Evangéliumi Hírnök, 1999 (91. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1999-01-01 / 1. szám
Whither Thou Goest* ... is the amazing story of a modem day Ruth and Boaz. How God used a background of war, disaster, and family separation to bring His two children together will touch your heart and increase your faith. American missionary Karl Faulkner found himself stranded in Poland with war breaking out and doors to sharing the Gospel closing all around him. Such were the circumstances which forced him out of Poland into Hungary, and eventually made him return to the United States. Had Karl misinterpreted the messages he’d received directing him to witness to the Jews of Eastern Europe? His answer would come years later, when he was contacted by the Red Cross. A family that had befriended Karl in Hungary now sought refuge from the Communist regime and needed an American sponsor. They were bringing friends with them, one of which was to become Karl’s wife. Terezia Toth left behind all the world she had ever known — her relatives, church, and ability to earn a living even her language and social customs when she and her companions arrived in the United States. Thanks to the sponsorship of two Baptist Churches in Oregon, they were well provided for. But everything was different and strange. Life would be so much easier living among other refugees in California. Why was God asking her to stay behind and marry a man she did not know, who didn’t even speak her language? Yet Terezia was willing to echo the words of Ruth, “Whither thou goest, I will go... committing to follow her husband wherever the Lord led. It was a vow that would try her faith and take her to the brink of reason. The end result was to become a marriage built on mutual devotion and endearing love, yielding eternal fruit blossoming in the garden of Paradise. 8. oldal_________________________________ * New Book: Whither Thou Goest, The Story of Karl and Therezia Faulkner A Modern- Day Ruth and Boaz as told to Sheila Brenda Stevens. ($8.00, including shipping)For order or information contact Therezia Faulkner at: Ebenezer House, 757 Jackson Avenue, ARDSLEY, PA 19038. Phone: 1-215-887-3531 Ask Therezia Faulkner about her other three books written in the Hungarian language. IN MEMORY OF ELIZABETH RUTH BAN BORN: OCTOBER 5,1927 DIED: JUNE 2,1998 Elizabeth Ruth Ban was the second child, first daughter bom to Suzannah Petmsan Ban and Joseph Ban. They were active members of the First Hungarian Baptist Church in Homestead, Pennsylvania. A family service of memorial was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her brothers Joseph, Julius and John and her sister Elaine and members of their families in attendance. The memorial service was led by her older brother, Joseph D. Ban, Emeritus professor of Christian Ministry, Divinity College, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. After appropriate readings from the Holy Bible, the family heard these words: “We are here to celebrate the life of our sister and friend. Elizabeth Ruth, or Ruth, as we called her, attended Munhall public schools. After graduating from high school, a friend encouraged her to submit her application to Westminster College in Pennsylvania. It was probably a good thing that Westminster both admitted her and provided a scholarship before our dad, Apa, ever knew that his daughter was going to college. Even a Hungarian father who believed that women did not belong in college, on the one hand, must recognize, on the other hand, that it is a nice honor to have your daughter admitted to Westminster and with a fine scholarship. In all fairness to the memory of our father, he did support all of his children in their efforts to acquire learning and career skills. World War II ended during Ruth’s college years. Upon graduating with her baccalaureate, Ruth began her teaching career at Hickory, Pennsylvania. After a year of teaching, she felt led to enroll in Andover Newton Theological School in Massachusetts. She earned the Master of Religious Education degree. There followed a year of work as Director of Christian Education and, as well, Director of the Day Care school at a Southern Baptist Church in Winchester, Virginia. Following this, she returned to public school teaching in Coral Gables, Florida. Ruth had a loving interest in her several nieces and nephews during her lifetime. In her regular conversations with her brothers and sisters, she always wanted to know of each child by name. For a few years, Ruth returned to Pittsburgh where she was employed as an executive secretary in the offices of a corporate pension fund. But in 1961 she moved to California to teach in the Los Angeles school system and there she found her place. She enjoyed her teaching and found great satisfaction in her work. She found many friends among the Hungarian Baptists who had settled in that metropolitan area. Whenever one of her brothers or her sister and their families visited her in her pleasant home on Gorham in Brentwood, Los Angeles, she made certain to take them to her school and have them meet the school principal and her classroom. Elizabeth Ruth had an excellent reputation as a school teacher, as attested to by the many letters sent to her by parents and former students and by the testimony of her fellow teachers who spoke to Karen and John Ban and to Arline and Joe Ban in Los Angeles. Elizabeth had been teaching in Los Angeles thirty-four years when she retired in 1995. She was a fiercely independent personality and did not confide in her family or her friends in the East, that her health was failing, other than admit that her foot was bothering her. In our last conversation by telephone, she began by saying, “Joe, I hear you are worrying about my health.” When I said that I did have serious concern, she told me many things but assured me that she was doing all right. Her family members owe a debt of gratitude to John Ban and his daughter Vicky who flew from Philadelphia to Los Angeles to be with Elizabeth Ruth in the final days of her active life. They provided care and I am certain that their presence beside that hospital bed made those last days more comfortable for Elizabeth. How does one sum up the life of a person? We all remember how lively and vivacious she was and how much she cared for her family. She was generous in providing for the comfort of her parents in their later years. She loved her family and appreciate her friends. In California, Elizabeth Ruth found satisfaction as a teacher and enjoyed the support of good friends. She knew joy, a goodly measure of contentment and happiness. It is the place she wanted to be. It was the life she wanted to live. She leaves her family and her friends with a void in our lives, but with a sense that while she lived, she enjoyed where she was and what she was doing. Without a doubt, Elizabeth Ruth would affirm: “My lines have fallen on pleasant places, I have a goodly heritage.” (Psalm 16.6) Dr. Joseph D. Ban 1999. január
