The mission was founded in 1971 by Pete and
Marge Weiss, my parents. Dad was a converted Jew who found the Lord in his early
50s. Mom was a Christian since her college days and was a native Texan.
Serving
Independent Fundamental Baptist Missionaries
with fully furnished homes for deputation and furlough.
The mission was founded in 1971 by Pete and
Marge Weiss, my parents. Dad was a converted Jew who found the Lord in his early
50s. Mom was a Christian since her college days and was a native Texan.
When my parents were living in Elmhurst, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, they
were very involved in their local church ministries and mission outreach. Dad
was a deacon and worked with Cook County Jail and the Pacific Garden Mission in
Chicago. Mom made summer trips to Indian reservations in New Mexico and Arizona,
doing V.B.S. and youth work, and taught ladies Sunday school class.
In 1969 Pete and Marge heard a message from 2 Kings 4:8-10 concerning the
Shunammite woman and her calling to care for Elisha. The Holy Spirit began
dealing with them about building a modern day ministry for the care of traveling
missionaries. For over two years they sought the Lord’s direction in the purchase
of enough property to complete a complex that could accommodate this goal.
Although they looked in several different states, the Lord led them to West
Baden, Indiana. An elderly lady had 66 acres of property she had been
holding on to for possible investment. When my parents told her of the
proposed purpose for the land she said she would sell it for the purchase price
some 20 years earlier. She explained that her desire was for the property
to serve her Lord. They bought the entire 66 acres for $4,000. Next,
this same lady and her husband donated the first three mobile homes and paid the
costs to
have them set.
Pete shared the conviction that David had in 2 Chronicles 21:24 for he would
offer nothing to the Lord that did not cost him something. His conversion
to the Christian faith years earlier had cost him the loss of his entire family.
Dad sold his business and home in Chicago and invested every dime in the
beginning development of Shepherds Bethel. Both he and mom were in their
sixties when they moved from a ten room ranch home with three acres in the
suburbs of Chicago to a three bedroom trailer in southern Indiana.
With little or no church support, the work was hard to get motivated.
Mission housing was a fairly new development back in the early 70s, especially
when you added the word free to it. God blessed it in spite of all the
seeming impossibilities, and for the next ten years the mission grew from three
homes to ten. Along with the housing part of the ministry they felt it
important to supply physical and spiritual encouragement to these dear
travelers. A library was developed which now has over 3,000 books.
Then a recreational hall with indoor ping-pong and table games was built.
Next, a shop, a laundry room and a storage building for major furnishings were
erected. During the building of the fashion center, which was to supply
the weary travelers with clothing, God called Pete home. It was 1980 at
the age of 72 that Pete, while driving a large tractor mowing in front of the
mission, had a massive heart attack, flipped the tractor over on himself, and
was taken home.
For the next ten years Marge carried on the work God had called them to.
With some help from short-term staff and many work teams from local churches she
was able to continue to grow the mission bringing the number of homes to twelve.
Also, a modern library was added, a playground for the kids, as well as the
finishing of the Lydia Fashion center, supplying free clothing to the
missionaries.
God’s faithfulness must not be undermined during the development stages of this
work. I could, given the time, cite hundreds of examples of God’s gracious
work in supplying the needs and desires of both Pete and Marge as the mission
grew. How often they saw answer to prayers for every need from spiritual
encouragement to financial obligations. Many and long is the story of
Gods rich provision. By 1990, Mom was in her 80s and was basically
operating the mission by herself....THE
REST OF THE STORY
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