Sue, Andrea and Kayla Bruhn

Interview by Diana Gipson

"This is going to be the best Christmas ever!"

Meet Sue Bruhn and her daughters, Andrea and Kayla.  They are life-long Grovers and Christmas enthusiasts!  Sue was born in the farm house next-door to SGC and was lead to the Lord by Lula Zimmerman at an altar call.  Sue and her husband John have been married 31 years.  Their daughter Andrea is living in Indianapolis and Kayla is soon to be married and will be living in Alaska.

Mother and daughters seem to think a lot alike when it comes to Christmas! We at WoW Connect! wanted to highlight someone this month who LOVES Christmas, and the lovely Bruhn ladies certainly fit the bill.  Sue, Andrea and Kayla were kind enough to share their hearts and memories of everything Christmas.

Sue doesn't have one particular "best memory" of Christmas, but enjoys everything about celebrating the birth of Christ.  Andrea has always loved baking cookies and recalls hours of cookie-baking with her grandmothers.  Though her grandmothers have passed away, the cookie-baking tradition still carries on, and the family brings a tin of cookies to every Christmas gathering.  Kayla's favorite memories are having breakfast together and enjoying the morning as a family.

The Bruhn family cuts down their own Christmas tree every year.  John and the girls, "the creative ones of the family," decorate the tree, and Sue's job is to take everything down at the end of the season.  "I truly love watching them work together and remember all the different ornaments and who and where they came from," she says.

Funny Bruhn Christmas stories?  Coming right up!  Sue tells of a time a couple years ago, when she enlisted John's help in a special Christmas surprise for the girls.  "He and I rehearsed what and how it was going to happen on Christmas morning for a couple weeks.  I must say our performances were nearly Academy Award winning!"  Andrea remembers, as a little girl, trying to wake up her sister at 5:30 one Christmas morning and being punched in the nose for it!  She learned her lesson.  "I wake Kayla up at 8:00 a.m. and wear a nose guard," she quips.  Kayla, when asked about funny Bruhn Christmas stories, replied, "Every Christmas morning, my dad always guesses what his gift is," a fact she finds a tad irritating. :)

These ladies definitely know how to reach out to others this time of year.  Sue enjoys giving to Toys for Tots.  She hears some of the kids on her bus talk about how they don't get much for Christmas and hopes that maybe some of the toys she gives will end up with some of these very children.  She also likes to give to local food pantries.  Kayla thinks the Salvation Army does great work in the community, so always likes to contribute to the organization.  Andrea absolutely loves going caroling to those who can't get to church due to sickness, age disability, etc.  "I don't think people realize how touched people are by the gesture of caroling," she says.

The Bruhns are determined to keep Christ the center of Christmas in their family.  Sue likes to say, "Merry Christmas," instead of the politically correct, "Happy Holidays."  Andrea considers herself blessed to be raised in a home where the true meaning of Christmas is celebrated and she makes sure each year to talk about the importance of Christ's birth with someone who doesn't really understand the real reason for Christmas.  Kayla tries not to get swept up in the rush of the season and finds reading the Christmas story keeps her focused on what's important.

The ladies agree that this Christmas is especially special.  Sue explains, "Last year, we were not exactly sure what would happen this year with me being diagnosed with cancer.  God has been good, and I am in remission, but it is a reminder that we all should be thankful for each day and year that God gives us.  I am truly thankful."  Andrea is awed by the power of prayer in her mom's life and the Lord's ability to heal.  "This is going to be the best Christmas ever because my mom is still with us to celebrate this joyous season."

Kari Stembel

She likes to remind people, "We weren't meant to do this life alone!"

Interview by Diana Gipson

It's quite likely you have met Kari Stembel, if not on a Sunday morning, then sometime when you have been in the SGC building on a weekday, or called the church and were answered by a friendly voice.  Kari is our Administrative Assistant at SGC and, besides knowing the answer to almost any question you might need to ask about how things work at SGC, she is a friend to all and has had some fascinating, life-changing adventures!

Born to Jim and Chris Stembel on October 7, 1982, Kari grew up with one younger brother (Jonathan, now married to Jessica) and a younger sister, Stephanie.  Kari attended Northridge High School ("Go Raiders!" she says) and then spent a year at Indiana Wesleyan before transferring to IUSB, where she earned a degree in Business.

College is an adventure in itself, but after graduating Kari spent a year preparing for the biggest adventure of her life up to that point--The World Race, which is through the organization Adventures in Missions, based out of Georgia.  Participants go to 11 countries in 11 months, partnering with different churches and organizations that know the needs of the people in each area, to minister to those people.  Kari traveled to Thailand, Cambodia, Philippines, China, South Africa, Swaziland, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador.

