I’ve traveled the lengths of Europe today. You laugh but it’s true. I’ve discussed member care from my bed in France (hey, Dave and Betsy), touched base with Josh in the Ukraine, while his voice still carried the tones of sleep. A few minutes later, I was discussing theological education with Antonie in Buesingen, Germany, while the swans floated down the famous Rhine River.
From there, I settled into my favorite chair with my good friends Michael and Tammy as we reviewed texts for Old Testament Prophets class in Bucharest. I stopped by Sigisoara, Romania (which is a six-hour drive from Bucharest) to talk to two incredible women: Dorothy and Roberta. Neither one were around because they work too hard, but I found Jonathan at home in his apartment in Sigisoara. He was working hard on tonight’s Bible study.
At that point, I realized that I wanted to see my buddies, Jonny and Sara Mann and their mum and dad, but they were all the way in Kosova. We sat at their kitchen table and we blew silly kisses to each other. While I was in Pristina, Imir and I made plans for the upcoming field class next month.
From Kosova, I headed south to Albania where I found my German friend and pastor, Elke, in her office at the church. Then, I realized that a friend in Bucharest was in the hospital and so I stopped by to check on her (get better Irina and thanks for the information, Monica).
And, in the midst of all my travels today, I spent time with several friends in Bulgaria and managed to pick up my four girls from their two schools on time. Even while I cooked supper for my family, I had time to pop back to Bucharest for another quick chat with Magda while she walked her dog.
“Impossible,” some say. “She means that she sent emails,” scoff others. Both would be wrong. France. Ukraine. Bulgaria. Albania. Kosova. Romania. Germany. Seven countries in less than 18 hours. Important conversations, face-to-face communication with 14 different people. Quite amazing, wouldn’t you say?
I have no idea how people organized trips before the Internet and e-mail. How did missionaries survive and thrive? How did they get anything done? Or, maybe they got more done because they weren’t tied to their computers.
I’m thankful for Skype. It is the engine that enabled my travel today through seven European countries. We have organized a theology class, philosophized about missions, made an itinerary for an important faculty meeting, made a pastoral visit, and blew silly kisses - all of it face to face via a computer monitor.
Do you have Skype? Have Skype, will travel.
-- Teanna Sunberg and her family are missionaries serving in Bulgaria. This story was reprinted with permission from their ministry blog.