Letter From the Editors

E. Scott & Crystal Martin

We returned from our restricted Central Eurasian Islamic country just three weeks ago. There we lived out our message and pioneer planted the first ever Chi Alpha/One More Friend group in that area. We had a blast.

So often when we hear the mission challenge, it invokes fear in us. We have these illogical thoughts of death, poverty and sacrifice. Many people have asked us if it was a hard sacrifice for us to serve in Islamic Central Eurasia. The truth is, very little. It was actually one of the greatest privileges of our life. How cool is it to do something that has never been done before for the Kingdom of God? Can you imagine putting a year of foreign service and learning another language on your résumé. No, it wasn’t little sacrifice; it was a pleasure and fun!

Don’t get me wrong, there were some challenges and even some scary moments at times, but we rose above them, “We” being our family and our new family of 13 recent college graduates from Chi Alpha and few Bible colleges. The euphoria of accomplishing something significant for Jesus far outweighed any sacrifice.

Please take a good read at our journal entries. They will really give you a window into our lives and ministry there. I wish we could be more open but, due to where we served, we must be careful about what we say and about whom we speak. Please feel free to ask Crystal, Mercer, Marcus or me about some the stories and we can give you more details.

We can’t wait to go and plant another Chi Alpha group in Central Eurasia! Don’t let those illogical thoughts keep you from service for Jesus. Give A Year And Pray About A Lifetime, and have a blast doing it.

E. Scott & Crystal Martin

E. Scott & Crystal Martin serve as the Directors for Student Missions in the national Chi Alpha office. They also served as the architects of The World Missions Summit and are directing The World Missions Summit 2 to be held in Cincinnati, OH, December 30, 2008 – January 1, 2009