EVANGELICAL
MENNONITE
it
THEME:
THE KINGDOM OF GOD
A nnual Conference By the editor
4. Eden Mental Health Center. Ben L. Kroeker was elected for a three year term. G. S. Fast re ported that the Health Center was in operation with 18 patients. 5. MDS (Mennonite Disaaster Ser vice) Archie Plett, Pr. Rose was elected for a three year term. 6. Mission's Hondbeok: The pro posed revision of the Mission's Handbook was presented and vot ed on. The vote was in fervour of the revision. i' 7. Constitution Revision: A Com mittee is to be elected at the next ministerial to study the need and possibility of revising the present constitution. 8. Acceptance of newly Organ ized churches: The following are to be accepted at the Conference: East Paraguay, 17 members Pansy, Man., 16 members Arabella, Sask., 6 members Treesbank, Man., 34 members. 9. Mennonite World Conference: Names of delegates are: Abe P. Unger, P. J. B. Reimer, A. D. Rei Archie Penner mer, H. P. Dyck, John R. Friesen The Conference Council also had 10. Fraternal Greetings: It was its session during the conference decided to send fraternal greetings days meeting on Saturday after to the following conferences meet noon. Up for discussion and deci ing in the near future. sion were the following items: Evangelical Mennonite Mission 1. Election of SBI Board members Conference Elected were: Milton Fast, Henry Mennonite Brethren Kornelsen and Harry Friesen for a General Conference three year term. The overall theme of the Confer 2. MCC CManitoba) election. ence was "The Kingdom of God". Elected was P. W. Brandt for a P. L. Friesen, leading minister of three year term. the host church, Rosenort, already 3. MCC (Canada) election. struck the right note when he chose Elected was Harvey Plett for a for his opening verse of scripture one year term. I Cor. 4:20 "For the kingdom of Summer brings Annual Confer ence days. This year for the EMC the conference took place June 30 to July 2 with five general sessions. The place this year was Rosenort. Main speaker -at all five services was the Rev. Archie Penner of Kid ron, Ohio. Mr. Penner is assistant professor of religion at Malone Col lege and a former teacher at the Steinbach Bible Institute.
God is not in word, but in power." He further stated, "This is our wish that everyone will be endued with power from above during these Conference days." The main messages were devel oped under the following headings: 1. The Nature of the Kingdom of God. 2. The Ethics of the Kingdom, 3. The Nature of the Kingdom of this World. 4. Life and Message of the King dom of God. 5. The Consumation of the King dom of God. 1. The Nature of the Kingdom of God: The speaker first gave a defi nition of terms. The kingdom of God is where God is king and that which flows from the king. The speaker does not distinguish between king dom of God and kingdom of Hea ven. They are merely the some; the only distinction is that the Jews because of their fear and respect for the O.T. name for God, sulostituted "heaven." "The kingdom of God, in its full ness is the sum total of all that ex ists, both spiritually and physical ly," said Penner in conclusion. 2. The Ethics of the Kingdom: By the ethics of the kingdom is meant . . "The science of moral behaviour. Ethics is that area of human life where we deal with the question of right or wrong, of the moral and the immoral, of correct action or wrong action, of sin or righteous ness." What are the ethics of the kingdom of God? "'We are living in demonic times. But this does not mean that God's
The Messenger is the publication of the Evangelical Mennonite Conference. Its purpose is to inform, instruct and inspire. Inform as to what i.s going on in the Conference. Instruct in Godliness and victorious living. Inspire to earnestly contend for the faith. All correspondence should be addressed to the Editor, D. K. Schellenberg. Change of address and new subscription should be sent to the Board of Educa tion and Publication. Box 1268 Steinbach, Man. Subscription: Members pay through their church. Non-members $1.00 per year. Authorized as second class mail by the Rost Office Department, Ottawa, andior payment of postage in cash. Printed by Deluxe Printing, Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada.
2
THE MESSENGER
4
% !
I
Sunday night was testimony time for all missionaries on furlough and those soon leaving for the field. A number were present: Doris Thiessen, Dora Friesen, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Kroeker, Mr. and Mrs. Dan Koop, Mr. and Mrs. Abe Plett. Picture on right we see Johnny Loewen, Morris and Henry Hiebert, Morden. Many were the opportunities for a handshake and a chat. Word has become less or less meaningful . . . Neither does this mean that we con sit idly by and perhaps ourselves, whittle down on those ethical principles that ore brought to us in scripture in order to fit the situation." Mr. Penner called for a radical revolt by Christians against the ac cepted forms of the world. "We are faced with a radical question, with radical problems for which God has a radical answer and this radi cal answer of God turns us all into radicals and I could turn this around and use the word rebel," said he. ". . . the true rebel and the true radical today is the man or woman or the young person who takes the Scriptures and he takes them seriously." "The ethics of the kingdom," said the speaker, "con be boiled down to one single principle . . . the question of the will of God, nothing more, nothing less." 3. The Nature of the Kingdom of This World: The speaker first de fined the word "world". The major word in the Greek which has been translated "world"' has at least eight different meanings. He then went on to give us three different concepts of the word: 1. TTie physical world, without reference to moral or immoral. 2. The whole universe of men and women. The sum total of man kind. 3. The total moral system of evil; men and women in rebellion against God, the kingdom of Satan. This kingdom stands in opposition to the kingdom of God.
