Introduction of Bonnie Esau by Ruth Letkeman

I got to know Bonnie (Glen) Esau as a young girl, becoming family friends, when we invited her family to be part of our small group at church, more than 20 years ago. We have spent enjoyable camping weekends with them and shared a dozen Thanksgiving Dinners with her family in her growing up years (as a result I know that she is partial to my homemade, pull-apart buns).  We have cheered her (and our daughter) on in volleyball and basketball at Hepburn School and at Bethany College as well.  I have observed Bonnie as she was growing up, developing in her spiritual walk and making her faith her own. Bonnie is very relational and a joy to be with.  People are drawn to her through her welcoming smile, sparkling eyes and her bubbly personality.  Bonnie is a creative and caring individual.  It’s been inspiring to see the journey of obedience God has taken her on; relinquishing a secure life, family and things familiar, then stepping out in faith with her husband and daughter to a ministry in Thailand. 

Compelled vs. Called
Bonnie Esau

If you had asked me the question, “What is God’s call on your life?” in my first year at Bethany, I would have chuckled and stared blankly into space, completely unable to give an answer. Don’t get me wrong... I knew that I loved the Lord and that I wanted to follow His plans for my life. But at that point, I really had no idea what that “call” looked like.

I can’t say I even knew what God was “calling” me to, until a couple of years ago and a lot of it had to do with changing my perspective on that very word.... “calling”.

It all started in 2006. I knew there was a problem when my husband, Jon, began to feel God pulling his heart towards overseas missions work. I loved the life we had made in beautiful British Columbia, and had no desire to leave said life. But after being asked to join a ‘vision team’ with MB Mission, to Thailand in winter 2009, I was certain that life was about to change... drastically. And that is exactly what happened.

In December 2009, we spent 2 weeks in Thailand, observing and hearing about the ministry that had been happening there and what MB Mission’s missionaries hopes for the future were. While we were there, God started to get a hold of my heart. The words from Isaiah 42:6,7 almost jumped off the page at me: “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.”

But it wasn’t until we returned home from that “scouting” trip that I felt I was finally starting to figure out God’s call on my life.

As we debriefed and processed all we had seen and experienced in our short vision trip, we knew we needed to gain more wisdom from some veteran missionaries, who had walked this road before. We spent an evening with some of my parents’ dear friends, who have been serving in Zimbabwe for over 30 years, and my biggest question for them was this:

“How do I know God is calling us to serve in Thailand? If we’re going to make this kind of decision, I need to know it’s because God is calling us, not just because it sounds like a fun thing to do. How can I determine if this is His calling on our lives?”

And that was when it all changed. Our friend, Bud, responded with this:

“In my experience, calling is almost always a thing of hindsight. It’s most often as we look back on our lives, we see God’s leading and “calling” on our lives, but we don’t always see it ahead of us. So, I would challenge you to focus less on the word calling and ask yourself this-- ‘Do you feel compelled to do this? Do you feel that if you don’t, you’ll be missing out on something great?’ Focus more on what compels you and I believe that as you do, God will continue to reveal his call for your lives.”

Total game changer. I knew in that instant, that I did, indeed, feel compelled. And so, started our journey to serving overseas in Thailand.

I love these kind of “light bulb moments” that come along every so often in life. I think all too often, we’ve made such a big deal of the word “calling” and have in turn, lost sight of what life’s really all about. And that is to make Christ known, no matter where we are or what we’re doing. To let HIS love compel us.

Bonnie Esau
Serving with MB Mission

Prayer and Renewal- Terri Omani (Sports Rec. Chair)

Yeah 2012! We started this semester out with modular classes. There were four classes offered: Mark with Tim Geddert, Youth Culture with James Penner, Intro to Counseling Theory with Karen Gibson, and Prayer and Renewal with Rick Schellenberg. I took Prayer and Renewal which was a really great learning experience. I knew that having a personal prayer life was important but I never really took the time to just be with God.

On the Wednesday, we went to Redberry Bible Camp for a prayer retreat. During the retreat we did Lecto Divina, where Rick read through scripture and we listened to what God was telling us. Then we wrote to God. We learned that journaling was a good discipline to have; it gets you talking to God with no distractions.

