USA > Indiana > Adams County > Berne > A history of the First Missionary Church, Berne, Indiana : its origin, its people, its leaders, its auxiliary organizations, its growth, its new church home, its future > Part 3
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Don Gerig became Music Director in 1968. The Radio Ensemble was organized and a record was made of their music. The Missionaires Quartet was also very active during this time. In 1970 Darrell Gerig became Music Director. More music groups were organized.
In 1968 a lot at 706 Sherwayne Drive was purchased for a par- sonage. A friend paid a substantial part of this purchase. The parsonage was built in 1968 and dedicated in 1969. It is electrically heated and air- conditioned. The cost was approximately $35,270.00. Money used for this project was given by Miss Martha Schug.
In 1972 the parsonage at 379 N. Sprunger Street was sold for $18,500.00.
In 1969 the church began its own Vacation Bible School. Rev. and Mrs. Gareth Wiederkehr were in charge of the school for four years.
In 1969 the church voted to purchase a pipe organ for the sanc- tuary.
In 1969 the Missionary Church Association and the United Missionary Church merged to become the Missionary Church, of ap- proximately 35,000 members throughout the world. In 1970 the Berne church became a member of the National Association of Evangelical Churches.
The youth work flourished under the capable leadership of Leroy Sprunger, Youth Director, and his assistants.
In 1970 David and Joleen Biberstein left for missionary work in Jamaica.
Rev. & Mrs. C. Edwin Prosser
Rev. & Mrs. C. H. Wiederkehr
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Those who ministered in special meetings were Rev. Forest Weddle, with Mrs. C. H. Wiederkehr holding children's meetings, in 1965; Rev. William Pauley in a youth revival in 1965; Rev. C. A. Ep- person with West Berne Church in 1966; Rev. Ralph Ogden and Rev. Robert Fansler in 1967; Rev. William Weston and Rev. Forest Weddle in 1968; Dr. F. L. Stephenson in 1968 and 1969; Rev. Eddie Jones in 1969; Rev. Gordon Bacon and Rev. John Nussbaum in 1970.
In 1971 Rev. C. Edwin Prosser of Ontario, Canada, became pastor. He was a member of the United Missionary Church which merged with the Missionary Church Association. He is concerned for each one of his congregation and is dedicated to God.
A Schantz pipe organ was installed in the sanctuary in December, 1971. It was designed by Arthur C. Strahle, District Manager of Schantz Organ-Builders, and was custom-built for the First Missionary Church.
The organ consists of two manual and pedal divisions. There are 18 ranks of pipes and a total of 1124 pipes. The chimes are composed of 25 bells. Much of the organ is exposed.
It was dedicated on January 16, 1972, to the glory of God. Mr. Merlin Lehman, professor at Valparaiso University, played the organ for the dedication service.
The cost of the instrument was $45,642.13. It was completely paid in 1972. The organ committee included Clyde Sprunger, Laverne Sprunger and Don Gerig.
In 1972 Rev. and Mrs. Gareth Wiederkehr resumed missionary
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work in Sierra Leone, and Rev. and Mrs. Stanley Inniger became missionaries to the Dominican Republic. Rev. C. H. Wiederkehr became Minister of Visitation for the Berne church.
The present (1973) enrollment of the Sunday-School is 577. The Sunday-School is staffed by general superintendent James Beitler, 8 departmental superintendents with 8 assistants, 23 teachers, and 32 assistant teachers. Enrolled are 113 children from Cradle Roll through primary grades, 45 Juniors, and 90 young people of Junior high and high school age. There are 329 adults.
Children's Church is in charge of Mrs. C. H. Wiederkehr, assisted by Rev. Wiederkehr and Mrs. Keith Amstutz, pianist. Children from age four through grade four attend the service. They sing, read Scripture, offer prayer, provide special music, and receive the offering. There is a message for children and a children's bulletin. The average attendance is 72.
Mrs. Ernest Amstutz directs a Nursery Church for children below four years of age.
A staffed nursery is provided for the youngest children.
The Missionary Cadets meet on Sunday evening at 6:45 under the direction of Mrs. Leroy Sprunger and 12 assistants. From 60 to 80 children meet in three groups: preschool and grade one; grades 2 and 3; and grades 4, 5 and 6. Their missionary goal for 1973 is $2300.00.