July 21, 1967
The time is coming when the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of Jesus Christ. 4. Life and Message of the King dom: From Romcms 8 the speaker emphasized that redemption was "to be conformed to the image of His Son". Where this concept is present conflict will take place with the opposing forces of evil. At stake is the honor of God and the right eousness of God. And thus as the kingdom of God is faced with the challenge it is, "bent on the sub jection and the subduing and the victory over the kingdom of evil." The church reaches out into sin ful society to be a redeeming force. Mr. Penner defined salvation as be ing in three stages. We are saved. We ore being saved. We shall be saved. The total and grand impact of
God through Jesus Christ and His death is to take the wayward the destroyed and the ruined and the divided and the conflicting and the warring and reconstitute them, bring them back into the kingdom until you and I totally conform to the image of Jesus Christ. That's what redemption is." 5. The Consumation of the King dom of God. Consumation means bringing to a close. In this case it will mean the climax of all that is imperfect of all that is sin, with all that is anti-God. The last enemy to be destroyed is death itself. The speaker did not deal with all the aspects of the subject but rather chose a path through the Scriptures and pointed out certain significant developments.
(Cont'd. on page 12)
MIH ir .ai
Visiting between sessions.
"Those who argue against the tithe and constantly talk about legalism may be hiding from the detective ot conscience not willing to be convicted of their coveteous ness."
Stewardship By John Koop
■When ever the topic of steward how we ore to u-se our money. But ship is broached the thoughts are rather principles are laid down that first to think of money. One dollar, are to guide us in our stewardship. ten dollars or perhaps the ten thou These principles are often confused sand dollar Mission Budget of our by the use of proof text from Scrip church. 'This certainly a part of ture, and giving these verses the stewardship but not in totality. final say on 'Giving' for all times When a building is to be built and situations. we need more than just the mater Two Fallacies ial and the carpenters. There must Two fallacies that stem from this be a plan that specifies the types type of thinking in regards to Stew of material to be used and also ardship is the teaching of the tithe. how it is to be used. The foundation Some give this teaching as the first of the building is of utmost impor and last word on giving through tance and it is the first thing to out scriptures. Another quotation of be built. ten used is, "not letting the left hand In this topic as in all others we know what the right hand does", also find that the foundation stone This seems to imply—the way it is is Jesus Chirst. All Scripture points used—that you must give so little to Him as to the ground and being that no one will notice your gift. of our salvation. (Luke 24:44; I Cor. Again with this last idea comeS' the 3:11; 6:19, 20.) thought, "I just give and don't When this thought strikes home, count". Such attitudes in giving do that ,"Ye are not your own," then not relate to the overall teaching of it seems almost unnecessary to stewardship in Scriptures. write about stewardship, for if I One finds in the Ola Testament am not my own, then the one to that the Israelites were a slave peo whom I belong must be the owner ple in the land of Egypt without of all I hove and am. home or country. In this situation But this is where the problem God called them to move out to the comes in, we do have control of pro land of Canaan which He would perty and do receive payments and give them. Throughout their jour seem to have a free hand in how we ney to this promised land it was use our goods. Again, "the Scriptures brought to their attention that do not clearly dictate instructions on this land was a gift from God. In the giving of the Law it was pointed John Koop is the Pastor oi the Kamsack out to them that this land did not Fellowship Chapel at Kamsack. He serves belong to them. "The land shall not ur.rler !he Extension Committee. The Koops be sold forever; for the land is mine; ye are strangers and sojourners come from Kteeleld^ Man. 4
with me." (Leviticus 25:23). This principle still holds true today in one sense, in that we have control of our property only as long as we live and that only under the pre sent conditions. In case of war our titles might have little meaning in the claiming of property. Do we realize that our earthly ownership is temporary. The New Testament When we come to the New Testa ment we find not only does all the world belong to God but so do we. "For in Him we live, and move, and have our being." Acts 17:28. And it is because we, all of us are so selfsufficient that we fall short of God's Glory. (Rom. 3:23) So when we turned to Jesus Christ for salvation we admitted that we needed some one else to take over in our lives. This salvation is free but not cheap for we read that we "are bought with a price" and "not with silver or gold, but with the . . . blood of Christ". (II Cor. 6:20; I Peter 1:18, 19). A convert from communism was listening to a discussion among be lievers about giving. If it was scrip tural to give a tithe or no? He said, "If I had known before I became a Christian that Christians squabble about giving a tenth I would never have become one. As a communist I gave half of my salary to the Par ty and then lived frugally through out the week. On the night before (Cont'd. on page 5) THE MESSENGER
r k
"The Israelites gave a tithe; the early church shared their possesions; Christ gave His lile."
