August 2015

TOM TURNER
Lonely
but Not Alone!
was drafted into the United States Army 49 years ago this
month. At 25 years old and married three years with a good
position in New York City, my world suddenly changed. As I
reported to the enlistment office and received my Gideon New
Testament from a caring man at the door, lonely was a word
that became very real to me.
Way back then we did not have the immediacy of email and
Facebook that transmits messages in an instant. Rather, we
had to wait till we got to a phone booth or we heard our name
at mail call meaning we had a “snail mail” letter from a loved
one at home. What a thrill it was to open that letter and know
that someone cared—about me!
I was invited to join the board of directors at CMML 17 years
ago, and after much prayer I felt the Lord would have me move
in that direction. Over the years I have been privileged to meet
many of the Lord’s servants who labor on the foreign field. One
thing is very certain among these dear
missionaries—they are far, far away from
their home assembly, family and friends.
Many times they feel lonely, but let me
hasten to say they know they are not
alone. They know from firsthand experience the promise of our Savior: “For He
hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5b)
These dear saints no doubt miss the warm greetings and
fellowship that we enjoy at the local assembly. But they have
left that place of safety and support to travel to a distant land
and culture where they preach the Gospel, disciple believers
and put their shoulder to the plow to do a myriad of jobs that
are needed on the field.There are lonely times for sure. Perhaps
you also have felt times of loneliness as I did when I was in the
military. But one thing I knew from experience was that He was
with me and I was not alone.
Dear reader, please imagine for a minute how you would
feel if you were a missionary serving thousands of miles away
wondering,“Does anyone back home care?” This does happen;
I
and so I challenge you to think about your personal responsibility to the individual or family commended from your home
assembly to serve the Lord overseas. Remember they are an
extension of you and your local church.Today, you have all the
modern conveniences of email, Facebook, Skype and telephone that can put you immediately in front of your missionary to offer words of encouragement and care. Even if you feel
you can’t use those electronic methods, you can still take time
to write a letter to one of the Lord’s servants who may be feeling lonely right now! Your “snail mail” letter with a stamp from
the U.S. or Canada truly will make a missionary’s day because
your letter clearly says,“I care about you!”
The Scripture reminds us “Beloved, if God so loved us, we
ought also to love one another.” (1 John 4:11) And, “My flesh
and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart, and
my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:26) Some of our missionaries
may feel lonely, but they are never alone,
and neither are we on the home front.
Right now you have the ability (and might
I say, the responsibility) to make an important difference in the life of a missionary.
Please take time today to contact a missionary and encourage them in their
labors by letting them know that you care.
We all have a part to play in worldwide
missions work. Some are called to go and others to stay at
home to support those who have answered God’s call. But
remember support not only includes prayer and financial help
with practical needs, but it also means “coming alongside” to
bear up our brothers and sisters who are serving the Savior.
Satan is hard at work trying to discourage our missionaries. He
does not want the Gospel to go out or people to get saved. But
you can make a difference. “The effective, fervent prayer of a
righteous man avails much.” (James 5:16b) Please keep praying and then take action in this important battle. Won’t you
become an encourager to the Lord’s servants today? You have the ability
and the responsibility
to make an important
difference in the life of
a missionary.
Tom Turner is CMML’s Vice President, Publishing
Vol. 44, No. 8. Christian Missions in Many Lands (ISSN 0744-4052) is published eleven times a year by Christian Missions in Many Lands, Inc., Belmar, New Jersey. Periodical postage
paid at Belmar, New Jersey, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send United States address changes to Christian Missions in Many Lands, Inc., PO Box 13, Spring Lake,
NJ 07762. Send Canadian address changes to MSC Canada, 101 Amber Street, Suite 16, Markham, Ontario L3R 3B2. MSC Canada publication agreement Number 40026478. All correspondence, including address changes, gifts for missionary work, and for expenses should be sent by Canadian readers to MSC Canada, 101 Amber Street, Suite 16, Markham,
Ontario L3R 3B2 and by United States readers to Christian Missions in Many Lands, Inc., PO Box 13, Spring Lake, NJ 07762. Copyright ' CMML. All rights reserved.
COVER PHOTO: ©iStockPhoto.com/Mr_Khan
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©iStockPhoto.com/Mr_Khan
BY SARAH MATTIX
The call to counseling
...through our pain,
we become stronger
because hope can
turn our pain into
something beautiful.
For much of the past 14 years that my husband Jerry and I have served in the
Middle East, I’ve focused on counseling as a means of building up the body of Christ
and reaching out to unbelievers. I’ve come to appreciate what a powerful tool this
is in discipleship and outreach. In the last two years since we relocated to Cyprus, I
decided to work on an online degree in crisis and trauma counseling.This spring, as
I was finishing up my studies, the Lord began to put the young refugee girls who
have fled from ISIS and are in camps back in Diyarbakir, Turkey, on my heart. After
hearing about a girl who hanged herself out of desperation, the desire to go and
minister to these girls grew more urgent. Despite my own misgivings, Jerry encouraged me to trust that the Lord had uniquely prepared me for such a time as this.
