Trumpet W i n t e r
My Heart’s View of God
PEACE RIVER BIBLE INSTITUTE
2 0 1 7
President’s Message: Waldie Neufeld
President’s Message Often our hearts function as the center of our universe with God orbiting as a planetary being. Our beliefs about God will affect the outcome of our spiritual journey. We may say we believe in God, but what we turn to in a moment of crisis exposes our actual beliefs. Our beliefs about God then become crucial for our spiritual growth. In our last Trumpet, our discussion revolved around the part our heart plays in spiritual change. This Trumpet explores how our view of God impacts the process of becoming conformed to the image of Christ. How we see God does impact our spiritual journey! When Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on water, where were his eyes? On Jesus! Then the circumstances of life, the waves and the wind, drew his eyes down, down, down to his abilities. 1
Waldie Neufeld
The question then becomes, what do our eyes focus on when the winds and the rain whip against our soul? Do we actually turn to God or the ice-cream in the fridge? What we do turn to exposes what we believe about God. When I worry about PRBI student numbers and finances, I immediately reveal my reliance on our efforts. One central place where we expose our perspective of God is in the area of how we view ourselves, which gets revealed especially in a moment of calamity. When we question who we are or how people see us, we search for affirmation in multiple ways, rather than looking towards God’s affirmation. When I began to notice this area in my life, I sought to identify all the ways I was seeking affirmation from others. One way I used to gain applause was to simply say I was not needed, which brought an instant response. Others
My Heart’s View of God use service or their depth of knowledge, etc., to gain the positive shot in the arm. But what then are we saying? We are saying that our value rests on those around us and not God. At that moment, I place myself in the hands of those around me. No wonder then that people can so easily offend me. Goldsmith penned the line, “He who seeks only for applause from without has all his happiness in another’s keeping.”1 Applause is fleeting at best and provides nothing to cling to. Luther pointed out, “Whatever your heart clings to and confides in that is really your God, your functional Savior.”2 Our god often becomes what others think of us and we perform accordingly. What a weird world to find ourselves in, especially considering that people do not spend much time thinking about us. So who is God to us? Yes, we can enumerate God’s attributes of
love, patience, kindness, etc., and our theological positions. But the greater question is what do we really believe when the rubber meets the road? When I allow my anxiety to rise over budget issues here at PRBI, I quickly expose that my god is others, not God Himself. Not only does a crisis expose the discrepancy between our knowledge and our theory in use, but it also exposes either our lack of knowledge about God or our wrongheadedness about God. For example, of the disciples, Peter most clearly (Mk 8:32) did not want to accept that suffering was part of the plan and dare I say, we are no different. We desire a theology of comfort rather than a trail of tears, yet trials put us in touch with God and develop character (1 Pe 1:6-9). Should we not focus in on who God actually is? 2
The discrepancy between my knowledge about God and my theory in use became very clear to me one day when I “happened” to read Proverbs 9:10 and then Galatians 1:10. The author in Proverbs wrote, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” and Paul penned, “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God?” Something happened in that moment of time, which—I’m sure—many can relate to. I clearly understood Paul’s comment and thus Proverbs came into focus. I live, often very subconsciously, doing things to please others, and in that sense then, live in fear of them. The author of Proverbs and Paul both encouraged us to live like that before God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Actually, living in the fear of the Lord leads to the abundant life that Jesus promised (Jn 10:10). My fear of God is not one of abject horror, but aweinspiring fear that pulls me Godward, much like my fear of others pulls me to do what I think they desire. If I see who God really is, I will be drawn heavenward. The challenge then of growing spiritually will be to catch the difference between my theological positions and my theory in use. Here I am quickly reminded of Jesus’ methods of exposure with the disciples. “But He answered them, ‘You give them something to eat’ (Mk 6:37), or better yet, Jesus used their field of expertise to expose their operating system, as in the following: “Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat” (Mk 6:45). He exposed their temporal mind-set 3
and tried to move them to the eternal. First, we look to see what’s in our hands and Jesus directs us to God. Second, we fixate on the task and Jesus calls us to himself. Third, we do it “my way,” and Jesus beckons us to follow him. Things that we need to keep in mind as we move forward in our spiritual growth are as follows: from the fall Trumpet, we explored the state of my heart, and then in this issue, what’s my road view of God. Now, think of the challenge that young people face as they try and handle their problems. If we find it difficult (Je 17:9) to discern the depths of our heart and our perspective of God, then those who are beginning the journey will find it equally as difficult or more so. Please pray for wisdom as we guide them ever closer to knowing God, for openness about our journey, and for our ability to train disciple-makers for Jesus Christ. We also invite you into this grand enterprise through your eternal investments. Waldie Neufeld, Ph.D. President Waldie has been at PRBI for 26 years. He enjoys teaching the Gospel of Mark on disciple-making. He and his wife, Sharon, have four children.
