The beautiful Mission House in Lyngvig has its own history. Enevold and Marianne Thygesen had one son, Thyge, who went to England when he was 15 years old. It is said that the call of foreign places had come to him, when he sat on the sand dunes at the sea watching the many English smacks sailing along the coast. One day the boy packed his sea bag, swung it on his back and walked along the coast line to Esbjerg. He travelled to Holland, where the Danish consul wanted him returned to Denmark immediately.
However, after some time he was permitted to continue his travel to England, where he quickly worked his way upwards, and became the owner of a trawler. Gradually he became wealthy.
Thyge often visited his parents in Sonder Lyngvig. At one occasion he said to them, “I would like to erect a memorial for you. Are you missing anything in connection with the church? Or do you have any other wishes?”.
After having reflected his father answered, “If you wish to erect a memorial for us, you could build a mission house, which we have been missing for a long time.”
The inhabitants of the dunes quickly agreed where the house could be built and soon they could start the construction. Master builder August Larsen was to build it and receiver of wreck, Andersen was to supervise.
Many of the inhabitants volunteered in the work, among other things the rostrum was transported from Ringkøbing in a fisherman’s boat.
Finally the day came when the consecration was to take place 7th September 1910. Thyge Enevoldsen himself came home from England to witness the big event.
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| The Mission Huus at Sonder Lyngvig |
In the morning The Rev. K.K. Larsen and the rural dean Boeck from Lønborg first held the service and in the afternoon the actual consecration took place.
The mission house was given the name “Ebenezer” which means “Help of the Lord”. It was a solemn moment when Mariane Thygesen opened the door saying, “Then in Good’s Name” and entered.
Rural dean Boeck consecrated the building with the words from ZEK.4 6-7 “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts”. The mission house was deeded to The Home Mission (a right wing of the Danish National Lutheran Evangelical Church (PD)) and J.P Lodberg, Sdr. Lyngvig was elected chairman.
Some fishermen had not been ashore for the consecration, and on the day after when they met a boat with some friends, they asked, if they had caught any fish. No the friends answered; but we have got something which is much better. They thought they had had more pleasure by being present in the mission house, than they would have had, even by the biggest cargo of fish.
Anders Mose from North Lyngvig was fishing from his cutter “Silvan” from Esbjerg. On the day of consecration his boat was off Lyngvig. He hugged the shore and rowed the cutter dingy to the coast and went ashore to take part in the ceremony. When towards the evening he was to embark, the sea had swollen so that it was almost impossible to get the dingy off the shore. A whole crowd had to push it. This event became a motto of the mission house, that “everyone had to put their shoulders to the boat”. During the past time it has been like that. People were and are happy with their own house. They have stood together around the duties, and therefore “Ebenezer” still stands as a beautiful and well maintained building. The work is being done as it was in the time of the forefathers’. During many years Sunday school has been held; and people gather here for conversational meetings, public meetings and to listen to the Word. Every year Christmas tree is celebrated for children and adults and a yearly bazaar is held in favour of DMS (Danish Mission Society carry out missionary work in India and Africa (PD)).
In the friendly atmosphere of the mission house two marble tables are mounted on the wall. One, which was donated by Thyge Enevoldsen says, “In memory of our old parents Enevold and Marianne Thygesen from their son Thyge and wife Gertrude Enevoldsen of Hull in England”. The other table has been mounted later by deceased Mrs. Else Vejlgaard, Nr. Lyngvig, thanking for many good hours in the mission house. It says, “The Lord of Hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold”.
The organ of the mission house was paid through donations. They were all given in love.
On the day of the consecration, Gertrude Enevoldson presented a Bible to the congregation. The Bible has been lovingly cared for by each passing generation and is still present in the Mission House today. Over the years, when the children of Thyge and Gertrude Enevoldson visited the Mission House they signed the Bible.
First to sign was Thyge's son Leonard Anderson Enevoldson when he visited the Mission in August 1933, not long after Thyge's death. Daughter Audrey and her brother Leslie visited in June 1978. Son Stuart and his wife Vera visited in June 1985. Son John visited in October 1996 and Iver and his wife Marian and sister Audrey visited in 1993.
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| The Bible presented by Gertrude Enevoldson in September 1910 |
Thyge died in March 1933, when he his ship was wrecked at Vardö, where he hit a rock. Some of the crew were rescued on board another trawler, among others his son Harold. Thyge Enevoldsen could have saved his own life, but as there were crew members in the engine room, who could not be rescued, he would not leave the ship himself. The last thing they saw before the trawler went down was, that Thyge stood on the bridge raising his hand shouting to his rescued men, “Good luck!”
This is the story of an inhabitant of the dunes who gave his country a mission house and the memory of him will not be forgotten.