After consulting the leaders in Diyarbakir, I decided to go and do post-trauma counseling with the Yezidi refugee women.
I had many concerns before making the trip. I wondered how everything would
come together. I also had doubts about whether I could really be of help to these
girls who have suffered so much. I was told that they are very reluctant to talk with
anyone.Yet my passion for reaching out to them and loving them compelled me to
at least try. I arranged for one of the ladies from the church in Diyarbakir to help
with the translation and we stepped out in faith.
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The refugee camp
Sarah (center back) with some Yezidi refugee women and girls.
The refugee camp used to be a park, with shade trees and picnic tables,
that the church used to frequent. Today, it is surrounded by barbed wire to
keep intruders out and the Yezidis in. The camp holds up to 3,500 refugees,
all living in gray tents provided by the local municipality. Most of the Yezidis
living in this camp used to live in the Sinjar province located in northwestern
Iraq. They were forced to flee their ancestral villages last summer because of
the vicious threat of ISIS.The men that fell into the hands of the Islamic State
were summarily decapitated while the women were sorted with the
younger captives being sold as sex slaves for the terrorists. Those that managed to escape mainly fled north to Turkey and were given safe haven by the
Kurdish municipalities of the southeastern region.
Until recently, the Yezidis managed to keep to themselves, preferring not
to mingle with other ethnic or religious groups.The Muslim majority peoples
around them refer to them as “devil worshippers” because they venerate a
supreme angel in the form of a peacock, which is often associated with
Satan. Their religion is actually a unique mixture of ancient Judaism,
Christianity and Islam. More recently, because they have suffered so much at
the hands of Muslims, they are very open to Christian help.
Day 1
Hearing their stories
As we parked outside the massive refugee camp we paused and prayed
together before launching out. We prayed that the Lord would lead us to the
right tent as I had a desire to do group therapy with the younger women as well
as one-on-one counseling. The people in the first tent we walked up to gladly
invited us in. Providentially, it turned out that they had five young teenage girls.
I had my translator share with them why I had come, and they immediately showed interest and amazement that we cared for them. They then went
out and invited all their friends to come to the tent. Within 15 minutes we
had 35 girls ages 15 to 20 crammed into the tent.
We sat with them for about two hours, listening to their stories of hopelessness and pain. Many of them sobbed as they spoke. Everyone had lost
someone dear to them. Most had friends or relatives still in the hands of ISIS.
Inside my heart I prayed: How can I help these girls find hope? Many of them
expressed their desire to die, to go to sleep and never wake up in the morning. And yet, I saw that as they shared their stories, even the fact that I was
willing to listen made them feel loved and gave them a glimmer of hope.
Day 2
A ball and an egg
Lemonade hope.
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The second day we returned to the camp, and within five minutes about
40 girls had gathered, all eagerly awaiting to see what I had to share. For the
next 45 minutes I talked about God’s love as well as hope.
I held up a ball and an egg. I then shared how we may all feel at times like
cracked eggs spilling out its contents, never to recover. However, holding up
the ball, I told them that we could actually choose to be balls instead, bouncing back from pain and trauma. During the next hour I allowed them to share
their fears, hurts and pain with me some more.
After two hours of therapy we passed out cookies and cake.
The little boy from the tent hosting us came asking for cake
and later his mom told us that it was the first time he had
eaten cake in a year. I told him I had a little boy about his age.
Seeing the marbles in his hand I mentioned that my son likes
to play with marbles, too. He then surprised me by offering to
give his marbles to Gabriel. In many instances like this I came
to appreciate the generous spirit of the Yezidis who, despite all
their misfortunes, continue to act selflessly.
Day 3
Give your fear to God
On the third day, we drove into the camp and noticed all the
girls waiting for us. As we got out of the car, they showered us
with hugs and kisses while jabbering away in Kurdish.
This time I spoke about their fears and taught them to put
their fears in a box, lock it, and give it to God. I explained that
He is bigger than our fears. During this session they shared
their fears, which usually consisted of losing loved ones and
falling into the hands of ISIS as many of their friends and relatives had already done.
Many tears were shed, but I taught them that living in fear
only makes them weaker. In a group session I showed them
different cognitive exercises to overcome their fears. In the
forthcoming days I was repeatedly encouraged to hear them
talk about how much the simple examples and exercises really helped them.
Their stories
At the end of this day I began to meet with different girls oneon-one for several more hours. One girl shared with me how she
had not been able to cry since parting from her parents in Iraq.
