Max Weighmink

Dear Martha, Marie, Mary Jo, Harvey and Heidi,
Sorry this is so late, but we are just finding out now that your dear and wonderful Dad Max has passed onto his heavenly home. When you all lived in Alamogordo, Scott met Max and did some plumbing work on your house. Scott had weekly devotional time with Max when he would come to our house. I (Karen) gave my life to Christ through Max. It was my new beginning. Max touched the lives of everyone he met. He will be dearly missed. He was kind, compassionate, caring and a God loving man.

- Scott & Karen Hurt

I have the privilege of being mentored and discipled by Max. It's been some time since we have connected, but his impact on my life is felt daily. He has deep and profound impact on my life and walk with Jesus. I just heard about his going home to the Jesus he served so well. I know he is hearing, "Well done good and faithful servant!" May the God of all comfort comfort you his family with His love and presence and peace. Praying for you and the family. Better than I deserve.

Blessings,

Todd K

I know ONLY God could have orchestrated these life changing events in my life. It began when the Air Force assigned me temporarily to school in late summer of 1978. Initially, I had friends stay at my apartment in Germany.  However, several weeks later the Navigator's new rep for Ramstein (Max, Dawn Weighmink) asked permission to have his family settle at the apartment until their rental became available.  I consented without hesitations. Upon my return the Weighminks asked to continue their occupancy so I roomed with other Brothers in Christ.  The Weighminks invited me to visit, play my piano and get to know them better. Several topics of interest -- we talked about Christian dating and relating;  Max stated he could use some help especially with  administrative tasks associated with ministry. He asked if I would be interested in helping. I said yes and, from this point onward -- God did some magnificent things in my life!

Foremost was "man-to-man" times with Max as he Discipled me (Matt 28: 18-20) from a young christian man to a young man stage of maturity in Christ before departing from Germany to another Air Force assignment  (though there have been other mature Christians who subsequently invested in my spiritual life -- but, it was Max who began to lay a spiritual foundation of consequence).  To this very day I'm still  actively and fruitfully involved in the Great Commission (2 Timothy 2:2). Another significant life issue -- the Weighminks mentored me in the process of Christian marriage (i.e., 2nd most important decision after accepting Jesus Christ - who, if any, would be my mate to co-labor for a lifetime). Through their mentoring in courtship God blessed me with a partner (my wife)!!  Max then - was my Best Man in the marriage journey.  I've had a lifetime connection with the Weighmink Family and, especially with Max. 1 Corinthians 4: 15

Max we grieve, for a while, and miss your physical presence with all, but I'm comforted to know that you are now trully home with the Lord. Yes Max, well done faithful servant - 2 Timothy 4: 7-8

Sincerely In Christ - Bert F

I met Max over 12 years ago, but nothing about us meeting was a coincidence! My wife LJ, myself and our newborn daughter Izzy were about to move from San Diego (CA) to Grand Rapids (MI). Back then, I was a new believer and about to leave my church and support behind. I prayed to my Father in heaven that he would continue to guide me and help me grow in my faith. Little did I know at the time that 2200 miles away Max was praying that God would bring another man into his life. Both of our prayers were answered. To me that’s God just showing off or as Max used to look at it: 1 John 5:14-15 “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”

I remember the first time Max and I met. He asked me “Do you know what a Christian is?” With confidence I replied: “Absolutely, …” Little did I know that my real journey of understanding and following Christ was just about to begin. Max met with me almost every week for over twelve years and kept pointing me in the right direction to get closer to God. He did it with so much love, kindness, endless patience and understanding. He had the ability to be fully present and let the holy Spirit use him as a vessel to communicate what had to be said. I think one of Max’s favourite verses was: Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” He truly represented this in his daily walk. He was never too concerned about his basic needs for life, but he had plenty of stories to share with others when God took care of him and his family over and over again.

Not only did Max guide me spiritually but he witnessed to everyone around him what it looks like to walk with God. As a matter of fact, hours before he was called home he handed a little booklet to our waitress at the restaurant where we had breakfast. It was the ‘Bridge To Life’ by the navigators, explaining our separation from God and how to overcome it! He always came prepared, always gentle and respectful when sharing his faith and always ready to explain where his hope was coming from. At one point the Weighmink’s family took us in for several weeks and let us live with them under their roof. It was the first time I truly saw what family life looks like when a family’s life is centered around Christ Jesus. Not only did he and his family take care of our physical needs but Max and Dawn saved my marriage with their guidance, wisdom and commitment to keep pointing us in the direction of our savior Jesus Christ. It was never about him, but always about God our Father and helping the people around him to get to know their Creator.

