Next Steps for the Class of 2014

This August, the Bible Institute’s alumni family will grow by about 521, as students from the teaching sites in New York, Florida, Owen Sound, and Jeju graduate and head to their next step. While much of the Victory Journal’s mission is connecting alumni who have been away from Word of Life for a bit, we also want to welcome the newest members of the group and look back on a great year of ministry and growth.

Click here to read or watch what a few of our soon-to-be alumni from the Class of 2014 had to say.

Testimony Corner: Dean Bruckner, Class of 1981

My year at Word of Life Bible Institute was one of the best three years of my life.

As a 17-year-old believer in Christ, I sensed a calling to the secular world as an engineer, military officer, or both. I asked God for wisdom. Our family friends David and Billy Giles (Class of 1978 and 1979, respectively) strongly recommended my brother Lee and I attend the Bible Institute. So we did, along with their sister, Victoria.

The three of us arrived in mid-September 1980 to picture-perfect chalets, hard benches, and the daily Quiet Time diary — the Word of Life experience. Thirty guys push-starting our 18-wheeler in Canada on Collegians winter tour, a missions conference that a hundred of us missed with the flu in the days before vaccinations, watching Dean of Men Ray Namie doing doughnuts in his van — with his family inside — on the frozen lake, and a two-week trip to Israel, Jordan, and Egypt all are indelibly stamped in my memory. But even more than those memories were the lifelong imprints made by the Word of God on the deepest part of who I am.

Life. The Word. That’s what Word of Life is all about. From where I stand, a more coherent, practical, comprehensive one-year presentation of the Bible, integrated into preparation for life, does not exist. For me, it came at exactly the right time, and it equipped me for all that was to come.

Since then, I’ve sailed the coasts of North America, from Nova Scotia to the Panama Canal, to Alaska’s farthest Aleutian Islands, and to the Arctic Circle. I’ve been to 20 foreign countries and studied five languages. I’ve lived a year abroad, earned a Ph.D in electrical engineering, and became a licensed professional engineer. I was the lead system integrator for flight tests of the GPS and inertial navigation systems of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. I got married and have three school-age children, served in eight churches and military chapels, and now teach industrial and systems engineering at Ohio University.

What does all this amount to? Absolutely nothing, in light of eternity, except what was done for Christ and His kingdom. That is the debt I owe to Word of Life. In that year, my spiritual navigation instruments and library of life charts were fitted for the long haul. If God’s hand has held my life on course during everything that’s followed, if He’s used it to touch others, if He and His Word are better known and loved in my wake, it will be due in great measure to what I received in the spiritual “shipyard” on the shores of Schroon Lake.

What amazes me is that it was such fun, too. It truly was one of the three most joyful years of my life, along with my honeymoon year of marriage and my year as a young commanding officer of the U.S. Coast Guard radio station near Istanbul, Turkey.

The Turks have a saying: “A tree can be shaped when it’s young.” That was Word of Life to me.

Testimony Corner: Dave Duma, Class of 1979

For many years, I could not stand to be around Christians. I hated to see those smiling faces. I just knew they couldn’t be happy all the time.

My childhood was unhappy. My mom and dad divorced when I was 6 years old. I remember them always fighting, and my mom crying at night after the police escorted my dad out of the house. My mom and we three children were left in a farmhouse with no heat and a bank repossession letter on the door, telling us to move.

The Christians I knew were counterfeit. They smiled but never helped, even after my dad left. Instead, my grandpa and grandma took us in. Mom got a decent job as a secretary in a factory, and my brother and I got jobs as kids to pay our own way. I delivered newspapers. When I was 12, I started washing dishes in a restaurant and cleaned a slaughterhouse.

Getting into the working world introduced me to different people, and I made new friends who were not good for me. The Bible says bad company corrupts good manners, and it’s true. I was a good boy who went bad — and fast. I finally had plenty of money, but that didn’t keep me from being miserable.

Still, I knew some people who didn’t have much materially but always had smiling faces and seemed genuinely happy. They seemed to like me and never judged me, and I was comfortable around them for some reason.

All these people wanted to do was to help me, and I began to think that they ay be right when they told me I just needed Christ. Before, there was no way I thought Jesus could be the answer because everything associated with God and Christianity had been so bad in my life. But these people planted the seed that got me thinking that Christ could be what I needed as my life sank further into the sin issues I was dealing with.

While battling sin and thinking about where my life was headed, one night it all finally came together. I knew I needed to come to Christ.

After a series of events, on June 14, 1977, at 11:30 p.m., I knelt on a sidewalk in Akron, Ohio, and asked Jesus to forgive me and take control of my life. I was 21 years old. On that night, 2 Corinthians 5:17 became real: “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away: Behold, all things are become new.”

Starting that night, God changed all my desires. I became one of those smiling face people.

I loved to go to church, something I never did before. I loved fellowship with believers and studying God’s Word. A year later, my pastor told me about the Word of Life Bible Institute, and I decided I wanted a deeper walk with the Lord. I wanted to get grounded, and God led me to join the Class of 1979.

