The Messenger November 24, 1978

The Messenger EVANGELICAL MENNONITE CONFERENCE

Vol. 16

No. 24

i The New International Version • MCC (Sask.) Holds Annual Meeting

Nov. 24/78

''It was the aim of Committee on Bible Translation (CBT) to make a thoroughly accurate and reliable translation of the original languages of Scrip­ ture."

Translating the New International Version Bible by J. C. Wenger THE FIRST MANUSCRIPT English Bible was made by John Wycliffe and colleagues of Oxford University in the early 138O's and was revised by John Purvey, 1388. The first printed English Bible, made by William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale, appeared in 1535 — sixty-nine years after the German Bi­ ble was printed. It was William Tyn­ dale who set the style for the English Bible. All subsequent editions (15391970) basically did little more than tinker with the Tyndale wording. He was a most capable scholar and died as a martyr after he had translated and revised the New Testament, and translated about half the Old Testa­ ment. Coverdale simply finished and slightly edited his work. The Tyndale tradition is represented by the follow­ ing Bibles; Great, 1539; Geneva, 1560; Bishops, 1568; King James, 1611; ERV,

event for the study of the Old Testa­ ment was the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. In the New Testament, the progress has been even more pronounced. We now have an almost letter-perfect text of the New Testa­ ment. One need but compare the 25th edition of the Nestle Greek New Testament (1963) with that of the United Bible Societies (2nd printing, 1968) to see how they are almost iden­ tical. THE GENESIS OF THE NIV. In 1956 the Christian Reformed con­ gregation of Seattle, Washington, sent a communication to the synod of that church, urging that consideration be given to the preparation of a new ver­ sion of the Bible. The petition was heard and ultimately a committee of five was studying the matter; Marten H. Woudstra, Andrew K. Bandstra,

1885; ASV, 1901; RSV, 1952; and

Bastiaan Van Elderen, John H. Stek,

NASV, 1970. The King James Version, for example, was not a de novo translation, but a revision of the Bishops Bible. It was made by a group of six committees, almost all Anglican as to faith. In the past several centuries, enor­ mous strides have been taken in the field of textual criticism. A major

and Martin J. Wyngaarden. In 1957 the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) also appointed a similar study committee. Those who served were; Burton L. Goddard, Earl S. Kalland, Herbert S. Mekeel, Stephen W. Paine, and Merrill C. Tenney. By 1961, these two committees were

/. C. Wenger, teacher of historical theology at Associated Mennonite Bib­ lical Seminaries, Elkhart, Indiana, was a member of the Committee on Bible Translations, the 15-man governing body for the translation of the New International Version (NIV) Bible. This new Bible is now finished and we are happy to present this account of the translation procedures from a man who was directly involved in the project. The article comes to us courtesy The Gospel Herald, Scottdale PA.

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meeting conjointly to study the feasibility and practicality of making a new translation of the Bible. On December 21, 1962, the Joint Com­ mittee went on record as favoring calling a "Translation Conference" to get wider counsel. Two years later in a meeting at Nyack, New York, the Joint Committee asked Burton L. Goddard to arrange for such a Translation Conference. He did so, with the back­ ing of many church leaders who agreed that he could use their names as conveners of the meeting. The meeting was held at Trinity College, Palos Heights, Illinois, a sub­ urb of Chicago. The dates were August 26 and 27, 1965. This con­ ference endorsed the preparation of a new version of the Bible. A Com­ mittee on Bible Translation (CBT) was then appointed; 15 were invited to serve. Some declined, others resigned later as the work became heavier, and two died, so that by 1978, only six of the original 15 were still serving; eight others had been appointed to CBT. (The committee is currently one short of its constitutional membership of 15.) The first meeting of CBT was held at Nashville, Tennessee, December 29, 1965, in the Free Will Baptist College. CBT felt uncertain of the project at that time. Who would finance it? Consequently CBT called another meeting with church leaders and scholars from across North America to meet at the Moody Church, August 26 and 27,1966. This time an even larger group endorsed the project. Further­ more, Y. R. Kindberg, executive secretary of the New York Bible Socie­ ty (older but smaller than the American Bible Society), and Morris Townsend, a Bible Society Board member, indicated to the officers of CBT that the Society would be in­

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terested in attempting to finance the preparation of the new version. It was 1967 before this arrangement was concluded, however. And it was the spring of 1968 before a full-time ex­ ecutive secretary of CBT was hired. His name was Edwin H. Palmer, a former Christian Reformed pastor and a teacher at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. The project now began to make progress. The work was done on five levels: (1) A Team of two to five scholars, regional, in character (that is, one team was in the Chicago area, another in southern California), met and translated a given book. (2) An Intermediate O.T./N.T. Editorial Committee (lEC) then met and went over the Team translation, line by line and word by word. (3) A General Editorial Committee (GEC) then went over the lEC manuscript with a finetooth comb. (lEC and GEC generally had five men each.) (4) English stylists such as Margaret Nicholson and Frank E. Gaebelein then polished the GEC manuscript. (5) Finally, the CBT of 15 (10 present was considered good!) ap­ proved the wording before it went to the printer. The chief problem was that each committee tended to feel that wisdom began with it! Nevertheless, this system of polishing, polishing, polishing, really paid off in terms of a manuscript which went to the printer in a readable, accurately translated, beautiful form. No man and no committee could have done what this system of repeated checking and polishing accomplished. Most of the work of CBT was done since 1970, frequently in hard­ working summer sessions in the Black Forest of Germany (1972), in the Cascades some 50 miles from Bellingham, Washington (1973), in Scotland (1974), in Athens (1975), in Spain (1976), and in Belgium (1977). The aim was to get away from telephones and other distractions, and to find board and room suf­ ficiently cheaper than in America, to pay the plane fares abroad. The aim: A new version. The aim of CBT was to produce a completely new version, direct from the original texts of the Old and New Testaments in simple, clear, crisp English, with little Latin — just Anglo-Saxon English where possible. Some contrasts with the KJV will illustrate its style. The King James Version reads: "Let love be without dissimulation" (Rom. 12:9), but the NIV has: "Love must be sincere." The KJV speaks of the "lust of concupiscence," while the NIV has "passionate lust" (1 Thess. 4:5). The KJV has: "In many things we offend

NOVEMBER 24, 1978

all," while the NIV reads: "We stum­ ble in many ways" (Jas. 3:2). The KJV has: "This is the will of God, even your sanctification," while the NIV has: "It is God's will that you should be holy" (1 Thess. 4:3). At times there was agonizing and sharp debate in this effort to find the best possible rendering, particularly if there was some question about the original reading. Isaiah 53:11 reads in the KJV: "He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied." The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Septuagint could be translated: "Because of the suffer­ ing of his soul he will see the light of life and be satisfied." CBT first decid­ ed to follow that rendering. The next day the rendering was reconsidered. The views of F. F. Bruce of the Univer­ sity of Manchester were considered, also the suggestion of Brown, Driver, and Briggs (Hebrew Lexicon, p. 581), and the following was finally adopted for the text: "After the suffering of his

law. After endless discussion the NIV finally settled on: "Do and do, do and do; rule on rule, rule on rule" — as a sort of dynamic equivalent. (It might have been just as good to put down the Hebrew syllables, as at least one version does. The Jerusalem Bible.) The cryptograms of Jeremiah {Sheshach for Babylon, and Lebqamai for Chaldeans) were formed by taking each letter in the Hebrew in turn, counting how many spaces it was from the beginning of the alphabet, then counting that many spaces back from the end of the alphabet, and putting that letter down! (Jer. 25:26; 51:1, 41). The NEB is wrong in seeing textual corruption in Jeremiah 51:1; it is, instead, a letter-perfect cryptogram. It is sometimes said that interpreters should just translate literally, not in­ terpret. As a general rule, that is cor­ rect. But what about Hebrew idioms such as "uncircumcised" fruit? (Lev. 19:23). NIV says of such fruit, "Con­ sider it forbidden."

ACCURACY

Each day was begun with

fervent prayer, and

the members of CBT became very close

spiritually as the years rolled around.

soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied." A footnote was added: "Or (with Masoretic text) he will see the result of the suffering of his soul and be satisfied." There is also a footnote after "light of life" in the text; the footnote reads: "Dead Sea scrolls and Septuagint; Masoretic text omits the light of life." Thus the English reader can look over the shoulders of CBT and see why they adopted the reading they did, and in the footnote they can see another possible reading of the text. It was the aim of CBT to make a thoroughly accurate and reliable translation of the original languages of Scripture. But what should be done if Isaiah repeats the nonsense syllables of children who were acting as his mimics? In Isaiah 28:10 the children cry: Sav lasav, sav lasav; kav lakav, kav lakav — syllables that seem to be meaningless imitations of the way the prophet of God harped on the divine

BEFORE

RHYTHM. CBT labored hard to at­ tain something of the beauty and cadence of the KJV, but chose ac­ curacy rather than rhythm if there was a conflict. Every translation was read aloud at least twice (a chapter at a time) as CBT members listened carefully. This was to test the version for public readability. (It was also checked with students in school.) Too many sibilants in a row were avoided. "Some men's sins" would almost make the reader hiss (1 Tim. 5:24); it reads in the NIV, "The sins of some men." Passages of great familiarity, such as the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, and the like, were kept in as familiar form as the original allowed. Each day was begun with fervent prayer, and the members of CBT became very close spiritually as the years rolled around. Illness, or cap­ ture by communists of a translator's daughter and her family (the Millers, children of Stephen W. and Helen Paine), were occasions of much in­ tercession and support. Yet differences of judgment were sometimes occasions of tension, in spite of love! Fortunately, there were constantly new patterns of alignments in the translation debates, and no real cliques were formed. It is the hope and prayer of CBT and all who worked on the project (over a hundred scholars) that Englishspeaking Christians will find the new version attractive and usable in both private and public worship and study, and in memorization.■ PAGE 3

straight Talk by Glen Koop

I don’t Understand. Well, yes, in part. . . We met at school. A friend of mine introduced us. From here on we often passed each other in the hallways. I did not like the individual. Already, before I really knew him, I had passed judgment. In my mind, he was an undesirable. I often wished we had not met. His dress, it was something else . . . how could he stand it? His mannerisms were peculiar and distasteful to me. And I gritted my teeth every time I heard his boisterous, braggy tone echo along the halls. I just couldn't get myself to like him. But does not the Bible admonish us to love the unlovely? In fact, it tells us to love our enemies. And I knew love is not feeling for a person but rather a will to love. I also knew that loving meant getting to know the individual. For how else could I show that I loved him unless I got close to him? I needed to understand him as an individual. Knowing that all mankind is needy in one area

