I hadn’t traveled in four years. As travel can be expensive—and we strive to be good stewards with the financial support we have been blessed with—I don’t always get to go on every trip. Then there was Covid, which halted our missions for a while. Last year, I was scheduled to fly to the Dominican Republic, but got sick two days before departure.

First of all, thank you to the many volunteers that have blessed this ministry over the years!

Each volunteer takes to heart what Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:10: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

The story goes that the chicken and the pig were discussing their contributions toward the farmer’s breakfast.  The chicken had given up an egg and the pig had given up his right hind quarter. The pig observed, “What you gave was a donation. What I gave was a sacrifice!”

Many times in scripture, we see God testing and purifying the hearts and minds of believers to accomplish His work through them. Often this process occurs over the course of many years, well before the person begins the task God was preparing them for.

We thank God and World Radio for the blessing of witnessing the growth of His Kingdom here in the Dominican Republic. In these almost 48 years of ministry, I’ve seen the birth of 17 congregations thanks to the support of One Kingdom. Among these are:

“Sometimes we plant trees underneath whose shade we will never sit. And sometimes we sit underneath the shade of trees we never planted.”

One Kingdom director Ryan Lee shared this analogy during White’s Ferry Road Church’s One Kingdom Sunday, just a few days before our team departed for India.

As I think back upon my history with One Kingdom, my first awareness of this ministry was formed in the late 70s and early 80s.  Soon after Joneal and I were married, we traveled to visit my parents who were living and working for an oil company in Balikpapan, Borneo.

In January 1956, five men laid down their lives to bring the message of Jesus to those who lived without hope. They went to bring the message of Jesus to the Wadani people in Ecuador. Their obedience to following God’s call cost them everything.

The devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria in February of this year was among the deadliest ever recorded in history. At the time of this writing, well over 50,000 lives have been lost, 160,000 buildings lay destroyed, and the country has suffered nearly 16,000 aftershocks.

Why is it so important to remember? Well, to be honest, we as humans tend to forget and forget quickly. Remembering the depth of our sin that we were rescued from reminds us to be diligent in our desire to be obedient to Him.

Discipleship is how we reach the world, I am told. I understand that if each disciple reaches one person, and in turn that disciple reaches one that reaches one, the multiplication of disciples in a few years will reach the whole world.

Almost a decade has passed since we visited Rodolfo Casas, One Kingdom’s partner and radio speaker in Lima, Perú. Many years ago, a visit was necessary because we had to talk and find out if he was sharing the Gospel as the good news of Salvation or if his teachings were legalistic and lacking in grace and truth. We were happily surprised to find a humble man of God in love with the Word and a passion for expanding the Kingdom. By the end of our trip, the local church in Carabaíyo, (one of Lima’s 44 districts) had welcomed us with arms wide open.

I recently had the pleasure of visiting with Don Yelton to get his perspective on the impact of relief work and the legacy brought through meeting the needs of others.

What a tremendous legacy we have been given through the vision of our forefathers to share the Gospel in every nation and in every language. Long before I arrived at White’s Ferry Road Church, I had heard of their outreach efforts. When my husband Danny and I moved to West Monroe, the work we were able to be part of was a blessing beyond measure.

In 2007, my life-adventure dial was set on “go,” so when the opportunity to travel to the Dominican Republic presented itself, I said “yes” without any hesitation and very little preparation. In fact, if I remember correctly, I was asked to help with a VBS week in a little town called Neyba. Pretty quickly the word “help” turned into “you’re in charge” and here’s a handful of college-aged young people, mostly boys, to help you pull it off.

In Houston, Texas there is an apartment complex known to the local community as “the Hole.” There is one way in and one way out of this low-income living environment. Inside this small community, there is an atmosphere of hopelessness, fear, and desperation.

In 2006, at the age of 60, Richard Myers went on his first mission trip with a medical missions team to Africa. He’d witnessed many missionaries and ministers travel abroad over the years, but never quite felt the tug to go on a mission himself until later in life. Myers sat quietly for most of the trip, watching more than participating, until one of the team leaders, David French, asked him to come see the farm on the property.

We recently spent some time talking with our brother and partner in Nepal, Pramod Dhakal, about his ministry.

Pramod originally got connected to One Kingdom through our relief work after a devastating earthquake in 2015. He now oversees a World Radio program and ministers to his local community in Kathmandu.

Pramod works very closely with our partners in India in the effort to spread the Gospel to southeast Asia.

I grew up on what I like to call the deep Rez, where there is no running water or electricity. I like to think I have a little culture to me, and I also like to think I understand the Navajo people because I myself am Navajo (or Diné as we like to be called).

In early October, we sent a small team to Fort Myers, Florida to assist with disaster relief in the area.

Many homes were destroyed by the storm, many people were displaced, but the local church and community came together to help those in need.