Around the World
Our Journey from Pastor to Missionary and Back
By Mike Juntunen
After thirty years of pastoring in the U.S., God called us to be missionaries to Hungary and Romania, where we were introduced to new cultures that changed the ways we saw ministry. The first thing we noticed was the way the Open Bible churches, both in Hungary and Romania, went out of their way to help us get settled into our new homes. They helped us find an apartment and went with us to get utilities hooked up and all the other legal things that were required to live in their country. We have often thought since then that churches in the United States may be missing out on a ministry opportunity. Could we do a better job of helping new residents to our communities, especially those who are from a different culture and do not speak the language well?
Another thing that impacted us was listening to the stories of the older saints. Both Hungary and Romania are former communist countries. It was sobering to hear the testimonies of those who experienced persecution, imprisonment, and loss of jobs and property because of their faith. It was fascinating to hear these old saints pray. They knew how to enter the throne room of heaven when they prayed.
One cultural difference we noticed was their attitude towards time. Americans tend to be very time conscious and expect things to begin and end on time. Our language classes at the University in Debrecen were filled with students from many countries. It became a joke that the American, German, and Japanese students would arrive to class early while the other European students would usually come late. Although they followed schedules and made appointments, relationships were more important than schedules. As a result of that cultural difference, we learned to be flexible and “go with the flow.” For example, one time we were planning on getting some work done at home when we received a call from a member of the church. They stated that a family was planning a picnic and wanted to meet us, and they wondered if we would be interested in joining them. We said we would like that and asked when the picnic was, and they said, “Now!” So we changed our plans and went to the picnic.
Of course, the main challenge was learning a new language and adapting to new foods and different ways of doing things. It did not take us long to realize that the American way is not always the best way and that just because something is different does not mean it is wrong; it is just different. We grew to enjoy the different food and culture of our new home.
As far as the impact our ministry had upon the people of the countries in which we ministered, we often heard testimonies of how thankful they were that we would leave our home and family to come and minister to them. They especially appreciated that we would make the effort to learn their language and live among them, that their home country became our home also.
What thrilled us the most was seeing the growth of those who studied INSTE. It was exciting to see their hunger to learn the Word of God and to watch them become involved in the work of the church, even taking on leadership roles. One example is Sándor and Margó Pántye. They have been faithful in the Open Bible Church in Debrecen, Hungary, for years. Sándor played the guitar on the worship team, and Margó served in small ways where needed. Since graduating Level One INSTE, however, they have both become more involved in ministering in the Open Bible churches in the villages. Sándor leads worship while Margó has stepped up into a role of teacher.
This only makes us realize, though, that we are still missionaries regardless of which country we are in.
During our thirteen years as missionaries, we have often thought of Jesus’ words: “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life” (Matthew 19:29, ESV). This is definitely true for us because we have developed many, many close friendships that will last forever.
Now that we have moved back to the U.S., how has the transition been for us and how has our ministry been affected by our experiences overseas? There has been a little “culture shock” upon returning to the U.S., especially in the grocery stores when we see the aisles filled with so many options. In fact, sometimes the number of choices we have can be overwhelming. Also, America is not the same country it was when we left thirteen years ago. Even though we have been following the news from overseas, it is still disheartening to see what has happened to our country. This only makes us realize, though, that we are still missionaries regardless of which country we are in.
As we begin our new ministry in the church here in Hardin, Montana, one of the things that we are bringing back with us is a change in our focus. Our emphasis will not be on developing programs to enlarge the size of the congregation but will instead be on building up people. A major emphasis will be on prayer, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and discipling people so they will be spiritually healthy enough to disciple others. We believe that as we center our attention on these areas, God will add to the church daily those who are being saved (Acts 2:47).
About the Author
An Open Bible College graduate, Mike Juntunen and his wife, Nancy, pastored in various Open Bible churches for thirty years before being appointed as Open Bible missionaries in 2007. Mike served as the Director of INSTE in Hungary for eleven years and mentored the new pastor of the Open Bible Church in Gherla, Romania, for the past two years. The Juntunens have recently moved back to the United States and serve as the pastors of the Church of the Open Bible in Hardin, Montana.
Around the World
Hope Rising in Venezuela: How Open Bible Churches are Transforming a Nation Through Faith and Compassion
Despite Venezuela’s fifteen-year ongoing humanitarian crisis, with nearly seventy percent of the population enduring multi-tiered poverty and almost half facing severe humanitarian needs, a movement of hope has unfolded in Open Bible Churches. Across the country, Open Bible is not only responding to urgent physical needs but is also nurturing a generation of believers in faith and service to stabilize Venezuela’s future.