We had an hour and a half to simply hangout with God. Having that one on one time with no disruptions was really peacefully. We were told to listen to what God was telling us right then and there. One of my good friends said “If you can still hear yourself think, you’re not listening hard enough.” I think that is a good way to put it. I find that when listening to God you have to take yourself away from the busyness that life brings and forget about your problems so God can show you what it is that He wants for you. Thanks Rick for a great class.

Introduction to Sabrina Friesen
by Dave Carey

I met Sabrina in my 2nd year as a Bethany staff member.  I was Bethany's recruiter at the time and she was one of our student phoners.  Sabrina was always incredibly reliable in her role and was a leader to the rest of the team of phoners (including me a times).  Her administrative abilities were a definite blessing but what really stood out for Sabrina was her ability to connect and relate with just about anyone.  That combined with her immense and obvious love for people made just about every conversation with her one of great value.  She had the ability to look past all the differences between people and genuinely care for them. It's that care that made her a leader amongst her peers, made her respected amongst faculty and staff and I'm sure makes her a great counsellor and caregiver in her role now.   I have accumulated a lot of "favourites" over my years at Bethany and Sabrina (Swereda) Friesen will always remain in the top of that list.

The Giver

Sabrina Friesen (Alumni)

For many of my teenage and early adult years my heart had been filled with a longing to be good at something. Anything really, so long as I could be good—like really good at it. My heart craved identity in that thing. You know, like your roommate who can sing, the guy who paints, or the person who can memorize the entire book of Mark and recite it flawlessly. I wanted one of those tangible, measurable gifts that others could look at and say ‘wow!’

Rubbing shoulders with classmates and instructors oftentimes left me feeling flawed and insufficient. I wasn’t good enough, devoted enough, spiritual enough, talented enough, athletic enough...and it ate away at my heart. I joked that God made me the ‘jack-of-all-trades’ when it came to gifts as I could do most things well enough to get by, but deep down there was resentment growing as I longed for a piece of what everyone else had.

I recall filling out a Network text some time during my first year and feeling flustered and envious when I couldn’t pin point anything specific that was life-giving for me, outside of the seemingly broad and open-ended answer of people. There was no measurable task or set of skills that I could master, no clear-cut job description that fit with my passion for others, and I was left disheartened and feeling very looked over by the Giver. How was I ever going to master something if I couldn’t even find a niche?

Yet in this absence of measurable, definable, clear-cut gifting the Lord drew me to himself. As the years passed at Bethany and beyond I have been challenged to find my identity not in a thing, but in the Giver himself. Slowly I have realized how tempting it is to try and define myself by what I do rather than whose I am. In allowing myself to focus on loving God and being obedient to his calling, he has led me from Bethany to Providence Seminary where I graduated with an M.A. Counselling degree. Finding my rooting first and foremost as a child of God has provided the foundation I need to be able to do my job well, and has alleviated any pressure of perfection. Presently I am loving God and using my gift of love for people in my role as a therapist in the city I now reside with my husband and two young children.

January 23, 2012


Review of Friday (Jan 13)- 21 Day Challenge


The Battle Against Temptation Won at the Edge of a Blade

By: Dwight Bennett


When I was little, and before I discovered movie editing, I used to play baseball. But I couldn't always find someone to play with (especially in winter), so I played the roof game. (You Throw a ball up your roof and catch it when it rolls down) My deck was only about as wide as our dorm rooms, so the throw and catch made for a pretty lame game. It was late winter, about as cold as it is now, and there was a snow pile level to my deck. My dad told me to only throw from the deck and not from the snow piles. But I was tempted to throw from a distance, so I did. My next throw was a little bit too low. Unfortunately my house had big windows. But fortunately I missed them. But I did hit our thermometer and busted it off the wall of our house. Then came the wrath of my dad...


Have you ever been tempted before? Yes? And out of those who have been tempted, have you ever given into temptation? Good, then perhaps what I say today can apply to some of you out there. How can we overcome temptation? Run from it? maybe. Fight it? maybe. Sit there and hope it will go away? probably not a good idea...What I would like to suggest is that we get our game plan from the only one who has never given into temptation. which is... (wait for someone to say 'Jesus')


Yes, Jesus!


