by Greg Mundis

Dear Friends:

Amazed

I had the opportunity to visit two missionary couples who are beginning their ministries in former communist nations where the Lord has placed them. One is a married couple in their fifties. The other is a young couple in their late thirties with children.

In observing them, I was again amazed at the call of God on people's lives and their commitment to the Lord.

I am amazed:

• That American citizens would give up the comforts of America to go into a foreign culture.
  
  
• That Americans who are not known for their linguistic talent would make efforts to learn languages that will require one to two years of commitment on their part.
  
  
• Because missionary life stretches the network of immediate and extended families and friends by moving them thousands of miles away from the perimeter of those relationships. I am aware that e-mail and less expensive international calling is available, but it does not replace personal contact.

  
  
• When I watch our missionaries learn customs and traditions that are not their own. They merge themselves into a society and culture that is unique to its context and very different from that of an American context.
  
  
• To see the children of the missionaries immerse themselves into an environment that is not familiar; yet, they adapt. By the grace of God, they grow and become proficient in the language and have an extended worldview. We refer to missionary kids (MKs) as "third-culture kids." They will not be totally American, and they will not be totally a part of the country in which they are living. They have a unique place in the world and in our global society.
  

Having said all this regarding my "amazement" at our missionaries, I remember the Scripture and our model, Jesus Christ, who taught us the principle of immersion or incarnation. John 3:16 says, "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever should believe in Him, would not perish, but have everlasting life." We also see in the accounts of Matthew and Luke how, in particular, Jesus Christ came in the flesh. He left the treasures and glories of a spiritual, supernatural heaven to take on human flesh.

As the apostle John said, "He dwelt among us." He immersed himself in our traditions, our culture, and our language. He separated himself from His family; He learned new ways so that He might share eternal life with us. As I stand in amazement at our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ for His incarnation, I am also thankful this pattern continues through the course of Church history and that missionaries in the 21st century are practicing Jesus' model of incarnation.

Thank you for your continued prayers and intercession for the continent of Europe and our missionaries.

Your colleague for souls in Europe,

God Bless ,
Greg Mundis
AGWM Europe Regional Director

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