Letters God is Faithful Dear Messenger Readers, "He is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble" (Psalm 46:1). How often the Lord has brought this verse to our minds this past year, and how true it is - He is our refuge and He is our strength. God has used many of you in this past year to lighten our load. I have often wondered how many prayers have stormed the throne of grace on our behalf. I know there have been many and we are grateful to you. These past months have been especial­ ly difficult, since August. But again God has been faithful and He has used many of you to help carry our load. Many have prayed, many have visited (we couldn't always let everyone in, hope you will un­ derstand), many have shared. For this we are truly grateful. May the Lord reward each one. It seems impossible to write each one a personal note so please

or another 1 decided, 1 made up my mind, to learn to un­ derstand. I put away the first impression and judgment of the in­ dividual and instead of passing him in the hallway, 1 stopped to talk to him. I ended that artificial classification of placing him in one specific class and asked God to help me see him as an in­ dividual. I stopped comparing him with my other friends. None of my friends had the same personality. And so why should not he be an individual in his own right! As I listened to him, I began to understand him better. I discovered my previous judgment had been too hasty and from a few situations where I had just caught some details of the conversation. As I took more opportunities to meet with him, I saw him behave in different situations and his behaviour pleas­ ed me more. I learned he had interests similar to mine. I discovered that he spent his leisure time helping others. This individual began to enrich my life. I asked myself, why didn't I understand before? I don't understand! Well, yes, I understand in part; for the natural man it is easy to hate, to pass quick judgments, to downgrade a per­ son, because emotions, like water, run downhill quite easi­ ly. On the other hand, the Christian has put off the old nature and in the new nature he seeks the highest good even for his enemies. "I DON'T UNDERSTAND. WELL, YES, IN PART. . . "is the fifth in a series of articles written for the EMC Social Concerns Committee by Glen Koop, Box 1420, Steinbach, Man. ROA 2A0.

accept this as a thank you from us. Many will remember that my wife, Katie, had major surgery last December. Starting in February she had chemotherapy every five weeks. But things were not improving; they were getting worse. August 13 we flew to California for two weeks to find help there, but things just went downhill. Upon coming home she was hospitalized immediately. After many tests and X-rays and nine surgeries, which included one major, and ten weeks in the St. Boniface Hospital, she is home again and getting a little stronger. We are convinced that it's the prayers of God's people that she got this far. "We know not what the future holds, but we know who holds the future." "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28). We are convinced that He knows what He is doing and someday when the last piece will have been put into the puzzle, we will understand and be able to praise Him in perfection. Meanwhile, we appreciate your prayers. It is wonderful to belong to the

body of Christ. Thank you so much for caring and sharing. God bless you. Your Co-labourers, Dave and Katie Harms and family Roseisle, Man.

CONTRIBUTORS: With the New International Version (NIV) now completed, I thought it would be in order to carry an article on it. I. C. Wenger is professor of historical theology at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, Ekihart, In­ diana. The article is not in the form of a review but rather an account of one who was in­ volved in the 15-man governing body for the entire NIV project. Missions section con­ tributors are lake and Dorothy Unrau (Burns Lake, B.C.) who have just begun their first term of service with Global Outreach in Ger­ many; Mary Koop (Kleefeld), serving in Japan with the New Tribes Mission; Dora Friesen (Rosenort), El Paso/Juarez; John and ]oyce Dyck (Portage la Prairie), who returned to Germany recently for another term; Dave and Susie Eidse (Pleasant Valley), serving at Camp 77 in Mexico; and Larry and Pearl Friesen (Morris Fellowship), who are in their first semester of language studies at the Rio Grande Bible Institute.

COVER PHOTO: Stanley Park, Vancouver. British Columbia Government photo.

THE MESSENGER is published every other week by The Evangelical Mennonile Conlerence, Board of Education and Publication. Box 1268, Stein­ bach. Manitoba. ROA 2A0. Second Class Mail. Registration Number 0591. Undeliverable copies, change of address and new subscriptions should be mail­ ed to the above address

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From the Editor “I Will Build My Church ' There may not be much "good" news as we read our newspapers and listen to the news on the airwaves. In fact, it sometimes appears in reading the papers that good news must be hard to come by. At least it does not seem to make the front page like "bad" news does. Lest we are inclined to assign this pessimism to the church also, we want to, for our mutual encouragement, look at some of the exciting things God is doing in the world today. • For instance, how many of us know that the president of a new nation, which was born in the island world of the Pacific in July, is a born-again Christian. What is more, he has invited Back to the Bible to present a daily broadcast on a network of government stations! • I very seldom tune in to Rex Humbard. But the other Sunday I did and heard a report that was almost unbelievable. This evangelist had been invited for a crusade to Chile. Fortythree denominations united together to invite him to come to that country. A large stadium was provided free by the government and he had an invitation to return. • Probably one of the better known current examples of open doors in the world is the recent Billy Graham crusades in Norway, Sweden and Poland. The Poland impact maybe is best described by Billy Graham himself in his November newsletter: "The last two months have been amazing and historic in our ministry — the crusades in Norway and Sweden (the largest evangelistic effort in Swedish history due to the outreach through closed-circuit television in 31 centres) — and the evangelistic meetings in Poland where scores and sometimes hundreds on every hand, made commitments to Christ as Lord and Saviour. "The Polish meetings, supported by nearly all the churches, would have been impossible even five years ago. Thousands stood for hours, shoulder to shoulder, in city after city, to hear the Gospel preached — the same Gospel of the cross, resurrection, second coming, faith, and repentance, that we have preached on every continent. No restrictions of any kind were placed upon us. In just eleven days, we preached or spoke nearly fifty times — travelling hundreds of miles by car, bus or plane. "In Cracow, the beautiful university city (from which Pope John Paul II comes), thousands of students came and hundreds remained behind to be counselled as they sur­ rendered to Christ as Lord and Saviour. It would take an entire book to relate the experiences of those days of ministry among the amazing people of Poland." Mr. Graham also mentions the new pope, John Paul II. Ac­ cording to a report in Christianity Today, the then cardinal, Karol Wojtyla, was "friendly" towards the relatively new Oasis, a youth-oriented movement with evangelistic over­ tones. I think this speaks well for John Paul II. • John Nyquist, who fills the Paul E. Little chair of evangelism at Trinity Evangelical School of Divinity in Deer­ field, Illinois, and a former regional director for Campus Crusade in central Europe, makes the claim that there are op­ portunities in Europe as never before. He feels two things which have contributed to this is that by their insistence upon airing Marxist ideas, the Marxists have cleared the way for the preaching of Christianity in the un­ iversities. He also feels that political unrest and terrorism left Europeans more receptive to the gospel. I think my wife and I would be able to corroborate that last fact, having been in Europe last year when terrorism was

NOVEMBER 24, 1978

about at its highest. I recall the distraught woman who joined us in our railway coach in a train we were going on. We disembarked before she did but I would like to think we were able to allay some of her fears brought on by the current events of terrorism. • From Zaire comes this heart-warming story. .Levi Keidel reports that 17 high school students came to Christ one week. When they came to the Keidels' home on Sunday to begin follow-up classes, 38 showed up! Twenty-one of these wanted to become Christians! And then he adds, "Where will your mission dollar bring greater returns than in what God is doing here?" One is forced to agree. • No less dramatic is the change that has come about in Spain. Elwyn Davies writes as follows in Bible Christian Union "Increase": "For the people of God this is a brave new day for Spain. It is as if the Holy Spirit is just now focussing attention on what has been a captive unchanging land... A sense of freedom that was totally non-existent before, sweeps across Spain today." Should maybe the EMC Board of Missions think of entering Spain as its second thrust in Europe? I don't think this is so farfetched when one takes into consideration that a large part of our foreign mission effort thus far, has been concentrated on Spanish-speaking Latin America (Mexico and Nicaragua). And we have missionaries who already know the language. • We could go on. In the July issue of the periodical put out by Christian Direction, Keith Price, the executive director, gives the amazing account of a 4,000-mile journey on Com­ munist roads which took him on a preaching/teaching tour to Yugoslavia, Hungary and Romania. The trip came upon the invitation of the church in Yugoslavia. Mr. Price writes, "Believers, in many parts, find things less repressive today than they were three years ago. That applies to visitors too. I had secured no visas beforehand for any Communist country. In every case, they were obtained as I crossed the borders, with a maximum of one-hour delays." • And China, which I suppose we had all but written off! Reports which are filtering through are encouraging. Chris­ tian Nationals' Evangelism Commission (CNEC), based in San Jose, CA, reports of getting some reports from the mainland. A Chinese deacon had been able to re-visit his hometown on the mainland and there were still Christian groups meeting, although secretly. Maybe when God's hour comes, the Spirit will once more pervade that vast population. At least we should not rule it out. Jesus said, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." Then He followed this up with, "Lo I am with you to the end of the age." That has not yet come so He still wants to move us out to reach the world. • If we have been prone to look at the dark side, the obstacles, imagined or real, we may need a "shot" from G. W. Peters when he says, "I look very optimistically at the future... Once you become problem-conscious, you'll have plenty of them too." He feels that to be a pessimist is a practical denial of the sovereignty of God. He also believes that in the next two decades, as many people will enter the kingdom of God as in the last two centuries! We have looked at a few places where God is working in the world today. No doubt there would be many more. But may we be encouraged from the ones given, that God is still building His church, and in some parts of the world in a near miraculous way. — D.S. PAGE 5

