Adventist Frontiers - English Edition - 1/2025

FRONTIERS

Contents

ASIA AFRICA

– 0109

Communication Director AFM Inc.: James Arkusinski

Editor AFM Inc.: Bryan Hill

Designer AFM Inc.: Alexander Wicklund

Editor AFMEU: Diana Vasile

Design Adaptation: Daiana Knobloch

AFM Europe

Diana Vasile, president email office@afmeu.org phone +40-773-749-353 web www.afmeu.org

Cocorului 2 Jucu de Sus, CJ, România, 407354

AFM (U.S.) web www.afmonline.org

Adventist Frontier Missions

P. O. Box 286

Berrien Springs, MI 49103

AFMS (Canada)

P. O. Box 816

Abbotsford, BC V2T 7A2 phone 855-428-2421 web www.afmsociety.ca

AFM (Brazil)

Pastor Leandro Monteiro, president email leandro.monteiro@afmbrasil.org phone +55-19-99921-7023

AFM (Korea)

Pastor John Jun, director email sj3295@hanmail.net phone (82) 02-2211-3782

AFM-SAT (South Africa)

Heino Torlage, executive director email heino@adlife.org.za phone +278-2923-8683

From the Editor

In a world with so much anxiety, acrimony, animosity and antagonism, where division finds its place in society more readily than unity, and thinking of oneself is often the default rather than thinking of others, Christ is the solution.

Jesus calls us to go into the world, sharing His love for humanity and the truth of His kingdom with the people we meet, being a light shining in the darkness and salt to preserve and flavor life.

All around us are people who would love to know and follow Him if His servants would be His voice, His hands and His feet. That is the key, isn’t it, being His servants, those who are actively working for Him as ambassadors to the world? Yes. But even more elemental and, shall we say, less anxiety-producing for many servants is being friends to those who need to meet the Friend.

We are responsible for planting the seed, telling people about Jesus, but we are not responsible for their choice of reaction nor for sending the sunshine and the rain to help the plant grow. That responsibility belongs to God and His perfect provision in His Holy Spirit.

And how do we plant the seed? Be available. Be friendly. Smile. Be aware of others, who they are and their needs. Pray for the gifts of listening, understanding and discernment. Begin your day by praying to God, asking Him to introduce you to others with whom you can share. Applying these simple steps reduces anxiety and provides an invitation to others to spend time with you, and as God leads, with Him.

For ideas on how you can witness, keep reading this issue to see what many missionaries are doing in the field to be light and salt.

Bryan Hill Editor

HERE I AM, SEND ME!

'Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then he said, “Here am I! Send me.”'

Isaiah 6:8, NKJV

In world increasingly focused on personal comfort, building a career, and immediate prosperity, God still asks the question: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?"

In the following lines, you will meet the newest missionary of AFM Europe—an individual who has chosen to set aside family, a job, social norms, and cultural expectations to bring the good news to a place where the light of truth has not yet reached.

He is among those who have answered: "Here I am, send me!".

My name is Jonathan Carlson.*

The thought of becoming a missionary has been with me for several years. Initially I had made a commitment at a camp meeting to go out as a missionary to reach the unreached. Since then, life has taken many different twists and turns, including my conversion.

It has now been a few months since it occurred to me that my life did not match the biblical description of a Christian lifestyle. At the time, I was reading in the New Testament about the life of the apostles, Paul, and the early church. When I saw their lives of service filled with the love from above and their one objective to be faithful to Christ, I could not help but realize that my life did not correspond to their example. Knowing that things had to change, I refocused on my application

with AFM, which I had started a while back, and committed to becoming a missionary with AFM.

I am so thankful to my Father in heaven, who has made it possible through the sacrifice of His son, Jesus Christ, that I get a chance to know Him and to be with Him. In this journey of getting to know God and keeping my eyes on Christ, the things of this earth are growing strangely dim. What matters to me is to know Him and to walk in His will.

I look forward to becoming a missionary with AFM. I know that I need this experience myself to keep growing in my walk with Christ, and I trust the Lord to instill His love for the unreached within me.

May His will be done in my life.

*pen name

Jonathan* will be serving as a short-term missionary in the Mahreb Project.

If you wish to support our missionaries and join their support team through your prayers and gifts, visit the link https:// afmeu.org/missionaries/ or contact us at office@afmeu.org

BY GRACE BURTON

SNAKES

When I was a young girl living with my missionary parents in Bujumbura, the capital city of the country of Burundi in Africa, we lived in a house with a large yard and lots of trees. This house was built on the side of a mountain, and the yard was terraced. There were two front yards, a side yard on one side and two back yards.

My brother, sister and I were playing in the lower backyard, closest to the house, under some trees when we heard plop-plop! We looked in that direction and saw that three green mamba snakes, two wrapped up together, had fallen out of the large tree near us. We started yelling “Snake!” in English and Swahili. The snakes separated from each other and slithered toward the house.

Two of the snakes slithered into a large packing crate sitting, open-side down, by the house. Mom used it as a plant stand for her violets. The third snake slinked toward the back door and got between the door frame and the burglar bar frame.

Mom and the African kitchen helper emerged from one of the other doors. They removed the plants from the top of the crate and then turned it over. After carefully pulling out the packing material fastened to the sides of the box, they found and took care of the two snakes.

What were they to do about the third snake in the doorway? They couldn’t reach it between the door frames.

The neighbor lady, the wife of one of the other missionaries, heard the commotion and came over with a can of insect

spray. “Try it,” she told my mom, who aimed the can between the frames of the door and the metal burglar bar and sprayed.

A short time later, the snake peered its head out from around the door frame, weaving like it was drunk. It was promptly dispatched and removed so we could use the door again.

The Bible calls Satan a serpent, and he does everything he can to get between people and the way to God, just like that snake got between us and the way into the house. God’s word is the best “insect spray” to dispatch the serpent and keep the way open.

Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15). We are to take God’s word to those everywhere who have not had the opportunity to learn of Him.

Ask God to show you how you can help. He may want you to become a missionary or ask you to financially support missionaries already in the field or those who are going out. Please also pray for God’s work and His workers around the world.

BY JEPHTHAE CAMPBELL

SUPPORT WORTH FUNDING: A MISSIONARY’S PERSPECTIVE

My life as a missionary started when I was young, not yet eighteen. At that time, I was excited that I would be serving as a student missionary with a fledgling mission organization..

Culture shock started at training. Only a few student missionaries knew English. The food was different. The training wasn’t in English. It wasn’t easy, but I was excited as I prepared to launch.

God used my year overseas to teach me reliance upon Him. The opportunity to grow was great, but something was missing. I didn’t have an organization helping me, checking on me, and supporting me through the challenges. I was with a very small organization without the resources needed to help.

Seven years later, I was ready to serve overseas again, this time as a career missionary. My year as a student missionary would have been more effective if I had better support. Now I looked for an organization that would better prepare me with solid training and ongoing support during service. Adventist Frontier Missions stood out with a program designed to support missionaries.

Initially, missionary candidates learn how to raise a solid support team, a team that helps financially and with prayers.

Before launching, missionaries undergo three months of intensive training, learning principles of disciple-making, how to study language and care for tropical diseases and much more. Throughout this training, they are encouraged in their spiritual walk because spiritual health is vital to mission success.

Upon launching, field directors help missionaries transition into the field and keep them accountable. AFM office staff is always ready to help. The finance department helps donors update their donation information. The communications department edits newsletters and produces a monthly magazine that encourages readers in their spiritual walk. There is also the mailroom, where mail to our missionaries, donor receipts and newsletters are sent out. The training department not only provides initial training before missionaries launch but also ongoing training in the field.

I made up my mind. I knew AFM would offer the support I needed! I applied, thus starting my fifteen years of service overseas. I have returned stateside and am now part of the office support team, providing lift for our missionaries on the front lines.

Working with each missionary, we seek to keep their budget low without shortchanging needs. To do this, we have a special fund to keep the office running in order to support our missionaries. When you give to the Go Fund, you support ALL our missionaries throughout their journey.

Would you consider giving to the Go Fund today?

GET INVOLVED

PRAY for our missionaries, for their protection, health, faith, and courage. Pray for their families and for the advancement of God’s work in the places where they serve. Also, pray for the people who have not yet heard the good news, who live in darkness without knowing the One who is the Light of the World. Ask God to prepare their hearts and to raise up an army of workers who will go to them with the message of salvation.

GIVE financially to support our mission. You may not serve as a missionary on a project, but you can become our partner by helping us send more workers into the mission field. Visit www.afmeu. org/give to donate online or initiate a bank transfer using the following details:

Libra Internet Bank: Name: Asociația Adventist Frontier Missions Europe

RON Account: RO39BREL0002003623490100

EURO Account: RO55BREL0002003623490200

USD Account: RO71BREL0002003623490300

SWIFT Code: BRELROBUXXX

Banca Transilvania: Name: Asociația Adventist Frontier Missions Europe

RON Account: RO18BTRLRONCRT0676277901

EURO Account: RO65BTRLEURCRT0676277901

USD Account: RO69BTRLUSDCRT0676277901

SWIFT Code: BTRLRO22

Regardless of how you choose to give, we would like to keep in touch with you, so please provide us with contact details. Thank you for your generosity!

GO to those who do not have access to the Gospel and be the light that leads them to Jesus. He has promised to be with you every step of the way. If you want to be a missionary, start the application process at www.afmeu.org/go or write to us at office@afmeu.org

AFM-EU AFM-USA

Be inspired!

Inspiration can come in many forms and motivate one to create a piece of artwork or become physically fit or quit a job or pause one's education, pack belongings, leave family and move across the globe.

Why do something so radical? In short, to share the love of Jesus with the world’s unreached. This year, AFM welcomes 18 inspired student and short-term missionaries who will use their skills as nurses, teachers, video animators and mechanics to share the everlasting gospel with the unreached.

So what inspired them to become missionaries?

AFM-USA Missionaries

Jeffrey Cheung (Thailand) — “I was at a place in my life where I had started praying for God to help me fully surrender my will. I decided to do missionary work among the unreached because, quite simply, God impressed it upon me, and I wanted to obey.”

Judah Densmore (Philippines) — “I am able to make the difference of eternity for people rather than trying to gain earthly riches.”

Joleen Riley* (Central Africa) — “I am inspired with passion and bravery by gospel pioneers who took God literally, willing to sacrifice everything to save another. Missions still prove that there’s a need for the same desire and willingness

to step up and accept this call of honor. Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me’” (Isaiah 6:8).

Amarina Talia* (Central Africa) —

“The love of Christ inspired me to become a missionary. The fact that Christ left heaven, which is beyond beautiful, and He came to this darkened world to save us, inspires me to respond to His call, ‘Go ye all into all the world and make disciples.’”

Markus Sinclair* (Central Asia) — “There is a prayer I prayed when I was younger. I held my Bible, and I repeated Isaiah’s words to God, ‘Here am I! Send me.’ I am inspired most by Isaiah’s willingness to serve God before he fully knew the task. This is what inspires me to serve today.”

Natalia Gray* (Central Asia) — “Jesus commanded us to take the gospel to the whole world. The West has heard it plenty of times; other parts of the world have never heard it. This is what inspires me to go as a missionary.”

John Clark* (SE Asia) — “I’m going overseas because my mom texted me a picture of the AFM magazine, told me I should look into it, and I was impressed to do so.”

Arthur Schofield (Philippines) — “I want to see the light in people’s eyes when they accept Jesus.”

Jeremy Stepien (Philippines) —

BY MIKAELA GORTON

“Love for Jesus and my fellow man. I see people everywhere being lied to and left in the dark, and I want them to be a part of our heavenly family someday.”

Dylan Smith* (SE Asia) — “What inspired me to be a missionary is the fact that so many people still need Christ in their life, and we are the only ones capable of taking it to them. They might not have access to things like YouTube or other people, so we might be the only people to shine the light in the darkness.”

AFM-EU MISSIONARIES

Hanna Falk (Philippines) — “I feel I have a strong purpose in life in sharing God’s love.”

Adina Comorașu (Philippines) — “I felt the calling to become a missionary doctor, share the good news, and be God’s hands, feet and voice to those who have never felt His love and mercy or heard the name of Jesus.”

