Inspire, Winter 1997

Career Connections N me employees ofthe Allegro Group,Inc.,a Dayton-based corporation that specializes in advanced Internet applications,are Cedarville College alumni.The company is Christian-owned and operated and is committed to conducting business in a biblical manner. Its dedication to biblical values and continued business success led Bowe Hoy'96,the company's first employee from Cedarville College,to Allegro Group, Inc. Bowe helped pave the way for other alumni tojoin the Allegro family. Among other responsibilities,Bowe actively recruits Cedarville College alumni tojoin the company and can be reached at 1-800-209-6245 or"bowe@allegro-group.com." Allegro's array ofservices include AllegroNET,a complete messaging system offering companies of all sizes the ability to send and receive Internet messages from their corporate e-mail system. Allegro currently serves over 1,000 corporations around the world,including Mercedes-Benz USA; Domino's Pizza,Inc.;Continental Airlines; Amtrak;the U.S.Olympic Committee;Callaway Golf Company;Ore-Ida Foods;Turtle Wax,Inc.; Vail Ski Resorts;and New York Transit Authority. Allegro also serves several Christian-based organizations,including Word ofLife,Bethany World Prayer Center,Institute in Basic Life Principles,and the Home School Legal Defense Association. Jane Adams Smith '84,director ofalumni relations,treated the Cedarville alumni to lunch,to say "thanks"for developing a great Cedarville College alumni career network.Employed with Allegro Group, Inc. and pictured are Kim Ruhl'97N, Kimberly Bandy Hoy '97,Bowe Hoy'96, Tim Clark'95, Virgil Vaduva'97,Kyle Peterson '96,and Jim Cramer'96.Not pictured: Nathan Martindale'98N and Randall East'95. International Outreach M ostfreshmen will admit that starting college involves a major adjustment; however,few face as great an adjustment as do international students. Culture shock,language difficulties,immigration issues,and homesickness are all potential challenges. Professor Cindy Sutter-Tkel is sensitive to the unique needs ofinternational students and has ministered to many ofthem over the past several years. Cindy's husband came to the U.S.as an international student,and Cindy has traveled to 17 other countries.Through these and other experiences,Cindy has developed a burden for international students who are having difficulty adjusting. Cindy's outreach began through friendships with individual students. It developed through hosting birthday parties and dinners and having international students live in her home.Now she is helping establish an official student organization and arranging faculty and staffsponsors for students who wantthem.Cindy is quick to point out that not all international students are looking for support. One student touched by Cindy's efforts is senior Atsuko Ohtake ofJapan. Atsuko has been active in organizing events for the approximately 30international students at Cedarville and is an officer in the proposed student organization."God has given me the eyes to be sensitive toward other people's needs,"she says."There is so much that Cedarville College has given me.Now,I would like to give something that will be helpful to students in the future." Cindy sees ministry with international students as two-way. "Having a relationship with someone from another country opens up a whole other world to you.They minister to us as much as we minister to them." I \ tirtik .. SociaArkProgram Director iend. jr s with international stud its such as Atsuko Sutter-Tkel builds Upheld By Prayer Ai he Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."Psalm 34:18 was a verse ofcomfortfor 1997 nursing graduate Kimber Call.In April 1997,Kimber's fiancé, Nathan Battaglia'97N,died from an aggressive viral infection which attacked his heart. Her burden was heavy,but the Lord surrounded Kimber with many people to help carry it. Kimber's roommate,Sarah Jenks'97,supported her throughout Nathan's hospital stay. As a fellow nursing major,Sarah understood what was going on medically, as well as how it would affect Kimber emotionally.The entire nursing class of 1997 encouraged Kimber through the remaining weeks before graduation. "I think the most effective way the Cedarville College family helped 'carry the burden' was through prayer.I know there were a lot of people who'didn't know what to do,' but they prayed, and I could feel the difference.Some ofthe hardest days—the funeral,graduation,the day our wedding was to be—were made so much more bearable knowing that I wasn't alone,that so many alumni and their friends and churches were praying for me." Many Cedarville College alumni,friends,and family helped in practical ways— sending encouraging notes and flowers,housing her family during their stay for the funeral, helping her with summer housing and a summerjob, taking care oftransportation needs,and helping her find a full-timejob this fall. Currently,Kimber is a nurse in the maternity ward at Greene Memorial Hospital in Xenia, Ohio.The Lord has truly sustained Kimber and surrounded her with His family to help bear her burden. ,Ilanyfriends and alumni helped bear Kimber's burden 6 Bearyeoneanother's burdens, andsofuffl11thelaw ofChrist Galatians6:2 Sharing A Heart For Missions A lthough their careers at Cedarville College were separated by a generation,God used 1964 graduate Norm Nicklas as a significant influence in burdening the heart of 1986 graduate Peter Wright for foreign missions. Pete says,"During the missions conference my freshman year at Cedarville College, where Norm Nicklas was speaking,I totally surrendered my life to the Lord to allow Him to do with it what He wanted.The next year at the missions conference,Norm Nicklas spoke again,and I gave my life to foreign missions." The Lord did not direct Pete to the mission field right away,however. For ten years, he taught evangelism and discipleship classes at West Park Baptist Church in Knoxville,Tennessee and was involved in Christian broadcasting.In 1994,Pete met his wife,Sonya,who spent her high school years in Mexico as a missionary kid. After their marriage in 1995,the Wrights took a survey trip to Santiago,Chile. They are now preparing to assist in church-planting efforts in Chile, with an emphasis on evangelism and discipleship. Pete also hopes to use his degree in broadcasting to start a radio ministry,producing programs in Spanish to be aired on Christian and secular stations. The Wrights say,"Our prayer is for God's direction, wherever He should lead us." continued from front It requires a commitmentoftime in order to know the heart,the needs,ofour friends. When we see the other person's needs,we can then carve out the time to help meet those needs. The focus ofall Jesus' requests was prayer. He brought His friends to the garden so that they could pray with Him,but they slept. Is it possible that His griefin the garden was heavier because He wasso alone,that each time He asked his friends to pray with Him,He continued to pray alone? Perhaps our earnest prayers can reduce the agony of another's grief. As we pray,we can be certain it strengthens us for what lies ahead in our own lives. The car crash which my family experienced changed forever the course ofour lives. Our physical lives were changed;our son was in heaven, alljoy and glory for him, but deepest grieffor us. Just as dramatically, we were changed spiritually. And as other believers kept watch with us,their faithful ministry changed us. As they let us talk about how we felt and about Sean,as they kept vigil with us in the weeks and months to follow,as they prayed for us, their ministry changed us. Whether we are experiencing the suffering or we are keeping watch with one who is suffering, if we follow the pattern which Christ established in the garden of Gethsemane,we can become Gethsemane Christians. Deborah Bush Haffey '68 is associate professor of communication arts at Cedarville College. She and her husband, David '69, who is an attorney, reside near Cedarville, Ohio.In addition to Sean, they are parentsofHannah Marsdale '96, Benjamin, and Esther.