Another verse that Max quoted frequently: John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Max quoted and referenced continuously from the word of God. I don’t know if you have ever seen one of Max’s bibles? Almost every, if not every verse is underlined and his thoughts have been added wherever there was room for it. He truly loved all of it, he didn’t pick and choose. Over the years I have gotten to know my Father in heaven, learned how to trust in Jesus Christ and be thankful for the Holy Spirit guiding me through life. I have learned how to glorify God. I have witnessed, discipled and fellowshipped with other men because I knew what it looked like due to my brother in Christ Max Weighmink. I have been in and out of fellowship with my Father in heaven but for the past twelve years I never walked alone. Thank you for your friendship, thank you for being my brother and most of all thank you for letting God our Creator use you for his purpose. Max was truly a man of God. He valued spirituality over material things and he served everyone. THANK YOU MAX!

-Stephan L

One of my most exciting experiences during my visions of heaven was meeting my two old Navigator friends, Russ Korth and Don Arvin. Seeing both of these men in heaven brought back great memories to our training ministry that happened during our time in Norfolk Virginia and the ensuing years after that. During my conversations with my two old friends, we recounted several experiences we had during our ministry years.

Russ and I had met in Bitburg, Germany in April 1960. I have told you more about that time and Bitburg in that chapter about my life and first meeting the Navigators and the Lord in Germany. Russ had married his wife Donna since I had seen him in Germany many years ago. Russ had risen to become a Regional Director in the Navigator ministry. Russ and Donna became lifelong friends as we follow their ministry down through the years until Russ went to meet the Lord in 2010. Donna and I are great email buddies, and we share many things with each other on a daily basis over the last few years. Their son Trevor was a special needs child and most of the couples in the Norfolk ministry assisted in helping him in his growth patterning experience. They also had two daughters, Valerie and Katrina, who we keep up with their lives on Facebook. (Donna went to heaven July 8, 2022.) Russ and I talked about many of these things during my visit with him in heaven. One of the experiences that we talked about was a flag football game that we played with all of our members who were in training in the Poplar Halls ministry. Russ was the referee and we got in some heated arguments during the game. Smile.

The Navigators had developed a team ministry concept and all of the couples and single men in the ministry were each assigned a military base where they conducted their Nav ministry. This concept had been developed by our founder Daws Trotman in the 1930’s as he gathered key young men and women around, he and his wife Lila, in their Navigator home in California.

Russ and Donna Korth, Marv and Janie Lippencott, Cliff and Nancy Norton, Chuck Barbara Lloyd, Max and Dawn Weighmink, Don and Judy Arvin, Bill and Helen Webster, Wayne and Glenda Polzin, Fred and Patsy Funches. Single guy Al, Randy and Linda Houck, Bill and Alyce Gibbs, Larry and Jeri Greenwold, Steve and Cindy Coval, Will and Beverly Spillman. Jeff Kemmerer Several of these folks were in the Mid-Atlantic region and we spent lots of time with them during regional rallies and conferences. There were several other folks and many of them went on to become full time Navigator staff members.

Several folks already graduated to glory. There are many more names that I could add to this chapter but my brain is getting old and I hope those folks will forgive me if they stumble across this book.

The Navigator ministry requires each person to raise their own means of support. Most full time Navigators are supported by their local church and by people who they have ministered to in the past. The Nav organization takes out a small amount for administration costs. Each representative will submit their budget for monthly needs. If your “giving support” does not meet those needs then you have to get a job to supplement your income.

Since I had no retirement income and had left the United States Air Force after 13/2 years, I needed to get a job to take care of my family. One of the things I had done earlier in my life was sell Kirby vacuum cleaners. I was pretty good at it and was able to make a good living. I closed six sales in one day in Virginia Beach and I think that record still stands. We would have sales meetings at the local Kirby office on Virginia Beach Blvd. and we always sang Kirby songs to start the day. Rah rah rah. Then we would pack up our machines in the back of our car and head out to one of the local neighborhoods and start knocking on doors. Sometimes we would have the office set appointments for us by offering a free rug shampoo to the customer. We always told the lady to vacuum the rug really good before we got there so that we could go ahead and start shampooing right away. Then when we arrived at the house, we looked at the rug and said “Well it sure looks clean let’s do a test and see if you got all the dirt out.” Then we would place a “dirt meter “which showed up every bit of dirt still in the rug. This was an easy way to get the husband on our side as he would ask his wife, “Martha, did you are you really vacuum that rug”. Of course, Martha would swear she did. Smiles. We would show them how the Kirby use the suction and vibration to get the dirt out and dirt was deeply buried in the carpet. We learned some interesting sales tricks like laying their carpet cleaner over on its side and telling them we should say a few words over their dead vacuum cleaner. That always got a good smile from the customer. It was always interesting when we came into the house and most the time the man was sitting there in the chair with his arms crossed defiantly saying to the world, “I’m not gonna buy that blankety blank Kirby vacuum cleaner.” As we continued on and the demonstration, we would take the small white patches of dirt out of the dirt meter and place them around his chair. Especially if they had a lot of dirt in them. When it finally dawned on him that his wife was not able to do a good job of cleaning his carpet with his dead vacuum cleaner, then he would relax his hands and became more interested in purchasing the Kirby. It was an amazing machine and I thoroughly enjoyed showing it to people. I’ve sold everyone that I showed to people except two folks. One to a family who had just come through a recent bankruptcy. And the other one didn’t have any rugs in the house.

