The_Journey_Summer_2026

Journey

THE WORLD NEEDS MORE GOOD SAMARITANS

When disaster strikes, Samaritan’s Purse partners with local churches worldwide to bring physical relief to hurting people and share the eternal hope of the Gospel. Learn more about how God is working through Samaritan’s Purse by visiting samaritanspurse.org.

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This magazine is intended to present people’s stories about their personal relationships with God from their point of view. We endeavor to have a diversity of perspectives in the testimonies we share from people who identify themselves as followers of Christ. Furthermore, we carefully and prayerfully consider the content of the stories we tell, as well as the character of those who tell them. People who share their testimonies with us have experienced God’s love in real ways, and our encouragement for you, is that you also can experience His love wherever your journey takes you.

“We love serving our mountain community together. We’re excited about our expansion onto the university campus. And we look forward to serving our guests in both locations for many years to come.”

Scott and Terese Fogleman.

Contributing Writers Ben Cox | Emily Mitchell | Terry Henry | Baylee Sanders | Stuart Burns

Cover Photo by Paul Pierce

Chick-fil-A of Boone located at 2082 Blowing Rock Road

Chick-fil-A of Appalachian State University located in Central Dining Hall on the ASU campus

By Gary Childers

By Benjamin Cox

By Nathanial Cox

Baylee Sander’s

Stuart Burns

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Ben was a man of many hats – devoted husband, father, friend, grandfather, pastor, neighbor, and businessman. He joyfully embraced each role with enthusiasm. His love for Christ was certainly the foundation upon which all other “hats” rested. Beginning each new day with Bible study, journaling, and prayer, Ben’s relationship with Christ was foremost and directed how he showed up in his many roles.

Ben was a peacemaker. He sought lasting peace between people–not just temporary fixes–and went out of his way to ensure true peace and unity evolved, even in hard situations.

As I reflect on his passion for The Journey, I think it indirectly flowed from his peacemaker’s heart. Ben longed for, hoped for, strived for the church in Boone to not be centered around denominational divisions or individual congregations, but to be known as the “Church of Boone”, unified in love and demonstrating that love to the community. We’ve always sought to make this publication denominationally diverse in order to highlight that our views of Scripture do not produce change in us; rather, our biblical understanding of WHO Christ is and our relationship with Him produces change in us. And through Him, we become the aroma of Christ, ambassadors of His love, conduits of His character.

demption in different ways, our transformed lives are a testament to how a life can be changed through His Lordship. The testimonies in this magazine are the heartfelt realities of lives touched by the love of God and the impact others have had along their journeys.

If you have come to know Christ, you have a testimony. We must share that light, not hide it. We may be tempted to feel hindered by looking at our own failures to share about our hope in Christ, if we remain silent, no one will receive the glory for the joy within us. There is power in our testimony, for others’ sake, and for our own. Sharing what Christ has done for you solidifies the reality of a changed life within yourself. As we hear each other’s stories, we can rejoice in seeing lives changed as a result of surrender to Christ.

Ben was a simple man who surrendered his life to Christ and was transformed. Perfect? Hardly. Redeemed? Yes. Transformed? Continually. He was called by the Lord to be a pastor. He was a man of integrity, with a contagious laugh and an enthusiasm for Life. He was a testament to how one life surrendered to Christ can have a far-reaching impact on others.

The cord that unites believers is faith in Jesus and the grace we receive because of that faith. While we each have come to accept Christ’s forgiveness and re-

This edition is dedicated in memoriam to Ben, whose testimony the Lord used to transform many lives. I cannot express the void that his sudden passing has left in my heart and my life. Ben greeted each day with a sense of purpose and had a vision for our lives and God’s purpose in them for the next twenty years.

A man of “Many Hats”

While I grapple with the timing of his death, I take great comfort in Psalm 139 which states that before we were born, He knit us together, quite purposefully. He walks before us, next to us, and comes behind us throughout our lives. He knows each day that He has ordained for us.

The Lord knew the exact day He had ordained for Ben to enter the heavenly realm. As I told my grandkids on the day of his passing, we cannot see Heaven any more than we can see the ocean from the mountains. But that does not change its reality. It is there, with a rhythm and beauty we can’t comprehend. It is with a sense of certainty I believe Ben has heard, “Well done, good and faithful servant!

