Mr. Reiswig wanted to go as a missionary, but at 60 years old, he was considered too old—to make matters worse, he had a bad stutter! So how did he end up being the first Adventist missionary to the Euro-Asia Division?
Mr Reiswig (race-wig) wanted to go as a missionary, but at 60 years old, he was considered too old, and to make matters worse he had a bad stutter. So how did he end up being the first Adventist missionary to the Euro-Asia division?
A German-Russian immigrant to the United States in the late 1800s, Mr. Reiswig learned about Seventh-day Adventists when he found a small pamphlet and read it. Deeply moved by what he learned, he decided to join the Seventh-day Adventist movement.
One Sabbath, a church member read a letter from a person living in the Russian Empire. It was an urgent appeal for an Adventist to come share the good news of the gospel.
Mr. Reiswig felt sure that the letter was a direct call to him! He must go. So, at 60 years old he packed his bags and paid his own way to become the first Adventist missionary to the Russian Empire.
As soon as he arrived, he started his mission work. He had brought a lot of Adventist literature in a local language[MW1] , so he started handing out pamphlets in the marketplace and visiting people in their homes.
Mr. Reiswig faced two huge challenges. He was so poor that he had to sell his own boots to cover his expenses, and he struggled to talk to the people because of his speech impediment. Early church leader, L. R. Conradi tells how Mr Reiswig would hand someone a pamphlet and then ask them to read it for themselves, and they would. In this way, the Holy Spirit used him to touch the hearts of the people. After two years of working in the Russian Empire, 30 people wanted to join the Adventist movement[WM1].
One hundred and fifty years later, the Seventh-day Adventist Church now has more than 108,000 members in the Euro-Asia Division, which covers much of the old Russian Empire. The Euro-Asia Division territory[2] covers Afghanistan to the south, Ukraine to the west and stretches across Asia to the eastern tip of Russia.
God is still using men and women, young and old, to share the love of Jesus in this region. Because of varying levels of religious freedom, church members in different countries in the Euro-Asia Division focus on personal ministry and following Christ’s method of serving people’s physical needs[WM2]. Today, there are more than 100 institutions, including health food shops and health centers, that touch people’s lives each day.
Even though church members are working hard to share the love of Jesus, it’s still a huge challenge to spread the gospel in the Euro-Asia Division. Several countries, such as Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, are part of what is called the 10/40 Window. Many people in this region have never heard the name of Jesus. In many places here, it’s illegal to share the gospel at all, and people can be imprisoned or even killed if they accept Jesus.
But just as when God overcame Mr. Reiswig’s challenges of age, poverty, and a speech impediment, the gospel of Jesus will go forward today with the power of the Holy Spirit. Please pray that the precious people in the Euro-Asia region will come to know Jesus. And may we, like Mr. Reiswig, know that we are never too old to share the love of Jesus. Thank you for your tithes and mission offerings that help grow and sustain mission work around the world.
[WM1]This story is taken from “Lessons on God’s Providence: 125 years of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Euro-Asia Division,” Ministry Magazine, October 2011.
[WM2]“Euro-Asia Division.” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. Accessed on August 10, 2020 .
[MW1]I suggest just leaving it local language. It was actually in German.
