Feature
by Laura Wutzke
"The enemy never sleeps."
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Missionaries share their joys and sorrows from the mission field
Joan Wiebe turned her head to catch a glimpse of a figure on a motorcycle speeding by. The motorcyclist barely missed Mrs. Wiebe, who stepped aside on the narrow city sidewalk in West Africa. The rush hour traffic was horrible. The motorcyclist was a high-society woman dressed in her workday best. Her colorful dress flapped in the wind, and gold and silver jewelry swung around her wrists and neck.
Missionaries have the advantage and disadvantage of experiencing cultures very different from that of North America as they travel to far-off places to spread God's word. During the missionary conference, a few of these missionaries spoke about their lives as missionaries all over the world.
Rick Bravine joined Greater Europe Mission more than 28 years ago. He traveled to France to teach at the European Bible Institute. He and his family lived in a town outside of Paris.
The hardest transition for Mr. Bravine when he moved to France was learning the language and culture. "Language and its subtleties give insight into the culture. How people say what they say says a lot about their values," Mr. Bravine said.
"For example, in France people say, 'not bad' compared to American's 'fine' when asked how they are. This [language subtlety] shows the negativity that is part of French people's attitudes," Mr. Bravine said.
Moving back to the United States after 17 years in France was also difficult for Mr. Bravine. The United States bombards people with choices. "In France people don't just go out and buy more things. For example, they have limited clothing from our perspective. They have only two or three items. Once you buy it, you use it for 20 years," Mr. Bravine said.
After moving back, Mr. Bravine also noticed how much North Americans throw away. North Americans also lack knowledge about the world at large, especially international news.
The reason Mr. Bravine left the United States for the mission field was simple--the need. When Mr. Bravine went to France, only .01 of 1 percent of French people claimed to be born again. Today the number is up to .63 of 1 percent, a sixfold increase.
Mr. Bravine not only worked at the European Bible Institute but he also produced a French radio program, an accomplishment considering his initial difficulty learning the French language. He conducted music concerts throughout France, eventually producing an album. He participated in sports ministry and took Multnomah's basketball team on its first mission trip to France in 1974. Outside of the Bible institute, he worked in coffee-bar evangelism. He was also an elder at a French church.
Ron and Joan Wiebe also worked in overseas churches. They served in Cochabamba, Bolivia, doing church planting for SIM. While there, they primarily worked with youth and organized youth camps. Mrs. Wiebe taught in a Bolivian seminary.
The Wiebes considered themselves blessed in their ministry. The missionaries who had gone before them paved the way for the Wiebes' productiveness in ministry. "The missionaries up to us had sown in tears. We reaped in joy," Mrs. Wiebe said.
The Wiebes found their greatest joy in working with Bolivia's nationals. "I think people have this idea that the nationals are immature spiritually. They [Bolivians] were very deep, committed Christians. They taught us lessons about the fruits of the spirit," Mr. Wiebe said.
Mr. Wiebe recalled one friend, a national, who exemplified the fruit of patience to Mr. Wiebe whenever they played basketball together.
The Wiebes suffered no hardships in the transition to Bolivia. The Bolivian people became their family. From the very beginning, the Wiebes loved the country and people.
The joys had disappointments though. A good friend of Mr. Wiebe's, who was also a colleague, left the ministry. The friend drew away from God and rejected the Christian life-style. Other missionaries produced disappointment by leaving the field unexpectedly. "The enemy never sleeps," Mr. Wiebe said.
Looking back on the 31 years in Bolivia, the Wiebes wish they could have spent more time developing personal relationships. The Wiebes did disciple some individuals, but they wish they had spent less time in administration and more in relationships.
Bonnie Steinborn understood the importance of personal relationships on the mission field. While serving in Russia, Ms. Steinborn built a close relationship with a Russian woman. They had many things in common--they were almost the same age and single mothers of sons.
When Ms. Steinborn returned to the United States, contact with her Russian friend ceased. "If she would write once a year, I'd be lucky. We had such a close relationship; it was easier for her to deny the relationship than continue long distance," Ms. Steinborn said.
Ms. Steinborn learned from her time overseas. She cautioned future missionaries to avoid entering missionary work to run from their problems. "Get your relationships cleared up before you go. Make sure you give God 100 percent. Your problems only magnify on the mission field," Ms. Steinborn said. In Russia Ms. Steinborn taught English classes to teachers and students--specifically college students.
She felt the most fulfilled while working with the college students. After working in Russia for three years, she moved to Estonia to teach English to the Russians there. The hardest mission field for Ms. Steinborn was Estonia. The Estonians felt a tremendous amount of national pride, according to Ms. Steinborn. They mistrusted foreigners, including Christian
missionaries and Russians. A fellow missionary in Estonia, a woman from South America, invited all the Estonians in her apartment complex to her home at some point. In the three years she spent there, not one of the Estonians in her complex reciprocated the invitation.
After a year in Estonia, Ms. Steinborn moved to China to work with students in an English program. She committed to learn Chinese and make China her long-term home. God had other plans for her. Through her mother's death and her father's illness, God brought Ms. Steinborn back to the United States.
The cultural transition was easy for Ms. Steinborn. Because her time in Russia, Estonia and China had only been short-term, moving back to the United States was "like flipping a channel," she said.
Ms. Steinborn now works in a campus mobilization program for Oriental Missionary Society. She has started a Bible study for young women at her home in Manzanita, Ore. She hopes to counsel more in the future.
As she looks ahead, Ms. Steinborn sees her mission and the mission field changing. Modern technology provides quicker communication to the mission field. Technology makes cultural barriers easier to overcome and increases opportunities for more short-term missions.
Gary Wormelsduff also sees many changes on the mission field, especially in the area of tent making. Many people go overseas as professionals or "closet missionaries" with other vocations. Teaching English as a second language is the most common form of tent making.
Some people get involved with tent making unintentionally. People whose jobs or military assignments take them overseas find themselves in a unique position to minister to nationals.
Mr. Wormelsduff acknowledges the importance of using short-term trips as a chance to see different cultures. Short-term trips also help individuals find direction in their pursuit of missions.
"The first term is the ideal time to start to see what a country is really like. You go as a learner. You use the ministering as a learning time. It gets in your blood. You start looking around for what's next," Mr. Wormelsduff said. A short-term experience is valuable. But long-term missionaries are still needed.
"There are those who are saying 'God, I want to know your heart, see through your eyes,'" Mr. Bravine said. "I'm meeting more and more students who have that perspective. Not discounting others who have gone before, but there is evidence of God pouring out the Holy Spirit on this generation."
Laura Wutzke would like to go to France, Spain or Japan on a short term missions trip
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