Pastor2Missionaries

09/08/2026

Greetings our dear friends. We are preparing to head back to the USA tomorrow. Today is a day of packing and spending time saying our final goodbyes.

These last 13 days overall have been very good. We made some excellent connections with people while here. We thank God who works in us through the good and the bad.

We thank God for every opportunity and connection we have had here in Germany and Switzerland. We will write more in our e-mail newsletter in the coming days.

We do ask for your prayers as we head back to the USA tomorrow. Our flight departs at 11:45 AM from Zurich on Wednesday September 9th and we are supposed to land in Norfolk, VA around 5:50 the same day!

Thank you for your prayers, encouragement and support. Because of you we can help nourish missionaries to flourish on the field.

08/30/2026

Day one of debriefing done.... Now we are going for a walk! One thing we realize in the midst of providing missionary care for others -spiritual, mental, emotional and physical health - we must NEVER neglect our own.

That's why we try to exercise. That is why we try to get plenty of rest / sleep. That is why we get away from people and get with God. That is why we have people we talk to (not about specifics of the debrief). That is why we try to eat healthy (sometimes when traveling this is very hard to do) but there are German pretzels!

So we walk!

Thanks for your prayers

08/28/2026

Our team is ready for the missionaries to descend upon Haus Sharon in Wildberg, Germany. As a team we have prayed over them and packed some goody bags.

Would you pray for us over the next 6 days as we spend time with these missionaries, helping them work through events in their lives and point them to Jesus Christ? This is NOT about our wisdom but is about each person hearing from the Lord and allowing him to do His work!

Thank you for your support! It is because of you that we can do this!

08/20/2026

This week we have had the Boco's in our home. We provide missionary care for them and they are story tellers. Part of why they came was to help us prepare video's to disseminate for various purposes (fundraising, men's ministry fundraising, men's retreats, etc.)

Our personal philosophy of doing videos has been and will continue to be: point, click, shoot. No script. No planning. No run throughs. Just point, click, shoot. One time through is our motto! We are sure those who have seen them can tell.

But this week has been different. No point, click, and shoot. Lot's of planning. Lot's of discussions. First, we sat with Stephanie, Global Outreach's fundraising guru. She helped us begin to think through, "WHY???", "WHAT???", Etc. She made us think PURPOSE! We had to work quickly. UGH.

Then we had to do scripts. We wrote first drafts, second drafts. Tweaked them to our personalities. Then we ran them through Ai to polish them up a bit. Then we practiced them to make sure we knew the content, check the flow, and timing of what we were going to say.

Yesterday, we spent five hours filming. Before the filming, Donstin, spent about 2-3 hours preparing for the filming. He had to set up the cameras, get the lighting right. He had to make sure the microphones would pick up just right.

It was a lot of work yesterday... The four us were tired. But, it went well. Now the hard work of editing begins. Cutting. Pasting, Aligning everything together so that it looks good and sounds good. We are aiming for more of a professional style videos that can be used for months and years to come.

We share this for several reasons. First, being a missionary isn't simply just about always sharing the Gospel. Missionaries have to tell the stories of what they do. Reports back to churches. Reports back to supporters. They record their stories so others can and will be encouraged to share the Gospel where they are.

Secondly, we want you to know that there are missionaries whose ministry is to help other missionaries tell their stories. I (Jon), have no capacity or desire to purchase the professional equipment to make excellent videos and presentations. (Yes, I could probably do a lot better of a job than simply, point, click, shoot). So, I will utilize people like Donstin and Rebekah to help Tammie and I tell our stories. They have great value in the work they do. Stories need to be told. Stories need to be shared. Sometimes there is beauty in the simplicity of storytelling ( a quick video with no preparation), but there is also something about having a professional grade video that you can use to tell the story.

Lastly, we share because we want you to anticipate the releasing of these videos in the weeks and months to come. As Donstin finishes editing these videos we will release them to the people they were intended to reach.

We are so thankful for this week with Donstin and Rebekah. We had lots of laughs. Ate lots of food (too much). And we got to wrestle through ministry issues together. No we didn't fix the world as a whole, but we sure did move toward making the little sphere of our part of the world a little healthier and better.

08/18/2026

This week we have missionaries, Donstin and Rebekah Boco. We are their missionary Care Coordinators which means that we make connections with them on a regular basis. We get to spend the entire week with them, listening, trying to encourage them.

BUT....

They are here to help us. They are story tellers. They are here helping us to learn how to do videos, Facebook communication, Instagram postings / stories. We are trying to come up with videos for us to use to share our ministry, as well as videos for men's retreats.

This is a VERY FULL week, because we have had a lot meetings for Global, plus we are getting ready to depart for REFRESH DEBRIEF in Germany, where Tammie and I will be helping to lead a debrief for missionaries with Global.

Pray for us.

08/12/2026

Hey there. This weekend starts a busy week for us. We have a missionary couple who will be with us Saturday night through next Saturday. Then we leave for Germany / Switzerland on August 25th and won't return until September 9th. Please pray for us as we get to spend some in person time with missionaries!

08/12/2026

Hello there friends. Global Outreach International has put together a missions action film about one of our long time missionaries in Ecuador.

Beyond River's Edge follows decades of work along Ecuador's riverways, but it isn't told from the outside looking in. Every story in this film was shaped alongside the local missionaries and community leaders who actually live there: the cultural experts who know the language, the families, and the realities on the ground far better than any outsider could.

That partnership is what makes this film honest. What you'll see is real, raw interaction, one of the most moving mission stories we've ever documented, capturing the ongoing work of people who've earned the trust of their communities and sharing what God has done through years of faithful presence.

There will be a premier of this film tomorrow evening Thursday August 13, 2026 at 8:00 PM EDT. I would encourage you to take the time to join the party and watch what God has done and is doing through the long-term work of some of our Global Missionaries.

Go to the website to get your free link to watch!

.com.

Join the free global online premiere of Beyond River's Edge, a Global Outreach International mini-documentary, live on YouTube August 13, 2026 at 8 PM ET.