One project that I asked listeners to help me with is suggesting historical missionaries to write a biographical sketch about, like I did with David Livingstone and William Carey. This time I am asking listeners to give a suggestion as to who I should study. Those take quite a bit of time to research and write, but I look forward to reading who listeners want to know more about.

Please write me with suggestions or comments.

If you have questions about Go Forth specifically, or just about being a missionary, I feel confident that Bro. Taylor would love to point you the right direction. Go Forth is very selective about who they take on as missionary candidates, but Bro. Taylor sees much of his purpose in ministry with Go Forth is to talk with potential missionaries to help them prepare themselves for God’s service. Visit their website to get more information and don’t hesitate to call him if he can be a help to you. Their office number is 850-471-0990. All of their contact information is available at their site.

In this interview he explains a bit about his ministry on the foreign field and tells about some of the missions classes he teaches. I was surprised, in a good way, by one of his answers to my question about which classes someone should focus on while preparing to be a missionary on a college level.

Dr. Stanley served many years in the pastorate in the US. Because of their experiences, they were able to share some insight that was helpful to me as a missionary.

You can learn more about their ministry at their website.

In this episode he talks with us about language learning and some of the culture of Estonia. He shares some facts about the country of Estonia that were rather surprising to me.

When I interviewed Elisabeth for this program I talked with her about being a Missionary Kid. She and her husband currently serve on the mission field in Mexico.

As mentioned in a recent feedback episode, I will be traveling over the next several weeks. I am excited about the missionaries I will be interviewing while on the road. But, as a result, I will probably not be able to get new interviews uploaded until I get home. Enjoy these older episodes in the mean time and leave a comment if you have a particular favorite episode that you would like me to share with the other listeners.

Brad’s ministry as a missionary is a bit different. He will not be working in the field as a church planter, rather he will be working as a developer of methods to deliver Bible study curriculum to national pastors on the field in both free and closed access countries.

Brad mentioned his podcast in the interview. It is a chronicle of his family’s journey into missions.

You can partner with the Rhoads family in their ministry by visiting their website at MAF.

All the past interviews are available here on the website. You can either listen to them or download them from here.

I would really appreciate any reviews you can write about Missionary Talks at the different podcast directories. Also, if you have a blog or website and can write something there that links to Missionary Talks it will help promote the site in the search engines. All of this will help with the exposure of Missionary Talks to new listeners.

Please tell your friends about Missionary Talks. Thanks for being a faithful listener.

I appreciate Magnatune for allowing me to play the beautiful harp music of Cheryl Ann Fulton. Also I would like to thank Janet and Geoff Benge for their book about William Carey. Much of my research started with the contents of their book.

William began to see the need to learn Sanskrit and translate the Bible into it. The ancient Indian writings were in this language and the educated upper caste used Sanskrit. It was the key to fully understanding the Bengali language.

He could easily attract a crowd of 200 to 300 people to preach to, but he did not have a single convert.

The birth of their 7th child Jonathan in 1796 brought joy and some relief to Dolly’s depression since Jonathan was a healthy baby. This was a joyful time for the Careys.

More good news arrived late in 1796 when an Indian man sought out William to tell him that there was an Englishman looking for him. John Fountain arrived as a new recruit from the missionary society. By March 1797 with the help of Fountain taking over some of the factory responsibilities, William finished his initial Bengali translation of the Bible. William’s boss purchased a used press for him to print the Bible in India. With all the excitement surrounding the arrival of the press, the Indians became convinced that the press was William’s idol. (more…)

Like the David Livingstone biography, I have provided the full text of the episode below.

I appreciate Magnatune for allowing me to play the beautiful harp music of Cheryl Ann Fulton. Also I would like to thank Janet and Geoff Benge for their book about William Carey. Much of my research started with the contents of their book.

William Carey was born in 1761 as the oldest child to Edmund and Elizabeth Carey in Northamptonshire, England. Today he is known as the Father of Modern Missions, but his humble upbringing to a poor weaver family is how this well know missionary got his start.

His father took the position of church clerk which included the responsibility of being the schoolmaster and therefore young William was able to attend school from the ages of 6 to 12. However this was the extent of what was available to him for school. The rest of his learning would come from what he could gain on his own through any books he could find and experiences he had. He was blessed to have many books available to him. By the time he was 16 he had already taught himself Latin and a friend had taught him to read and write Greek. This love of languages shaped young William Carey into the missionary he was to later become.
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I had not previously met Bro. Franklin, but we had a good time chatting with one another while we were together. He comes from the same church as Marco Castro whom I interviewed for episode 16.