She had lost some close friends to ISIS and never heard from
them again. She showed me scars near her heart where she had
tried to stab herself to help the pain go away. After talking for an
hour she said she felt a big burden had been lifted.
During those hours I heard one horror story after another.
The one that stands out to me was that of a 15-year-old girl
who had been trapped on Sinjar Mountain for 10 days without
food or water. She had seen babies die of starvation and
friends jump off cliffs from desperation. She had witnessed
decapitated bodies and severed heads.
Right before they were rescued, her father and uncle went
back to the village in a last-ditch effort to find food for their
families. At that point ISIS attacked and she was rescued just in
time but without any news of her father.This young girl looked
like she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders. As I
talked to her she seemed grateful to be loved. She is the young
girl who, on my last day there, put a bracelet on my wrist say-
ing she would never forget me. But her story and her face are
etched in my heart and mind—it is I who will never forget her.
Day 4
Lemonade hope
The following day, we talked about hope and how it is bigger than our hurts and how we grow through our pain.
Ultimately, through our pain, we become stronger because
hope can turn our pain into something beautiful.
I distributed lemons. I then asked them to close their eyes
while squeezing the lemons. With their eyes closed, I asked
them to imagine they were squeezing their pain out and giving it to God.
Then we added sugar as a symbol of hope. Finally, we drank
the lemonade together showing how our pain can be transformed into something sweet. All of the girls shared at different times what gave them hope. Many mentioned how their
faith in God and love for their families kept them going.
Day 5
Breaking the chains
In our next session, we talked about how unforgiveness
only chains us up and hurts us the most. They all shared their
anger and expressed their desire to let go of it as I explained to
them how it only hindered them.
Again I did a lot of one-on-one counseling.The girl who had
never cried came to me with great joy in her face, saying she
had cried for the first time and felt so light inside.
Another girl came and said that listening to me had given
her hope again because the day I came to the camp she had
planned to commit suicide. Story after story that day showed
me how they had been applying what I had taught them and
that it was giving them hope and making them feel like they
were alive again. All of this made me realize what a difference
God was making through me.
One-on-one counseling.
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Last
Day
The power of love
On the last day they sat in
front of me and one after
another expressed that before I
had come they had never
known that anyone cared for
Sarah with a Yezidi refugee girl.
them. They felt abandoned in
the refugee camp, and yet the fact that we were willing to
come showed them that they were not forgotten. As they
expressed this, my eyes filled with tears and I told them that
even though I had come to teach I had learned so much from
them.
That day, I spent hours one-on-one hearing stories of how
they had been transformed in the past days. Others expressed
their deep pain. Every time I spoke to them I prayed for them
in Jesus’s name. By the end, they returned and asked me to
pray again in the name of Jesus. During the group sessions I
also prayed for them several times, always emphasizing God’s
love for them.
Home
again
Let us pray
Returning back to normal life after hearing so many horror
stories is difficult, but during this time the Lord has showed
me again that when He works through me, despite my fears
and uncertainties, through the Holy Spirit He can use me
powerfully.
Overall, I was impressed by the incredible generosity, honorable demeanor and commitment to family I saw among the
Yezidi people. Although we were not allowed to openly share
the Gospel with them, nobody banned praying. So please pray
that the Lord will work in their hearts in order to set them free
from the bondage of sin and fear.
The Kurdish sister who went with me to translate was also
greatly impacted by our time together and intends to keep
visiting the Yezidi girls from time to time. Please pray for her in
her continued interaction with them.
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Finally, since I’ve returned, many have written asking what
they can do to help. Many are eager to come and lend a hand
where possible. While we appreciate the outpouring of love,
the truth is that the local church is often flooded with wellmeaning visitors who actually take up the time and energy
they should be investing in local lives. There are still financial
needs that local leaders try to meet and the Disaster Relief
Fund set up by CMML continues to welcome donations. More
than anything though, they need our continued prayer support as refugee work can be incredibly draining. Sarah and Jerry Mattix serve the Lord in
Northern Cyprus. They were commended in
2001 by the assembly in Yakima,
Washington.
BY JOEL HERNANDEZ
n April 15 some 40 men met in Argentina to encourage
the Latin American missionary movement. The men
were leaders representing 11 countries in South
America and several more from English-speaking countries
(Canada, Scotland, U.K. and U.S.). We met for five days at the
grounds of a Nazarene conference center in Pilar, Argentina.
We called it a “retreat,” but there was no retreating about it.We
were there to learn how to move forward.
Each of these men might tell, if asked, the story of how
assembly missionaries brought the Gospel to their country
more than 100 years ago. They would recount the stories of
men and women who, with admirable sacrifice, courage, godliness and creativity, left the comforts of home to plant the
Gospel in mostly hostile territory. Though the names, places
and dates change from country to country, the elements bear
a resemblance: English-speaking missionaries sailed from
Europe, leaving behind family and comforts and settled where
God led them. They learned the language, faced hostility and
persecution, yet in the end saw God plant His Word in good
soil, such as would bring much fruit for generations to come.
