By Mark Whittle, Chairman of the Board of Oakseed Ministries
January 18th 2012

The time span of “twenty years” is a significant number in the scriptures. It seems to signify “expectancy.” Samson, for example, was a special man sent by God for twenty years to an expectant Israel in need of deliverance from their oppressors, the Philistines. It seems fitting, then, that in the 20th year of his founding of Oakseed Ministries, we honor Dr. Ed Bradley, a special man sent by God to bring spiritual and physical deliverance to the urban poor and oppressed.

I am humbled to be given the honor of saying a few words on behalf of the Oakseed Ministries board and staff, and on behalf of the Ministry Partners, and on behalf of the thousands of people around the world impacted by Dr. Bradley. And I want to share THEIR words, not mine.

As anyone who knows Ed is well aware, Ed was many things.

He was fun ! Ed was an Entertainer – Who hasn’t seen or heard of his huge bubbles he would create from giant plastic wands and a bucket of soapy water to wow kids and adults alike? Julie Munson – on the SACDEM team in Argentina – relates another example, in which Ed was accompanying the team in knocking on doors in the Andes Mountains to hand out bags of food to needy families. They took turns staying by the truck while others from the team knocked on doors. Julie remembers:

“One time, while Ed was on truck patrol, we entered the home of a family with two small boys. They were shy and didn’t quite know how to react to us, until one of the guys on our team said to them, “Did you know Santa Claus came here to see you today?” He took them to the window and sure enough, there was a tall man with a white beard standing in the road outside their house! Ed saw them peering out from the house and smiled with his kind eyes, waving at the boys as they stared at him, mouths wide open in amazement. Time and again during his visits, even in silence, Edward was a symbol of compassion and humility.”

Dr. Bradley was a Pastor. He was a Discipler and a Mentor to Ministry Partners around the world. Sonia León, ex-director of MISIUR in Lima, Peru, writes:

“I remember that he spoke with me about the importance of physical rest. I told him that I had much work to do and that I could not stop. He responded to me that if I did not stop I was going to get sick and that from the hospital I could not work. He also told me that if I loved my work, that I needed to rest. He was a Pastor and a wise one at that. Now he enjoys the presence of the Pastor of Pastors.”

And from Glem Melo, Director of Open Eyes Mission in Mindanao, Philippines:

“I never wept as I do now – not even when my dad passed away. Dr. Bradley first came to visit us in 2007, at a time when I was lost and going in the wrong direction. Unlike our other visitors in the past, he just spent time with me and listened to my babbling. He did not tell me what to do or where to go. Instead, he helped me put all my guards down and let me share the vision that the Lord placed in my heart for our people. And that changed my life, and our whole church and mission.”

What else was Ed? Ed was a Visionary Leader and an Innovator. He thought up and implemented Essay Contests, Kalpana pressed flower cards, the Bazaar Catalogue and Intercessors Prayer Teams. He constantly gave the Ministry Partners new ideas like buying rice patty fields to provide working opportunities and many other ideas. Daniel Ruffinatti – Chaplain General of SACDEM in Argentina – remembers Ed’s suggestion of establishing an annual Banquet for psychiatric patients at forgotten hospitals. Daniel recalls that when Ed gave him the idea, he remembered when the Lord said “When you have a banquet, invite the poor, as they will not be able to pay you back.”

Ed was a Matchmaker. For example, Ernest Albuquerque, Director of Valley of Praise Fellowship in Mumbai, India, remembers that Ed counseled him regarding his marriage, and says: “Also, a word in casual conversation with Ed convinced Evelyn of her decision to marry me.” And Ed schemed with Daniel Ruffinatti of SACDEM to introduce Richard Smith of Philadelphia to several eligible women at a church in Buenos Aires during a joint missions trip in 2009 – the rest is history.

Ed also was a Venture Capitalist. He often likened Oakseed to a Christian venture capital firm. He found indigenous ministries serving the poor that needed prayer, counsel, and financial support. One of these is PACANET in Uganda whose Executive Secretary, Reverend Edward Baralemwa, is with us tonight – [and whose three daughters referred to Ed as their “daddy’s white twin”]–, Edward Baralemwa writes:

“We will miss not only a friend indeed, but a father, a counselor, a mentor, a role model. I had hoped Ed would live to see the PACANET of his dreams, but like Moses in the scriptures, two hours after successfully applying for our first ever $50 million dollar grant, Ed breathed his last. This was the development of his contacts for us.”

Paul Thomas, Director of ESAF – a Christian micro-finance organization in India – says:

“In the year 2000, when we were a small organization with a reach of just around 3,000 households, Ed took us into confidence and started supporting us. He continued to do it over the years. His guidance and encouragement mattered a lot to us in periods of struggle and uncertainly. Now that we have grown to the level of reaching more than 400,000 households, we acknowledge with thanksgiving the role that Ed and the Oakseed team played in making us what we are today.”

Ed was a Fund Raiser. Ed could magically produce needed funds. A new vehicle for SACDEM in Argentina, boom, funds found. The sending of $10,000 emergency relief funds to Mindanao, Philippines after the devastating flooding last month.

Ed was a Storyteller. A rich repertoire of entertaining stories, each told with a lesson apt to the occasion. He encouraged and promoted storytelling in others, as evidenced by the various Essay Contests he created in Latin America and India. Again, Paul Thomas of ESAF says:

“Only because of Ed’s motivation we started an Essay Competition for children this year. We have decided to conduct this Essay Competition in India, focusing on children issues every year as a memorial to Reverend Dr. Edward Bradley.” In Latin America last year a book was published of the winning essays from that region.

All of Dr. Bradley’s many gifts and roles that he so humbly possessed were put into faithful service toward God’s single purpose for him – ministering to the urban poor. Now the twenty years God appointed for Ed to bring comfort and Good News to the poor and marginalized – as President of Oakseed – have ended. And, in the words of Pam Scianna, head of the Roblealto Child Care Association in Costa Rica:

“We can only imagine the beautiful crown awaiting Ed in heaven. The crown is probably made of children’s drawings and pictures of the little ones smiling, having a peaceful nap, eating a healthy meal and coming to know Jesus.”