Lydia Kipper (Cambodia) — “God showed me what really matters in the life He has given me and that the best way to use my life, talents and blessings is to serve others and share the good news about Jesus with them.”

Christoph Knauseder (Cambodia) — “God showed me His love in a wonderful way, and I no longer want to set money or wealth as a goal but to share God’s love with people.”

Emma Kingsley* (SE Asia) – “I had

Back: John Clark, Judah Densmore, Jeremy Stepien and Marcus Sinclair

Middle: Amarina Talia, Natalia Gray, Elena Adams (training only) and Joleen Riley

Front: Arthur Schofield, Dylan Smith and Jeffrey Cheung

Back: Débora Soares, Lydia Kipper, Adina Comorasu, Hanna Falk, Emma Kingsley,* Victoria Koch (launching in 2025) Front: Vinicius Rodrigues, Christopher Knauseder

experienced the goodness and mercy of God, and since then, God has burdened my heart to share the gospel with the world and to spread the news of Jesus’ imminent return.”

Victoria Koch* (North Africa) — “I am determined to share what God has done for me. Honestly, how could I dare to keep silent? Everyone has the right to hear about God’s amazing grace and power to save.”

Débora Soares & Vinicius Rodrigues (Philippines) — “We have always felt a deep desire to dedicate our time and efforts to helping those in need. We believe it is our purpose to serve others, and through service, we can share God’s love with those who have never experienced it before.”

Additionally, several student missionaries extend their service and stay in the field for another term. These include Silvan Dörnbrack (Cambodia), Alexia Rains (Cambodia), Kayla Collins* (Central Asia) and Vernal Roseval (Sierra Leone). Praise God for their continued desire to serve Him and finish His work so we can all go home soon. What an inspiration they are!

Thank you for your prayers and continued support for our missionaries. We pray that you, too, would be inspired to be a missionary and share Christ’s love wherever He may take you.

*Pen name

BY ERIN WHITE & JAMES PETTY

FAITHFUL SERVANTS

There was once a man descended from a royal house who needed to make a long trip back to headquarters to get authorization for his rule and then return. But first, he called ten servants together, gave them each a sum of money, and instructed them, ‘Operate with this until I return.’

“But the citizens there hated him. So they sent a commission with a signed petition to oppose his rule: ‘We don’t want this man to rule us.’

“When he came back bringing the authorization of his rule, he called those ten servants to whom he had given the money to find out how they had done.

“The first said, ‘Master, I made a ten-fold increase on your money.’

“He said, ‘Good servant! Great work! Because you’ve been trustworthy in this small job, I’m making you governor of ten cities.’

“The second said, ‘Master, I made a five-fold increase on your money.’

“He said, ‘I’m putting you in charge of five cities.’

“The next servant said, ‘Master, here’s your money safe and sound. I kept it hidden in the cellar. To tell you the truth, I was a little afraid. I know you have high standards, hate sloppiness and don’t suffer fools gladly.’

“The Master said, ‘You’re right that I don’t suffer fools gladly — and you’ve acted the fool! Why didn’t you at least invest the money in securities so I would have gotten a little interest on it?’ (Luke 11:12-23 Message Bible).”

The nobleman in Jesus’ parable entrusted all his servants with money and instructions to use his money until his return. In the parable, Jesus illustrated how the servants dealt with the resources assigned to them. Nine must have obeyed and invested the money, receiving various degrees of return, because we only see the nobleman rebuking one servant.

Although this parable does not detail what each servant did with the master’s money, the Bible is clear that we, as Christ’s servants, are to use our resources to advance His kingdom. God has committed to us talents and money with instructions to use these resources wisely until Christ’s return.

God calls some to “Go” and share the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world, entrusting them with talents to accomplish this task. God calls others to “Give” to support those overseas workers with His money to fulfill this call. All of us can pray for the advance of the gospel.

I encourage you to be like the nine faithful servants, prayerfully using and investing Christ’s resources, which He has entrusted to you.

Editor’s note: The following is based on a sermon by James Petty, AFM Planned Giving Specialist.

BY DR. CONRAD VINE

Fulfilling the Great Commission

AFM takes the gospel around the globe

As we look around our world today, we see economic, political, social, moral and environmental decay. No nation or community is immune. Institutions are failing. National identities are collapsing. Public trust is vanishing. Regional wars are increasing. Mainstream media warns daily of an impending World War III among nuclear protagonists. Yes, we are daily witnessing the fulfillment of the endtime prophecy of Jesus (Matthew 24:6-9) as the world unwinds on a global scale.

No Time for Delay

We are living in momentous times! Even secular families are sensing that something is going profoundly wrong, abandoning the moral decay and degradation found in population centers and moving to the countryside. In this last chapter of earth’s history, when men’s hearts are failing them for fear of what is coming upon our world, it is our privilege to prepare people to meet Jesus Christ when He returns.

Northwest Africa

In Northwest Africa, AFM missionaries are connecting people to Jesus in the midst of Saharan

deserts through WhatsApp study groups. Closed study groups for Muslim women are leading them into the Kingdom of God. As violence ravages Mali, we are planting new congregations that are growing steadily with women’s ministry, Pathfinders, seasons of prayer and fasting, preaching and in-home Bible studies. In Benin, where the men of violence are growing in influence, the congregations of the Pendjari and Ottamari projects continue to grow, with our missionaries focusing on leadership development.

In Central Africa, because of the work of AFM missionaries in saving the lives of many premature infants, the missionaries now live and move freely with the nomadic tribes, a group previously closed entirely to the Gospel. In Sierra Leone, God miraculously provided 10 acres of land — after we requested six — because God gave a dream to the Paramount Chief, and he recognized from his dream the Spirit of Prophecy materials in our missionary’s hands. On those 10 acres, a ministry facility is being constructed to include meeting rooms and spaces for public evangelism, youth events, men’s and

women’s retreats, and worship. A youth Bible club is growing rapidly, and women’s ministry is reaching Animist and Muslim women.

Eurasia

In Europe, social media devotionals are reaching hundreds of thousands of Croatians. Last year, a man turned up at our missionary’s home and asked for baptism after having followed the social media devotionals. A new group is meeting in the previously unreached city of Dubrovnik. Bible study groups meet in Greece, and tens of thousands of Gospel-bearing Bible studies and Spirit of Prophecy materials are distributed from online requests each year.

In Kosovo, the missionaries are working to open a daycare facility for working families, around which Bible study groups, wellness programs and community outreach will take place.

In Albania, a new urban center of influence has opened, and the missionaries are training the new local disciples in outreach, disciple-making and community service.

In the Middle East and Central Asia, missionaries are discipling local believers fresh from the host culture

through in-person, online and local groups. Some are eager to leave Islam and want to meet Jesus, often having had a dream or vision of Jesus; others are more resistant. However, when Jesus goes before us, appealing to Muslims in dreams and visions to follow Him, He opens hearts and minds in incredible ways.

Southeast Asia

In Southeast Asia, missionaries teach music and English, leading their students to Christ. Spiritual groups are developing among the unreached of Thailand, and new pioneering work is opening in the south. New congregations are being planted monthly among the Pnong in Cambodia while work among the Cham Muslims grows, one study and one heart at a time.

Oceania

Among the Tawbuid of the Philippines, over 40 congregations have been planted, and tribal members are carrying the Gospel forward to neighboring people groups. At the same time, a clinic, elementary schools and public preaching have brought the Gospel to the Palawano people. In Papua New Guinea, over 100 baptisms

in the past few months present a new challenge — the discipling of new believers.

On the Gogodala Project, the focus is on planting a congregation in every single Gogodala community in the next six years, while in northwest Papua New Guinea (PNG), dozens of people groups remain completely unreached, and Ama Project missionaries are training local leaders to conduct the needed outreach. A discipleship manual is being developed in partnership with the South Pacific Division to train new believers in PNG and across the island nations.

Deliverance Ministry

Meanwhile, the Set Free in Christ Institute, based at the AFM office in Michigan, provides training and equipping for pastors, elders and members of deliverance ministry around the world in conjunction with personal consultations for demonized Adventists.

Missionaries are being drawn from the USA, Canada, the EU, Latin America, and South and West Africa. From multiple countries, they are united by a common purpose — to win souls for Christ before He

returns.

Essential Partnership

Alongside every missionary are those who donate funds, provide letters of encouragement, and engage in regular prayer for the missionaries and the unreached. Their ministry is essential for the advance of the Gospel.

Called by our Father, compelled by our Savior’s love, and sustained by the Spirit, AFM missionaries and their supporters will proclaim the Gospel until no unreached people groups are left. Thank you for participating in God’s message of mercy for our dying world!

GRATITUDE AFRICA

In a historic moment for the church, the first Guinea-Bissau Pathfinder camporee was organized.

BY VANIUS DIAS

We are finishing our first cycle as missionaries in Guinea-Bissau, and we praise God for the many blessings achieved by His power. We arrived here in May 2021 at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. There were many restrictions, and the possibilities for action were very limited. We took advantage of this period to study and understand more about the country and culture. We determined that we would serve the people on the education

and health fronts, as we had on our team Gláucia dos Santos Batista, a short-term missionary with extensive experience in the educational sector and my wife Elisabete with a degree in nursing.

We visited patients’ homes weekly, offering health guidance, medicine and prayers and establishing relationships with animists, Muslims and people from other Christian groups. We also started a Bible class at our house on Fridays

Pastor Vanius and Elder Vanilson talk with Ivanildo (a Pathfinder) and his mother, Fatima, about his baptism.

africa • asia • eurasia

for young people and adults and on Saturday afternoons for children. In August of the same year, we created a Portuguese course with eight students, and the number has increased with each new class.

In April 2022, we opened the Casa Novo Tempo influence center, serving more than 60 Portuguese language students and offering health guidance and minor assistance to patients. We also started church services on Sabbaths with around 20 people. That first month, we carried out the first three baptisms. Afterward, we opened the Adventurers and Pathfinders clubs and more young people were baptized.

In 2023, the first Pathfinder camp in Guinea-Bissau was held, a historic moment for the church. Another 70 people were baptized, eight of which resulted from the work at Casa Novo Tempo. In September, more than 100 students were enrolled in our language courses, inspiring us to move the influence center to a larger house.

In 2024, we have been unable to receive short-term missionaries for our project as we have been scheduled to depart on furlough, and it would not be appropriate to leave them alone here for four months. Even so, the work has not stopped, and we have continued with visitations, health care, Bible classes, Adventurer and Pathfinder clubs, and discipling new converts. This July, nine more people were baptized during a beautiful baptismal ceremony.

As we leave for our furlough, placing the work in the hands of our Guinean brothers here, we are sure that this period will richly bless them and us.

The first stop on our furlough will be in Brazil, where we will visit our families, present our project to some churches and complete the process of obtaining our American visa. We will then depart for the United States, where we will meet with our AFM colleagues, visit donors and present our project to churches and other Christian communities.

We are immensely grateful to everyone who has become involved and supported us financially during this period. We pray that God will continue to bless each of you in many ways. There is still much to achieve, but we would not have gone this far without you. Thank you very much.

We praise God for everything He has done for us so far, including His love and constant care for our family. We are certain that greater blessings are on the way because, as the Apostle Paul said, “I am convinced that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

AS WE LEAVE FOR OUR FURLOUGH, PLACING THE WORK IN THE HANDS OF OUR GUINEAN BROTHERS HERE, WE ARE SURE THAT THIS PERIOD WILL RICHLY BLESS THEM AND US.

VANIUS

& ELISABETE DIAS (Geba Animists Project, launched 2021)

BY ALEXA SHARMA

Give Us a Dream

When we arrived at Kinza’s house, she hugged me close, kissing my cheek over and over. I followed her into the kitchen while Christian took Gladys and Hudson to the salon (living room).

It was Ramadan, and I knew that not a drop of food nor liquid had passed Kinza’s lips since before dawn. Yet beads of sweat stood out on her forehead — she had been cooking all afternoon. I knew she must be thirsty! I helped her finish preparations to break the fast, and our families sat down to wait for the call to prayer to ring out over the city.

