MARS - It started out as a gentle nudge 15 years ago, but quickly grew into a strong desire.

"During college, I just felt like God was nudging me to be in ministry," said Joel Bubna. "And those were the doors that opened for me."

Bubna, a native of Western Pennsylvania, answered that call and hasn't regretted his decision for one minute.

Bubna, along with two other missionaries associated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance,

an evangelical Christian denomination,

will be visiting Mars Alliance Church next week for a weeklong missionary event.

The event, which begins Sunday, is open to the public and will feature Bubna, whose most recent assignment was in Cote D'Ivoire, or Ivory Coast, a country in West Africa.

The Rev. Paul Cope, senior pastor at Mars Alliance, says he is excited for the missions week.

"Our church has given over $100,000 a year for special missions," he said. "With this event, the emphasis is on generating help for people around the world."

Two of the three missionaries who will visit the church have been there before, Cope said.

"We used to bring in new missionaries every time," Cope said, "but now we realize that people want to be able to follow a specific missionary and see how their support is helping that person, a person they've previously known and prayed for."

Bubna said he's been to Mars Alliance before, but it's been more than a decade since he visited.

Since that time, he's served a few years in Dloa, Cote D'Ivoire, where he was a teacher and most recently in Abidjan, an Ivory Coast seaport, where he was helping plan for a church.

However, Bubna and his family were evacuated in December from Abidjan because of the growing hostility and civil war in the area. He has since been reassigned to his home base in Georgia and will be a part of the missionary tour before being reassigned.

Bubna said danger in the mission field isn't unusual.

"It's part of the call and part of the job," Bubna said. "There's just a certain amount of caution you have to take."

A total of 15 missionaries from the United States are known to have died in the field in 2004. A number of those deaths occurred in Africa in regions such as Uganda, Burundi, South Africa, Kenya, Chad and Burkina Faso.

One of the missionaries who will be appearing at Mars Alliance next week, Lorinda Robinson, was recently assigned to Burkina Faso, another country in West Africa.

Bubna said all missionaries within the alliance are on predetermined cycles.

"All of us are in a four-year cycle for the most part," he said. "We are in the active mission field for four years and then we come home for a year."

Bubna said he and all missionaries within the alliance receive tremendous support from alliance churches, both financial and spiritual. Because of that support, Bubna said he has been encouraged to continue with his work.

Appearing with Bubna and Robinson at Mars Alliance will be Ann Hemminger, whose most recent assignment was in Brazil. Ann and her husband, Jim, have been in the missions field since 1969.

For information on any of the events, call 724-776-9400.

A weeklong missions conference is being held at Mars Alliance Church and is open to the public. Missionaries from around the world will be speaking at various events during the week. Following is a list of some events taking place during the week.9:30 a.m. to noon<B>Sunday-</B> Mega Morning for Missions. This event is for the children and will feature a life-size Monopoly game.<B>Sunday through Wednesday-</B> Special evening services for adults, teens and children. Call for times and details.<B>Thursday night-</B> Open forum with ice cream sundaes. Visitors will have a chance to ask questions of the missionaries while feasting on ice cream sundaes.<B>9:30 a.m. Tuesday-</B> Women's brunch. Come enjoy brunch and listen to missionary Lorinda Robinson talk about her work in Burkina Faso.<B>8 a.m. March 11-</B> Men's breakfast. Prayer for the missionaries will start at 7 a.m., followed by fellowship and breakfast at 8 a.m.<B>Noon March 13-</B> Missionary fellowship lunch and commitment service.