Hello Alumni!
I hope each of you was able to enjoy Christmas, and that you were blessed with glimpses
of the significance of our Savior as you celebrated His birth!
I am very excited with the opportunity to share with you some of the news from the
recent alumni weekend, as well as to introduce myself to you as your new alumni
president.
My name is Jason Elford, and I attended NBI from 1995 to 1998. Those were undeniably
some of the most important years in my life, and although I may never fully appreciate or
grasp the full impact they had on my life, I recognize the tremendous growth I
experienced in those years – not only spiritually, but in other areas as well.
In the years since I’ve moved around a bit. In 2002 I went to Prairie Bible College,
where I met my wife Lindsay. I graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine
Arts. This past fall we moved to Edmonton where Lindsay is finishing a degree in music
at the University of Alberta. In the meantime, I am presently employed with BCP
Construction, doing painting and texturing among other things. Lindsay and I have found
a church in McKernan Baptist and are meeting new people, as well as going through the
process of making a new church body “home”. I’ve been given the opportunity to lead a
music team which plays every 3 weeks, and am looking forward to the learning and
experience that will come with that. Lindsay and I have enjoyed our transition to
Edmonton and look forward to at least a couple of years here.
I enjoyed alumni retreat so much this year. November 17-19 saw about 100 alumni
gather at NBI for a great weekend of fellowship, visiting, sports, praise, prayer, and many
other activities and events. I was immensely encouraged to see so many familiar alumni
faces, to see the current student body, and how God is continuing to work in each of our
lives. Thank you so much to all of you who came to be a part of it, and to those of you
who couldn’t make it this time, there’s always next year.
An important (and exciting, I would add) part of the weekend is the opportunity we have
as alumni to bless the school in a financial way. I want to share some of the details with
you, not only so you can be aware of the generosity of so many fellow alumni, but also so
that you will hopefully see a glimpse of the incredible potential we have as alumni to
continue to partner with NBI in their ministry. The annual walkathon raised $17,963.17
this year and almost $4000 of that came from alumni. At the U-R-Us meeting this year
we decided to make it our project to redo the attic in the dining hall (insulating, vapor
barrier), and provide chairs for the dining hall. So far we have $2900 towards those
projects. I think it is neat that we can have such a positive impact on the school!
At alumni weekend this year Dave Reimer finished his term of president of the alumni
association after 4 years of service. Also finishing their terms on the alumni executive
were Ken Kirk and Rob Unrah. They deserve thanks for their years of contribution and I
would say that their hard work has sparked and encouraged interest in the hearts of more
than a few alumni; certainly they were an encouragement to me to get more involved
with the school.
Along with myself, Lindsay Yadlowsky and Crystal Gaertner were elected this year as
we join Amanda Anderson and Daniel Hertz to make up your alumni exec. Lynda
Driedger is the NBI staff liaison. I am looking forward to working with them all.
Here are some of my own personal goals for the next year, perhaps you can identify with
one or more of them, or maybe I can even challenge you in this way
1) To get 3 more people from my class to attend alumni retreat next year (there were
only 2 this year besides me)
2) To help grow the many hands program the school has in place by increasing my
contribution to it, and encouraging others to join or to do the same
3) To tell at least 2 high school students about the importance of a year spent at a
bible college, and the impact that NBI had on my life.
I hope that we can serve you, the alumni, and that our passion for NBI and for the great
work God is doing through the school can be passed on to you. I pray that you would
seek how you may be a part of NBI’s continuing ministry. There is no shortage of
opportunity.
I wish you a Happy New Year,
Your fellow alumnus,
Quic kTime™ and a
TIFF (U ncompre ssed) deco mpr essor
are nee ded to see thi s pic tur e.
Jason Elford
“From Him, the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament,
grows and builds itself up in love, as each art does its work”. Ep. 4:16