Well, it was fun to see God provide for our needs as we would get down to very little money in the bank and then a sale would come through to supply our need. Philippians 4:19 came through again. God will supply. I only made $100 commissions on each sale. But a hundred dollars went a lot farther in 1971 than it does now. That verse along with Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I see these two verses working in my life almost every single day. Even to supplying that parking spot so I won’t have to walk very far with my old legs.

Well one day, I went to this man’s house to set up for the Kirby demonstration. I had set the machine up and put all my sales material on a display on the floor so I could share it with this man in his home. Well, he came walking out of the kitchen with a large butcher knife in his hand and slapping it back-and-forth on his palm and mumbling slowly to himself, “I hate salesman “and again “I hate salesman “. I looked at him and said, “See you later buddy and I left the machine sitting in the middle of his living room as I scurried out to the car. I went back to the office and told the owner, John McCall, if he wanted that machine, he can go get it himself. I guess that’s what he did because I never heard anything more from it. Then one day we were in a sales meeting singing our Kirby songs and we heard this big commotion out front of the Kirby store. We looked out this window that is it there was this big, burly guy, screaming out in front of the store. “Who sold us blankety blank machine to my wife.” And he didn’t use those words. Smile. He picked up the machine up and threw it through the plate glass window. We all were dying laughing.

Well, it seems like these two things in the forefront of my mind caused me to think about looking for another job. So, a friend of mine in the Navigator ministry, Max Weighmink and I, decided to form a painting business. Max had been working as a barber for several months. So, another ministry friend Al, loaned us a paint spray rig and we tackled our first old house. I remember clearly my bloody knuckles from scraping fifty-year-old flaking paint from the wood. Max’s ministry was at one of the Navy ships in Norfolk and mine was concentrated at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach.

I had two young fellows living in my home. Ron Mahler and Galen Manapat. Ron went on to a long Ministry with the Navigator’s. He spent many years in Hawaii and now he is in his seventies and lives in the Chicago area. He is helping his son and his family develop the Nav ministry at the Great Lakes Naval Air Station. The concept modeled by Dawson Trotman continues in the lives of countless men and women in over a hundred countries around the world. Each one teach one, still works today. Max had some young guys living in their home so after we learned the drywall business we split up and took our men and continued in the drywall business

Well, how did we go from painting to drywall? One day in Norfolk, we were foraging around looking for some painting customers, and we stopped in to Bush Construction Company on Raby Road. The manager said painters were a dime a dozen and that they were looking for drywall men. We walked outside and I asked Max what drywall was. I was 31 years old and had never learned what sheet rock was or even knew that our homes are all constructed with hundreds of pieces of sheet rock molded together. So, we got a newspaper and looked in the classified ads and saw an ad looking for drywall mechanics. We went to Virginia Beach which was a neighboring city to Norfolk, and found Virginia Beach townhouses on Independence Road. We found a young crew of fellows hanging sheet rock and asked them if we minded if we watched them for awhile. We had a great conversation with these fellows so Max and I thought we could learn how to do this. So, we asked these guys if we went and got some tools could we work for them for nothing and they would teach us how to do this job. They agreed. Probably the hardest thing was hanging the ceiling. You had to pick up the 12-foot piece of sheet rock and place it on your head and climb up on a two-foot-tall wooden benches and position the board on the ceiling and pull a nail out of our nail pouch and nail it to the ceiling joist. Then holding the board on our heads, we would spin around and nail the other side of the board. Quite a trick if you have never done it. Then once we got the board in place, we finished nailing it off. Back in 1971, we did not use screw guns like they do today, but laboriously nailed each board. One nail on each side of each joist and two or three sets of nails in the middle. Most joists are 16 inches on center but some houses they were 24 inches on center. Today they are all 16 inches.

Well then, we tackled the walls. Max would be on one end and I was on the other as we would hoist the 110-pound piece of sheet rock up on the top of the wall. We were hanging 5/8 firecode sheet rock when we started. Regular sheet rock was 77 pounds a piece of 4 by 12. Then we would tack the top of the board and once it was in place we would finish off the nailing process. It was so much easier when we started using automatic screw guns to secure the boards. Then a few years later we started using construction adhesive which made it even easier and was much faster. We had a specialized drywall hammer which when used correctly would imbed the board at the the right depth and leave a slight dimple around the nail. They taught us how to hit the nail three times and get it to the right depth. If the nail was sticking out it would not be able to be plastered over correctly and the finisher or plasterer would have to go get a hammer and finish “our” job. They did not like that. In our first few jobs the plasterers would hang their hats on the nails that were sticking out and goaded us into doing our job correctly.