In Matthew we get a great glimpse of how the perfect example setter, fights temptation. (read Matthew 4:1-11) Notice what Jesus does. It's simple really, he quotes scripture. Tell me, have many of you read the book Surprised by Jesus by Tim Stafford? I was read that book my first year and it explained Jesus' method of overcoming temptation in the most encouraging way I've ever heard it. Tim writes,
"He does not argue with him or rise up and assert himself as God's Son. What Jesus does is what every one of us is capable of doing, he quotes scripture. But not only does Jesus just quote scripture, but he quotes it intelligently, it is evident that he studied and memorized the scripture to meet the situation he faced. This teaches us that in regards to fighting off temptation, the response must be formed long before the moment. Jesus did what you and I could have done, he did not argue with Satan. He simply let the scriptures speak for him. Jesus shows us through example that we must know scripture, not to think that we are capable of fighting off temptation ourselves because that will fail us."


What I understood from Tim is that we cannot fight off Satan by ourselves. You might get a lucky hit in, dodge a few shots, but eventually, you will fail. Satan's coming at you with everything he's got and if you come to the battle unarmed, it's only a matter of time. What you need to bring is a weapon. But what kind of weapon do you need? Let's read about it... (read Ephesians 6:14-17)


I would like to suggest that the battle against temptation is won at the edge of a blade. the sword of the spirit. the word of God. Jesus shows us this. It was not his incredible willpower, his physical resilience, or his amazing hairstyle that fought off temptation. He let the scriptures speak for him.


Do any of you remember the Cotton Patch Gospel? (if not, we're doing it once more) Do you remember when Jesus was on top of the temple and was about to jump? He almost did, Geronimo-OH!... it also says do not test the Lord your God! He doesn't do anything impossible, he simply quotes scripture, lets his sword do the talking.


Going back to what Tim Stafford said, he says that Jesus, no doubt, had scripture studied and memorized so that he could fight temptation. He also says that we are capable of doing this. Some of you may be a little bit worried... "wait, I need to both study and memorize all the scriptures!?" Now before you get all worked up and discouraged, let me suggest something not as intensive.


Stay consistent in the word. Stay diligent. Stay consistent. Stay in the word.


In our Mark Mod, Tim Geddert laid out his strategy for memorizing mass amounts of scripture. It's simple really, read one verse till you've memorized it. then move on to the next verse. but don't go back to the previous verse even if you feel you've "forgotten it". Keep memorizing new verses, until you get to the end of your section. then start over. Sounds crazy right. wrong! It works. By reading it through so many times, the words sink in.


Now, think if you stayed in the word, consistently. would you not have words sink in to the point where you can recall them, and even wield them like a sword?


This is the point of my talk where I feel like I'm preaching to myself. So I apologize if you can't relate at all to this next part... November 11, 2011, at 11:11pm... Where were you? That was the day that a video game called Skyrim came out.


For the many of you who have no idea what that is, it's a game set in a medieval like setting in which you start out as a prisoner who is given a second chance in life. You start out with nothing and slowly gain armor, weapons, and skills throughout the course of the game. Your Goal: Kill Dragons. So there I was, playing this game. I was about to embark on a mission...The goal? give up all your equipment to be smuggled inside a heavily guarded embassy. pose as a party guest to get inside. retrieve your equipment, then retrieve some secret documents then fight your way from the inside out. I give up all my weapons and armor to be smuggled inside this building. Just then... a dragon attacks. I was caught off guard, I had no defense, no offense. you can guess what happened. As comical, or as completely unrelated as you probably think this is. I thought about it later as I was thinking through this sword of the spirit analogy. I was caught off guard! I had no sword with me! I had lost before I even began... I'm not talking about the game anymore... I have stood toe to toe with a 'dragon' in real life. and I didn't have God's word in my sheath. You can guess what happened.


Have you ever been caught off guard? been tempted, and felt as if you had no chance at resisting, so you gave up without even a fight? In real life, if a monstrous beast attacked me and I had no weapon to fight it, I would give up. here's no point in fighting. I don't think the spiritual world is much different!


Stay in the word. Arm yourself with the sword of the spirit. Let it do the fighting for you. It can. Jesus shows us that.


Let us go back to the young me... playing catch with himself. I hear a voice that says, "hey, this is getting boring, you should forget about what your dad said and throw the ball from farther away!" but imagine that this time, I had God's word in my sheath. I had the sword of the spirit with me. NO! The Bible says to honor thy Father and Mother! Begone Satan! how much better of an ending is that?


