Meet Our Donors
We thank all our planned-gift donors for their generous support. Here are some of their stories.
Donna
I love giving to the Association Free Lutheran Bible School (AFLBS), because the students there learn to know the true way of salvation. To me that is the most important part of life, knowing Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. AFLBS reminds me of the school I attend as a young lady, Augustana Academy in Canton, SD. I am leaving the majority of my estate to AFLBS because they teach students the true meaning of life, Jesus.
Rich and Kay Ramsbacher
In regards to stewardship, most of us have heard about using our Time, Talents and Treasures for God's Kingdom. We believe there is another "T" that has to be considered. That "T" is Trust.
Do we really trust (believe, have faith in) in what the Bible says? Faith comes from hearing and hearing from the word of God. (Romans 10:17) Good stewardship of our faith comes before good stewardship of time, talents and treasures. Have you been a good steward of your faith in Jesus? Have you let the Word of God penetrate your heart? Do you trust God to help you grow? Are you allowing the vine dresser to prune your branches? Have you allowed other believers to water and nurture your faith? For Kay and me, our ability to give and be good stewards of our time, talents, and treasures, grows as our faith is nurtured, watered and grown by God.
JC Samuelson
I was blessed to be raised in the small town of Faith, South Dakota by parents, John and Marcia Samuelson, who loved their kids very much. My family went to church at Bethel Free Lutheran every Sunday possible. My mom taught Luther League when I was younger for all of the grade school kids, and my pops never missed a chance to instill valuable life lessons. I went to confirmation, and rarely missed a youth group on Wednesday nights… I had the ideal environment and background growing up to foster a strong faith in the Lord Jesus. However, somewhere along the way, I missed several key aspects of being one of God's children — I was missing a personal relationship with Him. My life was nothing more than going through the motions.
My senior year of high school was a struggle to say the least. I was not in a good place spiritually (despite what I led people to believe), and my thoughts and focus were not on the right things. It was in April of that same year (2007) that my family had found out that my pops was sick. After numerous tests and trips to the hospital, he was diagnosed with stage IV Renal Cell Carcinoma — kidney cancer. He had originally been given a prognosis of 6-8 months left to live; needless to say, over seven years later he is still alive and well. But, back then I was scared and had no idea where to turn. I vividly remember flipping my bible open down in my room, out of complete desperation, and reading Romans 8:28 — "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love the Lord, and are called according to His purpose." Looking back on that very moment, that verse couldn't have been shoved in my face any closer than it was, but I was still missing what Jesus had been trying to show me. It was going to take more than a "holy flip" to convince me that I was missing something in my life.
I had never really planned on going to the Association Free Lutheran Bible School (AFLBS). Sure, I had been to Campus Days, and thought it was fun and all… just not for me. I really didn't have many cares, apart from my own fun after I graduated high school. I moved out of my parents' house and went to work at a restaurant. I hadn't applied for student loans, colleges, or even gave a thought to what I was going to do with the rest of my life. I was stuck in the "now". The end of the summer was nearing, and it was finally then that I started to worry. I gave my dad a phone call and he asked me, "Well, what about AFLBS?" At that point in the summer, I didn't have time to send off applications to any other schools, so I gave them a call and asked if it was too late to apply. Of course, they said they'd love to have me. So off to AFLBS I went.
When I arrived at AFLBS, I was completely shocked. I had people coming up to me that I didn't even know, asking how my pops was doing and letting me know that they'd been praying for my family. The warmth from everyone and fellowship that I had immediately on arrival was incredible. It was after a few months into the school year that it really hit me. I finally saw what the Lord was trying to show me the night that I flipped open my bible. It was then that I realized how much the Lord had given me. Through my dad's cancer, my lack of motivation, and everything else under the sun — God led me to AFLBS. He had bigger plans than I did for myself. He made ALL things, whether good or bad, work for good. Between the quality time spent in the Word and amazing fellowship I had with everyone else there, I grew closer and closer to Him everyday and really started understanding His grace. If I had to go back and do it all over again, I wouldn't want it to work out any other way than it did. The Bible School was a great place for me, and for everyone else I knew who went there.
I will never be able to fully express my gratitude for what God did in my life through AFLBS. The Holy Spirit moved me in ways I never thought possible, and my faith grew stronger. I developed a personal relationship with Jesus like I never imagined. Being able to see firsthand the immense power that the prayers from everyone had on and in my dad's life, I learned to fully trust in everything God was doing in my own life.
Since I have left the Bible School, God has blessed me, and has put me in a financial position where I can start giving back. It wouldn't have been possible for me to go to AFLBS without the financial support that I received. I am extremely grateful for their patience and generosity there while accepting my school payments. Obviously, we all know that money isn't everything, but at the same time, financial support is required to run a school like AFLBS at an affordable cost for students. Like I mentioned earlier, I can't begin to describe how much my life changed while attending school there, and I can only hope and pray that through my financial contributions, God would change someone else's life in the way that he changed mine.