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A Box Full of EBWU Experiences
Dear sisters in Christ,
My
name is Kitty Idland and I live in Norway. I am 90 years old, and I
have been a member of women’s groups in my local church since I was 14
years old. Women’s groups are very well organized here in Norway and
have always been an important factor within church and also in society
outside church. All the groups in Norway are organized in the Baptist
Women’s Union of Norway.
Through
the Norwegian Women’s Union I was introduced to EBWU. The first time I
took part in a conference organized by EBWU was in Rüschlikon,
Switzerland, in 1961. It was like a new world opened to me, meeting all
the women from countries throughout Europe. I experienced that no
matter differences in culture and political background, we are one in
the Lord! This was very important to me, coming from a country which at
that time was very male orientated.
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After
Rüschlikon 1961 I took part in many conferences organized by EBWU,
twice in Germany, twice in England, in the Netherlands, Vienna and
Budapest. The last time was in Prague 2006. I have made contact with
many women from many different countries. Especially I remember women
from Lebanon, who made a very deep impression on me, coming from a
country at war and a very difficult political situation. But I could
see that for them coming to such a conference and being able to talk
about their situation, and to have people listening, was like a balm
from the Lord. They experienced they were not alone!
In 1967 I got to know a lady from Switzerland. We have been friends and have kept in contact ever since!
Also
I remember specially coming to Vienna. We were two ladies who were
going to represent the Norwegian Women’s Union at a conference. On the
railway station (we didn’t fly at that time) two ladies were waiting
for us with posters telling who they were. We were taken to a building
where the women were gathered. We were heartily welcomed. At that
moment I had this wonderful feeling of being one with the sisters of
the Lord, from countries far away, speaking languages which I didn’t
understand. We were served delicious food, and we received a gift, a
pin with a hand embroidered rose set in a frame of beautiful filigree
work. I have been wearing it ever since, always reminding me of all
these precious sisters in the EBWU.
Now, at the age of 90, I am
looking back, and I am so grateful to the Lord for all the blessings I
have received from him through my meetings with Baptist women
throughout Europe.
Times have changed since my first conference in
Switzerland. With easier travel communications and the fall of
communism in Europe, opportunities for getting together have improved
tremendously. I pray for the future of EBWU.
Finally I want to
greet you with the verses from the Bible which are the motto of the
Baptist Women’s Union of Norway: Gal. 6, 9-10. Let us not become weary
in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if
we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to
all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Yours sincerely, Kitty Idland, Norway
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| During
the Conference in Prague 2006 Kitty made in the creative workshop a box
for precious texts, which she was holding in her hands. My camera had
to make a picture of these old hands! I, Wies Dijkstra, was
thinking about all the precious memories this wise lady must have
gathered throughout the years...and asked her to write her Memoires!
On the card: “Trusting in God means that we must know deeply in our hearts that He knows us better than ourselves”
Kitty is the mother of our vice-president Margun Warem.
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