Seinan Gakuin
4-L
Foundation
News
Number
50
May 20,
2016
Interview
with Associate Erik Berger
Earlier
this month, Leroy Seat (LS), the president of the Seinan Gakuin 4-L Foundation,
had the privilege of chatting with Associate Erik Berger (EB) in Fukuoka. The
following is a brief summary of that interview.
LS – What are some of the biggest
challenges you have faced during your time here in Japan?
EB – The first challenge was living in a
culture with English as a minority language. Next was the challenge of living
alone for the first time and being an adult. And then there was the challenge
of seeing so much that I didn’t understand.
LS – What have been some of your most
rewarding experiences living and working here in Fukuoka?
EB – Being a teacher has been very
rewarding. I never thought about being a teacher, but I have enjoyed it very
much. I have also found it rewarding being on my own and learning a new
culture. I have enjoyed exploring new places and meeting new people.
LS – How have you felt about being a
Christian and a Christian witness here where there are so few Christians?
EB – It has been frustrating in many
ways, and I have had to think through my own beliefs. But I have had meaningful
talks with students in English Bible classes as well as in talking and praying
with others at various times.
LS – What advice would you have for your
successor?
EB – Be ready for change—and for lots of
opportunities. Have something from home to help in times of homesickness. Never
be afraid to be honest with students—and don’t be afraid to be stubborn.
In Memory of Vera
Campbell-Gullatt
Dr.
Vera Campbell-Gullatt passed away on March 15 and services were conducted in
Fairburn, Georgia, on March 18. Vera was a Southern Baptist missionary to Japan
for 44 years, and spent many of those years as a full-time professor in the
Department of Theology of Seinan Gakuin University and then as Chancellor of
Seinan Jo Gakuin.
If
anyone would like to make a contribution to the Seinan Gakuin 4-L Foundation in
memory of Vera, such remembrances would be communicated to Vera’s closest
survivors.
Centennial Celebration
On Friday, May 13, the regular Founders Day ceremonies
were held on the campus of Seinan Gakuin, beginning with the Elementary School
ceremony at 9 a.m., the Jr.-Sr. High ceremony at 9:45, and a ceremony for the
rest of Seinan Gakuin’s faculty and staff in the university Chapel at 11:00
a.m. The usual elaborate on-campus luncheon for faculty, staff, and guests was
cancelled and the funds given to the Christian schools in Kumamoto recently
damaged by the earthquake there.
There was a public centennial ceremony and lecture in
downtown Fukuoka on Saturday afternoon and then a large celebration party with
about 4,000 present in the evening. Dr. Tetsu Nakamura, a 1962 graduate from SG
Jr. High School was the keynote speaker. The president’s article about SG, “100
Years Old and Going Strong,” can be found at http://theviewfromthisseat.blogspot.com/2016/05/100-years-old-and-going-strong.html.
Thanks to
Donors
The Seinan Gakuin 4-L Foundation is grateful to those who
support its work through financial gifts. Since the January newsletter,
donations of $2,075 have been received by the treasurer. Those gifts were from Lydia Barrow Hankins, Judy Landers (in honor of Seinan Gakuin’s
100th birthday anniversary), Sumiko
Nagasawa, Hiromi Okamoto, Leroy and
June Seat (in memory of Vera Campbell),
and Hugh Young.