Missions The Lord Goeth Before In the account of the exodus of the children of Israel out of Egypt, we see how the Lord went before them to prepare the way for them. Over the past few weeks, we have seen how the Lord goes before us to prepare the way for us. Allow me to tell you of the goodness of the Lord to us. We left Prince George airport around 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 11, 1978, to start us on the path to where the Lord had called us. In a short time, we would be missionaries on the field. What would await us? We arrived at the Edmonton airport at 12:30 noon and spent the rest of the day relaxing at the airport. We were worried about how we would be able to rest on the plane if it would be full, for we had a lot of hand luggage and an eight-hour flight ahead of us. Well, the Lord had gone on before. The plane was only half full so that we had a lot of room and could relax and enjoy the ride. We left Edmonton and Canada around 7:30 p.m. and arrived at Frankfurt at 11:30 the next morning. Now I was worried about our trunk that we had shipped one week earlier. Would it be there? How could I find out? After what seemed like a long time in a line to get past the customs officers, we were met by Mr. Brodish who is our senior missionary. He informed us that he had a notice that our trunk was at the airport freight office and we could pick it up. The customs officer at the freight of­ fice had just come back from a vacation in Canada and when he heard that we were from Canada, he passed the trunk without inspection. This saved us a lot of time and work. The Lord had gone before. As we drove from Frankfurt to our

home in Schwarzborn, our thoughts turned to our new home. What would the apartment be like? What would we sleep on the first while? What would Dorothy cook m? What would we eat on? As we rounded the last corner that led to our place, we noticed that the out­ side of the house had changed color and was freshly painted. When we got inside, we found our beds were made with clean sheets and the kitchen was fully equipped. In fact, the whole house was ready to live in; this was much more than we had expected. Thanks go to the workers who had worked so hard to prepare the place for us, but again the praise goes to the Lord who had gone before to prepare a way for us. The trip to Bremen took us past Seesen so we stopped and had morning coffee with the Levi Reimers. After a refreshing visit, we were on our way again. Now we were in Bremen. But where would we find the street and the right office? Well, we decided to ask a man on the street. You will never guess — this man was the man from the office we needed to go to. In fact, he was the man we had to see. The odds against meeting this man on the street were more than 63,000,000 to one, but the Lord had gone on before us. The paper work was quickly done and the three crates fit perfectly in the back of the VW bus and we were on our way home rejoicing. Often we worry about how things will work out and what will happen next. We say that we have faith that God will take care of us and of all our needs, but really by our actions, we show that we do not trust Cod very far at all. As missionaries in a foreign land, our faith is tested more often than when we were at home. But

Back in Germany After two years of further studies, we arrived with half of our family in Ger­ many. Early the next morning, September 3, we were awakened by an earthquake — a new and unusual ex­ perience for us, as well as for most Ger­ mans. For this term we will be involved in three areas of ministry — crusade counselling and follow-up, the Bible school in winter and an administrative assignment as general secretary for the Janz Team Organization. During the last half of November, we

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will be conducting a major crusade in Wiesbaden, the capital of the province of Hessen. Preparations are also in full swing for the Basel Crusade, planned for January 14-24. The initial response of pastors has been quite discouraging. However, the Lord has answered prayer in giving us over 200 people who are regularly attending the weekly counsellor training classes. We covet your prayers that God will call many peo­ ple and glorify Himself through these crusades. John and Joyce Dyck

when God has shown Himself faithful in so many different ways, can we doubt that He will be with us all the way? But we needed a vehicle. We did not have any money with us and we did not know anybody. Realistically it would take at least a month before we could buy our own car. On Wednesday we went to a birthday party. There we met a Christian man who knew another Christian who had a car dealership. On Thursday we went to see this man about a car. He had a car, a good used one that was just right for our family size. It had just the right size motor to get us into the cheaper in­ surance bracket, the car was in the right price range for us, and this Christian man would let us take the car and pay later, with no interest. On Friday we had a carl The Lord had gone before to supply our needs. "O ye of little faith." Every day the Lord is doing something for you. Are you seeing God at work in your life? "Lord, I believe, help thou my un­ belief" (Mark 9:24). Jake and Dorothy Unrau

Three young people were baptized and received into the EMC membership of Camp 77. Left to right: Pete Klassen, Dave Eidse (Pastor), Tina Rempel, Susie Stoesz. Seventy-five people were in attendance at the baptismal service held on November 5. THE ABOVE picture, plus the two on the next page (top), come from the Dave Eidses who, together with Mary Loewen (teacher), serve the Lord at Camp 77 in Mexico. The Eidses are from Pleasant Valley while Mary Loewen's home church is Rosenort EMC.

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*1

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SB. S

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« Above are the believers who were present for the commu­ nion service which was held the same day as the baptismal service at Camp 77 in Mexico.

Mary Loewen of Rosenort with her students at Camp 77, Mexico. Sixteen pupils are enrolled in this school. Mary also teaches a bi-weekly evening class for adults.

A shot in the Arm The following was included in Dora Friesen's report to the Board for the period, October to November. Dora, whose home is in Rosenort, Manitoba, is a missionary on the border of Juarez and

El Paso. Letters from correspondence students are encouraging. A lady who is serving a 10-year sentence in prison writes of her joy in the Lord and how the course, "La Gran Salvacion" (God's Great Salvation), is helping her. Children and adults from Jimenez and Camargo are continuing to do courses. We are offering a lovely calendar to all Bible correspondence students and EMC members who recruit two people for the "La Vida de Jesucristo" course. The nine-day trip that Maria Koop and I made into the interior was a "shot in the arm", and worth all the time and ef­ fort we put into it. I took the bus to Chihuahua and from there we went in Maria's car. The weather was beautiful and the roads were passable. Only once we were stuck in the sand in a riverbank. We went to a village for help. It took a tractor to get the car out. We visited 52 homes in ten villages and slept in seven different beds. Hospitality was very good. Most of the believers greeted us with "Dios le bendiga" (God bless you) and a handshake or "abrazo", or both. And they sure share their material blessings! This really spoke to us. Toward the end of the trip, we could not accept anymore apples, potatoes and squash. Our car was full. We attended three services, were ask­ ed to have a few Bible studies, but most of our time was spent in visiting, sharing, and recruiting new students for Bible courses. We met all kinds of believers — radiant and active ones, discouraged ones, NOVEMBER 24, 1978

backslidden ones, etc. Each one influenced us for prayer and praise. The last service we attended, lasted three hours. It didn't seem long. After the closing prayer, a discussion followed concerning "during the week activities." It was decided that Wednesday after 3:00 p.m., the believers would visit the discouraged ones, and evangelize. This thrilled us! Our last stop before arriving in Chihuahua was in Cuauhtemoc where we had "faspa" with the General Conference missionaries. Before I left for El Paso, Maria, Irene and I spent a few hours canning apples. (We cannot take raw apples into the U.S.A.) I thank the Lord for giving us such a wonderful time with our dear Mexican believers. Dora Friesen

The Work is Growing Greetings from South River, Japan! One month has passed since my arrival at the new Narita airport on September 16. Because of very tight restrictions at the airport, only one person was allowed to enter in to meet me. This was a disap­ pointment for the believers because they had been looking forward to this day. On our way home, Mr. Miyamato gave me firsthand information of the work. The news was not too encouraging but it was a tremendous challenge for me, to press forward with the gospel message in this place. Because of lack of leadership, and not living in this area, the Sunday school attendance dropped to about half. The worship service was stopped and' the landlady made so much fuss about the Christians meeting in my house (the church), that it was stopped too.

Now, one month later, things have really changed. The Sunday school atten­ dance is on the increase; new people are coming and old ones are returning slowly. The worship services, mid-week Bible study and prayer meeting have started too. We are rejoicing to see the Lord's work grow. The first week in October it was our great joy to see a junior high school girl from North River, accept Christ as her personal Saviour. She comes to our meetings faithfully now. October 22, we as a small group of believers in South River, had the joy of fellowshipping around the Lord's table. remembering the death and resurrection of our dear Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. This past week, house visitations have begun in the North River district and we are hoping to start children's meetings there after Christmas. Pray for us! Our Datsun station wagon has served us very well for the past seven years; with the growing work, it has become too small. We are looking to the Lord to provide the work with a mini-bus. Thank you for praying for us at the South River Gospel Centre, Reaching " ' souls ' for Christ, — • • Mary Koop

Lesotho Volunteers Alvin and Linda Friesen of Brandon, Manitoba, will be leaving for Lesotho, Southern Africa in January, 1979, for a two-year term with World University Ser'vice of Canada. Linda will be working with the National Library of Lesotho in a program to establish regional libraries in the country. Alvin will be teaching Geography in a secondary school. They will be living in Maseru, the capital city of Lesotho. Linda is a member of Trinity United Church in Brandon, and Alvin is a member of Treesbank E.M.C. Both are presently studying at Brandon University. PAGE 7

Learning a New Language Studies: Our first semester in the study of Spanish at RGBI includes classes five days a week, 8:25 to 12:00, plus an infor­ mant hour from 2:30 to 3:30, four days a week. The study consists of five subjects: grammar, phonetics, laboratory, conver­ sation, with one hour a week in Spiritual Life and Introduction to Latin America. It is expected that we spend another three hours in homework, although we find we do not live up to that expectation! It seems relatively easy to keep up with classwork but it is an entirely different matter to actually put our thoughts into meaningful sentences in Spanish. Home: We live in a small twobedroom furnished motel-style apart­ ment on campus. Due to close proximity, there is a lot of interaction between the adults, and especially between the children. Thus we have formed many close friendships. We also become aware of each others' idiosyncrasies and different approaches to child training. During our class hours Tannis attends the nursery on campus. Chad is attending a private Christian school five miles from Edinburg. They are both well-adjusted to their new environment and we praise the Lord for this. Spiritual: We attend the Lull Men­ nonite Church which we are assigned to by the school. The average attendance is

about twenty people. The Sunday school and worship services are both conducted in Spanish, except for the children's Sun­ day school class which Pearl is teaching in English. Although we catch parts of the message, we do not yet receive much spiritual food from them so personal devotions and interaction with other Christians become very important for spiritual health. The children both receive excellent Christian instruction in their schools. Extracurricular: For a special treat we drive out to South Padre Island to bask in the sunshine, swim in the ocean, and have the children build sand castles. This has been a new experience for us. Larry plays soccer with the Latin boys one hour each evening thus brushing up on his Spanish, as well as learning new tech­ niques of the game. Pearl enjoys baking during spare time. The children wear out their bikes on the black top streets (usually ride in herds). All of us thoroughly enjoy the out of doors, es­ pecially the mild evenings. We appreciate your continued interest and prayer support as the studies are becoming more difficult. We are content here knowing that God has placed us here for a purpose. Yours in Christ, Larry and Pearl Friesen

As secretary he travels about en­ couraging the distribution of Scriptures. One of the greatest needs among their churches is the training of pastors and church leaders. Independence to this country, former­ ly Bosotoland, under British rule, came in 1966. It is a poor country with virtually no industry. Average yearly income of the peasant is $60.00. There are, however, natural resources, the main one maybe water. If this could be developed it would mean both elec­ tric power and irrigation. What is needed is another country to come and develop these resources. Mr. Mohono cited how the Russians had done this in Egypt and the changes which took place. The first national meeting of Africa Independent churches took place in Cairo recently. Mr. Mohono attended this meeting where some 20 African Independent churches' leaders met at the invitation of the Coptic church. He spoke with enthusiasm about openings in the Roman Catholic church for the distribution of the Scriptures. Lesotho is about one half Roman Catholic. The African Independent church movement began late in the 19th cen­ tury. Membership is, however, in the millions. There is, however, no national organizational structure. The Mohonos are visiting churches in Manitoba and Kansas. In the Steinbach area they were at the Grace Mennonite Church, the EMB Church and the Ridgewood EMC. Before going home they plan to take in the meeting of the Council of International Ministries (CIM) in Chicago on November 27.

