Meeces Pieces

Labor Day

2010-09-07T08:28:00.000-07:00

It is supposed to be the end of summer, back to school time and a reminder of the importance of having a job and being able to work. Yesterday was one of the best I can remember. I did go fishing, the "catch of the day" proves it, while also illustrating that while "fishing is always good, sometimes you catch more fish." Our now Kentucky daughter, lately moved from California, has gone all the way. Her flock of chickens are starting to lay and are providing some interesting moments to help pass the time when activities lag and the food is gone. I grew up on a farm, but after almost 60 years away from it, have forgotten how stupidly funny chickens can be when you have nothing else better to do than just watch.

Labor Day Week-End

2010-09-05T16:58:00.000-07:00

It's been a good week-end so far. UK beat U of L in football and all seems right with the world. If all goes well tomorrow we will go fishing with the grand girls. If fortune smiles, we may catch some fish. Fishing is always good but sometimes you catch some. My Hummers, the birds not the car, are getting ready to migrate. They have given us a lot of fun this year. We even had some fresh salsa from the garden today. Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. The other three favorites are summer, winter and spring - in no particular order of preference. :-)

I'm Back

2010-09-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

I have let this go for more than a year now, mostly because I was not sure of what to do with it. I have decided that it is a good vehicle to keep people posted on the life and times of the Meeces. I will not try to catch up but just go on from here.
This has been a summer for the record books in Louisville, KY. The hottest over. We have been fortunate to not need to been out in much of it.
I have enjoyed gardening as a hobby for most of my life, even when we were in Africa I played with a garden. Even with all the hear, this year has been one of the best, especially for tomatoes. Here is a picture of some we recently harvested. They are a heirloom variety that has been in my family for generations. We call they Ox-hearts largely because of the shape. They grow to almost "monster" size weighing as much as a pound and half each. Here is a group I picked one day recently.

Christian Africa!

2009-05-08T13:35:00.000-07:00

I received a newsletter from a young missionary family who is not in language and culture learning mode in a south-central African country. They had recently attended a conference at which they met African Christians from several surrounding nations. They were somewhat surprised by the fact they most of the Africans taking part were much better educated than they. Most had masters and doctors degrees from prominent colleges and universities. It set me to thinking.
When Greta and I went to Africa in 1971, Africa was just emerging from European colonization and was still known as the "Dark Continent". Most of Africa's fifty-some nation-states were less then 10 years old and struggling with their identity. European powers had drawn the boundaries of these countries with little regard for the topographical realities on the ground. Many tribes (nations) and some of the more than 2,000 language groups were on both sides of some of those national borders. In almost every measurable area of life, Africa has declined since those days including health, education, peace, or standards of living. The one area of booming growth has been the Christian church. Africa today is no longer the "Dark Continent" but has become predominantly Christian or about 47%. In 1970 there were about 250,000 Christian congregations across the continent, today the number is more than 550,000. In other words, the church seems to be Africa's one "growth industry."

Help Enlarge the Harvest

2009-04-21T07:03:00.000-07:00

Most of you who follow the Meeces know we work for a mission sending organization in Louisville, Ky - Team Expansion. Wayne is the Field Coordinator for teams working in Europe and West Africa and Greta is the Member Care Associate and Volunteer Coordinator. Recently we moved to our new office facilities we call Emerald Hills. The site is well named, beautiful old 60 acre farm of rolling green hills in eastern Jefferson County - Louisville, KY. More than 320 Team Expansion full-time workers serve in 50 countries, among peoples of the world who are the least reached with the Christian message.
Greta and I have joined with our staff in an effort we call "Enlarge the Harvest". To truly Enlarge the Harvest, we need your help. Would you join us in building a solid future for His glory? Would you help us build our mutual capacity for tomorrow's harvesters, while stepping up efforts today for the sake of the world's "least-reached" peoples? This new thrust, "Enlarge the Harvest," will provide for...

The launching of 25 new outreach projects among unreached peoples.
Stipends and scholarships for new missionary trainees to build ministry partnerships with local churches and to get the equipping they need prior to going overseas.
Completion of the new Prayer Center & Atrium at Emerald Hills.
Regional "member care retreats" for workers in far-flung places.
Bi-annual Team Leaders' Summit, to train and encourage our mission team leaders.
A desperately-needed missionary guest housing "East Wing" at Emerald Hills
Special field projects among our various ministries around the world such as: fresh water wells for Mongolia, a goat herd in Bosnia, a home for battered women and neglected children in Peru, etc.

We are looking for Partners who will pray for God to grant them the ability, when asked, to send a one-time gift for a specified amount (e.g., $100) no more than twice a year for three years. We're saying up front that each Partner will be asked once a year but never more than twice in any given year. This will enable Team Expansion to increase our ability to serve the next generation ofmissionaries, unreached peoples and church members.

If you are willing to do this you can, please log on to the Team Expansion web site, (Use the link at the right.)on the "Involvement" tab look for "Enlarge the Harvest" and fill out the form provided. If you do not do the internet, please contact us (phone 502-412-5877) and we will take care of it. If you fill out the internet form, be sure to put our name in the box "The person who told me about Enlarge the Harvest" We will keep all of you informed of the progress of this effort

Jury Duty

2009-02-27T08:39:00.001-08:00

I am 71 years old and have never been called to jury duty until two weeks ago. They told us that it was an important part of our "civic duty" and likely the only time we would be directly involved in government service. We were actually subpoenaed by the court, so it was far from voluntary. Our "pay" was $5 per. day plus $7.50 expenses. It actually cost $6 per day for parking and we had to provide our own lunch. There was not even coffee!! So when you do the math, it's not the highest paying job I ever had.
On the other hand, I did learn a lot about our justice system and how the courts actually function. I also met some interesting people. The jury pool is supposed to by a sample of the entire community. I served on one jury with a former basketball star from the University of Louisville and met a lawyer who had played on the same team with him. I learned that almost no one is exempt from jury service, police, doctors, business people, even judges.
It was a good education, mostly in patience as we spent most of our time sitting and waiting (I did finish reading one entire book), a lesson in human nature and a "once in a lifetime experience" that I can wait for 71 years to do again.