Welcome!” And his laugh probably resounded throughout heaven!

I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support I have experienced from the community throughout this journey of mine. Thank you also to the sponsors who have supported the vision of sharing our testimonies for others to be encouraged by, for the glory of God. You have been such a blessing to me and my family. We are so very grateful.

BEN’S TESTIMONY

May our voices be reawakened to share our testimonies and give Him the glory due to His name.

Hats off to you, BC, for a life well lived and well loved. Blessings to each and all,

Connie

HOW GOD’S WORD AND THE HOLY SPIRIT CHANGED OUR LIVES ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN SUMMER 2023 JOURNEY

John 5:15 - “I am the vine and you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing.”

46 years ago the Lord used John 15 and just one phrase from this chapter to radically change the direction of my life. It was July 1977, three months into my new marriage to Connie. We were not truly followers of Christ at the time, but we were spiritual seekers.

I had grown up in a Christian home as a pastor’s kid. When I was 8 years old, I walked the aisle to receive Jesus as my personal Savior, but I did this in order to please my parents and the people in the church and not because I truly believed.

In high school in 1972, the Holy Spirit moved in the youth group of our Baptist Church, and I did get truly

born again! Jesus was moving by His Spirit in our town and throughout the nation. Young and old alike go saved and experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit in similar ways to Jesus’ first disciples at Pentecost. It was exhilarating to be a part of!!

Before I found Jesus, I was on a bad path, so my parents were relieved to see this transformation. While they didn’t quite know what to think about the Holy Spirit’s move, they knew that their lost son had now been found, transformed, and was on fire for God.

At 17, I started to think more carefully about my future and the career path I would follow. My dad told me to pray about it, and much to my surprise I felt the Lord speak to my heart very clearly that I

Connie and Ben

should pursue pastoral ministry. Honestly, I had always felt strongly that I would NEVER be a pastor after watching my dad experience some church ugliness. While church members could be unkind and stuck to their agendas, I am grateful that my dad was faithful in his calling to the church and he endeavored to teach his parishioners how to follow Christ, demonstrating Christlike character whether they did or not.

So, in spite of my reservations about being a pastor, I answered the call I received from God. I went to Mars Hill College in 1973 to study Philosophy and Religion with plans to enroll in seminary following college.

For a number of reasons, my plans and my faith derailed. At 21, I transferred to another school and changed my major to English. I ended up dropping out because I was in a dark, depressed space, considering suicide as an option to escape my self-imposed suffering.

Before we departed for our honeymoon, my mom gave me a Bible. I was at Cape Blanco State Park in Oregon, sitting in a meadow on a beautiful cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean when these words from John 5:15 caught my attention: “I am the vine and you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

It felt like the Holy Spirit lifted the last six words of the passage off the page and said to me, “APART FROM ME, YOU CAN DO NOTHING.” Then Jesus said to me by His Spirit, “not who you have tried to make Me to be and not your version of what you want Me to be, but who I really am!”

I was alone and confused in this new town and decided to start from ground zero to find truth and peace in other religions besides Christianity. I met my wife during this time, and we were both spiritually minded and sincere about seeking truth.

Connie is one of seven children, and her brother and sister had recently begun their own spiritual journey that led them to the real Jesus. Their search for truth led them straight into His waiting arms. Because of this, Connie’s brother Bob strongly resisted my claims that “all paths lead to God.” He insisted that Buddha and Krishna and Mohammed were dead, but that Jesus was alive. He challenged us to read the Bible and to simply pray that God would reveal His truth about Jesus. We followed this lead, and I’m still in awe that Jesus pursued me like He did when I had forsaken Him.

At that point, I dropped my Bible and lifted my hands in surrender to Jesus, realizing that due to my own pride, prejudices and sinful nature I had created a version of Jesus that was wrong. I had created a “gentle Jesus, meek and milk” version of God, who would never hold anyone accountable for rejecting Him. But that’s not the complete picture of who Jesus is and doesn’t align with what Jesus says about Himself or what Scripture proclaims Him to be. I’m so grateful that Jesus used His Word and spoke to me by His Spirit to pull me out of deception and darkness and into the light of His truth.