FROM LITTLE ACORNS GROW MIGHTY OAKS
WE SUPPORT MISSIONARY CHILDREN
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Nine adults provide for Pre-School, Primary, and Junior Classes on Wednesday evening. The Primary and Junior choirs also meet at this time.
Since 1957 Leroy Sprunger has been Youth Director. There are many activities for the young people. Two MYF groups meet on Sunday evenings at 6:45. The Junior High attendance is from 25 to 30, and the Senior High and College attendance is from 50 to 55. There are 28 young people involved in Bible Quiz teams with five leaders. There is a Girl's Chorus, an MYF Ensemble, and an MYF Chorale. There are Wed- nesday evening classes geared to the interests of youth.
In 1950 the MYF assumed the support of Kathleen Inniger Jacobsen. In 1972 the church assumed her support, and the MYF now supports Rev. and Mrs. Stanley Inniger. The young people also con- tribute to Wheels for Missions, a project of MYF International to buy vehicles for missionaries.
The young people have a basket-ball team and volley-ball teams. There are Singspirations and other social activities. Four adult couples are sponsors and are assisted by Youth Department Sunday-School teachers and their wives.
The Music Director is Darrell Gerig. He directs the Church Choir, the Radio Ensemble, MYF Ensemble, MYF Chorale, and Sixteen Singing Men. Mrs. Arthur Lipina has charge of the Primary Choir, Terry Steury directs the Junior Choir, and Jama Sprunger has charge of the Girl's Chorus. There are quartets, trios, instrumentalists, and vocal soloists. Seven organists and eight pianists assist in the music program.
Mrs. C. H. Wiederkehr is in charge of the Vacation Bible School for 1973, with Miss Jeanette Sprunger assisting her. The school will be in session for two weeks.
Evangelists who have ministered during Rev. Prosser's pastorate are Rev. Clarence Hunking in 1971, and Rev. Don Engram and the Campbell-Reese Evangelistic Party in 1972.
Shut-ins can listen to the church services by means of shut-in lines, which connect approximately 20 homes to the church.
Eleven missionaries are supported by the church. They are Rev. and Mrs. David Biberstein, Rev. and Mrs. Stanley Inniger, Mrs. Morris Jacobsen, Miss Pauline Muselman, Miss Kae Linnet Sprunger, Rev. and Mrs. Gareth Wiederkehr, and Rev. and Mrs. John Zurcher.
Records of the First Missionary Church furnish some interesting statistics. In the depression years (1929 to 1934) the average total amount given yearly was $5020.31. The total amount given in 1971-1972 was $154,695.78. More than $65,000 was given for missions. The church budget for 1972-1973 is $44,540.00. The missionary goal is $70,000.00. The total amount given for missions since the church was dedicated is $487,472.17.
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The average Sunday School attendance for 1971-1972 was 517. The church membership in 1972 was 465. Since 1960 the Sunday School attendance increased 42.71% . Church membership increased exactly 50% .
Some members have several offices in the church, but 211 people have at least one responsibility in the work of the church. Of the people listed in the church directory of 1971-1972, 157 are direct descendants or married to direct decendants of the charter members.
The Omen Amstutz funeral was the first one in the present church. Since that time there have been 71 deaths.
In September, 1972, the church had 465 members. The covenant of membership includes:
1. The obligation to be loyal to the church and its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrine.
2. The obligation to contribute regularly to the support of the church and its world-wide ministries.
3. The obligation to maintain private devotions and practice faithful Christian living.
4. The obligation to regard other members with brotherly love, Christian sympathy, and tolerance.
5. The obligation to be faithful in witnessing for Christ so that lost souls may be won to Him.
There is a growing need for expansion of church facilities. In 1972 the church bought a plot of 1.07 acres of land adjoining the west parking lot. The cost was $6,682.50.
A new Building Committee has been appointed and is making careful plans for expansion. This committee includes the Church Board, trustees Valier Amstutz and Loren Liechty, and members Kedwin Graber, Merlin Habegger, Tony Yoder, and John Zehr.
As the church grows in numbers, may its members grow in grace, wisdom, and in loving concern for those without Christ, at home and abroad.
"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Cor. 15:58.
