Home Bethesda Building Fund
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Home Bethesda Building Fund
One of the most inspiring ventures of faith in more recent times is the rapid growth of the Home Bethesda Building Fund.For several years there had been a growing desire among those most intimately connected with Bethphage for a new home that could be used for those that are of the invalid type or the most helpless. Such a home should be equipped with the conveniences of a modern hospital. Both workers and guests would be benefited by such a home.
At first this was only an inner desire in the face of a conscious need. Friends and visitors were told about it and it was placed before the Lord in prayer. In September, 1942, the Board of Trustees passed the following resolution: 'That we set apart the Warren Estate as a nucleus for a building fund," The conservative value of that estate was $25,000.00 and that was a very encouraging start. It was appropriate that the estate of Mr. and Mrs. Albert G. Warren should become the beginnings of this building fund for they had expressed the hope that some day they could leave the Bethphage Mission a bequest that would be used for a new home on the Hill. They had followed Bethphage from its beginning, being residents of Axtell at the time.
The following annual meeting it was reported that some additions had been made to the fund so that it amounted to $27,887.85.
It was not going to be long until another larger gift was to be added. On June 15, 1943 the Board of Trustees were to experience a real surprise. They had been called together to hear the final report in the estate of the late William J. Fleisehman of McCook, Nebraska. For some reason the preliminary information had been withheld and the only news of this bequest was a letter by the executor, Mr. Dorsey
God Provides 79
Shepherd, asking to meet the Board, and this brief statement, "I would like if several members of the Board could be there, as I think I will have quite a surprise for you."
It turned out to be an unforgettable meeting, for when Mr. Shepherd and his attorney had given his final accounting it showed that the Bethphage Mission was to he a beneficiary to the amount of $26,045.81. The wording of the will of Mr. Fleischman made it very appropriate to set aside the greater part of this money for the Home Bethesda Building Fund. Mr. Fleischman was a stranger to Bethphage and we have wondered why he remembered this institution in his last will and testament. Since that time some explanations have been made but much will always remain a mystery. The most satisfactory explanation is that our Heavenly Father laid it upon this man's heart to give. It pleased Him to prosper Home Bethesda in a remarkable way.
There is also another large bequest that has found its way into this fund. This time it came from a lady in more distant Chicago. Miss Elizabeth Anderson, or more commonly known as Betty Anderson, now deceased, was a frugal woman who had a small boarding home. She did this partly as a means to obtain an income but also to befriend those that were lonely in the large city. She was one of those that lived out in her life the sentiment so beautifully expressed by the poet: "Let me build a house by the side of the road and be a friend to man." Her last will and testament was that the greater part of her estate was to go to Bethphage and continue to minister to the homeless and needy. Her estate consisted of various securities and was valued at approximately $7,000.00. Already a good portion of these securities have been sold and are being placed in the building fund. The Board has felt that in this way this "sister of mercy" will continue to serve the homeless and helpless in years to come.
Home Bethesda will in many respects be a monument. It will not he a marker of the place where rests the ashes of the dead. It will be a more useful monument than that. It is to be hoped that in years to come it will serve many a helpless person. It is for that reason that also all memorial gifts have been placed in this fund. Almost every day they keep coming and when the war has come to an end and we are able to devote our efforts to the pursuits of peace it is our fond hope that the walls of this home for invalids will he raised skyward in loving remembrance to our friends and to the glory of God.
The goal for this fund has been set at $100,000.00 and already the gifts for the purpose approach $85,000.00. It will he a great day of rejoicing when those who have contributed can celebrate the dedication of this building. Our prayer is that when this is realized there will be no indebtedness against it.
It may be interesting for the friends to know that the plans are in readiness and have been made by Cervin and Stuhr, architects of Rock Island, Illinois. Mr. Olaf Z. Cervin, who has served Bethphage so well in the past, has given this project his personal attention and we feel that it will be a tribute to this loyal friend of them that are in bonds.
We have chosen as a name for this building - Home Bethesda. May it be just what its name signifies - a house of mercy.
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A MIRACLE OF THE PRAIRIES
"Remember Them That Are in Bonds"
If the reader were to visit the grounds of the Bethphage Mission, one of the impressions that would remain with him, would probably be the row of buff pillars connected with heavy black chains that grace the frontage of this colony of mercy on the little hill. Why are these chains there?One reason why they found their place in the landscaping plans was that they might add beauty to the surroundings. They were not placed there in any way to serve as a barrier for those who are guests and must make their homes in the cottages of Bethphage; for they are given as much freedom as is possible.
No, there is another reason for these pillars with chains. They were to serve as a symbolism to all of those who pass by, that those who are found within the portals of this institution are in chains. Some are fettered in body, some in mind, and others in their souls. They are in bonds.
From the beginning of Bethphage there has been a scripture verse that has been held up to its friends. It is a word of the Lord to those who pass by or to those who happen to come in contact with this refuge for the afflicted. It is the words: "Remember them that are in bonds." (Hebr. 13:3.) You have heard of some of the beautiful ways in which they have been remembered in this chapter. You have heard that there are many ways in which this can be done. We will leave it to God to suggest to the reader how he is to remember them that are in bonds.
There is only one way of remembering them that will be solicited of our friends who read this. When your thoughts are directed in this direction, will you offer the simple prayer: "God bless Bethphage!"
© 2002 for the NEGenWeb Project by Pam Reitsch, Ted & Carole Miller.
