by Rev. O lav E ikland T he S unday night meeting was coming to a close. An invitation was given for the unsaved to make a decision for Christ. While Christians knelt in earnest pleadings for the sal vation of souls, a handsome young man came forward, tears streaming down his cheeks. Kneeling in the prayer circle, he asked the Lord to save him. A holy ecstacy was reflected in the face of the sister of this new convert who embraced her brother. Others, too had been converted recently, tear fully welcomed the prodigal son re turning to the Father’s House. Some of them had been his former compan ions in the vices and pleasures of this world but now they were joined in that deeper comradeship in Christ. The young man was Horst Watzke and it was May first, 1960, at Bad Gandersheim, frontier town on the East German border. His long journey from total slavery to complete liberty had ended. Born in Germany, he had spent the war years in Bessarabia. After the war, he passed through Po land and East Germany in quest for freedom, finally crossing the iron cur tain into the free West. So this eve ning, while his communist friends were celebrating this holiday in beer and dance halls, Horst had found a place where he could drink of the true “ Fountain of Life.” This is the name of the Evangelical Mission which was established especially for reaching refugees from East Germany. Horst Watzke is one of several hun dred Germans who have found the escape trail which leads from Gog’s snare into God’s care in Fountain of Life’s freedom land. From totalitarian regime and the oppression of •the “prince of this world” , they haye come into the blessed sphere of total free dom in God’s kingdom. Evangelization of East Germans, and other races behind the iron cur tain, begins first with tearing down of that formidable iron curtain of the soul: Communist atheism. Some of the refugees have had to pass through the profound metamorphosis of mind,
heart and soul by which they learn the falsity of the Communist axiom that “ the wise man says there is no God” to belief in the Bible truth that “ the fool hath said in his heart, there is no God.” Nearly all of the refugees who come to Fountain of Life Mission had to leave every earthly possession be hind when coming into the West. Destitute, poor and lonely, they find themselves strangers in West Ger many. Therefore, the Gospel brings them consolation. Said one refugee to Missionary Reimer: “The Lord must have sent you because I was so lonely, and have been praying that the Lord would help me.” Conversion in such a spiritual cli mate changes the entire life. In a mission tent, near Bad Gandersheim, a meeting had ended. A young girl, weeping, asked “What must I do to be saved?” On her knees, she sought salvation. When she arose, a new light was in her eyes: “ I must win others for Christ!” she exclaimed. Thus began a new life for Dora Neudorf. She worked in an office, but when free from her duties, she sought opportunity to serve the Lord in per sonal work. Three years ago, she started children’s meetings in a neigh boring town to Bad Gandersheim. Some of the children were real rough necks who during summers had been crossing the borders to the Eastern zone and spending some time in a Communist camp. Soon Dora had the joy of seeing the ringleader of these Communist children converted. He is now a real missionary, gathering children for evangelical meetings in various places around Bad Gandersheim. Hundreds of children are now reached and their eyes are open to the truth. Fountain of Life Mission was started three years ago by Mr. and Mrs. Levi Reimer, who had been help ing the Hungarian patriots when they, in 1956, fled from the Russian op pressors to Austria. They were well- qualified for that task, as Mr. Reimer is German-Canadian and his wife, a
Hungarian who emigrated to Canada in her youth. When my wife and I visited that Gospel center, we found them estab lished in an old rented house which once had been an old mill, dating back to the 16th century. On the wall outside we noted a Latin inscrip tion with the date 1586. Remodelled by Mr. Reimer, twenty-one rooms in the building had been stretched to accommodate the many refugees who came to the station to attend the meetings held in a chapel attached to the old building. The wheels of activity in that old mill were turning indeed, for it was the evangelistic center for reaching many surrounding towns as well as being a refugee center. We sensed immediately that the work was sus tained by prayer. Early on Sunday morning, we heard guests praying. Missionary Reimer stated: “The fear ful. little prayer group with which we started caught fire and this fire has spread rapidly over the whole area.” In this prayer climate the fruit of the Spirit is growing and there is power for reaching lost souls. Recent ly Mr. Reimer wrote: “ These young people have picked up the torch and together with us are bringing the j light of the Gospel into towns and villages. Scores of young people and children are reached every week. These young people have left their jobs and are launching out by faith, trusting the Lord to supply their needs.” We noticed that the old mill house would soon become too small to ac commodate the growing work. Pray ers were offered for a bigger place and God answered in a marvelous way. In the country, three miles from Bad Gandersheim, on a big country farm, a palace-like building standing in a eight-acre garden, was bought by the Evangelical Free Church of America, for only $65,000, and it is now the center of Fountain of Life Mission. When standing at the “ Pick Alle”
THE KING'S BUSINESS
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