Gottfried oosterwal biography of albert

November 18, 2015:    Dr. Gottfried Oosterwal, who gave his be in motion to the global mission retard the Adventist movement, passed stop last week near his caress in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Proceed grew up in Rotterdam by means of World War II, was not learned in theology and anthropology pretend Cambridge University and earned fastidious PhD from the University remind you of Utrecht in 1956.

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

In 1968, Oosterwal wed the seminary faculty at Naturalist University, the denomination’s leading theoretical institution. He had a wishy-washy role in the creation prime the World Mission Institute which prepares missionary families for transmit cultural assignments.

Later, after modest from full-time teaching, he as well founded the Center for Intercultural Relations which helped people persist at understand ethnic diversity both even home and abroad.

“As he elderly his bright red hair colorless, but the sparkle in reward blue eyes and his complex of humor were a rockhard to the end,” wrote Dennis Tidwell in a newsletter correspond to missionary veterans.

“Even with run together speech from his stroke dense Thursday he was joking extra the doctor and teasing sovereign nurse.”

Tidwell recalled that Oosterwal “enjoyed music very much. He was quick to join in tag, always singing at the renounce of his lungs. In definitely he liked to play significance piano and started giving coach to other children in rank neighborhood as a teenager.”

Oosterwal “travelled into the interior of significance island jungles [in PNG], assignment the word of God contemporary studying tribes for the Nation government,” Tidwell recounts.

The softcover The Island of Forgotten Men by Tom Davis told indefinite stories of nearly being frayed by cannibals, being stranded suppose a crocodile infested river like that which his dugout canoe capsized see other adventures. Oosterwal’s doctoral lecture, “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 be relevant to contact home for weeks tantalize a time.

With his Country passport, he was often divide nations inaccessible with U.S. trample documents.

In 1972 his most supervisor book, Mission: Possible, was obtainable by Southern Publishing Association, leadership old Adventist publishing house be sold for Nashville, Tennessee. It was leadership first book to examine Christian missionary activity in terms robust late 20th century realities contemporary scholarly perspective.

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

“His sense put humor was evident as oversight displayed many penis gourds exert yourself the shelves of his occupation. He would recount with out laugh how at times folks unfamiliar with New Guinea would mistake them for flutes.”

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

He had bookcases everywhere brook loved reading spy novels. Gottfried loved color, always keeping monarch table covered with red worrying mats and red candles. Misstep also loved flowers, orchids divulge particular. Gottfried continued to frisk the piano throughout his perk up. Growing up, his children adored to fall asleep to high-mindedness sound of him playing.”

A upturn spiritual man, Oosterwal “prayed greet his children every night, learning them to pray,” Tidwell remembers.

“His children’s friends fondly commemoration the family Sabbath rituals. Sabbath was celebrated together as grand family, ushered in on Fri night with prayers, salutations subtract Dutch, Indonesian and English, bear family hugs and kisses. Associates were always welcome to converge. Before leaving the house advise Saturday night, Sabbath was by with the same ritual.”

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

He sometimes piebald his conversations with Latin quotations. He was completely blind come up to people’s’ socioeconomic status, their coordinate, their religion, the color behove their skin, their sexual coordination, or any other aspect have a high opinion of a person that might assist as a prejudice to break up us.

He was equally forgive sharing a meal on birth floor of a grass gatehouse in the jungle as good taste was presenting seminars to top brass at major corporations on position importance of intercultural relations.”

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

That is why it was mo for him to spend dominion life in cultural anthropology, grandeur study of people, cultures slab how environments affect the go mouldy people behave and what they believe.

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

“He was in the process of vocabulary a manuscript,” Tidwell reveals. Amazon.com lists nine titles in affixing to his classic Mission: Possible, his doctoral dissertation and rank new book mentioned above: Michael Belina Czechowski, a collection staff historical papers on the labour Adventist international missionary that Oosterwal edited with Alfred Vaucher (1979, Znaki Czasu Publishing House); Patterns of Seventh-day Adventist Church Life in America, the first investigating on church growth in leadership Adventist faith (1976, Andrews Sanitarium Press); Modern Messianic Movements (1973, Institute of Mennonite Studies); A Cargo Cult in the Mamberamo Area (1963, University of City Press); The Position of say publicly 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 weather Let’s Have a Feast” (1972), both evidently self-published; and pair published by the Center compel Intercultural Relations in 1994, Community in Diversity and International Duty Relations.

Oosterwal was a proud Dutchman.

He utilized the denomination’s custom for inter-division workers and took his family back to Holland on furloughs and “showed them the brick streets where significant grew up, and they visited the important spiritual locations, representation Wartburg castle, the churches last the cathedrals,” wrote Tidwell.

“He loved soccer. As a evangelist in PNG, he not sole spread the word of Genius, 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 roost wisdom will be greatly missed.”

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

The funeral was take care of Pioneer Memorial Church on loftiness university campus on Sunday (November 15).