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Dear NBBC Friends,
When I first walked on campus in 1997 with
some friends, I saw someone cutting branches off a pine tree. He waved
at us and greeted us cheerfully before continuing his work. I thought
that it was unusual for a “grounds maintenance person” to be so
friendly. I found out later that he was none other than Dr. Les
Ollila. For me, that brief encounter captured the NBBC “servant spirit”
in a most profound manner. The lives of many faculty and students
testify to what it means to “be great and serve.” I have learned at
NBBC that it is indeed pleasant and good for brethren to dwell together
in unity.
May the Lord continue to keep NBBC true to Him and to His Word.
HAPPY 30th ANNIVERSARY!
Sincerely,
Dolly Wong (Class of 1999)
???
Northland,
my alma mater, is celebrating 30 years this year. Taking a moment to
sit and reflect upon what Northland has meant to me has revealed to me
that Northland is not a collection of buildings set in Wisconsin.
Northland is the people that make it up, the folks who gave of their
lives to invest time into mine.
Isn't that how we give of
ourselves to others? We can't give our "life" to others except by
giving them blocks of time, building blocks of our life. The moments,
the minutes, the hours, the days… as we give those away we invest in
something. I am thankful for the investments made in my life by the
Northland folk.
My dad reminds me occasionally that we are all
products of what God and others have done. This is certainly true in
the case of Northland. Oh, I appreciate the learning on expository
preaching, the doctrines, the discipline in the personal life that I
learned, but as I visit back to the campus and stand in the rec. hall,
I realize that it’s not the couches, the fireplace, or the mailbox I
looked forward to each day. It was the people who gave of themselves to
invest in me.
As time goes on, I'm realizing how ungrateful
humans can be. There are many former classmates who have turned their
backs on those who gave so much to them. I read their writings or hear
news about their doings, and my heart is grieved. So much time invested
in them, and yet they are not grateful in the least, but turn around
and spit on those who taught them how to think, how to study the Bible,
how to live the Christian life.
I cannot control what others
may think or do, but I can do my part to say "thank you." Thank you to
all the many Northland people who invested in my life with theirs.
Praise the Lord for Northland! Thank the Lord for the people who have
made up the institution, from the faculty to the maintenance workers to
the kitchen workers! Their lives have impacted mine and will continue
to do so as those minutes march on.
Ben Everson (Class of 2001)
New Delhi, India, August 28, 2006
As a foreigner in post-British India, I have had many humbling
experiences. I have visited many friends who live in more than humble
accommodations. Occasionally, the shock of living in a culture that has
all but excommunicated foreigners and doesn't embrace our Lord Jesus as
a whole becomes more intense than I would like. Then, I remember the
training we had at Northland to endure for the Lord, be strong in Him,
and most of all, that a true leader is a servant leader! Reflecting on
the solid Biblical teaching I had at Northland helps me to remember the
value of being a servant leader, even if that means finding myself in
humbling circumstances.
I should get out that towel we got for
graduation in '94 and start "washing the feet" of our kind Hindu
landlords, the auto-rickshaw driver who cut me off in busy traffic
today, the homeless children who live under the flyover near our
street, my fellow laborers in the gospel who have boldly spoken God's
Word to the Imam of a massive mosque, the pastors who have been beaten
for the faith, the wealthy college students hanging out at the coffee
shop, the elderly lady with the funny loud mouth who presses clothes
with a coal-heated iron across the street, the tribal lady with her
grandson on her hip who brags about how her people get drunk at
weddings, the government officials who have not allowed my husband to
get his Person of Indian Origin card even though he, his mother, and
grandmother were all born here, our wealthy friends with the prayer
room filled with large idols who invite us over to dinner, and the
sweet believer who comes 5 days a week to help me clean up my messes
and wipe the pollution out of the house! I want to have an attitude of
humility and love toward my family and people here; a servant's heart.
