| Harold Deane Akins
– co-founder of SCPS, former school principal and college professor, and a pioneering resident of the Landings – has spent the last few years serving in missions around the world. Now 86, she’s taught crocheting, English and cooking classes in Japan; ministered with medical missionaries in remote areas of Kenya; purchased a $16,000 building in Kibera, Kenya for a new clinic, youth center and church; and recruited missionaries, provided sewing machines and taught sewing classes in Messailler, Haiti. |
Is it a wise thing, in a post-modern world, to live our lives for a purpose greater than ourselves?
Besides, we may wonder, what difference could I make?
Well, many Savannah Christians believe the answer is “Yes” and “A lot!” Living missionary lives of gratitude and joy found in Christ, many SCPS alumni, faculty, students, families and friends are helping make a world of difference in the lives of those around them.
One young man many of us know asked himself these questions and is currently serving in the People’s Republic of China. His exact whereabouts are restricted for security reasons, but he is presently teaching at a large university in a major urban city.
| Margaret Holton Stauffacher ’55 serves as a missionary in
Algrange, France with her husband John who is Vice-President of the Institut Biblique et Pastoral Baptiste
(Baptist Pastoral Bible Institute, www.ibpb.org). |
Erik Lindborg ’00 (son of our favorite ice cream and pretzels couple Brad and Beth Lindborg, owners of a local Cold Stone Creamery and Auntie Anne’s Pretzels) first experienced the people and culture of China on a short-term trip in the summer of 2001. Focused on completing his degree at Mercer University and moving into a secure job in a corporate career, Erik felt a call on his heart that he couldn’t ignore. After graduation, he decided to step out in faith, postpone his personal plans for his life and instead follow the call he felt from God to evangelize the lost.
| Dan Mclendon ’75 lives in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee with his
wife Kathline. They have two children, Jonna and Justin, and three grandchildren, Hannah, Logan and Emma.
Dan is a pilot with American Airlines and writes that during a January mission trip to Santiago, Cuba that
included discipleship training and door-to-door evangelism, “We had approximately 170 a day in our discipleship
class and 502 professions of faith for the week. GOD is truly at work in Cuba. Please pray for our new brothers
and sisters in Christ in Cuba. P.S. My wife departed today (03/18/06) with a team of 10 for Volgograd, Russia
to work with special needs children thru a vacation Bible school program.” |
He serves on a continent inhabited by over 60% of the world’s population, most without any significant Christian witness available. Erik’s communications from the field are encrypted and his words carefully chosen. But even in the vagueness of his sentences, his passion is obvious:
“Do not ever tire in your effort to ensure the massive shining that you labor to coordinate.”
“Things are going well here, and we are seeing lives changed for truth.”
“I rejoice at the chance to be a part of something far greater than myself, something . . . from which I will derive great meaning, many memories, and perhaps, if I am so blessed, impact others for eternity.”
| Bill Wassner ’77 is the minister of
St. Peter’s UCC in South Bend,
Indiana. He also works as an Addictions Counselor with Addictions Recovery Center and an Adjunct Faculty member
at DePaul University in Chicago. Rev. Dr. Wassner earned his B.A. in Religion and Psychology from Texas Christian
University (1981, Cum Laude); his A.M.R.S. and D. Min from University of Chicago Divinity School (1982, 1985);
an S.T.M. from Christian Theological Seminary (1990, Magna Cum Laude); and is currently completing an M.S. in
Counseling and Human Services at Capella University. He writes, “I have been blessed in my work as a pastor,
police chaplain, addictions therapist, and teacher. My wife and I have raised three great sons as well.
I hold many fond memories of my days at Savannah Christian (especially on the football team!). I am thankful
for the people and teachers like Mr. Lanier who affirmed and supported my call to the ministry. I would love
to come back anytime to share my witness and life with the students today.” |
The process is consistent - get to know someone, build trust, serve them, earn the right over time to speak with them about deeply important topics. Let the power of God’s Word work in the hearts of people as they experience Truth for the first time.
The work is always tedious but bathed in love. Listen as Erik describes one of the students he is attempting to reach:
“…My heart longs for her to know more than incense burnt to lifeless man-made statues and empty prayers made for good luck as the King of Kings knocks at her heart’s door.”
