7 minute read

International students feel at hom e at LBC

After 28hours oftravel, twoyears ofplanning began to materialize asJoash Mutua of Kenya, Africa, stepped off a Greyhound bus in Lynchburg one cold January in1979.

"Itwas 3 a.m and I was met by a black man who spoke in an accentI couldn'tunderstand,"Joash said. "He asked me if Iwanted a cab Ididn't understand what he meant so Iasked where Icould find ataxi."

Having worked out the misunderstanding, the international student was on the last leg of his journey to LBC

"I felt so overwhelmed when Ifirst saw the sign forLiberty Baptist College on Route 29," he said "It would be hard to explain my feelings; I don't think I sleptat allthat night."

Although almos t 9,000 milesfrom family or familiar surroundings, Joash feels that acceptance and hospitality have made him at home atLC.

"IfeltIcould be loved by anyone," Joash said "It seemed that lost of people were interestedingettingto know me Ifeltright athome."

Back in Kenya when Joashrealized his calling to the ministry,he began lookng for a college that would not onlygive him Bible, butalso academic training He had been corresponding with a friend, Patrick Obingo, who was already a student at LBC. Through Patrick'sencouragementJoash decided toapply

"It was rough all the way," Joash said "There was so much money needed for the transportation and tuitionthat theprovisionofthesefunds was proof that the Lord wanted me here."

Arriving in Lynchburg in thewin- ter presented Joash with hisgreatest frustration—the cold. The average temperature in Kenya is acomforable 78 degrees and itnever snows there, according toJoash

"Ithought I was going todie from the cold," he said."I had come very unprepared for the weather; all I brought with me was an overcoat and no warm clothes."

Meeting theproblem head-onalong withother cultural differenceslike the differencesinfood and thecommunicationproblem, he graduallyadjusted tolifein Lynchburg

Joash saidthe missions faculty has been exceptionally helpful to his adjustment to LBC Th e Bruckners, he said, helped him to understand many of the cultural differences that faced him daily "Whe n I would talk to them it waslike talking to my own people,"he said. "They met my needs in a very special way."

The hospitality of his host family, assigned to Joash by theInternational StudentsOrganization, alongwithhis roommate's family, proved to be a greatencouragement tohim when he first arrived.

"Iwas determined tostay here and study for at least four years,"Joash said,"yet itseemed like itwould be lesstime while Iwas with my family inKenya."

Joash has now been away from his family for two years and is praying for the finances to get home for Christmas break in1981

Joash willbe graduating in 1982as apastor's major and plansto continue hiseducation at Liberty BaptistSeminary.

-John Schlesinger • hen international student Noric Ratous stepped offajet at New York International Airport, he became a man without a country Noric isan Armenian Iranian, and the day he arrived in New York City the United States Embassy inTehran had been taken over by radicalstudents.

Noric had been serving inthe Iranian army up to two months afterthe Shah left the country Given theopportunity,he decided to come tothe UnitedStates.

After finishing language school Noric went back toNew York, where hegotajob and livedwith some relatives.There, he noticed a difference between Iranians and Americans

"Peoplewere much kinder thanthe Iranian people,"he said Inhis off hours, Noricwould spend some timeexploringdifferentareas of New York City

"One night Iwas atTimes Square and I came upon some people who werepreaching and witnessing onthe street,"Noric said.'T found outlater that one of the men was Tom Mahairas of Manhattan Bible Church They invited me to attend their church."

Having grown up in a Christian home and having been aChristian for a number ofyears, Noric didn'tmind thehour-long subway rideto services atManhattan Bible Church—he welcomed thefellowship

"Itwas atManhattan BibleChurch that Ifirst heard about LBC," Noric said. "When Pastor Mahairas cameto campus tospeak inchapellast yearhe invited me to come along I was so impressed with the students and the school that Idecided toapply."

Noricbegan his studiesinthesummer of 1980 and is now pursuing a major ineconomics

-John Schlesinger D

1 l m hile touring the refugee ^JL# camps in Thailand in ^ ^ 1980,Dr.Jerry Falwell met and was guided by a Thailanese girlnamed Sue

Today Sue isa student atLBC.

While in Thailand,Sue worked in the refugee camps for the Cambodian refugees as a nurse's aide and interpreter She worked at Sakeaw Camp in Prachinburi and had todiscontinue her high school education in order to do the work she was so burdened for

"Ijust couldn't stay back and watch the people suffer,"Sue said. Itwas while working at the camp thatSue met Dr Falwell and received his invitation to come to LBC.

"While at the camp Iwould see television men come and go, she said, "but there was something different in Dr Falwell's personality Isaw he was a man with a kind heart,that he would reach out topeople."

Before Dr.Falwell left the camp he asked Sue to finish her high school education and continue her studies in the United States atLBC. Sue was determined to do just that.

The next few months Sue made her way to Portland,Ore.,where she completed her high school education When she finished,she contacted the college and was told she would be accepted at LBC.

"I felt like Iwas on cloud nine, when Iheard that Iwas accepted at the college,"shesaid.

