Join Josiah and me as we talk about how he works out his goals and how God led him to where he is in ministry today. Bro. Josiah also shares a couple of stories illustrating the power of technology to change people’s lives. One of the things he mentions is programs which teach discipleship lessons through cell phones. This is like the project missionary Brad Rhoads mentioned in his first interview on Missionary Talks episode 43.

Bro. Ritchie has a website where you can learn more about him and his ministry. You can also follow his ministry on Facebook.

Mike Pettengill works in Honduras in a church planting ministry. Unlike many missionaries he works in a team with other missionary couples and individuals. In this episode of Missionary Talks Mike talks about some of the blessings and struggles of having a team on the field. Each team member brings his or her own abilities and skills so that the team can accomplish much more than each person individually.

Another thing that Bro. Pettengill shares with the listeners is his experience of going to language school and taking his kids to the mission field at an older age than most missionaries. He and his wife worked in professional fields before being called to Honduras. We also talk a little about recreation and staying healthy on the field.

You can visit the website that talks about the team of missionaries Mike works with. The Pettengill family also have their own personal website so that you can learn more about Mike and his family. You can also follow Mike on Twitter.

Bro. Gene shares with the listeners how that God has given him a special desire and ability in the field of technology. He went to Bible college to train as a missionary, and while he preaches quite a bit in his ministry, he has allowed God to lead him into the specific field where he should be serving. Bro. Sharp encourages listeners to be sensitive to how the Lord is leading in their life and to be aware of the special skills and talents the Lord has gifted them with.

Bro. Gene Sharp’s ministry is called Independent Baptist Media. At their website you can read Bro. Sharp’s prayer letter and see about upcoming ministry opportunities.

In some cases this ministry has him talking with people inside government agencies trying to work through the legal paperwork to get a station on the air. At other times he is raising funds and physically constructing radio stations in foreign countries.

Bro. George was a pastor for many years and was led into radio ministry by seeing how effective radio and TV can be in spreading any message. God led him to resign the church he started so that he could begin bringing people to the Lord through the power of radio. During the first years he learned the programing side of radio and has been using that information to help other Christian radio stations be more effective in their ministry.

Listen as Bro. Zarris shares some amazing stories of what God is doing around the world through radio.

Tony will be working with Bro. Brad Rhoads in MAF’s Learning Technologies. As an educator he will help the men who are learning from the Bible training tools that are created by Learning Technologies to know how best to use these tools. He will also be working with the curriculum creators to help them to understand what is needed in the field to help the students learn well.

Laura will work as an Orality Specialist. She will help train missionaries and nationals on how to teach the Bible in oral societies. These could be either non-literate people groups or people whose culture is more of an oral one—relying on verbal stories as opposed to written word to transmit information. She will be using the God Story’s program called Simply the Story as the basis for what she will be teaching.

Please visit their website to keep up to date on their mission journey.

One of the things we talked at length about was linguistic training and how it can be a benefit to the missionary. This is true if a missionary is going into a tribal setting where there might not be a formal language school, but also for missionaries going to minister in a language that is not their native tongue. Bro. Rodney mentioned the linguistics program that he attended and later gave me some resources of linguistic interest.

Linguistic Resources:

• Baptist Bible Translators Institute
• L.A.M.P. (order form)
• SIL International

Be sure to visit Bro. Myers’ blog for stories of life in Tanzania.

Now that Brad has been working with MAF for almost 2 years it was good to find out what has taken place with those projects and to see what he is currently working on. Brad is a computer programmer who has been called to missions and is using the skills that God has allowed him to learn in the ministry.

In the interview Brad encourages the listeners to find out what God has gifted them with and seek to serve the Lord in however they are called to serve.

The websites Brad mentioned were:

• Mission Aviation Fellowship
• Mission Aviation Fellowship Learning Technologies
• Brad’s information at MAF
• Brad’s blog where you can find his recent prayer letters

Enjoy the conversation as Bro. Bush talks about how the Lord led him to the field and some of the details of his preparation for the ministry he is doing today. He also shares information about language school that many missionaries will need to attend as they prepare for ministry on a foreign field.

If you are considering missionary work, or just want to know more about life as a missionary, be sure to visit Bro. Jeff’s website. Along with having his prayer letters and ministry information, he has good resources to help a missionary on deputation and to avoid some common mistakes of the ministry.

He also has a website for his ministry in Argentina that is written in Spanish.

They share good advice for both new and veteran missionaries. In doing so they help the person in the pew who is praying for missionaries have an insight into some of the struggles and joys of working for the Lord in missions.

LaMoin has written a wonderful book that will help the reader understand that missionaries are normal people. While the outside struggles may be different on the field from what it is back home, the internal struggle, and fleshly battles are the same no matter what country you are in. You can check out the book as well as sign up for her monthly newsletter at their website.

Bro. Snode also talked about how he was called to missions as a young boy. Outside of building a good personal relationship with God and His word, he said that he was encouraged by his parents and an older man in church to continue to pursue the ministry that God had called him to. Travis is a good example of what God can do with a child or teen that you may know who is called to be a missionary if you will just take a few minutes to encourage them to follow God’s leading.

Visit the Snodes’ blog to get up to date information on their ministry.

Andy Shinabery is a church planting missionary in Costa Rica. In this interview Andy talks with us about the two churches he and his family have been able to start. He also shares about some of the recreational activities his family have been able to enjoy on the field.

Andy spoke with me when they were in the United States for furlough. He talks about how the two furloughs they have had have been different for them as a family.

Listen as he shares some of his vision for the future and how he believes Costa Rica can be used by God to evangelize nations that are closed to missionaries from larger countries such as the United States.

I am proposing a new show format that would be in addition to the interviews. This new format will be called Missionary Chats. The format will have me talking with a co-host. The co-host will not always be the same person. This will be a less edited conversation focusing on some particular topic.

I am looking for feedback on Missionary Chats in the following areas.

• Would you like to be able to ask questions to previously interviewed missionaries?
• The Missionary Talks will stay in the current format. The Chats will be in addition to, not in replacement of the Talks. Would you be interested in only one or the other? Or, would you prefer to get all the Talks and Chats in the same “feed” like you are currently getting the Missionary Talks and the Listener Feedback episodes?
• Can you give suggestions for intro/outro music for the Chats?
• The Chats will allow more interaction for you. Would you be interested in being able to leave a voice mail that could be played, or just be able to email questions?

Specifically I asked you to email me or go to one of the discussion threads on Facebook concerning this topic. Alternatively, you are welcome to leave a comment on this episode posting.

The Facebook Group discussion is where I originally asked the questions. I have also set up a Facebook Page that I plan to migrate more personal interaction to. If you are a Facebook user, feel free to join the Group or Page, but know that I am going to try and push people over to the Page soon.

You are always welcome to leave a comment at the Missionary Talks website at the posting for each Talk or Chat.