■
pay day I would go to headquar ters and empty my billfold of all the money left over. And this we did joyfully for the sake of our Ideology." (A Newsletter) In the face of such sacrifices for something that is false, we ought to realize that to argue about tith ing, if it is the duty of Christians under the New Testament teaching, is off base. Rather we should ask the questions. Why did God ask Is rael to tithe? And what is the pur pose of the Law? Or is the com mand to Israel less or more than God expects of New Testament be lievers as to stewardship? Already in Abraham's day we find that he paid the tithe to God's priest. The payment is made as a testimony that God was the deliver er. (Gen. 14:20) Again in Jacob's situation at the place he had the vision of the ladder to heaven, he promised that, "of all that thou shah give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee." (Gen. 28:22) God gives to me and I will acknowledge His gift to me by returning a tenth to Him. It seems that the gift was a testimony of what God had given them. The idea of giving to the Lord's work seems rather foreign to Old Testament times. The tenth be longed to the Lord, it was not a gift in the today's sense. (Lev. 27: 30ff.) Roman's chapter 7 points out that the Law is holy, just and good and given, "that sin by the command ment might become exceeding sin ful." (verses 12, 13.) Those who argue against the tithe and. constantly talk about legalism may be hiding from the detective of conscience, not willing to be con victed of their covetousness by the standards of the Old Testament Law. Further in Galatians 3:24, 25, we find that "the Law was our school master to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But af ter that faith is come, we are no longer under a school master." The church at Macedonia had grown out of the schoolmaster's hand to a work of faith in their giving, ev en the apostle Paul marvelled at
July 21, 1967
their fcrith. (II Cor. 8:2, 3) Would Paul have been surprised at their gift if it had been a tithe as he had learned from the Law?
Regularity in Giving In giving there is a need of reg ularity. It should not be dependent on emotional appeals or pictures of physical suffering or again the The Early Church In Acts 4:32 we see that the early necessity of getting a receipt be church shared their possessions, for fore the end of the year. Though they acknowledged that these things these things are not wrong in them were not their own. This same selves and can be used. If our Mis thought is put forward in II Cor. sion Program was to rely on such 8:11, 12 to share from that which means to get funds, it would soon we have. We may ask, "what is fail. For we get immune to emo my share"? The Israelites gave a tional appeals and they do not stir tithe. The early church shared their us. Rather our gifts to the Lord's possesions, (not property) and work should be regular. Paul asked Christ gave His life. Then there is the Corinthian church to lay aside the need in the world. In India peo weekly as God had prospered them, ple do not have enough to eat and not to wait for a special appeal. (11 drink, never minding the things we Cor. 16:1, 2). consider essentials as cars, houses, Where Does Your Gilt Go? churches, everyday cmd Sunday Another area we should talk clothing. And they are not the only about in regards to stewardship is people in the world that go to bed in how our gifts are being used. We hungry and with a heavy heart, must keep in mind that this is a having no hope for the future. Lay gift to the Lord and His work. If it out your possessions before the is extravagant to put in a stained Lord and acknowledge that He is picture window in our home church the giver of all good things you then we need to watch that the have and are. Then ask Him how Lord's money is not used for such much you should give from what things in other lands. This is an ex He has given you. "Every mon as ample only but such things do oc he purposeth in his heart, so let cur. Then, we need to be careful io him give." (II Cor. 9:7) This will whom we give oui gifts to use. take faith, for the amount you are We stated that it was the Lord's contributing, your neighbor and per money or property and therefore haps your brother is using to in does not belong to any organiza crease his possessions. According tion, they can only use it for His to the world's outlook you are a glory. This also every Christian must fool. Could it be that some Christ guard against. Check the organiza ians have not made up their mind tion that you are supporting. Ask to be a fool for Christ's sake in re for a financial statement, their re gards to stewardship? "But without ports, etc. Paul tells us "Providing faith it is impossible to please him; for honest things, not only in the for he that cometh to God must be sight of the Lord, but also in the lieve that he is, and that he is a sight of men." (II Cor. 8:21) This rewarder of them that diligently standard is valid for all organiza seek him." (Heb. 11:6). tions that ask for Christian support. He that gives should give with "Yes God will give you much so cheerfullness, "God loveth a cheer that you can give away much, and ful giver". Job could bless the Lord when we take your gifts to those after losing all his property and who need them they will break out possessions for he admitted that the into thanksgiving and praise God Lord was the supplier and so had for your help. So, two good things the right to take away. How much happen as a result of your gifts more should we give willingly and cheerfully a part of what we have those in need are helped, and many received lest we too lose all be overflow with thanks to God. (II Cor. 9:11, 12 Living Waters) cause of our possessions.