I’m also grateful that He will faithfully works in our lives on a daily basis if we devote ourselves to reading the Bible and asking the Holy Spirit to reveal truth or teach us truth on a deeper level than we knew. Through the Spirit and Word working together, Jesus will conform all of His followers into His image which is so much better than trying to get Him to conform to what we think He should be.

Ben & Connie in 1977

Thank you Ben for encouraging us to love God through devoting ourselves to read, journal, and discuss the Scriptures and demonstrating how to love one another by opening up your home, sharing meals and laughter, and praying for each one of us. Our lives are forever changed.

Pat, Carey, Melody, Chip, BB, Sharon, and Gene

REFLECTIONS ON A WELL-LIVED LIFE

In the aftermath of Dad’s passing, we were overwhelmed with stories of how his life impacted so many in the High Country, pointing people to Jesus by the power of presence, conversation, and prayer. We wanted to capture a few of the stories here to not only honor dad’s legacy but to encourage you. Live a life of love and purpose and point people to Jesus with your kindness and Spirit-led conversations.

David Davis

Friend of Ben & Connie

I stepped off a Trailways bus in June of 1979 thinking I would spend the summer in these mountains. I had drifted here with no career sought, no training in anything, nor any plan for the future. Ben Cox and I met in August. Forty-six and half years this past February, he went on to his next life, the eternal one promised in the Bible. We met because the words of that singular

Ben & David in the 1980s book inspire people to form churches, and one Sunday, I walked into the church where Ben and Connie were regular congregants.

September arrived and Ben was calling me his friend, the first person in Boone to do so. By October, Ben invited me to apply for a job with the small company that employed him. I found work in a forestry job alongside Ben and some other church men. Little did I realize the impact this jovial, heart-centered Christian man would have on me across nearly five decades of life.

In those decades of friendship, we were shoulder to shoulder in varied life experiences: co-laborers planting trees, then Ben as foreman of the work; next, our church employed both of us — Ben was my pastor then, as well; in home groups together; our wives were with one another during child birth; our eldest sons were friends. We were often with each other in some capacity seven days a week!

Our friendship was tested in our mid-forties over a theological perspective and appeared to disintegrate. We fell into an awkward and hurtful estrangement. Before we aged into our fifties, we reconciled over the theological truth of forgiveness. Over the last twenty-five years we have celebrated our friendship with frequent meet-ups for long walks and open discussions over everything from the grandchildren to the Christian culture in Watauga.

Ben, I miss you and always will.

My heart isn’t made bitter by this hulk of a loss, however. The blessing of having known Ben is too grand for any personal sorrow over his going first into the arms

of our great Lord God. For me, there is but one way to remember Ben Cox: he loved God and all people, both those in and out of the Body of Christ. He cared about the spiritual state of all. It’s what that Good Book teaches, and Ben knew it well.

Reggie Hunt Pastor, Cornerstone Summit

Ben was an early advocate for me in ministry. He was a key leader in bringing pastors and churches together when unity really mattered. He was among a small group of pastors who laid hands on me and prayed over me, commissioning me to serve in Boone. He was one of the first pastors in town to leave his pulpit and come preach at mine.

Ben sang at our wedding. He shared wisdom generously.

He wasn’t afraid of hard and necessary conversations. He loved his family deeply. He loved Boone faithfully. He loved Jesus wholeheartedly. Please pray for his family and for all who loved him and were shaped by his life.

Thank you, Ben.

Rejoice with the King.

Erin Deuel Former employee, friend of Ben

Ben had a tremendous impact on my life over the years as a pastor, mentor, employer, and friend. We met when I was a 21-year-old young woman, entrusted to a leadership position in a Baptist affiliated church.

It was deeply impactful that Ben, a father-figure and well respected pastor in this community, supported me in that role, encouraged me when I did not feel worthy of it, and never hesitated to remind me of my gifts on a regular basis. He gave my husband and I our first jobs out of college at Main Street Marketing, where I learned invaluable lessons - not only about running a business well and good customer service, but about communicating honestly and openly without fear, “everything out in the light,” as he would say, and the power of authentic relationships.

Later on, in the process of buying our first home, we found out that Ben had originally built our house for his family in 1982 - it immediately felt like we were moving into a family home, and we treasure the memories that he shared with us anytime he came over to visit.