Snow Bound

2009-02-03T12:55:00.000-08:00

I don't think I ever read all of Whittier's "Snow Bound" but last week I had time to do it. Our family was snow bound in, of all places, Louisville, KY. We were far more fortunate than many of our friends and neighbors who had no electric power, heat, and sometime no water. We shared our home with our son James and his family for 3 days and spent a lot of time finding things to do. The kids got out grandma's sewing stuff and we even started putting together a 500 piece puzzle. We had not done that for years. Even the kids enjoyed it.
During our years in Africa, we almost always had a puzzle going on a table in the living room and there was always a kerosene lamp ready to go. For over a year, Greta and I lived in a rural village with no electricity. We had solar pannels and deep cycle 12 vold batteries for our ham radio and travel trailor lighting at night. Our kerosene refrigerator worked well and we had no need of heat. I even built Greta a charcole stove with an oven. It seemed fun in those days, but it is much different to be snow bound.

Time Gets Away

2009-01-26T07:39:00.000-08:00

I have been away from this for too long so I won't try to catch up on everything. Christmas and the New Year were great and we had a good time. We did not do much this year and the family all did their own things. Next year we plan to get together here in Louisville.
Last week Greta and I did a Sharpening Your Interpersonal Skills workshop with OMS in Greenwood, IN. I was under the impression that I needed to do a better job of confronting people about problems but learned that I probably need to work on listening skills. Life would be a lot easier if we didn't have to deal with people all the time. :-)
Another blessing of the workshop was to meet people involved in missions with other groups and organizations. People who have a heart for the lost among the nations and who are willing to put their life on the line for it are special people and it is always good to share with them.

Election Day

2008-11-04T08:55:00.000-08:00

Greta and I stood in line about 30 minutes this AM to vote. I saw people walk away when they saw the line was so long. Government is a gift from God, to vote is a civic duty and sacred privilege. Our brothers and sisters have died on battle fields all over the world to gain and preserve this right and privilege, so it is too valuable to lose for the sake of a few minutes time. If you have not done so, GET OUT AND VOTE TODAY.

TRAINS

2008-10-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I took a train trip in the US. The last one I remember was a trip to Chicago, IL back in the late 1960s. The earliest train ride I remember was a trip with my grandfather who worked for the Southern Railroad. The Southern was still using steam engines in those days, so it was a rather romantic trip to Papa's work site in somewhere in Tennessee.
During our trip to Europe in September we used the train between Hungary and Romania. Last year we used the train to get to the airport in Hungary and three years ago I used the train to travel back and forth across Italy to visit our friends there.
In most of Europe trains are relatively inexpensive, clean, safe, dependable and quick. With gas prices so high and air travel getting more and more expensive, I would like to see someone try to bring our US railroad passenger system back.

To Steve

2008-10-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday I received a shocking phone call from our friend and former teammate in Cote d'Ivoire, Andy Rayner. Andy lives and works in Prince Edward Island, Canada and was part of our team for several years in Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast).
Andy called to tell me about Steve Rehn. Steve was killed in a bicycle-car accident somewhere in northeastern Nigeria on September 26. He had been part of our team in Cote d'Ivoire for over 2 years. Steve was, to put it mildly, an avid biker and he loved riding in Africa. He had been in Burkina Faso to help some Bible translators and after finishing his project there, decided to take a "vacation" and ride across Burkina Faso, part of Niger, through northeastern Nigeria into Cameroon, a daunting trip anywhere but both challenging and obviously dangerous in Africa. He had covered well perhaps 1500 miles of his trip and sometime during his second day in Nigeria, a speeding car came around a turn, lost control and hit Steve on his bike. He was killed instantly. The sad part is that the family did not learn what happened for 11 days. The Nigerian police in that area had no phone and did not use personal phones to call the Embassy or even notify anyone. The family finally started a "Mission Persons Abroad" inquiry through the Canadian Embassy which quickly found out what happened.
We first met Steve as an intern in Cote d'Ivoire. We soon learned that he "marched to the beat of his own drum." He loved Africa, he love biking and he wanted to see Africa up close and personal. We often cautioned him about his adventurous bike rides, but he had the "bug" and couldn't resist. He was adventurous. He loved Africa. He was fearless.
After his internship, he returned to his home in Canada where he met the love of his life, Nicki. They met (no surprise here) on a transcontinental bike ride across Canada. After they married, they returned to Cote d'Ivoire to work with the team in Abengourou and chose to live in the village among the people. The only transportation they owned was their bikes.
After their service in Cote d'Ivoire, they moved to Cameroon where they worked for two years before moving back to Canada. Nicki taught in a Christian school and Steve drove a truck for a construction company and continued his mission work, often making mission trips to help wherever he could.
Steve died as he had lived, out on the edge, serving the Lord and riding his bike through Africa. If you would like to follow his adventures up to the moment, take a look at his blog. http://justaboutcrazy.blogspot.com/ I did. You will find his last entry from somewhere near a town name Madawa, Nigeria. He had spent the night with a Muslim mechanic for the French medidal group called Doctors Without Borders. Steve talks about breaking the fast with the family who were celebrating Ramadan and watching the people pray and pondered the question, "What if we Christians took 15 minutes to pray faithfully five times a day?" Good question Steve.
There will be a memorial service for Steve Saturday, Oct. 18 at the Oak Park Church of Christ, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Please pray for his wife Nicki and his parents, Rick and Linn Rehn during this sad and trying time.

More of Europe

2008-09-27T13:04:00.000-07:00

We are back in Dublin again after visiting four other countries: Italy, Kosova, Hungary and Romania. We found our co-workers doing well and having good success in their work. We were able to worship with the team in Ancona, visit the new American High school in Kovova, preach in a Sunday morning service in Hungary and visit a school for Gypsie children in Oradia, Romania.
We only had one travel problem worth mention. We missed a flight in Rome because of a connecting flight delay and a mix-up in the airport largely caused by an airline workers strike that threatened to shut down the Rome airport. We were able go get a flight the next day, but have heard the Ilatalia, the national airline is in danger of failing somewhat because of the strike.
Tonight I will go out with our team here to do street evangelism in downtown Dublin. Some think that type of thing is of the past, but it has been so successful here, (see the previous entry) that dozens have been baptized and a new church has started from the results of the John 3:7 group and their work. Our co-worker, Philip Thompson is leading the effort to disciple the new believers and establish the church.
Pictures: Above left is sign carriers on Grafton street. Right is the infant church meeting in a home. Philip (brown shirt, center right) is leading the Bible study.
Monday we will be heading home after a total of 26 days, five countries, and a total of 12 take-offs and landings. We appreciate all those who have prayed for our safety.

Here is a link to a Youtube video about the John 3:7 group.

