Part One:
When I was a youth I loved to go to Christian camp. My church had a camp called Ohio Baptist Acres. The camp was a one-hour drive from Akron and was a converted farm. Every summer I would go for two weeks. When I was old enough to work, I took a job at the camp. I worked there as a counselor or as one of the work crew every summer through high school and for several summers during college. I have always put a high value on camps and what could be achieved by getting the youth out of their environment and into a setting without distraction for hearing the Gospel. During my Korean ministry in San Francisco, we saw many youth saved in camps, so it was natural for me to run summer camps in Tiraspol.
Our first camp was in 1995, and it was for my four churches. We rented an old Soviet “rest” camp for the week. A group from the States came with a program and basically shut me and my nationals out of the decision-making process. They tried to run the camp just like an American camp. I felt it was an utter failure, because few were saved, and their emphasis was wrong. While the children enjoyed the experience, my team and I were frustrated; we were determined to do it differently the next summer. The ‘96 camp was a total success, and we discovered it was a valuable tool in winning children and teens to the Lord. We could use the camp to bring the teens to hear the Word of God; the local church would then disciple the youth for the rest of the year.
Right before we went home on furlough, I was talking to a Moldovan friend of mine about the camps. He made a suggestion that I consider buying a camp facility while the prices were cheap and run Christian youth camps all summer. My first reaction to this was negative, because I was sure it would be too much money. I was also a church planter and had started four churches; this really was my heart as a missionary. However, the more I thought about the camp ministry, the more I began to see it as a way to reach Moldova for the Lord. As it turned out, there were hundreds of camps in Moldova and southern Ukraine, and most of them were for sale. Many of the camps were small and could be purchased for a relatively low price. Finally, I set a goal of raising $50,000 during my furlough to purchase a camp.
That first furlough was longer than I would have liked because of two things. First I saw a need to raise additional personal support due to the change in the Moldovan economy. My goal was to bring my support up to $3,000 a month. My second purpose for that first furlough was to raise funds for the purchase of the camp facility. In those days the most frightening thing I did was visit churches and raise funds. Perhaps it is my personality, but I really hate to ask for money.
Furlough presented several challenges for me. The first great challenge was finding a new mission board. Most of the boards I talked to were willing to consider me, but first I had to resign the present board and wait as long as two months before being officially accepted by the new board. If I did this, I was sure I would lose my existing support, and this left me uncomfortable. I had an existing work in Moldova, and I was also looking to the future and expansion. It was a frustrating process. I scheduled a meeting with the European director of a large board an eight-hour drive from Pensacola. When I got there the director had decided to go to a mission’s conference, and he left me with a director from a totally different part of the world. To say the least, the meeting did not go as well as planned. It was becoming clear to me that God was shutting every door. I was discussing the problem with a veteran missionary out of my home church, and he suggested I start my own board. While this did not appeal to me, because it would just add another burden to me and my family, it was becoming clear that this was the only course of action left to me. After talking to a lawyer about the necessary steps to set up a non-profit organization, I finally decided to start my own mission board. We filed all the papers to meet legal requirements; I wanted everything done correctly and properly. If I was going to start a board, the business side of things was going to be done right. I had seen the name Eurasian several times and decided that would be an appropriate name. So, EurAsian Baptist Mission was born in 1997. To make the transition, I visited all my supporters first and asked them to accept the change and send our support to the new board. All but one pastor and church agreed. After this was done, I went to the old board and gave them my letter of resignation. I never said a bad word to them about how my family and I were treated or their poor business practices. I hugged them and said good-bye peacefully.
There was always the challenge of scheduling supporting churches and other churches for potential new support. Many of my supporters were helpful in providing names of other churches they thought would help me as a missionary. Some pastors even called their friends and asked them if they would schedule me. That was always a sure thing as far as setting up meetings. However, the new board presented some churches with a dilemma. They were cautious in supporting any missionary who came from an unfamiliar board. That left me with the job of “selling” the board to pastors and their people. I’m not very good at selling, so I decided to just put the Moldovan ministry in front of them and let that speak for it self. When given the opportunity, I would also preach the Word of God. I am convinced that God was with me and spoke to the hearts of those churches I visited. I made many new friends, and God blessed in the raising of new support and moneys for a camp. Between registering the new board and the raising of extra money for a camp, I was on furlough for 18 months. I raised my support level to $3,500 per month and $45,000 for the camp project. It was a happy time visiting churches, because they were so willing to help. It seemed like almost all my supporters did something to help meet the need of purchasing a camp.
