{"id":71238,"date":"2016-10-21T07:55:21","date_gmt":"2016-10-21T07:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.freeburmarangers.org\/?p=71238"},"modified":"2016-10-21T07:55:57","modified_gmt":"2016-10-21T07:55:57","slug":"fields-of-god-from-syria-to-peru-and-palmer-missionaries-converge-on-conference-at-local-church-for-the-12th-straight-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.freeburmarangers.org\/my\/2016\/10\/21\/fields-of-god-from-syria-to-peru-and-palmer-missionaries-converge-on-conference-at-local-church-for-the-12th-straight-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Fields of God: From Syria to Peru and Palmer, missionaries converge on conference at local church for the 12th straight year"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Fields of God<\/h1>\n

From Syria to Peru and Palmer, missionaries converge on conference at local church for the 12th straight year<\/h2>\n

19 October, 2016<\/em><\/p>\n

Link:\u00a0http:\/\/www.frontiersman.com\/news\/fields-of-god\/article_bde14aee-9617-11e6-9bec-372d36d9e127.html<\/a><\/p>\n

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WASILLA \u2014 On stage, his image projected onto two large screens above, and streamed live on the church\u2019s website, David Eubank shared accounts of his work in the mission field so harrowing, suspenseful and ripped from the day\u2019s headlines, they would make even the bravest action hero blush.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Booths covered every inch of the wall inside the Church on the Rock\u2019s main chapel, each promoting the work of missionaries from around the world, many of them represented by guest speakers at the four-day event, which concluded with a gala banquet Tuesday night at Raven Hall.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Such a production might make you think the ECHO Global Missions Conference was a touring show just making a stop in Wasilla, but you would be wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Eubank, the founder of Free Burma Rangers, and 21 other speakers who gathered Saturday through Tuesday came expressly and solely to the Church on the Rock, which hosted the event for the 12th consecutive year at its Wasilla, Palmer and Talkeetna campuses.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe first few years were small, but over the years we\u2019ve been able to bring in more mission organizations and get more missionaries involved,\u201d said the church\u2019s founder David Pepper, who grew up in Peru where his parents were founding members of the MEPI Amazon Outreach. \u201cIt ends up (growing) through relational connections over the years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Eubank began Free Burma Rangers in 1997, helping thousands of people displaced by dictatorships and political unrest. In 2014, the group\u2019s attention turned to the Sudan, and by 2015, it was on to the Kurdistan\/Syria border and the humanitarian fight against the rising scourge of ISIS.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Monday afternoon, Eubank told stories of helping the wounded, whom were often shot by ISIS as they tried to flee the town it was overtaking. Often times, he wound up in the line of fire as well, escaping with his life thanks to forging strong relations with locals, cunning and luck, or as Eubank would call it, God\u2019s will.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t come to America to raise funds, I just come to tell a story,\u201d Eubank said. \u201cIf we get funding that\u2019s awesome, but I felt God called me here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Like Pepper, Eubank was raised by missionaries in Burma. An Army Ranger Green Beret, Eubank got out of the military in his 30s and went to seminary. It was only a matter of time before those two passions meshed.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI was a soldier and an adventurer and I still kind of am,\u201d Eubank said. \u201cI\u2019m doing it because I\u2019m desperate to be more than just a physical body. I\u2019m desperate to find a spiritual reality and make something of my life that\u2019s eternally valuable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Self-effacing in his professed shortcomings as a Christian, Eubank hopes the adventuring aspects of his story inspire people to take a \u2018leap of faith.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cDo not be led by comfort or fear \u2014 they\u2019re both horrible guides. They\u2019ll leave you disappointed all the time,\u201d he said. \u201cBe led by the opportunities God has and go for it. Take that step that he\u2019s there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Other missionaries at the ECHO event included Brake Ministires International, operating in India, Cambodian Connections, Iglesia Filadelfia and Kingdom Alliance Ministries in Peru, worldwide missions including The Living Faith in 80 nations, Missions.ME based in Michigan, and focused on Nicaragua this year, New York City Relief, aimed at the city\u2019s homeless problem, and the World Outreach Ministry Foundation, aiming at digging wells for clean water for a medical center in Burundi.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Other booths with speakers included missions closer to home, such as Beacon Hill, which finds placement homes for Alaskan children at risk of winding up in foster care. Charity Carmody spoke Monday afternoon about her work.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cPeople from the community will take kids in crisis when their parents call,\u201d she explained. \u201cThey may say they need help now because they\u2019re going to jail for 30 days or rehab, or losing their house. We take them for a while so no abuse takes place.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Carmody said the program has reduced reliance on foster homes significantly, and with a network of guest homes around the Valley and Anchorage has kept 21 out of foster care this year alone.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI\u2019ve been amazed, how, when a mom called from Big Lake, all of a sudden the community rallied around this kid from Big Lake,\u201d Carmody said. \u201cI think people will step up if we give them the tools. Everyone is screened and background checked, safety checked, and people will use resources if they know they can.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Church on the Rock pastor Jonathan Walker said the purpose of having so many missionaries come to the Valley campuses is not to make Americans feel guilty about severe suffering around the world, but rather to see themselves as missionaries in their lives here.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWe are all built-in, hard-wired about wanting to accomplish something; we want our lives to matter,\u201d Walker said. \u201cSome people just happen to be on a mission in Syria or Thailand or Africa, but Sherry Carrington started up Connect Palmer. She\u2019s a lay person in this church in Palmer and she said, \u2018how can I get women to build their job skills and write resumes?\u2019 There\u2019s a radical shift in people\u2019s approach to missionaries. What you are doing is not just preaching and trying to get people to punch their ticket to heaven \u2014 we\u2019re intended to make a difference in the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n