Commitment is a scary word! In our post-modern age, a lot of people don’t want to sign on the dotted line for marriage, missions, or most anything anymore. But then there are the gems—those who hear the call, accept the challenge and commit, placing the helm of their life ships in the hand of their all-knowing Savior!

I know many people who have made whole-hearted life commitments. I think of my friends Martin Fishell (former AFM trust officer) and his wife Irene who have been married for more than 60 years. People like Kent and Leonda George who have served the Philippine Palawano people for more than 15 years. People like short-term missionaries Uli Baur, Kiana Binford, and Wendy Guptill who saw the needs of their people groups and realized that one year of service just wouldn’t cut it. These three women have each spent four or more years at their 9-month project calls!

This year, 30 young people have made the commitment to serve as AFM student missionaries. Nearly half of those are renewing for another year. Come meet these people who said, “Yes!” this year and who really mean it!

AFRICA
In AFRICA, Alexander Swensen (Andrews University) will be videotaping at the Dendi and Otammari Projects in Benin. Quentin Platt (Ohio State University) will be assisting the Badés at the Dendi Project with English or computer teaching. Uli Baur-Kouato* continues to serve at the Otammari Project headed up by the Harrals. Emily Segura (Union College) and Camille Jones (Oakwood University) are destined for the Susu Project in Guinea to help the Cokers homeschool their children and teach in the French school.

ASIA
ASIA will be home to Josh Hooker* for a few more months as he instructs the newly launched Clay family in the ways of the Great River People among whom he has served the last few years. Keirsta Mackey (Southern Adventist University), Carrie*, Kaylin King* and Kasia Nephew* will bless the Palawano people with their nursing skills with the assistance of Rachel Perry*. Yasmine Mansouri*, Yesenia Gonzalez* and Julie Glass (Southern) will serve respectively as teachers in the elementary school, the high school and the Villarica homeschool in Palawan. Jessica Richter (Canadian University College) heads to Thailand to homeschool the Palacios boys, while “Audrey Grace” (University of California), “Vera Dye” (Union), “Cora Carlson”, “Elizabeth Trust”, “Alice Nobel”, “Ella Holloway” (CaUC), “James Dale” (Weimar), “Leane Cornell” and “Adara Hadriel”* will serve in an English language school for the Tai-Kadai. “Josiah Miller”* and “Joshua Goodson” will serve in Youland with the “Williams” family.

EUROPE
EUROPE’s ambassadors are “Liza Smith” serving in Turkey with the Hopes and Mary and Andy Murphy and Emily Fisher in Ireland with the Freeman family.

These faithful servants hail from Australia, Canada, Germany, South Africa, and the U.S. Names in quotations marks are pseudonyms for those working in creative-access countries.

*Starred names denote those serving for another year. Those stars just might also represent the precious jewels they hope to gather for God’s Kingdom, the main reason AFM missionaries commit!

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