A Big Gift from a Small Source
It came in a small brown package but carried along a big gift.
The package was filled with letters, pictures, notes, and prayers, all meant to encourage MVI missionaries Tim and Julia Dang.
The Doctor Will See You Now
When Juan Pablo Noreiga was just a young boy growing up in Guatemala, he already had big dreams. “I want to be a doctor,” he told a team of visiting missionary doctors. And it wasn’t just a pipe dream. Juan Pablo was very bright and had been able to read since the age of 3.
From Haiti to Honduras
“It hurts me to say goodbye so much to so many and so often. Even if it’s just ‘see you later,’ still, I wish I could be in more than one place at the same time.” – Ed Lockett
Exceedingly Abundantly Above
The program didn’t start with much of a vision. It was just a desire to bless a young high school student named Catarina Chel de Pozo, called Zoila, who wanted to become a nurse.
Suffering Produces Perseverance
The meeting with the doctor did not go as expected – he did not want to remove the growth on Elvis’ neck.
Two Very Different Paths
The girls took two very different paths. Years ago, during a visit to a rural village in Belize, MVI missionary Elizabeth Ayala noticed two 15-year-old girls, Carmen and María, (not their real names), sitting under a tree. She approached them to chat and learn more about them, intrigued that they were not in school.
Because He Loved His Bible…
When Victor Neagu was around 7 years old growing up in the eastern European country of Moldova, he was gifted a Bible, a special full-color children’s Bible that he cherished. “I loved that Bible, and I read the same stories all the time,” he remembers.
A New Church in Mozambique!
The church has mud walls and grass roof, but it is a place of worship for more than 20 people who have gathered to sing praise to Jesus and listen to Pastor Pablo Mutica share the Word of God.
Sing a New Song
Even in wanting to bless others, we are often blessed. In San Cristobal, Guatemala, MVI missionary Teresa Harwood has reached out to the local community in a variety of ways. One unique opportunity has come lately in working with her local church’s worship band.
FAQs about Team Trips
Do team trips actually help? Why not just sent money? How do I choose where to go?
A Dream of Alpha
As a 10-year-old Muslim in Benin, Africa, Moustafa started having dreams of a man who walked on water and said to him to “Go quickly meet your Alpha.” These dreams haunted him into his teens and he wondered, who is this Alpha?
2022 Annual Report
Click the image above to read our 2022 Annual Report, filled with stories of God at work throughout the year.
A Modern Day Book of Acts?
Sometimes we can read the Bible and think those times must have been so different. Does God really heal people the same way? Does the church really grow in exponential ways? We have received encouraging reports from Thailand that the Lord is moving in a similar way to the early church.
“I don’t know what happened, but it was good.”
In the tiny Kingdom of Tonga, where Missionary Ventures has helped empower Tonga Christian Radio, our New Zealand office (MotiVate) invited their young adult leadership for a retreat in Auckland. Twenty-four young people attended – for 17 of them, it was their first time to leave their island nation.
The Castoff Community
The live in the wake of Pablo Escobar, the notorious drug lord who destroyed many lives in Colombia. It’s a community of displaced castoffs – people who are without homes, disabled, unwanted, and mostly made of single mothers with multiple kids.
Thank you, Naomi
What does a mission team really do? We often get asked this question, and it’s sometimes difficult to put such a life-changing trip into words.
After the Flood
In South Africa, missionary Cathy Potter watched as days of torrential rains began to flood nearby communities. While heartbreaking, it also presented many opportunities to respond with the love of Christ.
Peru: On the Road Again
The pandemic changed many of our ministries, and some of our missionaries wondered if they would ever look the same again. One of them was Jorge Cotrina in Peru.
The Last Scholarship
In Belize, 16-year-old John was already older than most of the other upcoming sophomores. But without a scholarship, he would have to wait even longer to continue school, if it was even possible at all.
“You are the first…”
In northeast Thailand, Pastor Suphon and Pastor Ying lead communities of believers who want to reach out to others in the Nong Khai province, which hugs the Mekong River along the border with Laos. These pastors and their churches are part of Mission Ventures Thailand who are planting churches all across Thailand and helping them to reach new areas. They are all very excited about the connections and open doors in Nong Khai.
Seeing Their Value Through God’s Eyes
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, unreached people groups are within reach for pastors like Pastor Sethi Munenwa, who lives about 300 km (186 miles) from the Pygmy forest tribes. These tribes have historically been devalued by almost everyone. Through both colonialism and discrimination from other tribes, they have often been thought of as the lowest of people groups. Some even believe it themselves.
The Impact Starts With One
It’s amazing to see what can happen when just one person is empowered and equipped in their calling from the Lord. For example, Pastor José Herrera first became acquainted with Missionary Ventures in Ecuador, when he was a missionary there from his home country of Colombia. He met Don Wolfram and learned about the Bible seminary classes they were teaching in the jungle.
2021 Annual Report
Click the image above to read our 2021 Annual Report, filled with stories of God at work throughout the year.
From Ukraine to Latvia: In Love and Deeds
As a former Soviet Union country, Latvia’s population consists of many people from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. Since the conflict began in Ukraine, we let local people know (especially those with family in Ukraine) that the Baltic School of Ministry (BSM) was open to receiving refugees.
The Golden Cup
We all know the platform that sports athletes can have, and the same is true even for local soccer teams in rural Uganda. Missionaries Rex and Melinda Guynn wanted to bless their local soccer team, the Classic Eagles.
A Divine Connection
When Billy and Donna Hires traveled to Malawi, they were focused on teaching in Bible schools with a local pastor. But they also came with eyes to see what God was doing all around them.
The Good Doctor
Dr. Jill (Aragón) Neely graduated from Nicaragua Christian Academy in 2004, and currently serves as the Global Health Fellowship Director at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical Center.
2020 Annual Report
Click the image above to read our 2020 Annual Report, filled with stories of God at work throughout the year.
Ripples from Guatemala – The Story of Pastor Tomas
Tomás Guzaro’s life could have been nothing more than living and dying in a small village in Guatemala. But God had other plans.
Vanuatu: A Community Transformed
On an island in the South Pacific, an impoverished community living in squatter shacks was struggling to find hope.