5
ed that there may be 1200 Moros lining in the Chaco who speak a common language, the same as that of the Moros in Bolivia. Mr, Goddard believes that he is ac quainted with about 120 Moros who belong to three different groups. The Moros call themselves Ayoreos. They were given the name Mor os by the Paraguayans. Mr, Buschegger will live approximately half a year in Filadelfia and work with the group here. Since the Moros are apparently intelligent people, the missionary will be able to give direction to them in many ways. We have been told that the Moros have to be handled with firmness. By Peter Wiens Also we have been assured that they present no danger to us: they will attack no one except deep in Good Friday evening we came out of their houses. Many clothes the bush, and then only if they with our car to the experimental have been given to them, and still should be provoked. They have station. Suddenly, just before Fila they prefer to waddle along the a strong desire to find the way to delfia, grotesque-looking people streets in their loincloths:. In an ac the civilization of the white man, block our way. There they squat in cusing tone the question is raised: and have therefore realized that the light of the car, women and Why is nothing being done with they will have to make adaptations men, gesticulate this way and that them? in their way of life. To this question I can now re and act like little children looking The New Tribes Mission is now for amusement. A little distance port something encouraging. On asking whether they may reenforce from the road a corrugated-iron April 7 several members of our mis their base in Filadelfia. They need roof has been erected. From these sions committee and the "Ober- living quarters and a storeroom. It quarters they have for months al schulze" (mayor) had a consulta is their intention to build more sable ready made the streets of Filadel tion with four representatives of the houses on the Cerro Leon River. New Tribes Mission. A year ago the Because Mr. Goddard lived there in fia unsafe. It is no wonder that this wild missionaries of this organization the wilderness under extremely tribe fills us with anxiety. With con started work among the Moros. Far primitive circumstances, his wife cern we read the articles about the in the north of the Chaco, on the became very ill. The greatest prob Indian settlement, we hear about the Cerro Leon River, missionary Ro lem up to this point is transporta bad crops and v/e ask ourselves berto Goddard has built a roof shel tion. The mission has at its disposal how this great number is to be fed. ter and lives there with his family a small airplane, but because of On top of all this there are the Mor among the Moros. Mr. Rolf Foster- the high cost of transportation, food os who at times live close to Fila vald who was responsible for fur stuffs become too expensive. Roads delfia in numbers of fifty or sixty. nishing that station with supplies in the north are very poor, so that We have been asked not to give was stationed in Filadelfia. Recent the work cannot be done properly. them anything and not to employ ly Mr. Duane Stous, director of the It is the intention of the missionar them. And yet they have lived for New Tribes Mission in Paraguay ies to draw the Moros back into the months already from the generous flew into the Chaco to survey the wilderness and to live with them gifts which not charitable people work and to seek new ways of there. The Moros receive no pre have given them, but those who doing the work. Besides these three sents from the missionaries. It is wish to get these sinister figures men, Mr. Merle Brown, a pilot, also their belief that only in such a way took part in the consultation. will they be able to reach this tribe. The Author: Mr. Wiens is the assistant edi A ray of hope in this work is the They carry on regular exchange tor cl “Mennobiatt" ol Filadeilia Fernheim, arrival in Paraguay of missionary trade with them, especially with Chaco, Paraguay. Buschegger and his wife. This cou furs of the goto onza. iS< .(• In this connection something else ple comes from Canada and has had many years of experience in became clear to us: the missionar ti mission work among the Moros in ies of the New Tribes Mission re Bolivia. They speak English, Ger ceive no money from their home man, Spanish, and above all the churches for their mission work. Bji i Moro language. It has been report- They receive money for themselves. ?3'
Wkftt u Being Done
6
tk Mmj
THE MESSENGER
I
{
)
Two Congolese
Visit America
Ngongo David
The two representatives of the Evangelical Mennonite church of Congo, Ngongo David and Tshilem bu Nicodeme spoke to an attentive audience in the EMB church on Wednesday night, July 5. Other churches had been invited to parti cipate. Ngongo David is the president of the Congo church. Art Jonz, Congo missionary on furlough and inter preter of the evening spoke of him as, "... a father of mine in the faith." Brother David expressed his thanks to God for guiding and keep ing them on their journey which be gan on May 19. He had also been impressed by the liberties he en joyed in this country and the free dom with which they could go from one place to another. Why had they come? To tell us of the largeness of the work in Con go. The church conference of which he is president and pastor numbers 30,000 members with 35 pastors. The pastors are paid by the church. Ngongo David particularly stressed the need of medical per sonnel, doctors and nurses. When one doctor goes on furlough they
but with that they have to pay the expenses of their work also. We re spect their willingness to sacrifice. With the proceeds of the trade pro jects they build houses and buy food. It sounded almost like a joke when Mr. Stous told us: You treat the Moros to well in Filadelfia; for ihat reason they will always want to stay here. And we have to count on that; the Moros will in the forseeable future be our constant guests, hopeiully in smaller numbers. The New Tribes Mission may entice them to go to the Cerro Leon, but they will go only where they want to go. The Mission has records and the Gospel of Mark in the Moro
language. We hove good reason to pray for the work of the New Tribes Mission. Earlier we prayed for con tact with the Moros; now we must pray that the work will get a pro per start and that it will be led in the right direction.. It is easy to stand aside and advise as to what should be done and to criticize the mistakes which have been made. We as Mennonites in the Chaco have a martyr who died at the hands of the Moros, but now we hove no missionary for them. For that reason we wont to support wholeheartedly the work of the valiant missionaries of the New Tribes Mission.
Tshilembu Nicodeme
July 21, 1967
have only one left. Many hove died due to lack of medical facilities available. He told us of the "Christ for All" program that is presently on in Congo. He said all pastors and evangelists were busy. The women too were busy making visitations comforting and strenghening the weak and needy. They sing, read and pray in their visitations and al so leave a little gift to cheer the heart. Tshilembu Nicodeme is the legal representative for the Congo church as well as school inspector. He said, "With joy we meet you peo ple" and thanked God for journey mercies. He thanked the people here for sending missionaries to Congo. "The purpose of our trip is to tell you what our work has been and is now." They have 500 school classes wtih 20,000 students. They need quali fied personnel to staff these schools. He also appealed for teachers for their secondary and Bible school. Many come to know Christ in the schools. In the school the French language, is used. Another purpose of their trip, said Mr. Nicodeme, was to see the church in America and then fashion their church after this. He referred to the many needs that arose after the 1960 Indepen dence struggle. Much went "to the ground" at that time and has to be rebuilt, and this takes a long time. A -major change in the adminis tration of the Congo church occurred just this last year when the reins of government were handed over to Congo brethren with missionaries assisting. One did not get the feel ing though from these brethren that they now felt self-sufficient. On the other hand one sensed the desire for working together and helping each other out. This was evident throughout. Although brother Nicodeme soeaks some English, both spoke in Tshiluba through an interpreter here on Wednesday night. Chairman of the evening was Rev. Schultz, pastor of the EMB church. Arnold Fast made the open ing while Ben Eidse, just returned from Congo prayed for the closing.
