上帝有一把更大的铲子

汉克和迪克西·阿什布伦纳 lead by example when it comes to generosity. Since 1994, Hank has worked with 肯考迪娅 Irvine to raise funds for numerous projects. But Hank doesn’t just raise funds — the Aschbrenners give around 30 percent of their annual income to Lutheran universities and churches, 并鼓励其他人也这样做.

“你不能要求别人做你自己都没做过的事,汉克说. “We want to set an example so people say, ‘If they can do that, I can do this.’”

Though their earnings/salaries as Lutheran educators were quite modest, the Lord led the Aschbrenners to make a series of savvy financial decisions which allow them to give significant donations to 肯考迪娅 Irvine and other Lutheran universities, 为路德教会工作人员提供奖学金.

“我们希望看到更多的人接受路德教会教育,迪克西说, 在路德教会学校教了20多年书的人.

你不能要求别人做你自己都没做过的事.

Hank grew up on an 80-acre, self-sufficient farm in Iowa w在这里 they raised dairy cows and grew corn. A generous man in his local church paid Hank’s way for eight years to the high school and college at 肯考迪娅 Seward w在这里 Hank had “a remarkable experience.” Meanwhile, Dixie left California’s Central Valley to venture to CU River Forest to get her degree.

“我非常想念加州，”迪克西回忆道. “我妈妈通过铁路快递寄了一箱箱的葡萄和橙子.”

Hank and Dixie met in California’s Bay Area w在这里 both were working as Lutheran school 老师. 他们于1962年结婚，并于1966年接受圣. John’s Napa w在这里 Hank became the principal and middle school teacher. In his 15 years t在这里, the school grew from 94 to around 300 students, including the preschool.

But it was a book in the public library that caught Hank’s eye — and changed their future. 引人注目的标题, 我是如何赚到1美元的,我利用业余时间在房地产上赚了1000万美元, 汉克的印象, 他花了4美元买了这本书.95. “这是天赐之物，”他说. “很容易理解和做.”

The basic advice was to buy fixer-upper properties in good locations, using as much of other people’s money as you could through mortgages. 汉克说:“我按照这本书做了，效果非常好.

He and Dixie scraped together enough money on his principal’s salary to buy run-down houses in good locations, 并改进它们. 房屋的价值迅速上涨.

“All we did was paint them, fix the landscaping and re-sell them,汉克说. “Within two years we would almost double the price just by doing those things. 它并没有花那么多钱来启动. 太棒了，真是福气.”

他们一度拥有19套公寓. 晚些时候, 通过出售这些房子, they were able to put their four children through college without debt. “我们只是路德教会学校的老师，”迪克西惊讶地说.

同时保住他们的投资, 他们离开纳帕，在东湾地区开办了三所路德教会学校, 在为学校筹款的同时, 汉克的眼睛又睁开了，认识到慷慨的价值.

他回忆道:“当时我们只是缴纳十分之一税。. “We had four children and were living paycheck to paycheck for many years. 但当我为学校筹款的时候, 我和人们交谈，思考, “他们给的肯定比我多. 如果他们能做到，我们也能做到.他说，当时我们增加了产品数量. My dad was always a good giver to the church, though our family could hardly afford it. 他告诉我, “还记得, 主把它铲进来，你把它铲出来, 但上帝有一把更大的铲子.我们在自己的生活中也发现了这一点. 神如此祝福我们，真是不可思议.”

他们开始看着他们做出牺牲, 耶和华就归还给他们, “有时准确无误,汉克说. “太神奇了。. 玛拉基书2:10是我最喜欢的诗句.”

That passage reads: “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that t在这里 may be food in my house. 这是对我的考验, 这是万军之耶和华说的, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until t在这里 is no more need.(ESV) 1991年, Hank took on the challenge of recruiting more students for 肯考迪娅 Irvine and 肯考迪娅 Portland in the California-内华达-Hawaii District of The Lutheran Church— 密苏里州 Synod through a program entitled “Sharing the Vision of our Ministry.” At that time 肯考迪娅 Irvine had just 12 students from the CNH District and 肯考迪娅 Portland had only seven. Hank conducted fundraising campaigns in over 100 congregations to raise money for the congregations and the two colleges for their endowments and scholarships. By 1995, 康考迪亚欧文有近100名来自CNH区的学生, 波特兰康科迪亚有70多个. Then a phone call from an old high school classmate, Ray Halm, brought the Aschbrenners south. Halm, then president of 肯考迪娅 Irvine, wanted Hank to bring his fundraising expertise to Irvine. Hank accepted the offer over offers from other universities and the private sector.

He heard a bit of advice that has defined his approach to fundraising: “It takes the right person to ask the right person, 为了合适的礼物, 适量的, 为了正确的目的, 以正确的方式, 在适当的时候.”

“I’ve shared that with many colleagues because I think it’s so great,汉克说.

He retired as 欧文康考迪亚大学’s executive vice president in 2001, 但他的退休生活并没有持续太久.

“退休六周后，我感到非常无聊，”汉克说. “Then President Jack Preus called and wanted me to work again, so I went quarter time. 我很高兴能回来工作.”

At 82, 差不多20年后, Hank is still working 在欧文的康考迪亚大学 and “enjoying it very much.他与大约100名捐赠者共度时光, mostly outside of Southern California in places like Northern California, 亚利桑那州, 密苏里州, 内华达, 科罗拉多州, 俄勒冈州和华盛顿州. 一些住在明尼苏达州和南达科他州. “What I enjoy most about fundraising is working with people,汉克说. “他们都成了好朋友. 我期待着每一次拜访，并满怀鼓舞地开车离开. Donors tell me it gives them joy to see what the University is doing.”

Amazingly, more than 50 percent of his donors have never visited the 肯考迪娅 Irvine campus.

“They hear about us through our choirs and musical groups that go into their churches,汉克说. 还有一些是以前学生的祖父母和父母. 我总是尝试带来新的材料给他们看, 分享校园里发生的激动人心的事情.”

The Aschbrenners love to travel — they’ve been to 51 countries — and when home, 迪克西在教堂演奏管风琴, 花园, 教授包括但以理书在内的圣经研究, 歌罗西书与启示录. They continue to give generously to projects such as the recently-completed Borland-Manske Center.

“它树立了一个榜样，”汉克说. “当捐赠者拿到年度报告或看到捐赠墙时, 我肯定他们要找的是, “汉克向我要礼物. 他的名字在那里吗??“一对夫妇告诉我，他们就是这么做的!”

The Aschbrenners have set up an endowment at 肯考迪娅 Irvine and other 肯考迪娅 universities for students training to be Lutheran pastors, 老师, dce或者教堂音乐家. 他们的大部分遗赠将捐给康考迪亚·欧文.

“当我们去世的时候, very sizable gifts will be given to these endowments for scholarships to support students,汉克说. “上帝引导我们做出正确的投资.”

赞美耶和华. 他有一把更大的铲子，”迪克西同意道.