“LYDIA ERB: MISSIONARY TO CHILDREN” Pt. 2

by Betty Stende

           

Mrs. Erb has been keeping diaries since 1935, recording striking quotes and information she thinks will be interesting and helpful.  Her Vacation Bible School records from 1974-2002 show she taught at 194 Bible Schools with a total of over 17,000 pupils enrolled — averaging about 550 per summer.  The largest school was at Heritage Trail Bible Church in 1984 with 316 students.  Schools in Minnesota have ranged from Warroad on the Canadian border, to Leroy in the south, from Silver Bay on the North Shore to Lake Eunice in the west.  Even those students not in Mrs. Erb’s classroom remember her Charlie stories and Thought for the Day.[1]

 

We often see Mrs. Erb surrounded by children reciting those Thoughts for the Day, asking questions, or coming to show her their latest discovery (perhaps an insect they want identified).  During the years she taught at the Christian school, kids would often stay after school on Wednesday nights until church services, and she always fed them — she thinks some deliberately missed the bus.  Any student who forgot his lunch could always count on Mrs. Erb to make him one.  One who was very fond of her peanut butter and jelly sandwiches said he had forgotten his lunch, but when she offered him a meat sandwich, decided he probably could find it after all.

 

Children know her as an excellent cook with a taste for unusual food.  One student gave valentines with candy in them to everyone in the class — but in Mrs. Erb’s, she enclosed a carrot.   Girls who traveled with her to teach Bible School remember eating homemade yogurt, turtle meat (cooked like chicken) and lamb’s quarters (a common weed that tastes like spinach).  She has used noodles to make a delicious custard that resembles rice pudding.  It is a real privilege to be invited to her dandelion salad party each spring!  Guests know they will also be served her specialties: American Style Enchiladas, homemade bread, and for dessert —Pumpkin Ice Cream  Pie.

 

Since Mrs. Erb lives in an apartment just behind the church, she is a zealous protector of the church key, which she wears around her neck.  She will not loan you the key, but will gladly come and unlock the door for you!  When you knock on her apartment door, you may find her visualizing a song, canning applesauce for a busy mother, or pounding away on her ancient Singer typewriter — writing a letter or birthday card.  At one time she sent birthday cards to all VBS students, but finally cut back when she was sending more than seventy-five a month.  

 

Although generous to others, Mrs. Erb does not believe in waste of any kind.  She was a master recycler before it was in.  She has been known to sort through the garbage for patterns or paper that has only been used on one side.  Always temperate in personal habits, she mentioned, “I don’t believe in wearing out my sheets by washing them a lot.  Since I don’t move much when I sleep, I use the same set for three weeks by sleeping on the right side of the bed one week, the left side one week, and the middle one week.”  She enjoys reading, but rarely takes time to read just for enjoyment ¾ except for Christmas day when she takes the day off to do just that. 

 

A VBS helper remembers:

 

Mrs. Erb is the only person I know who can pack three weeks’ worth of Bible School material and belongings for three women all in the trunk of a car.  I learned to never leave any space empty, no matter how small!  I now have four daughters and when we travel, people look at me and say, “Wow! How did you get all that stuff in the back of your van?”  I just smile and say, “I was taught by the best!”

 

Mrs. Erb lives the philosophy of Philippians 4:8 by refusing to think on things that are not true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, excellent and praise-worthy.  She never complains, even about the weather.  “No matter how we feel about it, we’re still going to have weather.  This is the day which the Lord hath made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it!”  When asked a question about examining our wicked hearts, she declared, “I won’t even think about things like that.”  After the 9-11 terrorist attacks, she did not want to see the television coverage.  “Those images stick in your mind, and you can never forget them.”   When asked if she was ever lonely, she answered, “No, I have walked with the Lord for so many years, I never feel alone; it is just normal being with Him.”  Her greatest joy through the years has been knowing the Lord in a personal way and being with Him.  Her greatest sorrow: “People who hear the truth and don’t really appreciate it; it makes a difference for this life and for eternity.”

 

A plaque on Mrs. Erb’s bedroom wall reads: In quietness and confidence shall be your strength. (Isaiah 30:15)   Girls who traveled with her tell of  “Hilltop House,” a guesthouse used only in the summer, and Mrs. Erb’s calm in spite of being invaded by mice and bats.  The school where she lived in McKinley was an old building, and often creaked and groaned; when asked if the noises ever frightened her, she replied, “This is my mansion on the hill; if something should happen, I’ll just go to my mansion over the hilltop.” 

