BY Travena Rogan | SUPPORT ASSOCIATE
82-year-old Study Helper of 16 years, named Karen, called World Bible School recently and gave permission for us to share her testimony. Karen was on a mission trip in Tanzania some years ago and enjoyed evangelizing the people there. What she loves the most about being a WBS Study Helper is the ease of it. At first, she thought, “I am a senior – this is going to be hard for me.” But, Edie Connel, at WBS (before her passing) helped her so much to get acclimated to teaching online. It is much easier for Karen to move through the web as a Study Helper. She also encourages her retired friends to become Study Helpers and stresses the need for Postal Study Helpers as well. She shares with them the ease of doing it and often shows them on her phone, letting them know that it only takes a few minutes a day and it’s really easy to get started. WBS still needs Study Helpers who teach Postal students, too. I asked her what she would say to those Study Helpers who are discouraged. She said she doesn’t worry or get discouraged when Students don’t respond. She just keeps on adopting more Students. She said there are just so many souls out there, and you never know who will respond. She has had Students who have done nothing and then five years later they respond and start their lessons. Karen told us that you never know what a person is going through and how these lessons may make more sense to them over time.
I asked her what gets her past the waiting and sometimes never knowing the impact as a Study Helper. She said as Christians, we may never know our influence or even see it, but we must continue to sow God’s seeds and encourage our brothers and sisters to join us. Karen told me how one of her grandsons lived with her for a semester and he watched her working as a Study Helper. He wanted to know about WBS and what Karen was doing, so he decided to become a Student at sixteen. He had become a Christian and wanted to become a WBS Study Helper. Karen was his first Student, so he would know what it meant to be a Study Helper. WBS also sent him Students his age that wanted to know more about the Bible and God. Karen and her grandson had a weekly schedule of helping their Students every Sunday afternoon. She said he has fallen away now, but she prays for his return. I then mentioned the Mathetis course being created to restore those who have fallen away. I suggested it to her to help her grandson. Karen told me that she knows a little about Mathetis, that it was good but probably more for young people. I told her it’s for everybody and the next course is geared toward encouraging those who have fallen away to come back to our Lord. She agreed to consider Mathetis and mention it to her grandson.
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