“Allahu akbar!” Kinza reached first for a tall glass of water and a date. At first, everyone was quiet, intent on eating and drinking. After a while, we began to chat again, and the conversation turned spiritual. We openly discussed the differences in belief between our two religions. I knew that Christian regularly discussed such matters with Adeem, a welleducated friend searching for the truth. He and I tag-teamed, explaining different aspects of Christianity. But later, back in the kitchen to do the dishes, Kinza gave me a searching look.

“Do you ever wonder if what you believe isn’t true after all?” she asked, her brow furrowed.

“I used to,” I said. “But not anymore. I am sure about the hope I have.” With many silent prayers, I could share the gospel and my testimony with Kinza more directly than ever before.

“I’m just not sure,” she told me. “What if I am wrong and I go to hell? I just don’t know how to know what is true. I’m not an intellectual. I’m not a religious scholar. I’m just a housewife. How am I supposed to know the truth? God would have to give me a dream for me to know whether Christianity or Islam is the true way!”

I reassured Kinza that I believe God wants us to know Him and to know the truth. And I promised to pray that God would give her a dream. Later, I wrote a song about Kinza, Adeem and all of us who are in need of the “vision” it takes to reach Muslims for Christ.

VerseOne

She’s never heard of amazing grace

She thinks faith in Christ will lead her to a place

Where her worst fears will all come true

Where the worst burn is knowing God has rejected you

She’s uneducated, without experience

Afraid to ask questions, with no reassurance

And she lies awake and wonders

If there might be more for her

Chorus

Give her a dream, O God

Show her the way, O God

Open her eyes in the night and fill up the sky

With ripening rain

Hear this song online at: https://afmonline.org/ resources/audio

Give her a dream, O God

Show her the truth, O God

Give her the answer to questions she isn’t asking

But longing to see

Give her a dream; give her a dream

VerseTwo

He thought he knew everything

Put his life and his trust into something crumbling

And now his doubts turned out to be real

And the worst pain is the pain of betrayal

He’s well educated, with many questions

He wants to believe, but he’s hurt by religion

And he lies awake and wonders

If he could ever trust another Word

Chorus

Give him a dream, O God

Show him the way, O God

Open his eyes in the night and fill the sky

With ripening rain

Give him a dream, O God

Show him the truth, O God

Give him the answer to questions he’s always asking

He just needs to see

Give him a dream

Bridge

It’s too difficult, it’s too dangerous

They don’t listen; they reject us

But I know, Lord, you have someone

Who is out there; who is open

Chorus

So give us a dream, O God

Show us the way, O God

Open our eyes in the night and fill up the sky

With ripening rain

Give us a dream, O God

Show us Your vision, O God

Give us the answer to questions we’re always asking

So they will believe

Give us a dream

CHRISTIAN, ALEXA, GLADYS & HUDSON SHARMA

(Maghreb Project, launched 2010)

AS TOLD TO GABRIELLA LINCOLN

HASAN: My Secret

Hello. My name is Hasan. I teach at a private school. My wife, children, and I have lived in this nation of the Sahara all our lives. Last year, I met Talal, a man down the street. He has been providing meals for neighborhood children. Every so often, he calls 60 to 100 children together to eat. My own children join them in eating, too. The families here are very low-income and appreciate Talal’s aid.

I sensed something unique about Talal.1 What led him to do this compassionate, selfless service in our neighborhood? I wondered. I soon discovered that he had left Islam. I told him, “Talal, I know you have a good heart. Even though you are not a Muslim, I know you serve God.”

One day, I decided to go to his house for a talk. When we were alone in his living room, I asked him, “Why did you leave Islam?”

“I left Islam and came to Christ because I discovered that only Jesus can save sinners. You see, in the beginning,

if you sinned, you were to bring a sheep or goat as a sacrifice. These animal sacrifices were shadows. They were a faint picture of the great Sacrifice, Jesus the Messiah, the Lamb of God. This was God’s plan. If you believe in the Sacrifice that God gave us in Jesus, you will never need the annual Muslim animal sacrifices again.”

Again and again, for five months, I returned to Talal’s house. We studied from the Quran and the Bible. We completed the book of Genesis in our African language, which was a true blessing to me since, in Islam, we must read the Quran in Arabic. Yet, because God created the world, I know He knows my language. I learned that Jesus said, “Love your enemies.” What a concept! I had many spiritual questions and thought carefully about the answers we discovered.

Talal also explained Christian prayer to me. Then, he prayed aloud. When Talal prayed, I knew he was genuinely communicating with God. My Islamic prayer was a prescribed, memorized

passage. For a long time, we compared and contrasted the life stories of the leaders of each of our faiths. I also began to listen to Brother Rachid2 online. One day, I told Talal, “I don’t want my family to know this: I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. This is my secret.”

Please join us in continuing to pray for Hasan as he continues in his new faith in Jesus Christ..

1 A valued member of AFM’s Sahara Project team.

2 A Moroccan former Muslim who is now a Christian apologist on television, comparing and contrasting Christianity and Islam.

GABRIELLA LINCOLN (Sahara Project, launched 2018)

BY ELIZA MOFFAT

A WATERED GARDEN

What do you have growing here? a friend asked as she curiously eyed the little shoots of green stretching above the dark soil of my freshly watered garden.

I paused. I had always wanted a flower garden, so a few weeks before, my friends Vincent and Grace had helped me haul large sacks of manure to prepare a little space in front of my house for the flowers. Vincent and I carefully drew out the rows and planted the little seeds according to the package directions. We waited eagerly, wondering if my American seeds would grow in the Central African soil. While some sprouts looked similar to the depictions on the packaging, others looked a little different. They weren’t weeds, but . . .

“I’m not sure,” I told my friend. “I think these are zinnias. Maybe that one is a marigold?”

“It looks like a tomato,” she observed. It did look like a tomato plant. However, I hadn’t planted tomatoes, but marigolds.

Time confirmed her suspicion. A few of my imported flowers sprouted and blossomed, but most seeds never germinated. On the other hand, my volunteer tomato plant thrived. I watered it faithfully, building a little moat around it to keep the water close to the roots. Yet months passed, and I still saw nothing but leaves. I wondered if it would actually produce fruit.

About a year before, I had been in the throes of culture shock, struggling daily against loneliness and despondency. During that time, God had spoken to me through Isaiah 51:3, “For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her

wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.” In the months that followed, I could see God answering my prayers and fulfilling His promise by bringing several local friends into my life, one of whom was Vincent.

Vincent is one of the students in the after-school program I taught. He had set himself apart through his deep, probing Bible questions and had started working for me after we helped him replace his belongings after a hut fire (Adventist Frontiers, December 2023). When Vincent came to work, he would often stick around for more Bible study and food for his often-empty stomach. He would ask questions about biblical topics and then compare my responses to what others told him. On other days, he would help me understand the life, culture and practices of his people.

While I appreciated Vincent’s happy disposition, cultural insights, and biblical questions, I sometimes wondered if our time together would actually make a lasting impact on his life. Would he make the biblical principles his own? Or would he be satisfied with a theoretical knowledge of the Word?

As the hot season approached, my close, daily inspection of the tomato plant revealed flowers and . . . a tiny green tomato! I excitedly took pictures and called everyone who visited me to behold the most beautiful tomato on Earth. I continued watering faithfully and watched other green tomatoes develop on my ever-growing plant. I found sticks and strategically posted them around the plant to support the heavy-laden branches. And still, week after week, the tomatoes were all very green.

I trust that the God who turns green tomatoes red will finish the work He has begun in his young life.

I wasn’t sure what to do. Would the tomatoes stay green forever? Some may laugh, but I brought my concern to God in prayer. After all, I couldn’t make green tomatoes red, but God could.

Finally, the real heat came. This tomato plant apparently needed the heat to redden those tomatoes, and we picked that first precious tomato a full two months after I first spotted the little yellow blossom. I still remember the day my friends Livy, Vincent, Adam, and I cut that tomato into quarters, sprinkled a little salt on top, and enjoyed it with our dinner.

Bona

I found another reason for rejoicing that same hot season when Vincent shared with me that he had decided to get baptized. I can see the fruits of righteousness developing in his young life, and it thrills my heart. At the time of this writing, he has not yet had the opportunity to follow through on his decision for baptism, but he continues to read his Bible regularly and discuss it with his friends. I trust that the God who turns green tomatoes red will finish the work He has begun in his young life. Please continue to pray that Vincent will persevere in his new walk of faith..

ELIZA MOFFAT (Fulani Project)

SHORT-TERM MISSIONARY 2022-2024

BY SUZY BALDWIN

Train up a child in the way he should go . . .” (Proverbs 22:6). When one is a long-term missionary or Bible worker, one has the time to train young people to be workers for God.

One of those young people we have invested in is a young man named Bona, who comes from one of the villages where we have a church group. He became interested in the church because his sisters attended, singing with the music group. He would go and watch. The evangelist at the time started to study with him. Eventually, Bona accepted Jesus and was baptized, joining the church when he was about 16 and still attending school.

Soon his troubles began. His father started to get upset as he refused to work in the fields on the Sabbath. Finally, his father told him that he must either quit school to work in the fields or quit the church and work on the Sabbath. One day while Bona was at church, his father burned his rice field, making it so he would have no money to go to school.

When Fidel heard what had happened, he invited Bona to come and live with us on our farm in Sepounga. Fidel encouraged Bona and taught him how to pray and fast, read

the Bible and grow in Christ. We paid for his schooling, and he lived with us as one of our children. Bona continued to go to school and grow in his Christianity. He would walk four miles one way to attend church and prayer meetings when his bike wasn’t working or we were not there to take him.

Now 22, Bona is a smart young man with a heart for serving God. He is a leader in the church and teaches the Sabbath school lesson. He also leads the Pathfinder club in Tanguieta and helps coordinate the children in other groups when there is a Pathfinder activity. Bona took his final state exams this year, and we all look forward to seeing what God has in store for him. Please keep Bona in your prayers to clearly see God’s continued leading.

SUZY & FIDEL BALDWIN - NOUTEHOU (Pendjari Project, launched 1999)

BY ULI BAUR

The Pragmatic Call

How did you sense the call to serve as a missionary?”

While some people certainly do receive a direct call from the Holy Spirit and even feel called to a specific country or people group, I did not. My call, just as the one God gave to you, simply came from the Bible, the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19-20 and Mark 16:15-16.

As more of a pragmatic person, when an 8-month internship was required during my studies to become an administrator, I thought I might as well support the church instead of a big company. That led me to leave my home country of Germany and spend eight months at an Adventist hospital in Rwanda in 19921993. The experience changed my life. Not only did I fall in love with Africa, but I also started reflecting on

Matthew 28:19-20. I realized that living on an Adventist compound in an Adventist village and working in an Adventist institution, as valuable as the experience was, had very little to do with the Great Commission.

I went back to the university with a plan of returning to Africa as soon as possible. I knew I needed to find a place or organization that understood missions differently, so I prayed for several years that God would lead me to such an organization. I finished my studies and started a job. Meanwhile, I took French classes to improve my language abilities, attended mission conferences and continued praying. At one of these mission conferences, a friend gave me an issue of Adventist Frontiers, and I subscribed. For months, I read the magazine from cover to cover and was impressed by the organization’s approach.

Uli holds Andrew St. Clair, son of missionaries Linden and Michelle St. Clair, who served on the Otammari project from 1996-2002.

Uli and gospel workers Jules and Isaac in 2003.

Pastor Laurence Burn, AFM Training Director, performs the wedding ceremony for Toussaint and Uli in 2007.

In 1997, a girl who had been my colleague in Rwanda asked me to be in her wedding. As she was living in Berrien Springs, I had the opportunity to visit the AFM office and get more information. (Remember, this was before everybody had the internet, and every organization had a website.) Afterward, I went home with application forms and soon applied for a two-year commitment as a short-term missionary in any Frenchspeaking African country that was not a war zone. As I said, I am a rational person. I figured I could handle two years if it wasn’t a fit. If it worked, I could always stay longer.

