Sara Wexler feature article
- 1. A publication of Grace Baptist Church January 2015 (Continued on page 2) Volume 8 Issue 1 Lighthouse Reflections The lives and times of Don & Jessie Sandberg Jessie’s early years When Jessie Sandberg was 14 years old, her Youth director Alvera Johnson said to her, “Jessie, I can tell you what you’re going to do with your life. You’re going to help people.” They were leaving a Salvation Army children’s home, where their Youth group had put on a Christmas program. Jessie had met a little girl, and the two of them bonded. “I cried having to leave that little girl because for the first time I felt like somebody needed me,” said Jessie. The fourth of six girls, Jessie grew up feeling like “the runt of the family.” Every sister seemed to have her own identity, but it wasn’t until she won an art contest at age eight that Jessie felt she had a title that helped to define her. “From then on, I felt like I was the artist,” she said. She was also a fearful child. In the span of a few months, three of her girlfriends died. One was in a car accident, one’s dress caught fire on a heater, and another came down with double pneumonia. Jessie herself was once hit by an ice cream truck that ran a newly installed stop light. But through all these things—needing an identity, losing her friends, and facing mortality herself—God was no doubt shaping her into the person she would become: someone who would help people, just as Alvera had predicted. Jessie’s parents also helped shape her into the woman who would be a loving friend and advisor to the hundreds of women she would counsel later in life. Her father, John R. Rice, was a pastor, an evangelist, a newspaper businessman, the author of more than 100 books, and one of the founders of Christian Fundamentalism. “At the dinner table—we had to always eat together—we would discuss everything,” said Jessie. “My dad would say, ‘Jessie, what do you think about that?’ Something would happen in the news, and he expected us to have opinions, which we all did. We are all very opinionated. He really felt like women had good minds and should be using them.” Her father also encouraged his six daughters to pursue any interests they had, and was always willing to pay for lessons so that they could do so. As he once told Jessie, “The Lord uses the desires of your heart to show you what to do.” By Sara Wexler On February 8 from 4-6pm, we will have a reception to celebrate the lives and ministries of Don and Jessie Sandberg, who retired at the end of last year. Please plan on joining us then. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this glimpse into the lives of these two faithful servants. Inside this issue Don & Jessie Sandberg Scattered throughout this issue are personal anecdotes about the subjects of our lead story. New Members Get to know some of the newest additions to the Grace family. Pg. 5 Warden Burl Cain Learn about the upcoming event featuring the Warden of Angola Prison. Pg. 7 The Sufficiency of Scripture David Prairie looks at the relationship between the sufficiency of Scripture and Biblical theology. Pg. 9 GBC Students Read testimonies from the Youth Retreat. Pg. 11 Pray for our Missionaries A list of missionaries you can pray for, plus email addresses so you can send an encouraging word. Pg. 12 Heads Up Learn about exciting things God has been doing in our Academy. Pg. 12 Lighthouse Kids Hear about what our kids are learning and about upcoming events. Pgs. 14-15
- 2. Page 2 Jessie describes her mother as one of the most loving people in the world. “If my mother ever loved you, she would never let you go,” she said. “It was a wonderful gift. I try to do that too. If I love someone, I’m not going to let little fights or fusses make me stop loving them.” When she was 11, her family moved from Dallas, Texas, to Wheaton, Illinois. “My father couldn’t afford to send six girls away to college, but he thought if he moved to Wheaton he could manage,” said Jessie. “It was a wonderful move because we had a big old Victorian house and people were coming in and out all the time, college kids and other people. It was a wonderful way to grow up.” When she got to college, Jessie didn’t know what she wanted to study. “I wanted to do everything,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to do everything.” Her father suggested that she major in English, which he believed would give her a good background for whatever she chose to do. “I loved it,” she said. “I do love writing and reading and that kind of thing. But I was watching those art students go in and out of their art building, wishing I could do that. One day I said to my dad, ‘Why didn’t I major in art?’ And he said, ‘Well, why didn’t you?’” Don & Jessie Sandberg, Cont’d The Rice sisters: Mary Lloys Himes, Joy Martin, Jessie Sandberg, Joanna Rice, Libby Hanford & Grace MacMullen Joy Martin Growing up, Jessie was my big sister who came to my rescue many times. She made a formal for my first date when I was 16—it was made of nylon parachute material dyed bright coral! When I was in college and Roger invited me to the the Washington Banquet (a really big deal then—Paul Harvey was the guest speaker), she made a gorgeous pink formal that was the most beautiful dress I had ever seen. She was my model for many things—creativity, spiritual growth, making friends, artistry, and so much more. Sandy (Don) was wonderful to me when he and Jessie were dating. He encouraged my voice lessons and played piano accompaniment for many of my vocal numbers. That meant a lot to a 15-year-old. He and Jessie also had a hand in our courtship. When I think of both Jessie and Don, I think of the words “encouragement,” “dare to dream,” and “let’s have fun.” They are always looking for ways to build others up and to guide them in making good decisions. Even though she had nearly completed her English major, her father encouraged her to get her art degree as well. She had already been taking courses at the Chicago Art Institute, so Wheaton gave her course credits for those, and she was soon able to complete both degrees. It was also at Wheaton College that Jessie met her future husband, Don. Don’s early years If Jessie’s childhood influenced her legacy of helping others, Don’s early years instilled in him the importance of family. Don was the third of four sons born to Swedish immigrants in Kewanee, Ill. His parents belonged to the Mission Covenant Church, a Scandinavian denomination that was widespread over the Midwest. When he was four years old, his mother—not quite out of her 20s— died of tuberculosis. Over the next few years, several women helped care for Don and his brothers while his father worked multiple jobs. The most influential of these caretakers was Don’s Aunt Myrt. “She was 15-years-old when she came to live at our place,” said Don. “She was a good thing to happen to us. She took care of four boys, my dad and my uncle.” Being so young, however, meant that Myrt’s time with them was short- lived before she had to go off to school.
- 3. Page 3 Soon after that, Don’s father died of complications following a burst appendix. “He lived long enough to know he was not going to live, so he did make plans for the children the best he knew how,” said Jessie. “Nobody had any money because it was the Depression.” Don lived for a short time with a couple different families before he and his young brother, Cliff, ended up in the Covenant Children’s Home in Princeton, Ill. “It was not a bad place at all,” he said. “There were probably 80, 85 children there when Cliff and I went there. They had good facilities and food and what have you. We were not ill-treated in any way.” Don and the other children in the home attended public school and the lo- cal Mission Covenant Church. When he was in high school, he was given the responsibility of taking care of the younger boys from about 18 months to the sixth grade. Jessie believes this experience helped make him the wonderful father he would later become. “He was a great dad,” she said. “He always loved children, and has always been great with them. I think that early experience was kind of neat.” After graduating high school, Don and Cliff lived with Aunt Myrt for a year while Don worked at John Deere. He joined the Army in 1944, and headed straight to the front lines. “This was close to the end of the war, so they were bring- ing people in for that drive across into Germany,” said Jessie. After the war, Don stayed in Europe, where he worked at Eisenhower’s headquarters at the IG Farben building. IG Farben was a large German chemical company; 13 of its executives were convicted during the Nuremburg trials for their parts in providing the Nazi party with chemicals that were used to kill people in concentration camps. Although the war left him with memories that he didn’t talk about until he was much older, it did enable him to go to college on the GI Bill. “The experience of being in college was like eating a chocolate shake with whipped cream on it,” said Don. “It was a wonderful, wonderful experience for me.” Part of what made that such a wonderful experience was Don’s growing interest in music. He joined the school choir—where he met Jessie—and ended up playing piano for a traveling quartet. Don and Jessie had a group of about 12 friends from the choir, who have been big influences in