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CHURCH OFFICERS
Chairman of the Board Assistant Chairman
Rev. C. Edwin Prosser Ornelle Sprunger
CHURCH BOARD
Pastor
Rev. C. Edwin Prosser
Minister of Visitation
Rev. C. H. Wiederkehr
Deacon
Leroy Sprunger
Deacon
Homer Inniger
Deacon
Ornelle Sprunger Jerry Sprunger James Beitler
Sunday School Superintendent
Chairman of Trustees
Laverne Sprunger
Treasurer of Missions
Judson Sprunger
Church Treasurer
Jay Conrad
CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS
Sunday School
Missionary Youth Fellowship Senior High Junior High
Children's Work
Children's Church
Missionary Cadets Music Director
Mrs. C. H. Wiederkehr Mrs. Leroy Sprunger
Darrell Gerig Church Choir, Radio Ensemble, MYF Chorale, MYF Ensemble, 16 Singing Men.
Girl's Chorus Junior Choir Primary Choir
Missionary Men International Ladies Aid Dorcas Missionary Circle Missionary Auxiliary Mission Band Christian Family Hour
James Beitler, Supt.
Leroy Sprunger, Youth Director Ann Steury, President
Kurt Keller, President
Jama Sprunger, Director Terry Steury, Director Mrs. Arthur Lipina, Director Harold Langham, President Mrs. Elmer Liechty, President Mrs. Keith Minger, President Miss Ida Hirschy, President Larry Amstutz, President Loren Liechty, President
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Secretary
CHARTER MEMBERS
At Organization of Church Body, 1908
Amos Amstutz
Mrs. Lena Hirschy
Mrs. Amos Amstutz
Sarah Hirschy
J. J. Amstutz
Philip Huser
Mrs. J. J. Amstutz
Mrs. Philip Huser
Menno Amstutz
Mrs. Anna Liechty
J. U. Amstutz
Mrs. Peter Liechty
Mrs. J. U. Amstutz
Jacob Neuenschwander
William Reusser
* Jesse Amstutz Sylvia Amstutz
Ada Reusser
Chris Bruchy
Emma Reusser
Mrs. Chris Bruchy
Harry Runyon
Zilla Gilliom
Mrs. Harry Runyon
Christian Hirschy Mrs. Christian Hirschy
* Flora Sauder Amos Schindler
David Hirschy
Mrs. Amos Schindler
Mrs. David Hirschy
Sam Schindler
Rufus Hirschy
Mrs. Sam Schindler
Menno Hirschy
Erna Schindler
Emma Hirschy
Agnes Sprunger
Eli Hirschy
* Anna Sprunger
Mrs. Eli Hirschy
Mathilda Hirschy
Norman Hirschy
J. J. Hirschy
Mrs. J. J. Hirschy Albert Hirschy
* Caroline Hirschy Lillie Hirschy Fox
Mrs. Joseph Stucky
Henry Winteregg Mrs. Henry Winteregg
Mrs. William Wittwer
* Living member
* Esther Sprunger Martha Sprunger John Stauffer George Stauffer Jacob Stucky Joseph Stucky
Sources of Information
History Missionary Church, Annual Reports of the Church, Church Records, Church Bulletins and Data, Former Pastors' files, Berne Witness files, Pastor's files, Personal files, Personal Interviews, and Letters.