Well next the taught us how to measure and cut out electrical boxes. They would measure the top and sides of the box and then transfer the measurements to the sheet rock and then cut it and carry the board over a hope we got close. Messed up a lot of those early cuts. Then sometime later, we learned to mark the box on the floor and then hold our hammer over the X and stick our saw into the box and cut it out. You had to be careful not to damage the wires. Many years later we used a drywall router which made the job easier and faster. Back in 1971, Max and I received 90 cents a board for each piece we put up. Wow. Today we pay $10 a Board.

So, after a couple of days training with these guys for nothing, we went to the job superintendent and asked him if we could hang sheet rock in an apartment. He asked the fellows that we had been working for if they thought we were ready and they said, “Go ahead and give them a try.” So, we gathered some construction lumber in the job site and built us some drywall benches. The foreman just turned us loose in an apartment with about 100 pieces of sheet rock and so launched our drywall business. So, we probably hung 40-50 boards that first day. Took us a couple of days to finish our first job. Wow. We got paid 90 cents a board for 100 boards. We split it. $45 each for two days work. Looking back at it many years later I wonder why we kept doing this. Of course, money went a lot farther in those days. I remember going to the grocery store and getting several bags of groceries for 20 bucks. The rest of the drywall story will continue in the Drywall Chapter.

Jim Y

I met Max at Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station in North Carolina in 1973. I was a young Marine just completing training in avionics. I believe I met Max or one of the navigators he led at the base chapel. He always attended the Sunday service as a way to connect with people. I still recall him sitting in chapel memorizing scripture. It seems he had two goals Sunday morning. Meet people he could potentially disciple and memorize scripture.

For a season, Max and I would eat breakfast together at a local restaurant. One of the lessons I learned from Max had to do with leading small groups. He would attempt to get everyone in the group to share something. He told me that people will remember the words they speak, so get them to say something. Over the years that has really stuck with me. When I lead groups, I always try to do that, its partly so they remember but likely more that they feel a part of the group.
At Cherry Point the navigators would play a lot of soccer, almost every week. I vividly remember having games with other Navigator groups. Extremely competitive whole hearted games. One of the players I practiced with a lot was Bob Sites. I saw him in one of the pictures on this site. I don’t recall Max playing a lot. He was more like the coach when we competed with other teams.
I would get transferred to Beaufort South Carolina (1975) and my time with Max would end. I’m in one of the photos in the picture pages. It was a blessing knowing Max and he made a lasting impact on my life.

I would complete 20 years in the Marine Corps and settle near my hometown in Seattle Wa. I would spend 28 years as a college faculty at North Seattle College in the electronics dept. I am married with 2 adult kids and 2 grand children. I retired and completed a mission to Nepal in March of this year (2024)

-Tim F

I wanted to write this note in light of Max’s going home to be with the Lord, to say how much I appreciated the ministry Max and Dawn have had in my life (from the day we met in 1979 even to today), especially in the area of how to be a Christ-like husband and father. The example of Max and Dawn’s relationship, and the way Max interacted with and was a father to the kids and family as a whole, set the model for what I have worked to be and do in my own life.

I am so very grateful to the Lord for bringing our paths together!! Thank you for being a faithful servant to Him.

Dave S.

I called him Dad. And that was not a figure of speech. Max loved me like his own son.

How we met

We met at the International church of Saint Petersburg, Russia in 1995. A mutual friend introduced us, and Max approached me with a question that seemed strange at first : "Would you like to be my door?" Puzzled, I asked for an explanation, and in response Max said, that like apostle Paul asked and trusted God for open doors:

"... pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ..."
(Colossians 4:3).

He also prayed and was trusting God for open doors for the gospel—a few young men who would know English, be willing to learn what he had to offer and pass it forward into Russian culture. And right there he gave me a taste of what I could learn—"The Bridge" illustration of the gospel. I was fascinated and readily responded with a solid "yes!"

Being discipled

We started to meet weekly for a meal and a Bible study, and over the time I learned:
- to spend time with God;
- to memorize key passages of Scripture;
- to share my faith using my 3 minutes testimony and "The Bridge" illustration;
- to minister by asking questions and actively listening;
- to notice opportunities and serve.

Being equipped

Besides it was useful for me when we talked way in advance about how to love my future wife and raise kids. Both Max and his wife Dawn were very resourceful—having five kids who were a great and vivid example for me to learn from. I observed the family operating like a team.

Dawn and her daughters also helped me to learn to cook and bake, shared their field-proven recipes which I used when invited people over or visiting.

Being loved

Max also became my barber and cut my hair regularly. And not only mine: being a professional barber, every now and then he would cut the hair of the local community of co-laborers—that was his ministry to many, along with the snacks and fellowship provided by the family.

When I struggled with obedience to God, Max and Dawn prayed for me and spent hours talking over the possible consequences, encouraged me to be obedient to God and do what I knew God was calling me to do. That helped me immensely and kept me out of trouble, prepared me for my future life mate, blessings and ministry together.

I am forever grateful to God for the impact Max, Dawn and their family made on me, my family and those I seek to influence for God's sake.