their lives and with whom they remain close. It was on a choir trip to Florida that Don inadvertently turned the head of young Jessie Rice. “I probably fell in love with Don sooner than he knew,” said Jessie. “Our group was staying in a little hotel, talking late about all kinds of serious things. We were talking about rearing children, and he was talking about how he felt about children and how they should be taken care of and loved and so on. And I thought, ‘That’s the kind of person I want to marry.’” The two dated their senior year, but graduated without any real plans to continue the relationship. In fact, Jessie soon received a marriage proposal from a man she had dated before Don. While she took some time to pray over the decision, Don asked if he could stop by for a visit. “He told me he loved me and he thought he had made a mistake not to pursue it,” said Jessie. “We read scripture and prayed, and he said, ‘Don’t do anything until you know exactly what the Lord has in mind for you.’” Jessie thought it over, and decided to end things with her other admirer. “But then I didn’t feel like I could write Don or call him and say, ’Here I am, come and get me,’” she said. Fortunately, a mutual friend tipped off Don, and the two of them began a relationship in earnest. Above: The Covenant Children’s Home, where Don spent most of his youth. Right: A year after graduating high school and leaving the children’s home, Don joined the Army and was sent to Germany to fight in WWII. Paul & Alicia SnyderDon and Jessie Sandberg are two of the most faithful people we have ever known. They love the Word of God and live it out each day. Jessie and Don have been a constant encouragement to us ever since we met them. For many years of the MOMS ministry at Grace, Don had everything clean and ready for us every Thursday morning; always with a smile and a hug. Most days we had a bite of food to offer him. Jessie shared wisdom, prayers, love and tears with us. She has the love of all the MOMs forever! Paul and I love you, Don and Jessie! You have always been our cheerleaders, and we really appreciate it! (Continued on page 4)
- 4. Page 4 Their life together Don and Jessie had graduated college in 1951, but it wasn’t until 1954 that they could afford to get married. During that time, Jessie worked at her father’s newspaper, Sword of the Lord, and other publications doing graphic design. She wanted to write also, but wasn’t sure she would be able to. Her father suggested she write 10 sample columns for the Sword of the Lord, and he would tell her if he thought she could do it. Since the newspaper was mainly written for pastors, these columns could be written for women in order to provide the Sword with a more diverse audience. “Well, as it turned out, I wrote those columns for 25 years,” said Jessie. “Then I started doing the books.” Her column was called From My Kitchen Window, and was mostly devotionals and words of encouragement for young mothers. Her first book was a collection of some of her columns. Another book was a collection of family recipes, quotations, and other items of interest. And of her book “Love and a Pinch of Salt,” one Amazon.com reviewer writes that “it is the best help book I have ever read.” In the meantime, Don attended seminary for a year and worked in various churches in the music and Youth programs. With a degree in Christian education, he thought he would teach in Christian schools, but the Lord had other plans. After talking to several churches about working in their schools—and none of them working out—a friend told Don that he knew of a job teaching fourth grade in public schools. In spite of his reservations, he gave it a shot. “I really did enjoy it,” he said. “I could hardly wait to go to work in the morning.” Don enjoyed engaging the children in creative ways. He once even used the success of his wife and sisters-in-law to motivate his students in their writing. Don & Jessie Sandberg, Cont’d Don & Jessie with their children. From left to right: Don Sandberg, Jim Sandberg, Carol Parks & Mark Sandberg; Jessie as a featured speaker at Highland Park; Don and Jessie on the Agean Sea during a student tour they led. “Jessie and her sisters had written books,” said Don. “So I told the kids, ‘There are going to be professional people reading your stories and your poems.’ That went over big.” “In the meantime,” said Jessie, “I was having babies. I had four babies in five years. That was the time I was writing the column, so I had lots of material to write about.” “I don’t know how we got through those years,” said Don. “I was a full-time teacher, she had four children and a husband to fix meals for.” After six years of teaching in the Illinois public schools, a pastor in Indiana asked him to come lead Christian Education and music in his church. After four years, Don started semi- nary at Trinity, and Jessie worked there in the school office. They had been there a semester when the head of the English Department, Dr. Ludwigson, called Jessie three days before classes were to resume. One of the English professors had been killed in a car accident, and Jessie was asked to take over his classes. “I had never taught a college class in my life,” she said. Dr. Ludwigson became her mentor, promising to help her every step of the way. “I can’t explain how great she was to teach me how to learn and learn quickly,” said Jessie. At the end of Jessie’s first year of teaching, she decided she liked it, so she began grad school. Before the next school year began, Dr. Ludwigson told her that one of the faculty members was expecting twins and asked if Jessie would once again cover those classes. The third year, a faculty member left to work for the Nixon administration, so Jessie took over for him. After that, the college hired her on a permanent basis. After they both had earned their graduate degrees, the couple moved to Chattanooga in 1971 so that Don could teach at Tennessee Temple. In fact, he taught Fred Holcombe in a song leading class. Jessie joined the faculty too, teaching both art and English. Like they had at Trinity, Don and Jessie led groups of young people from Temple on tours of Europe. (Continued on page 6)
- 5. Page 6 In the early 1980s, the Sandbergs began attending Grace, where Don led the music and Jessie began a ladies Sunday school class, which is now led by Julia Penalver. After two years at Grace, the couple moved to Augusta, Ga., where Don worked at a church pastored by Joanna’s husband. Jessie taught English and art in the school run by the church. Over the years, Jessie had begun women’s ministries in several churches and was often called on to be a speaker at ladies’ events. During her travels, she met a lot of different people, and she particularly had a heart for women who had problems. She reached out to women in trouble—divorced women, ladies with a homosex- ual background, those who were lonely or didn’t know where they belonged. “I thought, ‘I need to make sure these women meet each other, and then they can make friends with and lean on each other,’” recalls Jessie. This led to a ministry called SOLO—Singles Offering Love to Others. The first weekend, Jessie and Don rented an inn in Augusta where the ladies slept, but hosted all the meetings and meals at their own home. The group grew to more than 100, and is still active today. “They’re bosom buddies, those girls are,” said Jessie. When they returned to Grace in 1991, Don served as the interim choir director until Fred Holcombe was hired. He has continued serving in the music ministry—including singing and leading the hand bell choir—ever since, and until this month worked as a custodian at Grace. Jessie came on staff as the director of Women’s Ministries. She organized banquets, conferences, mentoring programs, and other outreaches. But mostly, she counseled people, both at the church and from her home. She even served for more than 20 years as a Chaplain for the Chattanooga Police Department. She’s helped people. Karen MyrickJessie was one of my mentors through my 20s and 30s. She was a dear friend to my mom, which carried on to me. Her love for God’s Word is contagious. She encouraged me to dig in to It. She also taught me the importance of dreaming and encouraging my children to dream. She helped me and so many young moms and wives realize that God is our Ultimate Peace and Provider. She taught us of His Faithfulness and Grace. I will always be thankful for Jessie’s influence in my life. I love you so much, Jessie! Thank you for how you changed my world! Tom KilpatrickMy life has been made richer as a results of having worked with the Sandbergs for more than 40 years. Jessie and I worked together in the art department at Tennessee Temple for more than 15 years, and since that time I have had the privilege of knowing them here at Grace. It is my joy to know them as friends, mentors and coworkers. Through the years we have experienced many joys and disappointments together, and through good times and bad they have both exhibited a genuine Christ-like unconditional love. It has been an honor to call them friends and to see their steadfast testimony over these many years. A 1980 clipping from the Chattanooga News-Free Press about an upcoming production of Handel’s Messiah under Don’s direction. Hear from more friends of the Sandbergs on page 8.