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Pastors of the First Missionary Church
Rev. William Egle 1898-1903; 1921-1930
Rev. Solomon Klopfenstein 1903-1904
Rev. Alfred M. Clauser 1904-1905
Rev. Edgar F. Clauser 1905-1906
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Rev. Hiram H. Amstutz 1906-1911
Rev. George P. Schroeder 1912-1913
Rev. Samuel J. Grabill 1913-1919
Rev. William J. Amstutz 1919-1921
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Rev. Henry E. Tropf 1930-1935
Rev. Clarence H. Wiederkehr 1936-1948; 1961-1964
Rev. J. Pritchard Amstutz 1948-1952
Rev. Joseph J. Klopfenstein 1952-1961
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Rev. Gerald I. Gerig 1964-1971
Rev. C. Edwin Prosser 1971-
Ministers of Visitation
Rev. Gareth L. Wiederkehr 1968-1972
Rev. Clarence H. Wiederkehr 1972-
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Sunday School Superintendents
David Sprunger
1896
Noah Schindler 1920-1924
J. J. Amstutz
1905
Vilas Schindler 1924-1952
John Merriman
1906-1907
Ornelle Sprunger
1953-1961
David Hirschy
1907-1908
Jerry Carey 1961-1963
H. H. Amstutz
1909-1910
Ornelle Sprunger
1963-1968
D. J. Schwartz
1911-1912
Tony Yoder
1968-1972
Henry Schindler
1912-1919
James Beitler
1972-
Deacons
J. J. Amstutz
Noah Schindler
David Hirschy
Oswin Amstutz
J. U. Amstutz
Preston Zehr
P. L. Amstutz
Homer Inniger
Ornelle Sprunger
Leroy Sprunger
Deaconesses
Mrs. J. A. Sprunger
Mrs. John Abnet
Mrs. Mary Opliger
Miss Ida Hirschy
Mrs. George Erdel
Mrs. Rufus Amstutz
Mrs. Ted Hirschy
Mrs. Albert Amstutz
J. J. Amstutz
J. J. Hirschy
John Lehman John Oyer David Hirschy
Leslie Sprunger Lorris Phillips Laverne Sprunger Don Abnet
William Reusser
Rufus Hirschy
Valier Amstutz
Louis Habegger
Loren Liechty
Noah Schindler
Mrs. Wesley Amstutz Miss Fannie Schindler
Mrs. Lucy Hirschy
Mrs. Vilas Schindler Mrs. Charles Abnet
Trustees
Wesley G. Amstutz Cyrus Lehman
Some of the custodians who served the church for several years are Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Reusser, Miss Anna R. Sprunger, Mr. and Mrs. Cary Templin, Mr. and Mrs. Carl Amstutz, and Mr. and Mrs. Richard Hirschy.
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William Reusser
David Schindler
John Yeoman Menno S. Hirschy
Rev. Tillman Habegger
Tillman Habegger, one of the preaching sons of our congregation, completed his Fort Wayne Bible School training in 1929. The same year he became pastor of the Bucklin, Kansas, Missionary Church. He was pastor of a number of churches and spent several years in furthering his education. He married Evelyn Luginbill of Berne. She was one of his class-mates in high school; they have two daughters, and a son who is deceased.
In 1956 the M.C.A. appointed him to the office of Home Secretary. The capable administration of his office led to a greater expansion and strengthening of churches in the Association. The foreign missionary work is dependent on the strong support of the home churches. In 1958 Rev. Habegger was elected president of the Missionary Church Association. He served in this office for 11 years.
In 1969, when the Missionary Church Association merged with the United Missionary Church, Dr. Kenneth Geiger was named president, and Rev. Habegger became vice-president of the new organization, the Missionary Church.
Miss Elda Amstutz
Elda Amstutz, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John J. Amstutz, was born on March 6, near Berne, Indiana. Like her brothers, Menno and Tillman, she was dedicated to the Lord before her birth. Menno became a minister in the States, and Tillman and Elda spent many years in India.
Elda early learned of sacrificial giving through the example of her godly parents. She was only seven years old when she was saved under the ministry of Rev. J. E. Ramseyer. She was one of the first "Sunshine
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Makers". Early in life she volunteered for missionary service in China, and her mother helped her prepare her Missionary Hope Chest.
Miss Elda Amstutz
She graduated from Ft. Wayne Bible Training School in 1922, then took a post-graduate course at the Missionary Training Institute at Nyack, New York.
For two years she worked in the City Rescue Mission at Lima, Ohio; The next year she worked in the home of Dr. and Mrs. Turnbull at Nyack. This contact, plus the political unrest in China, led to her ap- pointment to the Ramabai Mukti Mission in India.
Miss Amstutz arrived in India in 1927. She said, "caring for 60 to 100 girls and lifting up Christ in the villages was my great joy".
Enroute back to India in 1941, her ship stopped in Manilla Bay and she was taken prisoner by the Japanese. She spent more than three years in the infamous Los Banos prison. Her faith remained firm and her prayer was that she might again serve in Mukti Mission. Her rescue, together with 2146 starved prisoners of war, is a most thrilling ex- perience of God's deliverance, just two hours before scheduled execution, (This rescue is related in a book called "Kept", written by Miss Carol Terry, and a chapter by Miss Elda.)