7
•x«x»x»x»x»x»x*x*x<*
1 NEWS! SWIFT CURRENT Psalm 119:11 we read "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." May we as we still have the freedom hide this word in our hearts. If some day the written word is taken from us, the hidden word cannot be taken. Sunday, June 4 the Chortitz Young Peo ple brought a program tc our church. The musical numbers and the message from the word of God was enjoyed by all. Sunday, June 18 special attention was given to the Daddies. Brian Penner read a poem about the father and his son. In the evening service the Gilbert Reimers were with us and the field of Panama was pre sented to us by picture and word. June 25 the Alvin Doerksens were wtih us for the morning service. The evening ser vice was a program the Ladies Mission Workers had thoughtfully prepared. June 28 a Sunday school picnic was enjoyed at the Experimental Farm. The evening was started by a supper of watermelon and roll kuchen. Games were played, which was followed by a devotional and ice cream for all. Our pastor attended the E.M.C. Confer ence together with a few of the other min isters. Sunday, July 9 the Dan Koops were with us for the morning service. Vacation Bible School closing program was held in the evening. This year we had our VBS with Zion Mennonite Church, which the children enjoyed. A Thank-you goes to Louise Pen ner and Betty Ann Klassen for faithfully teaching. Laurel Ann Dueck is presently busy teaching 5-day Lawn Clubs. May great be your reward. The John Klassen family motored to Win nipeg for their son, Harry's wedding on July 8. The John B. Penners are on holidays. They have motored to Peace River area. ROSEISLE
June the 15th we were challenged to
8
pray and support the Lester Olferts as they plan on doing missionary work in Mexico. The songs and story by Mrs. Olfert were really interesting. The evening concluded with a message from Isaiah 54 by Mr. Olfert. Mr. and Mrs. Corny Friesen have be come grandparents to there first grand daughter. The proud parents are Alfred and Pauline Nickel. We always welcome newcomers to the district. In the beginning of July, Jac. Dycks from Morris moved here. A warm welcome to you. Also our pastor and family, Dave Harms have moved back from Blumenort. I think I can say on behalf of the whole congrega tion we are really grateful that they have come back into our midst. We have just finished a week of DVBS Our enrolment reached the height of 67. The attendance was very good. With only 6 teachers our classes were a fair size. The closing programme on Friday was also very well attended.
RIDGEWOOD In the evening of June 15th the ladies of the Mary-Martha Sewing Circle together with their husbands brightened up the churchyard with some paint and by mow ing the grass. After their work was fin ished they enjoyed a wiener roast altogether. Lately we have enjoyed having differ ent guest speakers with us. The Dan Koops and the Lester Olferts each spent an eve ning giving us reports of the mission fields where they plan to serve in the near fu ture. At Young People's Meeting on June 23rd we had the privilege of hearing Dan Buhler giving us his interesting testimony "From Communism to Christianity." Sunday morning, June 25th., Rev. Ben Hoeppner Instructed a general Sunday school class for the Youth and Adult class es, speaking on the subject of "Our present day in prophesy in light of religion, scien tific inventions, ethics, and politics. He con tinued on this topic through the worship service. Sunday evening, July 9th, ordination ser vice was held for the recently elected dea con, Brother Martin P. Penner.
