She can be seen sitting behind a stack of papers on her desk preparing for an upcoming training conference, but International Mission Board (IMB) missionary Julie Simrell’s work happens far from corporate America.
Simrell has spent the past seven years serving in the Czech Republic. Based in Prague, the Arab (Ala.) native works with one other person on the training team for the Central and Eastern Europe regional office.
Her work spans 22 countries and more than 400 missionaries.
“I see a lot of the remaining effects of communism,” Simrell said. “People have a lack of trust and are nonconfrontational by nature.”
Until the early ’90s, the Czech Republic remained a closed country. As a result, IMB personnel serving in that area do not see a lot of response from the people to whom they minister.
The lackluster response to the gospel message is one of the most difficult aspects of living there, Simrell said.
“It’s a hard place to be. Doubts creep in a lot. I ask myself questions like ‘Am I supposed to be here?’ and ‘Why am I here if I don’t see results?’,” she said. “But when you feel God has called you somewhere, there is always a challenge to persevere.”
Simrell’s work consists primarily of preparing for events such as debriefing conferences for first-year missionaries and training conferences for strategy coordinators in that part of the world.
Rather than send missionaries to serve an unknown people group without any direction, she helps to equip them in order to make their work as effective as possible.
While most people do not associate what she describes as secretarial-type work with being a missionary, Simrell reminds herself of God’s clear calling on her life and that He does not promise she will see the fruits of her work.
“I have to remind myself that where results are seen around the world, there were missionaries there long before and now the fruit of the harvest is being seen.”
Simrell comes from a long history of missions. Having grown up in west Africa as a missionary kid, she began to feel a call to international missions at a young age.
After spending 13 years in Africa and obtaining a seminary degree from Beeson Divinity School at Samford University, Simrell served as an IMB journeyman in Germany for two years — the original location of the Central and Eastern Europe regional office. Following a six-month stint back in the United States, she returned to Central and Eastern Europe as a career missionary.
Simrell’s parents are currently on their last stateside assignment before officially retiring, and her sister’s family is also serving in southeast Asia. “We have a close-knit family as a result of growing up in west Africa — we’re each other’s best friends,” she said.
Simrell is currently on stateside assignment at home in Birmingham, where she is a member of Philadelphia Baptist Church. Whether recalling memories with her best African friend who is now a missionary in the United States or craving her favorite European dish — bread dumplings — she said she prays for a renewed passion for the work to which she has been called.
Simrell plans to head back to Europe in January for another four-year term.
Alabama’s Simrell trains missionaries for Eastern Europe
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