Radika lived in our home for more than two months. During the day, as we worked together on the long list of chores it takes to run a home and care for two small children in India, we talked. Evenings and during nap times, we talked. We talked about how a Christian approaches marriage, parenting and witnessing. We went through a series of Bible studies, sometimes completing more than one per day. Radika was thirsty for the word of God, and we had a limited amount of time to pour the Water of Life into this illiterate woman’s cup.
As AFM missionaries, Christian and I have certain responsibilities. Because AFM is committed to financial integrity, we carefully report our spending. We write letters and emails to donors, and articles for Adventist Frontiers. We read books and attend conferences suggested by the home office so we can keep learning and doing better at our jobs. We chat with our field directors, the Abbeys, about how we can improve as missionaries. We fill out personal spiritual inventories—private assessments that AFM encourages us to complete so we can continue to press on to “higher ground” in our own walks with the Lord.
But there are so many things we don’t do. We don’t process the donations sent to us by our amazing supporters, and we don’t write their tax-deductible receipts. We don’t work with banks to set up automatic donations or with auditors to ensure integrity in all matters. We don’t research great books and training programs that will help us become better soul winners. We don’t write up complex agreements and memoranda of understanding with our local conference/mission to achieve a mutual understanding about how we support their work. We don’t work on developing policies and contingency plans to protect ourselves, our fellow missionaries, or our children. We don’t travel extensively and speak at schools, churches and events to recruit new missionaries to join us in our work.
But there are people who do all these things and more for us. I am so thankful to God for our AFM office staff family who back us up in the field. Because they make AFM run smoothly, we can take the time we need to disciple people like Radika. Though they work behind the scenes, their effort at home is a key ingredient to our success on the mission frontier.
The way I see it, there are three groups back home that make our work a success: There are our senders—people like you who provide funds so that missionaries can live and work among the unreached. Then there are the angel dispatchers—people who pray, who give God permission to enter Satan’s territory and free his captives. And finally, there is the office staff—the network that makes everything we do happen with integrity and with purpose. Together, we can glorify God by doing His will and reaching the unreached with the message of His free gift of salvation.
On behalf of Radika and other precious unreached people who we hope will choose to accept that free gift, thank you for supporting the AFM GO Fund. Please include this fund in your year-end giving.