Open Bible is not only responding to urgent physical needs but is also nurturing a generation of believers in faith and service to stabilize Venezuela’s future.
Church soup kitchens have long ministered beyond their walls to ensure that vulnerable children receive a hot meal. They also see that families receive food supplies, clothing, and shoes, bringing tangible relief to their neighborhoods. The Church has also stepped in where public services falter through medical outreaches – with eye exams, vaccinations, and even free haircuts. Through these initiatives, a vibrant children and youth ministry has emerged. The youth are not just recipients of aid but have become leaders, actively involved in church life – in worship, evangelism, and home groups.
Often, children and youth have no Christian family support and are the only believers in their homes. Many were left with relatives when their parents went to nearby countries in search of a better life. So, the church teaches and empowers youth to grow spiritually and practically. These “little-big giants” are proving to be a wave of hope as they grow “in wisdom and stature, and favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52).
Venezuela’s church is resilient, reinventing itself to meet the social, spiritual, and familial challenges with creativity
Over the years, events like the “Good News Festival” have sparked revival, resulting in Open Bible church plants. This festival, focused on children, reflects God’s heart for the youngest and most vulnerable, and brings new life and whole communities into faith. It is not unusual for entire families to be brought to Christ through their children.
Despite the widespread emigration of many adults, Venezuela’s church is resilient, reinventing itself to meet the social, spiritual, and familial challenges with creativity and, above all, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Our Open Bible brothers and sisters in Venezuela demonstrate how the Church can thrive despite adversity by living out Jesus’ command to love our neighbors, serve the least, and disciple this generation. Through continued partnership and prayer, we look forward to seeing Venezuela transformed by the hope, faith, and love found in Jesus. If you’d like to support our Open Bible family in Venezuela as they share Christ’s love and serve those in greatest need, please send a check to:
| Open Bible Churches 2020 Bell Ave. Des Moines, IA 50315 | Make checks payable to Global Missions of Open Bible Churches and write “Venezuela humanitarian aid” in the memo line. |
Thank you for partnering with us to extend Christ’s love and mercy in Venezuela.
About the Author
Tammy Swailes is passionate about cross-cultural Christian education, so working with INSTE Bible College to disciple and equip leaders throughout Europe and beyond is a great fit! Tammy has lived in Europe since 1999 – first in Hungary and now Ukraine. Before that, she was in Japan, as well as Spokane, Washington. She now serves as INSTE regional director in Europe, assisting INSTE programs in five languages. Tammy has her undergraduate degrees in both Missions and Christian Education and a MA in Intercultural Studies. Photography, good coffee, multi-cultural experiences, and the family’s Yorkie are some of Tammy’s favorite things.
One of wonderful things I get to do as Executive Director of Global Missions is discover new missionary candidates. God is still calling young people to be missionaries, the “sent out” ones. We are always looking for those who are called to help us reach the unreached people of the world with the gospel of Christ.
In today’s culture with high-tech technology, advanced communication, and even AI, we have a special need for young men and women who are able to respond to the Great Commission and spread the gospel in today’s context.
For this reason, we are excited to announce the appointment of our two newest missionaries, both of whom were presented at our recent national convention in Kissimmee, Florida.
McKendre Veenstra has been appointed to serve as a missionary in Japan. The leaders of Open Bible Churches in Japan have long desired to have a missionary come to teach English, not only as a means of learning the language but also as a tool for evangelism. In addition to teaching English, McKendre will also be using his God-given talents to assist our churches in Japan with worship and youth ministries. This collaboration between Global Missions of Open Bible Churches and Japan Open Bible Churches is a great effort to work together to reach the Japanese people with the gospel of Christ.
McKendre is currently itinerating in the Central Region to raise his support and hopes to go to Japan in fall of 2025. Thank you for your prayers and support! Donate to McKendre here.
Zac Anderson will be serving alongside the directors and staff of Puente de Amistad in Tijuana, Mexico. He will be leading teams and supporting existing ministries and churches in their work to reach the youth of Tijuana. Since 2010, Zac has impacted the lives of thousands of children throughout the Ohio region and around the world. His life verse is Matthew 5:16: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (NIV).
Zac shares, “I know what it’s like to be ignored and feel unloved. My goal is to be the person someone feels comfortable talking to who will point them toward the Savior who changed my life.”
Zac will be itinerating in the Open Bible East Region in fall of 2025 and plans to move to Tijuana, Mexico, in January 2026. Thank you for your prayers and support!
Donate to Zac here.
God is still calling young people to be missionaries, the “sent out” ones.
Please pray for the Lord to anoint and bless McKendre and Zac as they begin their ministry overseas. We are expecting God to do great things through their lives and ministry as they obey God’s calling.