In this episode he talks about the need for missionaries specifically to children. He also tells how that through training people are able to work with children. While he acknowledges a need for specially trained and prepared workers with children, he sees where these workers can be trained in their own churches to minister to the kids around them.

One thing you will enjoy in this interview is how Mrs. Edwards shares her feelings about going to the field and coming back to the United States. She also takes time at the end to speak with the ladies in the audience about what their attitudes should be towards the Lord’s leading in their lives.

I was eager to talk with Pastor Edwards about some of the things he learned while being a missionary that helps him now in his role as a pastor. He shares with us ideas on how we as individuals and churches can help a missionary when they are visiting in your church. He also shares some good final thoughts about being involved in ministry wherever you are.

Bro. Seals is a veteran missionary who grew up on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and has lead many groups to the Yucatan as well as other countries in Latin America. With his experience, he has some great insight as to what one should expect from their time on a mission trip. He also gives great advice to people leading groups.

His closing remarks go against what many of us have been told in many missions conferences, but I absolutely agree with him. His final words can be an inspiration and an encouragement.

Bro. Seals helps churches put together group trips to the field to expose their people to the ministry of missions. In this interview, before we talk about taking groups to the field, we talked about how parents can help their children make the transition to living in a foreign country. Also he shares with us some of his experiences as a 9 year old child going to the field for the first time.

Episode 37 will have the conclusion to this interview.

In this episode I mention a couple of the shows I have planned as well as try to encourage you to write reviews, particularly at iTunes, and send feedback about the show.

I have tried to keep the interview shows clutter-free from feedback and begging for reviews. However, I think this makes it a bit easier for the listener to not be involved. Please, let me know if there is something specific you would like me to ask the missionaries. Some of the questions I am currently asking come from listener suggestions.

Thank you for listening and passing the word along about the show to your friends.

As a recent college graduate, James wants to make a ministry of being a missionary assistant. I enjoyed talking with James this week and seeing the excitement he has as a young person to spend his life serving God. You will enjoy his enthusiasm for his planned future ministry.

I first met John at a missions conference about 10 years ago and, though we have spent little time together, each time we have a chance to talk, I feel like I am talking with an old friend. I think you will sense that too as you listen to him tell about his passion for reaching the Jews with the Gospel.

Chris shares with us some of the trials and joys of traveling in evangelism. He is able to travel with his wife and four children.

If you would like to know more about Bro. Miller, his family and ministry be sure to check out their website.

Erin and Shedrach

In this interview she talks with us about a couple of short term missions trips to Zimbabwe and China that helped shape the direction God had for her life. She also highly recommended that the listeners read biographies of missionaries. She said of missionary biographies that they “are a very non-threatening way to learn about missions and to learn about different countries in the world.”

She concluded her interview with this bit of advice:

[I would encourage you that] if God has placed in your heart a desire to go overseas or to be a part of a ministry in the states, that you really take the opportunity. It has nothing to do with how you feel, it has to do with obedience and what the Lord is asking of us.

You can read more about Erin at her blog and ministry website.

Because of where the storm did enter and pass through the peninsula, there are no deaths, nor even major injuries being reported here in Mexico. There were thousands of acres of crops destroyed, but unlike people, they grow back.

God was gracious to us.

There was a very kind and encouraging review written about Missionary Talks at the Cool Podcasts website. The reason I say it is encouraging is that the reviewer seemed to pick up on the purpose of the podcast as I envision it.

We appreciate your prayers as we move through this. If you would like to keep up to date on our personal safety after the storm, please check our ministry website as I will try to radio information back to a friend who can update that site for me.

Bro. Hart is now a missionary in Veracruz, Mexico.

I had the privilege to preach in his church recently while traveling through Veracruz. Though he is near the city of Veracruz, and 3 million people, he has a work in a small ranching community outside of the city. He tells a great story of a lady he was able to lead to the Lord and disciple. In the process of discipling her, she kept introducing him to new people to whom he could witness. God used this new convert to lead several others to Him.

Bro. Sloan has dedicated his life to working with the Deaf for 50 years!

You are welcome to email Bro. Sloan for further information.

When I spoke with him, he was with a group of 14 young people and leaders who were painting a church in Mérida, México.

