roland william jean 1968 india

8/11/2019 Roland William Jean 1968 India

1/7

RIST

MISSlojv

Aloha Cottage; Mussoorie,

U.P.;

India

Serving Christ through

Evangelism

and Christ ian Education

on

furlough

Phone M A

5-3967 WILLIAM

ROLAND

FAMILY

41 7 W. 24 th S t.

Hays, Kansas

67601

January, 1968

w

Dear

Fel low

Se rvan t s

Jean

and

I are enjoying a few days of r e s t

from

school .

We

f in ished

another

semester

l a s t

Tuesday,

the

23rd. The semester-end rush of term p ap ers , n ote

books,

study,

etc .

kept

us up pret ty

late

some

nights, and

morn

ings, but we

made i t

On

the 29th we regis ter

for another

semester,

and classes begin

again February 1st .

This will

be the l a s t

of

the work

on our Master*s

degrees .

a l l had a

very

fine Christmas and New Year's

holiday.

Dr. Rothermal was

with

us

for about

two

weeks.

Mary

Esther

and

Charles

- and Henki Boanaerts, a friend of

Mary Esther -

were

here almost a week. I t was good

to

be

together

again.

I t

may

be

the

l as t

time

for

awhile

i f

we

get to

return

to India th is summer. The holidays

were

brightened

by

many greeting

cards

and l e t te rs . Thanks to

each o f you who

sen t .

Love offerings continue to come

from

many of

you. We are ever gra te fu l for

these.

Your rece ip t i s

enclosed.

The s ac r i f i c i a l g i f t s you send give

us

renewed

st rength and

courage to continue in His Service.

The book o f

James has been

the

sub j ec t

o f our

evening

devotions

recent ly .

We would

l ike

to

share

a

few

words

with

you - Be ye pat ient therefore,

brethren,

unt i l

the coming of the Lord. . .

establ ish

your hearts : for the

coming

of the

Lord

i s

a t hand. May we be ready and found

working when He comes

Since re ly in C h ris t

Stn^ to show thyself aiqproved onto God a worhman . . . rightly dividing

the

word of

truth.

2 Tim. 2:15


2/7


3/7

CHRIST

MZSS O^

Aloha

Cottage;

Mussoorie, U.P.; India

\

n fur lough

WILLIAM JEAN ROLAND Mil 1 1 tOgB

417

W.

24th St.

Hays, Kansas 67601

forwarding

agent

JANET

SCHULTZ

Box

147

Lincoln,

Illinois 62656

A Half Century In India

Mr.

and

Mrs. S terling G.

Rothermel

started for India

in December 1914 to give their lives to the cause of Christ

in

that l and. They wen t under t he Chr is ti an Women s Board

of Missions, a ft er having spent a

year

of special

prepara

tion at the College of Missions in Indianapolis.

Dr.

Zoena S.

Rothermel, veteran

direct-support

mis si onary i n I nd ia f rom 1914 to 1964.

When

the

Rothermels

ha d

been

in In dia l es s

than ten

months they were sent to Maudaha (now called Ragaul)

in the United Provinces, where they spent the

rest

of

their

first

term

of over seven years. With the exception of one

missionan who was with

them

for

about

five

months they

l abored in

that place

alone more

than

six

years

and

had

over 100 converts.

Before

they

left India for

their

first furlough the

mis

s ionaries of th e

Mission vo ted

whet he r t he Ro th e rme ls

should

be

asked

to

return

(a

practice

according to mission policy).

Then

the Mission

secretary

sent

them

a

letter

of apprecia

t ion for th e work they had done and invited them to return.

But when the furlough

was

ended

and they

had been

granted

a further

year

for study in

th e United States

they

were

in

formed that

they cou ld not

return

under the U.C.M.S., which

had come into exi st en ce during

their

term in India. Mr.

othermel

c on ti nu ed h is s tu di es and

r ece ived

his B.D. de

gree.

Both Mr. and Mrs.

Rothermel

continued making speeches

in

the churches

and

sent

letters

to

friends

asking whether or

not, under the c ir cumstance s, they

thought

th e

Rothermels

should

return

to

India. T he

great

majority t hought they

should

return,

so in

1926

they ventur ed forth on faith in the

Lord

Jesus Christ.

While

many tri al s awaited them

they

never regret ted having been obedient

to

Christ s command.