[1] Oliver Goldsmith, The Good Natur’d Man. (England, 1768). [2] Martin Luther, “Luther’s Large Catechism: God’s Call to Repentance, Faith and Prayer. Trans. John N. Lenken (Minneapolis: Luther Press, 1908), 44.
From Our Faculty Picture yourself at a small group meeting studying a book of the Bible. You are at your friend’s house on a comfortable couch with your favourite cup of specialty coffee in your hand. The niceties of greeting one another, getting a snack, and finding a comfortable seat are over and you are now immersing yourself in some book of the Bible trying to find out what a passage means and how it applies to your life. You are excited to study this book and to see what the group has to say about this particular section since you had a little trouble grasping it through the years. If your group is like most, the leader will have someone read the section for tonight and then proceed to discuss it either verse by verse or by asking questions on the topic. Either way, sooner or later you will hear the familiar question, “What do you feel this passage means?” If you are anything 5
Jason Gayoway
like me, you will give an answer based on how you feel at that moment only to come up with a much better one on the way home. Sometimes people criticize the study of the Bible as being too subjective. The refrain is that a passage can mean whatever you want it to mean. No doubt, we can be subjective in our interpretations but the study of biblical interpretation, known as hermeneutics, has given us a template for going about studying a passage in an objective manner. Today I will summarize the five steps to proper study of the Bible as given by a popular hermeneutics textbook. Step one is to find out what the passage meant to the original hearers. It is an acknowledgement that the Bible was written a long time ago to a culture different from ours and in a dead language. This step has
Five Steps to Studying the Bible three subsections: literary context, background, and grammar. Literary context is the part of step one that most of us are best at. For the most part, this involves reading the passage in context and trying to figure out the perspective and logic of the author. Someone willing to read the chapters before and after the one they are studying has already gained a good understanding of the literary context. Learning the ‘genre’ of the book is the only mystery here. Genre refers to the style of writing the author used such as parable, narrative, or prophetic. Some of the genres are quite familiar and take little effort to understand while others (like poetry) can trip up your interpretation since they have special rules. The ‘background’ of a passage is the history and culture that frame it. Someone who studies the life of
Christ for example should know a few things about the culture of the first century. Almost all of us who grew up in the church can recite something about Pharisees and Samaritans but our recollections might be inexact. Zondervan recently came up with a multi-volume set of Bible background commentaries that deals with useful topics according to the chapter of the book we are studying. Studying the original languages of Scripture is often the most intimidating part of step one. Students often ask, “Why bother studying Greek when we have such good translations?” I agree that we have some awesome translations and that no one has to learn Greek or Hebrew to understand the gospel. Yet my goal is to understand the Bible as completely as I can and doing this requires some knowledge of the original languages. Few of us 6
have the time to study those languages but one thing we can do is to consult a ‘technical’ commentary. The technical commentaries seem intimidating since they refer to grammatical terms like ‘aorist’ that we might not be familiar with. Yet they routinely explain the significance of such terms in understandable English and are a great resource. The Word Biblical Commentary series and the New International Greek Testament Commentary series are two good examples. Well, after finding out the literary context, background, and grammar we are finally finished step one! Whew. Thankfully, step two is less involved. It asks us to analyze the difference between the original hearers and ourselves. Duvall’s hermeneutics book calls this ‘measuring the width of the river’. In some passages the river is so narrow that we can skip right over without much trouble. Jesus’ call for us to love our enemies in Matthew 5:44 seems to jump over cultural barriers and can be interpreted as if it was said to us today. Other passages like the warning not to cook a baby goat in its mother’s milk may require us to search more for the principle behind the command rather than obey the verse itself. Step three is the process where we look for timeless principles in the passage that apply to anyone in any time. Sometimes this is known as the theology step since we find principles that relate to the rest of our beliefs. Usually we are already compiling these 7
