A Pilgrimage Of Faith, J.B. Toews, 1993

ars later, how- ever, Anna was also taken from his side because of the ab- sence of medical care in childbirth. The youngest child died six months later. Despite these personal tragedies and the continuous battle with hostile elements, even threats to his life, Bergthold pressed on heroically. Bergthold founded the Nagarkurnool Mission Center which soon became known as a center for Bible instruction, and in 1920 became the site of the first India Mennonite Brethren Bible school. His own bungalow had a unique "prophet's chamber" on the roof where he would slip away each day at dawn. A lo- cal boy would sit at the base of the narrow stairway, protect- ing him from interruptions during his three hours of prayer and study of the Bible. Despite the limited educational ad- vantages before his departure to India, Bergthold became a scholar. He learned Greek and Hebrew, studied Scripture in the original languages, and became an outstanding expositor. John H. Lohrenz, subsequent missionary to India, identi- fied Bergthold as the first Mennonite Brethren missionary deeply concerned to establish the base for a healthful indige- nous church. For this purpose he was interested in economic 103 A PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH as well as spiritual development. He offered training in rais- ing gardens and grain, and how to find the proper places for water and irrigation. He was known as one of the first mis- sionaries to concentrate on developing reliable indigenous leadership to cany on the work of the church for the future, Bergthold spent forty years establishing the church in In- dia. He returned to North America in 1945, His dedication typified many subsequent Mennonite Brethren missionaries to India. Time and again they sacrificed personal goals and comforts in order to focus their entire life on the assignment that had come to them as a command of Jesus, Besides the difficulties of environment, climate and primitive conditions, they often suffered the pain of separated families. With a nor- mal term being seven to eight years, their family life was often disrupted as children had to leave home to attend boarding school for eight months of the year The sacrifice of a normal family life may have been the severest test of their commit- ment to the missionary cause. An incident from the life of John Voth poignantly illus- trates this part of the missionary sacrifice. Voth had been home on furlough and was ready to return to India, leaving from the railroad station in Newton, Kansas. One of his daughters, who was to remain behind while her parents re-