Marc's parents took their 5-year-old son to Zimbabwe where the family lived for five years. In 1980, Marc and Judie Blackwell, Sr. moved with their family to South Africa to open that field for ABWE. Marc Jr. attended public schools in both African countries. He attended an Afrikaans high school and university, and also studied at the missionary-run Church Ministries Institute before completing his education in the USA. Now Marc, his wife Nancy, and their two children serve as church planters in Cape Town. As the little 4x4 started up the mountain road, my anticipation of an adventurous ride was soon rewarded with a fallen tree across our path. Out came a two-way radio and our host spoke a simple command to one of the farm workers, "Abram, bring die saag." Within minutes, the puttering of a dirt bike grew louder and Abram... Read More.

Dr. Kempton presented Dr. James Tan with a citation honoring him for more than 30 years of leadership at Grace Christian School. At a special dinner the Tans gave for us, Dr. Tan opened his Bible, displaying on the inside cover Wendell Kempton's signature dated October 1967. Dr Tan explained, "I received a degree from George Washington University and was employed at IBM in a job that paid a six-figure salary. But I was not happy inside. One Sunday as I walked past the First Baptist Church of Saugerties, New York, I saw an announcement that a Rev. Wendell Kempton would be the special speaker. I decided to hear this man speak. His message was based on James 4:7 "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."... Read More.

In this Muslim area of the world, part of the former Soviet Union, abortion is a routine method of birth control. It is not unusual for a married woman to have seven or eight abortions. The fact is that even happily married couples are impoverished by years of Communism, living in one-room homes shared by scores of relatives. It wasn't that the pregnant wife didn't want her new baby. The young couple treasured the dream of a second child-someday. Perhaps in two years when they had enough money. But the husband had made it clear that a child now was impossible. The only option--a common one for women who can not afford costly birth control--an abortion. The missionary whispered words of hope... Read More.