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Europe and Back by Rev. Dave Andrus (continued from page 1) Our first order of business upon arrival was dinner! We were assigned tables; we were placed with three people from Denmark and one from Norway, all of whom work in ministry with the blind in their country. They all were very kind to speak English during the meals. In fact, Einar, the gentleman from Norway, often served as translator for us throughout the retreat. Einar’s story was interesting. His parents were missionaries, and he has a heart for missions. He was a teacher; his first assignment was in India, where he lived for ten years. Then he went to Bhutan (near Nepal), where he taught the children of Norwegian missionaries. While there, one of his five children died in an accident. After ten years, he and his family returned to Norway. He remained on the mission board in order to return to Bhutan twice a year. After dinner that first evening, we walked to one of the “barns.” It was a giant log building, which held the 70 of us comfortably. Even the stair stringers were made of logs!
The first night was full of singing, and the societies each introduced themselves: Dane; Finn; Swede; and Norwegian. Most of the singing and reporting was done in Swedish; several people took turns being translators for us. Debb and I were glad to be present with all these people. About half of them were totally blind. The other half were sighted, dedicated workers in their societies. When the evening finished, we returned to our room and immediately fell into a deep, relaxing sleep. The next morning, we gathered for breakfast, and then headed over to the meeting hall for devotions. Following this, Dave began his presentations, similar to what is done in the summer conference in St. Louis.
The societies had heard of the Christian Blind Institute and some of the class work. They wanted Dave, in particular, to speak on a theology of blindness. In this, it is noted that blindness is not a punishment or result of sin. Jesus took our punishment when he died on the cross. Instead, blindness is simply a human condition. It is also a condition God can use in his kingdom for his good. Rather than viewing blindness as a limitation, it is seen as an asset. Every person is gifted by God and can be used by God to share his Word of forgiveness with others—no matter what one’s condition. That afternoon, we went to the Finn Cultural Center in Tormsby. It was interesting to hear about the Finns that settled in that part of Sweden and their unique farming styles.
In the evening, each society shared what it is doing with respect to mission work around the world. The Danish society is working in India. The Norwegian society is serving blind children in Madagascar. The Swedish society is working in Ethiopia, the Congo, and Tanzania. The Finnish society is working in Estonia. It was truly amazing to hear of all this work all around the world. The societies shared that this world focus not only served other blind people around the world but also helped the blind people in their own country fulfill Christ's mandate.
The next day brought strong winds and cooler weather (5C or 41F). The cold outside did not cool down the enthusiasm shown and shared by the participants. They seemed excited to hear what Dave had to share regarding practical items on ministry to the group. One person noted that those who are blind and visually impaired face similar situations of struggle and discouragement in his country as well. One leader went on to say that Pastor Dave did a wonderful job of systematizing the experiences of people. There was some time before lunch for many of the group to go into town to do some shopping and to interact with the local people. One of the partially sighted people, Tore Naerland (from Norway), skipped the shopping and instead went to a park in the center of town. He found some people there who were down on their luck, and he witnessed to them about Christ. Tore is a contagious Christian who uses every opportunity to share his faith. As a teen, before losing his sight, his aspiration was to be a football (soccer) player. He was quite good and had a real chance at it. But God saw otherwise. By the time he finished college, he was nearly blind. For a while, he was angry at God. Then Tore realized that God had different plans, so he stopped fighting and began to listen. Now he uses every opportunity to share Jesus. He related many stories of his travels around the world with the organization Bike for Peace and how because he is blind, people view him as a non-threatening presence and allow him to travel places not usually open to the Western world (e.g., former communist countries, North Korea).
That afternoon, most of the group went on a prayer walk around the retreat center. At certain spots, we stopped, read a psalm, prayed, and sang a song. Then we moved on. It was a chilly afternoon, with a strong wind blowing. It felt like a late autumn day.
During this snack, Dave sat next to Patrick, who had been born in Pakistan, but lost his sight to smallpox before the age of 3. At 7, he was sent to a Christian school for the blind, where he not only learned Braille, but also about Jesus. As an adult, he traveled abroad, eventually settling in Norway, where he married and now lives. He does not have a job, just like most blind in Norway. His heart longs to share the love of Jesus with those back in Pakistan. He returns on a regular basis to visit family and, with some risk of being arrested, to share his faith with blind and sighted alike. That evening, the young people of the Swedish group put on a program for the group. They shared songs, jokes, stories, and more. After the frivolity of the youth, there was joy in learning more in-depth about all the work going on among blind people in the Scandinavian countries. The work in Sweden started in 1908; Norway, 1933; Denmark, 1947; and Finland, 1967. The societies of each country produced and distributed a magazine in an audio format. Sweden has a summer camp to which blind children are invited for fun, activity, and sharing Christ. The societies of several of the countries have occasional gatherings in communities at which fellowship and a meal are shared. Each society serves 500 to 1,000 blind people.
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