Repatriated in 1945, she slowly recuperated, and in 1946 returned to India and a wonderful welcome at Mukti. She spent many years in evangelistic, medical and literary work. She retired in 1964.
Since retirement Miss Elda has lived in Berne, where her optimistic faith, her helpfulness, and her devotion have endeared her to everyone. She had the privilege of returning to India for a brief visit in 1971.
Rev. and Mrs. Tillman M. Amstutz
Tillman M. Amstutz was born near Berne, Indiana. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. John J. Amstutz, were charter members of the Missionary
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Church Association. He was saved at an early age, and had a perfect Sunday School attendance for several years.
Rev. and Mrs. Tillman M. Amstutz
Tillman entered Ft. Wayne Bible Training School in 1916, where he worked to pay his way. He took his final year at Nyack Missionary Training Institute. He arrived in India November 28, 1919.
In 1922 he married Miss Esther De Mann, a missionary he met during language study in India. They celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary in 1972. The careful dicipline and love rendered to their five children have molded fine characters-all of them serving the Lord, three as missionaries.
Rev. and Mrs. Amstutz were assigned to do district evangelism. They preached and taught the Good News of the Gospel in towns and villages, at fairs, and in trains. They traveled by bullock cart, by bicycle, by bus, by train, and often on foot, bringing God's message of salvation. They fed the hungry, treated the sick, and comforted the grieving. Tillman labored to reach 276 villages a year.
He also pioneered in the area of literature distribution and set up reading rooms wherever he could. This ministry resulted in friendships with school teachers, community leaders, Hindus, and Mohammedans.
Mrs. Amstutz was a dedicated home-maker and a gracious hostess. But with a trained Bible woman she ministered to those in the homes about her.
Rev. and Mrs. Amstutz retired in 1961, after forty-two years of dedicated missionary service. Their home is in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Rev. Amstutz assists in the Literature Office of the Billie Graham Crusade.
They are active in the Grand Avenue Alliance Church, where Mr. Amstutz is an elder and does visitation work. Who can measure a life- time spent in service for God?
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Miss Mary De Garmo
Miss Mary De Garmo was born in Wauneta, Nebraska on December 15, 1888, to Mr. and Mrs. Peter A. C. De Garmo.
In 1909 she was graduated from the Ft. Wayne Bible Training School. On July 1, 1917, she joined the Berne Missionary Church by letter from the Eden Missionary Church near Stratton, Nebraska. Rev. S. J. Grabill was pastor of the Berne Church.
Miss De Garmo went to China under the direction of the China Mennonite Mission Society on December 3, 1919, and labored there until her death.
She had only two furloughs in twenty-eight years-one from June 1927 to February, 1929, and one from July, 1937 to May, 1939.
She was very fond of children and taught in a Girl's School for some time. She taught Bible lessons and sewing to many poor Chinese girls.
She took great interest in China's illiterate women and spent weeks and months in the villages teaching the phonetic system. Hundreds of women learned to read their Bibles because of her help.
During the communist uprisings in China, she and her fellow missionaries were stripped many times of all earthly possessions. She chose to remain at her post of duty, and on December 22, 1947, after an attack on the city had subsided, a hand granade was thrown through the window of her humble cottage. She was fatally injured in the explosion and became a martyr in the great cause of world-wide evangelism. Her last letter was signed, "Yours in Christ for China, Mary De Garmo."
Rev. George Hewitt
Rev. George Hewitt, pastor, evangelist, and missionary, was born in Bothwell, Ontario, Canada, on February 16, 1902.
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Rev. George Hewitt
He received his Bible School training at Chicago Evangelistic Institue, Chicago, Illinois. He was pastor of evangelical churches in Illinois from 1929 to 1940. He entered the evangelical ministry in 1940.
From 1947 to 1950 he was pastor of Humboldt Park Gospel Tabernacle Missionary Church in Chicago, Illinois.
In 1950 Rev. Hewitt went to Jamaica to establish a Missionary Church at Mandeville. The work prospered, and many other churches were established across the Island. On Easter Sunday, 1972, more than one thousand attended the service at the Mandeville church.
