Portrait of a Servant of God: Theodore Bubeck, Missionary to Congo

By Naomi Bubeck Tuttle

Portrait of a Servant of God is a devotional book based on the life of Theodore Bubeck and the letters he wrote to his family over a period of thirty years. Ted and his wife were pioneer missionary church planters from 1928 to 1960 in the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). After Teds death, his daughter Naomi found their correspondence and excerpted impressions and stories to form the basis for this book.

Part one gives the basis for biblical servanthood and external factors that influenced Ted. Part two includes qualities of a Christian servant. Part three describes the results of being Gods servant, some perils and benefits.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 3, 2017
• ISBN: 9781543417203

Naomi Bubeck Tuttle

Naomi Bubeck Tuttle was born in 1937 in a mud hut in the Belgian Congo to missionary parents, Ted and Pete Bubeck. She graduated from high school in Congo and from Cornell University with a BSN in 1959. She worked as a nurse and later as an instructor for Hadley School for the Blind. Together with her husband, Dean Tuttle, they wrote the text book Self-esteem and Adjusting with Blindness for use in university courses. They have three sons and five grandchildren. She received the Wings of Freedom Award from the American Printing House for the Blind. Naomi is active in her church and in various Bible study organizations.

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Copyright © 2017 by Naomi Bubeck Tuttle.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2017906130

ISBN:      Hardcover            978-1-5434-1718-0

                Softcover             978-1-5434-1719-7

                eBook                  978-1-5434-1720-3

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

KJV

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Rev. date: 06/28/2017

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Contents

Foreword

External Factors Influencing Ted Bubeck

1      God’s Servant, Ted Bubeck

A Caring Family

A Challenging Mission Life

An Eternal Perspective

2      Who Me? God’s Servant?

A Servant Described

Biblical Servants

Servants of Today

Qualities of a Christian Servant

3      God’s Servant Is Continually Growing

Method of Growth

Experiences Causing Growth

Results of Growth

4      God’s Servant Is a Sacrificial Giver

Giver of Self

Giver of Possessions

5      God’s Servant Is Dependent on the Master

Dependent for Salvation

Dependent for Guidance

Dependent for Sustaining Grace

Dependent for an Unknown Future

Dependent for the Fruit of Labor

6      God’s Servant Is Totally Committed to the Lord

Committed Because of God’s Character

Committed Because of Personal Need

Committed Because of God’s Need for Servants

7      God’s Servant Is Unconditionally Obedient

Obedient In Mind and Will

Obedient in Emotion

Obedient In Action

8      God’s Servant Is Consistently Faithful

Faithful in Stewardship of Material Possessions

Faithful in Fulfilling Responsibilities

Faithful in Praying and Sharing God’s Word

Faithful in Teaching Others to be Faithful

9      God’s Servant Is Quietly Humble

Humble in Attitude

Humble in Self-Regard

Humble in Action

10    God’s Servant Is a Reconciler

Reconciler of One to God

Reconciler of One to Another

Reconciler of One to the Body of Believers

11    God’s Servant Is Goal-Oriented

Primary Goal

Secondary Goals

Hindrances to Reaching Goals

12    God’s Servant Is an Encourager

Encourager of Those with Physical Needs

Encourager of Those with Emotional Needs

Encourager of Those with Spiritual Needs

Results of Being God’s Servant

13     Results of Being a Servant of God: Opposition and Perils

Opposition from the Old Nature

Opposition from Other People

Opposition from Satan

14     Results of Being a Servant of God: Benefits and Rewards

The Fruit of the Spirit Is Love

The Fruit of the Spirit Is Joy

The Fruit of the Spirit Is Peace

The Fruit of the Spirit Is Patience

The Fruit of the Spirit Is Kindness

The Fruit of the Spirit Is Goodness

The Fruit of the Spirit Is Faithfulness

The Fruit of the Spirit Is Gentleness or Humility

The Fruit of the Spirit Is Self-Control

Ted’s Ministry in Perspective

Sources

Foreword

The impetus for writing this book came soon after the death of my father, Dr. Theodore Bubeck, as I was looking through his sermon outlines and notes. While searching further in a storage bin I discovered carbon copies of letters he had written to his mother and sisters which dated from 1928 through 1960. These were written from the Belgian Congo where he was serving as an evangelistic missionary. For many of those years he had written faithfully every other week, each time the mail was sent.