POSITION OPEN A position is open for a fulltime man to work in the areas of

Family Life Education and general Christian Education.

Left to right: Henry Klassen, executive secretary EMC Board of Missions, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Mohono, Lesotho, Africa and Mrs. Henry Klassen at the EMC office in Steinbach, Man.

Leaders Visit Here Samuel and Emily Mohono of Lesotho were recent visitors to the EMC office. Mr. Mohono is secretary of the Bible

PAGE 8

Society of South Africa and also a leader among the African Independent churches.

Starting time: January 1, 1979 For more information and

application forms write:

E.M.C. Board of Education and Publication Box 1268 Steinbach, Man. ROA 2A0 THE MESSENGER

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"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who ... made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant. .

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Phil. 2: 5-7

September — November 1978

FACULTY SYMPOSIUM

SBI: Servant of the Church — LeeRoy Bartel The name of this paper, "The Servant" was chosen for two reasons. First was the fact that this bulletin was to be our servant in communicating news and information to you. A more important reason was the conviction that SBI is the Servant of the church. We agree easily enough on the nature of the church — it is the people of God; but the nature of a school's ser­ vanthood in relationship with God's people is somewhat different. All local church and denominational organizations are meant to assist (or serve) the church (the people) in its mission. So a Bible Institute is one of these organizations and should serve people, not other organizations. As a Bible College, we are a specializ­ ed institution with a special ministry. It is not one of pastoral care, counselling, or evangelization, but of teaching — we are part of the educational program of the church. As individuals at SBI we are a part of the "people of God" and as individuals we have gifts. The gifts most prominent in a Bible College are prophecy and teaching. To the early Christians, prophets were the thinkers of the church who tested all systems of thought by the Word of God. Teachers were to instruct in the Scriptures and to apply Christian truth to life in all cir­ cumstances and conditions. If the gifts are applied in the same way today, then the faculty of SBI are servants of Cod and His word and thereby serve the Church.

As an organization and as individuals SBI is engaged in teaching which can be classified as an area of leadership in the Church. It would appear then that the nature of SBI's servanthood is to be leadership. You may wonder whether a servant can be a leader. To answer this we need only look at many of the prominent figures in the Bible. We do not only see that servants can be leaders but that in the church, all leaders must be servants. How does the Church School serve by leading? In a Christianity Today arti­ cle entitled "Are Christian Colleges worth the Trouble?" the following is stated, "The Church College's services to the church are fairly obvious. It is the mind of the church at work — wrestling with the Word of God. The result is sound Biblical Theology. It is the school of the Church, training a new genera­ tion for leadership in the Christian community. The Church College is the ministry of the church witnessing to the academic sector of society that Christ is the truth they seek." As a school then, we study Cod's Word and interpret it. This leads us to certain positions on issues. We teach and our students become leaders and thus our teaching becomes leadership through service. If the Church has a need for leaders and if we as a school can recruit students, train them, and send them to work in the community of God's people, we have served the church. We also give leadership when we go into the local churches and teach and preach, or when we organize con­ ferences and workshops, or when we endorse activities, people or philosophies by means of our school program. cont. on page 4

Stoesz Speaks at Deeper Life Meetings Rev. Ed Stoesz spoke during the annual fall deeper life meetings at S.B.I. this year. The meetings were held on October 2 - 4 for the students and faculty during the morning chapel and an afternoon session. Rev. Ed Stoesz, currently an assistant minister at the Gospel Mennonite Church in Win­ nipeg, challenged us to examine our relationship to Christ and to others and to deepen our spiritual experience.

FROM THE PRESIDENT

"Did I hear you right?" Harvey Plett

A major cause of problems in interpersonal relations is inadequate communications. The problem in com­ munications may be due to different assumptions the individuals bring to the situation. An example of this could be a debate or disagreement over an interpretation such as the Kingdom parables in Matt. 13. A dispensational presupposition places them after the millenium while a non-dispensational presupposition has them speak to the whole end time sequence. Conse­ quently the application of this passage would be quite different, depending on the assumptions. The different applications could lead to disagree­ ment. Another communication problem arises when individuals use different definitions for the same word. An ex­ ample of this would be the definition given to the word "church." For one it is a collection of individuals who have accepted Christ while for the other per­ son it refers to the body or group that is intimately bound to each other through their common salvation. This can give rise to serious disagreements on the authority of the church, polity and function of the church.

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Vol. II No. 1 September - November, 1978 The Servant is a publication of the Steinbach Bible Institute. Box 1420, Steinbach, Man. ROA 2A0

It is intended to be a means of providing inspiration and information to our constituents. Issued as a supple­ ment to The Messenger, November 24 and Recorder, December Issue. 2 / September - November 1978

STUDENT NEWS

A problem in communication may arise because too much is taken for granted by the speaker. This problem arises when a speaker assumes his hearers know facts about the subject under discussion which they, however, are not aware of. Therefore they fail to understand what is being said or receive the wrong message. This problem may also manifest itself when a speaker makes indirect allusions or suggestions as to what he wishes. When the other party takes them as allusions or suggestions and not as declarative statements as the speaker intended, you again face a potential problem. Again and again it has been found that misunderstanding, negative feelings and strained relations result because of poor communications. Those in leadership positions do well to consider their communications careful­ ly. Assumptions should be clear and obvious. Similar definitions of words should be used, and above all, what is desired or meant should be clearly stated. This will create a sense of securi­ ty and peace. It will avoid guessing. The message will be understood. Paul says "If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will any one know what is played? And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?" (I Cor. 14:7-8). To be effective the message communicated must be clearly stated.

President Plett to host Holy Land Tour From December 30 to January 14 Mr. Harvey Plett will be directing a tour at Athens, Corinth, Seven Churches of Revelation, Damascus and Israel. Tak­ ing this tour with Christian Fellowship Tours will qualify students for 2 hours of college credit at S.B.I. This is part of the 1979 Intersession at S.B.I. and is the first of two church history tours. The next tour is to take in European coun­ tries and the historical sites of the refor­ mation and the growth of the church.

A A

Ernie Koop - student President

Koop is Council President Ernie Koop of Steinbach is the stu­ dent council president for this year, 1978-79. Ernie was elected in the spring election and is now actively involved leading the council. He is a fourth year Bachelor of Theology student with a pastoral major and will be the first to graduate with this degree from S.B.I.

Student Workday held in Fall This year for the first time the students of S.B.I. organized their work­ day in fall. In the past it took place in Spring but with the change to the college year this was impractical. What is student workday? It is a day in which the faculty allows the students to cancel classes and get jobs to earn money for a special student project. Students frequently see needs at S.B.I. and wish to do something about them. In the past few years students have rais­ ed money to pave the front drive, buy the school bus, student lounge fur­ niture, sports equipment, film projec­ tors, etc. This year on October 13, the students again went out to work. The student council has received approximately $2500.00 toward their project. The S.B.I. certainly appreciates this generous effort on the part of the students.

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GENERAL NEWS

S.B.I. Calendar

Enrollment Stable

December 5 and 6 - 7:30 p.m. — Community Carol Festival at SBI

As we look back over this fall semester, we are grateful to God for again bringing us a good student body. The total High School enrollment is similar to last year with 37 in Grade 10, 43 in Grade 11 and 26 in Grade 12. The College Department enrollment is up slightly from last year with 60 full-time students and 17 part-time. Of these thirty-six in the diploma programs, 15 in the Bachelor of Religious Studies and 9 in the Bachelor of Theology program.

December 10 - 3:00 p.m. — SBI Christmas Concert at Blumenort EMC

January 2 - 6 — Intersession I January 8-12 — Intersession II Dr. James Bjornstad

January 15 — Semester Registration

II

Dr. Bjornstad to Teach at Intersession Dr. James Bjornstad, associate professor of philosophy and theology at Northeastern Bible College, Essex Falls, New Jersey, will be the guest lec­ turer during the second week of Intersession 1979, from January 8 - 12. Dr. Bjornstad will teach a course in "Christianity and the New Mysticism". This will be a study of the varieties of mysticism and their relation to Christianity. Students will be led in an analysis of Occultic-New Consciousness. In addition, expressions of mysticism as related to drugs, Hin­ duism, Budhism, Islam and Christianity will be explored. Dr. Bjornstad is adjunct professor for the Doctorate of Ministry program at Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, Portland, Oregon as well as founder and executive director of the Institute of Contemporary Christianity. Dr. Bjornstad has spent some 15 years in the area of religious research in addition to his formal studies at Northeastern Bible College, New York Theological Seminary and New York University. He is recognized as a scholar in the area of current religious movements. Dr. Bjornstad has lectured in churches and conferences in U.S.A., Canada and Europe. He is the author of numerous articles and several books in­ cluding "Twentieth Century Prophecy," "The Transcendental Mirage" and "The Moon is not the Son".

