The Sower who went out to Sow

By: Tim Yaeger, Chief Information Officer

Edith “Edie” Connel

June 9, 1939 – August 20, 2023

To honor her memory, donations can be made to WBS by mail to PO Box 2169, Cedar Park TX 78630 or online at worldbibleschool.net/give.

How can I express the impact of Edie Connel on the work of World Bible School? Words such as vast, immeasurable and long-lasting come to mind. Yet, with such words, they don’t do full service to her impact. I can begin to comprehend this answer by thinking of Jesus’ parable of the sower.

Edie was the kind of sower we read about in the Bible. Her dedication to teaching the Gospel, mentoring fellow workers, helping other Christians share Jesus, and connecting souls ready to respond is described perfectly in Jesus’ parable. I declare Edie’s earthly life is producing 100 times what was sown. How is this possible? Edie was a sower who went out to sow the seed daily. Her last conversation with me involved her comfort in knowing we had her contacts and computer. She was at peace knowing the sowing would continue.

This sower arose early in the morning and sowed seed late into the night. She invested her retirement years in giving, serving and sowing. Because Edie didn’t brag, I wasn’t aware of how much time she spent working for WBS until her son, Don, told me he would see her working in the morning and still at her desk at 11 at night.

As her “boss,” I always felt I should be learning from her experience, and her opinion carried much weight in my decisions. Edie taught me to be considerate and compassionate for other sowers in the field. Sowers who had difficulty changing farm tools and sowers who just needed conversation and encouragement. Her example of patiently talking on the phone for hours has had a tremendous impact on how the WBS Support department cares for fellow sowers.

Upon sending out the announcement of Edie’s passing, WBS and other social media accounts received hundreds of responses from Study Helpers, Follow-up Partners, Students, and nearly anyone you can imagine on the geographic, cultural, and language spectrum who were impacted by this sower.

If Edie were here with us today, she would tell us to find the lonely, disheartened, and ADOPT seeking students who need a loving Christian to share Jesus and be willing to FOLLOW-UP! That is what Edie’s WBS life was all about. She found inexpressable joy seeing follow-up completed over the years as she received pictures of thousands of souls obeying the Gospel and enjoying a new Life and Hope in Christ.

This faith and this HOPE can only happen when a sower simply goes out to sow. Be a sower, make more sowers, and treasure the memory of this sower, Edie Connel.

Visit worldbibleschool.net/follow-up to assist with Follow-up and worldbibleschool.net/teach to apply to become an online Study Helper. You can also call our office at (512) 345-8190.