As we’ve begun our liturgical year yet again with Advent, my heart is overwhelmed with gratitude to God for the year we’ve just completed. I’m thankful for AFM’s cross-cultural workers (CCWs) and for you, our unwavering partners in this missionary society. Indeed, the Lord has moved mightily in our midst in 2025. Allow me to share a few highlights.

First, 115 individuals from the AFM missionary family gathered in Ridgecrest, NC, for three days before the New Wineskins Conference. Testimonies from AFM CCWs, teaching from Anglican bishops, and the movement of the Holy Spirit among us buoyed the spirits and deepened the faith of all who gathered. Two attendees were just accepted as AFM long-term CCWs, and several others are in the application process. The result: We’re one CCW short of our faith goal of 10 new CCWs in 2025. So, keep on praying!

Second, stories of the Kingdom’s inbreaking through CCWs’ ministry on the mission field continue to inspire me. From isolated villages to bustling urban centers where the name of Jesus remains largely unknown, AFM CCWs are pressing forward and embodying the Great Commission, baptizing, teaching, and modeling Jesus to new disciples. Their work is not easy; it demands immense physical, spiritual, and emotional resilience. Yet with each new success and every new soul brought into the light, I see God’s faithfulness to his promises manifested. I’m reminded of his goodness.

One Candle in the Darkness: The Legacy of Ion Keith-Falconer

As we celebrate your partnership, I’m reminded of the great missionary saints who established the precedent for AFM’s vital work. One such man, Ion Keith-Falconer (1856-1887), purportedly said the following: “I have but one candle to burn and I’d rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than a land flooded with light.”

Son of a Scottish Earl and a Cambridge graduate, while studying colloquial Arabic in Egypt in 1881, he heard God’s call to spend his life on behalf of Arabs living in darkness. In 1885 he visited Yemen and returned for long-term service in 1887, but died of malaria within six months of arrival. Nonetheless, his life inspired many others, including Samuel Zemmer, often called the “Apostle to the Arabs,” to serve Jesus in the Middle East.

Burning Brightly on the Frontier

Each AFM cross-cultural worker (CCW) also carries a single candle—the life that God’s given to them. When you partner with AFM, you’re doing more than simply sending a donation or interceding in prayer. You’re supplying fuel for their candles. You’re providing the protection and the windbreak that allows their candle to continue burning, steady and bright, in the harsh conditions of the frontier. You’re enabling the precious flame of their witness to ignite hundreds of other candles in communities bereft of the good news of Jesus.

And so, on behalf of AFM, I’m grateful that you share in Falconer’s vision, believing that no group of people should be left without access to the gospel simply because they are hard to reach.
As you gather with family and friends during Advent and Christmas, may you be filled with the joy of knowing that your faithfulness is resulting in new life, new hope, new disciples, and new communities of Christians, which we call the church. So, thank you for your partnership in 2024. May God richly bless you and yours.

With heartfelt thankfulness and great hope for the New Year,

The Rev. Chris Royer, PhD
Executive Director, AFM

At Anglican Frontier Missions, Giving Tuesday is more than a date on the calendar. It is a global moment that reminds us of the powerful truth that generosity—expressed in prayer, giving, and partnership—advances the Gospel to places where Christ is not yet known.

Let’s explore why Giving Tuesday matters and how you can take part with AFM this year.

What Is the Purpose of Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday began in 2012 with a simple goal: to shift our focus from consumerism to generosity. Coming right after Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it calls us to pause and remember that the season of Advent is grounded in worship, hope, and giving.

1. Re-centering the Season

At a time when culture pushes us to buy more, Giving Tuesday invites us to invest in things that last—God’s kingdom, people, and transformation.

2. A Global Movement

Giving Tuesday is now observed in more than 90 countries, encouraging people to give:

• Prayer 
  
• Financial gifts 
  
• Time 
  
• Advocacy 
  

Anyone can participate, and every expression of generosity matters.

3. Empowering Global Mission

For organizations like AFM, Giving Tuesday is a chance to:

• Introduce our mission to new believers
  
• Share stories from the field
  
• Resource cross-cultural workers serving in the world’s least-evangelized places
  
• Strengthen the support missionaries rely on
  

When someone joins AFM in generosity, they link arms in the Gospel with those who are carrying the name of Jesus where people have never heard it.

