NEGenWeb Project
Resource Center
Religion in NE
A Miracle of the Prairies
|
14
|
A MIRACLE OF THE PRAIRIES
|
|
Thou art the God that doest
wonders: Thou hast made known thy strength among the peoples.
--PSALM 77:14.
The wilderness and the dry land
shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the
rose.
--ISAIAH 35:1.
Remember them that are in bonds,
as bound with them.
--HEBREWS 13:3.
|
|
A MIRACLE OF THE PRAIRIES
|
15
|
Pastor Dahl's Arrival in
Axtell
In the late fall of 1912, a
young Lutheran clergyman and his family were looking out the car
windows of one of the transcontinental trains that was moving
(according to the ways of reckoning in those days) rapidly
westward over the sunlit prairies of central Nebraska. There was a
feeling of expectancy, for they were approaching the little
village that was to be their new home. As the train lessened its
speed and the first houses of the village came into view, the
young clergyman turned to his wife and, with the seeming
enthusiasm of one who has just made a happy discovery, exclaimed:
"There is the place for the institution."
If anyone overheard the
exclamation of the young pastor and expected to see something
unusual, in the direction indicated by his index finger, he must
have been disappointed, for all he would have seen that afternoon
was a little rise in a rather sere and bleak cornfield; but it was
quite different with the speaker, for he had a different
perspective.
That afternoon of December 9,
1912, marked the arrival of the first pastor of the newly
organized Bethphage Lutheran Church of Axtell, Nebraska; for
Pastor K. C. William Dahl with his family was about to start his
pastorate in this congregation. Although he was a gifted preacher
and showed remarkable zeal in proclaiming the Gospel, it soon
developed that his calling from God in the community of Axtell was
not so much that of shepherding a congregation as to found a
colony of mercy for epileptics, feeble-minded, and otherwise
unfortunate persons.
It is not surprising to learn
that it was only a few weeks after his arrival at Axtell that the
first steps were taken to realize this desire to help these
unfortunates. In a small periodical called "Guldax" or "The Golden
Ear," that was published by the Kearney District of the Lutheran
Augustana Synod, there appeared in the January number the
following invitation: "The deep desire of my heart is that, as
soon as possible, an Inner Mission Society may be organized. Its
object shall be to encourage, in a suitable manner, Christian
charity among the feeble-minded, the epileptics, and idiots. Those
whom the love of Christ constrains to take part in this work are
heartily invited to meet in the Bethphage Church, Axtell,
Nebraska, at 2 o'clock, Wednesday afternoon, the 19th of
February.
(Signed) K. G. William Dahl"
Bethphage Inner Mission Association
Organized
The day arrived. There is
no one that can better tell what happened on that historic day
than the one who had so longed and yearned for its coming. Dahl
had recorded the following in his diary for that day: "When I
arose, I felt rather depressed in spirit. The significant day was
now here. Once again I searched my heart with regard to my motive.
I also went to my knees and with tears called on the Lord for help
and assurance. I prayed that He should bring my plans to naught,
if so were
|
16
|
A MIRACLE OF THE PRAIRIES
|
|
His will. After that I felt calm and peaceful. Pastor and Mrs.
Swanberg with John Bergman from Holdrege arrived on the morning
train. The following train brought Pastor and Mrs. Berg and their
children; Pastor and Mrs. Holmquist had arrived the preceding day.
Pastor and Mrs. Lonnquist and Martha arrived in the forenoon by
auto. At 10:30 a. m. I invited the brethren and Mr. Bergman to my
study, Dr. Ostergren followed. I presented my plans to them and we
discussed them. The brethren seemed to have their doubts, but were
nevertheless not contrary. Lonnquist did not say much but was
sympathetic in regard to my plans. At one time he said, 'I feel
that we should let Dahl have his way and realize his ideal.'