ROSENORT t^issionaries Return On Monday, June 19th, the Frank P. Kroeker family landed safely at Winnipeg Inter national Airport after a mere-22-hour flight from Paraguay. Due to some miscalcula-
tions in time zone changes and daylight saving time, the "welcomers" were misin formed as to the exact time of the arrival and consequently no familiar faces were on The homecoming is called a furlough, but when looking a the itinerary' for the next few months, one is led to doubt whether this is actually the case. The Benny Eidses arrived from the Congo on Tuesday, July 4th. Their homeward trip was a more extended one since they crossed the Atlantic by ship. From Mont real the Eidses travelled with their own vehicle which they had purchased in Eu rope. Physically, Benny and Helen appear more or less unchanged, but the girls real ly have added inches to their former sta ture. Both families, the Kroekers and the Eidses, were on tlie foreign field four years. Annual Conlerence The local congregation here was privi leged to host the seventeenth annual con ference of the EMC. Instead of the heavy rains during last year's conference and the hot weather of some former July 1st weekends, conditions this year were very favourable. It was indeed a *ime of spirit ual fellowship with thought-provoking expositions by the Rev. Archie Penner on The Kingdom of God. It was also an opportune time to renew old acquaintances. May we now be doers of the Word and not hearers only. Congolese Delegation Thursday, July 6th, proved to be a heart warming mission night when two Congo lese brethren, Ngongo David and Tshilembu Nicodeme, of the Congo Inland Mission vis ited our church. Accompanying them and also doing the interpreting were Art Janz missionary to that land, and Benny Eidse, just home on furlough. Although returning missionaries are quite capable of giving inspiring, informative reports of native churches and their progress despite strong oppostion and persecution, it is thrilling to see and to hear firsthand the passion and the deep concern these dear people have for their own fellowmen who also need the gospel. It was indeed an urgent Mace donian call to "Come over and help us!" Who knows but perhaps some day evan gelists and missionaaries from Africa will be called by God to awaken Americans fitom their spiritual lethargy and moral decay. PEELY
Mrs. Loretta Giesbrecht, as president op ened the ladies meeting, June Sth at En-
THE MESSENGER
deavour. This was the third joint ladies meeting, which has come to be an annual event. A good number were there this year for the first time. For many of us it was our first time at the Endeavour chapel. The welcome was friendly and warm. Points represented were Hudson Bay, Pelly, Ara bella, Kamsack, Canora and Weekes. A program was enjoyed by all with each group presenting an item. A very inter esting and enlightening film was shown oil work the MCC is doing in needy lands After veiwing the film I'm sure we all de termined to have more bundles to turn in to MCC for next year. Lunch was served, a time of visiting and fellowship enjoyed with everyone agreeing that this is a good way to get to know one another.
VALLEY STREAM Psalm 25:16-20: "Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my dis tresses. Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins. Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred. O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed: for I put my trust in thee:"
A farewell gathering was held for Mar garet Remple (missionary to Paraguay). A program was arranged; relatives and friends came from various areas, to bid her farewell. Many enjoyed testimonies, singing and words of appreciation with humbleness and sincreity of heart by Margaret.
We were favored with on evening by the "Frohe Schar". The church was filled Many ears were ringing with their talents. We trust there were hearts singing with praises, also. May we pray for them, that they go forth behind the "Cross". A young people's social was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Dick Fehr. Our church participated in the Centennial Service held at Austin Museum, July 2,
We request your prayers for our church as there are many activities to participate. May we be in the centre of God's will in all things. Pray for all camps and DVBS throughout this land. Eccl. 12:1. "Remember now thy
hand to greet the Kroekers as they stepped off the airliner. At the titme of this writing
they are at home a few weeks and "com fortably" settled in their former residence.
Creator in the days of thy youth while the
July 21, 1967
evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou sholt soy, I hove no plea sure in them."
Frank Kroeker Itinerary
FLEN FIjON The N.F.C. Chapel has received numer ous blessings both in and outside of its congregation in the last months. The Brauns went South for a short time in the beginning of June for the Ministerial meetings in Winnipeg. On June 11 we welcomed for a visit the Melvir. Koops. Pastor Koop presented the evening message that night. The N.F.C. Mary Martha Mission ladies presented the play "Who is My Neighbor" on June 18. It was enjoyed by all and a blessing and answer to many. On June 25 Rev. Jake Hoeppner of the Western Tract Mission was here. He gave a message in the evening and a short de scription of the missions work. Later that night at a joint meeting with the Pentecostle church. Films were shown by Rev. Hoepp ner. A short farewell was held at a nearby ’I
Frank Kroeker JULY 9 - SEPT. 3
lake for Len Dyck and Wally Doerksen on E June 28. Both fellows left for the south and fuly 9, Sun. - Heron € 18, Tues. - Pr. Rose new goals. Wally left here by bicycle to go J; 19. Wed. - RoSeisle •Vto Winnipeg as a Centennial project. j 21, Fri. - Woodlands and Lakeg; On July 3 the Fred Klassens, Lottie Plett, ■ i:,, Frctncis and Margaret Rose Barkman, were up from 1 23. Sun. - Crestview, 10:30 * Blumenort to help teach Vacation Bible Sun. - Portage, 7:00 p.m. school. Children from all over Creighton 24, Mon. - Morweena have been attending the school and many more are hoped for in the following week | 25, Tu©S. " Mennyill©AJSerdeen Ch., Wpg.^ 26, Wed. - Aberdeen to come.
.........