Is Giving Tuesday Still a Thing?

Absolutely—Giving Tuesday is not only still relevant, it’s thriving. Each year, billions of dollars are given worldwide in a single day. More importantly, millions of people are praying, giving, and partnering in ways that change lives forever.

At AFM, we see Giving Tuesday as a spark—one moment in a longer story of participation in God’s mission. While one day of giving is powerful, the momentum it creates leads to lasting partnership, prayer, and sending.

How to Participate with AFM on Giving Tuesday

There is no “one way” to participate. Here are meaningful ways to join AFM in the spirit of Giving Tuesday:

1. Give Financially

Your financial gift helps:

• Train and support AFM missionaries
  
• Launch new mission fields
  
• Provide ongoing care and resources
  
• Advance the Gospel where the Church does not yet exist
  

Many supporters also choose to become monthly partners, creating dependable support that sustains ministry throughout the year.

2. Give Through Prayer

Prayer is the engine of mission. You can:

• Pray for AFM missionaries by name
  
• Join our weekly Thursday prayer call
  
• Intercede for unreached people groups
  
• Pray that God would raise up new laborers for the harvest
  

Even those who can’t give financially can have eternal impact through prayer.

3. Give Time or Talent

Consider offering your skills:

• Hosting a mission speaker
  
• Helping a missionary with communication or logistics
  
• Serving on a missions committee
  
• Sharing AFM with your church
  

Every gift of service strengthens the work.

4. Use Your Influence

You can multiply your impact by:

• Sharing AFM’s Giving Tuesday posts
  
• Telling friends and family about the unreached
  
• Inviting others to pray or give
  
• Posting online why you care about global mission
  

One voice can inspire many.

Why Giving Tuesday Matters for AFM

Giving Tuesday is more than fundraising—it is a visible moment each year when believers around the world link arms in generosity for the sake of the Gospel.

It matters because:

• Mission is urgent. Billions still do not have access to the name of Jesus.
  
• Mission is shared. No missionary serves alone—every sender is part of the story.
  
• Mission bears fruit. Lives, families, and communities are transformed when Christ is made known.
  

A Final Word

Giving Tuesday remains powerful because it reminds us that generosity is not a burden—it is a privilege. When you give, pray, or partner with AFM, you become part of something bigger than any one person or ministry:

The expansion of Christ’s Church into places where it has never been.

Thank you for considering AFM this Giving Tuesday. Your generosity helps carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

Give to Anglican Frontier Missions here.

In 2005, I decided to abandon Islam and believe in Jesus Christ completely. Shortly after, I was baptized and became one of the students of a Bible and theology course organized by our church. We were a small group of students who had abandoned Islam and believed in Jesus Christ. The lessons were fun, and we would ask our teachers many questions, which they answered with great patience. We were discovering new things in the Bible with each lesson, and we were gaining a very different understanding of God from what we had been taught so far; we were gaining an understanding of the real God!

It was the middle of the first term of the Bible and theology course, a cold winter, and it had been snowing intermittently in our ancient city and the surrounding area for two weeks. At the end of a particularly cold day, we came to participate in our class, and the wood stove was roaring. This warm environment felt very good for our cold feet and hands. Our teacher that evening was the pastor of the church in the city we were in, which was famous for its apricots. He was very cheerful. Before starting the lesson, he offered us dried apricots as a treat. He smiled and joked with us, saying, “Here, eat! You will need energy because the lesson will be difficult.” We said to him, “From now on, we will call you the apricot teacher,” and we laughed with each other.

Soon after we started the lesson, the electricity went out. In the faint, flickering light of the glass bowl of apricots, where the flame’s reflection danced on the ceiling through the vent of the wood stove and its low rumble filled the room, the reading of God’s Word from the Holy Bible transported us back to the days of the apostles — as if a disciple of Jesus Christ were there, teaching us himself. It was freezing cold outside, but inside it was warm with the word of the Lord, conversation, the wood stove, and, of course, apricots.

One year ago, I picked up the newspaper and read that our “apricot teacher” and two other friends had been brutally murdered in their own offices by a group of Muslim youth under the pretext that they were Christians and were spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I was devastated. I was in shock, with tears in my eyes, thinking to myself, “Are they dead? Are they gone now?”