These pioneers were remarkable missionaries.
It is no surprise then that Latin American believers would
naturally define a missionary as a foreigner who leaves his or
her English-speaking country and comes to labor in “our country.” But the winds are changing. A fresh understanding of the
Great Commission is emerging south of the U.S. border.
Believers are realizing Jesus calls all disciples to make disciples
of all nations. The Great Commission is not a command directed only to the English-speaking world, or affluent nations, or
O
those with an evangelical maturity that spans centuries. No,
the Great Commission is the responsibility of every disciple in
every nation.
God is leading an increasing number of Latin Americans to
the mission field: an Argentinean doctor serves in Angola, a
Colombian couple labors in the Far East, and a Mexican serves
in Albania. Scores of others have been sent to places where
Westerners are unwelcome.
But these missionaries cannot operate in a vacuum. They
need the spiritual, moral, and financial support of their local
churches. And these churches cannot provide support in a vacuum either.They need to know the missionaries and understand
their ministry and their needs. This two-way need provides the
rationale for organizations that bridge the gap by facilitating
the flow of communication from the missionary to the national
assemblies, and the flow of resources from the local assemblies
to the missionary. The bridge that connects missionaries and
churches at home consists of organizations like CMML and MSC.
There’s good news. Such national organizations in Latin
America are emerging. In 1965 Argentina Missionary
Evangelical Foundation (FEMA) was born. The Paraguay
Missionary Evangelical Foundation (FEMIPA) began in 1998.
Peru Missionary Services (SEMIPE) was founded in 2008. A
number of other countries are now at different stages of the
process of founding their own organization.
This was the reason for the retreat. Latin American organizations came together, with the encouragement from CMML
(U.S.), MSC Canada, Echoes of Service (United Kingdom) and
Interlink (Scotland), to encourage other Latin American
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brethren to begin their own missionary service organization.
There were 11 countries represented: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile,
Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru
and Uruguay.
Tapping into the experience of those who are further ahead
in the process, believers sat down to think hard about what
makes a missionary service organization, its challenges, opportunities, and best practices.The program consisted of daily sessions, morning through evening, packed with lots of helpful
advice about how to develop and maintain a healthy mission
organization. Topics included:
The biblical basis of missions
The centrality of the local church in the process of missions
Strengths and weaknesses of missions from the Latin
American contexts
Service groups: their governance, structure, purpose,
policies, development and vision
How a service group relates to the government
Finance and mission (faith principle, missionary support,
communication and accountability)
The danger of dependency and how to avoid creating it
The worker and his/her service (personal, logistic, cultural
and ministry issues)
There was time for a daily challenge from the Word. We
wrestled around the table with the implications of the ideas
we heard. We heard reports of what the Lord is doing in each
country.We prayed for one another. And during down time, we
reconnected with old friends and made new ones.
So what was the value of this conference? First, it was historic. Nothing like this had ever been done before in Latin
America. Though a number of these Spanish-speaking countries already have their own service organization, there has
never been a time when brethren from Spanish-speaking
countries have come together to learn how to set up their own.
A second reason why this event was valuable is it established a precedent of collaboration. The conference was hosted by brothers from FEMA, Argentina. It was good that FEMA
took the lead: brethren all over look up to Argentina as the oldest and most mature Latin American missionary enterprise. In
this conference, however, Argentinean brethren set an exam-
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
From top (L-R): Round table discussions included a multicultural perspective—
Eliseo Zúñiga from Bolivia, Joel Hernandez from the U.S., and Eduardo Carbone
from Argentina; Ian Burness shared from Echoes of Service’s wealth of experience; Evening “table talk” included reports of national mission work and prayer;
Joel Hernandez, Paco Díaz, and Pepe Barrios considered Mexico’s missionary
realities and needs; The event concluded with hymns and choruses set to the
delightful cadences of an Argentinean music style.
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ple of service to their fellow Latin American brethren.
But there was a further level of cooperation exhibited at the
conference: the English-speakers were not in charge. This is
significant in Latin America where white, English-speakers
have long been regarded as the experts, as superiors especially on spiritual matters. Not so at this conference. The equality
and the collaborative spirit between brethren of different
nations and languages was evident, and it was a refreshing
new precedent that underscored important truths: we need
each other; we can learn from one another.
A final value of this event was there was something for
everyone. Some countries represented already have a mission
organization functioning. Others only dream of having one.Yet
all reported gaining helpful information from the sessions.
Those just at the initial stages of developing an organization
had an opportunity to pray, discuss, envision, and draft the first
steps. Those with young organizations heard from those with
older ones and considered issues, challenges and standards
that affect a growing mission. Even brethren serving with the
oldest missions were able to get a glimpse of how God is at
work in Latin America and the unique challenges and opportunities as the Gospel moves forward.