-I
t
27, Thurs. - Ridgewood i 28, Rri. * Word of Life Mission,^ HERON Niverville 3Qf Sun. - Pansy, 10:00 a.m. i In May, the Rosenort Junior choir served Ose Sun. - Kleefeld, 7:00 p.m. B | us with an inspiring program. The singing | 31, Moh. - Arden, was refreshing and much appreciated. -Aug. 1 Tues. - Valleystream The film "Unfinished Task’ was shewn f i;2, Wed. - MacGregor iZ on Young People's night. The film brought 3, Thurs. - Bergthaler, Morris -Z out the fact that the task of evangelism • 4, lui. - Treesbank is never finished. 5, Spi- *• Mafeking June 18 was Christian Endeovovur night. 6, Sun. - Flin Flon Instead of the usual program, Mr. John Tues,:W Weekes j,
I
Miller of the Sudan Interior Mission brought a report and showed slides of the work g in Somalia. liB
Ip 9, Wed. - Pelly f
TO.p'Thars. i - Kamsack >• iSS, Sun. - 'iBurhs Lake I 14, Mon, Vanderhoof A centennial service with various local ; 17, Thurs. -HAbbotsford area churches participating was held in Mary19, Sat. - Calgary area field on June 11. Our church was also asked 20, Sun. - Wymork to take part. Rev. Klassen read a passage ft 22, Tues, - Gouldtown of scripture and a song was rendered by 28, Mon. - Park River, N.D. a mixed group. Sept. 3, Sun. - Meade, Kansas 9
CHILDREN'S STORY
The boy who escaped By Rhoda Couldridge Chapter III ALONE IN THE FOREST Matu did not know where to go He ran on as fast as he could until he reached the spring not far from the village. Here he sat down at the edge of the stream and began to cry. Then the sound of drums came faintly through the trees, and once more his heart was full of fear. He ran along the path again, but al though he went as quickly as his little legs could go over the rough road he could still hear the drum mers in the village. The sun had risen, but the forest was grim and gloomy, and Matu trembled as he ran under the sha dowy trees. At last, breathless and tired, he left the path and crouched in the thick undergrowth. The little boy had been crying for a long time and his eyes were swollen, his head ached, and he felt very weary. He was afraid to stay in the forest, and he was just as frightened to return to his village. What could he do? He was leaning drowsily against the twisted roots when he heard voices not far away. He heard also the low growl of dogs. His heart thumped. The men had come out from the village to search for him. "Ah, well," he thought, "I will let them find me. I shall die here in the forest without food, and I have no where to go. When the sun goes down there will be evil spirits in the darkness. There will be jackals and perhaps a leopard. Oh, Mother! Mother!" sobbed the lad. "What shall I do?" The voices were drawing nearer, and the crackling of fallen twigs
10
and dried leaves crushed by oncom ing feet sounded very loud in the lonely silence. Motu stopped cry ing; now that his pursuers were close at hand he did not feel fright ened any more. He tried to think of himself as dead. He wondered if he was dead already, and if this forest was the beginning of the jour ney to the Spirit World. "The men will find me soon," he said to himself. "They will take me back to be buried with my father. Together we will enter the world of spirits. Bui," and Matu's fear re turned as a new thought entered his mind, "my father has already started on the long journey. Per haps I shan't die straight away, and maybe I shall not be able to find father. Perhaps they will kill me first," he said, but he knew full well that his fate was to be buried alive. The voices were very near now. Matu decided to walk down the path to meet the villagers. He stepped out of his place of refuge and turned towards the village. Thump! Thump! came the notes of the drums. Thump! Thump! an swered his heart as he walked down the little path. Listening to the drum, his thoughts turned once again to his father. 'Why, oh, why am I the favour ite son?" he asked of the stately trees. "I will not be buried with mv father," he said vehemently, and, leaving the path, he pushed his way quickly into the dense undergrowth. The dogs were not for away, and Matu could hear the excited yelps and wondered if they had picked up his scent. He looked round for
a place of refuge and swarmed up one of the trees where he hid him self effectively in the foliage. From his hiding-place Matu could not see the path, but he could hear the men and knew that the dogs had found his scent. When he turned back towards the village Ma tu had left a double trail and at this the dogs hesitated in confusion, then continued once again along the narrow track in search of their quarry. Matu waited a little while, then came down from his tree and struggled breathlessly through the tangle of bushes into the pathless forest. His progress was slow, the creepers caught at his ankles, and several times he tripped over the twisted vines which had overgrown the protruding tree roots. The noise of the drums still reached him, though the sound was muffled now. Soon he heard the men returning to the village, and in a panic of fear he hid himself once again, but he was far from the path and the men were hastening back to prepare for the witch-doctor and for the bur ial of their Chief, an event which must take place befo- e sunset. There was no sound now except the crisp crack of a twig as Matu plunged deeper and deeper into the jungle, and occasionally the rustle of birds' wings. The path was a difficult one, he was thrusting his way into virgin forest, and al ready his arms and legs ached, and a thin stream of blood trickled from a scratch on his cheek. He began to cry again. Oh, how ho wished that he had not run away from his village. Here he would die from lack of food, or perhaps a wild animal would at tack him in the darkness or maybe a snake. Matu was full of fear, and the shadows were deepenina in the glade; soon the sun would be gone and everywhere would be dark. He leaned his head against the tree, his eyes closed, and he sleot soundly. It was morning, and the warm sunshine filtered through the trees on to Matu's face. He awoke and wondered for a moment where he was. Then he stood uo. His legs and. arms were stiff and he felt very hungry, but he was glad to be alive.