Then, I heard these words whispered in my ears: “Do not think that we died and perished. We rose with Jesus Christ. We have put on eternity.”

Being certain that our brothers who were killed that day had put on eternity with Jesus Christ eased the pain in my heart a little. For the past 18 years, while I have experienced the joy of the resurrection every April, I have also experienced the sadness of this event. And every time I see dried apricots, every time it snows, every time I see a roaring stove, wherever the flames illuminate a ceiling, I remember that joyful evening.

Now that I think about it, most of the students from that class are actively serving the Lord in some way; some are pastors, some deacons, some evangelists, and some, like myself, are translators of the Bible.

The seeds planted in us that day, and during those years, have sprouted and are now bearing fruit. The wisdom that I have for Bible translation is the fruit of those seeds planted many years ago.

With the help of the Holy Spirit, we carry the torch of faith lit by our martyred apricot teacher, to illuminate the darkness. We now live on behalf of every teacher who contributed to our education!

We pray to protect the faith, continue the noble struggle, and finish the race like them!

This is the very heart of Anglican Frontier Missions: to plant seeds of the gospel where there is no church, to disciple new believers, and to see lives transformed by the risen Christ. Just as faithful servants like our “apricot teacher” once poured into us, AFM continues to walk alongside believers from Muslim backgrounds, equipping them to lead, translate, evangelize, and endure. Their stories are not over—they are being written still, as the light of the gospel reaches frontier people groups through the faithful witness of those once discipled, now discipling. In joy and in sorrow, in snow and in firelight, Christ is building His Church. And through Anglican Frontier Missions, we press on to finish the race well.

Give to Anglican Frontier Missions here.

What is a Missions Conference?

A missions conference is a gathering that aims to inspire and educate participants about the importance of global missions and world evangelism. Missionaries share their stories, raise awareness about global needs, and participants are encouraged to consider their roles in responding to God’s call to make His Name known to the ends of the earth.

Hope for the Unreached

This immersive pre-conference offers a unique opportunity to hear firsthand accounts from AFM’s Cross-Cultural Workers (CCWs) serving in regions often considered “closed” to Christian missions. As CCWs recount their own encounters with the Father’s faithfulness and the Spirit’s miraculous movements, participants will gain insights into the challenges and triumphs of frontier missions.​

Highlights include teachings on effective intercessory prayer by Bishop Steve Breedlove and  Mrs. Sally Breedlove, providing practical tools for engaging in strategic prayer for unreached people groups. Attendees will also have ample opportunities for fellowship with AFM CCWs, board members, and staff, fostering connections, deepening relationships, celebrating God’s magnificence, and nurturing a shared vision for global missions.

Reaching Muslims with the Gospel

This focused session addresses the question, “How do I share the gospel with Muslims?” Led by an Anglican bishop ministering to Christians from a Muslim background and AFM cross-cultural workers, the pre-conference will explore practical avenues for developing friendships and sharing Jesus’ love with Muslims.​

Participants will hear testimonies and stories rarely shared in mainstream media, gaining a deeper understanding of the Spirit’s movement throughout the Islamic world. The session will also delve into how Anglican distinctives—such as liturgy, sacraments, and the Great Tradition—serve as indispensable tools in the spiritual formation of Christians from Muslim backgrounds.

Who Should Attend?

Both pre-conferences are ideal for:

• Individuals considering a call to short-term, mid-term, or long-term frontier missions
  
• Laypersons interested in sharing Jesus and making disciples among unengaged and unevangelized people groups
  
• Mission committee members, clergy, and rectors seeking to understand the progress of the gospel and areas still devoid of Christian presence
• Curious individuals who want to believe God cares and is working in the world but haven’t had the opportunity to hear real stories from real people.
  

AFM warmly invites all Christians to join us in exploring their role in God’s story to see individuals from every tribe, tongue, language, and nation worship the Lamb (Revelation 7:9).​

Registration and Lodging

Register for the pre-conferences and arrange lodging at Ridgecrest Conference Center here.

Explore ways God may want to use you in fulfilling the Great Commission, reach the unreached, and bring the Hope of the world to the nations.

For more information, please contact us at operations@afm-us.org.

Isn’t this a bit cheeky? I mean, doing a series to Showcase the goodness of God and… “My Story?” Who would place this midget tale alongside what we saw of refugees and Tibetans? I am, by reputation, a mild-mannered, self-effacing Virginia gentleman, but taking a place in the God’s Showcase is, we must agree, cheeky. However, with a picture like that above, who is going to deny such a cute boy?

