Alexandru and Salomeea Bala spent last year at Word of Life Bible Center in Uppsala to be equipped for ministry in their home country, Romania. Here they share about their first period back home and their expectations for the future.
Sixteen years ago, we traveled for the first time to Kolkata together with our two young sons. We planned to volunteer for one year, but it became two – two of the best years of our lives. We got to experience a different world, form lifelong friendships, and be part of making a difference.
Japan is one of the world's largest unreached peoples, with around 0.5% evangelical Christians. That means about 125 million people there don't know Jesus. This spring, we - a team of four second-year Bible school students - went on a mission trip there.
So many exciting things have happened here in Macedonia this spring. Since September last year, we have had the privilege of working with one of the local parishes, Trinitas.
Dnipro is a city of millions located in the east of Ukraine, between Kiev and the Crimean peninsula. The city is located on the mighty river of the same name (Dnieper in Russian) Here, another new parish, which is part of the Word of Life parish network, was started in autumn 2024.
For over 40 years, our vision has been clear: to equip God's people with His Word of faith and send them out to preach the Gospel, fulfilling our mission to build an apostolic church movement that reaches the unreached - from our neighbourhood to the ends of the earth.
In early spring, I received an unexpected invitation to visit one of the larger congregations of the Word of Life in Kazakhstan in the city of Karaganda.
‘This was like a Disneyland for pastors.’
These words came from a pastor who attended our Europe Summit for the very first time. Around 220 leaders from across Europe gathered in the historic city of Durrës, Albania - a place where the Apostle Paul once preached in signs and wonders, as recorded in Romans 15:18-19.
Myanmar faced a devastating humanitarian crisis after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake on 28 March. More than two weeks later, families were still stranded, sleeping on the streets and filled with fear for the future.
About a month ago we concluded a fantastic summit in Albania where all the European leaders of the Word of Life network gathered for a few days of fellowship, relaxation and worship.
New mission opportunities in Portugal/Samuel Thoor, Missionary North Macedonia
Mission work is flourishing in Portugal, and Patrick and Johanna Rager are at the centre of it. After completing their studies at the Word of Life Bible School in Uppsala, they felt a strong call to serve in Portugal. Last August, they took a bold step of faith, moving to the south of the country and buying a home in a small coastal village.
For most of my life I have always felt a longing to go to Africa. I didn't know how, I didn't know where, but God put that longing in my heart for a reason. He had bigger plans than I could imagine. In Bible school, I was honoured to be sent to Rwanda.
We reach into different worlds and circles. I have been to China in the past and visited unregistered congregations in the Word of Life network, but since the situation in the country has gradually changed, it is more difficult now.
Halfway into this year's mission in Northern Macedonia for me and Jan, we have seen how God has opened doors for us to equip the next generation of leaders and see people receive Jesus. But the absolute highlight of this past autumn term came as a total surprise from the Lord.
One of the most beautiful things in life is to be an instrument in God's hands and see how He works through us. To see how His love and power touches people - and we can only marvel, knowing that it is not about us, but about Him and His grace and love for the people around us.
What a blessing to be able to go on mission in your own country and see that God is also working in Sweden. We were a team from the Word of Life Bible Centre who went on mission in Borås last autumn and served in the church Borås Kristna Center.
My name is Win Van Tam. For years, my life was characterised by emptiness and struggle. I worked in Malaysia, far from my hometown, seeking meaning in worldly pleasures that made me feel more lost than ever.
It is such a blessing to serve God together with teams from different churches and nations. We had the opportunity to do this in October when we helped organise the National Transformation Movement Conference in Romania.
In the midst of preparing for this summer's European Conference, Jan and I decided to gather some inspiration for the coming year's mission by looking through some of the old VHS ‘video of the month’ tapes.
There are always mixed feelings when visiting the country. I spent a few days in Kyiv last week; everything was calm except for a few occasional air raid sirens. The day after I left, the city was attacked by rockets.
On October 7th, it was one year since 1,200 were killed and 250 taken hostage in the worst terror attack against Jews since the Holocaust and the bloodiest day in Israel’s modern history.