Thank you, Dad, for loving me like your own son.

Your "door".

I first met Max Weighmink 40 years ago when I was a brand new believer in Jesus Christ. Max was the Navigator (Nav) representative for the Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar where I served in the Navy. I took the trusted advice of the Marine officer who just led me to Christ to go to a NAV New Year’s Eve party though he himself couldn’t go. I soon discovered that the party was designed to be a Christian version of setting New Year’s resolutions. In other words, the purpose of Max’s party was to encourage young believers to prioritize spiritual disciplines in their lives. The evening culminated with everyone sitting in a big circle in the living room praying in the new year.  

As it drew near to midnight Max began to pray and I’ll never forget what he prayed, “Lord, I ask you to give me FIVE men this upcoming year who will give their lives to full-time ministry.” I estimate there were about 35 people in the room. A rush of excitement shot through me. I quickly opened one eye and began to count the number of sailors in the room. Could I be one of the five? Surely there are more than five sailors here that are far more qualified than I am. Then a thought came to my mind, “Maybe I am one of the five after all. That would be fine with me.”

Max had an evangelistic vision to raise up disciples who would raise up still other disciples and a God-given plan to fulfill his vision. As per his plan, I soon became involved in a weekly discipleship study at the base Chapel. One of the guyschallenged me to have daily devotions, and we began to meet one-on-one before work to read our bibles and pray. I was introduced to scripture memory and was given a navigator scripture memory packet. A couple of weeks after coming to Christ, I heard about Tuesday night evangelism. I had never heard the word “evangelism”.  That next Tuesday, God moved me to meet Max at the bowling alley and from there go out two by two learning how and practicing sharing my faith with other sailors at the base and barracks. I discovered that evangelism was a catalyst for all the other spiritual disciplines which I began implementing in my life as a byproduct of Max's faith-filled vision and plan to raise up disciples.  

God used Max's vision and his discipleship training ministry to shape the lives of many servicemen and through them, the lives of many others. God answered Max’s 1984 New Year’s prayer for FIVE men he could influence through his NAV discipleship training who would give their lives to full-time ministry. By God’s grace, he led me to Asia with the same evangelistic vision and plan to raise up disciples who make disciples. Secondly, a marine officer who led me to Christ, went on to serve the Lord in Asia, and then Africa. Thirdly, a sailor who accepted my invitation to Max’s weekly Bible study early in 1984 got saved there, later completed Bible college and left to serve in Southeast Asia. Fourthly, an Executive Officer of NAS Miramarturned down the rank of captain to accept Max's invitation to instead serve at Luke Air Force Base as the NAVRepresentative. And, fifthly, God moved a successful carpenter being groomed to assume leadership of a construction company,to resign and instead accept Max's invitation to also go on NAVstaff and serve at Williams Air Force Base as the NAV Representative. All five men above, by God’s design, who were initially shaped by Max’s ministry, and prayed for by him, are still in full-time service to our Lord Jesus Christ advancing His eternal Kingdom making disciples who make disciples…  

From this snapshot of Max's life, you can see that Max was indeed a godly, dedicated man of vision and faith. Luke 12:48 says, “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required.” Anyone who had the privilege of being discipled by Max has been given much and likewise seeks to finish with strong faith in Jesus Christ. Something that Max used to say, “When you're 95% of the way there you're only halfway done.” Max “fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith.”  He certainly will hear the blessed commendation of Jesus, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”  

Forever grateful,

Tom F.

I came to faith in December 1989 at the invitation of the Navy Base’s Chaplain Stephens in Keflavik Iceland, and was baptized in the Blue Lagoon shortly before my reassignment to Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo New Mexico a few weeks later. My faith prayer at conversion was “Lord, if you’re real, I want to know you”. When I arrived at Holloman in January 1990, I still had no clue what the Bible had to do with my conversion but was hungry for reading books on faith. At a local faith bookstore, I stumbled upon a book “The Greatest Miracle in The World” by Og Mandino. The book is a short read about a spiritual friendship that develops between Og Mandino, a high-stressed, successful author and businessman, and Simon “The Ragpicker”, an Abraham Lincoln looking sort of fellow who feeds the pigeons on any given day and bestows ancient wisdom and friendship to those who have given up on themselves if they will listen. Og and Simon begin to meet in his apartment across the street, occasionally at first, but eventually on a daily basis. They would share a glass of sherry and talk about deep spiritual matters and wisdom gleaned from scripture and centuries of God-Gifted writers. I won’t give away the ending (you should read it for yourself) but I remember sitting on the edge of my bed in tears after finishing the story saying “God, I would love to have a Simon in my life”. I went about my business of getting settled into my new dorm room that day and next evening I get a knock on my door… “Hi, I’m Max Weighmink, I’m here on behalf of the base Chaplains… are you interested in spiritual things?” As a matter of fact I was, and invited him in to share what had taken place in my life over past month. I showed him small booklet the Chaplain had given me at my departure from Iceland, which turned out to be one of the Navigator’s bible studies for new believers (first sign for Max that maybe God was in this ;’).