If you would like to contact Bro. Powers with questions about organizing your own mission trip you can do so by visiting his church’s website.

I cover just a few reviews and emails that I have gotten in the last couple of months. Let me encourage you to write a review at a podcast directory of your choice. You can write a review at iTunes or leave a comment at Podcast Alley when you vote.

Missionary Talks has hit 10,000 downloads! Late last night (Sunday June 10) the 10,000th download of Missionary Talks was served out. Thank you for listening to the show and telling your friends about Missionary Talks.

I will be traveling pretty heavily for the next 2 months. The down side is that I won’t be able to post interviews regularly during this time. The great thing though is that I will be traveling with other missionaries. I expect to get many interviews recorded while I am on the move. I will try and get them uploaded weekly if possible, but be patient as I expect to be very busy during this time.

He tells us a great story about a man’s salvation and how he was brought to the Lord through reading a Bible he pulled out of a garbage truck!

His closing comments about trusting the Lord and making a difference wherever you serve Him is worth listening to the very end.

Bro. Carney has been a great personal friend and counselor to my family and me since we have been in México. He is also the father of John Carney whom I interviewed for Missionary Talks 09.

This is not in the podcast feed. You will need to download it directly from the website. I hope it is a blessing to you. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me.

There are several ways to download the file. The most common way that should work on most computers is to right click this link and choose from your options “Save Link As…” or something similar from your choices. Then tell the computer where to save the file. If you have any problems, let me know.

You will get one email a day if there are any updates to the Missionary Talks website. This email will tell you when a new episode of Missionary Talks is available. This way you won’t miss the next interview.

Just fill in your email address to the right in the box under the words “Subscribe via Email” then hit the “Subscribe me!” button. You will be taken to another screen where you will need to provide just a bit more information. You will be instructed to check your email to confirm your subscription. After that, when there is new content at this website, you will be notified via email.  Then you can come here and listen to the latest episode.

This service is provided by FeedBlitz. They are a reputable company and you will not receive any spam because of signing up here.

Again, I would like to thank Gordon Scott for providing the voice of Dr. Livingstone for this episode. The music was again provided by Magnatune artist, Cheryl Ann Fulton.

Please write me or leave comments here if you have questions or clarifications concerning the life of Dr. Livingstone.

Soon I will be making the full audio available in one sound file. I will leave a post here at the site when it is ready. I do not plan to put it into the podcast feed. Therefore you will need to get it from here. It should not take me too long to have it available.

Following is the transcript for this portion of the biography.

After putting the family on a ship back to Scotland, David was in Kuruman (more…)

I would like to thank Gordon Scott for providing the voices of Dr. David Livingstone and Robert Moffat for this episode.

There are many places where you can get information about Dr. Livingstone from the web. There are also the full text of his books available for reading on line.

The music is from the CD The Airs of Wales by Cheryl Ann Fulton from the Magnatune label.

Please leave any comments you have about this episode or about the life of Dr. Livingstone in the comments section. Or you can write me an email telling me what you thought of the show.

Following is the transcript from this episode.

David Livingstone was born (more…)

I am very excited about the next program that I have coming out. I am in the final editing process now and hopefully will have it available early next week. I am doing a 2 part story of the life of David Livingstone. These will obviously be different types of episodes in that I will not be interviewing him (he died in 1873). I will post the text to these episodes along with the audio.

I know it has been a couple of weeks since the last episode came out, but I think it will be worth the wait. I also have some interviews planned, we are just trying to work out schedules to be able to record. There is a possibility that I will be taking a trip in a few weeks that will give me a chance to meet with a small number of missionaries that I may be able to get interviews from. Of course, this will all be happening at the same time I will be busy with camps and other obligations. If you will stay subscribed and be patient, I plan to get back to a regular release schedule.

Please let me know what you think about the David Livingstone episodes as they come out. I would like to occasionally do others in that same format if you would like to hear them. I think there are many people who have heard the stories of Carey, Moffat and Borden, but it is also possible that many of the Missionary Talks listeners may have never heard of these great missionaries of the past.

The Rovirosas are in the process of renting a house and getting a feel for the area. I talked with Sherry about the purpose of this trip. She shared with me what they are trying to find out so that they can work on a final budget. I also talked with her about her fears, concerns and joys about moving to the mission field, especially as it relates to her being a mother.

In this show we simply shared stories of thin