As AFM President Conrad Vine passes the baton, I thought it fitting to recall a few of his less-heard-of ventures.

I am reminded of Conrad gasping for breath as he climbed the steep mountains of Palawan and then slid down the same with a 50-lb weight on his back—upon reaching the bottom, he had to be rushed to the hospital. I remember his wading through the swamps of Papua New Guinea to visit our most remote missionary families and, halfway across the world, his touching tale from Guinea of contemptible cockroaches crawling across his body to drink his sweat as he slept. He visited with a Muslim seeker of truth living in the deserts of Africa who had a dream of Jesus and then begged Conrad to be his neighbor in heaven. He navigated the concrete jungles of Turkey, traversed the wilds of Africa, and faced the very real natural dangers of snake bites, scorpion venom and tropical diseases as well as human threats such as armed gorillas, ISIS in Iraq and civil conflict.

Conrad’s heart for the plight of refugees from Syria led AFM to distribute emergency supplies and build separate latrines for at-risk women to prevent them from being trafficked in refugee camps. In a neighboring country, he opened the Word of God with secret believers in an all-night Bible study—for the first time, these believers were able to study the gospel openly before returning to their country where, if found out, they would face persecution and possible death.

As he crisscrossed the globe, Conrad cared for the missionaries, praying with and encouraging them through their struggles. He also guided them in crafting culturally sensitive plans to advance the gospel in meaningful ways among the unreached. In truth and deed, Conrad always pushed forward as a man who understands that time in this world is short and that we must multiply the work in order to hasten the second coming.

Conrad is a man of prayer, steadfast in purpose, holding out his hand to help the helpless, speaking for those without a voice. His convictions always meet the conscience of his heart without waver.

It is difficult to measure the impact Conrad Vine has had on the unreached people around the world, but God willing, I suspect that impact will be forever felt in heaven.

As AFM moves forward seeking new leadership for our organization, we wish Dr. Vine the very best. We will miss him.

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