Family Surprise in Argentina Brings Out Cost of Mission

When General Conference president Ted N. C. Wilson and his wife, Nancy, visited churches and institutions in South America in early February, they received a special and unexpected surprise upon arriving in Argentina.

“We had no idea what the surprise would be,” Wilson told the faculty, students, and community members of River Plate Adventist University (UAP) in Argentina, who gathered to listen to his message on the school campus in Libertador San Martin, Entre Rios, on February 15.

Wilson shared that when they got to the airport in Buenos Aires, university president Horacio Rizzo, who welcomed the delegation, told them that a former student and a prospective student from the school would serve as their guides during their stay. Seconds later the Wilsons were surprised to see their youngest daughter, Catherine Wilson Renck, and her teenage daughter, Charlotte, who live in the U.S., appear. “It was such a lovely family reunion!” Wilson said.

A couple of decades ago Renck volunteered at UAP for several months. “Catherine has such fond memories of UAP,” Wilson acknowledged. He shared how she grew up following her missionary parents by living in such places as West Africa and Russia and later serving in Guyana. “She is a very mission-minded daughter,” Wilson said.

Growing Up Missionary

Wilson’s message crowned a weekend with a clear focus on mission, school leaders shared. Two days before, Wilson had participated in the inauguration of the new headquarters of the Adventist Church in Argentina. And the previous evening a special program saw the Wilsons share some of their experiences as missionaries, as school leaders dedicated young people who training to serve where God leads.

On February 15 Wilson called Renck to the podium so she could share some of her experiences as a daughter of a missionary family.

Renck said that for busy missionary families, time spent together as a family is key. “My father traveled a lot when I was young,” she acknowledged. “But I knew that on Friday nights, vacations, and special occasions we’d be together.”

Among the advantages of growing up in the mission field, she mentioned being able to see the world church and not just the local church community. “You see it all connected,” Renck said. “I would always hear my father call everyone ‘my brother’ or ‘my sister,’ so when I came here, I already knew you were my brothers and sisters. I was coming to family, and you treated me as family.”

There are, however, some disadvantages of being a missionary kid, Renck acknowledged. She mentioned not being able to really know where you are from. “You have a country of origin, but you have things you love about each country where you have spent time,” she explained. Renck added that Jesus understands how missionary kids feel, because He also lived in different places. “So if you don’t know where you belong, you belong next to Jesus.”

The True Focus of Mission

Echoing his daughter’s words, Wilson told those attending the service, “I hope that’s the message you share every day. That is the true focus of mission.”

Using the example of the apostle Paul, Wilson called everyone to “forget those things which are behind” and to “reach forward to those things which are ahead,” “pressing toward the goal,” which is God’s call to each one of us (see Phil. 3:13, 14). “When you are next to Jesus, your life becomes sweeter, your vision becomes clearer, and you are lifted to things of eternal value.”

In that context, Wilson explained that Paul is telling us to avoid distractions and focus on the goal instead. As far as Seventh-day Adventists are concerned, this implies sharing Christ and His three angels’ messages, or last three messages of warning to the world, as recorded in Revelation 14. Quoting the Adventist Church’s cofounder Ellen G. White, he said that “we have a work to do.” And it includes everyone, no matter if you are a retired person, or a child. No matter what we do, our focus should be sharing Jesus and His righteousness, he said. “Let no one or nothing distract you from your goal.”

This article was updated on Tuesday, February 18.