principles while we are going through step one. The danger here is that we are tempted to interpret the passage based on our existing theology rather than allowing it to say something new to us. Step four is similar to step two in that it is a check to see if our conclusions fit with the rest of the Bible. An example is the passage that mentions baptism for the dead in 1 Corinthians 15:29. It is a difficult section to understand but one thing I know is that it does not recommend baptism for one’s unbelieving dead relatives since other passages clearly state that God judges us on our own actions. The final step is application. We try to take the principles we derived from the passage and apply them to our lives. As I said above, sometimes we can apply a command or piece of advice directly to ourselves if the river is narrow enough. Even then we should think through different scenarios of how the principles could be worked out in the modern world. Students often make their applications too general. I hope these steps bring you closer to understanding God’s Word as you use a keen mind and an open heart to hear what the Spirit is saying. Jason Gayoway Faculty Jason has served as PRBI faculty since 2008 and as Pastoral Ministries Chair since 2013. He is married to Jill and they have two children. [1] Namely, Duvall and Hays, Grasping God’s Word 3rd edition.
Please mail to: Peace River Bible Institute PO Box 99 Sexsmith, AB T0H 3C0
Student Spotlight Leadership Exposed Being at PRBI has been an amazing experience for me especially in the area of growing in leadership skills. This is my second year of being a care leader and I know that I still have a lot to learn. One thing I have realized is that a leadership weakness I have is that I tend to merely manage rather than lead. This year, it finally made sense that managers are people who do things right, but leaders do the right thing. One instance brought this concept to light for me. Instead of talking to my care group I was simply managing them, making decisions for them about their discipleship times without consulting them. Though this was efficient management, it was not leadership. This all came to light one day when I was talking with my discipler. 9
He challenged me to not just manage, but to grab the bull by the horns, so to speak, and lead. It was my fear of others and my fear about the workload being too great that was holding me back. Talking this through with my discipler inspired me to actually step up and have those conversations that I had decided were not important. It helped me to begin to understand what it meant to be an effective leader. My leadership opportunities at PRBI are exposing areas of my life where I need to grow. Because of this exposure, I am becoming more self-aware and through that am becoming a better leader, which is preparing me well for being a leader outside of PRBI. I am grateful that PRBI gives students opportunities to learn to lead. Robby Schallhorn 3rd year
Christ’s Identity By Faith What has God done in your life?
This is my third year at PRBI and this year I am serving as a resident leader in the dorm. Part of my job is to get to know the girls on my floor, walk alongside them, and encourage them as they learn more about God. Perhaps my favourite part of this role is learning how to have heartto-heart discussions. There have been many times when girls come to me for advice or for someone to cry with. Through these instances, I have once again been reminded that I need to put my identity in God. Throughout the last year or so, with the help of some great friends, I have come to realize that I put my identity in many things rather than in God. Whether it is in my work ethic or in what others think of me, I struggle to know who God is in my life. Circumstances over the last few months have caused me to revisit this issue and actually try to change things. I am learning to place my identity solely in God. Now I know this is not a onetime fix kind of situation. There are times when I have to intentionally reroute my thinking and direct it back to God. In 2 Corinthians 10:5 it says “...taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” My prayer is that I will be able to truly let God into every part my life. Even though I still have a lot to work through, and am not even close to knowing who God truly is in my life, it is so cool that God is choosing to work through me as I lead others.
