Read the underlined verses

We all model our lives on stories we’ve heard and the people who exist in those stories. There are, of course, the biblical accounts of God’s people and Jesus. But there are also stories closer to home. The stories of our parents, grandparents, or people we hear about often make a profound impact on who we are and what we work at becoming.

This series looks at some of those stories as told by people within our Canadian Mennonite Brethren church family.

Lawrence and Selma Warkentin

How do missionaries stay encouraged? Lawrence and Selma Warketin, long-time missionaries in Austria and Germany, recall how they derived unexpected hope from the good that came out of difficult situations.

They tell the story of the Pressler family who came to their mission church in Austria one day because the Warkentin’s son had invited one of them to Sunday school. The Presslers eventually joined the church and took on various leadership positions. A few years later the father, a dentist, became ill and died.

When Austrians attend memorial services, they come respectfully dressed in black. However, one Pressler son, Guenther, had gotten mixed up with young folks involved in drugs and alcohol. Instead of wearing black to his father’s funeral, he wore torn jeans and a grungy sweatshirt. It was embarrassing for the family and people of the church, as Guenther’s clothes and attitude were seen as a sign of disrespect.

Guenther Pressler

Some 10 years later at evangelistic meetings in Wels, Austria, Lawrence was greeted by a well-dressed young man who addressed him, “Grüss Gott! Onkel Warkentin.”

“Who are you?” asked Lawrence.

“I’m Guenther Pressler,” the young man responded.

Lawrence couldn’t believe his eyes. He wouldn’t have recognized him.

Then Guenther related his story. Some time after the infamous funeral, Guenther had inherited, among other things, his father’s Bible. He began to study it. But he read only the Scripture passages his father had underlined.

God spoke to him through those selected verses. Eventually Guenther came to know Christ and changed his bohemian lifestyle. He even had the opportunity to share his testimony at several Christian businessmen’s banquets in which his father had been involved.

In 2006, when Lawrence spoke in the Wels congregation, it was Guenther who led the worship service.

Lawrence and Selma were amazed by the transformation. As they reflect on this story, they rejoice in how God worked through a father’s underlined Bible to bring a son to serve the Lord. Accounts like this sustained the Warkentins as missionaries for more than 40 years.

Lawrence and Selma have recently taken on part-time pastoral ministry at Clearbrook MB Church, Abbotsford, B.C.

Ken Reddig is director of the Centre for MB Studies, Winnipeg.