There’s a new dawning in missions in Latin America.Yes, the
Lord continues to send missionaries there (just check out days
18 to 27 in the Missionary Prayer Handbook). Yes, missionaries
are still critically needed in Hispanic countries. Yet there is a
refreshingly new awareness among our hermanos, our brothers, in Latin America: the Lord of the harvest intends to send
Latin American laborers to His harvest. As brethren step up to
fill the gap between those sent and the assemblies who support, let’s pray that sound, trustworthy, spiritually-minded,
service-oriented missionary service organizations emerge. Joel Hernandez is a CMML director.
May We Introduce
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Ana Caracciolo
Missionary to Uruguay
was born and raised in Mercedes, Uruguay. I came to know
the Lord through a radio broadcast called “La Voz del
Evangelia” (The Voice of the Gospel) in April 1971. From
1973 through 1975 I attended FEBE (Bible college) in Villa
Maria, Argentina. Starting at age 19, I served the Lord as a
school teacher (Bible, language, music and home economics)
for five years at the Escuela Cristiana Camirena in Camiri,
Bolivia. During those years, I met Mrs. Evelyn Pelley (Missionary
Prayer Handbook Day 27) who came as a missionary from the
U.S. in 1978. We served the Lord together in child evangelism
(Good News Clubs), teacher training, ladies’ Bible studies and
music ministry. In 1981 I was commended to the Lord’s work in
Colombia. Evelyn and I were actively involved in church planting, camp work, ladies’ retreats, teacher training, organizing
Sunday schools, door-to-door visitation and one-on-one evangelism. We both served in the cities of Barranquilla and
Cartagena, Colombia. In 1992 we were invited to serve the
Lord in Uruguay as volunteer workers with Child Evangelism
Fellowship of Uruguay. We received the training and the CEF
I
credentials as IOTs
(Instructors of Teachers).
In 1995 I attended the
CEF Leadership Institute
in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
In 2000 the director of all CEF in Latin America appointed
me as the CEF national director for Uruguay. I continued to do
volunteer service with CEF until March 2003. From April 2003
through May 2012 I came to the U.S. and was awarded a B.A.
and M.A. in Communicative Disorders from California State
University, Fullerton. After completing the clinical fellowship
year, I was awarded a license and Certification in Clinical
Competence as a speech-language pathologist. I sometimes
do volunteer service among Spanish-speaking children with
speech-language disabilities.
Commended by Buena Park Christian Fellowship in Buena
Park, California, I have returned to Uruguay to serve the Lord in
child evangelism, teacher training, ladies’ ministry, and one-onone evangelism. MISSIONS
August 2015
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MOP
2015
Preparation for Missionary Service
BY ANNIE ELLIOTT
he Missionary Orientation Program, known as MOP, is an intensive one-week training session for new
and potential missionaries. Held at Greenwood Hills Camp and Conference Center in Fayetteville,
Pennsylvania, it is a joint effort of CMML and MSC Canada.
This year, our 21 students ranged from early interest in missions to current missionaries looking for a
“refresher” after their first few years on the field. We had two repeat MOP students, a father-son duo, seven
married and 14 single, five from Canada and 16 from the United States. A particularly significant year, it
marked the retirement of Ken Fleming, a MOP instructor from its inception 24 years ago. It was also a special
year for Ken as his granddaughter attended as a student.
The following introduction to our 2015 students, as well as our instructors, is to encourage your hearts to
see God call His people to missions and to inspire you to pray for each one as they seek to serve the Lord.
T
ABBEY BROWN, originally from Kansas
and in fellowship at Westside Bible Chapel,
currently lives in Indiana and attends
Bethany Christian Fellowship in Indianapolis.
Praying about a missions opportunity in
Cambodia, Abbey has served short-term in
Ecuador and Romania and has a heart for
orphans. She says she wants to communicate the “love and concern of my Heavenly
Father to these children.” Regarding MOP, she shares that it “paints
a very practical and realistic view of the mission field.”
KATHRYN DUFFIELD, from
Crescent Heights Chapel in Portage
la Prairie, Manitoba, became passion
ate about missions after participating in a 2014 short-term trip
to
Ireland and is seeking the Lord’s guid
ance about returning there. She
“enjoyed being with likeminde
d
people” at MOP,“even though we are
all
at different stages on our journey with
missions.”
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MELODI FERRER,
from Hillview Bible
Chapel in Cupertino,
California, grew up on
the mission field and
says that the example
of her parents and
other missionaries gave
her an interest in missions. Although unsure if the Lord has called
her to full-time ministry, she says she is “100 percent sure”the Lord has called her “to pray for and
support missions as well as raise awareness.” She
said that at MOP “meeting other missionaries
reinforced the idea that what matters is not
quantity of fruit from our ministry, but rather the
faithfulness of our work (1 Corinthians 3:7).”