I give my story in four parts, beginning with:

I. I used to think…

• That everyone was an Episcopalian. They were all I knew. I mean, I grew up in a family with eight Episcopal clergy. My world was Episcopalians.
• Ministry was taking care of the people in the pews. I trained in a mountain hollow with a road that ended at the mountain. My ministry was to the people who lived on the road. That was my model.
• That the text of “The Great Commission” was only to give a rousing finish to a sermon. Beyond that I had no idea what it meant.
• That when I went on the Board of the South American Society many years later, I was sure I was involved in the ends of the earth.
  and if there were people who had yet to hear the Gospel, they would hear it through Baptists or angels.

Then I got involved with Anglican Frontier Missions, really involved. First Director. This leads to the second phase of my story:

II. I was surprised to learn…

1. Ethne was the Greek word in the Bible for nations, but that did not mean United Nation nations, but ethno-linguistic people groups.
2. The Perspectives course that I took showed that over 7,000 “nations” have no church large and strong enough to grow and reproduce. I had no clue.
3. After I discovered that, I discovered that most Episcopalians also had no clue.
4. So I opened up shop. And nobody called. No influx of people eager to go to one of these ethnic groups.
5. I learned from #3 and #4 that my calling as new director of a new missionary society working in new areas and with new methods that my calling was advocacy—to be a voice for the millions of unreached peoples to the churches.

Looking back there were many mentors and stellar models along the way. These are but a slight few.

III. I fondly remember:

• David Barrett. David was “the man upstairs.” That is, his office was right above ours and there he and his team edited the World Christian Encyclopedia. David was the leading researcher on the unreached world and the leading mentor I had in my office one story below. Above all, he was a friend.
• Bishop Inyom. AFM in Richmond sent Nigerian bishops to a Baptist office in Singapore for their leadership with the unreached in Nigeria and North Africa. Bishop Inyom was the lead bishop for the teams. On October 6, 2008, Bishiop Lee transferred me to the Diocese of Makurdi, under Bishop Inyom, my Father in God.
• Bishops Court, Makurdi That is where I spent many days and nights during my stays in Nigeria. I got to be almost a family member with Mrs. Inyom, Charity, Isaiah, Gideon, and a lovely daughter who is late. Those were fine days with a lovely family.
• Prem and Rita James, friends and mentors in Bangalore. Rita’s school for special needs children touches many children as it touched Constance and me on a visit. Prem epitomizes the values and strengths of unity in mission. Unity, as he can tell us, is easy to honor but challenging to put in place.
• Pradeep Singh, the mayor of the village on the way from Delhi to Jodhpur. His wisdom and diplomacy stabilized his village, and his friendship was always welcoming to us.
• The missionaries. These are the ones who did ring up, sign up, and set out for distant lands, multiple surprises, and challenges to faith.
• Constance has a place by herself. She comes under and totally fills the category of gratitude and thankfulness. Not only was I frequently gone, preoccupied when at home, and hiding stress unsuccessfully. This was crazy! So many said, and she must have often thought so. But she went and went along, and she made the journey delightful.

IV. Did I learn anything? Not as much as I needed to. I bounced into many situations where I was knocked down and humbled–a wild assortment of circumstance that I never saw coming. Besides, it was always a personal jolt to be in wonderful conversations, laced with my stuttering.

One thing I did learn was that the quality of humility must be linked to confidence in the will of God. Or maybe it is better to say it the other way around–confidence in the sovereignty of God and his goodness ought to shape humility. I’m not cheeky to hold up my humility as exemplary.  I will declare that the best part was God letting me see glimpses of his character. I saw his leaning down to hear our prayers, extending his patience with our erratic efforts, and displaying his wisdom for us to follow. Above all, I learned his clear desire that his goodness and grace be known and settled in each and every ethnic group.

from The Rev. Norman and Beth Beale, AFM Pastors to Cross-Cultural Workers

Reflections on ACN’s Journey

Collaborative Leadership

The ACN’s leaders—priests, deacons, and pastors-in-training—exemplify a spirit of collaboration. Together, they skillfully organized the 25-year anniversary celebration, coordinating intricate details such as guest hosting, worship services, and outreach visits. Over the nearly two weeks Beth and I spent in Nepal, we witnessed leaders working together to adapt to challenges and find group solutions. This level of cooperation is a testament to the years they have spent building trust and relationships.

