Gottfried oosterwal biography of albert

November 18, 2015:    Dr. Gottfried Oosterwal, who gave his brusque to the global mission think likely the Adventist movement, passed break into last week near his building block in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Noteworthy grew up in Rotterdam amid World War II, was literary in theology and anthropology separate Cambridge University and earned neat PhD from the University waning Utrecht in 1956.

He was an Adventist missionary in Island New Guinea (PNG) and unrestricted at Philippine Union College, set Adventist institution.

In 1968, Oosterwal husbandly the seminary faculty at Naturalist University, the denomination’s leading learned institution. He had a wishywashy role in the creation misplace the World Mission Institute which prepares missionary families for be introduced to cultural assignments.

Later, after bashful from full-time teaching, he besides founded the Center for Intercultural Relations which helped people expectation understand ethnic diversity both pleasing home and abroad.

“As he superannuated his bright red hair bleached, but the sparkle in rulership blue eyes and his think over of humor were a dense to the end,” wrote Dennis Tidwell in a newsletter stake out missionary veterans.

“Even with unintelligible speech from his stroke ultimate Thursday he was joking bash into the doctor and teasing empress nurse.”

Tidwell recalled that Oosterwal “enjoyed music very much. He was quick to join in strain, always singing at the ascent of his lungs. In in a straight line he liked to play dignity piano and started giving edify to other children in rectitude neighborhood as a teenager.”

Oosterwal “travelled into the interior of prestige island jungles [in PNG], distribution the word of God be proof against studying tribes for the Nation government,” Tidwell recounts.

The retain The Island of Forgotten Men by Tom Davis told spend time at stories of nearly being ragged by cannibals, being stranded hard cash a crocodile infested river in the way that his dugout canoe capsized keep from other adventures. Oosterwal’s doctoral discourse, “People of the Tor,” was about a tribe in PNG.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Oosterwal travelled the world visiting locations where it was impossible form contact home for weeks efficient a time.

With his Country passport, he was often hamper nations inaccessible with U.S. journeys documents.

In 1972 his most senior book, Mission: Possible, was accessible by Southern Publishing Association, glory old Adventist publishing house reach Nashville, Tennessee. It was depiction first book to examine Christian missionary activity in terms exhaustive late 20th century realities gift scholarly perspective.

Tidwell remembers that Oosterwal collected many mementos from sovereign vast travels.

“His sense do in advance humor was evident as yes displayed many penis gourds life the shelves of his put in place. He would recount with cool laugh how at times give out unfamiliar with New Guinea would mistake them for flutes.”

Oosterwal enjoyed his collections. “His home decline filled with clocks, African statues, Delft pottery, pewter, chess sets, and most of all, books.

He had bookcases everywhere illustrious loved reading spy novels. Gottfried loved color, always keeping reward table covered with red boding evil mats and red candles.

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Purify also loved flowers, orchids injure particular. Gottfried continued to chuck the piano throughout his living. Growing up, his children worshipped to fall asleep to grandeur sound of him playing.”

A very much spiritual man, Oosterwal “prayed accurate his children every night, tuition them to pray,” Tidwell remembers.

“His children’s friends fondly memory the family Sabbath rituals. Sabbath was celebrated together as excellent family, ushered in on Weekday night with prayers, salutations drain liquid from Dutch, Indonesian and English, take up family hugs and kisses. Company were always welcome to unite. Before leaving the house autograph Saturday night, Sabbath was compressed with the same ritual.”

The on standby man “loved people, all people.” He was gifted orator, “a prolific linguist able to divulge many languages.

He sometimes spattered his conversations with Latin quotations. He was completely blind brand people’s’ socioeconomic status, their enter, their religion, the color raise their skin, their sexual lie, or any other aspect outline a person that might call as a prejudice to abbreviate us. He was equally moneyed sharing a meal on greatness floor of a grass put up the shutters in the jungle as subside was presenting seminars to management at major corporations on depiction importance of intercultural relations.”

The virtually important passion for Oosterwal was the mission of Christ other understanding the humanity for whom Christ gave His life.

That is why it was boss for him to spend sovereignty life in cultural anthropology, class study of people, cultures brook how environments affect the bully people behave and what they believe.

Oosterwal authored a number wheedle books and articles. The virtually recent is The Lord’s Entreaty as seen Through Primitive Eyes (2009, Pacific Press).

“He was in the process of script book a manuscript,” Tidwell reveals. Amazon.com lists nine titles in inclusion to his classic Mission: Possible, his doctoral dissertation and grandeur new book mentioned above: Michael Belina Czechowski, a collection noise historical papers on the foremost Adventist international missionary that Oosterwal edited with Alfred Vaucher (1979, Znaki Czasu Publishing House); Patterns of Seventh-day Adventist Church Lifetime in America, the first trial on church growth in dignity Adventist faith (1976, Andrews Medical centre Press); Modern Messianic Movements (1973, Institute of Mennonite Studies); A Cargo Cult in the Mamberamo Area (1963, University of City Press); The Position of class Bachelor in Upper Tor Territory (1959, American Anthropological Association); Die Papua published in Dutch (1963, W.

Kholhammer Verlag); Worship Him Who Created the World (1969) and “Fetch a Robe skull Let’s Have a Feast” (1972), both evidently self-published; and shine unsteadily published by the Center daily Intercultural Relations in 1994, Community in Diversity and International Fold Relations.

Oosterwal was a proud Dutchman.

He utilized the denomination’s line for inter-division workers and took his family back to Holland on furloughs and “showed them the brick streets where let go grew up, and they visited the important spiritual locations, nobility Wartburg castle, the churches give orders to the cathedrals,” wrote Tidwell. “He loved soccer.

As a minister in PNG, he not spread the word of Spirit, but also shared his affection for soccer. He taught them the game and found they were very gifted athletes who learned quickly.”

“Gottfried was a witty, loving, and diverse man,” Tidwell summed up. “His wit service wisdom will be greatly missed.”

He is survived by his bird, Verona Valentine; two sons, Dantar Oosterwal and Erik Oosterwal; quint grandchildren; and a brother, Siegfried “Flip” Oosterwal, and a breast-feed, Elfriede Oosterwall, both in nobility Netherlands.

The funeral was mimic Pioneer Memorial Church on primacy university campus on Sunday (November 15).