Alger & Gloria Marsh
Success! Freedom! Fulfillment! That is my life. I am Alger Marsh. I was married for 58 years to my heart’s delight, Gloria. Our marriage got better every year! We used the tools we learned in life, and planned to continue learning more ways to grow our relationship. Instead, on October 7, 2023, our loving Father escorted her to heaven. It was very sudden and unexpected. So she did not have much pain to deal with before entering heaven’s gates. God answered the prayers of many for me as he carried me, like the poem Footprints in the Sand describes. His joy and peace mingled with my times of tears in a beautiful way. Now that I am past that mourning time, I miss her, but mourning is not part of the equation.
One of our workshops, HeartsTogether, is specifically aimed at helping others learn to use the tools we used in our marriage. Of course, many of the tools can be applied to other relationships, too. It is a joy to see other people begin to use these tools. I believe that as my relationship with God improves, He helps me have a better self-image as well as become a better friend.
I spent three years as a Manager for Safeway’s 440 stores in the Oregon district doing purchasing and quality control for the egg department. Following that, I had three years as a church’s Youth Pastor and Christian Education Director. Eleven years with Wycliffe Bible Translators was next, eight of those years in Papua New Guinea. Gloria and I formed House of Myrrh Ministries in 1985. We learned many tools that helped provide the victories I now experience with the people in my life.
Some activities I have greatly enjoyed include sky diving, hang gliding, flying in an airplane glider, scuba diving, riding horses, solving Sudoku puzzles and driving around the countryside. I also enjoy reading a variety of categories of literature. I plan to continue enjoying a life of adventure along with fulfilling relationships as I assist many people gain an exciting, rewarding life.
I have found that a balanced combination of sleep, nutrition and exercise bring about health and energy. I don’t use alarm clocks or other mechanisms to awaken me; instead, I allow my body to bring me awake when it is satisfied with the rest and refreshment it needs. I have searched for and found nutrients that lengthen my telomeres, increase my resistance to common diseases, and promote energy. PraiseMoves.com provides an excellent pattern of exercise to keep me agile and fit.
My greatest joys, however, have come from being able to participate in bringing people into life-changing freedom and victory in their lives. The Heart Workshops (listed at www.heartchange.org), include scores of tools such as HeartRecovery, the Five R’s (Repent, Receive, Release, Renounce and Replace) and proxy, that have been used by God to restore hope, bring freedom from fear and instill confidence resulting in victorious living for many of the participants and staff of those workshops. A special treat is when someone who has believed they have nothing to offer to help other people have become ecstatic when God uses them powerfully as they connect others to God and enable them to gain freedom and peace through the processes of the workshops.
I plan to continue working with HOMM. Other people have learned to do what we have set up. At this time, I believe God is leading me to launch a fourth department for HOMM. It will be a training center. Camp Aijalon (see Joshua 10:12-13) is to be a place of many miracles! I look forward to seeing what God will do next.
Join me in pursuing goals of being healthy, benefiting mankind and preparing for eternity while thoroughly enjoying this life.
Our Board of Elders
Meet our Board of Elders—a dedicated team of leaders passionate about guiding House of Myrrh Ministries with wisdom, integrity, and a shared vision for transformed lives.
President
Jeff Paterson
Jeff has been serving on the Board of Elders since 2020 and in 2024 became President of the Board of Elders. He and his wife Sue host workshops in their home in Norco California. They have been faithfully serving together by facilitating HeartChange, HeartDesign, HeartsOverflowing, and HeartRecovery Training workshops, helping others experience Papa God’s love, grace, and healing.
Married since 1982, with four adult children and a growing number of grandchildren. They are lifelong followers of Jesus who delight in ministering, mentoring, and preparing the Bride for the Bridegroom through House of Myrrh Ministries.
Founder of House of Myrrh Ministries
Alger Marsh
I received Jesus as my Savior at age ten, and by thirteen, God had called me to share the gospel with those who had never heard it. That call led Gloria and me to spend eight years in Papua New Guinea, fulfilling that mission until God redirected our path after our son Eric was taken to heaven. The Lord then gave me a new assignment—to help prepare the Bride for the Bridegroom—which became the foundation of House of Myrrh Ministries. Through God’s guidance, thousands have been transformed by the Heart Workshops, with over 1,200 alumni trained as Training Assistants and participants now in 44 states and a dozen nations. Today, as others carry on the ministry’s work, I continue to serve through House of Myrrh and look forward to developing Camp Aijalon as a new department within the organization. I am deeply grateful, fulfilled, and in awe of how God has answered so many prayers through this journey.
Board Member
Rob Salter
Rob and his wife, Teri, married for 33 years, attended their first HeartChange Workshop in 2020 in Norco, California—the year of the COVID-19 shutdown—after finally running out of excuses since it was just five miles from home.
Rob began serving on the Board of Elders in 2023. Rob and Teri continue to participate in many workshops. In addition, they have completed the HeartChange Facilitator training and lead many HeartRecovery sessions for people desiring that ministry.
Board Member
Ernie Josi
Ernie married his wife, Heather, in 1994, beginning a lifelong journey of personal and spiritual growth that deepened through his participation in the HeartChange and follow-up workshops at House of Myrrh, where he also trained in Heart Recovery Ministry to minister one-on-one.
Ernie has faithfully served on the House of Myrrh Ministries Board of Elders since 2014, helping to further the ministry’s mission and vision.
Board Member
Keli Smith
Keli Smith turned her life over to God in 1989. She became involved in a church that she attended for 30 years. During that time she served on worship team, women's Ministries, home bible studies and Sunday school teacher. In 2018 she attended Heartchange workshop and received freedom from past lies she believed about God and herself. With her new found freedom she felt God was leading her to commit to House of Myrrh and began to attend every workshop she could as a TA then attended the leadership workshops and started facilitating. Today she facilitates Heart Change, HeartDesign, Kids HeartChange, Facilitator and TA Training. Keli also fills the position of Regional Director of Oregon and was invited to join the Board of Elders in 2025.
Our Staff & Volunteers
Linda
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