I went out as a short-term missionary and I’m still here. During the last 25 years, my job description has changed many times, as have my team members. I now lead the Otammari project and have a great team of five local evangelists thoroughly trained by former

AFM missionary Jason Harral and then myself. These five evangelists are now trainers themselves and we continue to expand our radius in Northern Benin.

When I return to Germany, people still ask if I get homesick while living in Benin, Africa. I wonder if they would be offended if I told them I get homesick for Benin when I’m in Germany. Benin is where Toussaint, my husband of 17 years, and I foster four children and care for many more in one way or another. God indeed called me to Benin. My home is here. The work is moving on, and I’m blessed to be a part of it.

Otammari children participate in Vacation Bible School in 2014.

Uli and Toussaint in 2021, along with student missionaries Valquíria Albuquerque and Nicolle Souza and foster child Fiacre Iro.

Uli and Toussaint, along with foster children Ignace and Fiacre Iro.

The Otammari team in 2011: Uli, Toussaint, the Harral family, student missionary Naomi Kromer and Suzy Baldwin.

ULRIKE BAUR-KOUATO (Otammari Project, launched 1999)

ASIA

LEARNING TO CLAIM GOD’S PROMISES FOR THEIR FRIENDS

"Three years of praying, and God answered my prayers! I will keep praying for my daughters to follow Jesus.”

BY CARLY & ERIC TIRADO

“

People don’t listen to me. They don’t want to hear about Jesus,” one church member lamented.

“We don’t know what to do.” Our group of believers has gone through a shaking. Many have stopped attending our small church group for various reasons, and only two have remained. Those who remain

feel the need to bring others to Jesus but struggle to know how.

“I have been learning some things about how to share Jesus with people, and I would be happy to teach them to you,” Eric offered. They agreed to dedicate time each Sabbath after our church program to

Eric, Om Neang and Theary pray as they study the Bible.

africa • asia • eurasia

learn how to make disciples for Jesus. Later, I began teaching our two members how to draw bubble maps to represent the people they knew. The inner circle represented them, and the middle circles represented their closest friends and relatives. In the furthest ring of bubbles were written the names of those close to their friends. “It looks like during COVID,” Theary’s 11-year-old daughter observed as they finished drawing their bubble maps.

“We have already tried to share with these people, though,” they said, looking at their maps.

“Well, we can still pray for them each day,” Eric replied.

The following Sabbath, after reading the story of Job together in Theary’s stilted riverside home, Theary reflected, “This is what we have been learning to do in discipleship training; we are learning to pray for our friends like Job did.” Another Sabbath, we practiced claiming God’s promises in the Bible. We read through several Bible passages and then reflected on how God could fulfill those verses in our and our friends’ lives.

Recently, we had the opportunity to bring Theary to visit one of the small groups at the Pnong Project. We wanted her to witness a real-life, independent group in action. After following Cristian Jara on a long motorbike ride through the hilly countryside, Theary, her daughters, and Eric joined the Pnong village church members in their hut as they shared their testimonies of how God protected them

from snakes, helped them have rain for their crops, and other beautiful stories.

Theary later told me, “One guy wanted to buy his land back from the man he had previously sold it to. He prayed for three years! Finally, without warning, the man approached him and asked, ‘Do you want to buy the land back?’ He was so amazed at how God answered his prayer. Three years of praying! I will keep praying for my daughters to follow Jesus!” This testimony gave her so much hope.

Since going on that trip with us, she said her middle daughter is finally praying on her own for the first time. Please pray for Theary’s daughters to follow her on her new path.

Back in our own group, Theary and Om Neang have been praying for their friends. Last Sabbath, we shared our experiences from the week.

Theary shared that her friend used to walk away when she talked about God, but last time, as she shared the story of Job, her friend listened and even asked questions.

Continue to pray for our spiritually young believers that they will bear fruit for Christ, be filled with confidence that God is working through them, and see their family and friends come to Jesus.

(Great River Project, launched 2019)

“THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE BEEN LEARNING TO DO IN DISCIPLESHIP TRAINING; WE ARE LEARNING TO PRAY FOR OUR FRIENDS LIKE JOB DID.”

ERIC, CARLY, RIVER & OSIAH TIRADO

GOD IS TRULY GREAT

"I am sorry I could not prevent the mishap."

BY LEONDA GEORGE, AS TOLD TO HER BY HER DAUGHTER JILIN

Jilin, our adopted daughter, her husband, and three children have established a new school and mission station in a very remote area.

Recently, my husband Junie and I hiked with some people from our village of Mermà to buy sticky rice for our youngest son’s birthday. Our son’s nickname is Manuk, which means chicken. (We tagged him with this moniker because his hair stood on end when he was born).

When we arrived back at the dam after making our purchases in town, we found that we had lost a 50-pound sack of dry rice. We asked people if they had seen the sack of rice fall from our tricycle, but no one had seen it. I recognized that Junie was getting stressed and very disappointed and perhaps feeling guilty because he was the one driving. But what could we do? The rice was gone, and we didn’t have money to buy more.

As we prepared to hike five or six hours back to our mission home, we prayed that God

would touch the person who found it and convince them to return it. Or if someone had perhaps seen our sack of rice, we hoped they would tell us where to find it. I reminded Junie that maybe whoever saw it and picked it up needed it more badly than we did.

After two days, the chieftain of our area, who lives quite a distance from us, came to visit and started apologizing. “Because I was not there when you lost your rice, I am sorry I could not prevent the mishap. I will make sure that you get your rice back.” (Interestingly, this chieftain is the blood brother of a man who has previously killed several people in this area.)

“Please, do not worry. Maybe the person who found it really needs the food.”

But the chieftain strongly disagreed with us. “I do not want people stealing your food or taking advantage of you. It is my responsibility to keep you safe and make

sure that your belongings are not stolen.”

The next day, my siblings from faraway Kemantian came for the birthday feast . . . carrying our lost rice! They said they had met the chieftain, and he told them he had found our rice. He had actually hiked all the way back to the dam, at least a three to four-hour hike, to look for it.

My older sister, Bubit, then invited him to the birthday party, but he declined, saying, “I am unable to attend, but my family will attend to attest to my support of your sister Jilin and her and her husband’s mission work.”

His actions reminded me how, though we don’t see God, He is always close, keeping us safe and supporting us even when others do not. It reminded us that God uses every situation for His glory.

Ultimately, we learned that the person who took our rice was a man from the lowlands who did not like us. Some Palawano people saw him take our rice and reported it to the chieftain.

God is truly great. He not only knows when a hair falls from our heads, but He also knows when a whole sack of rice disappears, and He knows the needs of His children.

KENT & LEONDA GEORGE

(Palawano Projectâ, launched 1995)

THE GRAVEYARD OF MISSIONS

Japan is a beautiful nation with a rich cultural heritage, yet it harbors a dark history regarding the persecution of Christianity. In 1614, a nationwide ban on Christianity was imposed, leading to centuries of severe oppression and hardship for those who professed the faith. It wasn’t until 1873 that this ban was lifted, over 250 years later. Despite this, the remnants of this long period of suppression are still evident today. For most, Japan remains in spiritual bondage, not knowing the freedom and hope that comes through Christ.

Reflecting on this history, I can’t help but draw parallels with the Israelites’ 400 years of bondage in Egypt. As they were eventually led to freedom, there is hope that Japan, too, can experience spiritual liberation. However, the daunting challenge of bringing hope to a nation with such a complex history can be overwhelming. Who am I to think I can make a difference?

Japan has often been referred to as the “graveyard of missions,” a place where the seeds of Christianity seemingly do not take root. This sentiment can be discouraging, making one question the effectiveness of one's mission call. Will I truly accomplish anything by going there?

In moments of doubt, I find reassurance in the story of Abraham’s call. Abraham did not question the land of promise — whether it was fertile or if the climate was healthful. He obeyed God’s call without hesitation. As Sister White said, “The happiest place on earth for him was the place where God would have him to be” (Patriarchs and Prophets, page 126). His powerful example strengthens my resolve.

Although I may not know what lies ahead or what God has in store for me in Japan, I am confident in His call. I trust that the same God who called me can make seeds sprout from rocks and bring freedom to His people. My mission is defined by obedience and faith. God will sustain and nurture the seeds I plant. My role is to be faithful, trusting that in His time, He will bring forth the harvest and free His people.

— Kerigma David

KERIGMA DAVID Volunteer Missionary Candidate (Japanese Project)

BY ANGELINE NGUYEN

God Led All the Way

Abright orange curtain runs across the front of the café, covering our bright blue door and window. White and orange balloons line the sides. Stands of flowers hold posts with “Congratulations” signs. A simple, well-dressed crowd stands chattering in front of the café. Young women dressed in bright orange ao dais, the traditional Sinim dress, are running back and forth, helping us set up.

Seven months prior, God had led us to the building and location. From that moment, time was driving us forward to establish a company and begin the design, renovation, research, menu development, construction and ultimate creation of Seed Café.

Within those seven months, challenge after challenge arose. Whether having to go through three different companies to get our food elevator fixed or realizing the architect made a mistake on the design and measurements, various unexpected undesirables pushed our timeline back again and again, making it feel like we would never open.

At one point, while I was on

furlough in America, our director had back surgery, leaving our team of locals, Nang, Violet, Bep, and Forest, to move the work forward without any of the main leaders. But that pushed them to stand up, take charge and work together to create and start the café.

When it came time for planning the grand opening, we knew we had to be different. One evening, almost approaching midnight, Violet, Nang and I thought of what to do.

“People have been watching us for four months, asking when we will open. We have even had some neighbors wonder if we were laundering money. We can’t have a ‘Lion Dance’ like the typical Sinim grand opening. It’s not going to be a big stage with booming music, but they have to know it’s a grand opening. It has to be relatable to the average Sinim. People look at us and have nothing to compare our style to. The typical Sinim has no frame of reference to compare our food to theirs. How we do the grand opening, we have to do something entirely different — outside of the box completely,” said Violet.

We prayed for God’s wisdom. Violet then said an image of the torn temple veil came to her mind during the prayer. That night, Violet began detailing our grand opening.

At times, I can’t believe that over a microphone and speaker, we openly stood before our storefront and presented a program where we nonchalantly talked about God and how He brought His blessing upon the café. We had prayer; then Nang blew a shofar seven times before the grand moment.

“One . . . two . . . three . . . ” Lewis River, Elisha Joy, our field director and I were told to pull down the orange curtain to reveal the bright blue entrance to Seed Café. Pop! Pop! Confetti began flying. Smiles were all around. We led the guests inside the café where Elisha sat down at the piano, Lewis picked up his violin, and I grabbed my guitar. Our church youth began to lead the crowd in singing “Shout to the Lord.”

To think of doing a very Christian grand opening ceremony publicly before our storefront in a closed country is something I would never

The AFM Sinim Project team and their field director pull down the veil during the grand opening of Seed Café.

have imagined when I first landed at the Sinim project more than five years ago.

When my mother looked at the pictures, she asked, “Why in the world did you choose that color orange for the curtain? It reminds me of the Buddhist ritual colors.” What a concept! In a country where Buddhism associates vegetarianism and veganism with earning merit — renouncing and saving oneself from the world and its desires — we hope that at our café we can introduce the laws of God written onto blue stone to bring people a knowledge of Jesus. It is only in Jesus that one can be saved. No amount of good deeds or goodness can ever save us, only Christ’s perfect gift of salvation.

What fitting imagery — pulling down that orange veil of Buddhism to reveal our blue entrance to God.

It is the unveiling of a new beginning. A group of Christians, not Buddhists, have opened a plant-based eatery in Sinim. How often guests have commented with surprise, “I’ve never known any Christians who are vegetarian.” It is the unveiling of a

window of opportunity when we see God moving hearts and communities to be more open to religion and Christianity as time on earth draws to a close. It is the unveiling of the sprouting seeds of young Sinim people who are learning to become leaders of

What fitting imagery — pulling down that orange veil of Buddhism to reveal our blue entrance to God.

their generation, using all their talents and skills, not for their own ambitions, but to share the gospel. And it is the pulling down of all things that make us believe we can save ourselves by our own good works or deeds, revealing that true peace, purity, knowledge and salvation are only through Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Since our grand opening, life has certainly changed for our team. Early mornings and late nights are spent trying to run the business while trying to improve it. Every day, we pray and ask God to be the Director of our café, to bring in the right guests, and to

provide us with what we need to keep things running. Already, some of the contacts and relationships that are starting to form have been amazing. One guest, on his second visit to our café, accepted a Bible from us.

