Connect October-November 2022

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2022 CONNECT TheTshteosriteosribesehbienhdintdhethpeepoepoleplaenadndmminiinsitsrtierisesoof fTTooppeekkaaBBiibblleeCChhuurrcchh Centered in Faith Kelly Crandall on serving at Manila’s Faith Academy

UPCOMING CONNECTING EVENTS WOMEN’S MEN’S EXPRESSO BREAKFAST invite a friend kick off your for connecting weekend time and hear with a hearty stories of God breakfast with at work in the friends and lives of women great stories 7 PM Tuesday 10/11 & 11/8 7:30 AM Saturday 10/15 & 11/19 TRUNK OR RESTORATION TREAT ROAD a fun candy an interactive grab for our experience neighbors of foster care and church from a child’s family point of view 2-4 PM Sunday 10/30 5 PM Friday, 11/4 Visit DiscoverTBC.com for details on these and other upcoming opportunities to connect! Connect is a publication of Our thanks to the staff Topeka Bible Church, 1135 SW College and volunteers who Avenue, Topeka, KS 66604, 785-234-5545. contributed to this issue: Please send inquiries to the editor: Teresa Jenkins, [email protected] Alan Hardee (photography) Heidi Nelson (writing/proofreading)

CONNECT OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2022 IN THIS ISSUE The Great Commission is a worldwide Kelly Crandall • page command, given by an 2 eternal God. In this issue you’ll find the 2 Centered in Faith stories of two members of our TBC family – 6 TBC-Supported Mission Worker Kelly separated by seven decades and thousands 10 Crandall of miles – that showcase this truth. Whether it’s Iwo Jima during World War 12 A Heart for Serving II or the modern-day Philippines, God is always at work. Jim Freel Connor Kraus Lead Pastor Connection Points Faith-based book recommendations from our church community Connecting With: Jenny Durbin NEW TO TBC? Let’s connect! We’re so glad you’re here ... welcome! We know it can be difficult to find a good fit in a new church home. We have several welcome events throughout the year to help you get acquainted and to share more about our ministries and beliefs. To find out more, or to get connected with a Bible study, Sunday school, or small group, email [email protected] or call 785-234-5545.

Meet a school psychologist whose heart is for helping families Centered in Faith Many children dream of what they want to do when they grow up. Those dreams often change drastically over time. But not for Kelly Crandall, who wanted to be a teacher for as long as she could remember. She recently recalled a defining moment from her childhood. “The memory I have is nothing extraordinary, just me laying on the floor at home, and I remember thinking, ‘I think I’m going to be a missionary.’” So Kelly embarked on an educational journey that would allow her to be a teacher and serve in the mission field. Kelly and her family have attended TBC since she was five. She was active in student ministry, then left for college to work on an elementary education and Bible degree at Moody Bible Institute. She moved to the Philippines after college to do her student teaching at Faith Academy, just outside the metropolitan area of Manila. Established in 1957, Faith Academy is a school for the children of mission workers from around the world. They also serve the families of Filipino pastors and other ministry workers. Kelly said that about 25% of the students are Korean, 25% are American, 25% are Filipino, and the rest come from various places. All instruction is in English, the only common language amongst the students. Kelly said she had to do a lot of growing and adjusting when she first arrived in the Philippines. She was only 21 years old, and not only was it her first time living in another country, but it was also her first time living on her own. She had to learn to do grocery shopping and pay bills. Although English is widely spoken in the Manila area and most signs are written in both Filipino and English, Kelly had to learn metric system conversions and figure out currency conversion rates for the Philippine peso. continued 2 CONNECT • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2022

Kelly Crandall returned stateside for OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2022 • CONNECT 3 a few weeks this summer. Here she’s sporting her Faith Academy t-shirt. The gold words translate to “faith” in the languages of students who attend the academy.

Kelly and her peers work to identify and help students who “I really thrived those need additional support to succeed in the classroom. first three years,” Kelly said. “Teaching was something that I absolutely loved. It was life-giving for me. I’d teach during the day, and I had students in my room during lunch and after school, and we just did a lot of life together. Lots of opportunities for discipleship. I felt really blessed by God, and I was in a place where I was loving life and really thriving.” Kelly said she also had to adjust to the Kelly said that some Faith Academy parents tropical climate. “We have two seasons – serve at seminaries, training pastors and hot and wet and hot and dry.” Although the mission workers from Southeast Asian school is air-conditioned, Kelly said that nations. Because of the religious freedom cooling systems are still a luxury for most in the Philippines, it’s a safe place for these homes. people to train so they can return home Kelly was close to the end of her student better-equipped to minister in their teaching when she contemplated her communities. next steps. After her first term on the mission field, “I felt like God was saying, ‘Why not stay Kelly returned to Topeka for graduate here?’” school to study school psychology. While Kelly jumped at that suggestion and spent here, she helped with the TBC Young three years teaching middle school math Adults leadership team. and science at Faith Academy. After graduating from KU, she began her second term at Faith Academy. She is now How You Can Help Faith Academy staff members like Kelly Crandall do not receive a salary. They raise their own support from individuals and organizations like Topeka Bible Church. This allows the academy to keep tuition affordable for mission workers. If you’d like to provide financial support for Kelly or any of the more than 50 mission workers and mission organizations we help fund, contact Pastor of Missions and Leader Development Jim Congdon at [email protected]. 4 CONNECT • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2022

