Going for Real Gold

Curt Weerheim says his family’s ministry in China was like a two-year campout. “It was a family adventure—we took advantage of a lot of opportunities to experience life in China and get to know the people.”

When China pulled off an Olympics known for breathtaking ceremonies, dazzling venues and record-breaking performances, Curt Weerheim ’76 was not surprised. He’d spent the previous two years living in Beijing, working closely with coaches and members of the organizing committee.

“China had been waiting for an opportunity to prove to the world what they’re capable of doing,” he says. “It was amazing to see all the work and detail they went to.”

Weerheim saw Beijing literally transformed. Every apartment building was painted, the city was groomed and manicured, construction was halted, factories were temporarily shut down and traffic reduced to clean up the city’s smog, and banners were erected to hide anything deemed not presentable. Even street beggars and peasants hauling vegetables on mule-driven carts were conspicuously absent.

Weerheim and his wife, Sherri—in China on student visas to learn the language—pioneered a sports ministry for Athletes in Action. He taught English to people preparing to run the games, trained basketball coaches, set up sports exchange programs, and advised a group of 80 individuals from around the world who shared the gospel with Olympic athletes.

Weerheim found the Chinese to be extremely gracious, eager to make friends and open to learning more about Christianity.

The Weerheims are now back in Lebanon, Ohio, where they continue their work with Athletes in Action.

by Duane Beeson

Growing Concern

As a voluntary adviser for the U.S. Army, Jeff Knowles met daily with government officials, clergy and farmers to determine how to rebuild Afghanistan’s agricultural system.

For six months, Jeff Knowles’ work as a soil conservationist required a flak jacket and a military escort. Today, he’s back with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in Kealakekua, Hawaii, but he can’t forget his time as an agricultural adviser in Afghanistan.

“It was the most rewarding experience of my life,” says Knowles, a member of Northwestern’s class of 1980. “The Afghans are wonderful, hospitable people; they literally would give you the last food they had in their house.”

One of Knowles’ goals was to help ensure that subsistence farmers in two eastern Afghanistan provinces could raise even more food—and their standard of living. In a land with only one tractor for every 1,000 farmers, he offered advice on issues such as soil erosion and crop irrigation. Ten of the projects he developed received $1 million in U.S. Army funding, including an apple juice factory, apricot drying facilities and food storage systems.

Knowles contracted malaria while in Afghanistan, but he knows that wasn’t the harshest threat. After he returned to the U.S., another agricultural adviser in his region was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED).

Today he watches news of the country’s deteriorating security condition with a heavy heart. “I think about Afghanistan every day.”

by Duane Beeson

Vet Servant

A college internship with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs office in Des Moines led Tiffany Gemas to a nine-year VA career that has included service in Iowa, Japan, South Korea and now Florida.

Although he hadn’t seen combat in 50 years, his experiences in World War II still haunted him. He had never held a job long term or had strong personal relationships, and by the time he finally asked the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for help, it seemed too late. That didn’t stop Tiffany (Lassen ’99) Gemas, a VA specialist who found a way to provide assistance.

“Here’s someone who willingly served his country, and because of that, he was never able to live the life he had dreamed,” Gemas says. “Remember Lincoln’s speech, where he challenged us to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for those who have borne the battle, their widows and orphans? That’s what I’m here to do.”

With the current wars adding injured vets nearly every day, Gemas is busier than ever. After four years at an Army base in South Korea, she now works in Orlando, Fla., evaluating disability claims submitted by veterans. It’s a weighty responsibility—and a stressful one. Often she wants to grant a request, but the person isn’t eligible and the law requires her to refuse the claim.

Those situations, however, are balanced by the many opportunities she has to help people—like that World War II veteran who’s still learning how to live. “Hopefully, my compassion and care for them come across,” she says.

By Sherrie Barber Willson ’98