Our local team has its challenges; we have had our disagreements, and every day is a sacrifice in one form or another, but our team keeps pressing on with their hand at the plow. They know they could be out in the world making much more money. But Seed Café has something that money cannot buy — a spiritual environment, knowing it’s a place of brothers and sisters who have a heart that loves God first and people second, above themselves.

Thank you for your prayers and financial support. Our vision would not have grown from a seed into Seed Café without the support you have given us all along. Pray that God leads guests to us with whom He desires us to meet, build relationships and share the gospel.

ANGELINE NGUYEN (Sinim Project)

Nang blows the shofar seven times to announce the grand opening

BY JOHN HOLBROOK

Flash Flood

Not again!” Ronald shouted as the wall of filthy brown water bore down on him. Caught in the middle of the river crossing with no time to reach the bank, the flash flood instantly swept him away. A sharp pain flared in his right arm as the current bounced him over jagged rocks. The next instant his big toe seemed to catch fire as it wedged between two boulders, ripping the toenail off.

Only a few months ago, Ronald had accepted God’s call to bring Jesus to the unreached Bangon tribe. The Bangon had no intention of accepting any outsiders, though, and wouldn’t let him move into their territory. The enemy of all mankind was also doing his best to keep Ronald out because every time Ronald packed a bag of rice and started into the mountains to visit his people, a flash flood caught him in the middle of this same river crossing.

The next thing Ronald knew, he was lying on the far bank of the river, his sack of rice next to him. Wincing in pain from the gashes on his arm, he reached out and ran his hand through the rice. It was dry and in perfect condition despite being soaked in the flood. Yet again, God had sent His angel, not only foiling the enemy’s attempt to kill him but also keeping his food supply safe.

Gingerly getting to his feet, Ronald put the rice back on his shoulders and continued up the mountain. Several hours later, bleeding and bedraggled (soaked and muddy), he stumbled into the Bangon village. “Outsider,” someone shouted, and instantly, the villagers disappeared into the jungle. Only the wizened chieftain remained.

“Good afternoon, elder,” Ronald greeted him respectfully. “I have come again to visit your people. I come only to bring good news and to help you.”

“Time and again, we have refused your help,” the old man replied, shaking his head. “Why do you persist in coming?” Bending over, he took a closer look at the blood still oozing from the gashes in Ronald’s arms and feet. “Every time you have come, the spirits have tried to kill you,” he continued. “But you still insist. Fine then. Do you see that patch of jungle across the river? That is our cemetery. We regularly make sacrifices to the spirits there and do witchcraft. If your God is as powerful as you say, you can live beside the cemetery.”

“Thank you, elder!” Ronald almost shouted. “Don’t worry. God is more powerful than any spirits. He will protect me.”

So began Ronald’s story of enduring suffering, working to bring Jesus’ deliverance to Bangon. From that eventful day forward, Ronald has lived with his adopted tribe, demonstrating Jesus’ love for them. Bringing people from complete darkness into the light of the gospel is a long process. Ronald knows, though, that every sacrifice will be worth it when he meets His Lord, accompanied by those He entrusted to his care.

Ronald poses with a highland chieftain.

JOHN HOLBROOK

(Tawbuid Project, launched 2011)

BY JOHN CLARK

Bang! The bicycle’s front tire slammed into the curb, knocking me off the seat and into the frame. It was a Monday morning, and for some reason, I had become incapable of steering and balancing correctly. Can I ride a bike? Of course! I have been riding a bike without training wheels since just before I turned three, so theoretically, I should be an expert. What was making the difference?

I found myself sitting on a backward bicycle, a bike modified so that by turning the handlebars right, the bike turns to the left and vice versa. I was completely baffled and incapable of balancing despite my years of experience. During AFM training, we were given this exercise to demonstrate culture shock and how we naturally react to things based on our upbringing.

My mind was reeling at the possibility that I could struggle this much to understand the culture of Thailand. Could I be this helpless? Would I struggle this much in the mission field? My instructors certainly thought so.

Later that day, I tried the bike again for a bit longer. I attempted to understand the steering and how that affected my balance. By the next morning, I was able to ride it, but not without appearing worthy of a DUI.

The Backward Bicycle

My takeaways from this exercise are that cultures are vastly different, and no matter how much experience I have in interpersonal interactions, I will be helpless as I try to understand and interact with the new culture. Over time, I will start getting the hang of things, and I will start to understand it better. However, it will take a lot of persistence and intentionality to get to where I can communicate and get around; even then, I will probably still look like a drunk man trying to ride a bike.

JOHN CLARK (Central Thai Project)

SHORT-TERM MISSIONARY 2024-2025

BY MIDORI SLIGER

QUESTIONS FOR A MISSIONARY

What questions would you ask your favorite missionary? Since we have been in the States, we have been asked some good questions. Here are a few that we are consistently asked.

What foods can you get in Papua New Guinea?

In Port Moresby, where we shop, we are able to get wonderful Thai brown jasmine rice, dry beans and nuts, which make for nutritious meals. The expatriate community ensures that we can buy soy milk, peanut butter and boxed breakfast cereals — although boxed cereals are expensive enough that we reserve them for Christmas and birthdays. A lot of foods are like that — they exist, but we can’t afford to eat them! Many times, wholemeal flour is unavailable, but if I said anything more about that, I would sound ungrateful.

What do you eat?

In the village, we eat a lot of brown rice and stew for lunch. Our village friends come to our door selling greens, sweet potatoes, cassava, pumpkins and green beans. These make for lovely stews. Hot stew for lunch doesn’t appeal when the weather is hottest, so then we often settle for granola or hummus on bread. (I have to bake any bread we eat, so we don’t eat as much bread as we would like.)

What do you miss about America?

We each have a different answer. I

miss being able to order anything I need online and have it delivered to my door. Jason misses anonymity and being able to go on a hike with just the family any time he wants. I think the children miss friends and family most.

How do you educate the children?

We homeschool. It is the most flexible option, and so far, we have been able to use the books we brought with us, along with books I have downloaded from the internet. Still, homeschooling is the hardest part of living in a remote place. Please pray that our children will end up educated!

How are the children adjusting?

Honestly, the first two years were pretty rough! The combination of living in an unfamiliar environment and culture and missing friends and family was hard. Now the children know what to expect (as much as they can in “The Land of the Unexpected”), and they are each finding their niche in our new community. Also, swimming in the river has been a saving grace from the beginning. I am so glad we don’t have crocodiles where we live!

What is your favorite aspect of being a missionary?

We experience many wonderful

things, but I think the best part is how missionary life focuses us on what is truly important: God and people. Living in PNG, a nice house, clothes, hairstyle, popular culture and entertainment seem very distant and trivial. We are forced to pay attention to the spiritual battles at hand, pleading with God for help and courage — and always finding Him faithful. I have told a few people that whenever circumstances are especially difficult, God makes up for it with His presence and the joy of watching Him work!

Are you going back?

Yes, we are going back! We are excited because we believe God is doing something extraordinary among the Gogodala tribe.

JASON, MIDORI, EVANGELINE, CHRISTIAN & VERITY SLIGER (Gogodala Project, launched 2020)

As the only Christians and people with white skin that our neighbors have ever seen, we fight a constant current of those who are curious and gawking. People often don’t see us but what they can get from us. It takes energy every day to make our words understood. Explaining furlough was nearly impossible. They were sure it was a four-month vacation just to see family.

The truth is that we also get lonely on furlough. We are at a different church nearly every week. We make friends and then do not see them again. Our children won’t try new foods. We try to tempt them with Rainier cherries, blueberries and strawberries. They just ask for mango and rice. They also refuse to drink water from the tap.

Nathan had no idea what the TV was at Grandma’s house. “What’s the big black thing hanging on your wall?”

Alyssa asks to be sprayed after using the toilet, and we try to explain that bidets are infrequent in this country. We struggle with the health system in America not accepting new patients without medical records from the previous year, not knowing what to do with our strange ailments, and the months needed to get an appointment

BY JOSHUA LEWIS

The Realities of Furlough

when we only have weeks in any one area. We were hoping for a thorough examination for Alyssa as she has been complaining of belly pain for months. After two doctors, several nurse practitioners and nurses, and even a night in the ER, we are no further along in finding answers than at the beginning.

As I shared with the AFM staff during morning worship after being in the field for seven years, I talked haltingly, fighting through emotion to keep my voice as I shared our successes, rejections, and how God has personally called to me. The AFM leadership sat down with us to ask how we were doing physically, emotionally and spiritually, what was going well and what was not, and how they could help us succeed. What a blessing to have an organization behind us 100 percent, which is also a safe place for a good cathartic cry.

We have been treasuring every minute with cousins and grandparents.

Thank you to everyone who is hosting us or lending a car. Thank you to those pouring enough love into us in a few short days to last us until we meet again in two or three years.

JOSHUA, STEPHANIE, NATHAN & ALYSSA LEWIS (Great River People Project)

UNRELENTING FAITH

BY ELIJAH WILLIAMS

One of our short-term missionaries decided to fast and pray for an opportunity to have a spiritual conversation with Keturah, her local language tutor. The next time they met, they talked for more than two hours about God and how we study the Bible together each Sabbath. She asked Keturah if she would like to attend our Bible study, and she agreed to come.

Our short-term missionary fasted and prayed again. On Sabbath, Aaron arrived first. We have been studying with Aaron for several years. Then Keturah arrived, and we began our fellowship in the local language.

We shared our blessings and prayer requests from the week. We prayed. We sang a few songs. Then, we had Keturah read a passage in the local language about Jesus healing a bleeding woman and raising a girl from the dead.

“Wow!” Keturah expressed after she finished reading. We read it again, and someone repeated in their own words what we had read. We talked about what the passage said about God and people. Both Keturah and Aaron shared what they were discovering about God and man. Then we asked each person how they felt God was calling them to obey in

this passage.

Keturah shared her commitment to obey: “I will have an unrelenting faith in God like the bleeding woman who didn’t give up after 12 years of suffering.” Others agreed with her commitment.

Then we asked who each person thought they could share this story with over the coming week.

“I could share with my mom,” said Keturah. “She is a practicing Muslim who believes in God. But I can’t share it with my husband’s family with whom I live. They don’t believe in miracles and would ridicule me. In fact, they don’t know I am here today. Please don’t let them know that I came here today.” We all agreed to protect her by keeping her participation confidential.

We closed with a prayer and continued to talk while lunch was being prepared. Our short-term missionary asked Keturah what she thought of the study. Keturah expressed that she was blessed to be a part of a group of people studying the Bible together. “I have never experienced anything like this in my community,” she exclaimed. “We just don’t study holy books together like this.”

After our meal, Keturah was getting ready to go when my wife invited her to our study again on the following Sabbath.

“I would like to come again, but I don’t know when. I was only able to come this time because my husband’s family is out of town today.”

Pray that our short-term missionaries will continue to have spiritual conversations with Keturah, leading her to understand the gospel and accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior. Pray for opportunities for us to study the Bible with Keturah during the week and on Sabbaths. Pray that God will show Keturah how to share her new beliefs with the practicing and agnostic Muslims in her community.

ELIJAH,

BETH, THOMAS & JAMES WILLIAMS (Reach-Out Project, launched 2005)

BY HENRIQUE & UÉDILA PATROCINIO

CULTIVATING the LAND

During our sweltering and arid summer, I bought some fruit tree seedlings a few months ago to plant in our backyard. The extreme heat and dry, rock-hard soil made digging holes harder than I initially thought it would be, taking around one hour to dig a single, small hole.

By this time, I was a little disappointed and thought the plants would not last long. It took me several weeks to plant the 20 trees, and there were moments when I thought I could not dig all the holes in my land. It was a laborious and challenging task to finish. Some of my tools bent or broke in that hard ground.