Among the many intense spiritual truths Kari learned on her trip were the power and importance of prayer, God's provision of strength and meeting all kinds of needs, and how vital it is to die to oneself and rely solely on Christ.  She saw for herself that many of the things we Americans think we need don't have anything to do with true joy.  "While on the World Race, I saw how much of the world truly lives in poverty and has very little to live off of, yet a lot of the people we worked with and ran into were the most grateful and joyful people I had met!"

Kari found it difficult to come back to the United States, knowing she had so much to come home to while a large portion of the world has so little.  She admits it didn't take long to adjust back to the American way of thinking but, "When I do remember what I've seen and how much I do have, I am humbled and once again grateful for who God is and how He has blessed me."

What does gratitude mean to Kari?  "Gratitude to me means acknowledging the very blessings God has given me and thanking Him for them.  I have so much to be thankful for, including God giving His only Son for me."  Kari sees gratitude as a process the Lord is continually teaching her.  Certain circumstances or people she encounters remind her to be grateful and she sees that her perspective on life changes when she chooses gratitude.

Kari has a passion for seeing young girls grow in the Lord, so she is a small group leader for some of the girls in the SGC youth group.  She also enjoys mentoring others outside the church on her own time, encouraging them in their walk with the Lord and walking through tough times together with them.  She says, "We weren't meant to do this life alone, and I get excited when I can encourage others and remind them they're not alone!"

Some of Kari's favorite things to do include running, meeting new people, spending time with friends, writing encouragement notes to people, connecting with people on Facebook and traveling.

The Lord uses Kari's compassionate heart in so many capacities.  We are blessed to have her on the SGC staff! :)

Betty Hoffman

Interview by Diana Gipson

"She has probably lifted you up in prayer!"

Betty Hoffman, besides being my aunt, is a wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother!  Here at Sugar Grove Church, where she has attended since childhood, Betty leads the ladies' Precept Bible studies, has taught the first grade Sunday school class for fifty years and, this past summer, worked in Vacation Bible School for the 62nd year!  What I and many others appreciate most about Betty is her commitment to prayer.  She understands how vital it is and takes the discipline very seriously.

Betty grew up on the family farm in Jefferson Township.  She had three siblings, Christine and John, who were older, and a younger sister, Donna.  Betty's mom would always pray with her at bed time, and Betty's sister and brother-in-law (Christine and Frank Lynn) set a wonderful example of how to have daily devotions. 

At the age of twelve, Betty was saved at a special revival meeting here at SGC. Her older sister, Christine asked if she wanted to be saved and walked the aisle with Betty.  When she was eighteen years old, she went to hear Billy Graham in Winona Lake, IN.  There she rededicated her life to Christ.   

Both Betty and her now-husband, Don, grew up attending Sugar Grove Church.  After high school, Betty worked at the 4-H extension office and Don was in the service.  On a weekend pass, on September 7, 1951, they married at SGC.  Their honeymoon consisted of one night in Chicago and one in Wisconsin before Don returned to Germany, and didn't return for over a year.  He was in the first group drafted for the Korean War.

Learning from the example set by Christine and Frank, Don and Betty began from day one to start every day together with devotions and prayer.  Fifty-nine years later, a day doesn't seem right without starting out this way.  Their prayer list has increased over the years, as their family and church family have grown!   They have three grown children, Kay (Bjurstrom), Ross, and Joy (Nystrand); nine grandchildren (one of whom is our own Pastor Kent), and two great-grandchildren, with one on the way.

Betty has been a busy lady over the years, serving at SGC.  Besides the ministries already mentioned, Betty has been the secretary for the congregation, worked on the history booklet of SGC (a must-read you can find in the church office), served on many women's committees (including starting the Christmas Breakfast, which I love!), taught Good News Club, and helped in youth group and Awana.  There are probably many more, but I had a hard time getting this many out of her!

Mostly I see her as a Prayer Warrior.  She is a faithful attendee of the Wednesday night prayer meetings and prayer is such an important part of her life.  I know I have benefited from those prayers, as have many of you.  The joy of her prayers is felt and, even if you don't know her, she has probably lifted you up in prayer.

When asked how she would advise a new believer in beginning a prayer life, Betty replied, "You need to know God's Word.  Be in it every day.  Determine to get up every morning and be in His Word."  Betty likes mornings because it's easy to fill other parts of the day with other things, even if you make a plan to spend time with the Lord.  There are so many things that can change your plans, and spare time always seems to get filled.

Among Betty's favorite things to do are reading, crafts, gardening, sudoku puzzles, eating out and, of course, vacations.  Betty and Don have been to Hawaii, taken Alaskan and Caribbean cruises, driven all the way to California and stayed in cottages in Michigan, to name a few.  Her favorite vacations were the ones taken as a family.

One of Betty's favorite Bible passages is Hebrews 13:5,6:    Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,  "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

May we all follow the example of this prayer warrior!