GILBERT GLEASON, from Grace
CHRISTINA FLEMING, from
Arbor Oaks Bible Chapel in
Dubuque, Iowa, is Ken Fleming’s
granddaughter and a current
Emmaus Bible College student.
Christina was raised on the mission field until age 14 and has
served on short-term missions
trips. She says, “God has used MOP
to show me how I
need to serve and mature before I go
out but has also
given me more excitement for when
I eventually do.”
le
JIM GLEASON, from Grace Bib
Oregon,
Fellowship in Por tland,
his life.
all
ns
heard about missio
d for
Lor
Though still waiting on the
actively
future direction, Jim has pro
served
taken a missions course and
ica. He
Afr
in
and
short-term in Peru
rce of
sou
says that MOP is a “good
what the Lord is doing and
advice and counsel to learn
where I might be needed.”
JACOB HANNEMAN, from
Martinez Bible Chapel in
Martinez, Georgia, plans to serve
in Niger for approximately one
year. Reading Mark 16:15 and listening to camp messages by various missionaries stirred Jacob’s
heart toward missions work.
Describing MOP he shares, “It is a great training program; it can stop problems on the mission field before
they happen. It is a privilege to listen to seasoned missionaries talk about their experiences.”
HEATHER HOVIUS,
from Listowel Bible
Chapel in Listowel,
Ontario, describes missions as “an outflow of
God’s heart.” She is taking
Emmaus Correspondence
Courses in preparation for
Training
New Tribes Missions Missionary
MOP
that
Centre in Ontario. Heather says
ry work
“brought up many aspects of missiona
that I have never thought of before.”
PHILIP AND CLARA LIT
TERAL are from McKenzie County
Believers Fellowship in Waterford City
, North Dakota, which is a
church-plant of Columbus Bible
Chapel in Powell, Ohio. The
Litterals feel a strong burden to shar
e Christ on the mission field
and hope to serve the Lord, with thei
r five children, in Peru. Phil
shares that “MOP is a completely inva
luable resource to the body of
Christ!” Clara adds, “One thing I lear
ned is how much I have yet to
learn!”
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August 2015
MOP 2015
JON AND APRIL HAYES, from
Valley Bible Chapel in Washington
Township, New Jersey, were married
just five weeks before MOP. Jon and
April served separately in Niger for
approximately two years and will now
return to serve there together. Jon
attended MOP in 2012 and says,“It challenged me to rethink through things I’ve
struggled with and experienced overseas.” April adds
that “it’s great to hear from experienced missionaries.”
Bible Fellowship in Portland,
Oregon, has been a full-time commended worker for more than 30
years. Growing up as an MK on a
Navajo reservation, participating in
short-term missions trips to Peru,
and supporting and counseling
missionaries, Gilbert says he feels
that “God has designed me for a support role in missions.” Discussing MOP, he states “I especially appreciate the focus on attitudes that are important for missionaries to have.”
11
SHARON LUIBRAND, from Stevensville
Bible Chapel in Stevensville, Montana, says
“God opened my eyes to needs around the world
through Missions magazine, missionary reports
and seeing other parts of the world for myself.”
She has short-term missions experience in
Romania as well as Serbia where her brother
and his family serve. She shares that MOP
“answered many of my questions and helped me
to think through some important topics.”
JEREMIAH, commended from an assembly in Texas, has
DANNY AND VONNIE
MEJORADA,
fro
m Westmount Gosp
el Chapel in
Etobicoke, Ontario, were
former commended
workers in the Philippin
es, their home country. With a heart for the
lost, they are seeking
the Lord’s guidance for
the future possibly
serving in Taiwan or Gu
atemala. Vonnie says,
“Believers ser ving the
Lord should attend
MOP, not just those who
have a heart for missions. It provides excellent training to take
them to higher ground
of service.”
served in a few different countries. Jeremiah shares, “I was called
to God’s work through His Word and through a sense of urgency
and need imparted to me through wise men. How can I pray for
laborers for God’s harvest and not go myself?” He says that “MOP
has been a huge help.” [Last name and photo withheld by
request.]
DEBORAH ROGERS,
TYLER VECCHIO, from Branford
Bible Chapel in North Branford,
Connecticut, has participated in two
short-term missions trips to the
Dominican Republic. He is interested in missions “because Jesus is
worthy of worship from every tribe,
tongue, people and nation.” And he
“strives every day to be faithful to
the command to make disciples.” Tyler shares that “time
spent at MOP reinforced a deep contentment in God’s
plan—as long as I have Jesus, it won’t matter where I am.”
commended from Forest
Hills Bible Chapel in Ada,
Michigan, was born to
missionary parents in
Argentina, which she says
gave her an appreciation
for Latin America and
missions. She is commended to the work at El
Camino Academy in Bogota, Colombia, which she
joined soon after MOP. Deborah “enjoyed meeting
and getting to know likeminded Christians at MOP.”