Vince McCarty serves as the Executive Director of Global Missions, giving oversight to Open Bible’s work in 55 countries of the world. He is thankful for the great missionary staff and all the national leaders he has the opportunity to serve with. He would like us to remember that the Great Commission is too big for anyone to accomplish alone and too important not to try to do together.
The Global Missions office has a unique window into the miraculous ways God works in and through Open Bible churches around the world. Here we share four powerful, real-life testimonies of God’s healing, protection, and divine intervention from different corners of the globe: Nicaragua, Cuba, Ukraine, and Nigeria.
A healing testimony from Nelson and Tirsa Gaitan, missionaries in Nicaragua
We have a wonderful testimony of a little girl, Esther Paola Sánchez, who just turned two months old. When Esther was just one month old, she was hospitalized for two weeks, undergoing many tests, and was ultimately diagnosed with congenital heart disease. The doctors told her parents that an operation was necessary and that baby Esther wouldn’t leave the hospital without it. The whole church went to prayer for her healing. Two days after we prayed for her, the doctors did a pre-surgery examination and found the baby no longer had anything wrong with her! Glory to God! Now baby Esther is home and free from all illness. The parents are joyful and praising the Lord for their baby’s healing. Christ heals and frees us from all illness. Hallelujah!
A healing testimony from David Moreno, field director of Cuba
One of our pastors, Rafael Freire, fell ill and was hospitalized with severe dehydration, dangerous levels of low blood pressure, and a heart rate of over 200 beats per minute. While in the hospital, diagnostic tests revealed he had lived his whole life with a congenital heart disease called Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) consisting of four heart abnormalities that lead to reduced oxygen to the blood, causing a bluish color to skin, difficulty breathing, and fatigue. This disease is usually discovered in infancy and requires surgery to correct the issues. Without surgery, the life expectancy with TOF is only twenty years. Remarkably, Pastor Rafael discovered the diagnosis at age fifty-seven! For the glory of God, this pastor ministered for thirty years in difficult and mountainous terrain in Cuba without presenting any symptoms or skin discoloration. God performed a further miracle in the intensive care room: in just ten days he made a full recovery! We thank God for His healing and sustaining touch on Pastor Rafael’s life.
A testimony of protection from Serhiy Pushenko, pastor in Ukraine, as told to missionary Tammy Swailes
On March 13, 2025, a KAB (laser guided bomb) flew to our city right in the middle of the day. We live on the frontlines, so bombings are common, but daytime bombings are surprising. This KAB targeted the grounds at the private medical clinic where my wife, Oksana, and eldest son work. It fell and detonated next to the clinic. The way this KAB exploded was a miracle: instead of detonating on the ground, it hit a large tree and exploded mid-air, minimizing the overall damage. Had it exploded on the ground, the damage would have been catastrophic. The clinic remained intact, but the windows shattered and the suspended ceiling fell.
…miracles don’t always come with lightning flashes, but oftentimes arrive quietly, unexpectedly, and always in deeply personal ways.
The Lord miraculously protected us in so many other ways. A medical employee on her way to another room lingered that day at my wife’s desk, and because of this, she escaped the shattering glass. The clinic’s ceiling fell on my wife’s head and the heads of other staff, yet no one was badly hurt. Our son always leaves work at a certain time every day and yet that day, he left fifteen minutes earlier than usual. If he had left at his usual time, he would have been outside at the bomb’s epicenter, and we can only imagine what could have happened to him. Other people who were on the street survived; the photos of the area show what a miracle this is. My friend, an Orthodox priest, was driving through town but stopped a block from the clinic for a coffee. Just as he arrived, the bomb exploded. Had he not stopped for coffee, he would have been passing the explosion site. These are just a few of the testimonies convincing me that even in this time of trouble, God is with us.
A healing testimony from Nwanase John, member of Calabar church in Nigeria, as told to Nigerian field director Okon Obot
Sometime in 2023, I noticed a lump in front of my neck that moved back and forth when I swallowed. After a physical examination and scans at a clinic, it was confirmed that the lump was a goiter. It continued to bother me for two years. In March 2025 I was at work when suddenly I felt like I was choking. I tried clearing my throat a few times. When I rubbed my neck, I didn’t feel the goiter any longer. I was confused and kept rubbing my neck, not believing what I felt (actually, what I didn’t feel!). Praise God, the goiter is gone! I’m so grateful, and I give God all the glory for the miraculous healing.
These testimonies remind us that miracles don’t always come with lightning flashes, but oftentimes arrive quietly, unexpectedly, and always in deeply personal ways. May these stories encourage your heart and strengthen your faith, stirring you to believe that the God of miracles is still moving – perhaps even in your life today!
