We wept, laughed, talked, and prayed together. There were also times when we were sad, surprised, and astonished. This all took place during this past Session, giving a powerful thrust of encouragement to be fully devoted in service to our God – to be serving through bringing people to Him for His glory.

We wept, when Jurek from the Biblical Mission Society (linked with Wycliffe) spoke and showed films of Gypsy housing developments in Ukraine. It is hard to believe that, in the 21st century and only several kilometers from the Polish border, people live in worse conditions than cavemen. They live in wooden boxes surrounded by heaps of garbage. Thank God that He has people He sends to go to those kinds of places with assistance and sharing the Good News. We were also informed that of the 6300 currently alive languages, about 3000 still need Bible translation. More importantly, there are about 1.2 billion people in the world who aren't even able to read; so first it is necessary to teach them to read, then create a written form of their language.

We were surprised, when Robert (Mission School) shared various statistics regarding missions around the world. Some countries with very few believers (like Mongolia and Lebanon) are sending out the highest percentage of missionaries in comparison to the number of believers. We were grateful to the Lord to hear that evangelical Christianity in the world is increasing 2 times faster than Islam.

The sadness came as we heard from Magda (student of Mission School) who told about her September missionary journey to Khakasia in Russia, when she shared about the situation in Russia: out of every 4 men, one is addicted to alcohol and/or drugs, one sits in prison, one works in the military/police, and only one is working in a normal job! As far as abortions go, the ration of women to the number of abortions being performed is 1:7 !

In Khakasia, the situation seems much worse amongst its 60 thousand Khakas population. There are problems linked to animistic practices (offering people as sacrifices).

We thanked God for the New Testament translated into the Khakas language (one of our staff, Michal, who participated earlier in this translation project, organized that mission trip.)

As we listened to a polish „tentmakers” report from his ministry in Afghanistan, we were thankful to God for what is happening there. We heard how young Afghans are finding the True God, about a new church in Kabul, and about several young men who have converted despite the hardships they now face. It was a little horrifying to realize how dangerous it is to live there, always needing to be cautious and on alert. It was sad to hear about the extreme poverty of the people, and that the main export of this country is opium.

We laughed a bit about Robert’s and Mietek’s adventures during their September journey through Moldavia and Gagauzia. They surprised us as they told stories of customs they encountered in some local churches. For example, the forbidding of wearing wedding rings because it is wasteful decoration, or the forbidding of men wearing ties because it somehow indicates hell. But the encouragement came through hearing how they were able to share the Gospel in parks, museums, prisons, in bars, and in a rehabilitation center for alcoholics. We were thankful to God for those who trusted in Christ as a result of this mission trip. It was encouraging too to learn that the Gagauzians – a Turkish language nation in Moldavia -- are coming to God and are even starting missionary trips to Turkey.

We were thankful to God for those who are preparing to go to an area in southern Russia to share the Good News. We attempted to understand the culture of this nation which is devoted to Islam but is mixed with fortune-telling and faith healers. We were edified to hear the testimony of a person from that area who converted from Islam and who desires to serve in his nation, proclaiming the Gospel.

Daniel, a former student from last year, astonished us by his courage – wandering and hitchhiking through Iran this summer. Iranians did not understand this manner of traveling. They tried to convince him, and even drag him, to the bus station. We heard about the great hospitality, kindness, and the passion for mountain hiking among Iranians. It was sad to hear that these people (they are Shi'a) worship various tombs of holy people, also that the world's highest percentage of opium addiction is in Iran, generally smoked by everyone.

We ended our long weekend in prayer for the many different peoples who heard the Gospel through these outreaches.  Also for the continuing ministry going on in these various areas.