THE MESSENGER
He walked round the clearing, then sat down again to decide what he was going to do. That was a hard problem. He could never go back to his village, and he dare not ask for help or food in any of the neighboring villages. But he must get food from somewhere. He gathered some of the strong coarse grass and began to weave a small trap. He had not far to go before he discovered a small pool and here he drank greedily of the stagnant water. He washed his face, then re moved his loin-cloth of woven grass and washed that in the pool. Leav ing his cloth to dry, he explored his surroundings, and whooped with joy when he found some palm-nuts which had fallen to the ground. He gathered some of these, then he re membered his rat-trap and planned to use a palm-nut as a bait. He wrapped some of the nuts in his loin-cloth, then turned back through the undergrowth to find his glade. He wandered about for some time before he eventually found the fallen tree. Great was his delight, then, to find an inquisitive rat al ready imprisoned in the trap. "Now to cook my meat," he said to himself happily. He killed the rat and fixed it on to a piece of stick, ready to roast. But, alas, how to start a fire? Maiu did. not know, but he had seen the men of the village making fire from flint. Perhaps he could find some stones and try. He selected two small stones which he found in the grass and began to rub them together as he had seen his elders do. He worked patiently for a long time, but did no* manage to start his fire. The rat lay on the ground, flies were buzzing round its head, and ants were busy removing small particles of meat to their own store place. Matu seized his stones and tried again and again. His fingers were numb, but he determined to keep on until he succeeded. Sunset came, and in the darkness of the glade a lonely little boy sat grimly twisting two small pebbles, until at last, tired and hungry, he fell asleep against his log.
Shut-Ins Day at Resthaven
Shut-Ins Day came on June 25 this year at the Rest-Haven. It was a beautiful sunny day, but quite windy. The weather was of such a nature that the festivities could be conducted outside. Utilized was the large porch as well as the adjoining area of driveway and lawn to accommodate guests and occupants of the home. The Steinbach church was in charge of the program this year. Rev. Jac. Dueck was chairman. A Sunday school group with their teachers under the direction of Mrs. Isaak Doerksen rendered some numbers in song. A quartett composed
of Mr. and Mrs. Abe Kroeker and Mr. and Mrs. Peter B. Reimer also sang two numbers. One of the occupants of the home, Mrs. A. R. Penner spoke a few words. She assured any future applicants that they were very well looked after at the Resthaven. No one needed to fear coming there to stay.
A message, based on Psalm 27 was given by D. Schellenberg. H. D. Reimer, the administrator gave some statistics. After the service a lunch was served to the guests.
WANTED The Board of the Resthaven Nursing Home is looking for an ad ministrator for the Home. Duties are to commence this fall. Interested parties please inquire with the following person: Mr. Levi Schellenberg Kleefeld, Man.
ANNUAL MINISTER TEACHER-TRUSTEE DEACON FELLOWSHIP AUGUST 18, 6:00 p.m. (Not August 8 as reported previously)
At the Steinbach Bible Institute
Board of Education and Publication
(To be continued)
July 21, 1967
11
1 -
ANNUAL CONFERENCE Cont'd. Although none knows when the end will be yet. Mr. Penner pointed out that there will be signs. On the other hand he stcflted there was much in Scripture that we do not understand. With regards to pro phetic truth we must tread carefully. He believes that the consumation will come when the Christian church will be ready to say "Come, Lord Jesus." Now they are not ready, he stated. "It will become reality in the soul and heart and mind and body if the church when out of the depths of suffering for the sake Jesus Christ and for the sake of salvation the church comes to the end of its te ther and thus can't bear it any more." One additional message was giv en. This was an Sunday morning when there were two messages. The one given by Frank P. Kroeker, Paraguay. He took for his text Lam. l;l-12a under the topic "Changes."
with special emphasis on youth. Many districts took port in supply ing music with singing groups. Chairman for the sessions (except Saturday) was John P. Loewen, moderator of the Conference. The Board of Education and Publication was in charge of recording the pro ceedings. A hearty thank you for the warm welcome given to the guests by the host church. May the Lord reward you.
STUDY to show ' thyself approved
TREESBANK E.M.C. GROUP ORGANIZES
By Ed Wiebe For some time a group of breth ren had been looking to the lead ing of the Lord for a place where a group could colonize and be a witness to others. In the spring of 1966 they left to look at some land in the Wawaneesa area. After pray er and deliberation, land was bought with some families moving that same summer. Others are still coming. Having worshipped together in the different homes for a while, we were able to acquire a school as a worship place for our group. Next
BIBLE MISSIONS
CHRISTIAN EGUCATIQII
6HRISTI1N SERVICE
MUSIC
Some of the changes in Jerusa we decided to have the organiza lem at this time were: The city was desolate Jerusalem became a tributary in stead of the main stream Friends became her enemies Heathen were in the sanctuary. In conclusion he emphasized genuine Christian living to counter act detrimental changes. We must also have genuine Christian service. There are wide open avenues of service. Find out what your place of service is and get busy. Seven reports of the v/ork of vor, ious committees were given: Eden Mental Health Center MCC (Manitoba) Board of Education and Publication Conference Report Music Committee Christian Service Conference Council Report Saturday night was youth night 12
tion service. This took place on June 11, 1967, where John P. Loewen was guest speaker and directed the pro ceedings. This was shared with brethren and sisters attending from home disricts. Thiry-four members were accepted into the fellowship. These coming from four different districts at home. At this time we also eleced a leader. Bro. D. P. Frie sen was chosen for three years. The Lord's supper was also observed in the evening of June 28. with all members present. The local people are slow in com ing to morning worship service, but some Mennonites from surrounding areas visit quite regularly. The var ious groups go out singing once a week a the two local hospitals. We are also bringing a program once a month in one of the local church es. Opportunities to witness are many; may we be found faithful.
WRITE FOR FREE CATALOGUE
TRAIN TO SERVE AT
STEINBACH BIBLE INSTITUTE Box 1420
Steinbach
THE MESSENGER