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=DDULbxbaYnE&feature=rel

Europe Trip

2008-09-07T08:22:00.000-07:00

Greta and I are in the second stage of a five country trip to Europe. We spend just two days in Dublin, Ireland with our co-workers, Philip and Shirley Thompson. They are members of Team Expansion and are involved in a new church plant venture in Dublin. They work with a group of street evangelists called John 3:7. Most Bible readers will remember this passage as the one that says, "You must be born again." Like the folk who manage to hold up the John 3:16 signs in sports events in the States, this group has done the same with the John 3:7 signs for over 25 years. Everyone in Ireland has seen the signs and many are curious about it. Now the group is out on the streets of Dublin on Friday nights holding up the John 3:7 signs. People coming out of bars, night clubs and sports events will walk up to them and ask about the sign. In the last two years enough people have listened to the testimonies of the street evangelists to make a public commitment to Jesus Christ and many have been baptized. The John 3:7 group has asked Philip to lead a church plant in Dublin from to disciple the people who come to the lord in this way. Greta and I went with the Thompsons to see the possible meeting site.
Leaving Dublin on Friday we flew to Ancona, Italy and are visitin the Team Expansion church plant team here. We spent much of today, Sunday, recovering from the long day yesterday. We were up at 3 AM to get to the airport in time to catch our 6:30 AM flight. This evening we will attend church with the Caseys and the team here in Ancona. The new church here is only a few months old but has finally begun to grow. I have been taking pictures and will add them as I am able to do so.

Photoserver | photo 7 of 97 | Meece 50th Anniversary

2008-08-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

Some folk are having trouble reaching the links. Try this one for our 50th celebration.

http://photoserver.zenfolio.com/p67913169/slideshow

Fifty Years Together

2008-07-24T12:58:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon, July 20, Greta and I, along with family and friends, celebrated our 50th Wedding Anniversary. The actual date is July 18, but we had the party Sunday.
It all began like this (left) in Greta's home church in Pine Flats, Pennsylvania on July 18, 1958. We were both 20 years old, needing our parents permission to get married. At the time we were both students at Kentucky Christian College in Grayson, Kentucky. The school allowed wives of students to attend the college tuition free, so it was to our advantage to be married during school. I was the preacher for two small churches near Owingsville, Kentucky.
During our 50 years together we have three children and five grandchildren. Only Jackie Ralston, our oldest granddaughter was not able to attend the celebration as she and her husband Micah had only recently returned from their Honeymoon and were getting settled into married life. It was great to have the rest of our family (below) with us Sunday.
We have served churches in Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri and worked as missionaries for 23 years in Liberia and Ivory Coast, West Africa. After retiring from the mission field, we joined Team Expansion, a mission sending agency in Louisville, KY and serve as Field Coordinators and Member Care providers for mission teams in Europe and Africa.
In addition to our own immediate family, we were joined by Greta's brothers, sisters and nieces from Pennsylvania and Alabama and several of my extended family from around Kentucky.
I have put together the pictures that Mark took during the celebration. You can view the "slideshow" at this link.

http://photoserver.zenfolio.com/p67913169/slideshow

Pictures of Africa Trip

2008-07-15T12:45:00.000-07:00

It has taken longer than I would like to arrange the pictures we took on our Africa trip so that people could view them. We would love for our friends to enjoy them. Click on the following link or copy and paste (the safest way) the link into your internet browser and enjoy. Click on the "slideshow link" and let your mouse pointer hover over the little dialogue box on the lower right to see the captions.

http://photoserver.zenfolio.com/p101537956/

Back To Africa

2008-05-30T11:23:00.000-07:00

Friday, May 23, Greta and I returned from a three week trip back to West Africa. It was Greta's first trip back since we left in 2002 and my 4th. Our trip was divided into 3 parts.
First we actually drove in a pick-up truck with no AC from Accra, Ghana to Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire - 12 hours and about 600 kms. The drive was long, hot and challenging, but we drove by some beautiful country. In some areas, the road is along the coast with beautiful views of the Atlantic Ocean. Other parts of the road are less attractive and crowded with truck and "Tro-Tro" (busses) traffic. We found that the things have not changed much since we lived there except that there are a lot more people and many more vehicles on the roads. In Ghana, much of the road has actually been repaved and/or improved a lot since the last time we made this trip. If I remember correctly, we have made the same trip at least a dozen times over the past 10 to 12 years.
Abidjan has changed a lot. Since we left there has been a war and the country is still largely divided between the Muslim north and the Christian/Anamist (African religions) in the south. The French army, in conjunction with the United Nations has been keeping the peace. Most of the missionaries we knew have left the country and many others havemoved away as well. We visited our co-workers there, missionaries from Liberia, Roujee and Juliet Morris. Roujee actually continues to oversee the mission work Greta and I were doing during our 13 years in Côte d'Ivoire.
One day we visited church leadership training classes on the Island of Vridi. The island is in the harbor area and requires a 15 minute boat ride through the harbor. There are several churches and three leadership training classes on Vridi and another island, Boulay, which is near by. We were encouraged to see the churches still functioning well on their own and the leadership training classes still going on under local leadership. We were able to visit with the leaders and some students on Vridi. We did find that one of the pastors of the church on Vridi was very ill and had gone to Ghana to get medical treatment. Most of the people living on the islands are fishermen who come over from Ghana to fish the seas around Abidjan. Ivorian fishermen are afraid to go to sea, so they have a have made a mutually beneficially agreement - Ivorians fish the lagoons and the Ghanians go out to sea. The pastor's name is Baidoe and he would appreciate your prayers as he tries to deal with high blood pressure where medical treatment is less than the best to say the least.

Pictures:
Top left - The "Gold Coast of West Africa"
Center right - The Morrises and Meeces: Roujee, Juliet, Greta, Easton and Wayne
Center left - A fishing boat - made of a hollowed out log with boards added to the sides. The boats are usually powered by outboard motors mounted on the side.
Bottom right - Church leaders and students with Roujee Morris at the right

How much do you know about world missions?

2008-03-31T11:30:00.000-07:00

I ran across these facts in a letter from the International Bulletin of Mission Research and through people might be interested in these not so trivial facts.