At the end of our meeting, Max invited me to his weekly singles Bible study and left me his phone number; however, I had no intention of ever attending a Bible study nor following up with him. About a week later I get a call from Max, sympathetic to my adversity to a group Bible study, he asked if I would be willing to meet with him one-on one… I agreed and we began to meet in my room, and eventually McD’s on base, and his house in town. Max and Dawn invested in me for 3 ½ years as we worked through all of the Nav’s ‘Design for Discipleship’ series and we ministered in the dorms together, all the while demonstrating for me what it looks like to be a follower of Jesus. At one point He and Dawn invited me to live with them for six months prior to their departure for St Petersburg; a scary prospect for an independent 25 year old but one that shaped the rest of my life as a disciple of Jesus. During that time, Dawn packed my “File Cabinet” with much wisdom and prophetic counsel that I am still unpacking 35 years later. Living with the Weighminks showed me how a healthy family lives openly before God and others, and I am forever grateful for the experience. Shortly after their departure, I moved into a house in town with my roommate Jim H where we had a ministry home for the singles on base and lived out many of the principles we learned from Max and Dawn. Many character traits stand out when I think of Max (and Dawn) as a disciple maker, but here are a few key ones God used in my life.

• Sense of Humor: I will always remember the booming laugh and the corny jokes (some that were actually funny! ;’)

• Humility: Max was always a learner and although he was my mentor, he often received or acted on my input as a peer

• In Tune with God’s Work: Max would often ask questions that led me to the God’s heart on the matter rather than Max’s heart on the matter

• Chose battles that mattered: I had a prominent display of large buddha and black knight statues in my dorm room during our weekly one-on-ones for the first 6 months of meeting and he never said a word. One day I sensed the Spirit prompting me to throw them away which I did; when I shared that with Max he only said he was praying for me on that one.

• Genuine Unconditional Love: I always felt like I was the most important person in their lives when I was around any of the Weighminks and they meant it. I was an important part of their lives as a friend as much as I was a disciple

I am once again in tears as I reflect on my lifelong friendship with the Weighminks and the passing of my mentor Max “The Ragpicker”. I just finished re-reading Og Mandino’s book and it brought about a fresh challenge to continue pursuit of being a Ragpicker myself. Although I am sad to not see or talk with Max anymore on this Earth’s journey, I know there is rejoicing in Heaven over The Lords Faithful Servant… I fully imagine Jesus laughing particularly hard over Joke #19, told on as Max could as he peers over his reading glasses to watch His reaction… I miss you brother and look forward to adding to your repertoire of funny jokes at the feast…

Much Love and Appreciation for you Brother

Mike C

My name is Jean A.  After I had been in the Air Force for 13 years I found out that my elderly mother, who lived alone thousands of miles away in Hawaii, was showing signs of dementia.  I asked Max if I should leave the military and go home to care for mom.  He said the Lord would take care of her and advised me to stay in the military until retirement at 20 years.  I did.  When I retired from the Air Force I went home and cared for mom who was doing well.  I got a job and also started drawing my military pension.  Later mom became a believer in Christ.  I am forever grateful to the Lord and to Max!

Jean A

In thinking through ALL of our memories of Max, I will focus on just one recurring theme, which Max continued to patiently, re-direct ...into my life's priority system....

It was Max's desire to help me, to continually, re-focus on balancing God's Priorities:

1. God FIRST

2. Spouse SECOND

3. Children THIRD

4. Job (USMC) FOURTH

5. Public Ministry FIFTH...even though in reality, we 'do constantly model' Ministry ...as we Navigate life.

HOWEVER...when, I get these priorities out of order...the Result is always CONFLICT !! Which is God's way of letting me know that my life is not within this dynamic balance.

The very first time I met Max, was at the Base Chapel at MCAS Cherry Point...in 1971.

When he perceived, that Ministry at the Base was overshadowing Marriage Relationships...he separated the Married Men from the Single Men...

He then gave us Married Men the following Quote...Prov 9:8...'Chastise a FOOL and he will HATE you...Chastise WISE man, and he will LOVE you.' And then he said...'I think that you men are WISE enough to hear this... NOW, Go home and get some time with your Brides...we will deal with Public Ministry later..'

Years later, Max recruited Rachel and myself to Nav Staff, and we were assigned to MCAS Yuma, AZ.

To continue mentoring us, Max would visit the Base every month, and I would want to show him all of the ministry activities, in which we were involved...basically, to validate my being on Staff...

AMAZINGLY...His FIRST question was always...'SO John, HOW are you and Rachel DOING??' Because he knew...that if we were doing well...then Ministry will flow...

With Marines, it sometimes takes a while...but I finally understood!!

THANK YOU MAX...for not giving up on us !!!