(Continued on Page 2)

Twenty Years

A Brief Look Back

Ragaul

5 years.

William and Jean Rokind

went

to

India

in 947 to join

Mrs

Zoena

Rothermel

Jean's

mother

in the

evangeli stic

work at Ragaul. They planned for a program of Christian

Education

to

be

the

main emphasis

of

their worktraining

Indian men and

women

for service among their

own

people

The

Ragaul

Bible

Seminary

was started in January 949

with Babu Lai, a recent convert from Hinduism as the first

student. Rolands were still studying language when Babu

Lai came asking to enroll in Bible study. Rather than

tium

him away they arranged for two of the native evangelists

and Mrs Rothermel

to

give

of their time to

teach

In July

1950 twelve other students joined Babu Lai, and the Rolands

started their program of full-time Bible College classes.

Eight of those first students continued through the school

year. They were joined by others the

following

year for the

beginning of the Seminary s thi rd session . Due to Wil liam's

illness, however, the Seminary had to be discontinued in

the Fall of

1951

Some of the students went into other work;

some continued their training at Kulpahar Bible College

with Bro. Rempel.

Wil l i am

and ean

oland

serving

in India since

1947

Many other things kept the Rolands busy during that

first term. Construction work was pushed forward on the

Primary

School building

that

Mrs. Rothe rmel had

started.

A pump was installed in

the

well

and

a water tank built.

Bricks were made and material collected for buildings to

replace these destroyed by a fire. Evangelism was a

regular

par t of the program. They joined the mission evangelists

and Bible Women on tours to nearby villages when possible.

Occasicnally weekend trips were made, and Sunday aft

ernoons Seminary students and men of the Ragaul Church

went out by truck to hold meetings. The Gospel Seed was

sown. Visible fruits were not numbered by the hundreds but

there was rejoi cing in hearing a few confess the Lord as

Savior.

(Continued on Page 2)

Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman . . . rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Tim. 2:15


4/7

A HALF CENTURY (Continued from page 1)

From

this new beginning as direct-support missionaries

they continued their work, after having purchased the prop

erty at Ragaul. It wa s not long, though (1928), until Mr.

Rothermel

finished his earthly

ministry

for his Master

an d

Mrs.

Rothermel

wa s

left

to ca rry on alone.

T he w or k w as mostly evangelistic. D irect co ntacts

were

made a nd I nd ia n me n a nd w om en w er e t ra in ed to p re ac h t he

Word. M r s .

R o t h e r m e l

is a

m ed ic al d oc to r a nd sh e h as b e e n

able to

make

many contacts through he r

medical

work.

T he re w as also a primary school for Christian students. Be

yond primary school children w ^ helped to study as fa r

as they could advance in other schools. Many were given

opportunity to learn a trade or get started in some work.

Some were orphans and

some

ha d only one living parent.

Many children of poor Christian families who could not

otherwise have

ha d an education

have

been helped.

Mr. and Mrs.

Fred

Smith went to help in th e work in

1931 . After they studied the language they supervised the

work for about a year before Mrs. Rothermel returned to

th e

States for another furlough in 1933. The Smiths were

in India until the spring of 1936, when they returned for a

furlough. After taking thei r furlough they decided not to

return to I nd ia . M rs .

Rothermel

continued to c a rry on as

best she could with her Indian helpers and the Lord, hoping

that someone

would v ol un te er f or

this

needy field.

In

1943

Mrs. Rothermel came to th e

States

fo r another

furlough, as her health was not

good

and she had been

working in India for almost nine years. She continued to

ch^enge young

people

in the

churches and Bible colleges.

In 1945, when she returned again to India, Mr. and Mrs.

Tom Rash and Miss Edna Hunt accompanied her.

These new workers spent some time in Ragaul but

after they had learned the language they branched out to

work in an adjoining area. In 1947 Mrs. Rothermel s daugh

ter, Jean, and her husband William Roland, went to work

wife her. About fee same t ime Ralph Harter joined them.

In subsequent years these workers also

moved

to other

areas of se rvice in India. Mrs. Rothermel continued in fee

Ragaul work

until 964 when, at the age of

82

she returned

to

th e

United States. The church

work

at Ragaul is con

tinuing under fee leadership of India men with help from

Bro.

R a s h .

Mrs. Rothermel does not expect to go back to the land

where

he r

three children were bom, where two of them

and her beloved husband ar e buried, and where the people

she has adopted and learned to lovewere given the greatest

part of her

life,

about

fifty years.

