TRAVEL BLOG
The summer of 2016 has been amazing! We arrived in the United States the latter part of May. We began our ministry in the US with our home church, Destiny Church of San Diego. From San Diego, we traveled to Iowa, where we settled into our family cottage where we based ourselves for the summer. The first week of June, we spent time with my dad, celebrating his 92nd birthday with the family. After our family gathering, we visited one of our supporting churches in Ottumwa, IA.
We were scheduled for the full month of June, but two of our engagements had to cancel. It was really the Holy Spirit, as we needed a couple of weeks of relaxing and working around our cottage. It was such a great two weeks as well!
In July, we ministered at a supporting church in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It was such a great experience to share with this congregation, and connect with their Mission’s Director. We didn’t stay but one night in Green Bay, as we needed to be back in Iowa for the 4th of July Celebration!
The third week of June, we traveled to Fort Wayne, Indiana. On the way, we connected with a great church in Lena, Illinois, and visited family in the Chicago area. In Fort Wayne, we shared at a Missionary Baptist Church, and at Latter Rain Ministries. These churches were such great hosts, and we were so blessed to share what God is doing in Kenya!
From Fort Wayne, we visited Donna’s sister in Galena, Illinois, and from there attended the wedding of my nephew in Des Moines, Iowa. That fourth Sunday, we shared at the Faith Christian Fellowship of Elkhart, Iowa. This was the very first FCF church we attended in the early 80’s. It was here we knew we had found our church organization – Faith Christian Fellowship Church International. We had not been back to this church since the 80’s, so it was very special to us. The pastors are great people, sharing the unconditional love of God in the Elkhart area.
The last Sunday in July we shared at a church in Waterloo, Iowa; Waterloo Worship Center. What a great church! This had such meaning to me as well. I grew up in Waterloo, and it was the prayer and hope of my dad, who was a pastor there in the 60’s and 70’s to have a church that would be fully integrated! And Waterloo Worship Center is just that! My brother from Des Moines came up for the service as well…and we had such a great time of fellowship!
The first week of August, we attended the Cedar Falls Bible Conference. We used to attend this conference every year. The memories just flooded our minds as we heard good preaching and had great fellowship.
The first Sunday of August found us in Dayton, Ohio with good friends. We attended a Vineyard church downtown Dayton, and the congregation received us so well. They even called us up and many came to pray over us! It was such a great blessing!
That next week found us at the FCF East Coast Leadership Summit in Pigeon Forge, TN. We were a part of the Mission’s Retreat following the two day summit. The pastor and congregation in Pigeon Forge received us so well, and made us feel so special! From Pigeon Forge, we visited the Red Bird Mission for a day in Beverly, Kentucky. My grandmother helped establish this mission in the 1920’s, and she went with us when we were children to visit. It was such a great adventure and enriching experience.
From Kentucky, we went back to Des Moines, Iowa to visit my family, and then back to Cedar Falls to close up our cottage for the winter. From Iowa we headed to Oklahoma, and points west. We had our first engagement at Salvation Church in Muskogee, OK. We had anticipated a leisurely drive to Oklahoma, but were involved in a slight accident which caused us to have to return to Des Moines to return our rental car and get a new one. After a five hour delay, we were back on the road, and made it to our service only 45 minutes late – but just in time to share! Salvation Church is a dynamic Hispanic Grace church in Muskogee. The pastors are such loving people, and always make us feel so welcome!
That Wednesday, we shared at Faith Christian Fellowship in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. FCFBA is a supporting church of ours, and we enjoy being with them every year! Pastors Chuck and Connie Coggins have been prayer partners with Donna and I for over 25 years, and we value our time together!
From Broken Arrow, we visited some good friends in western Oklahoma, then on the way to New Mexico stopped in Amarillo, TX to visit an old high school friend of mine. We ended August with Faith Christian Fellowship of Gallup, NM. FCF of Gallup is also a supporting church, and we enjoy the times of fellowship and sharing with them.
From Gallup, we decided to take a few days to get to Oregon. We stopped to see the Grand Canyon, then drove through the Sequoia National Park. These diversions showed us again the glorious grandness of our God! What beautiful places to see! Donna said as we were looking over the Grand Canyon, “How can anyone not see God in this?” Certainly the earth declares the wonder and glory of God.
We spent a couple of days in Redding, CA with an intercessor and friend; and had a great time of fellowship and connection with her and her family. We had planned to drive through the Redwood Forest on our way to Oregon, but decided to postpone that drive for a week, and drive straight to Oregon. The first Sunday of September found us at Restoration Worship Center in Bandon, Oregon. Pastors Dan and Mary have visited our mission in Kenya, and been such a great support of what we are doing. We were so blessed to be with this church over Labor Day – and doubly blessed because they put us up in a hotel right on the beach! It was a great time of ministry, and a great time of relaxation.