Although her new role as school psychologist is critical in supporting the families of Faith Academy, Kelly admits that she misses the interaction with students that she enjoyed as a teacher. working in student support, doing can I do to keep you in the calling that God evaluations and interventions for struggling has given you?” students. “That’s been a very different role I don’t want the education for me,” Kelly said. “I’m not of students with special teaching. I have fewer needs to be a reason why interactions with students. Most of workers leave the field. my job is working with adults who support kids.” Although she may not have as much student Kelly recalls a mission family she worked involvement as she used to, Kelly said she with a year ago. They were from another enjoys the variety of her country and had a middle schooler with current position. The student support special education needs. system is new to the academy, and she finds “They said it’s either Faith Academy in the excitement in that, too. Philippines or we have to go home,” Kelly said. But the thing that Kelly enjoys most about Faith Academy approved their application, her new calling is that it allows her to started working with the student, and the prevent mission worker attrition. Some family was able to keep working on the families have to leave the mission field mission field in the Philippines. because they can’t access programs that “It’s really exciting for me to partner with adequately meet their children’s needs. other missionaries so they can translate the “I don’t want the education of students with Bible, work with orphans, and plant special needs to be a reason why mission churches.” Kelly said. workers leave the field,” Kelly said, “What OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2022 • CONNECT 5

US Marine Corps veteran Jim Freel recently visited a military memorial at Topeka’s Gage Park. The memorial features the iconic image from the Battle of Iwo Jima, where Jim was injured. 6 CONNECT • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2022

Jim Freel still carries the schrapnel from a wound he received at Iwo Jima in 1945. It earned him a Purple Heart, but his notable career in law enforcement shows that he has A Heart for Serving Twenty-one-year-old Jim Freel and his fellow Fifth Division Marines arrived on the island of Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945. The situation on the ground wasn’t what they expected. Securing the five-mile-long, three-mile-wide island was supposed to take no more than four days. “There had been about 20,000 Japanese (troops),” he said. “The island had been bombed for 74 consecutive days, and the Navy had just shelled it for 72 consecutive hours. We didn’t expect to find anything more than a few dazed Japanese. They weren’t very dazed.” In all, it took US forces 36 days to secure the island. But just four hours after Jim arrived, he felt a stinging pain in his neck. “I put my hand up to my neck,” he said. “It was full of blood. I reached up to make sure my head was still there, so I wasn’t too concerned.” Jim had been hit by mortar shrapnel. A corpsman came along and bandaged the wound. Jim walked back to the landing craft to catch a ride to the hospital ship. The injury wasn’t life-threatening (it’s still in his neck today), but he was out of the action and on a hospital ship that took him to Guam. He spent his recovery time at the naval hospital camp Adair in Corvallis, OR. Jim longed to be back with his Marine buddies, doing the job he was sent there to do. “I wanted to be where the action was,” Jim said. “But in the Marine Corps, you go where you’re, sent when you’re sent. You don’t argue with a first sergeant. You’d have better luck arguing with your mother.” Jim’s brother, Bill (Billy Bob), wasn’t as fortunate. He was killed in action at continued OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2022 • CONNECT 7

farms of their maternal and paternal grandparents. Jim’s brother Billy Bob (left) and Jim (right) enlisted “I can remember the in the Marines shortly after the bombing of Pearl Depression years when milk Harbor. Billy Bob was killed in action at Okinawa. was a penny a quart,” Jim said. “You had to put a three-cent deposit on the bottle. Pork chops were four pounds for a quarter in the grocery store. Bread was a nickel a loaf. The going wages were a dollar a day with ten-hour days and six-day weeks.” Jim and his siblings attended Sunday school when they were young. He recalls staying with one set of grandparents who lived in Rossville and attending church with them. “My aunt Bertha, bless her dear soul, played the organ in the Methodist church up there. You had to sit real still, keep your clothes clean, and not talk.” He added that this wasn’t easy for him and Billy Bob. Jim graduated from Topeka High School in 1941. A few months later, on an evening in December, Jim and Bill were listening to The Dinah Shore At the Marine’s 75th anniversary commemoration of Show on the radio. It was the the Battle of Iwo Jima, Jim showed the type of first time Jim heard about firearm he used in combat. the bombing of Pearl Harbor Okinawa on May 7, just a couple of months earlier that afternoon. after Jim was wounded. Jim enjoys reflecting “We didn’t even know where Pearl Harbor on their childhood and recalling what life was,” Jim said. “Nobody did. My brother was like growing up in Kansas during the and I both wanted to go into the service. My Dust Bowl era and the Great Depression. mom didn’t think we should.” Jim was born February 27, 1923, in Maple Jim and Bill enlisted in the Marine Corps Hill, KS (about 25 miles west of Topeka). and began their first journey away from His family moved to Topeka when he was home and family. three, but he and Bill spent summers on the 8 CONNECT • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2022