MARINA VIRGALLA, from Branford Bible
Chapel in North Branford, Connecticut, has a heart
for “kids all around the world” and is “interested in
spreading the Good News to children and their families in unreached places.” She shares,“MOP is fantastic and I highly recommend it to those who are considering missions.It has shown me how important prayer
is on, and for, the mission field.”
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MISSIONS
www.cmml.us
ALICE WALTERS, from River
Valley Christian Fellowship in
Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, says
she feels “great sorrow for
orphans and for the millions of
people in Asia who commit suicide each year.” Currently a
nursing student, Alice is considering future Bible training in
preparation for the mission field. She said she
enjoyed “forming connections with current and
future missionaries” at MOP.
EMMA WICHERS, commended to Zambia by Heidelberg Bible
Fellowship
in
Heidelberg,
Ontario, has served the Lord at
Chitokoloki Mission Hospital for
two years. Emma attended MOP
in 2013 just a few weeks before
going to Zambia full-time, and
returned this year for a refresher
while she was on furlough. She
explains that at MOP “they don’t tell
you how to ‘do missions,’ because this will change from
context to context.
Instead, you are encouraged to think
things through.”
THE INSTRUCTORS
Previously based in Senegal, Paul and Carol Bramsen minister to Muslims. Paul has written various books
and articles; his current project is producing King of Glory: the Movie.
Former missionaries to Zimbabwe, Phil and Marilyn Barnes now serve at MSC. Phil is MSC’s executive
director and Marilyn ministers in WorkerCare and is still very involved in missions in Zimbabwe.
Ken Fleming, a former missionary to South Africa and Emmaus Bible College instructor, a prolific writer, and
a MOP contributor since its beginning, announced that this year would be his last at MOP.
Joel and Amy Hernandez are former missionaries to Mexico. Joel now serves as the head of Emmaus Bible
College’s Intercultural Studies program. Amy recently wrote a book, Unstuck, published through ECC
Ministries.
Patrick and Gael Long served
the Lord in Colombia. An MSC
board member for many years,
Patrick has faithfully taught at
MOP since its start.
MOP 2015
Phil and Mary Parsons served
in the Philippines and now
minister at CMML. They are
involved in Assembly Relations
and Missionary Care as well as
hosting numerous missionaries who visit the CMML guest
home.
Thank you to Ken!
Visit www.CMML.us/flemingtribute or scan this QR
code to watch a tribute video thanking Ken Fleming
for his many years of service.
MISSIONS
August 2015
13
A New Perspective:
Visiting a
Missionary
Family
BY MICHAEL LONG
F
or a number of years, I regularly prayed for “J” and “C”
(Missionary Prayer Handbook
Day 29) and read their missionary
prayer newsletter. I met them during
their furloughs in the U.S. and had
them over for dinner, but there is
nothing quite like visiting a missionary on the field and seeing their life
and work firsthand. I was blessed to
marry C’s sister 14 months ago, and
last month we visited J and C for
14
MISSIONS
www.cmml.us
©iStockPhoto.com/michellegibson
about two weeks.
Balance ministry and family
Educational needs
Staying with J and C, I realized that keeping a proper balance
in marriage, family, and ministry is a great challenge. Yes, there
are millions of unsaved people around you, and the Lord has
called you to share the Gospel with them according to His Great
Commission, but at the same time as reaching out to the
unsaved with evangelistic Bible studies, are you loving your wife
as Christ loved the Church as urged in Ephesians 5? J feels a burden to train young men to take on leadership roles. In the same
week as making time to mentor and equip men for the work of
ministry, J and C also felt the need to spend more time with their
children, especially in helping their oldest son to read.
J and C have an extremely rigorous schedule. J sometimes
preaches in their church, is working on an online master of
divinity degree, and shares in leading a weekly Bible study. C
spends at least a couple days per week going to language
classes as she tries to become fluent in the native language as
well as doing household tasks like shopping, taking their oldest son to school, and just being a mom to their two year old. I
have never lived an extended period of time with a very active
two year old and seven year old and did not realize how busy
parents could be.When does a missionary couple get a chance
to simply enjoy time together as a happily married couple? My
wife and I were happy to watch J and C’s children to give them
a break and allow them to have at least one date night. I previously went on a short-term missions trip to Mexico where I
spent a couple of weeks doing intensive manual labor, like digging trenches and putting up sheetrock, but I confess that I
found babysitting a two year old for hours much harder work
than that.
How do you make sure your children get a good education
on the mission field? It is relatively easy to find a good school in
the United States. For a missionary, making sure your children
get a good education is more difficult. J and C are involved in a
school for missionary children, which their oldest son attends.