What will forever stay with me about Ben is his immense capacity for encouragement, service to others, his long conversations filled equally with wisdom and corny jokes, his ability to make himself (and everyone else) laugh that wheezy, infectious laugh, his love and dedication to his family and community, and most importantly his deep love for Jesus and the Church. I am better for having known him and am so grateful to have had him in my life.

Richard Cagle Friend of Ben

My favorite memory of Pastor Ben was when he and Connie invited potential new members to his home to truly understand the beliefs of Watauga Christian Center.

He had such a veracity for scripture that he compelled me to study God’s word more. His thorough explanations and willingness to answer any questions really impressed me. As a college student, I was highly impressionable and Pastor Cox set an incredible, Godly example.

I’m forever grateful for how he challenged me to study The Bible through his example. I thank God for putting Pastor Ben in my life.

Ben’s laugh is recognizable & contagious

Kevin LaPlante Friend of Ben

I have always considered Ben as one of the few kindred spirits I have found in this life. Kindred spirits are true gifts from God. He has been such for me since very shortly after my conversion 35 yrs ago. He has also been my only true pastor. Ben married Donna and I 33 yrs ago. About 25 yrs ago or so he graduated from being my pastor to being my friend.

I grieve with all those who know and love Ben. The grief of this life. Unthinkable sadness that we cannot speak with him again, while we are still here in this life.

I am confident that Ben now shares this same testimony as Paul shared with us, in his letter to Timothy:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

In this we can take comfort. I will always remember Ben with that big smile on his face and that deep belly laugh that comes up from the depths of his being and emerges out of his eyes and his mouth. May you remember and cherish that as well.

Wesley Smith

Executive Director of Missions, Three Forks Baptist Association

I am so thankful that God allowed our paths to cross. Since my arrival in Boone in 2020, Ben has made a huge impact in my life and ministry. The desire that he has for the church and the city of Boone and the Church in the High Country to glorify God was unmatched.

It was an honor to serve with him in getting the Watauga County Christian Pastors Prayer Fellowship up and going. It exists today largely in part to Ben. I looked forward to mine and Ben’s regular prayer times. He is such a great friend and mentor. What a blessing.

Pat and Cary Rowland Friends of Ben

Ben Cox was a faithful servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has been a Godly influence in the life of the Rowland family for 46 years.

With so many others, the foundation of our Christian faith was laid over 21 years by Ben Cox and a few others. One of the greatest lessons I learned from Ben was the importance of a daily quiet time. That was a frequent exhortation of his towards the body of Christ at Watauga Christian Center. I also remember Ben teaching again and again that it’s not so important what happens to you in life, but what your response to those situations might be. Will you allow hard things to make you bitter or better?

When Ben reached out to Carey and me three years ago about joining him and Connie with some other folks from the “old days “in small group fellowship, we joyfully said “YES”!!! I am so thankful for the three years of weekly meetings for Bible study and fellowship. I think the thing I most appreciate about Ben Cox was the fact that he was so very real. He never put on airs and he could be trusted to share who he really was with the group.

Lifelong friends at Pat & Carey’s house

I can picture him now in my mind, sitting in that one spot on his couch reclining, and with his feet up and his gigantic daytimer on his lap, reading his journal entries and sharing his thoughts about Jesus. He would often take off his glasses when he teared up, and would become emotional about the love of his life, Jesus Christ. Ben was a servant of Jesus, not a

perfect man, but an example to all of those left behind. We love you, Ben and Connie! Pat and Carey.

Chip Watts

I’ve known Ben for 37 years or so.

My wife, Melody, and I walked into Watauga Christian Center one Sunday morning in 1988. We were just looking for a couple of our friends who went to that church, but we began attending regularly. We were in a difficult place in our lives and that whole church embraced us. We found great, life-changing fellowship… and that’s when Ben became our pastor.

Melody and I helped lead worship at that church for a while. It always made me smile to hear Ben’s high tenor harmony from his seat in the congregation - ringing out clearly over our full band, microphones and amplifiers. What a voice!