“We were Marines; we were invincible,” Bill Department of Labor task force that said. “What young person thinks anything is investigated organized crime among the going to happen to them, anyway?” labor unions – primarily longshoremen, Jim said his faith helped get him through teamsters, and hotel and restaurant workers. those years in the Marine Corps. His team served alongside the IRS, the “If you didn’t believe in God, you weren’t FBI, and other governmental agencies. This there,” he said. “If you didn’t know how career path took Jim and his wife, Mary Lee, to pray before, you certainly learned right to San Francisco for 20 years. quickly.” Jim and Mary Lee (who he met in high When the war ended in August 1945, Jim school) were married for 37 years until she was a naval prison guard at Portsmouth, died in 1986. Jim returned to Topeka in NH, until his enlistment ended in 1947. 1997 and married Helen Pannone, who he He moved back to Kansas but found that had met while working at the Topeka returning servicemen had saturated the job Police Department. Helen, who attended market. TBC, got Jim going to Sunday school and “All the good jobs were taken,” Jim said. “As Bible study groups. someone who grew up in the depression, “I “There was never a time in my life when I was determined I was going to get a job that didn’t believe in God,” Jim said. But he didn’t had a pension plan.” So he applied with the start attending church regularly until TBC. Topeka Police and Fire Departments, the Kansas Highway Patrol, and several large There was never a time companies that offered pensions. in my life when I didn’t “The police department was the first one believe in God. that hired me,” Jim said. He started as a traffic patrolman and, during the 26 years “I met so many great people there,” Jim said. he served in the department, he worked his At one time, we were doing four different way up to police chief. groups. You can’t be around those kinds of Jim said the issues the department faced people without something good rubbing off then are similar to the ones they face now. on you.” The main difference is the community’s As of the printing of this story, Jim is about response to law enforcement. five months away from his 100th birthday, a “Before the riots and everything, good time to do a little reflecting. policemen wore uniforms, and the uniforms “I’ve been very grateful for the life I’ve had,” were respected,” Jim said. “Now they look he said. “It’s a very diversified life. Born and like combat soldiers. It’s a different attitude.” raised in the Depression when nobody had Although Jim committed his life to serving, anything. But still, people believed in what he said he would not want to be a police God did and would eventually do for them.” officer in 2022. Jim said sometimes he wonders why God After retiring from the Topeka Police keeps him here so long. “If God’s got a job Department, Jim began a second career as for me, I wish he’d let me get started on it,” a special investigator, fighting corruption at he said. the federal level. He was part of a Federal OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2022 • CONNECT 9

CONNECTION POINTS We asked TBCers: What faith-based books (fiction or non-fiction) do you recommend? I just spent the last year reading the Left Behind series. I highly recommend this fictional series. Also, C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce, Screwtape Letters, and Mere Christianity. – Bethanie Popejoy Piercing the Darkness and This Present Darkness by Frank E. Peretti; The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce and Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis; and In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson. – Christie Chance Crazy Love by Francis Chan, Knowing God Holding on to Hope by Nancy by J. I. Packer. Guthrie, The Chroncles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. – Randall Birtell – Leanna Clark The Gospel in Bonds Unfollow: A Memoir of by Georgi Vins. Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist – Holly Jamison Church by Megan Phelps-Roper – Suzanne Robb The Pilgrims’s Progress by John Bunyan, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, and Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project by Jack Mayer. – Rosalie Wenger 10 CONNECT • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2022

