Guest Post: Love Notes
It was a simple typewritten note on the memo line of each check they gave Mosaic: LOVE gift.
For Mosaic donors Clayton and Lila Nietfeld of Greeley, Colorado, it was sign of their love and care for God’s people.
Not long ago I asked Clayton and Lila what that meant to them.
“A gift that is given in love for God to benefit a ministry that furthers His kingdom. A gift with no strings attached. Nothing expected in return.”
The Nietfeld’s started giving to Mosaic in Beatrice in the early 1980s when Clayton was serving at Christ Lutheran Church in Pickrell, Neb.
I first met the Nietfeld’s in 2002 with Pastor Ron Beckman.
It took about five seconds to see that they were cheerful givers. Graced with amazing hospitality, (if you ever visited their home you were invited to sign the guest book) Clayton and Lila cared deeply for those with whom their paths crossed.
Clayton and Lila Nietfeld smile during their last donor visit with Matt Sheffield.
People are drawn to them because they see God’s love emanating from them and want to be close to them because it’s clear the Nietfeld’s are close to God.
I was honored to be present at Clayton’s funeral last month. Friends and family gathered to celebrate the life of one of the most faith-filled people I’ve ever met. Service to God, family, country, community and fellow man was at the heart of Clayton’s life and he lived each day of his 89 years sharing God’s love.
It was a joyful celebration of Clayton’s life at Faith Lutheran Church in Eaton, Colorado. Love was present in the conversations and alive in the hearts of the Nietfeld’s children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. God’s love in Clayton and Lila has been multiplied exponentially.
Thank you, Nietfeld’s, for your greatest gift, the gift of love.
Matt Sheffield is a Development Officer who helps donors connect their deepest values to their charitable interests. His grandfather is the late Robert A. Turnquist, who humbly served Bethphage Mission in Axtell (now Mosaic in Axtell) for 48 years.