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Towards a More Vital Church

I have the interesting task of working to disseminate the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. One fact became clear to me as I taught History of the Church at different times and to various groups of schools and churches in South America: it is probable that the reality of the Adventist Church today would be very different without the fearlessness of men and women of the past that embraced by faith the Gospel of Jesus and surrendered all to spread it.

In this small book I would like to highlight two important things. First of all, some actors have been overlooked when telling the story. I am referring particularly to the work of women as evangelists, teachers, health promoters and more. To forget their legacy projects in us a devoid future. To rescue their valuable contribution motivates us to follow their example and to think about the empowerment the Spirit of God can give to all who accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Why tell stories?

Why tell stories? God comunicates with us telling us the story of how He relates with human beings. The stories in the Bible are testimonies of life. Those stories are there to make us think about the work of the Spirit of God among humans. But the work of God in the heart of humans and his mission does not end there, it extends to our present time. This book seeks to listen to the stories of those who in the past have been susceptible to the voice of the Holy Spirit and have been co-workers with God in his mission. This opens up a window for us to see how others saw themselves and what they did. There are various reasons why it is important to read or listen to other tell their stories.

Stories connect people

Above all, stories create a community. So it was with Gëorg Riffel. He arrived in Argentina as an immigrant, but the economic hardships that locust brought to the harvest led him to migrate to the United States where one of his brothers had established himself with his family. Both attended some meetings in Kansas, United States, given by Adventists and accepted their beliefs. His heart was burning with this hope and he communicated with his friends who had stayed in Argentina. One of them, Reinhardt Hetze commented in a letter that he would be willing to accept these beliefs if there were other believers who accompanied him. So it was that Gëorg returned to Argentina and brought with him other families of self-supporting missionaries to share their testimonies of life and relationship with Jesus. And so the families of Osvald and Eva Frick, August Yanke and wife and Adam and Eve Zimmermann arrived also. It was when they shared their stories that they wrote history with other people. It was when they developed shared experiences that they made friendships. They sought common experiences and related at those levels. That is how these missionaries created a bond with the people who lived at their missionary destination, and they found hearts willing to accept de Gospel. Every nation and every culture are connected by the stories lived together. And the first Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South American Division was formed with these first self-supporting missionaries in the lands of the Crespo Campo area, in the province of Entre Ríos, Argentina.

Stories define who we are

The first missionaries identified themselves as Seventh-day Adventist christians. In their narratives they defined the importance for them of believing in the sure hope of the coming of Jesus. That was what redefined the new situations they encountered. The first missionary families arrived to share their story with the friends they had left years before and their boldness brought new challenges to the Adventist Church. They started to write to the General Conference requesting they send more missionaries. It was then that this story became the book from which other people could learn about decisions, successes, failures, attitudes and more.

Stories provide meaning to our experiences

Past circumstances help to explain our present experiences and give meaning to our existence. Thus, common experiences lived with other persons gives shape to our own history. And so it was with the first missionaries. As they told about the challenge of reaching different places of the vast South American territory, the General Conference decided to send other missionaries. In 1891 the first colporteurs arrived in South America, Clair Nowlen, Elwin Snyder and Albert Stauffer. Later, in 1893, Richard Craig arrived to be in charge of a book depot and the work of the colporteurs. Craig and family set up home in Buenos Aires. They made the first attempts to establish in their own home, a school for their children and others interested in receiving education. In this way, each missionary started to put their story side by side with the story of others, as when we pile bricks, and start to give shape to what today we know of the Church and which is part of our lives. Our past helps us to make sense of our present, and that can strengthen us to choose a better future. The stories of others help us to not feel alone with ours. Last year’s events, even of yesterday, are part of our own drama. In fact, someone said that the only way to repeat the mistakes we sometime made is to forget the past.

Stories are theological autobiographies

For those who believe in God, stories tell how the Word became flesh in each one. They tell about God’s presence in the tragedies and celebrations of life. Our story is inscribed in the great narrative of the cosmic conflict —the novel of redemption—. Our life is a very important chapter and that puts our life in perspective. When we have the advantage of the past, we see God’s plan is overwhelming. The part our life has to play gives us hope and meaning in tragedy and sorrow, and gives courage to move forward.