I have chosen to share these in the form of a challenge to each of us to continue the ministry that Ted began. This was a ministry of sharing the gospel of Christ with anyone with whom he came in contact, but more specifically, this was a ministry of servant-hood. Ted’s main goal in life was to serve God to the best of his ability and to serve those around him. He would not have wanted a book written which focused on himself, but one which exalted his Lord. I have sought to be faithful to this desire.

Part one is an examination of the external factors that influenced Ted to become the man of quiet strength that he was and explores the basis of Biblical servanthood. Part two discusses the qualities of a servant that are seen in Scripture, in Christ, in Ted Bubeck, and in those of us who seek to follow in their footsteps. Part three examines the results of being a servant, some risks and some benefits. Biblical quotes are from the King James Version because that is the translation Ted used most often in his sermons and letters.

In an effort to give the reader a sense of the flow and breadth of Ted’s life, the material in chapter one is chronological. Although the rest of the book contains biographical sketches, they are not intended to be in chronological order, but rather serve to illustrate the topics under consideration.

The content of the book, drawn from Ted’s life, reflects the conditions he found during his early years in the Belgian Congo and does not address the dramatic changes occurring in the country now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in recent years. Primitive conditions and attitudes of fifty years ago cannot be generalized to the Congo of today.

This book would not be complete without an expression of my personal gratitude to God for the home in which I was privileged to be raised. As an M.K. (missionary kid) I received a concern for world-wide missions and an understanding of other cultures. As a part of the larger Congo mission family, I grew to love many missionaries as adopted aunts and uncles and their children as brothers and sisters. My fondest memories of home include family picnics under the palm trees, walking through the thick tropical jungle to the spectacular Kitona falls, playing table games in the evening with other missionaries, and singing hymns around a pump organ after family devotions and prayer. The qualities Dad communicated to me by word and life are his sense of humor, his strict discipline in love, his close walk with his Lord, his extensive understanding of scriptural truths, and his untiring compassion for others. These have formed the basis for my deep love, admiration and respect for my father.

I wish to express appreciation to all who contributed to this book through their verbal or written tributes to Ted, through sharing more details about his life, or through insights into the qualities of servanthood. I wish also to thank those who assisted with the editing of the manuscript, especially Susan Neely and Margaret Jump. A special word of thanks to my Mother, Ted’s wife, and my husband, Dean, for their encouragement and patience.

External Factors

Influencing Ted Bubeck

_____________________Part One

1

God’s Servant, Ted Bubeck

I am Thy servant.

– Ps. 143:12b

At five o’clock that afternoon I was sitting in the front part of the river boat reading when suddenly my ears caught the faint strains of a hymn. In my subconscious mind I recognized it immediately, but paid no attention until I noticed about fourteen boys standing on the bank about fifty feet away. What a picture that was! I question whether I shall ever forget it. That picture burned itself deep into my consciousness: giant trees towering high above the densely woven tropical foliage beneath, and in the clearing in the foreground, that group of boys singing ‘Tell Me the Story of Jesus.’ What a plea, and for me a challenge. May God grant that I may never turn aside from that ‘story of Jesus and His love’.¹

This scene greeted Ted Bubeck as he and his wife approached for the first time the remote mission station of Moanza in the Belgian Congo, (now DRC,) where he was to serve from 1928 until 1960. Because he remained faithful to that challenge, there are thousands in three continents who remember him with gratitude to God for the difference Ted’s Lord made in their own lives. He was singularly used during his life to advance the Kingdom of God.

What kind of man was this missionary who influenced so many? He was a servant of God with the qualities God desires of His servants. He was committed and faithful to his Lord, obedient, and dependent on Him for his every need. He had a spirit of humility and a goal toward which he strove. He gave to others, encouraged, and attempted to reconcile others to each other and to God. He was a growing person who was not satisfied with his current knowledge or abilities.

A unique personal background enabled him to influence others in a life-changing way. This foundation helped him endure the discomfort and loneliness of isolation and to say, We are exactly where God would have us. No sacrifice was too great and every effort was worthwhile in order to have the privilege of seeing men and women come to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

A Caring Family

4.jpg

Ted Bubeck, 6 years of age, with his parents and four sisters, Elsa, Hulda, Lydia, and Martha.

The influence of Godly parents was a firm foundation upon which Ted’s later life would rest. Gottlieb and Bertha Bubeck were God-fearing German immigrants who gave their five children a consistent example of love for God and His Word, and a love for fellow men. As a minister, Gottlieb tended his own flock at the church and frequently welcomed new immigrants off the boats or drunks off the streets into his home, giving them food, shelter and clothes. When Gottlieb asked to be sent where no one else wants to go, he was given the pastorate of a Methodist church in the part of Manhattan referred to at the turn of the century as Hell’s Kitchen. It was an area known for its violence, crime, and drunkenness, but the Bubeck’s home was a place of peace and security because of their trust in God.

