Missionaries Face Death, Criticism to Preach

Feb. 2, 2009— -- Christian missionaries Timothy Scott and Will Decker face danger in their quest to spread their message around the world, but they'd never faced anything as treacherous as a blizzard they encountered in the middle of the Mongolian desert.

Scott and Decker, both in their 30s, are what you might call gonzo missionaries. Armed with a video camera, a backpack and the faith that Jesus is the only way to heaven, they travel around the world in the hopes of converting "the unreached." That's what they call native populations who have not heard the gospel.

At the same time, they produce a show called "Travel the Road," which airs on the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

"In this you can't survive more than two hours," Scott said on the show, describing the bitter cold and blizzard conditions. "We're going to walk and pray that the Lord will lead us out of this whiteout."

"It's insane how cold it is here," Decker said. "It's like the edge of the moon."

The two admit they have a crazy lifestyle. They've been stalked by lions in Ethiopia and menaced by leeches in Borneo. They've braved gunfire in Burundi, navigated streets filled with gun-toting militias in Somalia and fallen out of moving trucks in Sudan. They've eaten wild monkey, and tried to eat a pungent tropical fruit called "durian."

"It's great, we love it," Decker said. "There is nothing better than when you're getting on the plane. You got your ticket and you got everything that you own in one backpack, and you got a couple pair of clothes. You got your Bible and you got your camera gear. And it's open."

They're willing to take these risks and travel to areas of conflict and war "because we've really been called from the beginning," Decker said.

"Our whole desire is to preach the gospel and the places we usually end up are areas that have never heard the gospel or never had any contact or don't know of the name of Jesus … places that have been cut off from any gospel work being done," he said.

"From what we know in our heart and what we know of the message that we carry, how can we not do it?" Scott said.