Personal spiritual enrichment
Missionaries have many needs that I take for granted here
in the United States. In the U.S., it is relatively easy to get spiritually fed. I can easily access recorded messages from my
home church and enjoy the good teaching of the Word from
any number of preachers past and present through my personal computer. If I need fellowship and prayer, it is simple for
me to make a phone call, talk to one of the saints and ask that
person to pray with me. But in a closed country, these seemingly everyday conveniences are not so easy to access. Over
phone lines, which are potentially wiretapped by the government, using the Lord’s name or any kind of spiritually-related
language can be dangerous. Fellowship and times of good
teaching from the Word can be hard to find. Though J and C
live in a country with many, many people, being a missionary
can be very lonely.
Medical concerns
How does a missionary get proper medical care? The medical needs in J and C’s country are immense. As one of the
nationals told me, the infrastructure in the country, despite its
large cities, is poorly equipped to deal with medical emergencies. In the United States, we take for granted the medical care
we have; if you call 9-1-1, you have the fire department at your
house within minutes, and paramedics arrive ready to give
CPR or other needed medical care; however, in the country
where J and C serve, if you call for emergency services there is
no guarantee when the ambulance might come, and when it
does come, there are no paramedics, only people to transport
the person in distress to the hospital. The missionaries I spoke
with are often afraid to send their children to the hospital, fearing the risk could outweigh the benefits. The care at hospitals
is minimal; pain medication
is not given with procedures such as stitches.
Hospitals do not give food;
the patient’s family is
responsible to feed them.
Though my wife and I are
not paramedics, we have
worked in the medical field
for a number of years
(myself as a physical therapist, my wife as a nurse), so
we had some experience in
emergency medical care.
Michael treating a patient; Three clinic doctors.
MISSIONS
August 2015
15
Some of the missionary families we met were familiar with
basic first aid, but all of them appreciated the instruction we
gave in things like basic CPR, abdominal thrusts (the Heimlich
maneuver), and what to do for situations such as concussions,
burns, and lacerations. When I asked one woman who works
with orphanages what people’s knowledge of basic first aid
was, she told me that the average person might get a handout
in high school about CPR but that was it.
Ministering to their physical needs
Hospitality
J and C have a real love for the national people. They have
been in their current city for only a year, so they are still in the
process of building relationships with people and making new
contacts. I partook in an event where J and C showed hospitality to about 20 people. Most of them spoke very little English,
and I spoke very little of their language. However, we were able
to find common ground—playing games. Some in attendance
showed spiritual interest.
We also had the chance to minister to many of the local
people. One day, my wife and I had a chance to go to a village
in a farming area. We went with a believing doctor from
England who has made these kinds of trips for years. I did not
realize until later that day that us coming as a group of
Western medicine practitioners was a huge event. People not
just from the village but from miles around traveled to the
local clinic to get evaluated and treated by us. I have never
treated so many people in one day, and there were still many
people whom we could not see.
Great spiritual need
The country’s poor medical care reflects its great spiritual
need.There is a low regard for human life. A hospital in the city
where we stayed had an average of seven unwanted babies
dropped off at their door every day. They might be children
with developmental delays or diseases like HIV. I did not see
this firsthand, but some people I traveled with told me about
“dying rooms” in orphanages where unwanted babies were
left to starve to death.
City-life challenges
I had regularly lifted up J and C and their kids in prayer in
regards to their health since they had mentioned a number of
times that the pollution is pretty bad. However, after experiencing the pollution firsthand, I now pray for them with more
earnestness. The pollution is so bad where they live that you
may not be able to see the buildings on the next city block due
to the thick smog.
Driving the city streets is a great adventure. I have driven in
a European country before where I felt the driving was considerably more aggressive than the United States, but driving in
this country was on an altogether different level. Every day, as
J drives his car or C rides off on her moped to drop off their
oldest son at school or go shopping, they pray before going on
the road.
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MISSIONS
www.cmml.us
Game night.
Lessons learned
So what did we learn from this trip? I really learned not to
take for granted a number of things, like medical care, I have
here in the U.S. I learned there is a challenge to keep the right
balance between spending time with one’s family and doing
missionary work. Missionaries have spiritual needs, like fellowship and getting fed from the Word, that can be harder to satisfy in a foreign country. A simple board game can be a springboard for evangelism. Be on the lookout for needs in your
community—they can be an opening for the Gospel. I am
thankful to the Lord for this trip and the lessons He taught me
through it.
I regularly prayed for J and C and their children before this
trip. However, after visiting them in person I now know how to
pray for them more specifically and not just regarding things
they mention in their prayer letters. Should any of you ever
have a burden for a particular missionary or country, I strongly
encourage you to visit a missionary family. Michael Long and his wife fellowship at
Calvary Bible Chapel in Fremont, California.