Missionary Changed My ‘F’

Veteran African church leader Eugene Fransch shares a life-altering lesson in grace.

By Eugene Fransch, as told to Andrew McChesney, adventistmission.org

Going to Solusi College was a big cultural shock. I was the only non-black student on campus in pre-independent Zimbabwe. I came from the city to a rural place with a simple diet and no hot water.

I also had a huge afro, rock and roll music on my tape player, and an attitude to match.

But the Seventh-day Adventist Church saw something in me and offered me a scholarship at Solusi, located deep in the bush about an hour’s drive from my hometown, Bulawayo. My plan was to stay for a year and then transfer to Helderberg College in South Africa. But after the first year, I opted to stay.

To be honest, I was an average student in my theology classes. My hardest subject was Greek, and I must admit that the highest grade that I ever got was a “C.” Many semesters I received a “C minus” or a “D.” I just couldn’t grasp the subject. Up until my last semester, I battled with the Greek professor, Leo Raunio, a patient and kind missionary who also had a stern stance on grades.

Befriended by a Missionary

Dr. Raunio befriended me when I first arrived in 1978. He taught me how to play chess, and we spent hours playing the game in his home. Born in Finland, he had served as a missionary to the Native Americans in the United States and taught university students in South Africa before moving to Solusi at an age when others would retire. He shared many mission experiences with me, and I was impressed that he had decided to finish up his career in ministry at Solusi.

When I wrote my final Greek exam, I knew that I had failed. As I handed it to Dr. Raunio, I looked him in the eye and said, “Doc, I failed again.”

He smiled and said, “It’s OK.”

For the next week, I was stressed and disappointed because I knew that I wouldn’t graduate without passing Greek. I was looking forward to graduation because, among other things, I planned to get married a month later. The notion of spending another six months redoing Greek was unthinkable.

A week after turning in the exam, I learned that I had failed that course with an “F.” But surprisingly, the final grade sent to the administration was a “C pass.”

Dr. Raunio called me into his office. It was there that I understand what God’s grace means.

New Understanding of Grace

“Eugene,” Dr. Raunio said, “I’ve been watching you for four years on this campus. I’ve seen you change from a radical fellow to a hardworking young man who loves the Lord. I noticed that even the music on your tape recorder changed from rock and roll music to Christian music in the fourth year. I’ve seen a change in your life in these four years, one that has drawn you closer to Christ.”

I was surprised that he had observed something that no one else seemed to have noticed.

“You have done well on your other subjects and passed,” Dr. Raunio said. “But you have battled with Greek. I know how much this graduation means to you in three weeks. I know you have done all you could to pass your Greek exam but failed.

“Still I want to give you grace,” he said. “I know the Lord has a plan for you in the work that you are going to do. By grace, I’m going to give you a passing grade so you can graduate.”

Then he prayed for me. He prayed that God’s hand would guide me in the future that He had for me in Zimbabwe.

When I returned to the dormitory, I fell down on my knees and thanked the Lord. I found my fiancee and told her, “By the grace of God, I’m graduating!”

Seeing the Potential

I am highly indebted to Dr. Raunio. He looked beyond the present and saw what the future could hold. He saw potential in me for what I could do in Zimbabwe.

Little did I know how far God would take me in His work.

The Lord helped me to work for 18 years as youth ministries director for the Adventist Church in Zimbabwe. After that, I served as youth director at the church division for seven years. I also received a doctorate in leadership.

Today, I work as an associate secretary for the Adventist Church in Zimbabwe. I also work as an adjunct professor for Adventist University of Africa and serve as a consultant to the Adventist world church’s youth department.

I thank the Lord for helping me understand what grace is and what it means to someone who needs it but doesn’t deserve it. Dr. Raunio’s example has taught me to exercise grace to others even when they don’t deserve it.

Even in our lowest state of sin, God still sees potential in us. That’s a message that young people need to hear often. God isn’t going to fail us because of our present condition. Once filled with His Spirit, He sees what we can accomplish. We need to not look at the present but to have God’s eye to see the potential in others.

Eugene Fransch, 61, is associate secretary with the Zimbabwe Union Conference based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Leo Raunio, who died at the age of 72 about two years after Eugene’s graduation, is the grandfather of Andrew McChesney.

Part of a 2015 Thirteenth Sabbath Offering went to Solusi University to double the size of its crowded cafeteria from 500 seats to 1,000. Thank you for your mission offerings that allow Adventist schools like Solusi to prepare people to proclaim Jesus’ soon return around the world.