Semper fi,

John & Rachel V

Where to start as Max was the Nav representative at North Island, I believe 1983 to 1984, and was a down to earth leader who encouraged us to share with non-believer's terms, not using words like blessing or blessed.  I had a chance to visit with the family a few times after and Max took me with him to share Christ, he told me when he started, he sensed a certain amount of apprehension or fear but once in the process he overcame, and it is apparent he kept overcoming.  I will miss his updates about the family, it looks like I originally missed the earlier newsletter describing Max's heart attack, but I glad to be able to say something of what Max passed on.  Much more to say but that is a start. I Love you the weighmink family and have prayed for you by name and will continue to do so. May He continue to comfort your hearts through this time, and onward.

Robert C

It is a distinct honor to offer this eulogy for my good friend Max. I have seen no greater faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, than I witnessed in Max, and not only did he have great faith, but he also possessed an uncommon vision of what the Lord could do through people, and how He could use them. I often wondered how people like Max got their insight, I’ve concluded, some people have a different relationship with their Savior. When Jesus calls us, as believers, to “follow Him,” I think most people are some distance in trail. Sometimes walking a few steps behind the Lord, other times, hoping He is still out there in front of them somewhere. But I always thought Max had a special relationship with our Lord, walking closely beside Him, like that of Jesus and His Heavenly Father. They spent so much time together; He always knew what was on His Father’s heart. Then too, Max was the most humble man I ever known. If Philippians 2:3,4 defines humility, then Max was a master of it, he would always put others before himself. He was at peace with his world and contented with what the Lord gave him.

Someone has said, behind every great man is a great woman. This was certainly true of Max and Dawn; I know Max always relied on Dawn’s intuition and opinion. Dawn has such accurate relational insights. They were the perfect complement in marriage!

I want to tell some of my stories about Max to help you understand why this man had such a powerful impact on my life…..I became a Christian at age 31, led to Christ by two men who came to our home to tell me about a local church. They swept into my life one night, shared the Gospel, and I never saw them again, and no one helped me grow spiritually. I had a voracious appetite to read the Bible, my head was getting bigger, but my heart did not change. The next 10 years we attended Bible believing churches, and good Bible studies, but I did not change much without someone to disciple me. I met Max in May 1984, over 40 years ago. Because of my job we had to live on the base at Naval Air Station Miramar, and we decided to attend the base chapel. At the time, my wife Carol and I were having significant marital struggles, and we had been praying we could find a Bible study on base. The first Sunday we attended the Chapel, after the service, Max walked up to me and asked if we would be interested in a Bible study? Wow, I thought, we didn’t have to look for a Bible study, it found us! Several weeks later, after Chapel, Max invited our family to have lunch with them in their home. I was so impressed with the Weighmink kids, they acted like little adults to me, engaging Carol and I in adult-like conversation. The next time I saw Max, I asked him, how do I have kids like yours? He said follow me around and ask a lot of questions, I thought, I will do that…..

Carol and I met with Max and Dawn, as couples, for over a year, they helped us tremendously with not only our marriage but with raising our children as well. They were a categorical blessing to us at that point in our lives. In addition to our weekly couples’ meetings, I met Max at McDonalds on the base every week for time in the Word. At the time, I was convinced Carol was crazy, she would do things that I thought were bazar. So, during these weekly meetings, I tried to convince Max that my wife was crazy. Every week he patiently listened to my story of the week, then he’d look at me and say, “I agree with you Zetty, your wife is crazy, and you made her that way.” It so infuriated me, every week I came back with a bigger story, Max listened patiently, and every week told me the same thing…...”I agree with you Zetty, your wife is crazy, and you made her that way.” As I recall, this went on for months, finally I blurted out at him, if you were me what would you do. He told me something, I don’t recall what it was, but I went home and tried to do what he said. After a week, I noticed a change in Carol, so when I saw Max next, I said what else do you know, you obviously know my wife better than I know her. Max was right, when I changed, Carol changed, and my marriage changed. Max gave me an audio recording by Jack Taylor, called the Principle of Receiving. Rev Taylor uses marriage to illustrate the principle, but it applies to many issues, it changed my life, and the way I see all of life. I have probably passed out a thousand copies in our 38 years of ministry.

After meeting together for a year, Max was promoted and was going to be an Area Supervisor for The Navigator Military Ministry in Western Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. He needed people to staff the bases under his supervision, he asked Carol and I to consider getting out of the Navy and moving to Arizona, to staff one of those bases. I had never done any ministry, but apparently Max saw something in us the Lord could use. I had just been promoted, and thought my future was in the Navy, but gave Max the dutiful Christian answer, “we’ll pray about it.” After seeking the Lord for an answer for a week, Carol and I felt we should get out of the Navy and move our family to Arizona with the Weighminks to minister at Williams AFB, in suburban Phoenix. The Lord used Max and Dawn and Scott and Stormy Morrison to teach us how to minister and disciple people, over the next several years.