“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” Mt 6:26 Last year my wife and I made the decision to move our young family of four to PRBI so that I could study to become a pastor. We were overwhelmed because we did not have enough money saved but believed that God was calling us to be obedient and to begin studying. Looking at our budget, we realized we only had enough money for the first semester. By faith, we carried on, and God did provide for our needs. There were several times that we were given gifts of cash anonymously. With those gifts and with the bursaries we received, we were able to continue without going into debt during my first year. Heading into my second year (the current year), I had not earned enough money during the summer to pay for my tuition. We had prayed and asked God to provide, tried to walk by faith and believe that He would send the needed finances. When the school year began, we were still short $3,000 and I was unsure how I was going to be able to continue my studies. However, about a week into the school year donations of $3000 were anonymously contributed to my school account. God took care of us again. All of this has taught me to walk by faith. Praise God for His care, and for His body of believers who walk this journey with us.
Hannah Luymes 3rd year
Sam Retzlaf 2nd year
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President’s Message: Waldie Neufeld
Development Message A few years ago a movie called Moneyball told a story about a struggling Major League Baseball team who used mathematics to assemble a winning team from a group of overlooked players. This approach revolutionized the game of baseball as we know it, creating a new element to the game called analytics. This concept caught on so well that teams now hire mathematicians, not just scouts, to help select their players. The problem though is that the competitive advantage is becoming less and less as more and more teams use this approach. The question then becomes, what will be the next big idea for Major League Baseball that will revolutionize the game? In my mind, the Chicago Cubs have already figured it out and it does not relate to math at all, but to good character. In 2012, the Chicago Cubs lost 101 games—moneyball wasn’t 11
Jeremy Johnston
working for them. Team President, Theo Epstein, had an idea. He decided to build a team by screening for character (soft skills) not merely statistics (hard skills). Epstein believed that the way players handled failure was of the utmost importance not just their skill. Detailed examples of how players faced adversity on the field and off was required for each scouting report. Epstein wanted character and his roster began to show it.1 In 2016, just five years after losing 101 games, the Chicago Cubs won 103 games. Of course the story does not end there, they were also the World Series Champions in 2016, coming back from adversity, being down 3-1 in the series. This World Series victory broke their century-long losing streak that dated back to 1908. The Curse of the Billy Goat was no match for a team with great character. At PRBI we have been preaching
this character concept for years (Co 1:28). Skill is not enough, you must have good character too. While hard skills are required, they do not ensure that our students will win the game, which is why we help them with their soft skills too, which includes their character. In October, our students did a food drive for the Town of Sexsmith. While most care groups were scheduled to go door to door, I selected one care group to sort food at the Town Office. It was a beautiful day outside, so needless to say this care group was a little disappointed that they were indoors. A few days after the food drive, I received word from someone in the Town of Sexsmith office about how well our care group did, and it had nothing to do with their food sorting skills. What was admired was their character. You see, that day, a group of teens also came to help sort the food. Our care group grabbed ahold of the opportunity and lavished the love of Jesus on them. Apparently, one of them rarely talked, but felt so loved by the care group that she wouldn’t stop talking! This caught the attention of the Town Office staff as well as the volunteers who supervised the teens. They were amazed at what had taken place and are wanting to try and connect with PRBI’s students in the future so that the impact of that day can continue in these teens’ lives. You see, it was not their sorting skills (hard skills) that counted, it was their character (soft skills). What we have realized at PRBI is that the soft skills are what tends to make the impact. Of course we do focus on education, the hard skills,