Once the trees were planted, I spent time nurturing them each day, watering them twice to prevent them from dying. I could see their struggle to stay alive, trying to absorb every drop of water before the sun evaporated everything. Their struggle continued until the rainy season began, when the heat decreased, and an

abundance of rain fell each day, bringing a new worry over an excess of water.

To my surprise, the hard, dry soil, which had looked infertile, became soft and extremely fertile in a matter of days. The trees and the bushes I planted around them started to grow quickly. Some places in our backyard that didn’t have a single plant before were now luxurious pockets of greenery. The trees have more than doubled in size, and some are already bearing fruit, much to the delight of our son, who most enjoys watching their development.

Watching the change in our backyard from hard, dry, barren and lifeless land to an abundant and rich garden has given us much to consider as we spend time among our Asian friends and neighbors. Most people here have never heard about God, and the task does, in fact, resemble the hard, dry land in my yard. It is an area almost impossible to penetrate with the love and truth about God.

Most people here have never heard about God, and the task does, in fact, resemble the hard, dry land in my yard.

Our trees took continual care and daily watering while our land was ready and waiting for the showers to arrive, revealing life and growth and bringing forth fruit. I pray the same results can happen with the people here, that when they hear the gospel, their hearts will open to the Holy Spirit and that He will cultivate the hard, dry soil of their hearts, turning each into a rich source of life, spreading to all around them and bearing much fruit.

Please keep us and the Central Thai people in your prayers.

HENRIQUE & UÉDILA PATROCÍNIO (Central Thai Project, launched 2023)

BY STEPHEN ERICKSON

TWO FLOODS

Steve, I talked to the oldest man in the village, and he has never seen water this high in his lifetime,” said an elderly church member in Kewa.

Was it just a coincidence that when our church began a nationwide crusade that resulted in the baptism of 300,000 souls, this nation also experienced rainfall so heavy it resulted in record flooding and landslides? When the meetings began, so did the rains.

We are blessed to have our AFM mission property bordering the Aramia River, the main tributary linking the 33 Gogodala villages. The part of our land closest to the river is a flood plain about 50 yards deep by about 200 yards long, behind which rises a steep hill on which our mission houses and training center facility are built. But we have three utility sheds near the base of the hill, adjacent to the flood plain. During the past rainy seasons, flooding has never risen above the floor of even the lowest shed. This year, all three were inundated. Equipment and building supplies had to be moved to higher ground or stacked on top of empty fuel drums.

The Gogodala people are accustomed to flooding. It is normal to see water level variations of 10 feet or more in the river from the dry season to the wet season. But this year, we experienced a flood that exceeded all previous flood records. Granted, the Gogodala share an oral culture and, therefore, don’t have many written records from the past. Nonetheless, they have pretty good memories, and when the village elders testify that they have never seen water this high in their lifetime, I believe them.

Last year, when I heard a report that our church in

Papua New Guinea was planning to conduct an extensive, nationwide evangelistic campaign in which they expected to baptize hundreds of thousands of people, I was skeptical. Not because I didn’t believe that they could get large numbers into the waters of baptism. PNG has had large numbers of baptisms in certain locations in the past. But I was concerned about the preparation of the church members in such events to receive large influxes of new members and their ability to give each one the nurturing and discipleship they needed. However, what we witnessed in this country was truly humbling. Our PNG church leadership had been gearing up for several years to conduct this nationwide effort. Preachers from inside and outside PNG preached the message live from 2,000 pulpits and grandstands across this small country about the size of the state of California.

Balimo, the main government station for the Gogodala, a 40-minute boat ride from our mission ground at Kewa, was to be the local site for our PNG for Christ event. Two months before the series began, the guest speaker, slated to come from overseas, needed to cancel. We were all disappointed. However, a national lay evangelist stepped in and did a wonderful job presenting Bible truths in a culturally relevant way. Though he was not a Gogodala man, he was from another part of PNG. In the end, he connected with the people perhaps better than someone from outside the country would have.

Despite heavy rain, which fell many evenings during this two-week outdoor evangelistic series, crowds came

Stephen Erickson welcomes baptismal candidates into the water.

Preachers from inside and outside PNG preached the message live from 2,000 pulpits and grandstands across this small country about the size of the state of California.

out with umbrellas to hear the nightly Bible messages. A friend told me a local government official said, “Balimo is different.”

“What did he mean, ‘Balimo is different’?” I asked.

“The officials say that since the meetings began, the townspeople have become much more peaceful. They appreciate the influence the Seventhday Adventists are having on their town.”

It was my privilege to assist two other pastors with the baptisms at the end of the campaign. It was a joyful day to see 181 dear souls entering the muddy, flooded lagoon at Balimo to seal their decisions for Christ.

AFM has recently begun a special project to nurture and assist the local church elders in remote areas of PNG. Dale Goodson, a seasoned missionary and trainer for AFM, is leading the project to produce a simple, culturally relevant discipleship manual with input from the missionaries, remote church pastors and elders, and church leadership at the local mission, Union and Division levels. This manual is intended to assist church leaders in isolated regions in dealing with specific spiritual and relational issues that tend to arise. I solicit your prayers and support for this project.

Yes, we got flooded with water here in PNG. But we are praising God for the flooding of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of many people.

BY MICHAEL BABIENCO

Perspective Shifts While Brushing Teeth

Brushing my teeth at night has taken on a different meaning since moving to Japan.

I tend to pace a little bit when I brush my teeth. It breaks up an otherwise monotonous task. When I step into the next room and gaze out the window, I can see the faint lights of high-rise apartments. Fifteen or more towering apartment buildings make up the Wakabadai community, along with nearby parks, stores and schools.

As I look out at the apartment windows, I am sometimes tempted to despair. How could one couple reach even that small community, much less the entire country of Japan? How many Christians are in each building? Is there even one? Who knows? I don’t.

If we are honest, the task we are setting out to do is impossible. Absolutely impossible. I can hardly talk about the weather — much less about the gospel in a culturally sensitive way — when I don’t yet understand the culture. Reaching this country is impossible from a human perspective.

But, we serve a God who regularly accomplishes the

humanly impossible. He created the world. He caused the Red Sea to part and caused axe heads to float. He saved Peter from prison and transformed Saul into Paul. And most importantly, Jesus came to this earth to show us the love of the Father and die for our sins.

An impossible task? Absolutely. But with our God? Nothing is impossible. Even this country can be reached for Him.

And so, when I brush my teeth and see the lights of Wakabadai, instead of feeling despair, I pray that God will reach that community — and this country — for Him.

“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” — John 12:32 (NKJV).

MICHAEL

& CAITLYN

BABIENCO

(Japanese Project, launched 2023s)

STEPHEN, LAURIE, KARIN & JOHANNA ERICKSON (Gogodala Project, launched 2007)

is at

BY CHRISTOPHER SORENSEN

HEALING HEART THERAPY

One morning, not long ago, my wife noticed that I wasn’t acting very chipper. Maybe it was the blank look on my face. Perhaps it was my irritability toward our daughter Selah during one of her classic parentalcharacter-testing moments. I don’t know. But when Shannon asked, “Hey! How ya doing?” I said, “I don’t know. I’m feeling kind of glum, I guess. Maybe I need more sleep . . . or exercise . . . or sufficient quiet time with God.”

Lately, there have been so many incredible yet responsibility-laden activities that I have been overwhelmed, and I felt tired, numb and empty. I decided to get on my

motorbike and go someplace where I could have some quiet time to collect my thoughts and maybe do some writing. I really didn’t know where to go. I listlessly drove through the city, intrigued by the many details I regularly miss at my typical hurried pace. However, this day, I felt as though I was seeing the city through the eyes of a newcomer, yet with the understanding of one who’s been here a long time. “What am I doing here, Lord?” I prayed as I drove.

As I neared a public park, I felt drawn. My children love

It

this park that Christopher met Mrs. E. Soon she will be able to fish there again.

“Love is something if you give it away. . . if you give it away, you end up having more.”

its playground. Others, like homeless people (and aimless people like myself), enjoy its shade trees and quiet, unrushed atmosphere. Here, one feels like he or she is not in anyone’s way and can stay as long as desired. I soon found a place to park my motorcycle and noticed a middle-aged lady sitting alone on a mat, gazing off toward a fish pond. Was she homeless? I wasn’t sure.

I approached her slowly and smiled, sitting on the edge of the curbside about six feet away. Her face was dark and sunbaked, but her hair wasn’t extremely greasy or unkempt. Her clothes were not that dirty, but they did smell. She had a small tote bag, a plastic sack with a half-eaten meal, and a small bottle of dandruff shampoo. I was curious to know her story.

“The weather is nice with the light cloud cover,” I began. She nodded her head. “Are you from around here?”

“My husband and I are from a neighboring province but have been living here in Khon Kaen for about a month.”

“What do you do here?”

“I collect plastic bottles to recycle. Some days, it gives us enough money to buy food. But other days, we just have to go without eating. Fortunately, Khon Kaen has several people who like to give food to homeless people like me and my husband, so we get some of that at times.”

I nodded as if to say it was nice that people help the homeless.

“Say, would you mind helping me with 10 baht so I could buy some water?” she asked.

“I don’t have any cash or change on me,” I told her honestly. “I left my wallet at home. Sorry! But I’ve got some water in my thermos here if you would like some.” She nodded. So I poured some water into her plastic bottle and encouraged her to drink as much as she could right away so I could refill it. She did.

“Thank you!” she said.

I smiled as I felt my heart beginning to warm up again, wondering if I could help her with anything else. We chatted some more about her husband and her grown daughter. Then she pointed to the pond before us, saying, “You know, there’s a lot of fish in that pond.”

“Yeah, I was noticing them really stirring up the water.”

“I used to have a fishing rod. I would catch and cook the fish here over an open fire. The park keepers didn’t even

mind. But then my rod disappeared.”

I immediately thought of the old adage: “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” Here was this homeless lady, whose name, I was told, was Mrs. E, and she told me she already knew how to fish. She just needed to be equipped with a rod. I felt like God was speaking to my heart, saying, “Buy her a fishing rod.”

Yes! Of course! I thought. I don’t have any cash, but I can make an online purchase with my phone. I pulled out my smartphone and began searching for fishing gear. A couple of clicks later, I found that for $11, we could set Mrs. E up with a fishing rod, all the necessary tackle and lures, and even a zip-up tote bag to hold it all. I smiled, thinking that for the price of one nice meal, she and her husband could eat dozens of broiled fish meals or more with just a rod she had wistfully mentioned.

I leaned over and showed her my phone. “I will get you this fishing rod, and when it arrives in a few days, I will come here and give it to you.”

“Oh, thank you so much!” Just then, her husband arrived. He was wet, having just finished taking a mid-day bath. Mrs. E introduced us, and we began to chat. His name was Mr. Bhang. After a while, he stood up and left, saying he had something he needed to do.

“I also need to be going,” I told Mrs. E. “Can I pray with you first?”

“That would be great!”

I asked God to bless Mrs. E and her husband with wisdom, health and hope as they considered their next move, whether to stay in Khon Kaen or return to her home and relatives in Kalasin. She appreciated the prayer. I bade her farewell, promising to return as soon I received the new fishing rod.

Driving home, I realized I was happier, thankful and at peace, experiencing again the truth of an old simple song:

“Love is something if you give it away. . . if you give it away, you end up having more. It’s just like a magic penny. Hold it tight, and you won’t have any. Lend it, spend it, and you’ll have so many, they’ll roll all over the floor. For love is something IF you give it away.”

Thank God that He gently guided me that day, reminding me that one of the best ways to bounce out of a depressing slump is to go out and be a blessing to someone. He reminded me that it’s truly more blessed to give than to receive. The meandering motorcycle ride and an encounter with Mrs. E were top-rate and timely heart-healing therapy.

CHRISTOPHER,

SHANNON, ALINA, JESHUA, SELAH & ARIA SORENSEN (Central Thai,

launched 2003)

BY CRISTIAN JARA

Knock. Knock. Knock. “Please help us! Our son is missing.”

The desperate family had come to our church group in Laoka pleading for help earlier in the week, and Ni, a member of the village church, later relayed the story to us.