Thank you,
Laura (Oesterle) Gillette (Class of 1994)
My
family has had ties with Northland for many decades. As a boy, I gave
up my bed when Dr. Patz stayed at our house so he could present the
Northland ministry in our church. My sister’s best friend was in one of
the first graduating classes at Northland. The graduations back then
were so precious as the men would make their way across the lake to the
amphitheater. My sister attended Northland in 1980 and that is when she
met Paul Hutchins who would eventually become her husband. Praise be to
God, they just celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary and their 25th year in the ministry.
Northland
Camp made such an impact in my life. As a teen, I would live for summer
camp and winter retreats. It was at camp after my senior year of high
school when Steve Pettit cornered me about my relationship with Christ.
Although I did not trust Christ that day, it planted a seed which I
desperately needed.
In the fall of 1989, I headed out for Northland
to attend Bible College. I am still convinced it was the faithful
prayers of my Mother which the Lord used to keep me out of the military
and on my way to Northland. Thankfully, during revival week my
sophomore year, God broke me; and I admitted my need for Christ. I will
never forget how Christ changed me that night, nor will I forget the
kind words of Coach Jim Phillips who helped lead me to Christ.
If I
could characterize what I feel helped me the most at Northland, it
would have to be relationships. I remember the evenings having popcorn
at the Ollila’s after ice skating in their front yard, the saunas at
5:00 a.m. with Mr. Cushman as we met together for prayer and
accountability, the stacked teams I enjoyed while playing ball with Dr.
Von, the lessons about work I learned at Maintenance from Boss
Steinwand and Pastor Smail, the example of being balanced from Dr.
Herron, my hug every morning from Mr. Bladine, the display of love and
consistency from Dr. Kimbrough, the meticulous care we must take of
God’s Word from Dr. Mac, a proper perspective of athletics from Coach
Scott, a little bit of “everything” from Dr. Lindsay, a second chance
at preaching from Dr. Bennett, and a servant’s heart from all of them.
I learned all of these things and much more because these people (& many others) were my friends.
I thank God for Papa Patz, his obedience to God, and for Northland Baptist Bible College.
For Him,
Jason LaFlamme (Class of 1993 & 2005)
Dear Friends at Northland,
Northland
has had a lasting impact on my life. Throughout the years I have been
blessed with either reunions or newly made acquaintances with students
or graduates from Northland. Also, there is the blessing of re-uniting
with or hearing about faculty and staff and how they have continued to
bless and be an encouragement in many people’s lives.
NORTHLAND
A school in the pines is brought to my mind.
The place where great goals are easy to find.
A place in the pines,
To ponder and pray,
To seek and to act,
And reflect every day.
To see loved ones saved,
Along with some students from there.
What glory it is,
For, in Christ, they do share.
Great “memories” linger;
So many were made.
With promise of “new ones,”
Friendships that won’t fade.
This place in the woods -
So much more it can do!
With “laborers” so many,
And a “message” so true!
Marilyn J. (Oatman) Pieri (Class of 1982)
Dear Friends at Northland,
Praise the Lord for this 30th anniversary at Northland Baptist Bible College in which we can rejoice.
The
impact which Northland has had on my life has been great. As a new
Christian of one year, the Lord worked in my heart to go to Northland
in 1985. The family-style atmosphere of 120 students was a blessing in
allowing us to get to know each other. Never having read through the
Bible before arriving at NBBC, the Lord used the instruction there to
guide me in this blessed journey in getting to know God’s Word and
seeing wisdom exemplified in the Lord’s servants.
I am thankful for
the prayers, patience and perseverance of the faculty at Northland.
Thank God for godly examples of student disciples of the Lord Jesus
Christ. These remain firmly embedded in my heart and mind.
Even the work experience from maintenance to the kitchen to security all helped form me in my growth as a young Christian.
Camp was a highlight. Praise the Lord for the many blessings and opportunities those seasons provided.
Our life as graduates is coming round full circle as we expect our daughter to go to school there next year.
We thank the Lord for Dr. Patz and his vision for a training center for servants and laborers for the His harvest.
To God be the Glory,
Larry Pieri (Class of 1988)
Some Things Never Change by Bill Halladay
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