Mission is fulfilling for couple
THOMSON -- Tina Barnwell has been to lots of places -- London, Paris, Vienna. The list goes on.
Currently a Baptist missionary serving with her husband, Jerry, for the International Mission Board in Prague, Czech Republic, the 30-year-old native Alaskan recently spoke to a group at Pine Grove Baptist Church in Thomson about her experiences and travels.
The speech was part of the Kilpatrick Baptist Association's program titled On Mission Celebration, which has brought several missionaries to speak at Georgia Baptist churches, including those in McDuffie and Columbia counties.
Barnwell spoke highly of her current mission work, which began for her and her husband in 1999 in Russia.
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"We're just glad to be doing what the Lord sent us to do," she said. "I had such a peace when I knew what God wanted me to do."
Tina Barnwell: Missionary and her husband have evangelized in several European countries.
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Barnwell and her husband teach a Bible study class in Prague, where they've seen class attendance steadily rise.
Overall, Barnwell had nothing but good things to say about a city and a people with only two Baptist churches.
"We meet, and it sometimes can be a five-hour Bible study," she said, citing language difficulties as an ongoing problem.
The Barnwells speak Russian, but they typically end up trying to make their way through translating Bible verses in Czech as well. All in all, it can make for a lengthy discussion.
"Our Russian is awful, but they're so patient, and so loving to us," she said. "We feel really blessed."
The Barnwells are currently on a seven-month leave, also known as "stateside assignment."
Next month they'll be traveling back to Prague, where they'll stay until they want to do something different. Barnwell noted that coming back to America after such a long stay overseas was an interesting experience.
"There is a certain amount of culture shock," she said of her return. "To be driving again, things like that. It took a while."