Flash forward about fourteen years:

Our happy times at that church were over. Melody and I were living way out near the Tennessee state line with minimal fellowship. We were reeling from “church hurt.” By that time, Ben understood church hurt also, as he had just experienced it himself. But while I was isolating myself in my pain, Ben dealt with his own hurt by actively seeking out those like me who had been spiritually wounded.

Ben invited me to breakfast. I wasn’t expecting much, but that breakfast meeting was momentous.

It was the most profound experience of forgiveness I’ve ever known - other than with the Lord and my wife, who forgive much in me.

After a long conversation stretching back over years, Ben asked my forgiveness and I asked his forgivenessand it was real! I had known “plastic forgiveness” with others, where the right words were said, but only out of

obligation. But this was genuine. It was like a springtime garden in full bloom. Words fail me…

So Ben and I became true friends.

Flash forward another twenty years or so and my family was returning to Boone and these beautiful mountains after years down in the lowlands. Even before we moved back, Ben was calling to ask how he could help.

And soon after our return, Ben was regularly inviting me to join him on long hikes. I would be out of breath, barely keeping up with him. He would be moving fast while talking nearly non-stop the whole way! We enjoyed many meals together, too.

Melody and I have been blessed to be in a home fellowship that met at Ben and Connie’s house nearly every week for the past three years. Once during that time, when Melody was only 30-minutes away from being wheeled into major surgery, Ben showed up at her hospital bedside to pray for and encourage us. That meant so much. After over thirty years, he was still faithfully filling the role of Pastor in our lives.

Ben was one of the great encouragers in my life. He wanted God’s best for me and for my family.

Flash forward less than two years after Melody’s surgery and I was honored to stand at Ben’s own hospital bedside the day before he died. I don’t know if he could hear me, but I prayed for him and spoke hopeful words. I told him that he was one of my very best friends and that I loved him.

Ten days later, I was honored to help lead worship at Ben’s memorial service. It was wonderful to hear that auditorium full of people - so many who loved Bensinging wholeheartedly to the Lord.

It was easy to imagine my friend, his high tenor joining with us, hands lifted to the Lord, eyes closed, worshipping...

Ben & Chip

KINGDOM OVERFLOW:

THE ROTENS’ JOURNEY OF FAITH, SURRENDER, AND EVERYDAY MINISTRY

By Terry Henry & Emily Cox Mitchell

How Matt and Jordan Roten Discovered That Following Jesus Is More Than a Sunday Faith

In 2019, by all appearances, Matt and Jordan Roten were already living lives devoted to ministry. They both worked for Samaritan’s Purse, served faithfully in a local church and deeply loved Jesus. Their lives appeared firmly planted in faith and purpose.

But if you ask the Rotens today, they’ll tell you that God was only beginning to reveal what it truly meant to follow Him.

confined to a church building. It was always meant to overflow into every corner of life.

A Faith That Felt Like a Facade

Matt and Jordan serve together as husband and wife, building both a family and a ministry centered on living out the Word of God in everyday life.

God was inviting them into something deeper—not simply ministry as a profession, but a life completely surrendered to His kingdom. They would discover that, as they lived this surrendered life, there was more freedom to experience, more intimacy to enjoy, and more purpose to live out.

Their story is a story of a young woman hiding in a closet, convinced she had ruined her relationship with God. It is a story of a teenage boy who was told he would never play sports again, only to walk out of church healed. It is a story of a husband and wife separated by hundreds of miles who experienced the same spiritual breakthrough at the same moment.

And, ultimately, their story is about what happens when ordinary believers decide that faith is not merely something to believe, but something to live.

Today, through Kingdom Overflow Ministries and Kingdom Overflow Properties, Matt and Jordan are helping others discover what they have learned firsthand: the Kingdom of God was never meant to be

Jordan’s earliest memories are rooted in church. She grew up attending a small local congregation and was surrounded by the language and culture of Christianity. While she appeared to be exactly what a young Christian should be outwardly, in her soul, a different story was unfolding. At just six or seven years old, Jordan encountered inappropriate content that led to years of addiction and shame.

Though she continued attending church, she felt increasingly disconnected from God.

“My relationship with the Lord always felt kind of like a facade,” she recalled. “I always felt guilty. I always felt like I was hiding from Him. I was not able to really have a relationship with Him.”