''Thus saith the Lord, Set Thine house in order". Isaiah 38:1. At this time of the year, we often concentrate on "setting our houses in order." A question that a Christian steward should ask is "Do I have an adequate will?" Making a will may be a small thing, but it is never a little thing. It makes sense - it is good Biblical stewardship. If you desire the assistance of our experienced representative please mail this note and we will contact you.

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We want to "set our house in order.

I Please contact us.

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I Name_______________________

I Address I I I I Telephone

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Mr. Dave K. Friesen Stewardship Representative j

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September - November / 3

Servant of the Church cont.

cl L, The 3 promotion banquet on February 17, 1979 in I I as n the school gym. Reserve this date now. Watch for more information.

The nature of our leadership should be patterned after Christ. "The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve." (Mark 10:45). Jesus was a leader, he led by serving, and he served mainly by teaching. The leadership of Jesus focused on individuals, it focused on the Scriptures, it focused on Himself, and it focused on purpose (on clear cut goals). New Testament leadership is not political power play, it is not authoritarian attitude, it is not cultic control. New Testament leadership is not flashy public relations and platform personality but humble service to the people of God. I

Intersession 1979 You are invited to attend the SBl Intersession 79 from January 2-12. The Intersession is in two parts with one hour of college credit available for each week.

Session I "The Covenants of God," — Ben Hoeppner, one credit hour. The nature, the conditions, and the past and present results of God's agreements with His people. "The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit'' — Arden Thiessen, one credit hour. A study of the Biblical teachings about the Holy Spirit and of the significance of this doctrine for personal and congregational life. "Homiletics" — Barry Thiessen, two credit hours. This course will deal with teaching objectives, message planning, and sermon structure. There will be one week of classroom work followed by an ex­ tended series of preaching clinics for the further development of preaching skills. The dates and times of these clinics will be arranged with the students when class begi _ins. "Choral Techniques" — Rudy Schellenberg and LeeRoy Bartel, one credit hour. A study of voice production as it relates to quality, blend, intonation, and diction in choral singing. Approaches to the development of good choral singing will be discussed and observed. The student may earn an ad­ ditional hour of credit by extra work, observation, and tutorial.

Session II C/ir/st/an;ty and the New Mysticism", with Dr. James Bjornstad. (See news article this issue.) Classes will be taught in the mornings 9:00 -12:00 a.m. Cost per course — $25.00 per credit hour.

For more information, contact: The Steinbach Bible Institute Box 1420 Steinbach, Man. ROA 2A0

ISSN 0705 - 6338 4 / September - November

Messenger News MCC-SASK’S 15TH ANNUAL MEETING Over 300 delegates and visitors attend­ ed the 15th annual session of Mennonite Central Committee (Saskatchewan) November 10 and 11, 1978 at First Men­ nonite Church, Saskatoon. The format, somewhat changed from previous years, emphasized the inspirational (field in­ volvement of MCC personnel) and an opportunity for more direct reporting to this constituency by MCC (Canada/Akron). This resulted in minimal reporting time on the floor for provincial projects. It was excitingly refreshing: — to hear Harry Harder and Abe Janzen (local young men) tell of their ex­ periences in the Middle East and Latin America, respectively. — to hear Ray Brubacher (Akron) tell of the involvement of MCC in Africa, having just returned from an ad­ ministrative trip. — to listen to Fred (MCC-Sask. Ex­ ecutive Director) and Toni (Global Village Crafts Director) Peters report on their short term MCC assignment in which they visited a number of the MCC projects in the Far East. Their obvious ex­ citement and commitment to the work gave a powerful, promotional emphasis to their reporting. The delegates were gald to hear first hand reports of what they were suppor­ ting. As though too long they had been primarily involved in local reports and policy discussion — here was news of the results of those semi-dry policy dis­ cussions. The various displays of MCCSask. programs and projects were also much appreciated. Yet, one missed the opportunity to grapple, as a larger group, with some of the issues facing us as disciples of Jesus Christ. What about: Our Christian life style? the Offenders Ministry? nuclear developments? native concerns? our several Homes: Carmel, McKerracher, Menno? etc? No doubt, the Executive, in future program planning, will be hard pressed to balance the inspirational and sense of front line involvement with the practical, difficult involvement in policy decision making, and of local project reporting, which is not nearly as exciting as that from overseas. But maybe that says more about the usual method of reporting than about the projects, and speaks of delegate preparation.

NOVEMBER 24, 1978

J. M. Klassen, Executive Secretary of MCC (Canada), in his Friday evening message, suggested that as God had sent Jesus into this world — 1) in the power of the Holy Spirit, motivated by love, 2) as a servant of and to man, 3) in weakness (what is weaker and more helpless than a baby?) 4) with great risk of being rejected, 5) in total obedience is not only a strategy for missions but for life, for everyone who claims to be a follower of Jesus. In an attempt to maintain delegate in­ volvement in area programs, four smaller group sessions were scheduled for Satur­ day morning, plus a question/answer session regarding MCC (Canada/Akron). The interest was intense. The rooms were too small. One result of these meetings was the authorization of the Executive to explore the feasibility of, and arranging for the

co-ordination of the fiscal years of the several agencies responsible to MCCSask. Another was to strive for greater visibility of MCC alumni in our com­ munities. A budget of approximately $640,000.00 was accepted, of which almost half will need to be donations by members; the balance coming from matching govern­ ment grants, sales of Global Village Crafts, Material Aid activities. Thrift Stores and rental income. An extra vote of thanks was sounded when the treasurer reported a surplus of receipts over budget needs for 1977. Thelma Howard, of the Saskatchewan Council for International Cooperation spoke briefly on the work of S.C.I.C. (of which MCC-Sask. is a member) com­ mending especially our agricultural programs which are highly regarded by other agencies. Elected chairman for a three year term was Joe S. Neufeld of Regina. Sincere ap­ preciation for their services was ex-pressed to the retiring executive members and to John J. Neufeld, who had been chairman for the past one and one-half years. Jake Nickel

MENNONITE WORLD CONFERENCE Close Out of Tenth Assembly Materials Special Offer:

1. Complete Registration Packet including International Songbook, Mennonite World Handbook, Program Book, Visual Arts Catalog and Proceedings. $18.00 value. Special Price; $10.00 plus $1.00 postage (US); $11.00 plus $1.00 postage (Canada)

2. Program Book (with five major messages and discussion questions). $2.50 value. Special Price: $1.00 postpaid (US or Canada) Send your order to: Mennonite World Conference 528 E. Madison St. Lombard. IL 60148

The following items are also available through Provident Bookstores or your local Christian bookstore. International Songbook Compilation of 63 songs from five continents, $3.95. Mennonite World Handbook Essays, and descriptive articles regarding Mennonite and Brethren in Christ conferences around the world, $6.25. Mennonite World Membership Map Three color, 22” x 34” world map listing Mennonite and Brethren in Christ membership by nations, $1.25.

PAGE 9

also to reach out into the community to those who do not regularly attend the Chapel's activities.

On October 18 one of our dear friends and faithful prayer warriors, Mr. Fred Fenske, went to be with with Lord. We miss his cheery smile, warm handshake and words of encouragement, but even though we feel his absence from among us keenly, we rejoice that he is with the Lord whom he loved. We extend our prayers and sympathy to the family.

Mr. and Mrs. Jake Unrau (left) with Abe Leiding, pastor, at a commissioning service held at the Burns Lake E.M. Church for the Unraus on September 24.

COMMISSIONING SERVICE Burns Lake, B.C.: September 24 was the day for the installation of Mr. and Mrs. Jake Unrau. The church was filled with the many friends and relatives of the Unraus. Rev. Martin Harder from the Grassy Plains church had the opening remarks for the occasion. Rev. Abe Leiding performed the commissioning ceremony, and Rev. Koop from the Vanderhoof E.M. Church presented a very fitting message. Also a few special numbers in song were directed to the Unraus. After this we had a time of fellowship and refreshments in our church basement.

The Unraus were due to leave September 30 for their work in Germany with Global Outreach. There were some last minute changes in their flight plans which resulted in their departure date being changed to October 11.

FELLOWSHIP SUPPER Endeavour, Sask.: The summer months have come and gone so quickly. One of the highlights of the summer was Daily Vacation Bible School when ap­ proximately 90 children gathered daily to study and play together. We were es­ pecially privileged this year to have a former pastor, Mr. & Mrs. Pete Fciesen and their family, who are home on furlough from Paraguay, come to help along and add a missionary emphasis to this year's school. On October 27 we held a Fellowship Supper at the Chapel. It was also very well attended. The supper was followed by a program during which the firn "The Gospel According to Most People" was shown. This annual event gives us an op­ portunity to fellowship informally and

PAGE 10

On October 23 we held our annual business meeting when officers were elected and re-elected to the various committees and positions of leadership. We pray that the Lord will grant each one strength, encouragement and joy in carrying our their responsibilities during the coming year. Earlier this month the Chapel sub­ mitted a tender for a house to serve as our future pastor's residence, but our bid was not accepted. Please continue to pray with us regarding our need for a pastor and pastor's residence.

MINISTER ORDAINED Morweena, Man.: Glenn and Norma Plett were ordained to the ministry on August 27. He is so much involved with the younger section of our church that it almost seems that he is our youth pastor though this is unofficial. May the Lord bless them and make them a blessing. The Interlake missions conference took place on the weekend of November 5. Four locals including Morweena, were working together and the missionaries alternated in rotating fashion among these four churches. The four sessions from November 3 to 5 were infor­ mational and inspirational. In passing, one missionary said (he had heard someone else say it) that figuratively many Christians would be taken up to heaven feet first and their hands holding onto their possessions. This reporter wonders. Could there be some truth in this? Lately we have started to have the workshop students from the school of trainable adults over at our chapel once a month. Your reporter and his wife were in the first of three groups to host and entertain these friends by giving them the noon meal and then by a short in spirational program. This was followed by the playing of games. A hearty good time was enjoyed by all. The first in­ terchange was attended by approximate­ ly forty adults, including about eight hosting couples from our church. An interesting equation overheard lately: Mennonite humility equals pride! My personal response: Too close for comfort.