"At twelve o'clock we had our
midday meal. My wife, Mrs. C. V. Johnson, and Stella Johnson had
happily arranged all. After the meal was over I took the
opportunity to withdraw to my room and bow the knee in secret
prayer. The church bell rang and we departed. The meeting had been
announced for 2:00 o'clock and fifty persons were present as we
arrived in the church. We first sang Hymn No. 66 (Swedish Hymnal)
and then I read Mark 9:14-32 and led in prayer. After this I
presented my plans and hopes in regard to the establishment of a
farm colony for the most unfortunate among our people. I read
several excerpts from my daybook in regard to Gustaf and my
struggles for the feeble-minded.
"After my presentation of the
subject based on the words: 'Am I my brother's keeper?' the
pastors, Swanberg, Berg, and Holmquist, and Dr. Ostergren also
spoke. All heartily endorsed my plan. Following this Mr. Ludwig
Larson distributed slips of paper upon which those who desired to
he charter members could write their names. Far above my
expectation, I found the number to be more than fifty. Then I
declared, in the name of the Triune God, that the Inner Mission
had been organized; whereupon we unitedly thanked God in prayer.
Maybe it was as Swanberg suggested - 'an historic moment in our
church.'
"Our first duty was to elect a
secretary. Pastor Jesper Holmquist of Minden was elected. I was
elected president; Pastor O. C. Berg of Funk, vice president; Mr.
A. A. Gustafson, treasurer. The name of the organization was to
be: The Bethphage Inner Mission Association. After this I read my
proposed constitution and a committee consisting of the elected
officers, Pastor Swanberg, and Mr. John Bergman were elected to
consider it and present a resolution at our next meeting; which
was to be held on the third Wednesday in May. The meeting closed
with a prayer by Pastor Swanberg and the song, 'O Jesus Bliv
När oss.'
"Then several came forward with
their membership dues, as it had been decided that the annual dues
should be one dollar and the life membership should be twenty-five
dollars. Pastor Holmquist preached that evening, at which time
some others were added to the membership. Pastor Lonnquist, who
could not be present at the afternoon meeting, telephoned that he
and his wife also wanted to be members. At the close of the day
the membership had reached fifty-seven."
Something unusual was happening
out on the prairies of Nebraska that afternoon, thirty years ago.
Little did that small group, who banded themselves together in the
Name of the Lord, realize that with the passing of the years there
would be thousands added to them. The God
|
|
A MIRACLE OF THE PRAIRIES
|
17
|
given purpose that caused them to join hearts and hands was to
have a marvelous appeal on others with a like mind. To those who
that afternoon placed their offering on the altar of Christian
service have been added a multitude, with a similar heart of
compassion, until today the voluntary gifts that have been placed
on that altar are counted in the hundreds of thousands.
At the time of the organization
of the Bethphage Inner Mission Association there were many that
wondered at the hurry and zeal of Pastor Dahl in regard to this
project. Some were skeptical, for they felt that it was just a
dream of a youthful enthusiast, and that after the first glow of
enthusiasm had subsided, his dream would vanish in thin air. Such
was not to he the case.
The Contributing Causes
To appreciate the zeal of
the young pastor, it is well to remember that his desire to
establish a colony of mercy was born out of several contributing
circumstances. The first and foremost of these came almost by
accident. Pastor A. E. Fogelstrom, the founder of the Immanuel
Deaconess Institute of Omaha, Nebraska, had during the first
decade of our present century made a trip to Europe for the
purpose of studying institutions of Christian charity. Among other
places, he visited the Bethel Institute at Bielefeld, Germany.
This institution of mercy was at that time still under the wise
and consecrated leadership of Fredrich Von Bodelschwing. He had at
this place developed a colony for thousands of epileptics,
feeble-minded, and otherwise afflicted persons. A visit to the
well-ordered homes for these unfortunates and to see how they were
cared for by consecrated deacons and deaconesses had made a
lasting impression on the American pastor, who was then pioneering
in the field of the Lutheran diaconate.