Rev. Hewitt retired from active pastoral-missionary work in June 1972. His future plans include ministries in evangelism, camp meetings, missionary rallies, and church development.
There are three Hewitt children, George, Jr., Mary, and Sally. There are eleven grandchildren and one great grandchild. Rev. Hewitt's retirement address is 665 N. Behring Street, Berne, Indiana.
Miss Fanny Schindler
Miss Fanny Schindler, eldest child of Jacob and Mary Schindler, was born near Berne, Indiana on February 21, 1894. She walked one mile to Sunday School regularly when she was only six years old.
She was saved in her teens during the Berne Union Meetings. She began attending the Berne Missionary Church, where she heard messages of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. She joined the church on July 18, 1915.
Miss Schindler began teaching public school as soon as she had finished high school. She taught twelve years and was considered a gifted teacher. She taught second grade in Berne for some time.
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Miss Fanny Schindler
She felt called of God to enter full-time Christian service, so she entered the Missionary Training Institute of Nyack, New York. The following summer she did colportage work and helped in the mission and street service with the Missionary Workers in Brooklyn.
She went to Africa in 1924 under the Christian and Missionary Alliance, and arrived at Boma, Congo Belge, on October 12. During her first term she traveled through the villages of the Yema, Lolo Mazinga, and Nsumbi districts, helping in schools, preaching, and holding classes for native teachers and preachers.
Her second term was at Kinkonzi. In three different places, each year they had two-week schools for the Christian workers and their wives, plus an evangelistic service every night.
At Maduda for her third term, she prepared lessons for a school of adults and supervised Children's classes. In 1936-38 she translated a grammar book into a Congo dialect for the school. In 1954 she was asked to revise and add to the same book.
The fourth and fifth terms were spent supervising the children's school at Boma and adjoining districts. Also, she was a Sunday-School teacher, and led capable native women in hospital visitation on Sunday afternoons. She was also a profound student and used the English, German, French, Greek and Congolese dialect translations in studying her Bible.
She retired in 1955 after twenty-five years of dedicated missionary service. The citation she received read in part: "You have had a notable part in causing the people that walked in darkness to see a great Light .. . You have taught Africans to teach others to teach others . .. We congratulate you upon a life well spent, a task well done, one that guided many into the path of the just that, as a shining light, shineth more and more into the perfect day."
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After her retirement in Berne, the church felt the influence of her godly life. She taught a Sunday School class for some time and also served as a deaconess. She died on July 19, 1967.
Rev. and Mrs. Waldo Schindler
Waldo Schindler, son of Mr. and Mrs. John H. Schindler, was born near Berne, Indiana, on April 8. His grandfather, David Schindler, was the first treasurer of the M.C.A.
When Waldo was fourteen years old, he accepted the Lord as his Saviour, was baptized, and became a member of the Berne Missionary Church.
In 1926 he enrolled in Ft. Wayne Bible Institue, and through the study of God's Word, he realized God's plan for his life.
In 1930 he married Cecile Mae Davison, whom he had met at school. They went to Detroit as associate workers at East Lawn Missionary Church. The next year they took a pastorate at Bucklin, Kansas, where they faced four years of drought and depression. In 1935 they took a pastorate at Wauneta, Nebraska, and in 1938 they went to Clyde, Ohio.
They had never forgotten their call to the mission field, and in 1940 they sailed for the Gabon, Equatorial Africa. There they were used of God in the construction of buildings, translating the Word of God, teaching and overseeing the Bible School, and in pioneer evangelism. Rev. Schindler mastered two foreign languages, received a medal of honor from the vice-president of Gabon for long-time service, and won the respect of his denomination as a missionary statesman.
Mrs. Schindler, small in stature but mighty in spirit, has been a hostess, a teacher, a friend, and always a witness. Six terms were spent in
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Africa, and they saw the church in Gabon grow from a few scattered converts to thousands of Christians among several tribes.
The three Schindler daughters are all American housewives. A delightful part of furlough for Rev. and Mrs. Schindler is renewing relationships with their grandchildren.
Rev. and Mrs. Schindler have accepted a call to the Nanakuli Missionary Church, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Their work will begin in the fall of 1973.