Relational Community

Indigenous Character

From its inception, the ACN has prioritized being authentically Nepali. Leadership, planning, and worship are imbued with a distinctly Nepalese tone and character. This intentionality was evident in every aspect of the anniversary celebrations, from Nepali dancing and singing to traditional dress. The churches themselves reflect the rich diversity of Nepal, worshiping God in ways that resonate deeply with their cultural context. Seeing God’s creativity expressed through this unique cultural lens was a powerful reminder of His universal love.

Prayerful Dependence

Strategic Growth

A Legacy of Faith

In the mid-1990s, as I began conversations with Nepali church leaders about joining the Anglican Communion, I prayed that this vision would be well received. Today, the ACN comprises 106 churches and over 11,000 baptized members from diverse ethnic backgrounds across every province of Nepal. Through challenges, joys, and unwavering faith, the ACN has grown into a thriving community that reflects the glorified Christ to the world. The next significant step will be the establishment of the Anglican Diocese of Nepal and the election of its first Nepali bishop. To God be the glory!

During a recent interview Pope Francis described the plague of the world as “the Globalization of Indifference.” When St. Paul described the source of healing for our world, he stated, “The Riches of God’s Grace.” Living in the crease between those two statements, the Church endeavors to be obedient to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ.

With a new series of articles I will examine the impact of these dual influences on the church–indifference that stagnates and grace that transforms. Our attention will be on groups indistinct and barely recognized in the mission world, far from the locus of most Christian work. They are not unlike those Jesus referred to when he was refused in Capernaum. He told them that followers will come “from the East and from the West.”  Today, new followers are coming to him from unexpected territories. 

In these articles we will look at four of the world’s most challenging groups, four distinct world families: refugees, the least evangelized, Muslims, and Jews. Each group has known the indifference of the church, but many members have known the redeeming power of God’s love.

In my life in missions I have had unusual adventures that have landed me among these four groups. I have been privileged to sit at their tables and share their food, hear their stories, learn their beliefs, and make some hilarious faux pas. Here I give a brief profile of the groups; later, a closer look with my stories interwoven.

• Refugees. There is hardly a border that does not know these desperate people, surging towards dreams of safety and food and away from violence and famine. My wife, Constance, and I have visited ministries to refugees in Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic. The tales we heard have saddened us. One family we met had escaped from Syria and had been living in Athens for two years–stateless, without documents, isolated by language, unemployment, and neighbors. Their two sons have been denied the normal activities of adolescents – no schooling, no friends at playgrounds, no socializing. And no hope of recovering these losses. The saga of this family is multiplied many times over with a myriad of variations.
• The Least Evangelized. These people live in territories where Jesus Christ is unknown.  Darkness governs all corners of their existence, crushing culture, dignity, and hope. Their numbers are massive: over one billion people, more than 25% of the today’s population. I was profoundly shocked at this reality, so stunned that in 1993 I resigned from the parish I served in Richmond, Virginia, and began a missionary society devoted to the world’s least evangelized ethnic groups. Anglican Frontier Missions now thrives alongside many other agencies and workers. 
• Muslims. They make up the second largest religious block in the world. My focus will be on the mosques found locally in our neighborhoods. These houses of worship are filled on Fridays yet are barely noticed by non-Muslim neighbors. I often visit these mosques in my Richmond neighborhoods with a former missionary.  We are welcomed with courtesy and, no doubt, with the hope of us being converted. Our prayers are for them to find the true faith.
• The Jews. They are the chosen people of God. Any outsider must regard their history and their culture with awe and respect. The spiritual riches in their heritage hold the root and substance of the Christian faith but are largely underappreciated or unrecognized by Christians. At the same time, from my Jewish friends I learn that their education often omits basic teaching about Jesus Christ and the study of their sacred scriptures. 

These are the groups where I will take our deep look. 

The heart of mission is God’s passion for the world to know his unlimited and unbounded goodness. That is his showcase. He wants that love to be on full display so it will draw our fullest satisfaction in his grace. As fountains overflow their waters into waiting pools, God wants the grace of Jesus Christ to overflow into every heart and every people group. That is his passion and his pleasure—for the world to see his unbounded mercy and grace. And it is precisely these overlooked global families who are places of unexpected overflow. And these  become God’s showcase. 