but we have learned to not stop our training there. Our discipleship focus works on the soft skills, bringing the concepts from head to heart, which creates a well-rounded mature student. Would you consider partnering with us financially so that this type of discipleship training can continue? Donations can be given online at www. prbi.edu/give, over the phone (780) 569-3962, or by mail addressed to PRBI PO Box 99, Sexsmith, AB T0H 3C0. Thank you for your partnership with us. Jeremy Johnston Director of Development Jeremy (g ‘09) has been on staff at PRBI since 2009. He and his wife Leah have two young children, Jasper and Silas. [1] http://qz.com/798934
GET INVOLVED LEGACY GIVING MONTHLY GIVING SCHOLARSHIPS & BURSARIES BE A PRAYER PARTNER REFER A STUDENT 12
Bob Balisky Memorial Bob Balisky, resident of Goodwin, Alberta, passed into eternity on October 17, 2016, at the age of 76. Bob was the ninth of ten children born to George and Nellie Balisky, who were heavily involved at Peace River Bible Institute and Bear Lake Bible Camp. He grew up on the Emerson Trail, attended Canuck Country School for high school and one year of college at PRBI. He graduated from Olds College in 1960, and married Ruth Peters on July 14, 1962. Bob, with Ruth, and several brothers, homesteaded the Goodwin area in 1964. He and his youngest brother, Terry, farmed together for 40 years along the Emerson Trail and then worked together in other business ventures. During some of the homesteading years, in order to support their dream of farming, Bob and Ruth lived in Arizona, working on John Wayne’s Ranch, among other jobs. In the Grande Prairie area, Bob was involved in many businesses, including Prairie Coast, and served his community on many boards. A keen outdoorsman with a love for God’s creation, he was always looking for the next thrill either on horseback or in the air. He was an avid horseman, hunter, lover of
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1940–2016
everything campfire, and competitive team-penning and cattle-sorting. He had a great love and heart for youth. Much of this passion was expressed through the annual Balisky Rodeo for the support of Peace Country Wilderness Camps. He had a unique way with people, making everyone feel valued and welcomed. The coffee was always on. He was a master delegator and could turn the most mundane jobs into a party. A devout Christian, Bob was a contributing member and leader in the Bezanson Community Church. He also served on the Board of PRBI, avidly supporting for decades. His life was a testament to God’s faithfulness. Bob will be ever missed by his loving wife Ruth, and their children: Lois (Tim) Toews, Celeste (Dale) Emerson, Susan (Terry) Emerson and Wade (Aubrey) Balisky (all but Tim are alumni of PRBI). Thirteen grandchildren and one greatgrandchild follow in his steps. He was predeceased by three siblings: Ralph (Jean), Kathleen (Mark) Landis, and Calvin (Barbara). Remaining are two sisters and four brothers: Ruth (George) Foxall, Eileen (Bill) McLellan, Larry (Lorraine), Dan (Joyce), Paul (Lila), and Terry (Marcia).
2016-2017 Upperclassmen
ENROLLMENT ENROLLMENT UPDATE UPDATE
REACH (1 YEAR): REACH: 5 5
FOUNDATIONS(1(1YEAR): YEAR): 27 FOUNDATIONS 27 BBS (3 YEAR):
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BBSGENERAL (3 YEAR):STUDIES: 13 10
GENERAL STUDIES: 10 ACS (2 YEAR):
24
ACSBRE (2 (4 YEAR): YEAR):24 25
BRESTUDENTS: (4 YEAR):54 25
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Discipleship at Home Follow Me I would love to say that my husband and I have succeeded in being the best disciplers of our children. I would like to say that we have been able to teach them, through example, that Jesus can use them as ordinary people to do extraordinary things. But the truth is that we are still learning how to be disciplers. What I have learned is that discipleship is truly a teaching by example. In order to show my children that they are loved by a most amazing Jesus, I have had to walk the journey of accepting that amazing love myself. Discipleship is not rules or “to-do’s”. It is showing, through our lives, that the most important thing is loving Jesus and teaching them to do the same. Some days that means that discipleship looks like discipline, some 15
