Day 3, Missionary Life

Hello boys and girls!

I hope you are enjoying your time in VBS! Miss Coleen asked me to write you about my mission. I wish I could be there with you, but since I am not, please feel free to write me any question you may have, and I will try to answer it. First, I want to tell you about my work as a BMA missionary...

What I love to do the most is train national missionaries to start new churches in new places. A national missionary is a church planter who lives in another country. I enjoy my mission because I get to be friends with some of God's called and most dedicated people. Some of my happiest moments in the Lord are when we discuss truths from God's Word and talk about how to follow Jesus in making disciples. Another fun part of my work is traveling to different countries. In addition to Ukraine I have worked in Russia, Belorus, Czech Republic, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Lebanon, and Jordan. I wonder if you can find all these countries on the map?

Of course, I miss my family when I am on the road, but between trips we do have good family time and I thank God for the way he encourages me through my wife Coleen and Leah, our 22 year-old daughter. I like coming home to a loving family. Coleen has made our home and garden beautiful and sometimes in the evening we just sit outside and talk about things as we look at the flowers and bushes.

There are other things I do in mission work. For the past 6 years I have been teaching Bible conferences for Iranians who are unable to study the Bible in their own country. Many of them are new believers who are attending house churches. Several of them have been arrested and some have been imprisoned for believing in Jesus. We have to be careful, so I don't write about the places we choose to meet. Also, this summer I have the joy of accompanying two Volunteer Student Mission teams to their ministry locations, one in Russia and another in Ukraine. In July I will work with the BMMI medical mission to the country of Georgia, where we will treat patients and tell them the good news of God's love in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanks a lot for letting me share with you! Being a missionary is a great joy and privilege, and also a lot of hard work. It is not for everyone, even though we all serve as missionaries in some way. Do you know someone who still needs God in their life? Will you ask our Lord Jesus to help you share God's love with them? In that way you are also being a faithful missionary for God's glory!

In His love,
Bro. Jeff