But her influence for

the

Lord there continues to be felt. Many, missionary and In

dian alike,

stiU

affectionately call her Mamaji.

At

present

June 1966

she is

living

in Canton, Ohio.

The First Christian Church is her living link and the people

of fee church are supplying her needs. In

959

Mrs. Rother

mel had a cataract operation on one eye and fee resulting

Glaucoma caused the loss of vision in that eye. Because of

a cataract in the other eye she has very little vision left.

An operation may be performed if the condition

progr^es

sufficiently. She recently made application to the Mt.

Healfey

Christian Home in Cincinnati so will probably be moving

t he re this summe r

TWENTY YEARS (Continued from Page 1)

Bilaspur

- 6

years.

Following a furlough Rolands returned to India in 1954,

this t ime to combine the Bible Seminary program wife that

of Harry Schaefer in the Central Provinces. Twenty-three

men and women enrolled in the College the first year. Seven

of them were taking their final year of work and graduated

in May 1955 to take places in several fields of service. Be

sides the regular students two groups of twelve men from

Orissa Province took special three to four month courses.

They were

members

of churches who were being trained for

more effective service in

their

home congregations.

Preaching in Melas, visiting area churches, and helping

with

convention

programs was also a part of the Bible

Col

lege work. The students

spent

two days

at

t he R at an pu r

Mela sixteen miles

north

of Bilaspur. A Mela is a religious

fair of the Hindus. They usua lly last sev era l d a ys and pr o

vide a good opportunity to witness. The students used Gospel

songs to

attract

crowds. Then they preached an d sold tracts.

U

i h

C e nt ra l I n di a Bible Seminary a t Bilaspur.

1955 56 s t a f f a nd s t uden t s

The best spot seemed to be

at

the foot of a hill leading up

to the temple where fee Hindus went to perform their yearly

worship. Others stayed at the Jeep and used the P.A. system,

while others mingled wife th e crowds to sel l literature. As

the groups re tu rned to the camping area they related their

experiences:

many

bought

tracts

some listened to fe e stories

with interest others mocked

an d

went on. Bu t th e time

wa s

no t

w a st ed b e ca u se

soul s

h av e co me

to

C h r i s t

as

a result

of s ee d s ow n a t t h es e f a ir s

Evangelistic teams were also organized among fee st u

dents to vis it area churches. Typical of these trips

wa s

the

visit to the church in Raipur, seventy miles south of Bilas

pur. The group went on

Saturday

and held afternoon and

evening meetings in th e town wife th e P.A. system. Then on

Sunday they worshipped with

th e

local congregat ion and

presented special music and a message.

A H in du w orsh ip s h is G od

a

r oads i de

s t o n e

Other groups of

students

an d teachers

jo ined Bro.

S c ha e fe r i n c on ve nt io ns in

f e e

state

of Ori ssa. T h e s e mee t

ings usually

lasted

two or three days.

People

walked, or

came by ox cart

o r

bus from many miles around.

They

were

anxious to learn

a nd d id n t

seem to

ge t

tired sitting

through two sermons, each an

hour

or more long. They

brought their food an d cooking utensils a nd s ta ye d in th e

l oc al h om es t he c hur ch building, or

se t

up brush

arbors.

Visiting

and

working with people so

eager

to

hear

and

leam fee Word wa s

certainly

rewarding.

This program of Bible College classes, coupled with

various

evangelistic efforts,

wa s th e

pattern of t he m aj or

part of the work at Bilaspur. The College continued in Bila

spur for resident students for seven years . During feat t ime

a total of about 200 s tu de nt s t oo k

different

programs of

(Continued on

Page

4)


5/7

i

D A V I D

S o p h o m o r e

H ay s H ig h School

C H A R L E S

F r e s h m a n

Lincoln Ch r i s t i a n

College

M A R Y E S T H E R

J u n i o r

Lincoln

Christian

College

P A U L

F r e s h m a n

H ay s

H i gh

Sdiocd

Furlough Activities And A Look To Future Service

In the fall of 1964

William

enrolled in the University of Illinois for a program of study leading to a Masters degree in Sec

ondary Education. During the second semester he decided that the University s program was not what he really wanted. Besides

this they did not allow him any credit on his Bachelor s degree from the Cincinnati Bible Seminary. It would have taken

five or six years to complete the program. So in the fall of 1965 they transferred to Fort Hays Kansas State College in Hays,

Kansas. This college has an excellent Industrial Arts program, which is William s major. They also accepted both William and

Jean

as g rad uat e students. William will be able to complete all undergraduate and gra dua te work and get his teach^ cer

tification and Masters s degree by January 1968. If present plans work out they will visit churches in the spring of 1968 and

be

back

in

India

to

start

with

th e

school

year

beginning

July

1968.