days it looks like a hug, some days a listening and attentive ear, and some days it looks like praying over a child who is scared at bedtime. Discipleship means loving them, serving them, and building intentional relationships based on authenticity—not perceiving them as a project. What I have realized is that I cannot teach my children how to be a disciple unless I can show them what a disciple looks like as they follow me. They are not going to follow and learn from Jesus unless I too am willing to follow and learn from Jesus. My words about who Jesus is will mean nothing if my actions do not show them who Jesus is through my life. So how do we disciple our children? By showing them how we follow Jesus ourselves. Colleen Hiebert Kitchen Administrator
Discipleship With My Son
Listening to God
“Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Pr 22:6 It was during my quiet time one morning that I felt the Holy Spirit whispering these words, “Darrel, you spend hours each week building into and discipling young men at PRBI. What are you doing for your son?” With Tim’s permission, our weekly time began and we have met every Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. for almost four years. I did not have a formula in mind. We initially talked about the week (good and bad), sharing a verse or two and then praying together. I tried to bring in personal examples from my life as well as challenge Tim with things I saw in him. As time went on we tried other things. We read through two books of the Bible, taking a chapter each week and then sharing things we learned. Often I felt Tim was discipling me! We also worked through the teen series called Moving Toward Maturity and recently we have been watching the Focus on the Family DVD series Does God Exist? This time together has given me a platform for deeper discussions and provided opportunities for Tim to ask any question he wants. About a year ago Tim said these words: “Dad, I don’t know how I would have got through the last couple years without our time together each week.” What a joy it has been connecting at a deeper level with my son and speaking truth into him. All it takes is willingness, initiative, commitment and a little bit of creativity. Go for it!
You shall teach them diligently to your sons (and daughters) and shall talk of them when you sit... walk... lie down and when you rise up. De 6:7 I believe that during the years our children are maturing, exposing them to God will be the strongest influence that we have with them. One of the pictures that I get from the opening verse is that we need to be showing them God’s characteristics all the time. How can we invest this into them if we are seldom with them? Sharing with them how I see God in everyday moments, over a long period of time, helps directly connect their hearts to Him. One of the ways my wife and I invest this into our children is by spending time teaching them what we call listening prayer. We do this by regularly spending time being still before God, asking Him to speak to us, and seeing what He puts on our hearts. Over time we have seen the fruit of this practice. One day I was visiting at a prison and my wife was at home putting the kids to bed. As she was practicing listening prayer with the kids, after a couple of minutes of listening, my son prayed the exact same prayer at almost the exact same time as I was praying with one of the guys at the prison. Right after that prayer, this guy accepted Christ into his heart. Seeing this Ifruit has reminded me that building would like to: their relationship with Prayer God will Receive monthly Alertsbe the greatest,Receive most information life-changing on lesson we starting a scholarship/bursary could ever disciple them in.
Darrel Schmidt Dean of Students
Facilities Manager
Receive information about Legacy Giving Cornie Giesbrecht
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College News GLOBAL MINISTRIES CONFERENCE
For our Global Ministries Conference, we asked our speakers to speak on Acts 1:8, breaking down our sessions into Jerusalem (our community), Judea (the Peace Country), Samaria (Canada), and the ends of the earth. Thank you Tristan Kruse (Grande Prairie Alliance Church), Mel Siggelkow (Rising Above), Nelson Senft (La Glace Bible Fellowship), and Kim Cairns (PRBI Faculty) for sharing the Word with us and doing a great job.
TOUR TEAMS
We will have two tour teams on the road this spring. Earthen Vessels (drama team) will tour in Saskatchewan, and Highest Call (music team) will tour in Northern BC and Alberta. If we are heading in your direction, and you would like to host a team, please email tourteam@prbi.edu or call the college (780-569-3962) and ask for Jeremy.