The son, about 18 years old, had disappeared two days before without telling his parents that he was leaving. When young people go on excursions in the forests here, they usually inform their families. That he did not do so seemed very strange to them, and they asked the Laoka group for help to look for him. They searched the forests, calling his name, but he did not appear. After two days, the young man, dirty, hungry, and disoriented, showed up alone at his house.

“Where did you go? Why did you leave?” his family asked.

“I do not remember,” he replied. “I only remember that, while I was at home alone, a very beautiful-looking elderly couple and child appeared. They said, “Come with us. We know a perfect place where you can find honey.”

Honey is a favorite product to eat or sell here. Once he began to follow them, he remembered nothing else.

This was not the first time beautiful-looking spirits had appeared and caused people to get lost in the forests. Some here lose their lives by drowning or falling from trees. In this

culture, the people understand these experiences as demonic possession. The two other children in this family had already experienced identical situations. The enemy was harassing this family tremendously.

After the young man returned, the Laoka group went to his house and began to persuade the father to follow Jesus. “Do not wait for one of your children to die to realize that Jesus is the right path to follow,” one of our church members told him.

For the first time, after many attempts by our church to reach the father with the gospel, he truly began to consider following Jesus, though no decision has yet been made to do so. We continue to pray for them. Our groups continue to preach about Jesus. The church continues to insist to the people that when they have these kinds of problems, Jesus is the solution and that they will find protection and salvation in Him.

We hope that this man and his entire family will soon realize the dangers they face by remaining involved in the worship of spirits and will begin to follow the only One who can protect them, that stronger man (Matthew 12:28-29), Christ Jesus.

CRISTIAN & SOLANGE JARA (Pnong Project, launched 2020)

A Fruitful Misadventure in Cambodia

BY ALEXIA RAINS

Arriving in Cambodia, I was a stranger in every sense. The language was foreign and the customs unfamiliar, but the landscape was dotted with opportunities. Despite feeling a little nervous, a bubbling excitement surged within me as I kicked off my first year of student mission work in this lively land.

As the plane descended towards unfamiliar soil, I immersed myself in last-minute research, eager to learn how to make a positive first impression on the local people. After our plane touched down, our career missionaries greeted us warmly, ushering us into a journey that began with a five-hour drive to the serene province of Mondulkiri. Saen Monourom, our destination, welcomed us with its bustling streets and curious faces.

During those first weeks, we dedicated plenty of time to navigating the bustling markets and settling into our new surroundings. My top priority? Sustenance. Despite the chaos, I was on a mission to track down good food at a fair price. Luckily, I stumbled upon a friendly fruit vendor whose stall happened to be conveniently close to our accommodation.

As I got a little more comfortable with the culture, I learned that when you want to visit someone’s home, it is polite to bring something with you to share. Armed with this knowledge and a bag full of fruit I had purchased from my fruit lady, I set out to make a positive impression on my neighbors.

That evening, I mustered the courage to knock on one of my neighbor’s doors. The lady inside opened the door just a bit and looked at me curiously with a little grin. “Jim reap sua,” I said with a nervous smile, putting my palms together in front of my face as a greeting, then handed her the plastic bag with fruit.

She tentatively reached out, took the bag and peeked inside before looking back at me with a confused expression. She said something in Khmer, which I assumed was a question but didn’t understand since I had only been there for a few weeks. With an awkward smile, I waved goodbye and returned to my house. What had I done wrong?

It took several weeks before the full weight of my blunder hit me like a ton of bricks. That’s when I realized that I had mistakenly gifted the fruit to none other than my fruit vendor, buying the fruits earlier that day. Talk about awkward!

Despite the embarrassment, the other missionaries and I had a good laugh. This mishap reminded me of the verse in Proverbs 17:17, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.” It served as a gentle nudge to reflect on the value of true friendship and the importance of humility in navigating unfamiliar terrain.

Surprisingly, this mix-up brought me closer to this lady and her family, becoming friends and even starting to teach them about Jesus. It turns out that our relationship bore fruit in unexpected ways, after all.

ALEXIA RAINS (Pnong Project)

SHORT-TERM MISSIONARY 2023-2025

Alexia visits with the fruit vendor and her two sons.

This stall is similar to the one in the story. The fruit vendor now sells fruit juice and shells.

Left to right: the fruit vendor's son and his friend and two cousins. All are Muslim.

Standing: Jan Roberts (Gary's mom), Eric Roberts (Gary's older brother), Joshua and Stephanie Lewis

Seated: Wendy Roberts (Gary's wife), Alyssa Lewis, Gary Roberts, Cherise Roberts (Gary and Wendy's daughter) and Nathan Lewis

BY JOSHUA LEWIS

Why Be a Christian?

Why would anyone want to be a Christian in the first place?

I just listened to the heart-wrenching testimony of Ramin, an Iranian Muslim who spent three months looking in every bookstore and library for a New Testament after hearing the gospel over the radio for the first time. He found none. Every website offering the Bible was blocked. After learning how to use a VPN, he read the first five chapters of Matthew straight through, weeping at the beautiful words. He cried to Jesus, “If you are real, show me!”

Ramin, along with thousands of other young people, used to torture himself with chains on the streets of Iran to earn points from God. He described the excitement, like a child at Christmas, when his father gave him his first black torture shirt and a cluster of chains. By contrast, he said that when he cried out to Jesus, “It was like someone put his hand in my heart and yanked out all the hatred, anger, bitterness and depression.”

Ramin made CD copies of the New Testament and started sharing them. It was only a matter of months before someone was sent to silence him, stabbing him with a knife. He escaped to America and started a church for Iranian refugees; they are coming to Jesus left and right. If you want to hear the rest of Ramin’s story, go on YouTube and search these words: “Iranian stabbed for sharing his faith.”1

Thousands have commented on the video, sharing similar experiences. One said, “I was hugged by God as a young child when my parents told me that I was an accident, a mistake. God hugged me, and He said, ‘I don’t make accidents. I don’t make mistakes. I love you.’”

At the beginning of our furlough, we learned that the health of Stephanie’s brother, Gary Roberts, was going downhill fast. A fellow missionary (on three continents), he died at 46 of fastgrowing brain tumors only weeks after his first symptom. Gary leaves behind a wife and daughter who, only days later, turned 18 years old.

While our grief is beyond words, the love and support we have received from so many have felt as if it was from God’s own hand. He gave us a bittersweet time together as a family. We have clung to God’s word. It turns out the Bible is a book for the grieving. It tells of a mother standing by helpless, watching her son die. Sisters, brothers, fathers, and mothers can all find real encouragement. When we say, “Where are you, God? Haven’t we had enough?” Jesus says, “My resurrection is a downpayment of what I can do for you one day.” The same power can yank out our hate by the roots and replace it with unconditional love. Do you know that love? He is where love comes from.

How could anyone not want to be a Christian?

1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYnKNPoW9mc&t=219s

JOSHUA, STEPHANIE, NATHAN & ALYSSA LEWIS (Great River People Project)

BY SILVAN DÖRNBRACK

FINDING MY PATH: A Missionary's Story

Ineeded to make an important decision. It would affect my future. A few months ago, an email from Adventist Frontier Missions popped into my inbox, prompting me to consider staying at my current project for another year. This wasn't a big surprise because I knew the point would come when I had to make this decision.

Becoming a missionary has been a dream of mine since I was in school! Back then, listening to mission reports spoke to my heart. I knew deep down that I wanted to dedicate myself to serving in the mission field, but the question was: Should I go right away or learn a trade first? I

submitted my future, my plans and my question to God.

After finishing school, I decided to become a plumber in Germany. Around four years ago, I felt God forming a plan in my mind: using my plumbing skills to not only build a career but also to help others in the mission field. When I finally got my official plumbing license over a year ago, I sensed God saying now was the time to go. With that goal driving me, I started researching different mission agencies. I liked AFM's focus on reaching unreached people groups, especially after hearing inspiring stories about their work.

Making Movement (DMM) to reach the Pnong tribe. We regularly visit the local groups that gather on Sabbath days to read the Bible together. Our role is to support these groups with the knowledge they need to share their faith and teach others what they have learned. This creates a multiplying effect of discipleship, where knowledge and faith are passed on organically within the community.

I compared the various AFM opportunities (calls) for student- and short-term missionaries. God then pointed me to a project that matched my skills and interests. I applied. A few months later, I was on my way to the States, getting trained with other young missionaries to go out into the mission field. Here at the Pnong project in Cambodia, we use a method called the Disciple

This DMM approach is what truly excites me the most. We don't overwhelm people with complicated ideas. Instead, we focus on creating a supportive environment where individuals can grow in their faith and naturally share it with others comfortably and authentically.

For me, it's a nice vision for reaching many of these local people and encouraging them to share the experiences they have had with God. I can clearly see how God is working among these tribal people. In the past few months, I experienced how God works through villagers to reach even more people than we could ever reach alone.

Considering all this, I decided to extend my stay by one more year. I am so excited about the future as I continue to serve among these amazing Pnong people!

SILVAN DÖRNBRACK (Pnong Project)

SHORT-TERM MISSIONARY

EURASIA

THE BEST EXAMINATION

Because of the faithfulness of a young boy, Professor Abraham has been a Christian for almost six years.

BY CYRUS IVISAN

Abdul sat in his chair, anxiously watching his teacher rise from his desk. Glancing from student to student, Abdul’s teacher, Abraham, stood in front of the class. “You were supposed to memorize your verses. Today we will have another test to see how well you did.”

Most students looked unconcerned; others looked a little more worried. Abdul felt a little uneasy. His teacher was angry at his last examination, and Abdul was worried that today would be much worse because he had not even attempted to memorize the assigned text.

Student after student gave their

africa • asia • eurasia

recitation. Some were flawless; others received harsh criticism. When Abdul’s turn came, he stood up in front of the class with a determined look. He had not memorized his verses, and he was proud. His Quran teacher looked at him calmly but with reserved anger and asked, “Did you memorize your verses this time?”

Abdul, defying the fear in his chest, looked at his teacher adamantly. “No,” was all he replied.

In a ballistic rage, Professor Abraham grabbed his Quran off his desk and threw it across the room at Abdul. “You did not memorize your verses for the last test, and again, you have neglected your duty!” Somewhat menacingly, Professor Abraham approached Abdul quickly. “Why don’t you memorize the Quran?”

Half expecting his teacher to attack him, Abdul responded, “I am a Christian, and I will not memorize the Quran, but I will read the Bible.”

Not expecting that answer, Professor Abraham stood verbally stunned for a moment, visually examining his student, and commanded, “Come to my class after school today!” Abdul returned to his desk, and the remainder of the students gave their recitations. Meanwhile, the professor looked as though he was in deep thought and said

little.

After school, Abdul made his way back to the Quran classroom to see his professor. As he entered the room, Professor Abraham shot a question at him. “Why are you a Christian?”

Question after question came, and Abdul flawlessly answered everything from his heart. The professor, satisfied with his answers, sent Abdul home.

All because of the faithfulness of a young boy, Professor Abraham has been a Christian for almost six years. As part of our online discipleship group, he and his family are preparing to attend our Bible conference next month. Please pray for Professor Abraham and other Yasna people that more will come to know Jesus.

Thank you for your prayers and support of the Yasna project.

God bless you!

PROFESSOR

ABRAHAM

GRABBED HIS QURAN OFF HIS DESK AND THREW IT ACROSS THE ROOM AT ABDUL.

“YOU DID NOT MEMORIZE YOUR VERSES FOR THE LAST TEST, AND AGAIN, YOU HAVE NEGLECTED YOUR DUTY!”

CYRUS,

ESTHER, SHILOH, GABRIELLA & GLENDA IVISAN (Yasna Project)

I have only ever seen one photo of him, clothed in white with a red sash.

BY MALACHI COAL

PLANNED TO THE NTH DEGREE

Astring of unlikely events. That’s the only way to describe how the Lord works sometimes.

We like to use the expression, “They just happened to be in the right place at the right time.” Although, that’s not how it works with God. When something happens for His kingdom, it’s amazing to connect the dots that lead up to the moment for which Jesus has been planning.

Just recently, a Turkish friend who lives in America called to chat. We hadn’t spoken in at least six months, and there was much to catch up on. Toward the end of our two-hourlong conversation, he said, “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you something. I have a friend living in Turkey who had a dream of Jesus. He knows the spiritual journey I have been on and called to confide in me. I told him about you, Malachi, and that you would have a book to send him.”

