6/84 "You guys did a great job appealing to our inquisitiveness!"Student in missions history class
9/86 "I'm really excited about this place--my grandfather is in there somewhere (pointing to file cabinets)". Graduate student in missions history class. (His grand father's PAPERS were in the cabinet.)
12/86 "It is somewhat humorous to think that reactions to this project are only to be expected and that most everyone else has the same [sic]. I began with feelings of depression as I faced another research paper, in the dusty archives, no less. But as I studied and researched this letter I found myself becoming more and more interested, despite myself. Now I almost wish I had another paper to research." College student
5/88 " Allow me to express my thanks to you and the entire archives staff for another highly valuable learning experience for my World civilization students. Through your hard work with the students, a new world of missionary work was opened up to many of them. I received numerous comments from students about the challenges to their personal faith they received from becoming acquainted with outstanding Christians whose materials you have collected. In addition, many students gained a new appreciation for the discipline of history through their use of primary sources. Most of them were quite surprised to find that "doing" history was a very enjoyable experience! Your orientation session was well done and helpful. Most of the students had never been to an archives before, and your presentation helped to "break the ice," explained clearly what you do and why you do it, and showed them how they could benefit from using the collections. Thanks again for your help. I am pleased to say that the archives assignment was one of the most beneficial parts of the course." College history professor
9/88 "You know what I'm finding is that I'm a whole lot more interested than I thought I'd be." A missions history grad student.
9/88 "This really has sparked a lot of interest in our class. Because everybody I talk to now says it's so interesting they wish they could comeback in to read some more." College undergrad
9/88 "This has really been fun; I wouldn't have come in here if I didn't have to, and I'm really glad I've had to" College undergrad
5/89 Comments from students who used the archives for an assignment in a social psychology class. [About staff] "Very cordial and giving; Very helpful! I appreciated friendliness; I felt she was very kind and accommodating; good (10)" [About facilities] "Excellent; Very clean and organized, professionally run; good in that they are convenient and quiet; comfortable and spacious enough so that I do not feel overwhelmed" [About archival assignment] I really enjoyed working with archival material - very interesting assignment; I enjoyed it because it was rather interesting listening to the life stories of other people; I was very glad to find out about the archives - they are extremely interesting. I am glad to know they exist."
6/89 "I was talking with the mother of one of my husband's students and she mentioned how much her son had enjoyed working on the Archives assignment and how hard he had worked on it. It's just such a great experience for those kids." Wife of a high school teacher who brought accelerated world history class to the Archives for orientation and an assignment.
1/90 "I'm getting word back from parents and students of the first group of students who visited the Archives [1985] and are now in college, saying how valuable the experience was. One student who is now at Harvard says it was the highlight of high school." High school history teacher who has brought his student for an orientation and assignment at the Archives.
11/90 "My class and I would like to thank you again for taking your time to show us the great films and material on K. Kuhlman and Aimee S. McPherson. The ladies really enjoyed seeing a women [sic] minister in action. It truly is an inspiration to get out and do what we can for the Lord. We thank you and all involved with the Archives." Teacher at a Bible College
4/91 "Well, I've got more than enough for my paper, but it's just so interesting I keep on going." graduate student when asked whether he was finding what he needed for his assignment
5/91 "Researching on the Archives has been one of the most fascinating projects I have done in a long while. Though I have known about the existence of primary sources, I never thought they could be available to me. I realize that they can be priceless to a researcher, for on the first-hand personal accounts of people lie intimate details which may not be recorded elsewhere.... Because through Helen Frame's personal testimony, I came to 'know' her and 'care' about her in a small way, I will probably remember more about her that I will about the Ching dynasty, which we studied in class. The danger in archival research is that one can too easily be sidetracked by all the fascinating materials--pictures, letters, ledgers, reports--I could easily have spent hours of extra time in the reading room. This is the way to learn to love research." An undergrad working on an assignment for Asian History.