Sue,though homesick at times, is happy at LBC She plans to use her education for the good of her country in thefuture

-John Schlesinger with Sherry Perry •

A s young boys growing up in the Soviet Union, Peter and Nickolai Pankratz and Alex Ertel refused to becalled "children of communism."

As a result they were mistreated by teachers and ridiculed by classmates

Children beginning school inthe Soviet Union in the mid '60swere classified as "children of commucnism," and were identified by wearing a red star with apicture of Lenin in the middle of it By the time the child reached third grade a red scarf symbolized a "youth of communism," and upon graduation the student became a member ofthe Communist Party.

Peter, Nickolai and Alex refused towear the pin and scarf because they believed in God

Unfair treatment became a way of life Grades were lowered and Christians were discussed as aclass problem

"Ionce had to stand in the corner every day for one month becauseI wouldn't wear the star,"Nickolai said,

In 1974,Peter, 15,and Nickolai, 17,were granted permission toleave the Soviet Union and move to Germany because they were born of German parents and had relativesin Germany Alex joined them in Germany three months later.

Upon reaching Germany,Peter and Alex continued their high school education while Nickolai went on to an additional threeyears of school which assured him ofa better job in the future.As a Christian in Russia, additional education whould have been impossible

"Sometimes they would letyou study a whole semester but then throw you out at the end ofthe semester so you wouldn't get any

credit,"Nickolaisaid

Alex said the opportunity toleave Russia made him "jump forjoy."

"Leaving Russia was thegreatest joy we've ever experienced,"Peter said

Because of religious freedom in Germany the three young men began singing in public church services instead of the underground church in the Soviet Union.

"We had been singing since we were small boys," Nickolai said "When we were four,our father stood us on a chair and told usto sing."

After one year in Germany,Peter met a girlnamed Lilly ata church service.In three years they were married.He also met Jack Wyrtzen, of Word of Life International,who convinced him to attend the Word of Life Bible Institute in Schroon Lake,N.Y Peter was 19 when he and his wife came to America and began tarveling regularly with Jack Wyrtzen.

One year later Nickolai and Alex also came to America to attend the Bible institute.

They learned by trialand error

"After we were here two weeks, Jack told us we were going togive our testimonies in a meeting," Nickolai said."Of course we had to do it inEnglish."

"We learned by doing a lot of talking," Petersaid.

Peter, Alex and Nickolai graduated from Word of Lifein 1980 and are presently attending LBC. Besides regular studies, the trioiskept busy traveling toBible conferences and churches toprovide specialmusic.

The singers plan to begin an evangelistic ministry in the future which would include radio broadcasts,meeting and conferences.

-Paul Stoltzfus

Student Life-International Students/29

• ebster's dictionary callsit a disadvantage,but John Reeves, LBC freshman, says it'sall in the mind, Both Webster and Reeves are talking about the word handicap.

Reeves was born with crippling cerebral palsy,yet he doesn't consider himself handicapped.

"I think the greater handicap isin the minds of others," Reeves said. "My only handicap is when others limit me."

By the time Reeves was 2 years old,the disease had progressed to where he could only walk with the aid of braces or a walker. For ten years,Reeves was confined to these aides

By the age of 12 Reeves had undergone a series of surgeries that finally made him able to walk on his own With the help of physical therapy he was able to regain strength in his legs. or they would be discriminating, so I got the job," Reeves said "It was hard at first, but after a while 1got used to itand was working eighthour shifts like everybody else."

"In the summer of '78 I took a job working at a camp for the handicapped," Reeves said "This helped me to relate more to people with the same conditions as myself, and made me able to see how my -. —:« m -w 1 \mir-^fi^nc rmiln help them."

The next year Reeves took a job as a grocery carry-out person for a local grocery store chain.

There were many times when Reeves found his physical condition would get in the way of his work

"Many times my foot would give out and Iwould fall,spilling all the groceries," Reeves said,"A few times Iwas almost hit by cars."

That year Reeves was awarded the prize as the number one grocery carry-out for all six of the store's chains.

Reeves pushes for achievement in spite of his limitations,yet he finds times when it is hard to accept

"There is not a day that goes by when Idon't find something thatI would love to do and can't because of my condition," Reeves said "In high school Iwas excluded because others worried that Iwould hurt myself Living like this,you can build psychological walls around yourself and you begin to think, 'I am weird.'"

For this reason, Reeves not only "I have to get up every morning practices physical therapy but also exercises his motivation. and look at myself in the mirror and say I'm as good as anyone else," Reeves said

Although physically handicapped since birth, John Reeves doesn't consider himself handicapped, "it's all in the mind," he says.

Reeves said he wants people to look at and accept his condition and even make jokes about it.He wants them to look beyond his handicap, below the surface of John Reeves, and get to know him as a friend

"I have many personal aquaintances and many people know my name, but they don't know me," Reeves said,"I want them to accept me as a good friend."

Reeves takes negative frustrations like these and mends them into positive output in poetry.

"The thing that Ihold onto most beyond the Bible is my ability to

This article is from: