21 years ago, I accepted the Danish European Mission's board's call to become the new general manager after the late H.K. Neerskov, who retired in 1997, just before he turned 65. Now it's just before I turn 65 myself, and the time has come for a generational change.
Ever since I became a Christian in 1980, I have supported the European Mission because I felt strongly about supporting persecuted Christians. It was meeting a persecuted Christian, Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, who had been imprisoned in Romania for 13 years, that really sparked my desire to become a Christian, but never in my wildest imagination did I think that one day I would succeed Neerskov as head of the European Mission. However, God surpasses even our wildest fantasies. As Paul says in Ephesians chapter 3, vv. 20-21, "To him who is able by his power that works in us to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen."
One of the European Mission's former mottos was "Mission beyond borders". It is still true today. I have visited Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia, Pakistan; India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and several countries in the Middle East in the course of my work. Everywhere, the European Mission has helped local Christian organizations and churches to bring the Gospel in word and deed. In several of the places I visited, Christians had been forced to flee because of either Muslim or Hindu extremists spreading death and destruction. Many of the conflicts were barely noticed by the mainstream news media. But we were able to draw attention to them and provide aid to the persecuted.
Image: Christians displaced from the Indonesian island of Lata-lata have a new village in North Sulawesi, thanks to Danish European Mission donors.
One of the lasting impacts we can see from the work is the Bible translations that have been produced over the years in collaboration with the Institute for Bible Translation. Last year I had the pleasure of seeing the entire Turkmen Bible printed and published in book form - and also had to share the sadness with the Turkmen priests present that they could not take it into the country because it would be confiscated upon entry.
I was delighted when, in 2002, the European Mission became a partner organization with SAT-7, which broadcasts Christian television to Christians in the Middle East. Seeing this work develop into what it is today has been incredibly inspiring, not least because of my background as a missionary in Egypt.
Helping persecuted Christians in practical ways with self-help and disaster relief has also been very important. I have stood with families grieving that their children were murdered by extremists. I've stood with residents of entire villages that had been burned down by jihadists. But also everyday things like having dinner with a poor family in the courtyard of their mud hut in a village in Pakistan have made an impression. Another unnoticed highlight was when I wrote to an EU diplomat in an Arab country to point out that one of our friends there, a convert from Islam, had been imprisoned and was actually facing a death sentence - and he was released.
Image: Street children in Kiev were given an "oasis" with Nick and Tanya.
My last working day at the European Mission was April 14. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone whose voluntary contributions help to support the work financially, to the Board of Directors for their cooperation and trust, and to all current and former employees, without whom the work would not have been possible and without whom I would not have had so much inspiration for the daily tasks.