In 1992, a Russian general came to the United States to invite all Navigator military staff assembled at the Navigator headquarters in Colorado Springs to come to Russia to minister to the Russian military. This room filled with 125 staff could not believe our ears, hearing a Russian general pleading with us all to come to Russia to do ministry with the Russian military. We all presumed many would go, but after a year, no one responded. The Navigator Military leadership team then asked Max if he and his team of Rich and Cindy Robinson, John and Rachel Voss, and Carol and I would consider moving to Russian and ministering to the Russian military. We made two exploratory trips to Moscow and St Petersburg in January 1994 and February 1995. Ultimately, the Weighminks moved to Moscow for almost 5 years and Vosses moved to St Petersburg for 10 years, they both had significant ministries to the Russian military. I marvel and admire how Max led his family and clairvoyantly saw how the Lord could use them there. At the time Dawn’s health was not good and he had to consider Heidi’s needs as well. But where many would see hardship, and many reasons not to go, Max saw opportunities for how the Lord would use his family, and the Lord met their needs there. I want to share one way the Lord looked after and honored Max’s faith, and decision to go to Russia.

After the Weighminks had been in Moscow for a while, I met a Christian former Navy pilot who was flying to Moscow every week for a US airline company. I asked him if he could transport “things” to a missionary friend in Moscow, and he said yes. So, every week Max would email me things they either needed (like Dawn’s medicine) or other things they would like for ministry use (one Thanksgiving it was several frozen turkeys). My pilot friend would carry them with his gear in the cockpit, so we never had to worry about customs, and take them to his hotel room in Moscow and Max would retrieve them there. This weekly arrangement worked for a couple of years, as a testimony to God’s provision. In conclusion, Max was a legend to me, his faith was larger than life, and his insights from spending time in the Word were not only profound, but entertaining. I so enjoyed just listening to what the Lord was sharing with him. As a discipler, Max was without equal, he loved people best by giving them what they needed, speaking the Truth. I was a rough guy when Max met me, if he had challenged me, I probably would have dismissed him. But Max was like smoke under the door (he never barged the door down) but had his own inimitable way of getting to someone’s heart. God has used his gentle, humble manner in many people’s lives. God used him to change the course of my whole life, for which, I am deeply grateful! Jesus said in Matthew 20:27, if you want to be first in the Kingdom of Heaven, you must be servant of all. I think when we, as believing people, get to heaven, we’ll all be working for Max Weighmink!

Zetty K

I met Max while I was a student at Florida Institute of Technology (Fall of 1974). At that time there was Max and Dawn and Marie, Mary Jo, and Martha. You and Heidi were still a twinkle in your parent's eyes...or as they say in the South, "You were out picking blackberries". There was a note put in my mailbox when I was a freshman inviting me to a Bible Study. When I went I met Jim Mills, Charlie Greenwell, Ralph Doyle, Dave Olsen, and other upper classmen who were involved with the Navigators. I had never heard of a Navigator. In time I began to view Navigators as the Jedai of Christianity. Bob Newman and Jim Cuneen were faculty at F.I.T. and invested a lot of time in me and later students like Tex Landis, Diane Hickey, Tony Timbol, Dave Meurer, Herman Neufeld, and others. Max had responsibility for both the F.I.T. campus and Patrick Air Force Base. He brought with him from a past AFB Terry Holste, Chuck Barber, Martin Harper, Larry Bowman, and others. If you have met any of these folks, then you know what a blessing I had (these are things you don't fully appreciate at the time). Max blessed all of them. Speaking personally, I can say he treated me like I was special...welcome at Bible studies and conferences and Holiday meals at his home. I learned a lot from him not just from his counsel but also observing his life...a life spent honoring and obeying our Lord.

Ronald D

God does work in mysterious ways! As a very young officer in the Air Force at Ramstein Air Force Base, West Germany standing outside of AAFEES bookstore. A female officer who I did not even know came up to me and stated would you like to come to meeting at this address in Rodenbach, Germany. I replied OK? Ended up this was Sue Huggins.

Well this address in Rodenbah was Max and Dawn’s home. Come to find out they were a part of the Navigators’s ministry. While I was raised a Lutheran, this was the first time in my life that I learned about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Max of course challenged me to memorize, of which my first verse was Proverb 3:5-6. That one verse has gotten me through a lot of up’s and downs over my life. Through Max met Leslie Johnsen, Gail and host of others. Thank you Max!

David H

Another unique opportunity that comes to mind is when we as a family prayed and asked God if there was anyone He had on His heart, that God would bring them into our life.  Sure enough, we got this puddle that kept reappearing in the middle of our kitchen floor.  We needed a plumber.  God guided us to the right one.   It was a couple days job and we had him for lunch both days.  Later, we had a leak behind the toilet.  Dad (Max) was able to share with this plumber.  He became a Christian.  Then Dad asked him to see if his wife would be interested in a Bible study in the book of John for 4 weeks.  She was hesitant, but agreed.  They extended another 4 weeks and by the end, she also became a Christian.  God is so amazing!