My father was a pastor. I came up in a home where missionaries routinely visited with us after speaking at our church and often stayed with us while doing deputation work. Though seldom a participant in conversations between missionaries and my parents, I heard their stories, their visions, their victories and, yes, their heartaches. Little did I know at that time that God was using these missionaries, most of whom served in foreign countries, to plant a seed in my heart to go and make disciples (Mark 16:15) in foreign lands ~ in my case, the African continent.
As I grew into adulthood and got my first job at K-Mart, I financially supported missionaries and prayed often for them and their success. I read stories about missionary efforts. I was not yet aware some 35 years ago that God was leading me to a missionary field in Africa. I told my life-long friend, Paula (Alexander) Ellis, that I dreamed of traveling as Paul did telling people about Jesus. I also told her of my vision for Africa.
Then in 2019, Paula told me about U-turn Ministry, a group from her church and several others that was making a missionary trip to Malawi. I was ready to go. On that trip we collectively reached about 3000 people for Christ. I was hooked and aware that God was leading me in that direction. The next year, after some other people backed out because of the COVID pandemic, I made my second trip to Malawi with a preacher from Mississippi and a young college student. While some of this group was busy digging water wells, Pastor Harold Nkunika of Malawi and I visited schools in that foreign land, and we reached about 6000 children in a 10-day trip.
In 2021 I returned to Malawi with the U-turn Ministry along with Darlene Shirlen, Lyn Tan, and Mateo Cepedo, all of whom were well trained in children ministry. On this trip we focused on school children and training native workers. We know that native missionaries who speak the languages and are familiar with the varied cultures can reach the masses more effectively. So, together the four of us along with our interpreters reached about 12,000 children with the Gospel of Christ. God was increasingly opening doors for us to minister in public schools and providing the increase.
We traveled back to Malawi in 2022, but this time without the benefit of U-turn Ministry. On this trip we had the help of Arturo Mendez, an American-born and well-trained veteran missionary who had worked previously with me in the Caribbean Islands. Again, our small group worked with Pastor Harold and his wife; this time we reached close to 20,000 people, mostly children, in 10-days. Then we traveled to the east coast of Kenya and taught Bible classes at a Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) camp with 100 children who were involved in Good News Clubs with Dr. Jackson Mwaura. Since that time, Dr. Jackson has been working with us and helping find local pastors in each of these countries that help us get into public schools.
We returned in 2023 with five people we trained specifically for the mission: Adam Winningham, Arturo Mendez, Morgan Jurnnigan, and two high school students, Bri Winningham and Hannah Ruth. Malawian missionaries Felias Chigwandire and James Musakea met us in the field. God was opening doors in public schools in Malawi and we wanted to take advantage of it. We met there with Pastor Harold and two additional men from here who had recently undergone CEF training. We were able to reach more than 29,000 children. We also started supporting Felias Chigwandire and James Musakea, native missionaries who traveled from school to school on bicycles. They established Bible clubs and together reached 22,000 students in the course of the next year using peddle power.
From Malawi we flew to Kenya to meet Johnny. Mike Hoyt, and Zinyou Lu. With Kenyans helping us, we evangelized in many public schools. Johnny and the two men returned to Texas, and I spent the next two additional weeks in Tanzania sharing the gospel in Tanzanian public schools; traveled back to Kenya and spent the next week with a Kenyan Pastor Osodo Hagai and his CEF-trained wife, Josephine. Johnny and I started supporting Sammy from Kenya so he can have a full-time ministry. We had raised support to take Sammy Karanja and Dorothy Kangai, both schoolteachers, to share the gospel. In two months, our longest trip at that point, Texans, Malawians and Kenyans reached over 86,000 students for Christ.
By May of 2024, we had raised sufficient support to travel to Rwanda with Arturo Mendez and two Kenyan young ladies, Salome Wanjiku and Victory Munyoro, both of whom are CEF-trained missionaries. In two weeks, we and our native translators reached 35,000 students with the gospel. Salome and Victory went home, and I made my first trip to the Republic of Burundi in southeastern Africa. A Kenyan young lady, Joy Naserian met me, a pastor named Desire Iranbona, and two translators. Together we traveled what might be loosely called a road to reach children in remote areas.
On this trip we met Email Nderphe, a Muslim who converted to Christ, and Pastor Simon Samweri. We are now supporting these men in their native ministry. With God's grace and your financial support, we donated a motorcycle so they can better traverse the super rough roads and mountainous terrain in that area, start more Bible clubs in schools, and reach more children for Christ. From there I continued to Malawi. Kezia Ng, and Xinyou Lu, who had previously evangelized in Kenya, joined with me in Kenya. For the next 8 days we traveled from village to village with Pastor Harold Nkunika, Modester, James and Felias, sharing the gospel of Christ in schools.
At that point the majority of my fellow Texans flew home while I traveled on to Zambia. There Zambian Faith Kalungia and her husband Chardley took me to schools and helped minister in Lusaka, the capitol of Zambia and located 200 miles from the copper belt. From there I flew to Nairobi, Kenya where Johnny met up with me. The next day Johnny and I were taken to the northern part of the country where we worked with Pastor Joseph Itausen and Martin Mwangi, who were already ministering in public schools. The three of us traveled many rough miles over that desert area sharing the gospel.
Our next stop was Nakuru, Kenya where we worked with another pastor, Brother Joseph Waithaka and many of his Sunday school teachers who were already involved in school ministries. Together we covered many miles sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and his plan of salvation. In that two-month journey we trained 407 indigenous missionaries in the Wordless Book, visited five countries, and shared the gospel with over 116,000 students. We also picked up four new missionaries, paid for two more motorcycles, and paid for Pastor Harold's team to train 165 people in western Tanzania and another 140 students in Northeastern Malawi. Pastor Joseph and his team trained additional missionaries in eastern Tanzania, in the northern part of Kenya. and on the east coast of Kenya.
God's work continues. In Africa, volunteers are plentiful; they only need to be trained. As God leads, we plan to go to Indonesia next April and then fly to Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, and Malawi. We are looking for additional volunteers to go with us and help in this ministry. We also need financial support for them and the ministry. Most of all, we covet your prayer. Please pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).