here.
Jessica Thaler:Yeah.
Chris Harper:Well, thank you for listening to this week's Harvest Time. Of course, at this point in the program, we always wanna personally invite you again to Harvest Baptist Church, 8:45 AM, 10:45 AM Sunday services. We have Japanese and Korean translation. During the 10:45 AM service, we also bring you that service live here on 88.1 FM and khmg.org. We hope to see you this Sunday.
Chris Harper:Thanks again for listening to Harvest Time.