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After 18 years as a missionary, followed by 18 years pastoring missionaries, John Malone has one thought: I want to finish well.
For the past 18 years in the business world, Larry Conrad has wondered: When can we start, Lord?
The poet Robert Frost mused about two roads diverging in a wood, but this tale turns the fork around: it’s a story about two journeys converging on one mission field. About a less-traveled missionary couple joining hands with a couple of well-heeled veterans. One can hardly believe they’re finally going – the other is surprised to be going back.
They will rendezvous in January 2006 at the Málaga Media Center in
Spain – newcomers Larry and Gwynn Conrad from Minnesota, and
“home-comers” John and Joanne Malone of Virginia.
All four were introduced at the Avant candidate training in July. But
for the Malones, the reunion river runs much deeper. They served as
Avant missionaries from 1968 to 1986, primarily in Ecuador, when the
organization was known as Gospel Missionary Union.
“It was important to connect again and be part of the energy and fresh
vision and excitement,” Joanne says. “So much has changed.”
The home-coming is sweetened by an Ecuadorian welcome mat awaiting the
Malones in Spain. A new Avant Short-Cycle Church Planting team is
setting up shop about an hour from the Málaga Media Center – and seven
of the nine team members have served in Ecuador and know the Malones.
It’s not like the Malones saw any of this coming. In fact, this past
spring they were touring Spain on a two-week survey trip with another
missions organization. John had plans to retire as world missions
pastor at their home church in Virginia, and the couple had recently
attended a “Finishers Forum” missions conference targeting retirees.
They stopped off at the Avant ministry in Málaga while in Spain, mostly
to rest up and catch up with old friends. And then they heard about the
need there for pastoral care providers – people to mentor the younger
generation of local missionaries.
“We looked at each other and were very quiet,” Joanne says. “This is
it! It was such a perfect fit. There wasn’t a doubt in our minds.”
Stepping away from the “management” side of ministry – phones calls and
day planners – will help to recharge his passion in a new part of the
world, John says. “It’s a chance to get back to focusing on people and
the Word of God.”
The survey trip had revealed glaring church-planting and family
ministry needs – “but we didn’t know if God would give us that kind of
time and energy,” Joanne says. And yet, “we had missions experience.
Our health is good. So why not go somewhere for a few years and use
what we’ve learned? I’d like to make my life count.”
The Conrads and Malones range in age from 58 to 67. Between them, they
have five children and eight (going on nine) grandchildren. They could
be playing shuffleboard on the deck of a cruise ship fading into the
sunset. But they’re aiming for a different horizon.
“It’s the prime of life,” Larry Conrad says. “I see tens of thousands
of people like us who are right on the edge of this retirement thing.
They can be a great shot in the arm to missions. What are we going to
do? Go golfing and fishing?”
Not when the Conrads have been waiting most of their adult lives for
tickets to the mission field. They couldn’t afford such a venture – as
a family of five broaching the teen years – when they first sensed
God’s calling years ago. They spent years serving on church missions
committees, but a short-term stint in Brazil in 2002 rekindled their
hopes for a bigger role.
Baby boomers are a missions reservoir just waiting to be tapped, Larry
says. They are often more financially secure, with a wealth of time and
life experience to share.
“We can be a tactical group. You can strike with us and move fast,” Larry says.
Case in point: the Conrads thought it best to wait a few more years
until full retirement. God thought otherwise. They recently interviewed
with Avant and sold their house – both within a matter of weeks.
“God will really push you around,” Larry laughs. “The question is, are
you willing to be willing? God didn’t choose to consult us. He just
said, ‘I’m doing the planning on this – are you willing to follow?’”
The Conrads are staying in a friend’s carriage house in Minnesota while
they work on raising support – and letting go of their past, piece by
piece. While preparing for their estate sale, a looming question kept
waking Gwynn in the middle of the night: What am I doing?
“It’s overwhelming,” Gywnn says. “I’ve had mixed emotions. We’ve got 40 years of accumulation to dispose of!”
But they know God has a future for them in Spain, where they’ll be
managing the Málaga Media Center’s guest lodging facilities. And they
know the Malones will be waiting for them there.
“Most missionaries don’t have a clue who’ll they’ll be working with –
so it’s a comfort to know them” from the candidate training, Gywnn
says. “They’re very encouraging. I would want them on my team.”
Between the Malones’ home-coming with Avant and the Conrads creating a
home space for weary travelers in Spain … perhaps novelist Thomas Wolfe
has it wrong: you really can “go home again.”
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