It was during this visit of
Pastor Fogelstrom at Bielefeld that he also made the acquaintance
of an English woman who was visiting the Bethel Institute for the
purpose of gathering material for a hook. A short time after this,
Miss Julie Sutter published her findings in the interesting
volume, "A Colony of Mercy: or Social Christianity at Work." When
it was completed, she sent a complimentary copy to her new found
American friend. He relived his visit at Bielefeld and was
convinced that this book should be made available to his friends
in the Lutheran Augustana Synod. Strange as it may seem from our
point of view, he felt that it should be translated into the
Swedish language, for that was the language used largely by his
fellow churchmen.
Fogelstrom did not feel that he
could do this at that time. He was however informed that one of
the young students at the Augustana Theological Seminary in Rock
Island, Illinois, could do this, for he had already shown ability
in translating works of English into a very readable Swedish. This
young man was K. C. William Dahl. Fellow students of Dahl, now
still living, tell of how he would often read passages of his
|
18
|
A MIRACLE OF THE PRAIRIES
|
|
translation. It was always with a warm enthusiasm for the
cause, rather than his production as a translator, that caused him
to share his discovery with his friends. During those days God was
sowing seed that was to be watered and nurtured by the Holy Spirit
and to bear fruit; there were dreams that were to be realized on
the prairies of Nebraska.
It is no wonder, when Pastor Dahl
had launched his project and felt that things were moving in the
direction of his cherished ideal, that he made plans to visit the
real Bielefeld and get firsthand information for his hoped for
colony of mercy in America.
The translation of "A Colony of
Mercy" was completed, published, and sent out on its errand of
love. It was probably read more after the advent of the Bethphage
Mission than after its first publication. The completion of DahI's
theological education also came to its "finis," and he was
ordained into the Gospel ministry on a call to St. Joseph's
Lutheran Church of White Rock, (now Rosholt) South Dakota.
During his stay there things
happened that also contributed to feed the flames of love for the
mentally unfortunate. Of these experiences he had the following to
relate: "As pastor out on an Indian reservation in South Dakota I
often had painful experiences regarding the method by which the
simple-minded sometimes are cared for. It was related to me one
day, that one of our church members, an old bachelor who for a
long time had lived alone in his house, had become insane. He had
read schismatic and necromatic books which led him to brood over
religion. The people had not dared to leave him alone, but had
taken him to Sisseton and placed him in the jail there. As soon as
opportunity presented itself I went there and found the wretched
man sitting in his cell reading his New Testament. By a table
outside the lattice door the jailkeeper and a few other idlers sat
and played cards, using language of jesting and profanity. What a
surrounding for a poor insane man who suffered from brooding over
religion! To be sure this was a jail, but the conditions are not
much better in some state hospitals where card playing, billiards,
dancing, and theatre going belong to the daily program.'
After two years on the home
mission field in Dakota, young Pastor DahI accepted a call to
serve as assistant to the Director of the Immanuel Deaconess
Institute of Omaha. This turn of events brought him into intimate
connection with the heart of Christian mercy in his own church.
Here he had an active part in the training of the diaconate and
learned much in the practical application of this consecrated
personnel. Unknowingly, he was in a training school preparatory
for his new field of duty.
It was while in this deaconess
institute that he had an experience with an epileptic and
temporarily insane man, that to a marked degree challenged him to
promote a colony for these unfortunates. His reference to Gustav
on the day of the organization meeting of B.I.M.A. was an
experience that came to him during his Omaha days. In the first
issue of the "Bethphage Mission Messenger" he gives a detailed
account of that experience. It tells of his attempt to care for
this man at the Immanuel Hospital and later of some harrowing
happenings at the County Hospital. The impressions received while
befriending Gustav were such that it convinced Dahl more than ever
that a Christian institution should
|
|
A MIRACLE OF THE PRAIRIES
|
19
|
be maintained by the church for these mentally sick persons,
that were totally dependent on the state institutions for their
care.
Dr. Adolf Hult, who was pastor of
the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Omaha at that time, tells of a
chance meeting he had with Dahl. It throws light on what was
transpiring in the heart of the man. We quote: "One drizzling day
in Omaha, December 23, (1911) Pastor Dahl and I met on the streets
of that city. He had visited the county hospital, where a poor
laborer of Immanuel had been placed on account of mental weakness.