From Bandon, we headed to Delta, Utah to share at Faith Christian Fellowship of Delta. Pastor Kathy Mincer is a great friend, and this church is a supporting church of our ministry. We spent six glorious days with them! In addition to sharing at the church, we shared at the Utah State Prison in Gunnison, Utah on two different days. It was a great time!
From Delta, we traveled West Covina, CA for an FCF Minister’s lunch, and to share at Lost and Found Ministries in San Bernardino, CA. We were so blessed to have our daughter come up from San Diego to spend the weekend with us, and were also blessed to see one of our former church members and “daughter” in the faith who we had not seen for many years! The pastor’s lunch was so nice, and we were able to connect with a few ministries in the Los Angeles area. Sunday’s ministry at Lost and Found was also powerful!
From San Bernardino, we went to our home in San Diego for a couple of days before heading to Cambria, California. We spent the last Sunday in September with Living Waters Fellowship in Cambria. This is an FCF Church, which is also a supporting church of our ministry. We spent a few days in Cambria, and stayed within hearing distance of the beach – and were lulled to sleep nightly with the waves! We had a great time in fellowship with the church and the pastor! An added bonus, a member of the church treated us to a tour of Hearst Castle!
From Cambria, we traveled to Pueblo, Colorado. We stayed with a good friend, who I taught in Bible School back in the late 80’s. It was so good to connect again with them. The first Sunday of October we were at Faith Christian Fellowship of Pueblo, Pastor’s Joe and Elaine Borrego. We have been in relationship with these pastors since the late 80’s as well…and really enjoyed our time of fellowship and ministry with them. An added bonus, we were able to see another young lady who was a part of our church in San Diego. We were also able to have lunch with an old friend, who’s mother rented us a house in Rye, Colorado when we lived there from 1984 to 1987.
From Pueblo, we spent a week at the Andrew Wommack Ministries Minister’s Conference. We were able to enjoy great teaching, and connect with so many pastors and ministers from around the world!
The second Sunday in October we shared at Faith Christian Fellowship of Trinidad, Colorado. We have known Pastors Bill and Sharon Frashuer since the mid-80’s, and enjoy our time of fellowship with them. Another added bonus was seeing former members of our FCF Church in Colorado City, Scott and Cindy Swartwood.
From Trinidad, we spent one night in Albuquerque, NM with classmates from Rhema, Mike and Sheri Schaefer. Sheri gave us a copy of her new book, “Ten Minutes to Live,” telling the story of Mike’s accident that nearly took his life in the early 2000’s. Donna read me the book as we drove from Albuquerque to Flagstaff! It was such a great inspiration! (We highly recommend this book – you can get it on Amazon.com.)
The third Sunday in October found us at Latter Rain Ministries in Imperial Beach, CA, as guests of Bishop Reginald Blackmon. Latter Rain Ministries has invited us to be a part of their ministry, and wants us to be supporting ministries to our ministry. We are excited to see open doors that help us share the unconditional love of God in Kenya!
That following week, we traveled to Tucson, Arizona, where we were honored to minister at Faith Community Church, East – Dr. Louise Brock. Pastor Louise (mom to us) has been our pastor since we moved to California in 1987. We spent two years in Tucson under her ministry. Dr. Brock really ministers the uncompromised Word of God. We know so many people in the church on a personal level, and really feel like we have “come home” when we visit. In addition to sharing at her church, we had our annual breakfast with Louise at the Cracker Barrel, where we were able to share vision, and receive from her wisdom.
The next two days, we attended the FCF Far West Leadership Summit at the FCF of Tucson church. What a joy to connect with many pastors and leaders of FCF we have known for so many years! The two days were packed with great ministry and teaching. The highlight for us was a word given by Dr. Pat Harrison over our lives – confirming our call and ministry in East Africa! It was truly one of the highlights of our visit to the United States.
From Tucson, we have returned to San Diego. The fourth Sunday of October found us back at our home church, Destiny Church of San Diego, where we ordained two young men into ministry at the church! What an honor to lay hands on these young men, anointed by God for the ministry they are doing!
We have had an eventful summer. We have driven nearly 22,000 miles, visiting 16 different states. We are tired of travel, and looking forward to our final “trip” home to Kenya! Thank you for all you do helping us fulfill God’s call to share His unconditional love in East Africa!
