YWAMers from French-speaking Switzerland: What has become of them?

One evening in 1979, Rudy Lack, the first European missionary to join JEM with Loren and Darlene Cunningham, was invited as a speaker by my father, Hugo Zimmermann, pastor of the Stadtmission in Lausanne. Rudy challenged young people to visit Russia in preparation for an evangelism campaign for the Olympic Games. I immediately responded to God's call and, shortly thereafter, left for my first missionary experience with two traveling companions, Daniel Siegenthaler and Alain Kreis. What we experienced together was the beginning of an extraordinary life.

Eager to deepen my relationship with Jesus, I enrolled in a discipleship training school in Los Angeles with my future wife, Marcia. We wanted to lay a solid spiritual foundation in our lives before getting married. That's how a short six-month missionary commitment turned into a 45-year adventure!

In 1986, during a leadership school led by Floyd McClung, God gave me a very clear dream about His plan for my life: He showed me that I was called to be a servant leader. Shortly thereafter, I joined the team of John Dawson, one of YWAM's senior leaders, in a partnership that would last for the rest of my life.

After participating for eighteen years in the development of YWAM's training center in Los Angeles, our family moved with John and Julie Dawson to Ventura County to devote ourselves more fully to the ministry of reconciliation. This commitment has taken me to many countries around the world, with a particular focus on Israel and the Middle East. It is a great joy to me that Marcia periodically joins me, as she is part of several dynamic intercession circles.

One of my greatest privileges is being able to engage with young people who feel God's call on their lives and help them discern the place of training that will best suit them in the vast world of YWAM. Everyone needs a Rudy Lack to encourage us to take that first step. I am grateful that God has placed such a man in my life.

Andy and Marcia now live in Franklin, TN, USA, near their three children and eight grandchildren.

Andy Zimmermann