 

One year she was driving alone to a Bible School halfway across the state, and Marge suggested she call when she arrived.  Mrs. Erb asked, “Why?” 

 

“So we’ll know you made it safely.” 

 

But Mrs. Erb said, “Well, don’t hold your breath.”

 

Her petite frame has begun to shrink with old age, and she has had more physical pain the last few years, but the most she will say is, “I am doing just fine, but my back is complaining today.”  Her outward man may be perishing, yet her inward man is renewed day by day. 

Mrs. Erb’s conversation is permeated with the Word of God she has hid in her heart over the years.  When I asked about her favorite verse, she replied, “Oh, there are so many; I wouldn’t know what to pick.”   Besides the RBC memory program, she has memorized verses through the Navigators and Bible Memory Association programs as well as for classes she has taken or taught.  She still continues to learn new Bible verses, now concentrating on her favorites, by writing the initial letters of the words on a piece of paper and putting it in her pocket to work on during her daily walk.  This is similar to her mother who kept verse cards in her apron pocket as she worked, and at eighty-five asked Lydia for the list of RBC verses so she could learn any she did not yet know. 

 

Mrs. Erb has read through the Bible every year for more than sixty years and says this helps her review the verses she has learned in the past.   We consider her a walking concordance; if she does not know the exact reference, she usually can tell you what book and which corner of the page the verse is on.  We use a game at camp where we draw questions at random.  Some are easy, but many are difficult, especially the four-part Guess My Name ones.  When one of our “guinea pigs” does not get the answer, we just ask Mrs. Erb.  Someone once asked me if there was a question in those bags which Mrs. Erb did not know.  We could not find one, so decided to make one up.  We chose Judges 12:11-12, the only two verses written about Elon. 

 

The exchange went something like this:

 

Clue  one:  I am a judge in Israel.

Mrs.Erb:  Gideon? 

Clue two: I judged Israel 10 years.

Mrs. Erb: (hesitantly) Jephthah?

Clue three: I am a Zebulonite.

Mrs. Erb: This is a set-up, isn’t it?

 

When I asked Mrs. Erb how she would like to be remembered at her funeral, she answered, “I want it held at Heritage Trail Bible Church because I know they will present the gospel; presenting the gospel is more important than a eulogy.” 

All of us have special memories we could share about Mrs.Erb, such as these given to me when I researched this article:

 

·      I was helping teach Bible School in Warroad one year when we had to ride in a pickup and there were too many people to get us all in the front seat.  I’m sure she was past seventy, but Mrs. Erb volunteered to ride in the back because she “had never had a chance to do that before.”

 

Gloria started walking to the Post Office with Mrs. Erb for exercise nearly fourteen years ago. She recalls:

 

·      Mrs. Erb and I have worn out many pairs of tennis shoes on our walks.  We enjoy the fellowship and the beauty of God’s creation.  Mrs. Erb can identify different birds by their sound; we have stopped to observe a Blue Heron fishing in a steam and ducks gliding across a pond.  As we talk about day-to-day matters, the discussions usually lead to principles from God’s Word which can help with living.  Sometimes I felt that I might drag Mrs. Erb down when I shared my concerns, but she listened willingly.  When I was worried, she reassured me, and when I asked for advice, she offered a clear Biblically-based opinion.  She often quotes words of wisdom which I have started to call “Prov–Erbs”:

 

Ø   It is better to wish you were married and not be, than to be married and wish you weren’t.

 

Ø   The whole world is queer except me and thee, and sometimes thou art a little strange.

 

Ø   A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still!

 

Ø   If you want something done, ask a busy person.

 

I believe the verse which sums up her life is Philippians 1:2: For me to live is Christ and to die is gain!

 

Arla, who keeps records for Mrs. Erb’s active junior class in VBS, says:

·      When I’m nearly at the end of my rope, I say to Mrs. Erb, “I need a hug.” She asks, “A Momma-bear hug, a Papa-bear hug, or a Baby-bear hug?”  I usually pick the Papa-bear hug, and she almost crushes my ribs.