When I was a youth I loved to go to Christian camp. My church had a camp called Ohio Baptist Acres. The camp was a one-hour drive from Akron and was a converted farm. Every summer I would go for two weeks. When I was old enough to work, I took a job at the camp. I worked there as a counselor or as one of the work crew every summer through high school and for several summers during college. I have always put a high value on camps and what could be achieved by getting the youth out of their environment and into a setting without distraction for hearing the Gospel. During my Korean ministry in San Francisco, we saw many youth saved in camps, so it was natural for me to run summer camps in Tiraspol.
Our first camp was in 1995, and it was for my four churches. We rented an old Soviet “rest” camp for the week. A group from the States came with a program and basically shut me and my nationals out of the decision-making process. They tried to run the camp just like an American camp. I felt it was an utter failure, because few were saved, and their emphasis was wrong. While the children enjoyed the experience, my team and I were frustrated; we were determined to do it differently the next summer. The ‘96 camp was a total success, and we discovered it was a valuable tool in winning children and teens to the Lord. We could use the camp to bring the teens to hear the Word of God; the local church would then disciple the youth for the rest of the year.
Right before we went home on furlough, I was talking to a Moldovan friend of mine about the camps. He made a suggestion that I consider buying a camp facility while the prices were cheap and run Christian youth camps all summer. My first reaction to this was negative, because I was sure it would be too much money. I was also a church planter and had started four churches; this really was my heart as a missionary. However, the more I thought about the camp ministry, the more I began to see it as a way to reach Moldova for the Lord. As it turned out, there were hundreds of camps in Moldova and southern Ukraine, and most of them were for sale. Many of the camps were small and could be purchased for a relatively low price. Finally, I set a goal of raising $50,000 during my furlough to purchase a camp.
That first furlough was longer than I would have liked because of two things. First I saw a need to raise additional personal support due to the change in the Moldovan economy. My goal was to bring my support up to $3,000 a month. My second purpose for that first furlough was to raise funds for the purchase of the camp facility. In those days the most frightening thing I did was visit churches and raise funds. Perhaps it is my personality, but I really hate to ask for money.
Furlough presented several challenges for me. The first great challenge was finding a new mission board. Most of the boards I talked to were willing to consider me, but first I had to resign the present board and wait as long as two months before being officially accepted by the new board. If I did this, I was sure I would lose my existing support, and this left me uncomfortable. I had an existing work in Moldova, and I was also looking to the future and expansion. It was a frustrating process. I scheduled a meeting with the European director of a large board an eight-hour drive from Pensacola. When I got there the director had decided to go to a mission’s conference, and he left me with a director from a totally different part of the world. To say the least, the meeting did not go as well as planned. It was becoming clear to me that God was shutting every door. I was discussing the problem with a veteran missionary out of my home church, and he suggested I start my own board. While this did not appeal to me, because it would just add another burden to me and my family, it was becoming clear that this was the only course of action left to me. After talking to a lawyer about the necessary steps to set up a non-profit organization, I finally decided to start my own mission board. We filed all the papers to meet legal requirements; I wanted everything done correctly and properly. If I was going to start a board, the business side of things was going to be done right. I had seen the name Eurasian several times and decided that would be an appropriate name. So, EurAsian Baptist Mission was born in 1997. To make the transition, I visited all my supporters first and asked them to accept the change and send our support to the new board. All but one pastor and church agreed. After this was done, I went to the old board and gave them my letter of resignation. I never said a bad word to them about how my family and I were treated or their poor business practices. I hugged them and said good-bye peacefully.
There was always the challenge of scheduling supporting churches and other churches for potential new support. Many of my supporters were helpful in providing names of other churches they thought would help me as a missionary. Some pastors even called their friends and asked them if they would schedule me. That was always a sure thing as far as setting up meetings. However, the new board presented some churches with a dilemma. They were cautious in supporting any missionary who came from an unfamiliar board. That left me with the job of “selling” the board to pastors and their people. I’m not very good at selling, so I decided to just put the Moldovan ministry in front of them and let that speak for it self. When given the opportunity, I would also preach the Word of God. I am convinced that God was with me and spoke to the hearts of those churches I visited. I made many new friends, and God blessed in the raising of new support and moneys for a camp. Between registering the new board and the raising of extra money for a camp, I was on furlough for 18 months. I raised my support level to $3,500 per month and $45,000 for the camp project. It was a happy time visiting churches, because they were so willing to help. It seemed like almost all my supporters did something to help meet the need of purchasing a camp.