1. There is a total of 37,000 different church denominations worldwide.
2. Of the 6.6 million people currently living in the world about 31.4 % or 2.2 billion people call themselves "Christian".
3. About 44% of Christians are "white" and 56% are "non-white".
4. There are about 259 million evangelical Christians.
5. Some portion of the Bible has been translated into 2,238 of the worlds languages.
6. There are 4.4 million women in full-time Christian ministry serving around the world.
7. There 443,000 foreign Christian missionaries from 4340 agencies serving around the world.
8. The countries that receive the greatest number of foreign missionaries are: U.S.A. - 35,100, Brazil - 26,400, Russian - 20,100, France - 16,900, Britain - 15,800, D.R Congo - 15,800.
9. There are almost 19,000 Africans serving as foreign missionaries on other continents.

Most people think of the church being centered in Europe and America, but in reality there are more now Christians in Africa, India and Asia than Europe and America. As an example of how Christianity is growing in Africa, I recently received a report from Ghana that more that 1200 people attended the Easter Convention of the Fellowship of Christian Churches of Ghana in Salaga, Ghana, a small town in the north-eastern region of Ghana. It is so remote that many people traveled more than 16 hours to reach the site of the convention. Great things are happening in the church throughout the world.

An Era Passes in Liberia

2008-03-06T13:13:00.000-08:00

This week I received the news of the passing of James W. Morgan in Buchanan, Liberia. James was one of the founding members of our mission to Liberia when Greta and I first went there in 1971. He was a co-founder of Liberia Christian High School, The Christian Education Foundation of Liberia and later one of the main leaders of the Christian Churches of Liberia. He came to the States in the late 1970s to study at Milligan College in Tennessee and returned to Liberia to continue his life work. He was one of the founders of the Liberia Evangelistic mission and has led in the start of several new churches as well as continued to work in Christian Education at many levels. During the Liberian civil war he became a target for attack and persecution by a group of rebels. He was held prisoner for some time and made to work as a slave on a rebel controlled farm. By God's grace he was set free and spent several months as a refugee in Ivory Coast.
James was also a member of the board of the Christian Leadership Training Institute, headquartered in Accra, Ghana. The Institute has Christian leadership training classes currently running in Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria. James was one of the Liberia representatives on the board. The picture above was taken in Accra, Ghana during an Institute meeting in 2005. It is the last time I saw him in person. James is standing between two of his daughters who were living in Ghana at the time. Danny Buegar is next to me and Freeman Wesseh on the right.
James was a true pioneer and faithful preacher of the gospel, but his heart was in teaching. He taught English and Math in Liberia Christian High School for almost 40 years. Before coming to Buchanan, he had been the principal of the school in his home village of Zondo, Grand Bassa County, Liberia. He liked to say, "I am a numbers man." But that was not totally true. He was a man of The Book. He loved to preach, and he had preached in the Buchanan Christian Church Sunday morning the day before he died suddenly on Monday, March 3, 2008. James did not know his true birthday or exactly how old he was. He told me that he had taken the day of his baptism into Christ as his birth date. From what I remember of what he told me, I believe he was about 75 years old.
James was also a good friend and a wise adviser for Greta and me as we worked in Liberia as young, green missionaries. We have lost a good friend and the people of Liberia have lost a great Christian leader. The following verse comes to mind, and for Liberia it is certainly true.
"Do you not realize that a prince and a great man has fallen in Israel this day?" 2 Samuel 3:38

Prayer

2008-02-19T13:17:00.000-08:00

I received a note today from one of our missionaries in Ancona, Italy. The team is planning a two day (48 hour) prayer event where the team invites the local community (churches, missionaries, and even “irreligious” Catholics) to come to a prayer room for one hour during this 48 hour period give an hour of their cluttered lives to prayer. Josh admits that like many of us, that prayer to him is an “awkward” thing.

The thing that is awkward to us is accepting the Biblical doctrine of prayer. The Bible clearly teaches that there are things that God cannot/will not do unless we pray. As Jesus said, “You have not because you ask not.” Some of us think that in prayer we align ourselves with the will of God, “Thy will be done”. In other words we think that prayer changes us, not so much that prayer changes things.

However, in prayer, like in many other things, God is asking us to join Him as partners in his purposes. God,for example, offers salvation to the world and asks us to be partners with him in the “Ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18) and has sent us into the world to preach the gospel to every creature (Matt. 28:19).

E. Stanley Jones wrote, “For in prayer you align yourself to the purposes and power of God, and He is able to do things that though you He couldn’t otherwise do. For this is an open universe, where some things are left open, contingent upon our doing them. If we do not do them, they will never be done. So God has left certain things to prayer—things which will never be done except we pray.”

The Church

2008-02-14T09:30:00.000-08:00

Since Greta and I came home from Africa 6 years ago, we have been struggling with how we Americans are “doing church” these days. The American church culture – across the board – has changed more in the past 10 years than it has in the last 100 years. Sitting in church today we often feel more out of place and out of our comfort zone than we ever did in the more than 20 years we lived and worshiped with churches in Africa. During those years we often sat in church for two to three hours while everything was done in a language we did not understand except the few Biblical references that were used. But we did understand that we were there to worship and praise God. Today we sometimes sit in church where we can understand every word but the noise is often so loud we cannot hear them and we more often feel we are watching a show, sitting as observers on the sidelines of a worship program that someone else is doing. How did it get to this?

For years the church has been saying “y’all come” rather than “let’s all go.” It seems to me that much of the currently popular “seeker friendly” church service is just the latest edition of the “y’all come” program. I remember reading recently. “If we want to win the world to Christ, we must be willing to sit in the smoking section.” That is where the lost are sitting. I learned some of that many years ago from one of our Liberian families. One day I went to visit a neighbor. They were all in their “kitchen” or cook house, a dirt floored, thatch roofed shelter where they cooked over a wood fire. I sat there, using a log for a chiar, and talked for some time as the lady of the house prepared food. As I realized that it was soon to be meal time, I made as to leave, but they said, “Won’t you stay and eat with us?” I agreed and stayed to share their simple meal. Years later, this same family was in our home, and as we shared our meal with them, the lady recounted the story of how I had come to talk with them in their kitchen. She then told me that no missionary had ever done that before and how much it had meant to them.

The heart of the Christian message to the world is that God didn’t expect us to come to Him in heaven. He came to us. Jesus, the king of heaven, was born in a dirty, stinking stable and lived in one of the world’s most backward countries as a poor carpenter. He “became flesh and lived among us and we beheld his glory.” (John 1:14) The church was sent into the world (Matthew 28:19-20) to be His hands, feet, eyes and mouth so that the world could continue to see His glory. It is time for the church to return to its roots; to be born in the places where it is most needed; to get out in the real world and get its hands dirty; to sit in the cook house and eat with its neighbors.