ENTERS MCC SERVICE judy Koop of Landmark, Man., is ser­ ving a three-year assignment with Mennonite Central Committee establishing a public health program in Bolivia. She received an R.N. from Grace School of Nursing, Winnipeg, Man., and a cer­ tificate from Capernway Bible School, England. She has been employed at St. Boniface Hospital, Winnipeg. A member of Prairie Rose Evangelical Mennonite Church, Landmark, she is a daughter of Willie and Mary Koop of Landmark.

NEIGHBOURHOOD BIBLE STUDIES WORKSHOP Fisher Branch, Man.: Conducting a "Neighbourhood Bible Study" workshop at our church on October 27 was James Nikkei of Winnipeg. He enthusiastically outlined how to conduct community Bi­ ble studies. Outreach and faith sharing are the main purposes of this kind of Bi­ ble studies. On October 29 the Living Letters quartet from Ridgewood performed at our church. Their hearty singing was a real inspiration to us! November 3-6 was Missions Conference. Speaking on November 3 were Mr. and Mrs. Edmar Fast from El Paso, Texas. Mr. Fast's puppet presenta­ tion was especially enjoyed by the children. November 4 Mr. and Mrs. Peter Friesen of Paraguay gave a slide report and had a family song. Mr Friesen en­ couraged each one present to be on fire for the Lord wherever we are. Catherine Thiessen gave an informative report as well. Sunday morning Clifford Reimer of Panama shared. Sunday evening Mr. and Mrs. Rodney Kroeker gave a challenging slide report of Australia and sang several duets. On Monday night Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Van Stone, who have been in­ volved with the Lord's work in New Guinea, gave an interesting report. Mr. Van Stone closed with the admonition that we are to be the "salt of the earth." Presenting a scripture lesson and prayer at the Fisher Branch Collegiate Remembrance Day service was Pastor Peter Friesen. Rev. Henry Kornelsen is conducting a series of revival meetings here starting on November 12. The church floor received a scrubbing at our November 2 ladies' meeting. The ladies' meeting on Nov. 16 turned out to be a time of sharing and revealing our prayer sisters. Guest speaker for this oc­ casion was Mrs. Tina Kornelsen of Ridgewood. Vernon and Flora Reimer and Bertha Reimer motored to Caronport in mid­ November to visit sister Betty. Mr. and Mrs. Elvin Reimer attended the Basic Youth Conflicts Convention at Minneapolis. They had a wonderful time of fellowship there! THE MESSENGER

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Group of charter members of the Rosenort Fellowship Chapel at their tenth anniversary and Thanksgiving celebration.

Rev. Melvin Dueck, assistant pastor of the Rosenort Fellowship Chapel, speaking at their tenth anniversary celebration.

Mass choir, under the direction of Dick Zacharias, at the tenth anniversary celebration at the Rosenort Fellowship

The Merry Melodies performed at the service com­ memorating the tenth anniversary of the Rosenort Fellowship Chapel.

Chapel.

TENTH ANNIVERSARY Rosenort Fellowship: "To God be the Glory" was the theme of the evening at the Rosenort Fellowship Chapel. It was Oc­ tober 1, 1978, our tenth anniversary and Thanksgiving celebration. Ten years ago our group began to meet in a school building. After outgrowing the school and attached Christian educa­ tion bungalow, we built a new church in Rosenort, and moved in, in May 1976. To commemorate ten years of "togetherness," we met for a turkey dinner at church, and then moved upstairs where we enjoyed an exhilarating program of reminiscing, thanksgiving, and challenge for the future. A mass choir, made up of our three choirs, joyously gave glory to God for the great things He has done. We enjoyed a group song by all the charter members that were present. Together we praised God for past blessings and prayed for future growth in Christ, as individuals first, and consequently, as a group - as our segment of the Family of God.

A DEEPER LIFE Roseisle, Man.: We as a congregation are happy to welcome the Bill Friesens as our interim pastor. He will be serving us at least until the new year. We are also happy to see that Katie Harms has improved considerably in the past few weeks and has been transferred to the Morden Hospital after an elevenweek stay in St. Boniface Hospital. She was even allowed to spend Sunday, November 5, at home with her family,

NOVEMBER 24, 1978

which she enjoyed tremendously. We have just finished a week of deeper life services with Rev. Jake Wiebe of Blumenort. We all experienced blessings and admonition as well as instruction. Mr. Wiebe pointed out that to have a deeper life we need to identify the marks of a shallow Christian life. A shallow Christian life is one which does not have the fruits of the Spirit as found in Galatians 5:22, 23. An important aspect of deeper life is prayer. We need to fill our minds with

thoughts of God and His Word. We also need a clear conscience which God will help us to attain if we allow Him to point His finger in our lives. Some things that have no place in a Christian's life are gossip, grumbling, arguing and faultfinding (Phil. 2:14), un­ thankfulness (1 Thess. 5:18), and hesita­ tion. The importance of memorizing scrip­ ture, which the Spirit can then use to mold our lives, was emphasized on Fri(cont'd next page)

PAGE 11

day evening. The week was capped by a message on why it is wonderful to be a Christian, bas­ ed on Acts 26:28. It is not a life of giving up things but a life of new gifts. We are given a new life, a miraculous power (Eph. 1:13), and a miraculous relationship is established by which we can talk to God as to a father. Missionaries reporting during the evenings were Alvira Friesen from Panama, Edmar Fasts from El Paso, Texas, Stan Houghtons from Ecuador, Wayne Herrods from Kenya, and Peter Pletts from Nigeria. November 3 was the date of our Thanksgiving supper which was followed by a Thanksgiving program consisting of one item from each family.

15. It was a real blessing to hear Pete and Ann share their testimonies with us and express their willingness to serve in this area. May the Lord richly bless you and your family. A "Here's Life" training seminar was held in our church on October 26, 27 and

28. It was a time of real spiritual refreshing as well as learning to share our faith more effectively. An added blessing was those believers who came from various churches to join together with us in this time of fellowship.

I

MISSIONARY FAIR Braeside (Winnipeg): Several of our young people have left to attend the Caronport High School in Saskatchewan. They are Randy Bartel, Tim Harder, Nelson Olfert and Edna Walters. We miss you all! A variety of activities take place Wednesday evenings in our church mak­ ing it a real family night. For the youngsters there's Junior Church, for the girls we have Pioneer Girls, for the boys there's Stockade and Battalions and for the adults it's prayer meeting. Our missionary conference was held from September 27 to October 1. What a blessed time we had as we heard various missionary reports, saw their slides, and listened to our special speaker. Rev. Ord Morrow, present God's word to us. Rev. Morrow, whose familiar voice we hear every Friday on the Back to the Bible Broadcast, comes from Lincoln,

Shown here is the cast that portrayed the drama, "White Unto Harvest," at the Kleefeld Sewing Circle mission night November 9. Left to right: Nettie Peters (student's mother), Helen Martens (medical doctor), Elma Fast, Helen K. Dueck and Lena Schellenberg (three native women), Hilda Schwarz (nurse), Elsie Kliewer (a friend), Nettie Fast (medical student).

WHITE UNTO HARVEST Kleefeld, Man.: "If you have a friend who is in need of food and clothing, and you say to him, 'Well, good-bye, God bless you, stay warm, and eat hearty,' and then don't give him clothes or food, what good does that do?" Jesus always accompanied his words with action. Today he uses our hands, our feet, our voices, to help ease the pain of the suffering world, by helping to feed

The churches out there grow slowly; they all have to be registered, and they also do not have the freedom, as we know it, but in spite of these and other setbacks, the Friesens were not dis­ couraged, because God has promised that His church will prevail. They counted it a privilege to be part of a wonderful building project where Jesus Christ is the Foreman! That same evening another missionary,

Nebraska. Saturday was an especially

the hungry, by helping to clothe the

Catherine Thiessen, reported of her

busy day beginning with the men's breakfast at 8:00 in the morning. The Ladies Missionary Fellowship Tea was at 2:00 and then the evening service at 7:00. After the evening service we were all in­ vited to the lower auditorium to a "Missionary Fair." A number of mis­ sionaries had set up booths where one could see various items brought from the particular country in which they served and to taste the food they had prepared that was usually eaten there. It was a very interesting time of getting to know the missionaries and finding out more about their work. October 6 we held our Thanksgiving potluck supper. It's a time when we share all the many delicious casseroles, salads and pies that each one has brought. Many came to enjoy the supper while others came and joined us after supper to view the film called, "Hazel's People." The ordination service of Pete and Ann Kroeker, as our deacon couple, took place at the evening service on October

poor, and by sharing the Good News. Jesus needs you and me. All of these thoughts motivate and give our Kleefeld Sewing Circle enough in­ centive to stay in operation, and keep moving ahead. Sewing blankets for the M.C.C., rolling bandages, preparing baby bundles, doing visitations, sending cards and flowers, catering, and canning, are but a few of the activities that the Sewing Circle is involved in each year. The Sewing Circle's annual Mission Night which is always a highlight of the year, took place on November 9. The evening started out with a fellowship supper, and was followed by a program which featured a heart-stirring drama called, "White Unto Harvest." It por­ trayed a mission station on the foreign field threatened to be shut down because of lack of funds, and it also caus­ ed an indifferent medical student to become a zealous foreign missionary. Another Missions Night took place on October 22-when Pete and Betty Friesen reported about their work in Paraguay.

work in Mexico. She is involved in teaching and visitations. She asked that we pray for more workers; the fields in­ deed are "white unto harvest."