GYM UPDATE
This facility has already created brand new opportunities to offer sports and fitness programs to our students and the community. So far 80 community members have purchased memberships and that number is growing each week. Wednesday evenings we have a scheduled community drop-in for playing volleyball and basketball. The seniors walking club, Women’s Basketball Association, and Sexsmith Vipers (Bantam B) hockey team are already using our gym and enjoying it. That said, with the colder winter months still coming—not to mention the New Year’s resolutions that have been made—we anticipate many more community members using our facility along with our students who are already in there every day. 17
President’s Message:
Financial Update
Waldie Neufeld
Peace River Bible Institute Statement of Operations and Budget Jul 2016 - Nov 2016 Revenue
tudent Revenue Student
General Income Sales
Fees & Other Programs
& Non-Program Fees & Services
esidence Rental Rental
Income
onation - Undesignated Donations
- Undesignated - Designated Total Donations
onation - Designated Donations
Total Revenue
Expenses
Income To Date
Annual Budget
% of Budget To Date
477,843
1,120,500
43%
24,462
70,241
35%
80,998
210,000
39%
220,575 2,700 223,275
791,000 77,500 868,500
28% 3% 26%
806,578
2,269,241
36%
Expenses To Date
Annual Budget
% of Budget To Date
cademics
Academics
165,945
398,972
42%
tudent Life
Student Life
138,221
330,269
42%
108,383
270,986
40%
131,791
325,504
40%
77,993
178,611
44%
234,691
592,793
40%
67,239
147,098
46%
-
10,000
0%
2,000
15,000
13%
-
-
ood Services Food
Services
evelopment
Promotion & Development
dmissions
Admissions
dministrationAdministration
Maintenance
Facilities & Maintenance
tudent Aid
Special Project
tudent Aid
Student Aid
thers
Others Total Expenses Net Income (Loss)
926,263 (119,685)
2,269,233
41%
8
Excludes Amortization Expense
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Alumni & Staff News BIRTHS BURLET, Dustin (g ’07, Staff ’11–‘15) & Rebecca welcomed Daisha Susannah Burlet into the world on May 11, 2016, at 8:22 p.m. Daisha weighed 7 lbs 9 oz and was 20 inches long. Her two older brothers, Malachi (5) and Ezra (3) thoroughly enjoy having a baby sister to wrestle, cuddle, play with, and are already “showing her the ropes.” Daisha is indeed a joy, full of smiles and squeals of delight. As a brief update, Dustin is working on his second year of PhD studies (Old Testament) at McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, ON. Rebecca is on maternity leave and is a full-time mom, etc., after a brief stint at Turtle Jacks as a salad chef. DAHL, Cody (g ‘08) & April (g ‘04) along with their 5 children (Ezra 8, Abigayle 6, Sophia 4 1/2, Hannah 3, and Olivia 2) are thankful for the safe arrival of Charlotte April Dahl. Charlotte was born July 21, 2016, weighing 6lbs 4 oz. The Dahl’s make their home in Sexsmith, AB. Cody works as an operator at Weyerhaeuser and serves as an elder in their church. April enjoys staying home with the children. MCCOMISH, Steve (g ’11, Staff, May ‘16–present) & Amanda (g ’09) Our family continues to grow as our third little roustabout, Lincoln William, arrived on March 16, 2016. Two weeks after Lincoln arrived we moved from Calgary to Sexsmith. Steve started work as the Athletic Director for PRBI.
WEDDINGS ESAU, Blaik (ug ’15) & Shelby (Burton, ug ‘15) were married May 21, 2016, and are living in Sexsmith, AB. Blaik is working for Assure Energy Services in the Grande Prairie area. Shelby is attending Northern Lakes College studying to become a health-care assistant.
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FOSTER, Justin (g’14) & Katelyn (Nordli, g’15) were married July 30, 2016, and are living in Sexsmith, AB. Justin is a financial adviser and Katelyn is currently working at the community library and a children’s tumbling club. LEONARD, Kyle (ug ‘14) & Paige (Burton, ug ‘16) were married June 25, 2016, and are living in Sexsmith, AB. Kyle is working as a horse farrier as well as setting up frack ponds in the Grande Prairie area. Paige is busy at home fulfilling her new role as wife.