Putting Away Christmas

2008-01-09T09:02:00.000-08:00

There are still some decorations and Christmas cards hanging around our living room. The tree is down and the lights taken down from the front of the house and all put away, but some things are still hanging around. It is just difficult to put away Christmas. It's so much fun. Great food, wonderful music, the family together, gifts, beautiful decorations and good will everywhere. So I guess it is no wonder that it is difficult to let it go.
Eventually it will all be put away and the New Year will move on. We will get used to writing 2008 on our checks and Christmas will become a distant memory or a more distant yearning for next year.
We had a great Christmas this year. Much of our family were together and we had some good times and, as usual, Mom outdid herself in the kitchen. Now my trousers have shrunk or something and I am looking for some way to drop the pounds I put on for the Holidays.
So, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, a little late, to everyone.

National Missionary Convention

2007-11-21T08:52:00.000-08:00

The first National Missionary Convention met in Springfield, IL in 1947 and the 60th was held this year in Cincinnati, Ohio. For Greta and me is has always been a chance to meet long-time missionary friends and folk who have supported our work over the years. This year's convention was no different except it is getting larger every year. Over 6000 people attended the Cincinnati convention and there were about 700 different booths and displays from missions, mission agencies and mission related works all over the world.

We enjoyed having lunch with John and Anne Blackburn at a near-by English tea house. The Blackburns have worked in China for several years and are moving to the new team in Verona, Italy, so we will be serving them as their Field Coordinator for Team Expansion.

A lot of our time was spent at the Team Expansion booth meeting with friends, supporters and people interested in missions. Every year we make dozens of contacts at the convention with people who are interested in serving in missions. We try to connect them with the right place and type of work for their interest and talents.

Our Pictures of Verona, Italy

2007-11-14T13:14:00.000-08:00

Verona Italy

Copy the link below and paste it into the address line of your internet search engine. Then click on the "Watch Show" link just above the picture. Let me know what you think. As time goes on, we will add other shows.
The Coliseum in Verona, at right
is 2000 years old and still in use.

http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=photoserver&p=hopewell&AID=4950804&Pres=Y

Going Home Again

2007-11-13T07:01:00.001-08:00

I think it was Thomas Wolfe who wrote a book of stories he called "You Can't Go Home Again." It is a theme that has occurred to me several times recently as I have talked with missionary friends about culture shock and the problems of adjusting to a new culture. Most people know that life will be different when they move to Africa or even Europe, but the are often more culturally shocked then they return home.
This past week-end Greta and I attended and I gave a dedication sermon in the first church we served as Minister just after graduating from Bible college - The Slate Valley Christian Church located on a winding country road north of the little town of Owingsville in Bath County, Kentucky. It was 1960, we were 22 years old and just out of college.
While not much has changed in this "Little Church in the Valley", everything is different, and so are we. So while I think Thomas Wolfe was right, you can't go home again, it sure is nice to try. Some old friends are gone, passed away or moved, but a surprising number are still there. One lady was a teen ager then and played the piano for the church is now a retired school teacher, retiring after 31 years of teaching. One of the church elders, whom I thought was much older then, is still there, still an elder and looks much the same. Others have changed so much I could not recognize them at all and we had a lot of fun guessing who was who.
It was also inspiring to see the church still thriving. It is not a "mega" church or even a "big" church. There were about 70 people there for the Sunday afternoon program. The little sanctuary was actually crammed. Everyone was happy to see the beautiful new stained glass windows, new carpet, church furniture and other projects they had completed and were there to dedicate to the glory of God. Probably most heartening was the large number of children. The church was established in 1898. If they keep going like they are, they can celebrate 200 years in 2098.

Out of Hungary

2007-09-28T01:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Sept. 27th, started with a two hour train ride into Budapest and then a 30 minute taxi ride to the airport. Greta hadn't been on a train for more than 20 years, so it was a pleasant way to start the day. Hungary is a bread basket country, so the train took us through some beautiful country. There were many quaint towns and cities, but the most impressive part to an old farm boy was the seemingly endless stretches of flat, fertile farmland. Most of the crops were harvested and the fields were fall ploughed to be planted in the spring. But we did see large combines working. Corn and sunflowers seem to be the major crops, but we also saw fields of hay and pumpkins - it seemed they were grown for the pumpkin seeds so our major league baseball players have something besides snuff to chew during ball games.
We were visiting Joska and Sandi Temesvary who live in a small village of about 700 people called Nagycsepely. Joska and Sandi joined Team Expansion earlier this year and we were helping them get their program set up.
There is usually a Catholic and/or Reformed church in every little village, but like much of Europe, few people - far less than 5% - are practicing their faith.The Reformed church just down the street from their house is dying and Sunday attendance is almost always less than 20. Joska has found that it is the same in almost every village and town in the Lake Balaton region. My impression, however, is that there is a spiritual hunger here and a ripeness for revival. Many Reformed pastors see the "handwriting on the wall" and are looking for help. They realize that it is likely impossible to "reform" the once reformed churches, but want to get involved in new church plants out of what might be left as these congregations drop off one by one. Joska took us to a local Baptist church that is very anxious to be involved in church planting in the area. Pastor Albert (picture at right) wants to build a partnership with Joska and others who will plant conservative, Biblical and largely nondenominational churches in the most needy, unchurched towns and villages of the Balaton Region. Joska and Albert could count 25 or more towns and villages needing such work where there would be no competition with existing churches. Lake Balaton is one of the largest natural lakes in Europe and has long been a tourists site. It lies southwest of Budapest and the little village of Nagycsepely and the towns surrounging it are on the south shore of the lake.
Joshka and Sandi are true "pioneer missionaries." They have bought a smell home in Nagycsepely and are working to renovate it. During our visit, they had not yet put in a heating system even though it is already quite cool and winter is rapidly approaching. They need our prayers as the build relationships with neighbors and local church leaders with a view to planting churches in the region.