The history of the church often carries the unhappy doubt that God’s grace really is for every nation and every group. Surely some do not fit–too remote, too barbaric, too hostile. Best to leave them aside and concentrate on those more available. 

This lamentable reasoning shows up in the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, from John 4. The disciples returned from purchasing food, and what they saw was beyond their comprehension. They were stunned. Was it proper for Jesus to speak to this woman? And her a Samaritan? Did she fit? Is there a place in the kingdom for Samaritans? They thought not. 

Similarly, some today would dismiss groups that do not seem to fit, deemed as God-forsaken. Grace may be for sinners, but does that include the ugly, the mean-spirited, and the violent? Those whom we would exclude, however, are the very ones who most loudly testify to God’s goodness. They are the ones who give the clearest illustration of his unbounded love. 

Those who follow the call to the “God-forsaken” find pathways opened by God’s passion. They do not find the way easy or the progress rapid; they endure hardship as did their Lord. But in this they are returning praise for what they have received of the grace of God. Their courage, their perseverance, their sacrifice are their applause for the God of mercy.

In spite of global indifference, the riches of God’s grace prevail in least expected places. We will see God’s passion for his goodness alive and at work in each of the four global families – refugees, Muslims, Jews, and those yet unreached. Indistinct and overlooked they may be, but through God’s mercy these people become his showcase.

In the mid 1850s two Moravian missionaries began the effort to translate the Bible into the Tibetan language. Before the long journey came to fruition, the path went through six cities, three countries, two wars, and ninety years. But mainly, the journey unfolded the story of God’s love for the Tibetan people–his passion for them to know his goodness and his mercy.

The translators did not lack determination, but they did face opposition. Tibetan religion merged ancient Buddhist teaching with influence of evil powers. These knew that the Bible was the enemy, for its story told the love of God and salvation through his Son. No surprise, then, to learn of satanic obstacles of war, death, fear, and storms. No surprise that the story includes a bomb dropped four feet away, a storm that deafened a courier, a manuscript destroyed, the death of another courier, and an escape through the lines of Indian and Pakistani fighters. And no surprise to learn of the perseverance of those Christians who wanted Tibetans to learn about Jesus Christ.

The Moravian missionaries traveled hundreds of miles searching for a city that would grant them entrance into the Forbidden Country. They were never permitted to cross the border, but eventually they did find sanctuary in a home hidden in a valley outside Tibet. The host, Tempu Gergan, gave them a place to stay and served as translation guide for their work. This continued for the next 13 years until they finished work on the Gospel of John. They had used the classic Tibetan dialect which only a small segment of the populace could read. They also found that their vocabulary was either outdated or obscure. Sadly their effort went to naught.

Although their work failed, they did get one convert—Yoseb Gergan, the son of the owner. As Yoseb heard the Bible stories from the missionaries, he became a believer and was baptized. Having a good mind and a strong faith, he went to Leh in Ladakh for further education. Despite his love for his mountains and valley, he followed God’s clear call to move to Leh permanently as pastor of the small congregation and do the work of translation. For 27 years Yoseb Gergan travailed over the text until the translation was completed. When he finished, he had prepared the first manuscript of the Bible in the language of Tibet.

Then came the process of printing it. Their script was unknown outside of Tibet, and the paper was difficult to produce. The London Bible Society received a copy and soon found this was new territory and would not be able to print it. Besides, London was being bombed at the time by Hitler’s air force. The manuscript was hidden below Ripon Cathedral, 200 miles north of London, but one bomb landed four feet from the manuscript. By divine mercy it did not explode.

From London the manuscript went to Lahore. There, the linguists realized it needed corrections. To do that they needed to get a copy to Leh. Gergan had died, but he had trained a disciple, Gappel, who could do the needed corrections. The church hired a courier to make the trip to Leh, but he was killed in an avalanche. The next courier made it to Leh, but in a ferocious storm the night before arriving, he lost his hearing from the thunder and the rains drenched the manuscript.

