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Dean shares heart for evangelism

Karen Fancher ministers to Multnomah women after three years of missions work in Argentina

Karen Fancher enjoys sharing conversations with friends over a cup of coffee. They talk about God and His work. The coffee is only an excuse for fellowship and might cool, unnoticed when hearts begin to probe deeply.

According to Miss Fancher's friend Karen DelMar, she and Miss Fancher sometimes stayed up until 2 a.m., munching on popcorn, drinking orange juice and talking about life. Miss Fancher enjoys gabbing so much that when she was a child and went on road trips with her family, they took two vehicles. Mrs. DelMar said that at certain points of the trip, Miss Fancher was told to switch cars because the drivers needed rest from Miss Fancher's barrage of conversation. Kim Strehlow, Miss Fancher's sister, said Miss Fancher loves to play practical jokes such as short-sheeting beds and covering toilet seats with plastic wrap.

Yet, despite these activities, Miss Fancher's life focuses on a higher cause. Her heart looks beyond the walls of her office, bordered with blue-and-gold flowered wallpaper and paintings of Jesus holding a lamb and a road disappearing into God's promised tomorrow. Her heart looks beyond the quiet solitude of her apartment where she prays. Within her burns the need to reach people dying without Christ.

Miss Fancher became a Christian in third grade. When she was 13 years old she "understood what it was to make Christ Lord and to serve Him," Miss Fancher said. In a wooden lodge amid her peers at Camp Ghormley in the Washington Cascades, Miss Fancher heard about people dying without Christ and about the need for Christians to become the hands and feet of Jesus. When she returned to Camp Ghormley between junior high and high school, a speaker once more spoke of the need for Christians to reach the unsaved. In a meeting around the campfire, he challenged the campers to do the work of Jesus. Miss Fancher accepted the challenge and felt a longing to become a missionary.

After the campfire at which she sat burned low, Miss Fancher walked through the woods into the night. She found a small clearing where she lay on the grass and looked into a clear sky. She marveled at the stars, awe over creation and her God filling her. She began to speak to Him. She felt naive and weak and wondered how she could do God's work. She had never ministered before. She felt unprepared and insufficient in her knowledge of the Bible. Later, she said she was looking at herself rather than looking at her Father. She said that people tend to focus on their weaknesses rather than on God's grace and faithfulness. She said, "My Christianity isn't about focusing on me but about focusing on an awesome God who could use even one like me."

In 1990 Miss Fancher joined a newly formed organization called AMOUR para ninos or Love for the children. She flew to Argentina with two large suitcases, a box of teaching materials and a computer sent for an Argentine school's use.

Her father, Dave Fancher, wondered why she gave up a job with a good income, health benefits and a retirement plan as a bilingual teacher in Washington's Pasco school district . He wondered why she went to Argentina where her sole income came from who-knew-how-reliable supporters. Yet, despite her parents' worry, Miss Fancher's mother, Janet Fancher, said that the family members "gained their strength" in the Lord by her daughter's act of faith. They marveled that Miss Fancher felt so deeply about what God wanted that she stopped at nothing to fulfill God's will.

Miss Fancher's first greeting in Argentina was from a customs officer, stoic and grim in military uniform with a gun hanging at his side. He noticed her computer, one that could sell for twice its worth. "Oh, you have a computer. It's new. This could be a problem, but I could help you. Do you have $300?" the officer said. She paid the money rather than lose her computer, but she felt sick at heart. The $300 was money for the school. Miss Fancher said she asked God to help her forgive the officer. After driving north for 20 hours, she entered her apartment, the rooms cold from winter's chill. She dropped her suitcases, fell on her bed and wept -- partly from exhaustion and partly from the events of the day.

She served with a church that ministered to more than 600 children in Argentina's barrios. At a school called Rayes de luz or Rays of light in Resistncia, she worked as a Bible teacher for students in kindergarten through high school. Miss Fancher also counseled students and their families in emotional, spiritual and behavioral areas. The school's vision was to equip children to "go out as rays of light to the world," Miss Fancher said.

Every Saturday, Miss Fancher visited Villa Prosperidad (Prosperity Village) with a child evangelism team that included members as young as 16. The barrio was one of the poorest in the area. Some people lived as squatters in small houses made from scavenged materials of wood, metal or other debris. Some children walked barefoot during winter's chill. They played in stagnant water, causing infection and boils on their skin.

At first, children greeted Miss Fancher and the others by pelting them with dirt clods. Yet the team continued. Eventually 30 to 50 children came from their houses and sat in a little clearing of grass called a plaza. There, the children sang songs, played games and listened to the word of God.

Miss Fancher remembered a 5-year-old girl named Vero. Her head was balding in one spot due to an infection, and her mouth held rotted teeth. Vero picked fights and tried everything she could to distract the class. When Miss Fancher attempted to hug her, Vero stiffened. But as the group of Bible teachers returned week after week, Vero changed. She eventually ran to greet them. She also accepted Jesus into her heart.

"When you have a heart for it, ministry is never a burden. You get to see God work in ways you never would have imagined," Miss Fancher said. During her three years in Argentina, Miss Fancher learned many things from the children of the barrios. She learned "the beauty of simplicity," Miss Fancher said. Stickers, bananas and used clothing were relished treats. The children "just trusted and loved God. They appreciated small things -- little expressions of love," she said.

She left Argentina to continue her education. Leaving proved difficult for Miss Fancher. She had grown to love the land and its people. When Miss Fancher decided to leave Argentina, she felt nervous and wondered if she made a wrong decision. But God taught her that she could not be perfect. She needed to take a step with what she knew and trust God. The hardest struggle for Miss Fancher was learning to "rest in the Lord." She felt a need to make right decisions and felt driven to perfection. Janet Fancher said that her daughter "puts her whole heart into something if she believes it's the right thing to do." Mrs. Fancher tried to slow down her daughter and convince her to take care of herself. She did not want Miss Fancher to give and give until she wore down.

Miss Fancher sees her position as dean of women at Multnomah Bible College as a chance to equip others to minister. She said that this is "the time of life to put into others." She desires to equip Multnomah students for service. The students at MBC have taught Miss Fancher a thing or two also. Miss Fancher said she has seen God work through each woman's life in a different way. The experiences enrich her view of God and show her a larger picture of how he works.

Miss Fancher dreams of knowing God more and longs to be faithful to Him. Her concern is to "never become complacent and comfortable," she said. She never wants to stop sharing her faith with others. A globe of the world rests on her desk, reminding her what life is about.