Visiting Romania

2007-09-23T06:53:00.000-07:00

Romania takes me back to childhood when we worked our small Kentucky farm with horses, milked cows, kept chickens and pigs and grew most of our food in our garden. This week, Jen Lotter took us to see one of the tourist spots near here - The Bear Cave in Ciscau. The cave was discovered in an excavation project about 30 years ago and has been developed into a tourist spot. By comparison it can't hold a candle to Kentucky's world famous Mammoth Cave, but it was impressive with lots of beautiful formations. It is called Bear Cave because it was a den for the now extinct cave bears of Europe. The cave was strewn with the bones, one complete skeleton that looked like the bear lay down to sleep and did not wake up.
The north part of Romania is an extension of the Hungarian plains with miles of flat fields. Unfortunately many of the fields still lie fallow after the fall of the Communist regime. Many people have reclaimed their smaller holdings of private land, but do not have money to buy modern farm machinery. So they can only cultivate and plant small strips of land using what they have. The fortunate ones have a horse or two and can farm small plots. We saw corn being picked by hand and tied into shocks and people digging potatoes with a hoe.
Jenny Lotter and Kelly James are our missionaries here. Jen is a physical therapist and works with handicapped children in several facilities that have a place she can work and then out in the villages among the Roma Gypsy people. Kelly James is still in language school but will work in a school for Gypsy children. The ultimate plan is to establish churches among the Roma people and train local leaders for the churches. Team Expansion works in partnership with Remember the Children and People to People, agencies that are working with orphaned and abandoned children. They also have been trying to help the Gypsy communities start churches and build schools. They asked for our help in the church planting work. Here Jen is talking with a Gypse lady confined to a wheel chair, trying to help her with some simple tasks. The language is still a challenge, so we need to pray for Jen as she tries to minister to these people.

Ancona and Verona, Italy

2007-09-18T01:50:00.000-07:00

One of the first impressions that Italy gives in almost any city we visit is that Italy is old. Castles, old walls and forts date back to the time of Christ and before. Buildings testify of architecture and building techniques that have not existed for hundreds of years. Yet the cities are of full of life and youth. New highways and building cranes testify of growth and progress. There are walls and castles built in the Napoleon era and beautiful parks where the Team Expansion Ancona team often goes to jog and spend time in prayer and meditation, praying over the city of Ancona.
Greta and I are standing in this park with the city in the background and the two Casey boys, Harrison and Jacob, playing on the park grass. From this spot, Jason and the Ancona team often pray over the city of Ancona where they are making good progress in their work to establish an indigenous church. The team has been working in Ancona for seven years and have been praying for "breakthrough". If Jason, the team leader's feeling is correct, breakthrough may be very near. Join us in praying for that blessing.

Verona - Target for next year

The second part of our trip to Italy was to visit Verona, the city that calls itself "The Gateway to the North." Matt and Angie Crosser are to lead a new team to be located in Verona next year. They will be joined by John and Ann Blackburn and April Houk. The Blackburns have served in China for several years and April is currently working in Haiti.
Again we were impressed by both the age and vibrancy of the city of Verona. An ancient wall is still a prominent feature of the city and along with the Roman era coliseum, it attracts many visitors to the city.
We spent most of two days in Verona with the Crossers. We looked at an excellent language school the team can use for team members who need to learn Italian. Then we spent a great deal of time looking at various areas of the city that could become the site of the new church plant. Matt and Angie have led several survey trips to the city and will make at least one more trip before returning to the US for a period of home service. Its strategic location as "Gateway to the North" and its relative openness to the Gospel are just a couple of reasons Verona was chosen as the site for the next Team Expansion church plant effort in Italy. For more information and news and some great pictures of Verona, click on the link in the Links box in the right column.

Our Travels in Europe

2007-09-13T07:42:00.000-07:00

Greta and I are on a month-long trip to Europe visiting missionary teams who work with our mission agency, Team Expansion. Our first stop is Dublin, Ireland, and the home of Paul and Abigail Steiner. It is easy to forget just how beautiful Ireland is. Dublin and the fields and farms surrounding it are always greener and the Irish Sea bluer than we remember from the last visit.
This trip we are making Dublin the hub for our various trips to Kosova, Italy, Hungary and Romania. We will try to keep something coming as we move around during this tour. We are deeply indebted to Paul and Abigail for opening their home to us and allowing us to camp out there between trips.
This post is coming after we have already visited Kosova, where we attended the opening of the new American High school, organized and staffed through the work of the Chesnut family. The school will be staffed by teachers from churches in Cincinnati, Ohio and Northern Kentucky. All classes will be taught in English. It is designed to be the finest English school in Kosova. The event was important enough that the city mayor of Pristina, {population 600,000} the capital, came to cut the ceremonial opening ribbon.
As the school grows and prospers, it will become a big feather in the hat of our workers in Kosova where levels of education are very low.

Youth Camp Again

2007-08-14T12:52:00.000-07:00

When we were younger, Greta and I often went to camp for as many as three weeks a year. We also did came several times in Africa. A few years ago we decided that camp was for younger people and we did not go to camp for many years. Then a friend called and talked us into being the camp missionaries at a camp called Wonder Valley Christian Camp located near Salem, Indiana. He was the dean for a week of camp for fifth and sixth grade youth. Reluctently we decided to try it again. We were assured we would just be the camp missionary and would do a one hour missions presentation once a day. We would have our own private room and bathroom and could participate in any other activities as we wanted.

This year, the first week of August was the fourth year we have attended this camp. Another week of hot August days days of almost 100 degree heat, campfires, hikes, games, even helping build solar ovens to bake cookies in the afternoon sun - it was hot enough to do that.

We have found this camp and this age group surprisingly refreshing. They are of an age that they are eager to learn and are able to learn quickly. Using some age appropriate videos and materials we were pleasanatly surprised to be able to teach them rather lofty mission ideas such as "What is a people group?", an "unreached people group", or the now famous "10/40 window". Through a simple memory idea, we were able to teach them the five major world religions. We called it the THUMB. So, the five religions are Tribal, Hindu, Unreligious, Muslim and Buddist. By the second or third day, all we needed to do was give the "thumbs up" gesture and they would recite the five major world religions. I know lots of adults: preachers, elders and church leaders who do not have good mission information. At the end of the week we had a "Bible Bowl' type quiz and were amazed at how much information the children had learned.

These children are the church of the future. Greta and I feel honored to help in the formation of their minds towards good missions planning in the church. These children already know that the church is spending 95% of its "missions" money on the parts of the world that are already largely Christian and the remaining 5% on the parts of the world that have no way to find out about Christ or the church. Our hope is that they will help change the way the church today does missions.

Even an inexperienced fisherman knows that if you want to catch fish, you must go to a place where there are fish. Why is that the church finds it difficult to understand that if we are to reach the lost, we must go to where the lost are living?