The zeal of the first missionaries was passed on to others to extend the good news in distant lands. Not all missionaries where young. I remember Lucy Belinda Post who became the first single woman who volunteered her services to go to South America. She was inspired by the stories she heard of the missionaries in South America. Although she was almost fifty, Lucy did not hesitate to accept the challenge. Lucy arrived in the month of July of 1895, in mid winter. Shortly after her arrival, Lucy spent some time with her brother Zina’s family in Nueva Palmira, Uruguay. After five weeks, on August 31, 1895, Lucy organized the first Adventist congregation in that country: a Sabbath School of more than twenty interested persons whom she had visited since her arrival.

The stories of these people create hope

While we listen to the stories of other people, we can accept and affirm God’s presence in their lives and in ours. This confirms in us the power of hope. Hope enables us to shift our gaze from our own pain and fix it on God. He helps us to overcome those times affirming our hope in Him by the stories of others and our own.

That is why the Adventist Church takes care of sharing and carrying hope to those who suffer in this world because of health problems or evils caused by the economies of this world. I particularly remember Olav Oppegard. He was a Norwegian missionary who worked on a volunteer basis, without pay. He canvassed to support himself and sold healthy products that he received from Battle Creek, in the United States. Shortly after studying nursing at Battle Creek, he established himself as the first health missionary to arrive in Buenos Aires, Argentina, around 1895. By treating the health problems of the people, he opened doors to their hearts to listen to the Gospel. Also the women missionaries who settled in Buenos Aires, like Mary Thurston-Westphal, Sadie Graham-Town and Lucy Post gathered food and clothing to take to the hospitals and other places in town. They promoted health and hygiene talks. These initiatives caught the attention of many persons to listen to and accept the Adventist beliefs. Shortly after, pastor Frank Westphal was asking the General Conference to send a doctor and more nurses to this territory. Caring for those in pain brings hope and makes present through his missionaries God’s presence among those who suffer.

Each story is a gift, a treasure in the world

There will never be two stories exactly alike —nor yours, nor the stories you hear—. This makes us think about how wonderful God is! This is the reason why each story is so important. God ordered that each chapter of his great history was written. It is an integral part of the history of grace.

What I am is the only part of myself in the universe. My unique story is the most excellent gift I have. If I don’t tell it, it will remain silent… By rescuing and sharing it, it becomes a sacred treasure, a gift to be used in restoring the lives of everyone it comes in touch with.

For this reason, this book wants to remember the echoes of the stories of several missionary women who, with hope and faith in their hands, scattered them like seeds in so many corners and places of South America.

The first to accept the Adventist beliefs in South America were infected by the strength of the hope that burned in the hearts of the first missionaries.

It is incredible how momentous “any” story may be, that is, our life, each moment or situation, and more so when we accept to be partners with God to spread his grace.

I imagine that in your country there are also interesting stories to tell that define the place the Adventist Church occupies today where you live. And most importantly, history doesn’t end with what happened in the past, it extends to the present, of which you are a part, and projects you into the future. Undoubtedly, nothing of what we know today would be possible without what others did in the past, and this compels us to think that all that we do today will be part of others in the future.

Your relation with others will define better your story in the plan of salvation. How? That part is yours to reflect upon. I invite you to read about the commitment and dedication of women whose stories we will tell in this book. I long for you to join us and see what God can do through you in the great matrix of the history of grace.

At the beginning of the 20th Century, the writer Ellen G. White said,

We greatly need consecrated women who, as messengers of mercy, shall visit the mothers and the children in their homes, and help them in the everyday household duties, if need be, before beginning to talk to them regarding the truth for this time.1

Therefore, the purpose of these reflections on the lives of several women pioneers is to generate consciousness about the legacy received by their leadership under the influence of the Spirit of God.

We will start with a brief description of the historical, social and political background of that time mainly in Argentina, that was the country that saw the result of the work of most of the women whose biographies have been written.

The Lord bless the readers so they may develop their abilities and gifts received from the Spirit of God for their personal growth and that of the church.

1 Ellen G. White, Review and Herald (July 12, 1906); Ellen G. White, Evangelism (Washington, DC: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1946), 459.