At that moment, I was walking back and forth in my office when I turned to look at the bookshelf.

Looking back at me was the Turkish Bible I purchased just the week before. That week, my teammate and I visited the Christian bookstore in Istanbul, and while buying some other books for our newly baptized friend Kemal, the thought came to me that I was out of Bibles and should buy one in case someone needed one. I was amazed at how much God was ahead of the plan.

Then I told my friend about Iris, who had translated the Dream Project website into Turkish and how, four years ago, she had dreams of Jesus and became a solid follower of Christ. “Malachi, the guy lives down south on the coast and manages a hotel. I will give you his contact information.”

The conversation was over, and I thought how great it would be if Iris could talk with this guy instead of me. Then I remembered that Iris was visiting her daughter for a week in exactly the same coastal city. I quickly looked up the distance from her location to this man’s hotel. Only 15

minutes! Without delay, I contacted Iris and told her the story. She was nervous at first but more than willing to meet with him.

The following day, I mailed the Bible, and a few days later, they met to talk about Jesus. Iris asked the man how he knew it was Jesus. “I have only ever seen one photo of him on the internet, clothed in white with a red sash around him, and he looked just like that,” the hotel manager said. It’s amazing how God accommodates us to meet us where we are.

As the days progressed, I thought about the steps God had planned for the man to know Him and how He intricately involved us. Then I began to wonder how many unseen steps there were and just how much more He was yearning for all of us to play a part.

MALACHI & ADALIA COAL (Turkish Project, launched 2015)

შაბათი

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy,” says God in Exodus 20:8 (NIV). Since creation, the Lord has marked the seventh day of the week as special, holy and full of His blessings. A day made for us: to rest, to connect more with God, to gather as a church, to keep it holy. Jesus kept the Sabbath even in His death. The disciples kept the Sabbath, as did the prophets and patriarchs. However, many nations do not know about this blessed truth, and Georgians are one of them.

The word Sabbath or Saturday in the Georgian language is შაბათი (sha-ba-ti). Surprisingly, this word is included in some days of the week, and its meanings are, at least, interesting: ორშაბათი (two days after Sabbath, Monday), სამშაბათი (three days after Sabbath, Tuesday), ოთხშაბათი (four days after Sabbath, Wednesday) and ხუთშაბათი (five days after Sabbath, Thursday). The root of these words points to the Sabbath as a special day, even though Georgians don’t practice biblical rest on this day but on Sunday.

For Georgians, Sunday is primarily a day of worship and spiritual reflection. On Sundays, the faithful attend Divine Liturgy, the centerpiece of Orthodox Christian worship. This weekly ritual is a time for the community to gather, partake in the Holy Communion, and seek spiritual renewal. The church services on Sunday are marked by elaborate rituals, choral hymns and the lighting of candles, all of which reflect the deep reverence that Georgians have for their faith.

The Georgian Orthodox Church, one of the world’s oldest Christian institutions, plays a central role in the lives of many Georgians. They strictly follow what priests command for their faith, which is part of their national identity. The Georgians must know the truth of the Sabbath and discover the whole true law of God. The way to do that is by sending missionaries. Please join our monthly support team to reach the unreached of Georgia.

— Filipe & Isabela Gomez

FILIPE &

ISABELA GOMEZ

(Georgia Project)

BY SKY BRIDGER

KEMAL

Grey clouds hung low overhead and spat cold raindrops into the aqua-blue water of the little pool outside the villa where our group gathered for Sabbath. On one side of the room, a wall of windows provided an incredible view of the lake and olive orchards, which had been bright and sunny until just yesterday. And this wasn’t just any day.

“I’ve been waiting to do this for 20 years,” Kemal had reminded God that week when he saw the weather forecast. Why couldn’t it be a perfect spring day, like the rest of April?

Kemal knew from the time he was 16 that he wasn’t a Muslim. He read the New Testament but didn’t understand it. He even visited an Adventist church

in Istanbul, but no one spoke to him, so he didn’t return. After growing up and becoming a teacher, he began attending a local Protestant group but longed for a deeper experience and understanding of the Word. Someone brought him to our group in December, and Malachi offered to study the Bible with him. Kemal grew rapidly in his faith and was convicted that he wanted to be a pastor to his people. During the sunny week before our meeting in the villa, he had participated in an outreach event in a neighboring city that was only allowed once a year. Witnessing openly and handing out books with other local believers thrilled him!

Now Kemal faced disappointment. This special Sabbath, when he had planned

to publicly demonstrate through baptism that he had accepted Jesus, was being ruined by unusually bad weather. Why God? He had been studying with Malachi for the last five months and was thrilled by what he learned. He was still too hesitant to tell his family about the change in his faith, but he had told his best friend and longed to tell others.

His friend saw his disappointment. “You can’t control everything,” he reminded him.

The Coals had rented the villa with the little heated pool to be sure we would have a nice, private place for the baptism. As we worshipped in the comfortable front room, we watched the weather over the lake and the little blue pool turn from cloudy to rainy to sunny

and back to rainy every five minutes. In the text we were reading, Jesus sent His disciples out for their first mission. “And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 10:7 KJV). Kemal read aloud. He had already wrestled with Sabbath work issues and the fear of being rejected by his family for his beliefs.

“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves . . . And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 10:16, 22 KJV).

It didn’t seem a coincidence that, as we were reading through the book of Matthew, this was our text for the day. “And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household” (10:36 KJV). We all knew Kemal had greater challenges ahead than a rainy baptism day.

“And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:38-39 NKJV).

The sky was dry when Kemal and Malachi finally stepped into the little pool, chest-deep, and the rest of us gathered around. Kemal disappeared under the water and came up new and beaming.

Like new plants bursting through the soil after dry little seeds have been buried there, we delight in the evidence of the Holy Spirit working in this young man’s life. Kemal has realized and appreciates our families’ choice to come to his country, and he wants to serve God, too. He recently helped us find a new place to worship, where more people can come and go freely, and he has taken pride in helping clean and equip it for a church.

Pray with us for Kemal’s work situation and as he studies English so he can attend training to become a gospel worker and church leader. Then, one day, God willing, there may be TWO Turkish pastors in this country — and by God’s grace, many more to come!

BY JOHN SMITH

Sharing Videos

You don’t need to come, don’t trouble yourself. I am fine.” Kemal sent a text message to us that his aunt had died. This was on the heels of his mother’s passing just a month prior. For his mother’s funeral as well as this one, he seemed very reluctant to have us there. Kemal is a convert from Islam.

When a Muslim converts to Christianity, the greatest stress and difficulty often come from members of the family. Converts here are often careful about who they tell, how much and when. Timing is important. We don’t put pressure on people to freely announce their conversion to their family members. We let each person decide just when and how much should be said and to whom.

We came to the funeral without a strong invitation. Kemal told us the news at 10 a.m., and the funeral was at 5 p.m. Yes, burials frequently occur just that quickly. There wasn’t much time for church members to attend. But Mary and I could come.

We were careful with our words because we weren’t sure how Kemal was handling his family situation. So, we said we were friends and did not say we were members of the same church.

But after the funeral, a meal was served in a big hall. A young man sat across from us and began to speak to us in English. He had some experience in tourism and was always looking for opportunities to practice.

JACOB, SKY, ANTHONY, OLIVER, LITTLE JOE & CYPRUS BRIDGER

(Turkish Project, launched 2015)

He quickly mentioned Zionism and evangelicalism in response to the war in Gaza. His words perfectly fit a sermon we had just produced and put on social media. So, we shared the video with him. We pray the outcome will be good for our new acquaintance and Kemal.

JOHN & MARY SMITH (Turkish Project, launched 2004)

BY ELIZABETH MAMOULELIS

Introducing the Mamoulelis Family

We are the Mamoulelis family. Teddy has a Master’s in public health and works for the California Department of Public Health. I am a cosmetologist currently working as the head swim coach for a local club. We have two daughters who are both on the swim team. Sophia, 12, loves to read and adores cats. Anastasia, now six, is independent, energetic and always has something to say.

I, Nikki, never dreamed of being a missionary overseas. My mission field was always right where I was planted. On the other hand, mission service was always a quiet thought in the back of Teddy’s mind. He had served on short-term mission projects and had grandparents who were missionaries. Teddy mentioned the idea of becoming missionaries a few times throughout our marriage. However, in May 2023, we sensed God calling us to sell everything and become missionaries.

Seven months later, we discovered AFM. After John Baxter visited us for a weekend interview, he gave us a list of places where AFM thought God might be calling us. Teddy and I fasted and prayed over the locations on the list. One place was Croatia (Hrvati in its native language), where the main religion is Catholicism.

At first, Teddy and I felt we could be of better use in a country not already rooted in a belief in Christ. As we discussed this with a friend, the European exchange student we were hosting interrupted us and exclaimed, “NO! As a Catholic, I believe you should go to Croatia!”

“Why do you say that?” we asked.

“You guys are trying to introduce people to a personal

relationship with Jesus; we don’t have that!” she replied.

God had placed this young girl in our lives that year for this very reason. She was our training ground for how to be missionaries to the Hrvati people, and we did not even realize it. Now we are excited to work with the Cardona family in the beautiful country of Croatia.

Although we do not know what our exact ministry focus will be, right now, we feel called to spread the health message in some manner. God tells us, “I know the plans I have for you” (Jeremiah 29:11), and I like to think He follows that up with, “I will let you know when you need to know.” Being a swim coach has made me realize the powerful influence a coach has in a person’s life. We hope to work with young people and their parents in sports and a healthy lifestyle, becoming trusted individuals in the community. As we gain that trust and become part of the community, we hope to share Jesus and His love.

Is it possible that people in Croatia today are praying for missionaries and someone to show them God’s love? We know we have been called and are walking in complete faith. If God has placed it on your heart to be a part of our project, please answer His call. Thank you for your support.

We look forward to sharing more about how God has led us in future articles.

TED & NIKKI MAMOULELIS Volunteer Misisonary Candidates, (Hrvati Project)

BY JOHN BAXTER & E.G. WHITE

What Can I Do?

You love Jesus and you long to see Him face-to-face. You cherish what He has done for you, and you want to advance the everlasting gospel among those who have never heard of the Savior. But you wonder: What can I do from my local church? Perhaps you are a teacher in a Christian school and question how you can help reach those in regions beyond: What can I do to help young people go to the mission field?

There are several things you can do:

1. Pray that the Lord of the harvest will call more laborers to take the gospel to the unreached (Matthew 9:37-38).

2. Participate in a short-term mission trip and assist others in their efforts to go and serve.

3. Share this magazine with others — students, young families, and those you respect in your church and school. Tell them you appreciate the gifts God has given them. Invite them to consider becoming frontier missionaries with AFM. Please consider this quote from the pen of inspiration:

“There are numbers that ought to become missionaries who never enter the field, because those who are united with them in church capacity or in our colleges, do not feel the burden of labor with them, to open before them the claims that God has upon all the powers, and do not pray with them and for them; and the eventful period which decides the plans and course of life passes, convictions, with them are stifled, other influences and inducements attract them, and temptations to seek worldly positions that will, they think, bring them money, take them into the worldly current. These young men might have been saved to the ministry through well-organized plans. If the churches in the different places do their duty, God will work with their efforts by his Spirit, and will supply faithful men to the ministry.” (Christian Education, p. 45)

We need your help finding those who God is calling into service. You can have a direct impact on helping an individual recognize their calling. When you see someone demonstrating ministry skills that would be of value in the mission field, let them know you appreciate that they are consecrating their talents to Jesus. Together we can help to advance the work of the everlasting gospel among the unreached peoples of the world and hasten the coming of the Savior.

Please invite your friends and fellow church members to contact us at office@afmeu. org or +40 773 749 353.

Punjabi Sikhs of India Muslims of Bosnia-Herzegovina Thai Buddhists of Surat Thani Tibetans Buddhists of India

You love Jesus and want to do what He commands.

US HELP YOU.

www.afmeu.org office@afmeu.org

+40 773 749 353