For years, she carried the weight of shame. While she believed in God, she struggled to believe that God could truly love someone who carried so much brokenness. She wanted a relationship with God, but her prison of shame compelled her to keep her distance.

Years later, Matt would describe her struggle with an analogy. “If you owe somebody a mortgage payment that you can’t pay,” he explained, “and you see them in public, you’re probably not going to run up and talk to them. You’re going to hide.”

Jordan immediately recognized herself in the story. “I felt like I owed God something I couldn’t pay,” she said. “I wanted a relationship, but I felt like I had to

“It was one of the first times someone really explained what forgiveness meant,” she said. “That my sins had truly been washed away; that he’s cast your sins as far as the east is from the west.”

avoid Him until I could get myself together.”

Jordan lived under that burden for years. Then everything changed in a matter of seconds.

The Wreck That Changed Everything

Shortly after her seventeenth birthday, Jordan was driving home when she was involved in a devastating car accident. Her car flipped multiple times and was a total loss. The crash was so severe that first responders struggled to comprehend how she survived.

“It is a miracle that I am alive,” she said.

Later, she learned that only two things made it out of the wreck intact: Jordan and her Bible.

Determined to understand God for herself, she had recently begun reading her Bible seriously for the first time. She started at the beginning and was working her way through Scripture.

In the aftermath, people repeatedly told her the same thing.

“The Lord kept you alive for a reason.”

Those words lingered in her mind. What did they mean? More importantly, what did God want from her? She knew she had survived for a reason, but she still didn’t know who she was in Christ.

secret, every failure, every shameful memory, and every reason she believed He should reject her.

“I put it all on the table,” she said. She asked the Lord a question that had haunted her for years. “Is it really possible for You to still love me?”

Before she could finish listing all the reasons she believed He shouldn’t love her, she experienced something that changed her forever.

Eventually, the questions became impossible to ignore.

One day she found herself sitting alone in a literal closet. The enclosed space felt safe, private, and hidden. There, surrounded by hanging clothes and silence, she did something she had never fully done before. She told God everything. She was honest with him about every

“It’s like He interrupted me,” she recalled. The room did not change. The circumstances did not change. But Jordan changed.

“I got hit by the love of the Father. It was the first time I’d ever felt it.” She struggles to describe the experience even today. The love she encountered was unlike anything she had ever known.

“It was so overwhelming,” she said. “I knew it was Him because I’d never felt anything like it before.”

In that moment, the shame that had kept her distant from God lost its grip. For the first time, she understood that God’s love was not reserved for the version of her that had everything figured out. His love was pursuing her right in the middle of her brokenness.

That encounter ignited a hunger that has never left.

“I wanted to know the God who could love me like that.”

Choosing Boone

As graduation approached, Jordan faced a crossroads. One path seemed logical: A promising corporate opportunity in Washington, D.C. The other

As a family, they are committed to creating spaces where people can encounter God and discover how faith connects to everyday life.

path was uncertain: A temporary position in Boone with Samaritan’s Purse.

Looking back, Jordan sees the decision as one of the first major acts of surrender in her life.

“I remember thinking ‘This is the moment’,” she said. “I can either choose comfort and security, or I can pursue what I told the Lord I wanted—to know Him.”

On her very first day, she met a young man named Matt Roten. While neither of them knew it then, God was weaving their stories together.

The Boy Who Dropped the Easter Egg

Matt’s faith story began very differently. Where Jordan struggled to believe God could love her, Matt never doubted God’s presence in his life.

Born and raised in Boone, he grew up in a deeply Christian family. His earliest encounter with Christ came when he was just five years old. While dyeing Easter eggs with his family, Matt sensed God speaking to him.

“I heard the Lord tell me to go to my room and give my life to Him.”

He dropped what he was doing, ran to his bedroom,

prayed, and then returned to the kitchen with an announcement that surprised everyone.

“I just got saved,” he declared.

While his parents were surprised by his abrupt decision, they could see that something profound had happened.

That simple childlike response would become a defining characteristic throughout Matt’s life. When he sensed God speaking, he responded–even when he didn’t fully understand or when it seemed unreasonable.

That willingness would later carry him through some of the most important moments of his faith journey.

