FIRST PERSON
In 1967 our family moved to Madison, Wisconsin. In the fall of that year our next door neighbor, Esther Klingbiel, invited our 3½ year old son, Mark, to attend a weekly Good News Club® that she was teaching. At home with a new baby, Janet, it was a nice break for me. Our son Mark enjoyed the club very much. That February at one of the club meetings, Mark asked Jesus to come into his heart and be his Savior. When he came home we had no idea or understanding of what he was talking about.
In September Esther invited me to a morning ladies’ Bible study group that she had started. Through studying God’s Word and Esther’s godly example and witness, I saw my own need of a Savior. At that time I prayed and asked Jesus into my heart and life. Esther and her husband, John, encouraged our family to become involved in a good, Bible preaching church. They invited us to visit their church, Middleton Baptist. Through the ministry of Middleton Baptist Church, my husband also gave his life to Jesus. When Janet turned five, her Sunday School teacher shared the Gospel with the class. At that point Janet prayed and asked Jesus to come into her heart.
Through Esther’s encouragement and help, I began to teach a weekly Good News Club® in my home, which I continued to do for three years. Then God led us to a new home in the Mt. Horeb school district. I soon felt the leading of the Lord to start another Good News Club in our new home. The Mt. Horeb School District allowed children to ride our children’s school bus to our home every Tuesday after school. I would prepare for club that afternoon, wait for the school bus to stop in front of our house, and watch as 10 or 12 children would come flying out of the school bus door and into our house. I continued to teach this club for about four years and was blessed to see children respond to their need for Jesus as their Savior.
That was many years ago. Our son Mark (the first one saved in our family) is married to Kim, a wonderful Christian woman. They have two daughters. Their family attends the Fulton Church in Fulton, Wisconsin. They are all busy serving the Lord there.
Our daughter, Janet, attends Sauk Prairie Evangelical Free Church. She enjoys many opportunities to serve the Lord there as Sunday School teacher, AWANA leader, Christian Education Committee member and deaconess.
It was CEF that introduced Christ to our home for the first time. For that we are very grateful.
NOTE: Child Evangelism Fellowship is now scheduling 5-Day Clubs for this summer in the Madison area. Find out how you can reach the children in your neighborhood with the message of God’s love and salvation in Jesus Christ. To schedule a CEF 5-Day Club to come to your house, call CEF at 242-4002.
Photo: The Kindschi family at Disney World recently. Left to right: Victoria (Mark’s daughter), Kim (Mark’s wife), Janet, Ron, Donna, Alexandra (Mark’s daughter), Mark.