The summer of 2016 has been amazing! We arrived in the United States the latter part of May. We began our ministry in the US with our home church, Destiny Church of San Diego. From San Diego, we traveled to Iowa, where we settled into our family cottage where we based ourselves for the summer. The first week of June, we spent time with my dad, celebrating his 92nd birthday with the family. After our family gathering, we visited one of our supporting churches in Ottumwa, IA.
We were scheduled for the full month of June, but two of our engagements had to cancel. It was really the Holy Spirit, as we needed a couple of weeks of relaxing and working around our cottage. It was such a great two weeks as well!
In July, we ministered at a supporting church in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It was such a great experience to share with this congregation, and connect with their Mission’s Director. We didn’t stay but one night in Green Bay, as we needed to be back in Iowa for the 4th of July Celebration!
The third week of June, we traveled to Fort Wayne, Indiana. On the way, we connected with a great church in Lena, Illinois, and visited family in the Chicago area. In Fort Wayne, we shared at a Missionary Baptist Church, and at Latter Rain Ministries. These churches were such great hosts, and we were so blessed to share what God is doing in Kenya!
From Fort Wayne, we visited Donna’s sister in Galena, Illinois, and from there attended the wedding of my nephew in Des Moines, Iowa. That fourth Sunday, we shared at the Faith Christian Fellowship of Elkhart, Iowa. This was the very first FCF church we attended in the early 80’s. It was here we knew we had found our church organization – Faith Christian Fellowship Church International. We had not been back to this church since the 80’s, so it was very special to us. The pastors are great people, sharing the unconditional love of God in the Elkhart area.
The last Sunday in July we shared at a church in Waterloo, Iowa; Waterloo Worship Center. What a great church! This had such meaning to me as well. I grew up in Waterloo, and it was the prayer and hope of my dad, who was a pastor there in the 60’s and 70’s to have a church that would be fully integrated! And Waterloo Worship Center is just that! My brother from Des Moines came up for the service as well…and we had such a great time of fellowship!
The first week of August, we attended the Cedar Falls Bible Conference. We used to attend this conference every year. The memories just flooded our minds as we heard good preaching and had great fellowship.
The first Sunday of August found us in Dayton, Ohio with good friends. We attended a Vineyard church downtown Dayton, and the congregation received us so well. They even called us up and many came to pray over us! It was such a great blessing!
That next week found us at the FCF East Coast Leadership Summit in Pigeon Forge, TN. We were a part of the Mission’s Retreat following the two day summit. The pastor and congregation in Pigeon Forge received us so well, and made us feel so special! From Pigeon Forge, we visited the Red Bird Mission for a day in Beverly, Kentucky. My grandmother helped establish this mission in the 1920’s, and she went with us when we were children to visit. It was such a great adventure and enriching experience.
From Kentucky, we went back to Des Moines, Iowa to visit my family, and then back to Cedar Falls to close up our cottage for the winter. From Iowa we headed to Oklahoma, and points west. We had our first engagement at Salvation Church in Muskogee, OK. We had anticipated a leisurely drive to Oklahoma, but were involved in a slight accident which caused us to have to return to Des Moines to return our rental car and get a new one. After a five hour delay, we were back on the road, and made it to our service only 45 minutes late – but just in time to share! Salvation Church is a dynamic Hispanic Grace church in Muskogee. The pastors are such loving people, and always make us feel so welcome!
That Wednesday, we shared at Faith Christian Fellowship in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. FCFBA is a supporting church of ours, and we enjoy being with them every year! Pastors Chuck and Connie Coggins have been prayer partners with Donna and I for over 25 years, and we value our time together!
From Broken Arrow, we visited some good friends in western Oklahoma, then on the way to New Mexico stopped in Amarillo, TX to visit an old high school friend of mine. We ended August with Faith Christian Fellowship of Gallup, NM. FCF of Gallup is also a supporting church, and we enjoy the times of fellowship and sharing with them.
From Gallup, we decided to take a few days to get to Oregon. We stopped to see the Grand Canyon, then drove through the Sequoia National Park. These diversions showed us again the glorious grandness of our God! What beautiful places to see! Donna said as we were looking over the Grand Canyon, “How can anyone not see God in this?” Certainly the earth declares the wonder and glory of God.
We spent a couple of days in Redding, CA with an intercessor and friend; and had a great time of fellowship and connection with her and her family. We had planned to drive through the Redwood Forest on our way to Oregon, but decided to postpone that drive for a week, and drive straight to Oregon. The first Sunday of September found us at Restoration Worship Center in Bandon, Oregon. Pastors Dan and Mary have visited our mission in Kenya, and been such a great support of what we are doing. We were so blessed to be with this church over Labor Day – and doubly blessed because they put us up in a hotel right on the beach! It was a great time of ministry, and a great time of relaxation.
