"I was playing Onward, Christian Soldier on my trombone to 1,400 people in China, in a hall once used to train future Communists. Seeing the openness of the people to spiritual things was so moving."
That is one of the best memories Dave Aufrance has from 22 years of missionary work in Hong Kong and southern China. He first traveled to China as a teacher with a degree in music education. Today Aufrance spends his time managing a team of nine career missionaries, and enjoying the unique experiences life in Hong Kong has to offer. His wife Cindy also works in the mission as a teacher.
The shock of moving to a city with a population of 6.5 million was the hardest adjustment for the couple. Hong Kong is also one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in, and because missionaries aren't well paid, the Aufrances say they found it a struggle.
In the Aufrances' mission, theological study isn't a prerequisite. Laymen make up most of their force. Many college students travel to Hong Kong each summer to work as missionaries on a short-term basis. They may be considering a career as a missionary or just looking for a way to help people and experience a new culture.
Aufrance advises young people to spend a lot of time in church study, do a short missionary program and then spend some time living in the world before deciding. He says that is especially true for people hoping to one day go into theology and a life in the clergy.
"Those that go straight from college [to seminary] don't always make the best missionaries or pastors."
While the life of missionaries in Hong Kong isn't too different from life at home, not all destinations are as livable. Rod and Sherry Boyd are experiencing life in a Third World nation -- spreading Christianity through ministry rather than schooling.
The Boyds are serving in Panama. Although they're still getting used to the change in climate, they say the change is manageable. "God gives the missionary the ability to adapt to his foreign surroundings," says Sherry Boyd. "He gives him love for those in the foreign culture."
The Boyds base their work at home and don't have a typical 9-to-5 day. "It's very difficult to draw the line between work and home," says Sherry. But she adds that the commute is very short.
The Boyds have set up a Bible school for the Kuna Indians of the San Blas Islands. The project was especially challenging because living conditions are very primitive and the weather is hot and humid.
On a recent trip to the islands, Rod Boyd endured a real test of faith. "I arrived at the islands sick with a high fever. I was able to teach a 12-hour course over two days. I didn't eat a thing for the 50 hours we were on the island."
Charles Hedrick has also devoted himself to work in a harsh climate, where political instability adds to the pressures of his 27-year mission to Nigeria. He's devoted to training people for work in the seminary. "I saw the need for taking our [Baptist] message to the world," says Hedrick, who hails from Missouri. He's never doubted that decision and has no plans to move back to North America any time soon.
Culture shock is the hardest hurdle for missionaries to Nigeria to overcome. It's a Third World country with a military government and economic trouble. The people speak 250 different tribal dialects. The pace of life is also quite different from that in North America.
"Time isn't as important to the African people," says Hedrick. "The cultural learning is ongoing. Some missionaries have been here 35 years and are still learning."