Hello Pastor and Friends, 

As I mentioned in my last newsletter, there was much concern about proceeding with the scheduled medical mission to Santa Cruz, Bolivia in November. The day before we were to depart, the team leaders had to make the agonizing decision to delay the trip and reschedule it for July 2023. It just was not prudent to take a team into the midst of political turmoil. All the labor that went into planning this mission had to be undone, only to be repeated next July. Yet even in the disappointment we know of at least one blessing. The hotel where we were to stay had purchased in advance the food needed to feed 40 Americans. When our reservations were cancelled, the hotel contacted the missionary with whom we were to work, asking what they should do with the food that would otherwise perish. The missionary chose to purchase the food and use it to feed his church members and others within a radius of the church since these people were unable to get to work due to blockades along the roadways. The situation has settled down, and the missionary family has returned to the field. They were even able to complete the shell of a building where they met for Christmas services. 

I’m not sure how many miles I traversed in 2022, but I know that 13,000+ of them were domestic, as I reported to churches in the West and Mid-West. I also passed through at least nine foreign countries to serve on medical teams alongside church planting missionaries and pastors. To my knowledge, both home and abroad, 271 people made professions of faith through these ministries with whom I co-labored, but only the Lord knows all that was truly accomplished for eternity. 

Recently my pastor made a comment about laborers leaving the harvest fields, and immediately I envisioned in my mind a field ripe and ready to harvest. There were many laborers in the field, using sickles and scythes to cut down the stalks. But in my mind’s eye, the laborers started laying down their tools and leaving the field, and I began to think of national pastors and missionaries that have passed in my short time in missions: Navi Bola in Fiji, Areobaldo DeCarvalho in Cape Verde, Gilbert Toquero in the Philippines, Charles Wesco in Cameroon. Others, as well. The fields are no less ready for harvest though we have lost so many laborers. If you have folks in your church who are interested in missions, may I recommend ministries like Camp BIMI, Baptist Bible Translators Institute (BBTI) in Texas, and/or sending them on a short-term missions trip? In 2023 the Lord is still calling, and the harvest is still great. 

By His grace, 


Becky Pope 

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