Podcast offers ‘5 minutes with a missionary’

On May 5, the LCMS Office of International Mission launched a new way for people in the LCMS to get to know the Synod’s international missionaries. Titled “5 Minutes with a Missionary,” each episode of this podcast offers exactly what its title suggests: a 5-minute peek into the life and work of one LCMS missionary family.

The podcast website describes the program as “an unfiltered take on life abroad for the sake of the Gospel in the time it takes to pick up your drive-thru order or empty the dishwasher. It’s fun. It’s personal. It’s real. And it’s always an adventure.”

Hosted by Erin Alter, director of LCMS Short-Term Missions, the theme of the first season is “Home.” It includes a three-part discussion with Johanna Stinnett, wife of the Rev. Eric Stinnett, LCMS missionary to Ethiopia.

On Aug. 17, the Stinnett family had to evacuate their home on the campus of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus seminary in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Heavy rains had caused the Akaki River, which borders the seminary campus, to rise rapidly and overflow the earthen dike protecting the seminary.

The first of the three episodes featuring Johanna Stinnett was recorded before the flood; the second and third were recorded afterward. In Episode 2, she describes the moment she realized the severity of the situation: “There was a knock at the front door. The fellow that we employ to help us keep our garden in check and mow the lawn was standing [there]. … He said, ‘Johanna, grab your children and run.’”

Other missionaries featured in the first season of the podcast are:

Benjamin Helge, Czech Republic;

Rev. Dr. Stephen Oliver, Taiwan;

Deaconess Sandra Rhein, Asia;

Rev. J.P. and Aimee Cima, Cambodia;

Rev. Charles and Cheryl Ferry, Asia; and

Rev. James and Deaconess Christel Neuendorf, Puerto Rico.

“5 Minutes with a Missionary” can be heard on KFUO as well as Apple, Google and Spotify.

Posted May 26, 2022