An Invitation to a Mission Presentation on Saturday, September 13th in Calgary, AB,Tuesday, September 16 at 7 p.m. in Christ Lutheran Church, Kelowna, B.C., and then in the Evangelical Lutheran Brethren congregations in Winkler (Friday, September 19th), Richer (Saturday, September 20th), Mitchell near Steinbach (Sunday, September 21st - service starts at 11 a.m.), Christ Lutheran Church, Mellowdale/Barrhead (probably on September 27th at 10 a.m.) If anyone reads this and is on our way, perhaps you could contact me at hwg1923@hotmail.com You are cordially invited to this event. Please pass on the information to anyone you think might be interested at this very late date. I know Georg Ballardt personally. "Mission Director Georg Ballardt will be speaking on the work of the Pool of Siloam Lutheran Mission Society which has its headquarters in SW Germany and at a Mission House Retreat Centre in the village of Herchenhain/Grebenhain in Central Germany just northwest of Frankfurt. This presentation will take place at the Calgary Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia meeting to be held on Saturday, September 13, 2014 starting at 11:00 a.m. at Ascension Lutheran Church, 1432 - 19 St. NE Calgary, AB The presentation will be translated by Pastor Horst Gutsche. Georg Ballardt will also be visiting other localities in Western Canada. The presentation will be about 30 minutes in duration." Here is a bit of background on this mission society made up mainly of recent German Russian immigrants to Germany. Their families suffered the brunt of communism and religious ethnic and Christian persecution during a period of time lasting about 70 + years. The Pool of Siloam Mission Society of Evangelical Lutheran Brethren Congregations A History of the Pool of Siloam Lutheran Mission Society It was founded on December 21, 2001 in order to alleviate the needs of suffering people in Ukraine, Moldova and Romania and to provide them with humanitarian aid. Clothing, medical instruments, wheelchairs, walkers, mattresses, children's clothing and shoes were collected and then sorted and packed by volunteer helpers from Evangelical Lutheran congregations in Freiburg, Neustadt and Neuwied. At first a truck was purchased in order transport the goods. Because of costs incurred it was later sold and trucks were rented. During the years from 2001 to 2013 50 - 60 tons of aid was transported to Ukraine, Moldova and Romania. Every year homes for children, orphanages, hospitals, homeless shelters, cancer clinics, surgeries, schools, prisons and Christian congregations are visited. By means of the Mission Retreat Centre at Grebenhain (Herchenhain) northwest of Frankfurt on the Main River in Germany the mission society also organizes work with youth, families and senior citizens etc. All the work is done by volunteers (about 100 in all). Humanitarian aid is distributed to people directly in communities where they reside. This work is solely supported by freewill donations. Every Christmas about 9,000 euros are donated in order to buy presents for children in orphanages and about 2,000 are purchased with these funds. Orphanages are supported in Ukraine and in Russia. Aid has also been distributed in Petro Schan in Romania. Katja Miske is working in a hospital near Arequipa in Peru. Olga Krieger is working in a hospital in Kagandu in Uganda The Board of Directors of the Pool of Siloam Mission Society are: Georg Ballardt - ChairmanKarl Graefenstein - Second Chairman (his brother is Bishop Viktor Graefenstein of the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Congregations in Ukraine)Viktor Hempel - Third ChairmanPaul Mik - Fourth ChairmanAngelina Ulrich - Treasurer If you would like to help please contact: Mission Director Georg BallardtSiloam Mission Society/Missionswerke SiloahFederstrasse 279362 ForchheimGermany Tel.: 01149 173 8041700Email: g.ballardt@t-online.de The Bank Account for the Society is: Evangelische Kreditgenossenschaft eG, Kontonummer: 105012554 (another number given is: 3050 12554), Bankleitzahl/Routing Number: 52060410 About 70 Evangelical Lutheran lay led congregations in Germany are involved in the work of the society. One of the largest has a Sunday attendance of 500 and is located at Lahr where there used to be a Canadian Armed Forces Base. Events that have taken place during the last years included trips to Eastern Europe and Middle Asia March 9-16, 2013: 35-40 senior citizens attended a Bible Retreat at Grebenhain In early September, 2013 the "Gemeindetage / Congregational Days" were held in Neuwied in the Rhineland of Germany on one weekend. 