The 2011 Annual Conference in beautiful Sioux Falls is in full swing! The women of the World Mission Federation (WMF) enjoyed a full day of worship, Bible study, encouragement, yes, and even business as well as wonderful workshop speakers who exhorted us to Trust in, Delight in, and Commit our ways to God who will give us the desire of our hearts. (Psalm 37:3-6) We heard greetings from Tamba Abel, who along with her husband, Jonathon and family are here for a 1-year furlough, and from Todd and Barb Schierkolk, who left Mexico earlier than expected and will have a longer furlough as they wait for the violence in Mexico to subside. They found it very hard to leave their ministry before they were ready. The WMF day finished in a big way as Christie Ballman did a chalk talk with us, drawing a picture of an island and telling us the story of Missionary Darlene Diebler Rose who was imprisoned by the Japanese during World War II but lived to tell of her experience in her autobiography: Evidence Not Seen.
Tuesday night, the WMF hosted the annual Missions Festival with Pastor Jonathan Abel speaking. Our new missionaries, Andy and Monica Coyle; Justo and Patricia Pillman, were commissioned at the end of the service. What a special time it was when members of the missions committee and Director Del Palmer laid hands on them to send them out in the power of the Holy Spirit, just as Barnabas and Saul were commissioned in the early church. (Acts 13:1-3)
Pastor Abel preached from Matthew 28:19-20, verses that most of us know as the “Great Commission”. The command to preach the Gospel (go and make disciples) is for each of us individually, for the local church, and for the church worldwide. We need to think about Acts 1:8 which commands us to go out to be witnesses in the power of the Holy Spirit to “our Jerusalem (the culture we know around us), Judea (the unchurched community around us), Samaria (people/cultures different from ourselves in the US), and the ends of the earth (other cultures in other countries).”
The WMF day and the Missions Festival have indeed fulfilled the purpose of the annual conference in providing spiritual refreshment and power for all attendees.