I never preregistered for the Bible Institute. My pastor told me that if God was leading me, Word of Life wouldn’t send me home. My Bible study small group at home had a going-away party for me and handed me an envelope with enough cash to pay my way. I knew God’s hand was on me.
I drove 533 miles in a junk car with no heat to get to the Bible Institute, and I was so happy. I showed up the day before class — campfire night.

That year, I became grounded in God’s Word, and 34 years later, I still have my verses down. They stay with you, and you’ll always use them.

I met the love of my life when working in the dish pit at the Bible Institute: Beverly Garber, now Beverly Duma. We’ve been married 32 years and have five sons, three daughters, and seven grandchildren. Three of our kids — David, Bryan, and Sarah — are Bible Institute graduates, and two grandsons — Daniel and Michael — are attending right now.

As for Beverly and me, we are stewards of a family business in Ohio. That is our ministry. We are called to support the Lord’s work and meet the needs of our employees. I also serve as a Sunday school teacher and elder at Maranatha Bible Church.

You cannot know the will of God unless you know the Word of God. God’s will is in His Word.

It was God’s Word that has shaped my life to where it is now, and it is God’s Word that can change your life, too.

Student Testimony: A truth that reaches the darkness.

Editor's Note: We asked a few students to tell us how they ended up at the Bible Institute, and how the year had changed their future plans. You can read the other testimonies in the next issue of the Victory Journal, which is on its way right now. Until then, check out this one. We didn't have room in the print edition, but it's one of our favorites.

By Chelsea Anderson, Florida campus (now New York campus for second year)

I grew up in an average, middle class family in California. But within a few short years when I was a teenager, I went from the stability of a family and home to a lifestyle where I was selling drugs, surrounded by people who didn't have much hope, and living in a world that had very different ideas about truth.

When I was 18, I started renting an apartment in Humboldt County, California, after living with friends in the area for a while. Humboldt County is one of the poorest areas in California. It has just one job for every 30 people. Four out of every seven households are below the poverty level, and two out of every five households growing medicinal marijuana legally because of local demand and the money the drugs can make in a tough job market. The area also has a state college that creates an atmosphere where multiculturalism flourishes, all religions are accepted, and absolute truth is non-existent.

When I first moved to Humboldt County, I looked diligently for a job for six months, but I couldn't find one. So, on the suggestion of my fiancé, who sold legal medicinal cannabis, I started selling marijuana in small quantities. In our free time, we worked for industrial growers, and most if not all of our friends were people we met through this “medicine.”

My fiancé was a practicing Hindu. One of my roommates was a practicing Buddhist, and the other believed that if there was a god, he was just a creator. At the time, I believe that all gods were one, and the differences in each culture were just different names for that god. I was very open to all religions, and I didn’t think there was absolute truth.

Thankfully, though, God chose me to be His daughter. After the police came to our apartment one day, we all moved to different locations, and I moved to my hometown, Crescent City. While there, a man named Marlon shared the Gospel with me, and I trusted Jesus.

Shortly after, a good friend helped me connect with the Bible Institute. I filled out an application, was accepted, and decided to come.

The Bible Institute changed my life drastically. By being in God’s Word, I learned that absolute truth exists. I applied this truth to my life and broke up with my fiancé. God showed me that His life for me is abundant, and drugs are not. I realized God’s love for me. I know I can trust Him. I also realized that I am called “to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that [Christ] commanded [me]; and lo, [He] is with [me] always, even to the end of the age.”

The abundant life I have now happened because I spent time God’s Word and was taught to know Him deeper through discipleship. My heart breaks for the youth in Humboldt County, who are in darkness. Many do not have the opportunities that I have had.

I have parents and friends who have invested time, money, and love into me, but many young people in Humboldt County do not have parents who love them, or people with the means to send them to a Bible college.

I want to move back to Humboldt County and disciple youth. I want to teach them how to read their Bibles regularly then apply what they are learning to their lives. I want to see young people desperately in love with Christ, and basking in His grace.

Testimony Corner: Christine (Jerome) Cuz, Class of 2003

Ten years ago I was honored to be part of the first class of the Bible Institute in Canada. The Bible Institute really helped me to develop sound Christian theology and understand why I believe what I believe. It showed me how to take an exegetical approach to the Bible and to look at God’s Word in a deeper and more meaningful way than I previously had. I can look back 10 years ago and say that the Bible Institute played a pivotal part in my Christian faith that has helped me develop into the person I am today!

Since leaving the Bible Institute, I was able to transfer credits to Briercrest College in Caronport, Saskatchewan, where I received my bachelor’s in recreation leadership. During that time I met and married my husband, Kevin. We celebrated our five-year anniversary in June.