A Miracle in the Weight Room

As a teenager, Matt developed a growing hunger to understand more of God. Raised in Baptist churches, in his early teen years, he found himself exposed to Pentecostal camp meetings through his family.

The experience sparked countless questions. Why did some believers talk about healing? Why did some talk about spiritual gifts? Why did different churches seem to emphasize different parts of Scripture?

Rather than dismiss the questions, Matt pursued them. His questions about healing suddenly became more urgent for him to find the answer to.

During the summer before football season, Matt suffered a serious back injury while helping his father repair damage on their property. As the pain became unbearable, doctors delivered devastating news: A disc in his back had been severely damaged.

His athletic future appeared over. “You probably won’t play sports again,” they told him. The prognosis extended beyond athletics. Doctors suggested he might never again be able to perform physically demanding work again.

Before pursuing additional medical opinions, Matt’s parents gathered a few friends to pray. Matt remembers hearing someone reference Jesus’ healings in Scripture. The stories when Jesus would heal someone and then immediately tell them to do what they previously could not do stood out to Matt the most.

“Stretch out your hand.”

“Pick up your mat.”

“Walk.”

When the prayer ended, Matt decided to test his back. He bent forward and experienced no pain. The next day he showed up to football training and it was a max-out weightlifting day. Most people would have taken things slowly, but Matt did not.

Jordan later joked, “Matt likes to load-test miracles.”

He loaded 420 pounds onto a squat rack and squatted it. Pain-free.

Matt leads the family’s ministry and construction business, both rooted in a desire to serve others and reflect the Kingdom of God in everyday work.

Doctors later compared new scans to the originals. The injury was gone.

The experience left an indelible mark on him that went beyond his immediate healing. He now knew and had experienced that healing was real. The questions that followed would shape the next decade of his life: How did God do that?

And what else had he yet to discover about the fullness of Christ and the power of a God who heals?

“Why Would I Hold It Against You?”

After their initial meeting at Samaritan’s Purse, the friendship between Matt and Jordan developed naturally. Working together each day, they found themselves drawn into conversations about faith, life, and what God was teaching them. Matt quickly recognized something special in Jordan. He admired her sincerity, her hunger for God, and the way she pursued truth.

Jordan, however, saw things differently.

Though her encounter with God’s love had changed her life, she still carried remnants of the shame she had lived under for so many years. She knew God loved her, but she had not yet fully grasped what it meant to be forgiven.

The distinction may seem subtle, but for Jordan it was life-changing.

She believed God had spared her life. She believed He had met her in that closet. She believed He loved her. But she still viewed herself through the lens of her failures.

When Matt began expressing interest in her romantically, alarm bells went off. In her mind, he was a mature believer pursuing God wholeheartedly. She was still carrying the baggage of her past.

“I felt like we would be unequally yoked,” she said. Eventually she decided she needed to end any possibility of a relationship before it began. One evening she invited Matt to chat with her on her porch, prepared to tell him everything.

The conversation felt strangely familiar. Years earlier, she had sat in a closet and confessed her life before God. Now she was preparing to do something similar with Matt.

One by one, she began recounting the failures, mistakes, addictions, and struggles that she believed defined her. She expected disappointment and concern. She was certain he would agree that pursuing a relationship would be a mistake.

Instead, Matt looked confused.

“Jordan,” he finally said, “I don’t understand.” Then he asked a question that would forever change her understanding of the gospel.

“If Jesus already forgave you for all those things, why would I hold them against you?”

Jordan still remembers grabbing his arm.

“What do you mean Jesus already forgave me?”

For many believers, forgiveness is a familiar concept. But for Jordan, that evening was a revelation. The love of God had rescued her from shame. The gospel now rescued her from condemnation.

Matt patiently walked through Scripture with her, explaining what it meant to be a new creation in Christ. He explained what it meant that Jesus had taken her sins upon Himself and that God no longer defined her by her past.

“This is what it means that you’re a new creation,” he told her. “This is what it means that your sins have been cast as far as the east is from the west.”

His simple presentation of the gospel was one of the defining moments of Jordan’s spiritual life.

The Father’s love had drawn her close. The truth of the gospel set her free.

“A few months later we went on our first date. I knew I was going to marry him,” she said with a smile.