William will be continuing school through the summer this year June, July 1966). Paul is taking some summer school

work, too, and helping his Dad as chief cook and bottle washer. Mary Est he r is spending the s um me r in D.V.B.S. and Chris

ti an Service Camp work in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. Charles g ra du at ed from high school in June and has gone

to Lincoln, HI., where he will work with the Lincoln Christian College construction crew during the summer, then enroll in

college this fall. Jean and David will spend the summer speaking in churches and working in D.V.B.S. and Christian Service

Camps in Kansas, Iowa, and Ohio. Mrs. Rothermel, Jean, Mary Esther, and David will be attending the North American

Christian Convention at Louisville, Ky. We all covet your prayers that we may render a faithful Christian stewardship.

O ur N ee ds

Financial receipts have continued quite well and we are very grateful to aU who are sending regular gifts and extra help.

By supplementing with money from the sale of personal belongings in India we have managed to keep all bills paid. This per

sonal source is about depleted now, though, and we will need extra income from you who ar e interested in helping us complete

preparations to return to India. The following is a partial list of our most pressing needs. We hope you can help us meet

t h e m

1. Living Link for

Jean pe r year 900.00

2. Living Link for David pe r year 150.00

3. Living Link for

Paul per year 400.00

4. Rent

an d

Utilities, pe r

month

100.00

Introductions

just for those of you who don t know us

William Roland wa s

bo m

December 24,

1923

to C ha rl es

an d

Laura Roland while

they

w er e m in is te ri ng to th e Versailles,

Illinois Church. When William

wa s

a bo ut ten

years

old, w hi le his

father

was m in is te r of the P ay so n, I llinois C hu rc h,

Lee Ca r

te r

Maynard

held a revival for them. At

that

time William accepted C hr is t as his S avior a nd w as buried with Him in baptism.

D ur in g the d ep re ss io n is was

hard

to

make

ends meet on the

salary

of a s ma ll- tow n

preacher

so Mr. Ro lan d

purchased

a

farm

an d

worked

it

d ur in g t he w ee k

to earn

enough

to provide

fo r

the f am il y.

From

the

time

William wa s

eleven years

ol d he

lived

on

t he fa rm .

His

father continued

to

preach

on the

Lord s

D ay . Wi ll ia m

graduated from Pittsfield

High School a

N ation al H on or

Society

student

in 1942. In

th e

fall of

th e

same

year

he

enrolled

in the C inc inn at i Bible

Seminary.

Jean

Rothermel

wa s

born

in

India

on

November

23, 1920 to

Sterling

an d Zoena

R ot he rm el . T he y w er e

s er vi ng t he ir f ir st

seven-year

term

as missi on arie s in

Ragaul

at the time. At an

early

age

Jean

accepted C hr is t as

he r

p erson al Sav io r

an d wa s

baptized into Him. Mr. Rothermel died when Jean was not quite eight y ea rs old, and seven months

later

her only living brother

fell from a cliff a nd w as killed. Jean s mother continued to serve as a

m i ss io na ry a m on g

those for

whom

he r

husband ha d

given

his l if e.

After

graduation

from

W oo ds toc k High S chool in

India

Jean

returned

to

t he U ni te d S ta te s

an d

enrolled

in

Minnesota

Bible

College. Following a

year

of studies there she

transferred

to the C in ci nn at i Bible Semin ary.

William an d

Jean

met at the Cincinnati Bible Se mina ry du rin g his f ir st

year

t he re and the following summer they were

married.

Jean graduated in 94 and did

aU

her

resident work toward

a

Master s degree.

William serv^ two

student minis

tries in MUford, Ky., and the Mt. Pleasant Church

near

Mt. Ol iv et , Ky. Fol lo wi ng W il li am s

graduation

in 1946

they presented

their m is sio n pl ans to the ch urc hes . In J im e 1947

they

sailed, with

their

daughter Mary Esther to jo in the e vangel ist ic work

o f th e U n i t e d P ro v in ce s w i th J e a n s m o t h e r .


