In July 1973, I became the pastor of the Maytown Church of God in Lancaster County, PA. I look back now and praise the Lord that this congregation gave me, a mere twenty-two year old, the opportunity to serve them full- time while I attended seminary. The following May, Linda and I were married and so this became our first parish. Such wonderful people welcomed us, many of whom are now with the Lord. Monday of this week Rhoda Kauffman joined them. Maytown was her home church.

(Rhoda is pictured fifth from the left)

During our pastorate (1973-1979) Rhoda, a full-time CGGC missionary to East Pakistan, returned to the states several times on furlough to do deputation and obtain R&R. That’s when I got to know her, but we actually met years before when she came to our home church and shared about her work. I confess to remembering endless slides, but the pictures of this far away land and culture captured the imagination. Growing up in a missionary-minded congregation, Rhoda was held in very high esteem. She was one of the seven CGGC “sisters” who devoted their lives to the Lord’s work.

So, when I became her pastor I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. The stories I heard from the church people and the experiences of my ministry revealed a woman of great commitment and sacrifice as well as humility. She never sought nor wanted the spotlight. In this regard she was much like her sainted mother, Elizabeth. Now, Rhoda’s mother was a gentle soul who as far as I know never raised her voice or forcibly restrained her children. So as a child, Rhoda would occasionally escape her family pew and roam the church during worship. On one occasion when she went up front and sat in a pulpit chair, Merv Arnold (my senior elder) remarked in jest that, “She will go far!” As he later told me, truer words were never said.

Rhoda leads prayer for the groundbreaking ceremony at Dharampur

Rhoda’s call to missionary service, as I was told, came from a sermon by her pastor, Dr. William Hower, when she was a teen. He challenged the congregation from the Isaiah 6 passage, and Rhoda responded, “Here am I.” She went to Findlay College, graduating in 1941, and took additional training at Millersville State Teacher’s College. She taught second grade in Lancaster County before embarking for Khanjanpur, India on October 21, 1944. Because WWII raged in Europe and German U-boats still roamed the North Atlantic, passage via the Suez Canal was not possible. Hence her ship sailed around the Cape of Africa and the Tip of India. The trip took four months. Once there she served for the next forty-one years through two civil wars. As she often said, “I’ve lived in the same house, but in three countries: India, East Pakistan and Bangladesh.”

Some of the "sisters" at Rhoda's place in 1994 (l to r), Mary White, Rhoda, Dr. E. Fidelia Gilbert

Don Dennison described her work on the field. “There she worked with the village schools, held women's and children's meetings, taught Bible courses, gave church membership instruction, encouraged and advised pastors, and served unselfishly in everything she did. She traveled as much as 36 miles in a day on a bicycle to minister in the village areas, even during monsoon season. She was always on the go!” While serving at Maytown I heard many stories about her experiences, as her letters home were read monthly at our Missionary Meeting. You could never give Rhoda money for her own needs because she always used it for the mission. She would help this family get a roof on their house, another to purchase oxen to plow their ground or even a village to drill a well. She personally financed the building of sixteen churches and seven schools. The only way to give her anything was to purchase it and send it. Even then she often gave it away. Great is her reward! (Matthew 6:20)

Rhoda at the College of Christian Theology in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1996

As I consider Rhoda’s passing, I praise God for such a dedicated servant. Our expanding church and educational work we see today in Bangladesh is directly related to her life’s work. As I look around the world today and our work as the CGGC I see a huge need for individuals to respond to God’s call: “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” Let’s pray that the Lord will send out workers into His harvest field, for the harvest is ready. Who will respond as Rhoda did and go without hesitation?

Pastor Ed

Note: Rhoda’s funeral will be held Monday, February 15 at 10:00 a.m. at the Maytown Church of God, 10-14 W. Elizabeth Street, Maytown, PA. Visitation will be Sunday afternoon (Feb. 14) from 2:00-4:00 at the Smedley Funeral Home, 29 N. Gay Street, Marietta, PA