A Quarter of a Century – Randy Pierce

Twenty-five years ago this month I got up in the wee hours of the morning, crawled into a borrowed church van with Tom Smith and headed to Honduras for the first time. There were quite a few firsts on that trip—

• First time out of the US (other than packaged Mexico vacations where they make a point of keeping you away from the locals and their culture)
• First mission trip
• First time leaving my family for a whole week (and no way to even talk to them)
• First time going off with a bunch of folks I did not know (a major feat for an off-the-scale introvert)
• First time since I left momma’s house that someone else would tell me what I can and cannot eat or drink (I was a rather picky eater)
• First time to be greeted at an airport exit by very heavily armed men (and they appeared quite ready to use their weapons)

Indeed, what I thought to be a one-off event turned into a very extreme missionary adventure. Just a few short months later I was back in Honduras again, then I followed Tom off to Romania, then Mexico, then Honduras again. Before long I was leading a volunteer team to somewhere once a month. God used these short-term mission experiences to open my eyes to the needs of the world around me.

A year or so later God called me to leave the air conditioning business which I had started, built, and loved, to join Him on an Extreme Missionary Adventure (then known as Macedonia Missions). At the time I had only the vision He gave me to take the Gospel to the unreached and His promise to meet our needs.

You have been a part of this wonderful, amazing adventure with a purpose through your going, your giving, and your praying. I am so very grateful for you joining me as together we seek to know Christ more and make Him more known!

P.S. Be sure to stick with us as the adventure continues into the second quarter century!