Gappel realized that he himself must make the trip to Lahore to complete the editing. The danger lay not just in the mountains and weather but also in the fighting of Indian and Pakistani troops. Gappel made it as far as the Indian lines and there had to sequester in a hut for weeks. He eventually made it through the Indian and Pakistani troops by God granting him favor with the leaders. In Srinagar friends had plans for him to get to Delhi by air and to Lahore by train–this for a man who only knew Himalayas and blizzards, donkeys and tents. Already frightened by the mysterious machines who transported him, he almost gave it up when the 110-degree heat in Lahore assaulted him. The only way he could concentrate was to have fans blow air on him past 50 blocks of ice. In those bizarre conditions Gappel finally completed the text and saw its first printing.

This was 1948, 90 years after the first efforts of a Bible in the Tibetan language. So the question arose: Why did God allow the delay? The workers knew the hardship and perseverance of the first translators; they knew the disappointments of years without a completed text. Why the risk of transporting the manuscript over dangerous gorges? Why the challenges of the paper and the script? Why years of corrections after Gergen finished his work? And why its final appearance not until 1948?

In retrospect, Tibetan leaders realize God’s wisdom in the timing. For consider: Had the work of the Moravians pushed to completion, and had the printing been done with hundreds or thousands of volumes in 1885, then the enmity of the lamas and their fear of other religions would have destroyed all copies. The Bibles would have been burned or buried, abandoned to heaps of other old discarded religious texts. The spiritual soil of Tibet was rock hard and gave no place for planting the Gospel.

Not so in 1950 and the years since. When the Dalai Lama escaped Tibet in 1959, thousands left their homeland. Over the next decade thousands more left Tibet to settle in Dharamshala, the place where the Dalai Lama had made his residence. They were uprooted and dislocated–spiritually, geographically, mentally, and emotionally. All that was sacred was defaced. They arrived impoverished, wounded by warfare, struggling with strange diseases, families split up, and with so many deaths. They were overwhelmed by their new world.

This was soil prepared for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Bibles were printed by the thousands without opposition. They were distributed to homes and villages, portions passed out, messages preached, medical care administered. The message of God’s love took root. A great and holy convergence had occurred: When the Dalai Lama moved out of Tibet, when thousands followed him into India and Nepal, and when the Tibetans were torn from their sacred cultural and religious moorings, God moved. God spoke Tibetan.

Helen Keller once quipped, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight without vision.” These words took on new meaning for me following a trip through Thailand and Cambodia.

As you may know, these are both predominantly Buddhist countries. Having spent the entirety of my overseas cross-cultural experience among majority-Muslim populations, I must confess that even though I had physical eyes to see Buddhist monks and other worshippers prostrating themselves before statues of Buddha, I have little conceptual ability to step into their reality, to actually understand meanings they attribute to their actions which spring from their worldview. In a way, I felt blind to the Buddhist world even though I saw it with my own eyes for two weeks.

Manik Corea tells the story of a Cambodian woman suffering under the Khmer Rouge. She stepped into a dilapidated Roman Catholic Church for shelter where she observed a crucifix. She reasoned that this bloodied and helpless man hanging on that cross must have had bad karma in his previous life and thus no ability to help her in this life. She had physical eyes to see the crucifix, but her cultural lenses and lived reality blinded her to its meaning and Jesus’ power.

Scriptures speak repeatedly about the need for missionaries to possess cultural eyes to contextualize the gospel in areas and among peoples where the church is not.  Whether addressing pious Jews (Acts 13:14-43) or polytheistic pagans (Acts 17:16-34), Paul continually adapted not only his preaching but also his discipleship and manner of living to his audiences’ cultural context.

Similarly, Scripture speaks of the importance of spiritual eyes. For instance, Paul prayed for the Ephesian Christians, that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Eph. 1:18-19). One reason Cross-Cultural Workers (CCWs) and all Christians need spiritual eyes is that invisible spiritual forces are fighting against us: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). To stand against these forces with the armor of God, we must first see them with spiritual eyes; only then can we appropriate God’s power to defeat them.

At AFM, the last thing we want is for our CCWs to arrive at their country of service with cultural or spiritual blinders on. Our staff knows firsthand from our own service in frontier mission fields the sheer energy and commitment it takes to get to and serve fruitfully on the mission field. Because AFM CCWs need both cultural and spiritual vision for fruitfulness in missions, AFM goes to great lengths to thoroughly train each CCW.