Miss Agnes Sprunger
Miss Agnes Sprunger, youngest child of John P. and Elizabeth Leh- man Sprunger, was born near Berne on September 25, 1885. The family moved to Arkansas where her mother died when Agnes was thirteen months old. Her aunt, Mrs. Samuel (Anna) Liechty, a widow with seven children, went to Arkansas, brought baby Agnes to Berne, and reared her in the Liechty home as a member of the family.
When she was eight years old she was converted during a revival of the Mennonite Church. She was much interested in missions and became a charter member of the First Missionary Church. She attended Bible School and was accepted as a missionary candidate to Congo (Zaire) in 1908, but she had to wait eight years to go. In 1909 she was graduated from Ft. Wayne Bible Training School. She took a nurse's training course in Cincinnati, Ohio. For a time she aided in the work of the church in Peoria, Illinois and in Detroit, Michigan.
On March 8, 1916, she left for the Congo (Zaire) under the auspices of the Congo Inland Mission and continued in active service for thirty- seven years. She spent 1935 to 1954 in Africa without returning home for a furlough. She often lived in the hope of Philippians 4:19.
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Miss Sprunger was a pioneer missionary to the Apende tribe, whose language is known as the Kipende. She did the work of a general missionary in nursing, teaching, singing and translating. She trained some very fine choirs of Africans.
But the monumental contribution to her Christian cause and faith was the translation of the entire New Testament into the Kipende language. She also did much work in the Old Testament, even after retirement. Besides knowing native African tribal dialects, she knew French, English, German and Swiss. She was patient and precise in her work. She taught tribal languages to her successors.
She was the first missionary sent out from the Berne church. She retired on August 11, 1953. She lived in Berne until 1968, when she moved to Swiss Village to make her home. The influence of her quiet, serene Christian character was felt in her home church. She died at Swiss Village on January 11, 1973. At her memorial service Rev. Paul Erdel, Missionary Church overseas director, and Reuben Short, executive secretary of the Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission, paid tributes to her ministry.
CHRISTIAN HONOR ROLL Foreign Missionaries
Africa
Harold Wayne Amstutz
Helen Burley
Martel Fennig
* Fannie Schindler
Hawaii
Dr. Robert Schindler Waldo Schindler Mrs. Cecil Schindler
Hong Kong
* Agnes Sprunger Kae Linnet Sprunger Dr. Ernest Steury Gareth Wiederkehr
Mrs. Treva Wiederkehr
John Zurcher Mrs. Bernadine Zurcher
China
* Mary De Garmo
India
Elda Amstutz Tillman Amstutz Luella Burley
Dominican Republic
Stanley Inniger Mrs. Becky Inniger
Iran
Merlin Inniger
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Ecuador Truman Gottschalk Pauline Muselman
Mrs. Gladys Leonard
Mrs. Janean Sprunger
Haiti
Jamaica David Biberstein George Hewitt, Sr.
Japan Mrs. Kathleen Jacobsen
* These are deceased.
Christian Workers in Home Land
Blanchard Amstutz Edward Amstutz Jesse M. Amstutz
* Menno Amstutz Paul Loren Amstutz Pritchard Amstutz Roger Amstutz
* Sylvia Amstutz Tillman E. Amstutz Esther Stucky Bailey Walter Bailey Maxine Steury Balkema Mildred Hirschy Bissett Shirley Ann Steury Burke Sophia Yoss Faulkner Brice Fennig Leon Fennig
Tillman Habegger
Martha Amstutz Heller
Esther Sprunger Hirschy
* Norman Hirschy Edith Schindler Kattman Celina Amstutz Klopfenstein Gordon Klopfenstein
* Salome Schug Kuhnle James Langham Mary Alice Steury Lehman Gladys Amstutz Leonard Lila Sprunger Miller Miriam Wiederkehr Ogden Leona Amstutz Oyer Edison Reynolds Carolyn Muselman Russett
Flora Egle Schilling Lorene Habegger Schrock Robert Schrock
* Metta Hirschy Sharp Claudia Jo Amstutz Smith Ruth Steury Sprunger Leroy Sprunger Steven Sprunger
* Lillian Amstutz Stauffer Wayne Steury Paul Tropf Helen Wittwer Welch
Thomas Zehr Deryll Zurcher Steven Zurcher
* Deceased
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