PAGE 12

MISSIONARY CONFERENCE Riverton, Man.: The young people had a sports night at the school gym on November 9. After some volleyball they went out to try and visit every home for the "Here's Life, Manitoba" campaign. They left "doorknob" papers at each place. Wendell Kroeker has been young peoples' leader since shortly after he moved back here from Winnipeg, taking over from Leonard Doerksen who is spending a year in California working with M.B. Missions. Leonard's work is with a large church in San Jose, and he is enjoying the different experiences he has, such as mountain climbing, going to the ocean, working with Boys' Brigade, and atten­ ding a very large church. One of the speakers during our

THE MESSENGER

weekend missionary conference was Catherine Thiessen. Among the in­ teresting items she related was the difference in culture, etiquette, and diet between us and the Mexicans. It was rewarding to hear her report of Rafael, the first in his village to accept Christ. As a result he had been stoned and sent from home. He later married a Christian girl and two of his sisters have been con­ verted. His is now the biggest church in the EMC in Mexico, and he is the presi­ dent of the EMC there. She challenged us with this thought: What if Rafael had given up when he was persecuted for his conversion? Ed and Marlene Reimer and their children have moved to Lloydminster where Ed has a trucking job. Ed's parents are Klaas and Freda Reimer. Henry, another son, is working in Saskatoon this winter. Freda received word November 14 that her mother, Mrs. Wm. Ciesbrecht of Steinbach, had passed away. Baptismal instruction classes have been held, with two candidates, Mary Ann Reimer and Irene Reimer. Instruc­ ting, in the absence of a pastor, were Graham Geldart and Frank Doerksen. The Graham Geldarts, Arno Kroekers and Peter Loewens attended a Gideon conference in Portage la Prairie, an op­ portunity for meeting other Gideons, and hearing reports on the work of dis­ tributing Scriptures.

with the Lord day by day and decision after decision. The committee for the retreat, presided over by Tim and Elsie Kroeker, did an ex­ cellent job of organizing the retreat. The cooking, graciously taken care of by Mr. and Mrs. Norman Kroeker and Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Reimer, was a highlight. A surprise event for Saturday's activities was the visit by Pastor Edwin Plett and his wife, Lillian. It was good to see their personal interest and in­ volvement in this area of the church. Roger and Eleanor Gingerich provided the musical leadership and accompaniment which was a real blessing. A hearty 'thank you' to all in­ volved. Between the sessions the group engaged in leisure activities such as canoeing, volleyball.

Mr. and Mrs. Harold Plett on the occa­ sion of their 25th wedding anniversary.

OUR SILVER WEDDING

YOUNG MARRIEDS RETREAT Prairie Rose, Man: The Landmark young married couples held their second annual retreat from September 29 to October 1 at Star Lake in the Whiteshell. The speaker. Rev. Harvey Plett, minister and S.B.I. president, led the four sessions attended by the sixteen couples that were present. Topics for the very pleasant and sunny weekend, ranged from "Pressures on Today's Family" to "The Future of the Family". Others were "Communication — Husband and Wife" and "Decision Making". These topics were presented and developed in various ways in­ cluding lectures, group discussion, games and quizzes, and a panel presentation. The ideas brought forth proved challeng­ ing, thought provoking, as well as spiritually uplifting. It drew the group closer together and also instilled in us a desire to walk closer

NOVEMBER 24. 1978

Prairie Rose, Man.: For us it was an ex­ citing day. All our children were home that day, even our granddaughter Christine (five months). Doug came all the way from Alberta. "It does seem strange," as the visitors said, "that years ago the 'old' people had silver weddings, and now it's the young people." We were grateful for all the guests that came — business friends, community friends, church friends, siblings, and relatives, some from quite far. The food was sufficient, much to my wife's relief. At our first wedding Rev. A.P. Unger admonished us to always be thankful and serve the Lord, even if we could only set water and dry bread before our visitors. The program somehow was in reverse, it seemed. Too often reference was made to the Pletts instead of to God. Our oldest son, Gareth, was the jovial chair­ man. The famous Prairie Rose male choir sang two fitting songs. They had even composed an extra verse, especially for Mary and Harold, by Alvin K. Plett. He also read a poem in Low German written especially for this occasion by Deacon P.A. Plett, who just could not be present. Here's one for the books: You know, one would think that when ministers "grow up" they would lose some of their

walking in the lovely autumn woods, golf, in­ formal discussion and just plain relaxation! The spiritual blessings received by the par­ ticipants were evident at the outdoor fireside session of worship, praise and sharing. The testimonies and sharing left a marked impres­ sion on many hearts and the meaningful hymns of praise and adoration proved just right for the setting and occasion. It is good to get closer to others, to concen­ trate on Biblical principles, and to renew the body and mind every so often. It makes every­ day life more vibrant and exciting again. This was accomplished at the retreat and we trust, by the grace of God, that sixteen couples are now witnessing, sharing the Lord, and living in His shadow more than ever before. Edwin Wiebe humour, but that sure wasn't the case with Uncle Abe (Rev. A.P. Unger) who pulled off one of the biggest jokes about "Gladwin (my identical twin) and Harold," and their courtship days. For­ tunately our first wedding had been taped, and so the vows were vividly brought to our attention, as well as some songs by the Prairie Rose choir. Our daughter, Eunice (a student nurse), had painstakingly fixed up a tray of slides depicting twenty-five years in our lives as a family. The voluntary con­ tributions in the program were gratefully received. May God help us to give Him all the glory. Then there was brother Gladwin and brother-in-law, Pete K. Wiebe, who did a fantastic job of reminiscing, as well as challenging us. Well, after the guests had gone, we found to our humble surprise that many had left precious lovely gifts for us. We truly appreciate them most graciously and would sincerely like to thank each one with deep-felt gratitude. A special blessing of the event was that thirty­ seven Gideon Bibles were donated in our honour by friends. The events of the day were so far above our expectations that we found it impossible to express ourselves. Possibly a line in a song would say it best, "Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to thee." Harold and Mary Plett

I

Mr. and Mrs. Harold Plett with their family.

PAGE 13

CHURCH DEDICATION The Fort Garry EMC church has now completed their renovations. An Open House will be held to dedicate the building: Saturday, December 2, 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Sunday, December 3, 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Fort Garry EMC Pasadena and King’s Drive Winnipeg, Man. (Just south of the University of Manitoba) Everyone is Invited!

Weddings CLOUTIER-WILKINSON: Vern, son of Mr Pat Cloutier of Clairmont, Alta, was married to Yvonne, daughter of Mr and Mrs John Wilkinson of Sturgis, Sask. The wedding took place on October 7 at the Grande Prairie Alliance Church with Rev. Wm. Buhler of High Level officiating. The young couple is residing in Clair­ mont. LUCAS-REIMER: Michael, son of Mr. and Mrs. Aloyse Lucas of Omaha, Nebraska, and Arvella, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John K. Reimer of Wymark, Sask., were married on July 29, 1978 at the Braeside Evangelical Mennonite Church in Winnipeg. Rev. John K. Reimer, father of the bride, officiated. The couple is making their home in Omaha, Nebraska. BALDWIN-KLASSEN: Robert, son of Mr. and Mrs. Glen Baldwin of St. Pierre, Man., was married to Kathy, daughter of

Davis of Winnipeg officiating. The cou­ ple is making their home in Kleefeld. PLETT-LOEWEN: Alvin, son of Mr and Mrs Otto Plett of Arborg, Man., and Susan, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Loewen of Eisher Branch, Man. were married on October 28, 1978 at Morweena with Rev. Menno Penner of Arborg, Man. officiating. The couple is residing in Fisher Branch.

Mr. and Mrs. Abe Klassen of Winnipeg on October 21, 1978. The wedding took place at the Braeside E.M. Church in Winnipeg with Rev. C. R. Plett of Win­ nipeg officiating. The couple is residing in Winnipeg. ZACHARIAS-HARDER: Ken, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ike Zacharias of Dalmeny, Sask., and Vai, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Harder of Winnipeg, were married on August 26, 1978. The wedding took place at the Braeside E.M. Church in Winnipeg. Rev. C. R. Plett of Winnipeg officiated. The young couple is making their home in Winnipeg. MARTENS-BARTEL: Jerry, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Martens of Blumenhof, Sask., and Janice, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Bartel of Winnipeg, were married at the Braeside E.M. Church on October 14, 1978 with Rev. C. R. Plett of Winnipeg officiating. The young couple is residing in Winnipeg. DUECK-LAKATOS: Henry I. Dueck and Agnes Lakatos were married on Oc­ tober 28, 1978. The wedding took place at the Kildonan United Church with Rev.

PAGE 14

Pictured is the late Mrs. Elizabeth Kroeker with her children. Left to right: Peter, Annie (Mrs. Ike Reimer, Kansas), Helen (Mrs. Bill Zacharias), Gladys (Mrs. Martin Reimer, Kansas), Frank.

MRS. ELIZABETH KROEKER 1897 - 1978 "In my Father's house are many man­ sions: if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that were I am, there ye may be also ... lam the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me" (John 14:2,3,6). We, as a family, rejoice today that Mother is enjoying the mansions prepared for her by Him who is "the Way, the Truth and the Life." She was born at Rosenort on November 26, 1897, the oldest daughter of Cornelius J. Loewens. During her childhood much hard work on her

parents' farm kept her formal education to a minimum. At the age of 15 she accepted Christ as her Saviour and on July 17, 1917, at the age of 19, she was baptized upon her profession of faith and received into the fellowship of the Rosenort Evangelical Mennonite Church (then the Kleingemeinde). On April 6, 1919 she was married to Peter T. Kroeker, then a young widowed man, and with this assumed the respon­ sibility for two small stepchildren, Peter and Margaret. Margaret, later Mrs. Jacob F. Dueck, passed away in 1939. Mother found much joy in, and devoted herself diligently to, helping Dad in the transfer business which they operated for a number of years. Dad's early death in 1948 affected her deeply and thrust on her the sudden respon­ sibility of heading up the home. As the children married or left home to find jobs she was eventually left with the youngest daughter, Gladys, who stayed with her until her marriage in 1958. She loved to have her children come home and spared no efforts in preparing family get-togethers and maintaining close family ties. In the course of time she had to accept and adjust to many of the hard realities that came her way. One of these was that two of her daughters, Annie and Gladys, through marriage moved to Kansas. She also found it difficult to accept Frank and Marge and their family's call to mission work in Paraguay. The sudden passing away of daughter Betty, Mrs. Neil Dueck, in 1964, affected her very deeply as well. Yet a constant source of consolation was the company of her son, Pete, who boarded with her, and Bill and Helen Zacharias and their family who lived in the vicinity and provided much help and comfort for her. In 1974 Mother gave up the homeplace and moved to the Eventide Home, where she adjusted surprisingly well and made many new friends. She appreciated deeply the love and service rendered to her there. Mother never lost her own spirit of love and service and was usually occupied with sewing and making quilts for M.C.C., or for her children, grandchildren, and others. Many of our homes have items like these which will long remind us of her labor of love. Since 1935, when she contracted thyroid problems, her health was never very good. In 1968 her doctors dis­ covered a malignant tumor but successfully removed it through an operation. It was during this time of hospitalization that she acquired a severe case of pneumonia which left her lungs rather weak and sensitive. In May of this year she was hospitalized again when she Next page please THE MESSENGER