This is why I’m so thankful for you, the one reading this letter. Through your prayers, giving, and support, you make possible AFM’s CCW pre- and on-field training so that CCWs arrive and serve effectively on the mission field with the ability to culturally and spiritually see.

While we’re on the subject of sight, the Magi were masters at it (Matthew 2:1-12). Unlike others, they saw the cultural and spiritual meaning of the star, discerning a deeper and more glorious meaning behind it than any of their contemporaries: that it portended to the birth of the King of the Jews.

As we head into the holiday season, the AFM Family will be taking time to pray for you, not only that you might see Jesus afresh in all his humility and glory, but for any other needs you might have. Feel free to email us your prayer requests (now and always) at prayforme@afm-us.org. We’re so grateful for you—that you have spiritual eyes to see the magnitude and weight of Jesus’ command to make disciples of all nations. We consider it an honor and joy to pray for your needs—during the Holiday Season—and always.

Advent Blessings & Merry Christmas!

In 2014, after seven years in the Middle East, Sharon and I moved back to San Antonio for an extended home assignment. We spent considerable time with our church, our prayer partners, and the AFM leadership team, discerning what God’s next steps might be for us. While home, I ran into a friend from middle school who challenged me, “Have you ever thought about serving God in Spain?”

I hadn’t. He went on to remind me that I spoke Spanish and that God could use our years in the Middle East to share Jesus with the large Muslim Arab population in Spain. I told him that, with three young kids, my wife and I weren’t really interested in another international move. But God had different plans! So, with the support and encouragement of our brothers and sisters in Christ, we headed back overseas.

In the summer of 2017, we arrived in Madrid, Spain. I started prayer walking with a friend in a substantially Muslim neighborhood which led to the creation of an Arabic-speaking church which we named Kanisa, the Arabic word for gathering, or church. Over the years we’ve done Bible studies, lots of networking and connecting people, seasonal gatherings, and outreach events.

About a year ago I received a WhatsApp message in Arabic from Yusuf (not his real name) asking about our church. Yusuf believed in Christ five years ago through a friend’s testimony and was listening to Christian music, but had limited fellowship. Yusuf now wanted to meet a Christian and was asking me to come visit. I could deeply empathize, and I’m sure you can too, with his desire to be among Christian brothers and sisters.

The problem was that he lived five hours away in Valencia. So, I reached out to a Brazilian cross-cultural worker name Pablo (again, not his real name) who lived in Valencia. Pablo took the lead discipling this believer; I stayed in touch but played a secondary role.

Ten months later Pablo told me Yusuf would soon be ready for baptism. I was thrilled and told Pablo that our church, Kanisa, would love to send some people to celebrate this event. Then Pablo surprised me: would I be willing to baptize Yusuf if he assisted? I responded that it would be an honor.

Yusuf’s baptism occurred at a Catholic retreat center.  We walked out to the pool and lowered ourselves into the chilly water. Then I asked Yusuf, “Do you believe in God the Father?” to which he responded with the correct phrase from the Apostles’ Creed. We continued, all of this in Arabic. Eventually I declared, “Yusuf, I baptize you in the name of the Father [dunk], and of the Son [dunk], and of the Holy Spirit [dunk].” (Pablo and I had decided to follow the ancient Eastern practice—sometimes used by Anglicans in the Muslim world—of one immersion for each person of the Trinity.)

Afterwards, as we dried ourselves off and changed into our clothes, the pastor of the Spanish-language church that had hosted us came to my table and said, “There’s an old local legend about entering the Valencian castle. People seeking to enter would be asked, ‘Who is your brother?’ The only correct answer to allow entry was, ‘The son of my father is my brother.’”

These words struck a chord within me as I reflected on the way in which our Father draws so many diverse peoples, cultures, and personalities together, united as His children.

Sharon and I have been serving God among Muslim peoples since 2004, but it’s been sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father who have sustained our ministry abroad. For without our prayer and financial partners, and without the AFM home staff behind us, we simply would not have been able to serve God in Jordan, Israel, and now Spain.

Likewise, we serve here because we know that here there are many more brothers and sisters whom God is calling to Himself, and they are waiting to hear how they might know whose children they truly are.
May we all, as brothers and sisters in Christ, be united in responding to His call to reach the nations, sharing the good news of the Father who loves them.

Thank you!