Dab] deplored that Gustav was there. I told him of a rich
Quaker whom I met on a train to Boston about 1894, and who had
given me this amazing fact, that 'We Quakers never bring our
members to the public institutions. We care for them ourselves.' I
can still feel the iron grip of Pastor Dahl's hand as with that
glowing eye of his he brightened to deepest joy, when I said, 'Why
cannot we do the same?' He told me of what that spark in the
tinder of his mind meant to him."
Zeal for this cause was so great
that he began to appeal to the Board of Trustees of the Immanuel
Deaconess institute to provide an auxiliary to their colony that
would serve as such a home. He even suggested the possibility of
establishing this branch of the Deaconess institute on a farmstead
near Templeton, California. He writes of it, "'This is the spot' I
said to myself. 'Here I shall with the help of God erect walls
which shall shelter the unfortunate,' and I saw a vision of many
neat cottages side by side, harboring a host of these
suffering."But this was not to be. It does, however, show that he
was becoming more and more eager to do something for these
unfortunates that were his concern night and day.
To show how deeply this concern
affected him we have his own testimony: "Now followed for me a
time of severe mental struggles. I was so nervous and tired in my
mind that I at one occasion had to go down from the pulpit in the
middle of a sermon, unable to keep my thoughts collected. On New
Year's eve, I wrote the following words which express just what I
felt at that time: 'What will the new year bring in its bosom - I
had already thought of founding a colony for the feeble-minded. I
will do nothing before I am certain in my mind that it is God's
will. As to myself, I feel too weak and feeble -but if it is God's
will He will surely give me strength. It is New Year's eve, 1911,
within two more hours begins 1912. Lord Jesus, my dear Savior, I
praise Thy great love that I may complete this year in Thy name.
In Thy blood is purification for all my sins. I believe this and
therefore have peace in my soul. Show me now, O Lord, Thy way that
I may follow it. Not my will but Thine be done. Praise God, from
whom all blessings flow!'"
No person can read these words
without realizing that here was a man who was being moved with
compassion to do something for his suffering fellowmen. It becomes
evident that the chief contributing cause for the establishment of
a Christian colony of mercy for epileptics, feebleminded, and
others was that God had laid this matter on the heart of Dahl. He
could not get away from it. The other circumstances were only so
many coals added to the fire, making it blaze with a radiant glow.
God was going to use his servant in an unusual way and be
glorified thereby.
|
20
|
A MIRACLE OF THE PRAIRIES
|
|
A Miracle Being Performed
Yes, something unusual was
happening out on the prairies of Nebraska that afternoon, thirty
years ago. To many that heard of it later in the church press, it
seemed a most foolhardy venture. The feeling was that nothing good
could come out of the notions of this young visionary that was now
attempting to realize his dream under such unfavorable
circumstances. Here was young Dahl, a poor pastor with two empty
hands, as far as earthly means were concerned, who was thinking of
building a colony of homes and of all that would be needed to keep
them going, and in them he expected to house the most helpless and
destitute of all people. It had been specifically stated in the
constitution of the new organization that the homes were primarily
intended for those unable to contribute anything toward their
maintenance. He had no guarantee from any church organization that
they would give him financial or moral support. Some were
acquainted with his earlier attempts at starting such a colony and
knew that men of good judgment had decided against it.
And now he had gone out to a
small home mission congregation and gathered about him some fifty
men and women of very moderate means and launched such a great
undertaking. And to top it all - what a place to think of building
an institution: a bleak cornfield, and that must be purchased for
hard-earned cash! It was out on the prairies where only
stout-hearted men and women could live; for they must contend with
periodic seasons of drouth, when the heavens seemed to he closed
to their cries for rain. They would look for water and the only
thing they could see was a mirage in the distance. They would look
in vain for clouds and all they could see in the skies were swarms
of grasshoppers. When you think of such circumstances, it is no
wonder that experienced and thinking men looked with doubt if not
with disgust at Dahl's venture to start a colony of mercy out in
Axtell, Nebraska.