UPDATES PIO, Justin (g ’09) & Ami Justin writes: My call to cross-cultural ministry began during my time at PRBI. After four years at PRBI I served a seven-month internship in Portugal with Greater Europe Mission. Upon returning I felt God showing me some areas of growth I needed to work on before I would go back into full-time ministry. One was to pay off my debt, and another was to gain a skill set that could be used worldwide. During the last 8 years I have paid off this debt, got married to my beautiful wife Ami—we have two wonderful daughters, Luna (4) and Lily (2)— and completed a journeyman ticket as a heavy duty mechanic. Last year we applied to serve with Greater Europe Mission as long-term missionaries in Lisbon, Portugal, and we are excited to say that we will be moving there in early 2017.
WITH THE LORD FRIEBEL, A. Jon “Jack” Jack was born on November 17, 1927, and passed away unexpectedly, albeit peacefully, at Vancouver General Hospital on September 1, 2016. Jack was a student at PRBI from 1945 to 1947. He had a heart for God and a heart for missions. Jack had a 25-year career with BC Tel after which he served 16 years with Operation Mobilization (OM) overseas on the M.V. Doulos before “retiring” in Vancouver. His servant’s heart took him to many charities and mission organizations assisting in various capacities. Jack was a representative for OM and would attend PRBI’s Global Ministries Conferences. In the late 1990s and early 2000s Jack worked a number of summers at PRBI doing maintenance work. He is survived by his children Robert, Lynn, Wayne (Cathie) and Melanie, and four grandchildren: Mitchell, Adam, Cassandra and Curtis, and two great-grandchildren: Jeremy and Natesa. 20
SUTHERLAND, Robert “Bob” Wilson Bob went to be with his Lord, peacefully during his sleep, at Village at Mill Creek on November 7, 2016, in Kelowna, BC, at the age of 88. Bob was born December 21, 1927, in High Prairie, AB. Bob came to know the Lord at the age 12 and his faith was most important to him. After finishing his schooling he went on to further education. From 1952–1954 he attended Peace River Bible School in Sexsmith, AB. Bob married his sweetheart, Shirley, on June 15, 1957, and had 60 wonderful years together. He then went on to graduate from Shaughnessy Hospital as a nursing orderly. Bob and his family moved to Terrace, BC, in January 1969 where he worked at Mills Memorial Hospital until he retired in 1992. Bob enjoyed gardening, canning, camping, and playing Phase 10. He loved to support and pray for many missionaries over the years. Bob is survived by his wife, Shirley, his children Joy (& Steve, Tyrell, Rylan) Cox of Kelowna, BC; Vance (& Wendy, Naomi, Matthew & Abi, Elyse, Joelle) Sutherland of St.Vincent/Grenadines; Val (& James, Jesiah, Mahaelee) Wedel of Calgary, AB; his sister Ruth Rieger of Grande Prairie, AB, and many extended family.
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COMING EVENTS
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February 3 Circle of Friends
April 22 Graduation Ceremony
March 9–11 eView
October 19–20 Global Ministries Conference
About PRBI About PRBI: PRBI is a Canadian Degree Granting Bible College in Sexsmith, Alberta, founded in 1933. PRBI is known for quality academics and its highly relational culture that purposefully fosters an atmosphere of spiritual growth. PRBI has a distinct commitment to train students in a thorough knowledge of the Word of God and to train students to become disciple-makers whether at home or abroad. PRBI’s educational model purposefully integrates the academic learning experience with an experiential learning component making us a Bible College for Life. Vision Statement: To train believers to become disciple-makers who know God, model His character, and are able to build into others the life-changing principles of God’s Word.
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The TRUMPET is the magazine of Peace River Bible Institute that is comprised of contributions from faculty, staff, alumni, and students who are passionate about making disciples in their churches and communities. Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the Holy Bible, New American Standard Bible (Copyright 1995 by The Lockman Foundation). All rights reserved. If you would have any comments please email us at development@prbi.edu. Printed in Canada.
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Peace River Bible Institute Box 99 Sexsmith, AB T0H 3C0