Jan/Feb/March/April 2024

3WLN 5.0

The fifth 3WLN conference was held April 22-26 in Interlaken, Switzerland. Young leaders from 12 countries all descended on the Credo Center for a time of teaching, learning, emotional support, and super-fun fellowship with other Christian young leaders like themselves. It's always the highlight for all of us 3W team members. These are the young people we track 24/7, following their lives, encouraging them in ministry, and being there through the triumphs and tragedies of life. Guests always report that there is an intimacy and spirit of unity at this conference that is highly unusual and totally tangible when they attend. This year Pastor Mary Stephens of South Side Church of God (South Bend, IN) and Rod Stafford of Fairfax Community Church (Fairfax, VA) were the keynote speakers. Our theme was "Navigating 21st Century Ministry: Embracing Opportunity and Leading with Purpose." God has used 3WLN to encourage people when they felt like giving up on ministry, it has led to people feeling new calls to ministry that they have started, and it has led to unity and lifelong friendships among the younger generations of leaders in the Church of God of Europe and Middle East. This was our last time attending as part of the 3W team and as missionaries. It could not have been a more perfect ending for us. We thank everyone who has supported 3WLN and the 3W team for these past 14 years and hope that you will continue to do so. It has made an enormous difference and it is vital that it continue. We will also be cheering everyone on in the coming years.

The End of a Chapter

What an incredible ride it has been with you. We were in our 20’s when we signed up to be missionaries to Hong Kong and China. Marco was not yet born, September 11 had not happened, and some of our current 3W teammates were finishing high school. We could not have known all the adventures God would put us on in these 24 years. There were some incredible triumphs and some incredibly painful moments. Through it all, you all have been there - praying for us, encouraging us, visiting us, financially supporting us, and loving us. We are forever indebted to you. We do believe that your prayers sustained us through some difficult, dark times.

It was an honor to visit your churches and homes in the United States. We always received such a warm welcome and were made to feel very loved. We will never forget how you embraced Marco as part of our missionary family and prayed for him his whole life. He is doing wonderful in college (finishing his junior year at Gordon College) and knows that he has had an especially blessed life because of all of you. He is grateful, as are we. We will miss visiting your churches, towns, cities, and states.

Our work in China and with the Hong Kong Church of God was literally a childhood dream come true. Our work with Three Worlds in Europe and the Middle East was a wonderful surprise, successful beyond what we could have ever imagined. We leave all of that in good hands. Our friends at Hong Kong Church of God continue to specialize in bringing young people to the Lord in that Buddhist/Confucian society. And our 3W team continues to connect, mentor, and love young leaders throughout Europe and the Middle East. We really hope that you will honor us by continuing to support the 3W team of missionaries. They are truly amazing and anointed servants.

Our final stop on our 24-year journey has been with the Arco Church of God in northern Italy. Today, the church is in the hands of two of the young leaders we are most proud of and have walked alongside the longest. The congregation is so healthy, so united, and has such a wonderful spirit of love. It took no time at all for them to become our first true church home in over 20 years. Announcing our departure has been very painful for us, but they are in a great position and can easily stand on their own. We hope that some of you will choose to support this church which is the only evangelical church, in a valley that stretches for two hours. Support the 3W Italy Expansion Project here.

Where do we go from here? That is still being decided. Regardless of where we land, we will always be missionaries at heart. We love people and we love God and we love His church.

Birkenhead, England

It is always a joy to visit Zach and Audrey Langford and the Egan Road Church community. It is about as complicated of a mission field as you can imagine, but Zach and Audrey navigate the complexity so well. It was also great to see their children, Lola and Leo (who insisted on being called "Big Boy"). We were also able to catch Lola making her stage debut at Liverpool's famous Empire Theatre. Another highlight was watching Zach play rugby for the Oxton Parkonians. It is a great place to meet non-Christians and truly

connect with them at a deep level. One thing Birkenhead teaches us is that 21^st century ministry has to look very different and churches need to adjust quickly. Zach and Audrey need your support. Please consider joining them in the important work they are doing.

Hungary And Romania

Our residency sponsors in Italy (UCBC) asked us to attend a conference on missions and church-planting in Europe being held in Budapest. The meetings were fascinating and brought together leaders and missionaries from different denominations and different parts of Europe to compare notes on what is working and not working. They were all lovely people with very interesting ministries. It was very affirming to see, however, that the Three Worlds team is quite ahead of the curve and has found some solutions to problems that are still plaguing other organizations. We're very proud of our teammates.

This conference also gave us time to visit with Dan, Christy, and Sofie Kihm, and together we made our way to Romania where we joined Nate and Stacy Tatman to attend the wedding of Issa Saddi (Lebanon) and Magdalena (Romania). Issa serves on the 3WLN planning team. What a wonderful power couple they are! It was a beautiful wedding, and

we were very happy to have them at 3WLN last week.

Catching up with Marco

This past Christmas we enjoyed having Marco home and he brought his girlfriend Lily with him. Lily is a top student at Gordon College who was also doing a winter study program in Orvieto, Italy. She will be graduating in early May with degrees in political science and history. A few weeks ago, it was exciting to watch her present her senior thesis online from Italy. The two of them have been dating for almost two years and we are looking forward to visiting them and celebrating Lily's graduation. It's hard to believe Marco will be starting his final year of college in August!