 

Girls who have helped Mrs. Erb with summer Bible Schools also shared personal  memories:

 

·      A more patient, caring, non-complaining soul you will never meet.  When you travel from place to place to teach Bible School, you never know what you will find for accommodations for living nor for teaching.  Sometimes things were not exactly how we would have wished for them to be, but never did I ever hear a word of complaint come out of Mrs. Erb’s mouth.  No matter what the situation, she always found the good in it.  I will be forever grateful to her because I truly believe that it is because of her example that I find myself teaching my children that no matter what is happening, there is something good to be found.

 

·      We were invited to dinner at a different home each night.  She always offered to help with the dishes and would sometimes help weed the garden, too.   I remember one place where the host preached at us the whole time.  I was really mad, but Mrs. Erb didn’t say a word.  When we asked her why she said, “Some people are just like that.”

 

·      I had always considered Mrs. Erb a bit angelic, a sort of a wonder-woman who walks ninety miles an hour!  I’ll never forget the day that I realized she was truly human and had the same feelings we all do.  We were staying with a widow named Violet.  It was an old house with thin walls, and we couldn’t help overhearing the conversation downstairs.  They called each other by their first names, which in itself seemed strange.  But then they started down memory lane and the stories of things they had done together and with their husbands came pouring forth.  Then we heard them giggling ¾ not laughing ¾ but giggling!  The next day I told her we had been listening, and they sounded like little girls telling sweetheart secrets down there.  She smiled with a twinkle in her eye and said, “That’s exactly what we were doing!  Don’t you sit and giggle with your girlfriends?”  I never lost my admiration for Mrs. Erb, nor have I ever stopped thinking she is a wonderful God-fearing woman, but from that day on, she became a real person to me.

 

·      When we asked her why we wouldn’t still be married in heaven she said, “But what would you do with someone who had been married twice?”

 

·       I learned more from just watching Mrs. Erb than any teacher could teach me in a lifetime.  My very favorite time of day was always story time.  No one in the world tells a story quite like Mrs. Erb!  As we traveled from place to place during the summer, we would often have groups of kids that were quite unruly and loved to challenge you at all times.  But put them on a chair for story time and no one moved a muscle as she always had their complete undivided attention.  If I learned nothing else, I learned that in order to teach children the most important things in life, you must have their full attention.   You do not need to yell at them or become angry with them ¾ and most importantly, do not look down at them.   You as a teacher need to become one with them.  Treat them as if they were the most important person in the world when they are trying to tell you something and respect them.  Then in return, ask them to respect you back.  I watched it work a million times during those six summers I traveled with her.  There is no doubt that Mrs. Erb has a great ability and God-given talent to share the gospel and make it real to the youngest of children.

 

·      The memory I treasure most is learning what a very, very important part of Mrs. Erb’s life is her daily walk with the Lord.  Her every thought and every word throughout every day is based on what the Lord would want her to do or say.  For six years, I watched as she would faithfully read her Bible every morning.  It was as natural to her as living and breathing.  And then when she was done reading, her head would bow and she would pray for every child we had that week in Bible School and for everything else on her very long prayer list.  I have not spent close time with Mrs. Erb now in about twenty years, but there is no doubt in my mind that every morning after she has brushed her teeth, combed her hair, and dressed, she then sits down with her Bible and prayer list for her personal time with the Lord.           

 

Mrs. Lydia Erb lives the philosophy she teaches to children ¾ “Put Jesus first, others second, and yourself last, and you will have real J-O-Y.”  During junior high Vacation Bible School, we study the fruit of the Spirit.  When we ask students to look around at Bible School and name the happiest person they know: the answer is invariably Mrs. Erb.  As we analyze why, we note that hers is more than mere happiness, but abiding joy in spite of circumstances.  Because her relationship with the Lord is central, she makes His Word her daily joy and delight, she is satisfied with His treatment of her, and she enjoys all the beauty of His creation.  Her genuine interest in children, eager service to others, uncomplaining nature, and delightful sense of humor are the natural by-products.  Only eternity will reveal how many lives were influenced by this remarkable children’s missionary, truly a petite giant.  g

 

Material in this article was gathered from the following sources: Mrs. Lydia Erb (interview and writings), Arla Anderson, Nancy (Nygaard) Flom, Rose Gettys, Lois Gibson, Margo (Nygaard) Hansen, Carol Helland, Bernadette Kuchta, Marge Morgan, Nancy (Radtke) Rokser, Gloria Saatela, Lanette (Johnson) Strong, Sharon Wefel.