6/7

TWENTY YEARS (Continued from

Page

2)

study. Twenty-four of

these graduated

to

receive

the

ce r

tificate of Christian Ministry. Students are serving in many

[ Li

1

.

.1

A

S em in ar y t ea m w it h

th e

Katni

Church

capacities

today.

Some are

working

as pastors and evaêl-

ists

Others

ar e

teaching

school.

Some

are working in a

printing ministry

Still others

a re s tr iv in g

to

m ake their

lives count for Christ as they work at secular jobs. Victor

Walter, who started with t he R aga ul Bible Seminary an d

completed his

training

in Kulpahar Bible College

then taught

at Bilnspur, is continuing the Bible

training ministry

through

correspondence work. He and Bro. Rash

are

working with

several

hundred s tudents from th e

center

in Kanpur

r i s s

c o nv e nt io n c row d

Another part of the Bible College

work

in

Bilaspur was

the extension-class

program

for the Middle and High School

students. A

part

of the school curriculum was the teaching

of the Scriptures. Bible College teachers taught several of

these classes. In

1960,

for example,

there

were five Bible

c la ss es w it h

about

60 students At one of t he v is it s

to

th e

Chirmiri Church a young man confessed Christ and was

baptized. He mentioned later that he had been in one of

William s high school Bible classes in Bilaspur. William

had forgotten having had him as a student, but it was a joy

to know

that

the seed had once again borne fruit.

Woods tock - 4 years

The program of Christian Educatitm was continued the

last

four

years

at Woodstock School in nor th India.

Wood-

Baptismal

service

during

on e

of th e

conventions

stock is a boarding school

that

provides children of mis

sionaries

a nd o th er

foreign personnel a fine oppor tunity to

get an education comparable to what they would get in

their homeland The

curriculum offers

all the

regular

grade

and high school stibjects, plus Bible classes for each grade.

In recent

years

the school has had to turn away many

applicants because of

lack

of space. The to ta l en ro llment is

mainta ined

at

about 500 students To e nsu re th at all the

children of

church

of Chr is t missionar ies be abl e to a tt end,

missionaries

with school-age

children

affiliated

with

Wood

stock as a ôup. There are certain affiliation

obligations

to

meet

One is to

supply

a

t each er for

each

ten

of their

st u

dents There are usually

about

twenty church of Christ

children enrolled In 1960 the Rolands

were

invited to t e ch

in

Woodstock

and beco me sta ff

members on

behalf

of the

church

of

Christ students During the

four

years

they

have

taught Bible classes in high school Life of Christ, and

Acts/Church History. They have taught Industr ia l Arts and

Woodstock School in the

Himalayas

nor th

o f D el hi

Children of missionaries

in India

and

neighboring

countries attend grade and high

school

here

Home Economics

in Elementary and High schcol. Part of

the

ti me they t aug ht Sunday

School

classes and sponsored

C. E and Bible study groups. Weekly communion services

were

led for

those wishing to

attend During th e

l ast y ea r

they

were supervisors

of the

residence

Ridgewood,

where

all boys of âdes one through eight live. Being at

Wood

stock

has

given the Rolands opportunity to live and work

with

native

servants of various religious beliefs, an d

with

students of many nationalities and beliefs. There have been

as many as fourteen nationalities in the student body.

Woodstock is truly an international school where world

leaders ar e trained. It is a real challenge to be a

part

of

s:

Missionary children

t

Woodstock gate Woodstock

enab les miss ionar ies to give full tim e to mission

work

an d t

th e

sa me t im e give their children a

good

Cliristian

education

this Christian Education program, helping to mold young

lives

fo r

Chr is t ian se rv ice

Furlough

In June 1964 Rolands

traveled

from Mussoorie

to

La

hore, Pakistan by

ca r

and t ra in thus ending fifteen

years

of s ervice in India. After much unraveling of

red t ape they

got their Volkswagen Microbus and Camper Trailer cleared

through Pakistan customs. On

July

4 they said fareweU to

friends and headed

west. A

9,{ K mile drive

took

them

through Afghanistan, across northern Iran, and through

Turkey via the Black Sea coast. They toured Greece. Italy,

Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and England. A plane

flight from London to Chicago brought them back home to

start

their second

full furlough.


7/7

roland william jean 1968 india

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