Southeast couple trades in retirement for ministry
By Ruth Schenk | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Dave and Donna declined to allow the Outlook to use their last name, citing a concern to protect their identity as they return to Central Asia.
Dave and Donna were ready to “kick back and enjoy life” on a Florida beach as they headed for retirement.
After 40 years of hard work in busy careers, their dream was finally within reach. Donna looked forward to digging her feet in the sand and collecting shells. Dave planned to read, volunteer
and polish his photography skills.
Then God turned their plans upside down.
Radical life change began with baby steps spaced out over 10 years.
On a short-term mission trip to Jamaica, Donna took blood pressures and pulse rates by going door to door through the town. After 40 years of working in a Louisville hospital where
complaints often outweighed thanks, the Jamaicans’ gratitude shocked her.
“Contrary to what I’d believed all my life, I enjoyed the outreach,” Donna said. “I remember falling into bed exhausted at night and realizing at the same time that I was so happy.”
Plans shifted again during a Perspectives Class at Southeast where the couple learned about God’s heart for all people and the biblical mandate to “go and tell.”
Once they knew that everyone has a part in missions, there was no way to turn their backs on it.
Their future plans were drastically altered by numerous short-term trips to a Muslim country in Central Asia where needs are overwhelming, the land is barren, people are hungry and there
are no jobs. It was far from surf and sandcastles.
Donna held onto a piece of her dream until she picked up a copy of John Piper’s book, “Don’t Waste Your Life.”
She didn’t have to open a page to see a message that seemed crafted just for her. On the back cover, Piper wrote about a couple who took early retirement and moved to Florida where they
cruised on their 30-foot trawler, played softball and collected shells.
“Picture them before Christ at the great day of judgment: ‘Look, Lord. See my shells.’ That is a tragedy,” Piper wrote.
For Donna, those words cut like a knife.
Within the book, she read of the danger of getting caught up in a life that counts for nothing.
Investing retirement
Dave and Donna put beach plans aside, raised support to cover expenses, packed up a few belongings and moved to Central Asia.
Life is not easy there. It’s not always safe. Dave and Donna shop for food in an open market, put kerosene in a stove to get a little heat, deal with intermittent electricity and hot water and
have learned to live with security threats. They keep a bag with essentials packed at all times in case they need to flee. They have cancelled lunch meetings because of bombings, and they
have buried friends. But they say that they are not afraid, and they have no regrets.
“We decided we’d rather die serving in Central Asia than of old age,” Donna said.
Dave and Donna do not describe their life as hard—just different. They serve in a place where they are closer to God and each other. They stay because God is working in the lives of people
who have never heard of Jesus, touched a Bible or heard that God has provided a way to heaven through Jesus. Donna calls it a “ministry of presence.”
They walk alongside Muslims, and even though they come from different cultures, connections happen. The people they meet and interact with are wives, mothers, husbands and workers
who want to care for their families.
“If people know you are Christians, they watch to see how you react to life,” Dave said. “We try to provide an example that is worthy of our faith. In that part of the world, there are so many
obstacles to becoming a Christian that it seems insurmountable, but it’s happening. We are empowered and renewed when Muslims tell us how Christ is working in their lives.”
Some Muslim friends come to Dave and Donna’s home to study the Bible. They were surprised to learn that Muslims love genealogies in the New Testament and references to visions,
dreams and angels. Some have told stories of how seeing Christ in their dreams started their faith journey. The couple connects with Muslims who worry about doing enough good deeds to
get to heaven and those who talk of having a good demon on one shoulder and a bad demon on the other shoulder.
Donna said at times she has prayed to be “uncalled,” but God has never sent that message. She also said it is a privilege to serve. The couple plans to return to Central Asia this summer.
“It’s a miracle that God plops a Kentucky girl in the middle of Central Asia,” she said. “I might kick and scream and ask to be sent to a mission field like Belize, but it is a privilege and a joy to
live with Muslims. God put a passion in our hearts for these people. I cry when I see beggar children who are starving, and I know that I feel only a small bit of what God feels for these
people.”
For more information about short-term international trips, go to www.southeastchristian.org, or call (502) 253-8069.