This is Africa

2007-07-13T12:30:00.001-07:00

A few years ago, Greta and I were invited to join friends for a visit to East Africa. The trip involved a conference in Mombasa, Kenya, on the Indian ocean and then a trip into the Great Rift Valley to a mission station and then to Masai Mara Game Reserve. It involved a long drive into the wilderness, and an overnight with a missionary family in as remote location as I had ever seen. At the time I said I used to think I was a missionary and had lived in some wild places, but this family took the cake.
The next day we drove to to the Masai Mara Game Reserve. From the moment we left the mission compound, we began to see some amazing animals. When we entered the park the animals were abundant beyond imagination. We had not driven 3 miles along a trail until a male lion sauntered out of the bush and walked by our vehicle as if it/we did not exist. He was the "king" and knew it. We saw most of the "big" game that day; lions, elephants, hippo, zebra, giraffe, cape buffalo, cheeta --literally thousands of animals, except the rhino.
When the lion walked by, everyone was trying to get me to roll up the window for fear of being attacked by the vicious beast. Some hours later, as we were about to leave the park, we came upon a herd of cape buffalo resting quietly some distance off the road. Our missionary guide began to tell us that these big cows, not the lions, were the most dangerous animals in the area and that more people were treated in the mission clinic from buffalo attacks than from lions. Buffalo are "just mean" he said. I took his word for it with a grain of salt until I saw this video on YouTube. Here is the link. Take a look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM

My Country

2007-07-06T07:58:00.000-07:00

I am unabashedly patriotic. I love my country and am proud to be an American. I fly the flag proudly and still get a bit choked up when they play or sing our National Anthem. I have lived in other countries long enough - over 23 years in Africa- that I appreciate the blessings of being a citizen of the United States. At the same time I try not to be the "Ugly American". Having lived in other countries and having friends from literally all over the world, I appreciate and respect other countries and cultures and understand their national pride.
This Fourth, Greta and I went out looking for fireworks displays and found one at a town a few miles outside of Louisville where we live. I like the small town fireworks displays. The big crowds such as the million or so who attend the now world famous "Thunder Over Louisville" turn me off. It was pleasant to sit back and watch the "Rockets red glare" and reflect on what it all means to me as an American. God bless America!

My Name is Hezekiah

2007-06-29T07:34:00.000-07:00

It is not often that life forces us to face our own mortality and it is not one of the favorite subjects of blogging as I see it, but sometimes our own imminent death forces itself on us. Last September I was diagnosed with Melanoma, a dangerous and often deadly form of skin cancer. I was told at the time that if it comes back a second time, there might be little they could do about it, so a spot was removed from my right hand and I went through a series of chemotherapy treatments, the last of which nearly killed me. Then early this month, June, they found melanoma in a lymph node under my right arm which necessitated a second surgery from which I am still recovering--all of this to say that I was forced to consider the very real possibility of the end of my days. As a pastor and preacher of the Word for more than 50 years, I had presumed to help others through similar situations and have officiated at many funerals. Is it now my turn?
I don’t want to be morbid about this and my kids will likely fuss at me, but it has been a valuable experience. I have had time to think and even plan. I can’t imagine how one would do all this is the few split seconds before a head-on car crash or a massive heart attack.
Anyway, long story short, earlier this week my surgeon reported that of the 19 lymph nodes he removed from under my right arm, only one was infected with cancer and that the CT/PET scan they did of my whole body, showed that only that one lymph node was infected with cancer. That has now been removed, and as far as the doctor knows, I am cancer free. So I feel a bit like Hezekiah, the king of Israel whom God gave 15 more years of life – 2 Kings 20:5-6. And I have a new and stronger appreciation for prayer.
After getting the disturbing news that my cancer had returned, I sent out a prayer letter by Email. I requested the elders of our church to pray for me according to James 4 and began to receive assurances and promises of prayer from people all over the world. I believe the Lord has heard those prayers as he did that of Hezekiah. So I am praising the Lord for his goodness and grace to another undeserving soul.

How Long Will You Do This?

2007-05-25T09:46:00.000-07:00

A good friend came by the office this week to visit and talk. He is the associate minister of a local church and has recently accepted the position of senior minister of a large church in a nearby town. He was surprised to see the numbers of people involved in the Team Expansion home office and to hear about the variety of things we do to recruit, train and help field missionaries be healthy and successful. After touring the office he asked me, “Wayne, how long do you see yourself doing this?” My reply was easy, “As long and the Lord will allow me.” My friend laughed and told me of another friend who says he will retire when God forces him to retire.
I cannot see myself playing golf every day. In the first place I could not afford the green fees. But I could enjoy more fishing than I have done recently. The last time I went fishing was with our grandson in Texas, fishing for the tiny perch in the little stream that runs through the green belt of their sub-division.
I really do enjoy the work I am doing. Every day, through the “magic” of internet technology, I talk with missionaries literally all over the world. I get to be involved in their lives and ministries. I help them with their problems, encourage and pray for them when they need it. Sometimes they need to be prodded or simply be held accountable. God has taught me a few things over the years, sometimes through the school of hard knocks my grandmother talked about. While lessons learned the hard way usually stay with you, there is no need for a young or new missionary to be knocked around like I was if I can help them avoid it.
There is a young school teacher tutoring a family of missionary children in what we call a “sensitive” Muslim country in Eastern Europe. She has had a difficult time recently. She had to have oral surgery to care for an infected tooth and so could not talk for weeks. Unable to talk, she could not teach the missionary children. AND, dentists in Eastern Europe are not as well trained or equipped as US dentists and she had to trust the best one she could find. Not long after that, she got a bad abscess that had to be opened and was on antibiotic IVs for several days. Through the “magic” on the internet I could be there for her with prayer and encouragement. I could even put her in touch with best dentist I know to help guide and advise her through this experience. She is still there, teaching the Missionary Kids and making it possible for an effective missionary family to do their work. Because of their combined efforts, there are the beginnings of two churches in a small, backward Muslim country in Eastern Europe. I am happy I could help a little. I know of former missionaries who came home when faced with problems like hers. It may be because no one was “there” to help.
So, perhaps I should do more fishing, but I enjoy what I do every day too much and feel it is too important to stop until the Lord tells me it is enough.

Family

2007-05-10T07:18:00.000-07:00

We had a Meece family reunion last week in California. We were all in Santa Barbara for our granddaughter's graduation from Westmont College. The family had not been together since 2002 and some of the little ones were too young to remember, so for them, it was the first family meeting ever. Westmont College is a fine Christian school and we are all proud of Jackie. She got her degree in History and hopes to work in a historical museum.

