Our history in a timeline Wilhelm Steinhilber, former head of administration and archivist, was already an old man when I met him for the first time. The noble old librarian was walking his little dog on the Mission Mountain. He greeted me in a friendly manner with his walking stick and asked: “Well, what should we say about this?” At first I didn‘t understand what he meant and said that everything was fine. When we met again, he asked the same question. “Well, what should we say about this?” It slowly dawned on me: his greeting was a question posed by Paul in his letter to the Romans. “What shall we say about this?” The apostle answered the question himself: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). The wise brother Steinhilber wanted me to answer the question. And thus make a basic statement of the Bible my own: God is for us. His heart beats for us. So much so that he gave his own son for us. This knowledge has comforted and strengthened me for 50 years. Even in times of temptation and despair. ERNST GÜNTER WENZLER Whoever is easily offended needs to quit taking offense at everything. ERNST VATTER In a faith, life and learning community of young people, there is not only stress, but also a lot of fun. For over ten years, I lived in the same house as the young women in our seminary, right next door to the matron. After a Bible study lesson on the book of Joshua, I received an unforgettable lesson: the “walls of Jericho” were piled up in front of our flat, and between the walls, i. e. boxes, were tempting Ferrero Rocher sweets. It didn‘t immediately occur to us sisters that these shiny golden delicacies had anything to do with the treasures of Jericho, which a certain Achan in Joshua 7 had unlawfully plundered. The punishment followed immediately – for us too, although not as severe as for Achan: our Rochers were filled with mustard! SISTER IRMGARD WIELAND In the Romans exegesis lesson, Sister Irmgard Wieland explained the principle of sanctification to us: “The cow‘s tail grows downwards!” By this she meant that as sanctification progresses, we realise more and more that we are sinners and in need of grace. STEFAN LANZ Quotes & anecdotes Klaus Hoppenworth in Hebrew class to Dave Jarsetz, a student at the time: “I‘m amazed at the certainty with which you emphasise incorrectly.” ULRICH STEIERT SHAPED FOR LIFE 2 The foundation O The German branch of the China Inland Mission is founded in Hamburg-Uhlenhorst on 13 November. First missionary O Heinrich Witt is sent to China on 31 December as the first missionary of the new organisation. “China‘s Millions” O A dedicated mission magazine is published under the name “China‘s Millions” (today: “Mission weltweit”). 1899 1899 1900
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