1,500 people were in attendance. 11 days in September-October, 2013: an evangelism event was held in the cities of Perm and Ekaterinburg in Russia January 25 - 26, 2014: there were 70 at a youth weekend Febuary 21 - 23, 2014: there was a Sunday School teachers workshop event April 21, 2014 - and Easter Evangelism Event was held in Cloppenburg May 1, 2014 - there was a seminar for choir directors May 16 - May 26, 2014 - an evangelism mission visit took place in Chelyabinsk (Pastor Waldemar Jesse and his wife Katja) and in Ekaterinburg (Pastor Benzel). Nizhniye Sergi was also visited. August 2 - July 26, 2014: 60 youth attended a youth Bible event July 19 - July 26, 2014: 45 attended the family Bible retreat July 26 - August 2, 2014: 80 (of these 50 were children) attended the family Bible retreat August 29 - 30, 2014: 30 attended the Lutheran Free Conference sponsored by the Church of the Lutheran Confession; various theological papers were presented and discussed September 6, 2014: there was an information meeting attended by 50 interested students who would like to start courses at a planned Bible School to be held on eight weekends with two week-long seminars at the Mission Society Retreat Centre in Grebenhain-Herchenhain during the year 2015. It is hoped that about 30 will enroll for sure. September 18 - 28, 2014: there will be a visit to Krasnoperekopsk October 9 - 13, 2014: there will be a visit to Romania October 16 - 19, 2014: there will be a preaching seminar October 31 - November 2, 2014: there will be a marriage seminar November 7 - 9, 2014: there will be a youth and congregational leadership training event November 13 - 16, 2014: there will be a Ladies Weekend November 21 - 23, 2014: there will be an evangelism event at Bad Wildungen, Germany November 29 - 30, 2014: there will be a congregational visitation in Cologne December 5 - 7, 2014: a youth Bible retreat will take place The Mission Retreat Centre of Missionswerk Siloah / The Pool of Siloam Mission Society is located in the high hilly region of Vogelsberg County where many Volga Germans have their ancestral roots. When I was there this year (besides this summer I visited there for a two days in the summer of 2013) I went jogging during the morning and saw the cemeteries in two of the villages. Names such as Luft, Langlitz, Hartmann, Ruhl, Weitzel, Kiel and so forth were found on the tombstones. As a matter of interest, I also noted that a Pastor Battenberg, who died in 1974, was buried with his wife in the cemetery at Herchenhain. The local Lutheran congregation had just celebrated a 50th confirmation anniversary and laid a wreath at the gravesite for him and his wife. Mrs. Kiel, our cook during a Free Lutheran Conference held there August 29 - 31 had been confirmed by this pastor. She told me that the family knew that they were related to the Mountbattens (the Battenbergs who anglicized their name in 1917) and thus to Prince Philip. The address of the Missionshaus Siloah (the retreat centre) is: Feldkruecker Weg 10, 36355 Grebenhain / Herchenhain, Germany. The Hausmeister (caretaker) of this retreat centre is Andreas Putzer. His email address is: putzer-andreas@t-online.de The cost of a stay there is very reasonable and with three meals per diem is only 23 euros per person with less for children. P. S. Georg Ballardt's father's family comes from the village of Mariental on the Volga in Russia, his mother was a Vossler whose family came from close to Dnepropetrovsk. Lydia Ballardt's maiden name is Wirtz and her mother was a Morasch so that side of the family had lots of connections with people from Yagodnaya Polyana on the Volga River in Russia.