In the picture at the right, she is with her fiancé, Micah Ralston. They plan to be married next June. The graduating class wore scarves made from Kente cloth made in Ghana, West Africa. The president of the class is from Ghana. I had lots of fun telling the students the meaning of the cloth, how it is made and about Ghana.

The Kente cloth they wore was of particular interest to Greta and me because we lived in West Africa for almost 25 years and have visited Ghana many times. Kente cloth is largely associated with the Akan peoples who are from Ghana, but have moved and settled all over West Africa, taking their culture, and their Kente cloth with them. The cloth is woven on narrow hand-made looms in narrow strips about 3 to 5 inches wide. The strips are sometimes sewn together to make wider material for robes, table cloths, bed covers or wall hangings. The various colors and patterns with black, yellow and green being the dominant colors, reflect Akan beliefs, history, events and other aspects of their society.

A family reunion is just the kind of event that would inspire a special pattern in Kente cloth. So this event will be remembered and cherished by the Meece family for the rest of our lives.

We often forget the meaning and importance of Family. We forget that family is a precious gift from God. When He made Adam and Eve in the Garden, His instructions to them were the foundation for home and family. "What God has joined, let no man take apart" was spoken of Family, not just husband and wife. I don't know how the Akan people would design a cloth for this event, but I know it would be special. Our family will weave it into the fabric of our memory and hold it precious for many years. We will also pray that as our family grows and changes we will find ways to celebrate the important events and find ways to remember them. Our family tradition has almost always been to share a meal together. Just before this picture was taken, we had shared a meal at a nice restaurant on State Street in Santa Barbara, California. Who knows where the next reunion will take place or when. We would like for it to be soon.

Praying For Our Missionaries

2007-04-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

When our missionaries visit the home office, we always try to give them a good meal, debrief them, let them tell us of their work, ask a lot of good questions and them we pray for them. We all gather around them, put our hands on them or on each other in a kind of prayer chain of contact and pray.

Somehow there is just something special about the Biblical format of laying hands on someone and praying for them. For many of our people it is the highlight of their time with us. We always take a picture and give them a copy. It is one way we can feel that we are sending the out properly.

We pray every day for our missionaries in some way, and a group and individually, but I try never to miss the group prayer and "laying of of hands." I get a blessing from it too.

Doing Church

2007-04-18T06:51:00.000-07:00

Josh Furnal is a Team Expansion missionary in Ancona, Italy. This week he sent me an update about their coffee house ministry and some of the people who attended. Then he made this comment and I asked and received his permission to use it.

"These are the same people that I mentioned in my prayer update last month where we got the chance to talk about some significant things concerning Christ and faith. Before they left last night, they invited us to join them tonight for dinner so we can continue the conversations that were started then. I want to ask you to pray for us today as we go and sit around their table and discuss what it means to be a follower of Christ.
I’m discovering that the conversations we have with people here must be weighed equally, if not more than, their conversions. For it is in our eating and conversing together that “church happens.” When the eating together ceases or is prohibited, the church ceases to exist. For it is for the gathering that the covenant was created and the mission carried out. We are gathered locally, dialect by dialect, feasting on the Bread of Life. Everyone is to bring something to the meal, its their gift. All are invited to come and eat. And according to our story, the Host will come again to dine with us. He has left his Spirit to guide us in the way of bringing quality to the table. And so, we continue to meet and eat until that day comes, showing others, preparing others to leave a seat at the table for the Host, who graciously provides our daily bread. I was always taught not to lean on the table during mealtimes. But those seated around the table lean forward, not to just engage one another in conversation, but they lean forward in anticipation for the Host’s coming. They lean forward, not out of fear, but with delight. We finish each meal raising our glasses to life and to each other, “L’haim!” Hoping that maybe next time, we dine in the New Jerusalem. The meal is not confined just to my table or yours, but we delight in taking the meal to our neighbor’s table, being their guest, enjoying their hospitality, and sharing our gifts with them, blessing not only them but their families and friends. So in that sense, we are not only for the gathering round the table, but also for the scattering into the city, into the lives of our neighbors, to share, to bless, to eat, to drink, until He comes. In love, we do this together."

I think Josh is on to something here. It sounds a lot like what happened in Acts 2:46 when Luke says of the Jerusalem church, "They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people." There seems to be no way that the typical Christian congregation can do church like this. Not much of what is described in Acts or Ancona occurs in the typical church communion service. Perhaps this is why I love church pot-luck dinners and fellowship suppers. There is something special about Christians eating together. It's a universal thing that I have experienced in North America, Europe and Africa. People love eathing together and when Christians eat together a special kind of "church" happens.

Getting Started

2007-04-17T11:11:00.000-07:00

I'm new at this and a bit confused by it all. Had you asked me a few months ago, "Do you blog?" I would have wanted to know, "What is a blog?" Let me explain. I am 69 years old and my wife, Greta, and I have spent most of our productive lives - 23 years - working as missionaries in West Africa. I remember manual typewriters, rotary dial phones, out houses, drawing water from a well and I know from experience where milk comes from. So, while all this is new to me, I do understand the value of being able to share my thoughts with a wide audience and at the same time, learn from the ideas and thinking of others.
I am a missionary, a second and third culture person. I speak a bit of bad French and know enough of one or two African languages to get into trouble, but not enough to get out. So my heart language is missions and reaching the world with the message on Christ. However I do have other interests and many other concerns. So I hope my friends and passers-by who read this will feel free to share their thoughts, ideas, suggestions and arguments - friendly ones of course.
I work for a mission agency named Team Expansion, in Louisville, KY. I am the Field Coordinator for Team Expansion workers in Europe and Africa. I am a "missionary to missionaries." My primary responsibility is to help our missionaries stay on the field and be successful. I am a coach, mentor, advisor, encourager and, when necessary, critic to some wonderful people who have moved far from home, learned a strange language and culture so they can bring the message of Christ to people who have never heard it. I work with teams in Ireland, Italy, Kosova, Romania, Hungary, Ukraine, Ghana, Angola, Uganda and Tanzania. Eventually I will visit each team in person, so I get to travel a lot.
My wife's name is Greta. Next year we will celebrate 50 years together. We have always had what I call a "mutual ministry". We work at it together. She helps me keep track of our people, communicate with them and often makes trips with me to help minister to missionary women and children.
As time goes on we will share some of our experiences with you - past experiences as well as current ones. I look forward to sharing with as many as possible.