 |
| Adults standing: April & Matt Wilkie, Sharon Johanson (April's mother) Debbie & Scott Wells. Adults seated: Owen & Bev Wilkie. Children: Aidan, Judah, Parker, Fisher, Madison |
By Owen Wilkie, AGWM U.S. Relations web editor
For the past six years I have had the privilege of posting articles, stories and news from our missionaries on this AG World Missions website. Later, we started daily postings on AGWM Facebook and Twitter that are now being viewed by thousands of people a day. Reading your comments has been fun and heartwarming.
As of July 31 I will retire and move on to a new phase in my life and these responsibilities will move to others.
World missions has always been a part of my life. My parents, Earl and Ruby Wilkie, were pioneer AGWM missionaries to Latin America. I was raised on the mission field in Bolivia and Uruguay, South America. I carry wonderful memories of my years as an MK.
After Bible college and during my years of pastoring in Washington State, we supported missions and I spent a short stint overseas teaching in a Bible school.
When we moved to Springfield, Missouri, I earned a master’s degree in missiology from Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. We decided to stay in Springfield when I got a job in 1985 at the AG National Leadership and Resource Center working in a compassion ministry.
AMAZING MISSIONS STORIES
Then, in 2006, I began working at AG World Missions and have enjoyed interacting with our world missions family and posting their stories on the website. The last month I checked, readers looked at these online articles more than 10,000 times.
It’s amazing what God is doing around the world. For example, three times I posted articles of God raising people from the dead. One of my favorite missions stories is from Argentina. A national pastor was riding his horse on his way to a meeting in a small town that had no roads leading to it. His horse suddenly picked up speed and he noticed a host of angels riding celestial horses on either side of him.
FAMILY PRIDE
I am proud of my family. My wife, Bev, was a gracious, hard-working pastor’s wife during our years of pastoring. When we moved to Springfield she enrolled in Evangel University, got her bachelor of science and master’s degrees in teaching, and taught in a public school for several years until her retirement in 2011.
Our son, Matt, a missionary associate, is the Convoy of Hope Internship director. He has led teams to many countries around the world. His wife, April, owns and operates a health spa in Springfield. They have a daughter, Parker, and a son, Owen Fisher.
Our daughter, Debbie, is a children’s pastor in an AG church in Hammond, Indiana, where her husband, Scott, is the administrative pastor. They have a daughter, Madison, and two sons: Aidan and Judah.
During the many events, decisions and twists and turns of our lives we have always found Proverbs 3:5-6 to be true: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Copyright ©2012 The General Council of the Assemblies of God.