5/91 "In the end, I enjoyed learning about the Andersons [a family whose papers are in the Archives] as well as learning about the Archives. I discovered that archives are an exciting alternative to traditional research materials. Instead of studying books about Asian culture or missions, I could read what one missionary wrote to her mother. I found it much more interesting to learn about the rise of Communist China from someone who lived through it and was greatly affected by it than to read about it in a textbook." Undergrad working on an assignment for Asian History.
10/92 "Many thanks for your orientation session with my History of Evangelism students. When I asked how it went, one of my quieter students said, 'It was EXCELLENT.' Thanks for your time and your good work in theArchives." College professor
11/92 "Thank you very much for your wonderful presentation of the Archives to our home school group. We really enjoyed it and we delighted to learn ofthe resources available. I have never been to a presentation that was more throughly preapred or followed up on. Your staff is amazing. God bless youin your continuing work. P.S. Thank you for the list of oral histories. We hope to use them soon." Home schooling parent
12/92 "My work in the Archives was, overall, a frustrating one [sic]. This is not because I couldn't find any information or because it was any sort of drudgery. Quite the contrary, my biggest problem was staying focused on my topic. I found the letters and notes so fascinating that I wanted to read them all, even if they did not pertain to my topic. It was like uncovering some hidden story that lay before you on brittle, yellowed with age paper. Education does not get much more romantic and sensational than this!" Undergrad, writing about on his African History class archival project.
10/95 "Thank you very much for the excellent orientation that you and Jan presented to our Research Methods class earlier this semester. I'm sure that most of the grad students had not been aware of the rich resources that the BGC Archives contain. I appreciate your willingness to help so enthusiastically and warmly." College professor
11/95 "I love it!" College student about working on the microfilm of collection 188, Papers of Jonathan and Rosalind Goforth, for an Asian History class.
3/96 "This was really interesting. I just kept going and going after doing the assignment." Graduate student reading a transcript from Collection 316 as part of a class assignment.
9/96 "This [working in the archives] is really neat! It's kind of cool to look at things that are a hundred years old." Wheaton College undergraduate student working on an assignment.
10/96 "This is really exciting! I've never worked in an archives before; I didn't know you could get this kind of stuff. Wheaton College graduate student doing work for a class.
11/96 "The results have exceeded my expectations for the assignment!" Tim Phillips about the orientation to the Archives and accompanying exercise developed by the staff for his Theology of Culture students.
11/96 "I wish I had gotten my class doing this earlier. This is just what I wanted for my students." Professor in Wheaton College's education department about an orientation and exercise in the Archives developed by the Archives staff
12/96 "It was a wonderful class and I enjoyed it very much. Thanks for not having homework that could take a lot of time and thanks for being so easy to talk to and ready to help us. The teachers were great!" A home school student who attended the Archives Historical Research class.
3/97 "Thank you very much for taking the time with my class this morning. You are very good at what you do. The presentation was quite good. I was impressed by the archives, the new holdings on the Wheaton revivals, and your professionalism. The morning was very informative and I'm grateful to you for you kindness." Professor at Wheaton College who was teaching the Christian Education Department's class on "The History and Theology of Revival."
8/97 "Thanks again for all your help. You've (the Archives staff) really made this stay a happy one." Canadian doctoral candidate
11/97 "Found your Gopher info EXTREMELY useful, please keep it up." E-mail message from student at North Harris Montgomery Community College in Texas
1/98 "I wanted to let you know that I am writing a research paper for my junior English class. I was able to choose my own topic. It was either the Cane Ridge Revival or Jim Elliot. I chose Jim Elliot. I just wanted to let you know that the biography that the documents contain were very helpful to me. I just wish that I had access to all the other information that the archives contain. Thanks for making this information available to me!" E-mail message
2/98 I'm teaching a course on missionaries at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. It's fascinating to have your archives available on the Internet. I hope it's all right to refer my students to this wonderful source. Sincerely yours" E-mail message from a professor of Asian Languages and Literatures at Wesleyan University