For those of you who are already wielding the sword of the spirit, God bless you! And for those of you who find themselves drifting from the word, I would like to challenge and encourage you to stay rooted in scripture. Take time to read scripture, to meditate on his word, and to be still. Our lives can get busy, and sometimes they are not busy, but what we seem to ALWAYS be able to do, is make excuses...


Have any of you heard of David Runcorn? He wrote a book called "A Center of Quiet: Hearing God when Life is Noisy" I've never read the book, I've never even seen the book, but it was quoted in our Mark textbook called "Trained by Jesus". He writes about Jesus taking time out of his busy life, "This was the secret of Jesus' life. This was where he found strength to follow the Father's will. When we follow him we must copy not only his words and actions but his silence and moments of solitary withdrawing as well. If Jesus needed those times, then we certainly need them more! Like the Disciples we follow him into the desert places. And in our turn, we must learn from him how to be alone and still."


I don't know if you guys remember Tim Geddert's talk on Monday. But he talked about new year's resolutions. And one of his points in keeping a resolution was to make Realistic Goals. Over the past few weeks Dave Carey, the Male RA's and I were talking about a 21 Day challenge. It is a challenge to stay diligently rooted in the word for 21 days. But the great thing about this is that it is not one of those things that you have to do by yourself. We will be taking this challenge on as a community. So I would like to invite Dave up to explain the 21 day challenge... (or invite you to read more, in this case...)


21 Day Challenge - Dave Carey

First, let me give you some background... forgive the length - I did make an attempt to keep it brief.



Some time near the end of August/early September I heard a message that challenged be significantly to (like Martha) spend more time "at the feet of Jesus". After some time of wrestling and another inspiring sermon by our own Joy Nokinsky, I was struck that intimacy does not just happen but it takes time as with any relationship being at the feet of Jesus needs to start with some simple dialogue and so I resolved to begin by having coffee every morning with Jesus. My hope was that this discipline of a daily coffee time with God would turn into something deeper than what I have understood as "devotions" my hope was that this would develop into some level of intimacy that would help me understand what it really means to be at the feet of Jesus. While I don't think I have a good grasp on what that really means yet I have learned a lot about this discipline and have experienced some real change in my life as a result of spending this time with God... (sorry - I'll stop there cause I wanted to keep this brief)


Okay so here's the challenge part:


As part of this process I decided to pick up Wayne Cordeiro's book "The Divine Mentor". In his book he speaks of his church's 20-20 program as well as a 20-20-20 program. Simply put 20min of reading from the Word (following whatever reading plan you choose as long as it is a plan and not just the close your eyes and point method), followed by 20min of journalling about whatever stood out to you from your reading. In the 20-20-20 program you simply add another 20min of sharing with a small group.


Adopting this 20-20 program into my life (as with most good things in our lives) I began to wish others could have this experience as well and starting thinking about a way to encourage our students to try this out for themselves. So I ran it by my RAs and Student Development and they liked the idea so I plan, on this Friday during Selah (after Dwight speaks on using the Sword), to issue a 21 day challenge to spend at least 40 minutes each day reading in and reflecting on the Word.


Here are some questions I'm sure your asking right now:


Why 21 days? - No real significant reason other then that "they" say it takes 21 days to make a habit.


When do the 21 days start? - Ideally that day. If the 21 days start this Friday (the 13th), then the 21 days would be complete the day Youth Advance begins.


Does it have to follow the 20-20 or 20-20-20 format? No - this is only a challenge so you are free to take it or leave it or adapt it as you see fit. The idea of the challenge is really about two things. Reading the word and reflecting on what you read (allowing the Spirit to speak). Too often I have found myself reading the Bible and just getting knowledge and history out of it but since I added this journalling part it have notice that I am convicted more often and find more directly applicable truth for my life. That being said, I know we are all different so if you think you have a better system then go for it. (I would just encourage you to make sure it's daily and that you spend quality time in the Bible rather than only reading a few minutes each day from a devotional book)


Whatever you can make work would be great - but please take some time to think through being a part of the challenge and join us for 21 days in the Word.


Thanks for reading through this and considering the challenge.

January 23, 2012

Do you have an alumni update, feature, photo, announcement, news item, etc?  Please send the information and/or idea to Daniella (SDA) at sdassistant@bethany.sk.ca.