This Lenten season there will be a series of four luncheons which is a soup and sandwich lunch at noon beginning on Thursday, March 5th at the Shatford Hall in the First Presbyterian Church, 401 N. Walnut St. in Plymouth. Each week there will be a different topic discussed for Lent. On March 5th the subject will be “Our Supreme Sacrifice”, on the12th it will be “Our Incredible Example”, the 19th “Our Unshakable Foundation”, and the 26th “Our Ultimate Challenge.” Each will be presented by Rev. Earl L. Reifel a second-generation missionary. His parents, Rev. & Mrs. Art Reifel, now retired, served as missionaries in Nigeria, West Africa for over 40 years. Earl was born in Zuru, Nigeria, and spent most of his growing-up years in that country.
Rev. Reifel had the growing conviction that God wanted Him to someday be a missionary. He began his preparation at Bethel College, Mishawaka, Indiana, graduating in 1970 with a B. Th. Degree. Later he completed a Master of Ministries degree to help keep him on the cutting edge of missions. After graduation he pastored in Michigan and while there he participated in the Missionary Internship Program in Farmington. He and his wife Clare have five children and nine grandchildren this side of heaven. In 1975 the Reifels began their missionary service in Sierra Leone, West Africa.
In 1992, Earl, along with all the other missionaries, were evacuated from Sierre Leone due to the civil war. They then returned to Indiana where they pastured a church in Mishawaka.
In order to flee the oppression of the war, many of the Kuranko people fled across the national border into the neighboring country into Guinea. Earl visited Guinea in an endeavor to encourage the believers. Then in 1999 Earl accepted the challenge of serving as a nonresident missionary to the Kuranko people living both in Guinea and Sierra Leone. He lives in the States but makes periodic trips to West Africa. The Reifels continue to serve and the first thirty-five years of ministry is described in his book KITBU: THE DRUM STILL CRIES.
With Rev. Earl L. Reifel as the guest speaker all four weeks, this years’ Lenten luncheon series promises to be an exciting and informative way to learn more about our Lord in today’s world. Join us Please!!