Two years after my husband and I were married, we joined the staff of Athletes in Action Canada, which is under the umbrella of Power to Change Ministries, formerly Campus Crusade for Christ. We now live in Ottawa, Ontario, where Kevin serves full-time, ministering in the lives of athletes on both the Ottawa and Carleton University campuses. After having our bouncing baby boy Elijah (Eli) back in July 2010, I have since decided to run my own daycare business, which allows me to be a stay-at-home mom. It's the best job ever!

Testimony Corner: Benjamin Ward, Class of 2005.

In my time at Word of Life, I learned the value of accountability, methods for Bible study that I still put into practice, and so much more. I met several godly men who have become my best friends. We still keep in touch to encourage and pray for each other — which is a huge asset to ministry — even though we live on different continents.

Right now I live in Kpalimé, Togo, West Africa, and I just finished studying the Ewe language. In August I will probably move back to Ghana, West Africa, where I will be involved with children, youth, sports, evangelism, and discipleship ministries. It is exciting to see how the Lord has helped me acquire the language, and I am looking forward to the months ahead and all He has planned.

Camp at Word of Life taught me patience in ministry, self-sacrifice, and how to handle tough situations. These lessons continue to guide me today in my life and ministry, as living in a foreign culture and communicating in a language I am still learning takes a lot of patience sometimes. But the lost must hear! I also appreciate having godly friends back home that I can talk to and ask for advice.

The list could go on and on for how my years at Word of Life and on the Impact Team help me in life and ministry, but it can all be summed up in this: Those two years are still the best years of my life, and I would never trade them for the world.

Testimony Corner: Marisa Irizarry, Class of 1986

I made the decision to accept Christ at age 7 during a Vacation Bible School program at a friend’s church. The program definitely stuck with me: I currently help lead VBS with the youth ministry team at the same church where I was saved — Quinton Baptist Church in Quinton, New Jersey.

I’ve had a heart for ministry since that young age, and I’m still amazed by the opportunities God has given me over the years. Growing up, I found many ways to show Christ’s love through community service and share His Word through visitations as a teenager.

During my junior year of high school, my youth pastor took our group to Word of Life Snow Camp. I remember watching the counselors and thinking, “If the same God lives in them that lives in me, then why am I not as happy as they are? And if this is the place where they came to become that happy and joyful, I’m coming, too, because I want what they have!”

I enrolled in the Bible Institute right out of high school and moved to Schroon Lake with that renewed faith and inspiration that can only come from a fruitful mission trip. I had spent the summer sharing the Good News in England, and I felt God calling me to do missions overseas as an adult. The Bible Institute was the first step.

During my time at the Bible Institute, I grew so much spiritually. I didn’t have a breadth of the reality of Scripture in my life during my childhood nor in my teens, but through my courses I gained a deep biblical knowledge that continues to support my decision making as I minister to youth.

My Bible studies and Quiet Time with my Savior would influence my heart and inspire me to reach out with Jesus’ hand and affect the world. I joined the Open Air Evangelism ministry and remember Jack Wyrtzen talking to us about having a vision and then doing it: “Stop praying about it, and just go do it!” So, some of my friends and I started a campus outreach. We would go to different college campuses every Monday, hand out tracts, and talk to people.

After finishing Second Year at the Bible Institute, I went to Appalachian Bible College and earned my degree in Bible and youth ministry. I met my husband, Albert Irizarry, and we wed in 1992. Albert also attended the Bible Institute, Class of 1991, before returning to Appalachian Bible to finish his degree.

We have two children: Eric, 18, and Megan, 16. Eric got his acceptance letter from Word of Life in the mail three days ago! He says he knew he was going to the Bible Institute — it was written on his birth certificate. With two alumni as parents, I guess it’s hard not to end up at Schroon Lake! Megan also plans to attend when she graduates high school.

I’m thrilled my children will have the opportunity to experience the joy I found at the Bible Institute. I got a fresh dose of that joy when I attended the 1986 class reunion. What a spiritually uplifting, encouraging, and amazing time we had together!  Although we hadn’t seen one another in 25 years, it was like we never left each other. I enjoyed such sweet fellowship with the alumni, and I know I can always call on them for prayer support.

As I shared with my former classmates at the reunion, Albert and I have been leading on the youth ministry team at our home church. We love to watch the teens grow in Christ. Our youth group has attended the Island and goes to Snow Camp every year. (Our kids won first prize in the banner competition — that place is still 48 hours of sheer energy!) We’ve also planned activities, taught Sunday School, and hosted a teen prayer group at our home on Friday nights.

Besides ministering to the youth, I have been involved in a variety of ways at Quinton Baptist Church, including missions, serving as a deaconess and church secretary, attending and leading Bible studies, and singing with the worship team. I also held director of development and event coordinator positions with Bridgeton Christian School and worked in sales at a local Christian radio station. Right now, I am a stay-at-home mom.

As I list these things, I know that God sees them, but really I just want to be known as a woman who loved God and prayed — not this or that accomplishment or title. When people remember me, I just want them to say, “She loved to pray — to talk to Jesus.” That might sound simple, but I do love to pray, and that’s what I want my legacy to be.