became seriously ill with a combination of a lung and heart problem. At this time the doctors diagnosed her lung condi­ tion as cancer; however, this was negated later on. She recovered reasonably well again and during the summer she enjoyed being with all of her family on a number of occasions. She kept a persistent cough, though, and since fabric seemed to aggravate her lung condition she had to give up her much cherished pastime of sewing. On Oct. 31, however, she had another serious attack of lung and heart problems and on the following day, Nov. 1, she was admitted to the Morris General Hospital, where her condition was found to be very critical and she was immediately rushed to St. Boniface Hospital. After a few days her heart condition stabilized again but she suffered much pain when coughing and had difficulty breathing at times. She tried to keep up her spirits and enthusiasm to live but gradually, as she became weaker, she turned her eyes "Homeward" and expressed her readiness to leave this earth and be relieved of her suffering. This joy was granted to her in the morning hour of Nov. 9 around 8 a.m. Her heart had weakened to the point where it suddenly went into a "seizure" and she was called "Home" to be forever with the Lord. She reached the age of 80 years, 11 months, and 13 days. Left to cherish her memory with the full hope of seeing her again are daughter Helen and husband Bill Zacharias of Morris, daughter Annie and husband Isaac Reimer of Meade, Kansas, daughter Gladys and husband Martin Reimer of Meade, Kansas, son Peter of Winnipeg, son Frank and wife Marge of Morris, son-in-law Jacob F. Dueck and wife Mary of Steinbach, son-in-law Neil

God*s Promises

B. Dueck and wife Alice of Boissevain, also 21 grandchildren, four sisters, three brothers, four sisters-in-law, and many other friends and loved ones. We as a family miss our mother very much but we rejoice that she is now en­ joying "joy unspeakable and full of glory" where we expect to join her in His hme! V ■■ to express our deepest apWe wish predation and thanks to all who have shown and expressed love and sympathy to us during this time.

The Family

FREDERICK FENSKE 1890 - 1978 From his friends and loved ones. almighty God has called Fred Fenske. He was born on April 14, 1890 at Ebenezer, North West Territories. He was a son of John Fenske and Caroline Ashner. At an early age he became an active member of the Ebenezer Baptist Church. Fred Fenske was engaged in farming for most of his life. In 1927 the family moved again, this time to the Rockford (Endeavour, Sask, area) district, where Mr. Fenske resided until the time of his eath. He had attained the age of 88 years, He was predeceased by his wife, Martha. He leaves to mourn his passing and to give thanks for his life, five children, Mrs. Werner (Leanette) Henze of Vancouver, B.C.; John, Wilfred and Herbert of Rockford, and Harold of Yorkton; seventeen grandchildren and fifteen great-grandchildren; and a host of other relatives and friends, "Thanks be to Cod who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

When I awoke this morning The sky was dull and gray. Nothing ahead to look forward to But a long and lonely day; The clouds were looming low and drear. The outlook gloomy everywhere.

I tried to write some letters But no thoughts were coming through; My mind seemed in a clutter. There seemed nothing I could do. So I turned to God and knew I’d find Peace for my troubled heart and mind. And soon things seemed much brighter, The sky showed a rosy hue. The wind arose and the clouds broke up

NOVEMBER 24, 1978

Urgent Personnel Needs MCC urgently needs two secretaries: — Stenographer and Office Manager for Project North in Toronto. — Secretary/receptionist at the Warden Woods Community Center in Toronto.

These are Voluntary Service positions. Apply to: Waldo Neufeld, MCC (Canada) Director, Personnel and Ad­ ministrative Services. 201 - 1483 Pembina Hwy., Winnipeg, Manitoba. R3T 2C8 EUROPE TRAINEE APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED

Applications are now being taken for the 1979 Intermenno Trainee Program ad­ ministered by the Intermenno Trainee Com­ mittee in Europe. The Intermenno Trainee Program is a cultural exchange with the purpose of promoting good will, better understanding and friendship internationally through person-to-person contact. North American young people live with a family or in an in­ stitution and work full-time in placements arranged by the Intermenno Committee. Single young people between the ages of 19 and 30 who are committed to the Christian faith and willing to participate in family, work and church life in Europe may apply for the 1979 year beginnig in August. Application forms may be requested from MCC, 21 S. 12th St., Akron, Pa., 17501, or MCC (Canada), 2011483 Pembina Highway, Winnipeg, Man., R3T 2C8, and returned to MCC no later than Jan. 31, 1979.

God’s love was shining through. My heavenly Father up above Was waiting for me to claim His love.

From this may we learn a lesson That we should pray each day And ask our God for a stronger faith To guide us along the way. And we should trust His love and care. Take our troubles to God and leave them there. For in His word, the Bible, Are promises sweet and true. His love can hold us warm and safe Until life on earth is through; As God has promised, in His love. He’ll call us to live with Him above. H. Marjorie Krahn

PAGE 15

Around the World FAMILY LIFE COMMITTEE APPOINTS MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER COUPLE

The family life committee of the General Conference Mennonite Church has appointed Paul and Lois Unruh to initiate Marriage En­ counter weekends in GC churches. Currently the Unruhs are being trained as ME leaders through the family life center of Friends University in Wichita, Kansas. This training includes assisting trained couples in leading ME weekends and preparing thirteen talks (30-60 minutes each) which are an in­ tegral part of Marriage Encounter. They ex­ pect to give leadership themselves by January 1979. Marriage Encounter was developed inthe mid-1950s in Spain. It came to the United States in 1966. The primary purpose of ME is to teach communiction of feelings between hus­ band and wife. This communication is model­ ed by the leading couples doing the weekend. Prepared talks are presented related to various aspects of marriage. Then each person reflects on questions accompanying the talks and writes responses. Thereafter spouses ex­ change notebooks and dialogue in an effort to understand each other. The dialogue occurs privately between husband and wife, which is in contrast to the group interaction model common to other marriage enrichment programs. "Marriage Encounter," observed Lois and Paul, "is not designed for couples with serious marriage problems, and it is not to take the place of professional therapy. Even though stressful marriages are sometimes helped, the program is designed for growth in marriage relationships which already have a good foun­ dation. It helps to free the God-given poten­ tial in relationships."

TOWARD UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE PUBLISHED BY FAITH AND LIFE PRESS How does one understand Scripture and how does one use it in today's situation? Understanding and using Scripture is the theme of the eighty-two-page book. Toward Understanding the Bible, by Perry Yoder, associate professor of Bible and religion at Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas. 11 is published by Faith and Life Press, Newton. It is a book about hermeneutics for lay peo­ ple and is written in the hope that it will help those seeking biblical answers for today's problems to find a coherent and consistent way of using the biblical text. The author states that "the task of hermeneutics is to teach us how we may tell a valid explanation form an invalid one - what constitutes a cor­ rect understanding of a passage." The book is divided into five sections and twelve chapters. Some of the chapter headings are "Games People Play with the Bible," "The Bible: God's Word in Human Language," "How Language Works," "In­ troduction and Understanding," and "The Significance of the Bible as God's Word." A four-page guide for further reading on the topic is included in the book.

PAGE 16

THE MESSENGER

ELIM BEGINS 50TH YEAR

With an enrollment of 54, the Elim Bible Institute, Altona, has begun its fiftieth year of operation. The enrollment figure represents an increase of 12 students over opening day one year ago, and is the highest in several years. Forty-six of the new student body come from Manitoba. In addition, three students have come from Ontario, two from British Columbia, and one each from Texas, Mexico and Germany. A new campus is currently under construc­ tion on the west edge of Altona, and the first building - a boy's dormitory - is making steady progress. Plans are to occupy that dormitory in January, and to proceed with the remainder of the new campus development thereafter. The Elim Bible Institute was begun in 1929 when leaders in the Mennonite Church of southern Manitoba sensed a need for a school to provide Biblical instruction and training for Christian service. The school opened in that year in conjunction with the Mennonite Collegiate Institute of Gretna.

FILM CAPTURES WORLD CONFERENCE AND MORE "Wichita '78," an eleven-minute film, documenting the spirit of this past summer's Mennonite World Conference in Wichita, Kansas, is now available for rental or purchase. The film unfolds, in a small amount of time, the experience and atmosphere of the Tenth Assembly. "We couldn't hope to record all that was said or done, so we tried to catch the spirit of the event, the feeling of what it was like to be there," explained executive producer. Merle Good. "To have attempted to document all speeches, for example, would have been grossly incomplete. We'd have mis­ sed all the interchange and fellowship that happened. So we opted to try to capture an impression of what actually went on," Good commented. "Wichita '78" is available for rental or purchase from Film Division, The People's Place, Main Street, Intercourse, Pennsylvania 17534, or in Canada from Dueck Film Produc­ tions, Ltd., 295 Wallace Ave., Winnipeg, Manitoba R2E OBI.

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SUNDAY SCHOOL

TEACHERS AND CHURCH WORKERS The EMC office has a modest library of teaching aids which are available on a free loan basis. It consists of the following; •The Sunday School Teacher (Four filmstrips with L.P. records) • Teaching Children (Four filmstrips with L.P. records) • Successful Teaching Filmstrips (Eight filmstrips with L.P. records) •Survey of the Scriptures, Genesis to Revelation. (Filmstrips with cassettes) • Ten Steps For Effective Church Growth (A series of six cassettes with Donald McGavran and Win Arn) • Multimedia Training Kits (Transparencies and text, three kits) STORY FILMSTRIPS: (Children)

• Danger Mountain (Filmstrip with cassette) • Pedro and the Bright City (Filmstrip with cassette) • Strawberry Ice-Cream Cones (Filmstrip with cassette) CHRISTMAS FILMSTRIPS:

• It Began in Bethlehem (Record and filmstrip) •Story of Jesus (Series of six with L.P. records) EMC Board of Education and Publication Box 1268, Steinbach, Man. ROA 2A0

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