
Last month, near the end of October, the ABWE missionaries in central and eastern Europe gathered near Athens, Greece, for our biannual regional conference. Key personnel from the home office joined us for training and consultation, and we all enjoyed excellent spiritual nourishment.
Jo Ann has a unique vantage point among missionary women as she can count an impressive number of years serving in the foreign field worldwide. She led a special session for the women with the theme “What would I tell my younger me?”
As Paul wrote in the pastoral epistles, “Older women likewise are to . . . teach what is good, and so train the young women . . .” (Titus 2:3–4). It was a blessing for Jo Ann to share a few golden nuggets of lessons she has learned throughout our fantastic journey.
Two crazy missionaries sent

Later in the conference, Jo Ann and I were seated and surrounded by wonderful and faithful missionary colleagues when our regional director, Jason, introduced a missionary couple who left the USA for the foreign field on April 1, 1974. And everyone was giggling and wondering who would be so crazy as to choose April Fool’s Day for such a momentous event. Then he called Rich and Jo Ann to the front of the auditorium! Yes, we were the crazy ones who flew from Denver on that date 50 years ago with our three daughters for service in South America and around the world.
The Book of Memories Gift
The next surprise was the presentation of a gift from the Region, which we will treasure for the rest of our lives. Many people, including some of you reading this letter, participated in sending pictures and loving notes to become a part of a book telling the story of our half-a-century journey on the fields ready for harvest. Our hearts are filled with praise to Him and thankfulness for the privilege of serving Him throughout these years, and we still have more we want to accomplish by His grace.
One of the things we desire to accomplish is the final training in the Institute of Church Planting (ICP). If you were to ask our students in the ICP what passage of Scripture is repeated constantly, they would say, “And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2). This is the heart and priority of our ministries.
Support for Rich and Jo Ann
In our last letter, we mentioned that we were just over $300 short of our required monthly support. We can only thank the Lord and many of you, as the entire amount has been committed. Please praise the Lord with us for His bountiful supply.
Heart to Heart
Many of you have been praying effectively for me (Rich), and I have been able to continue my regular teaching load since having a stent placed in one of my blood vessels. We are coordinating with the cardiologist regarding the date for inserting a second stent. Please continue praying, thanking the Lord for His mercy in allowing us to continue serving Him in Moldova.
Eighteen Evangelists released
This Fall semester at the Christian University UDG, I (Rich) taught evangelism to two groups of students. Many of our students come from countries with a strong Islamic influence. Sharing the gospel in that context requires loving relationships and a wise strategy. However, that is no less true in non-Islamic countries, although the approach may differ.
Because of UDG's unique scheduling needs, we have completed the evangelism training, including the final exams. We are blessed with a sense of fulfillment to know that eighteen young Christians are now prepared to share the gospel with their communities, friends, and families, no matter the ministries they may have in the future.
Thirty church planters growing
It is hard to believe that most ICP students will have completed four of the five training manuals in the church planting course by the beginning of December. We have been doing this training for the last two years, and by God’s grace, the first class will graduate next year. Fourteen new church plants are at various stages of maturing into biblical New Testament Baptist churches.

One of those maturing churches is the Criuleni Baptist Church, where Jo Ann and I now serve. The project to complete the building fund has seen an incredible response from many individuals and some churches. As of this writing, we only need $20,000 to pay for the building. We want to thank all who have helped with this new church plant. Please click on this link if the Lord should lead you to help with the remaining $20,000.
It would be such a blessing to see this project completed by the end of winter. Please pray that the Lord will provide the remaining amount by February of 2025. We hope to lay the floor and complete the finishing touches in the Spring.
Blessings counted
We feel incredibly blessed and count serving the Lord with you as a blessing. A few of you reading this epistle will remember the old hymn “Count Your Blessings”—name them one by one. We have only been able to share the highlights of the blessings we enjoy this Thanksgiving month. We have been invited to spend Thanksgiving with our ABWE missionaries in Odesa, Ukraine, later this month. Encouraging one another in gratitude for His goodness will be a blessing. Thank you for allowing us to join your Great Commission team, and happy Thanksgiving!