Looking at it from our point of
view, thirty years later, we know that it was not Dahl that
planned it that way; he had other plans that had been thwarted by
men. We are convinced that God was back of this plan and it was
under these adverse circumstances that He was performing A Miracle
of the Prairies.
Dahl's Visit to Sweden
God had called His humble
servant to undertake a ministry of love on behalf of his suffering
fellowmen. He had answered that call with a surrendered spirit and
was now happy. From the time that the Bethphage Inner Mission
Association was organized, Dahl had one consuming passion and that
was to help those with various mental diseases. Whenever he saw
one of these unfortunates or heard of them, his heart went out
with compassion for them. It was only a little over a year
afterwards that the fulfillment of that desire was going to take
practical shape.
During the months that
intervened, the news of the steps that had
|
|
A MIRACLE OF THE PRAIRIES
|
21
|
been taken were made known through the Kearney District
periodical, "Guldax," of which he was editor, and also the general
church press of his communion. On the following May 21, the
Association was again assembled at the * Bethfage Lutheran Church
in Axtell and a representative group of friends from the
neighboring communities were present to show their approval and to
encourage their leader. At this time he had secured as the festive
speaker, his old friend of Omaha days, Pastor Adolf Hult. He was
also to become definitely affiliated with the cause, for he was
elected as one of the members of the Board of Trustees that day.
This place of counsel and responsibility he held until the time of
his death. The other members of the Board elected were: Mr. C. A.
Hanson and Mr. John Bergman of Holdrege, Nebraska; Mr. C. J.
Pearson, Ceresco, Nebraska; and Mr. Nels Olson and Mr. Sanford
Larson of Axtell. It was also decided that day that the
Association was to be incorporated under the state laws of
Nebraska.
It was just a few days
afterward, May 30, that Pastor DahI with his wife and their young
son were ready to make a trip to Europe. There were two objectives
that were prominent in the mind of the traveler. He had a longing
to visit again his parental home in Sweden. In the parsonage of
Osby, Sweden, he would find truly sympathetic hearts with whom he
could share his new found interests in life and there he would get
counsel of those that understood him. His daybook tells of many
happy events during the summer months. He visited many old friends
and spoke on various occasions, and made known his proposed colony
of mercy in America. He was given a hearty response that was
especially appreciated in those early days. The other objective
was to visit various institutions of mercy in Sweden and in
Germany. He was very much interested in the practical workings of
the diaconate that had made such great progress in Europe. Without
a doubt the most important visit of these institutions was that of
the three days spent in the Bethel Institute at Bielefeld,
Germany. Here he made the personal acquaintance of Fredrich von
Bodelschwing, the director of the Bethel Institute, and saw his
ideal colony of mercy at work. He concludes his story of those
days with these words: "I have received many ideas here, which
will be well to know when the question of building at Axtell shall
arise. With a heart that was warmed and with the interest for the
Bethphage Mission greatly increased, I left Bethel."
The notations in his daybook from
that time on relate of the last few days in his parental home. It
seems that he realized that this was to be his last farewell and
he must make the most of it. Once on his way to America, he had a
restless longing for home and the work that must he done, for the
night was coming. Back in the atmosphere of his cherished colony
of mercy he began to write articles for the church press and to
visit congregations where he kept telling his auditors of the
great need of homes for unfortunates and how they must band
themselves together in this great undertaking. The lists of
contributors in the GULDAX began to grow.
* Bethfage was the Swedish spelling
for Bethphage. It appears that the Association received its name
from the congregation and as time went on and the Bethphage
Mission took on a national interest, the congregational name has
been changed to Trinity Lutheran Church.
|
22
|
A MIRACLE OF THE PRAIRIES
|
|
|
|
Home
Bethel
|
|
|
|
Home
Sarepta
|
|
|
|
Home
Nazareth
|
|
Pictured above are three of the
Cottages that were rented in the Village for the beginning of the
Bethphage Mission.
© 2002 for the NEGenWeb Project by Pam Reitsch, Ted &
Carole Miller.