Peace Like A River by Leif Enger. It’s not marketed as a faith-based book, but it’s a wonderful story about family, faith and sacrifice. It’s my favorite book! – TBC Student Ministry Assistant Lori Tennyson Some of my personal favorites are: The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom, Perfect Trust by Charles Swindoll, Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan, and Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi – Aleda Berry Auschwitz #34207: The Joe Rubinstein Story by Nancy Sprow- ell Geise and The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson. – Debi Parker Epic by John Eldredge, The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler, Win the Day by Mark Batterson, Laugh Again by Charles Swindoll and The Christian in Complete Armour by William Gurnall. – Donnie Palmer Anxious for Nothing by Max Lucado is what grounded me during 2020. (It was) perfect timing to help with anxiety of the unknown. Such a great book! – Keyera Patrick OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2022 • CONNECT 11

CONNE CTING WITH: Raised on her family’s farm outside Palco in Western Kansas, Jenny CURRENT MINISTRY INVOLVEMENT: learned early on the value of family, Women’s Council (Bible studies hard work, and reaping what you sow branch), she and her husband have (literally and figuratively). been part of a TBC small group for “I loved it because I loved to more than a dozen years. work outside,” she said, “I got to She also volunteers at Cair Paravel experience a very close family Latin School. life where we depended on each FAMILY: other, helped each other, served Married to Derek. They have four one another.” children: Taryn, Petra, Blaine, and Jenny left the farm to study Kenlee kinesiology at Kansas State FAVORITE READS: Almost University. But she met a guy named anything spiritual-based – the Bible Derek, who was studying to become a (of course!), psychology, Bible dentist. As their relationship bloomed, studies Jenny decided to get her dental hygiene FAVORITE PLACE TO TRAVEL: degree at the University of Nebraska Cayman Islands Medical Center. Jenny and Derek married in 2001, and Jenny began her career as a 12 CONNECT • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2022 dental hygienist. As the Durbin family grew, Jenny worked part-time, then took a hiatus to raise their children. She now works part-time at Today’s Dentistry, the practice founded by her father-in-law (TBCer Bob Durbin), which Derek joined in 2004. Jenny said she enjoys the profession because she gets the opportunity to talk with people one-on-one. Jenny enjoys exercising, especially walking with friends. “I love to be outside with people!” she said. Her time on the family farm in Western Kansas might have had an impact on the way Jenny prefers to spend her time. She recently started gardening and raising chickens. But what really gets Jenny excited about getting up in the morning is her quiet time. “I love to get up and study my Bible and drink my coffee,” she said. “It is intentional time with God before my crazy day begins. It gets my soul in a good place.”

#discovertbc – photos from our feeds BAPTISMS - Our church family gathered to hear the stories of 37 children and adults who were baptized on Sunday, August 28. Check out our Facebook and Instagram feeds for these stories! FEEDING THE COMMUNITY - We’re so A GREAT START - Bethany Hansen grateful to all the volunteers who help (from the Intentional Mom Steering with the monthly Harvesters food Committee) helped kick off the year giveaway. Mike Westman, Elyssa Bolze, by leading moms in reading Psalm 46. Clyta Bolze, Lorie Myers, Sloan Terry, and Intentional Mom meets twice a month Rozanna Selley were part of the August to provide connecting time, spiritual crew! growth, and fun activties for moms and mentor moms. CONNECT WITH US! @discovertbc @topekabiblechurch Topeka Bible Church

UPCOMING EVENTS Some events require registration. Visit DiscoverTBC.com for details or to register. OCTOBER 2022 NOVEMBER 2022 8 & 15 Guys Around the Fire 4 Restoration Road 8 6:30 PM at selected locations 8 5 PM, College Ave Bldg Gather your buddies and join 19 Experience the foster care us for refreshments and 20 system through the eyes of a engaging conversations child in this immersive, around the fire! interactive experience. 11 Harvesters Food Harvesters Food Distribution Distribution 8 AM, Stormont Vail Events 8 AM, Stormont Vail Events Center parking lot Center parking lot Volunteers needed. Volunteers needed. Women’s Expresso 11 Women’s Expresso 7 PM, Mulvane Lower 7 PM, Mulvane Lower Auditorium Auditorium Hear how God has moved in Hear how God has moved in the lives of women from TBC. the lives of women from TBC. Men’s Breakfast 16 Foster & Adoptive 7:30 AM, College Ave Lobby Families Connection Load up with a great breakfast as a guy from our congregation 10:30 AM, College Ave E shares his story. Conference Room Join with others on the same Foster & Adoptive journey! Families Connection 16 Project 2 Restore 10:30 AM, College Ave E Conference Room Update Join with others on the same journey! 12 Noon, Mulvane Lower Auditorium Save the Date! Hear how this restoration TBC Christmas Light Show home for survivors of human trafficking has impacted lives Our gift to the Topeka community! and learn how you can join the fight to end trafficking. Friday-Sunday, December 9-11 30 Trunk or Treat 2-4 PM, TBC Campus Decorate your vehicle and bring the kids for candy and fun. Find more events at DiscoverTBC.com!