From Bandon, we headed to Delta, Utah to share at Faith Christian Fellowship of Delta. Pastor Kathy Mincer is a great friend, and this church is a supporting church of our ministry. We spent six glorious days with them! In addition to sharing at the church, we shared at the Utah State Prison in Gunnison, Utah on two different days. It was a great time!
From Delta, we traveled West Covina, CA for an FCF Minister’s lunch, and to share at Lost and Found Ministries in San Bernardino, CA. We were so blessed to have our daughter come up from San Diego to spend the weekend with us, and were also blessed to see one of our former church members and “daughter” in the faith who we had not seen for many years! The pastor’s lunch was so nice, and we were able to connect with a few ministries in the Los Angeles area. Sunday’s ministry at Lost and Found was also powerful!
From San Bernardino, we went to our home in San Diego for a couple of days before heading to Cambria, California. We spent the last Sunday in September with Living Waters Fellowship in Cambria. This is an FCF Church, which is also a supporting church of our ministry. We spent a few days in Cambria, and stayed within hearing distance of the beach – and were lulled to sleep nightly with the waves! We had a great time in fellowship with the church and the pastor! An added bonus, a member of the church treated us to a tour of Hearst Castle!
From Cambria, we traveled to Pueblo, Colorado. We stayed with a good friend, who I taught in Bible School back in the late 80’s. It was so good to connect again with them. The first Sunday of October we were at Faith Christian Fellowship of Pueblo, Pastor’s Joe and Elaine Borrego. We have been in relationship with these pastors since the late 80’s as well…and really enjoyed our time of fellowship and ministry with them. An added bonus, we were able to see another young lady who was a part of our church in San Diego. We were also able to have lunch with an old friend, who’s mother rented us a house in Rye, Colorado when we lived there from 1984 to 1987.
From Pueblo, we spent a week at the Andrew Wommack Ministries Minister’s Conference. We were able to enjoy great teaching, and connect with so many pastors and ministers from around the world!
The second Sunday in October we shared at Faith Christian Fellowship of Trinidad, Colorado. We have known Pastors Bill and Sharon Frashuer since the mid-80’s, and enjoy our time of fellowship with them. Another added bonus was seeing former members of our FCF Church in Colorado City, Scott and Cindy Swartwood.
From Trinidad, we spent one night in Albuquerque, NM with classmates from Rhema, Mike and Sheri Schaefer. Sheri gave us a copy of her new book, “Ten Minutes to Live,” telling the story of Mike’s accident that nearly took his life in the early 2000’s. Donna read me the book as we drove from Albuquerque to Flagstaff! It was such a great inspiration! (We highly recommend this book – you can get it on Amazon.com.)
The third Sunday in October found us at Latter Rain Ministries in Imperial Beach, CA, as guests of Bishop Reginald Blackmon. Latter Rain Ministries has invited us to be a part of their ministry, and wants us to be supporting ministries to our ministry. We are excited to see open doors that help us share the unconditional love of God in Kenya!
That following week, we traveled to Tucson, Arizona, where we were honored to minister at Faith Community Church, East – Dr. Louise Brock. Pastor Louise (mom to us) has been our pastor since we moved to California in 1987. We spent two years in Tucson under her ministry. Dr. Brock really ministers the uncompromised Word of God. We know so many people in the church on a personal level, and really feel like we have “come home” when we visit. In addition to sharing at her church, we had our annual breakfast with Louise at the Cracker Barrel, where we were able to share vision, and receive from her wisdom.
The next two days, we attended the FCF Far West Leadership Summit at the FCF of Tucson church. What a joy to connect with many pastors and leaders of FCF we have known for so many years! The two days were packed with great ministry and teaching. The highlight for us was a word given by Dr. Pat Harrison over our lives – confirming our call and ministry in East Africa! It was truly one of the highlights of our visit to the United States.
From Tucson, we have returned to San Diego. The fourth Sunday of October found us back at our home church, Destiny Church of San Diego, where we ordained two young men into ministry at the church! What an honor to lay hands on these young men, anointed by God for the ministry they are doing!
We have had an eventful summer. We have driven nearly 22,000 miles, visiting 16 different states. We are tired of travel, and looking forward to our final “trip” home to Kenya! Thank you for all you do helping us fulfill God’s call to share His unconditional love in East Africa!
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