Allan Friesen

Instructor in Biblical & Theological Studies

 
Email:allanfriesen@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

About Allan

What is your Family Status?     My wife Maryvel and I have been married for 18 years now. We have two kids, Mikhael who is 15 years of age, and Hannah who is 12. We are joined at our supper table by one more family member, my dad, a widower, who lives on our farmyard as well, but in a separate house.

Do you have any pets?    Farms don’t really have pets. We do have animals however. At the time of writing, our farm has cattle and some sheep, laying hens and young chickens for butchering, and a pile of cats. Hannah also has a husky dog and a pet snake that we all help take care of.

What was your first job?     My first job was working on the farm. There were cows to bring home for milking, then later tractors to drive, and fences to repair. I loved the farm so much I was convinced that my first job would also be my last.

What is your hidden talent?   I consider myself pretty good at skinning and butchering sheep and cattle, and also pretty handy with a gun, but those aren’t really talents that are allowed to shine much in a Bible College setting!

List your hobbies.    I really don’t have any hobbies. I do enjoy sitting in front of our wood stove in winter when I have time, drinking my maté (Paraguayan tea) and reading.

What is your ministry passion?   For five years now, Maryvel and I have been pastoring the Eigenheim Mennonite Church (aside from my work at Fort Carlton in summer and my teaching at Bethany in winter), and in many ways that has become our life and passion. Eigenheim is the oldest Mennonite congregation west of Manitoba and is rural based, and has gone through the same highs and lows of any rural congregation. We have come to love it and our work there in spite of, or perhaps in part because of those dynamics.

What would you have your Epitaph read?    A wise woman in the congregation I grew up in once commented something to the effect of “don’t you dare say anything good about me at my funeral!” I really liked that thought, and can’t imagine what I would have my Epitaph read either.

List your heroes.   If I were to pick two heroes that have lived in my lifetime, they would have to be Tommy Douglas and Nelson Mandela: Tommy Douglas for his incredible concern for the well-being of the people he was responsible for, first as a Baptist minister and later as premier of Saskatchewan, Nelson Mandela because of the wisdom he displayed in bringing reconciliation to his country when coming to power instead of seeking revenge as so many in his situation have done.

List the three most influential people in your life.   So many people have an influence in one’s life. If I were picking the three of my earlier life, it would have to be my parents and my mother’s mother. My dad taught me to love the farm and taught me through example what it was like to be a loving father. My mom was the challenger in my life, challenging me to be and do better. My grandma opened up my story for me, the story of my family’s past and the past of the Mennonite Church.

List any/all of the most influential books in your life.   It would be easiest to simply say the Bible. One reads many books. I think what has a greater influence than modern books on what and how I think are the periodicals I read. I am a regular reader of Der Spiegel, a German language essay-type news magazine, and so I am probably influenced to some degree by its European worldview. My browser also has bookmarks of various news sources online that I check regularly, including Allgemeine Zeitung from Namibia, ABC Color from Paraguay and the French language Radio Canada.

What is the best gift you ever received?   A wife from Colombia, it can’t get better than that!

Where in the world would you like to go if you could go anywhere?   Almost all of Maryvel and my travels since marriage have been to South America (Colombia, Paraguay, and Uruguay) due to family and church connections. If I could choose a different place, it might be to go to Indonesia to visit a couple of young people that our congregation hosted through the MCC International Exchange Program and see the work of the church there.