Gottlieb went to be with his Lord after contracting pneumonia when Ted was fifteen, causing him to leave school temporarily to support his mother and four sisters. Though his father was gone, his mother exerted strong leadership in the family. She had a lasting influence on the children through her vibrant faith in God and in His ability to provide.

As an adult he wrote to his mother, I truly thank God on every remembrance of you, my parents. Even if I had not had a Bible or Christian training, your lives would have been sufficient for me to desire to become a Christian.² Years later when he was asked if it were not an honor to speak at a famous church in a large American city, he wrote, Yes it is, but not greater than that of having a Mother at home praying for you while you are speaking.³ By her example she was influential in encouraging him to read his Bible through each year, a practice he began in 1932 and continued almost until his death.

Not only did he have the strong support of his parents and sisters, but he had the encouragement of a dear faithful, loving wife, Matilda Heck, usually known as Pete. Matilda was also the child of a German Methodist minister so it was only natural that the two families would get together frequently at church gatherings. She had given her life to the Lord when she was fourteen and was attracted to Ted because of his kind, gentle spirit and his determination to serve his Lord wherever He would lead.

After completing high school, Pete worked in an office for a year, at which time she felt the same call Ted did to serve the Lord in Africa. She attended Bible school part time until she was able to join Ted at Gordon College, where he was studying theology. They were engaged for six years prior to their marriage in June, 1927.

Because they were unable to go immediately to Africa, Ted took a pastorate in Maine for a year. October 6, 1928, when Pete and Ted finally sailed for the Belgian Congo as American Baptist missionaries, was a day of mixed feelings: sadness at leaving a close-knit family, anticipation of the unknown, yet joy in knowing they were going where God had called them. At the Sunday service on the boat, Ted preached from the text, Abraham went out, not knowing whither he went (Heb. 11:8). Ted identified with Abraham’s uncertainty, but also with his trust in God to lead in an unknown future.

Pete remained a faithful, behind-the-scenes support for Ted throughout their years together. Frequently he expressed gratitude for her support and help, addressing her in letters and notes as my Schatzie (my treasure). Many evenings were spent together while Ted added stamps to his comprehensive collection and Pete sat across the table reading aloud from one of their numerous books. In the Congo she worked mainly among the women and girls, teaching them to read and to be better wives and mothers. Young children were taught the love of Christ through her example. Pete maintained a home that was open to all visitors and many expressed their appreciation for the food and hospitality.

On their twenty-fifth anniversary Ted wrote that our love is greater and far deeper and we are both looking forward to the next lap. This wish was fulfilled as they were able to celebrate fifty-seven years of married life.

Perhaps because they were able to have only one child, Naomi, they both felt in a special way that she was a gift from God, temporarily in their care. Five months after her birth, for Pete’s health, she and the baby had to return to America, leaving Ted alone at Moanza for two years. This was one of the most difficult periods in their lives, but also a time of deepening fellowship with the Lord.

Ted wrote to his wife during this lonely time of his desire to sit with her over a good cup of coffee and second-day coffee cake and just talk. I’m sure we’ll never get talked out. That’s the human side, but let’s not forget the other. For two years God has graciously kept us and I am certain that while His full purpose was hidden from us, yet it has been for our spiritual benefit. I know we know and trust Him more and have learned much which we could not have learned apart from God’s school of discipline. I have been taught much for which ten years of isolation would not be too great a price to pay.⁴

The family was reunited in 1939 and spent the next five years in Albion, Michigan where Ted pastored a church. The Bubecks returned to Moanza in 1946 and during the remaining years Naomi was in the Congo, she attended a boarding school for missionaries’ children, six hundred miles away from home. Vacations twice a year were special weeks when Ted tried to take extra time out of a busy schedule for picnics, walks, or playing table games. A feeling of security permeated the home because the head of it was a father who loved his Lord, his wife, and his family.

Throughout his life he was very supportive of his son-in-law, Dean Tuttle, and the three grandchildren as they came along. When Dean and Naomi became engaged he wrote, We pray that He may keep you both and lead you as to His will. We hope you may learn to live for each other unselfishly and devotedly, for selfishness is like the love of money, the root of all evil.⁵

A year later he wrote to them from the Congo at