Surprise! A Word from the President

By Michael G. Loftis

God seems to love surprises. Why else would He fill history with mysteriously wrapped boxes, waiting like birthday gifts to be opened with delight? According to Scripture, God timed the surprise arrival of His Son in human history to take place at the perfect moment. His return will also be a perfectly timed surprise. Certainly the beginning of ABWE's ministry in Central & Eastern Europe was just such a surprise.

In the late 1970's, the ABWE president and administration began to pray and seek new avenues into the "closed countries" of the world. Those prayers led ABWE leaders to survey places such as China, Russia, Hungary, and Romania. Often wondering how to find Christians, those early visitors were instead found by the local believers and immediately included in the circle of fellowship. Surprise!

When Dr. Wendell Kempton planned to take an evangelistic team to Romania in 1986, that original team did not materialize. As he scrambled to develop a "plan B", our phone rang in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Dr. Kempton was on the other end inviting us to travel with him to Romania. Surprise again!

During this visit to Romania, we saw God work powerfully to bring people to Himself in a living church among persecuted people. Our hearts were broken, and we sensed God's call to serve with ABWE to help train these beloved brothers in the faith.

We developed a strategy to train leaders and strengthen churches in the Iron Curtain countries, raised support, began to build a team, and moved to Europe. Never in our wildest dreams did we expect that within months of our arrival, the Iron Curtain would begin to collapse. That was a surprise to everyone!

How could the ABWE leaders know that behind those seemingly closed doors was a rich harvest of souls and networks of churches waiting to be born? They couldn't know. Each step had to be by faith. God smiled as He watched us approach those "closed doors" so timidly in the early days. Only He knew what special surprises He had in store for us.

Today ABWE has a team of missionaries in Central & Eastern Europe that comprise roughly 10% of the overseas missionary force of the mission. This issue of the Message provides a glimpse of what God is doing through ABWE's work in that part of the world. As you open this "package", keep in mind another question: "What other surprises await just around the corner for ABWE in other parts of the world?" We will find out only as we continue to move ahead by faith.