“People…are yearning for something to structure the way they make personal and moral decisions. I don’t want that gap to be filled with destructive philosophies or falsehoods; I want that gap to be filled with the life giving Great News. I want that gap to be filled by the Truth which leads to life everlasting.”
Life in China isn’t easy for Erik or for others like him around the world. Adapting to a different culture, language, and foods . . . things would have been much easier if he had stayed in Georgia. But easier isn’t what followers of Christ are called to. Rather, God’s will must come first.
We need people prepared to pay the price—in diligent prayer, sacrificial giving and a love for God that exceeds loving the blessings He provides.
| Orion Ralph Kraft, Jr. ’83 served as pastor of
Calvary Lutheran Church in Spencer, North Carolina for six years. He graduated from the Lutheran Theological
Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina (1995), and was ordained into the Evangelical Lutheran Church of
America in October 1995. He has been pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Asheboro, North Carolina for five years. |
But I don’t feel called to China, you say. I’ve never felt a desire to serve God in a foreign place. Why is it I don’t understand my role in all this?
Like Erik, many people begin with short-term cross-cultural trips. If so, I’m going to let you in on a little
secret about mission trips – almost everyone who goes for the first time goes with logic something like this:
“I am extremely fortunate to live here in the U.S. and I’m willing to take my vacation time
and go help someone less fortunate. I’ll help them with their physical needs and hopefully, I’ll have an
opportunity to share Christ with the people I meet. And I’ll trust God to make it happen.”
| Rebecca Archer Bistis ‘99 is working at Milligan College for
Youth in Ministry as Assistant to the Director. A mission to help high school students explore their vocational
calling and prepare for lives of servant leadership, Youth in Ministry hosts week-long conferences on Milligan's
campus (“The Big Picture”) as well as teaches workshops at Christian teen conventions and Christ in Youth
conferences. |
But what happens is, as you step out in faith, God blesses you in ways you never could have imagined, often resulting in a personal spiritual revival and a more focused sense of calling.
The confidence of being called to China for just such a time as this is evident in Erik’s words:
“I have taken inventory of my time spent in China thus far and am beginning to prayerfully formulate what seems to be a strategic five-year plan as I better understand the vision I believe God has for China and my life.”
| Corey Fidler ’02 spent two weeks in Kenya last summer
ministering to two remote tribes – the Kipsige in Olemekenyu and the Masai in Morijo – as part of a medical/dental
group. He writes, “We helped about 800-900 patients over about six days of work! It was tiring yet more rewarding
spiritually than anything I ever have done. I got to prescribe glasses, bandage wounds that had been festering for
months, fill and distribute prescriptions, pull trucks out of the mud, pull teeth (that?s right!), play with kids,
and even go on safaris in the Masai Mara game preserve!”
more . . . |
Are missionaries the only people who can have deep and lasting satisfaction in life? No, you don't have to be a foreign missionary in order to serve the great purposes of God. Every missionary needs a support base of praying and equipping people, or the work is fruitless.
But if you want to be satisfied with the lasting output of your life, you can't just go on with business as usual, working, making money, eating, sleeping, and playing . . .
Many have discovered that true peace and purpose in life only comes through living for a purpose greater than ourselves.
Some have found even greater purpose in taking the hope found in Christ to those who have never heard it. No, not traveling around the planet putting down other religions, but going to the ends of the earth and lifting up the name of Jesus so that all have the chance to hear of Him, come to know Him, and grasp the truth that He alone is the Savior of the world.
And, living that kind of life, wherever you are, can make all the difference in the world.
| Hellen Willet '99 is currently serving as a missionary
in Darjeeling, India, teaching art classes and street evangelizing through worship and cultivating relationships.
Her journey began last year with her acceptance to Youth With A Mission's (YWAM) Discipleship Training School
in Brisbane, Australia. Her seven-month program aims to prepare messengers of the gospel through an
intensive 12-week Christian training course followed by a 12-week outreach. Her long-term dream is to spread
the Gospel of Christ through the arts.
more . . . |
Author Dave Stewart and his wife Lynn are parents of Matt ’01, Sean ’05, and Kyle ‘08. Several years ago, Dave felt God’s call in his own life to sacrifice a successful business career in order to serve as Missions Pastor of Savannah Christian Church, a ministry which impacts tens of thousands of people weekly through a vast network of mission organizations and long-term and short-term missionaries on nearly every continent.
|