Building a Life Together

Marriage brought joy, growth, and the ordinary rhythms of life. Matt and Jordan settled into careers with Samaritan’s Purse and Operation Christmas Child.

Jordan speaks at a women’s conference, sharing about faith, purpose, and the everyday work of walking with God.

They had two kids, served in their church, taught Sunday school and pursued God together.

To many people, it might have looked like they had arrived. Yet beneath the surface, God was still preparing them for something they could not yet see.

Throughout those years, both carried a growing hunger. Jordan wanted to know the Father more deeply. Matt continued wrestling with questions about healing, spiritual gifts, and the authority Jesus entrusted to believers.

While each grappled with their hunger and restlessness, God was busy putting the pieces together in ways they wouldn’t have imagined. In 2020, they separately experienced God in a way that changed everything.

The Night Everything Changed

By early 2020, Jordan was leading a distribution team in the Dominican Republic through Operation Christmas Child. The trip required her to be away from home for more than a week.

Her trip presented a new challenge to Matt. For the first time, he would be caring for his infant son and toddler daughter on his own for an extended period. Unexpectedly, crippling anxiety began to surface, and he was overwhelmed by all the “What ifs” that her absence left him with.

The experience frustrated him deeply. For years he had worked with students and taught them how to process fear and anxiety through faith. Now he found himself struggling to apply those same principles.

“I felt like a hypocrite,” he admitted. “I’ve taught this for years. Why can’t I do it myself?”

Instead of pulling away from God, Matt pressed in.

Late at night, after the children were asleep, he immersed himself in Scripture. He studied passages about Christ’s authority, the authority of the believer, the kingdom of God, and the fullness of Christ. Again and again, he returned to the words of Jesus.

What did Christ actually mean when He said, “The works that I do, you will do also, and greater works than these”? What did it mean to be completely surrendered to the Father? What did it mean to live as Jesus lived?

Slowly, the Scriptures began connecting in ways they never had before.

Then came one extraordinary night.

Matt was asleep between his two young children when something awakened him. He sat upright in bed and looked at the clock reading 2:00AM. Out of nowhere, Matt began speaking in tongues.

He couldn’t stop. For nearly an hour, he sat there overwhelmed by what was happening.

The next day as they spoke on the phone, Matt shared what had happened to him. Jordan interrupted him, astonished that–hundreds of miles away–she had experienced something remarkably similar. As they compared stories, they realized they had experienced the same thing at virtually the same time. They were separated by distance but united by the Spirit of God.

“We were both asking, ‘Lord, what are You doing?’”

Looking back, they see that moment as a dividing line in their lives. When the Lord showed up to them both in the middle of the night, hundreds of miles apart, he launched them into a season of seeking God with a level of hunger they had never known before.

Learning to Love Their Neighbors First

When Jordan returned home, the world seemed almost unrecognizable. She had left for the Dominican Republic before COVID-19 dominated the headlines. When she came back, airports were filled with masks, uncertainty, and fear.

“It felt like the whole world had changed in two weeks,” she recalled.

While much of the world was shutting down, God was opening something new in the Rotens.

At first, Matt and Jordan assumed this new calling would lead them overseas. They both had spent years working to support international ministry, so it seemed logical that God would call them overseas.

But God had a different idea.

Matt and Jordan’s children have grown up alongside the ministry, often joining their parents on the road to gatherings, service projects, and outreach events.

One of the clearest instructions they felt from the Lord was surprisingly simple. “You need to learn to love your neighbors first.”

The command redirected everything. Instead of looking across oceans, they began looking across the street.

As pandemic restrictions intensified, they started visiting people who had become isolated. They visited with shut-ins, widows, elderly neighbors, the immunocompromised, and others who had gone weeks or months without meaningful connection.

The ministry wasn’t complicated. There were no stages, microphones, or strategic plans. Many times, they simply sat on porches, listening, praying, and sharing what God was teaching them.

“We were like little kids on Christmas morning,” Jordan said. “We were just so excited about what God was showing us.”

As they poured into others, God began to open their eyes to the hidden needs all around them.

Homes were falling apart. Repairs were needed. People lacked resources. Families were struggling. Because they were physically present, they could see needs that statistics and reports never revealed. One porch conversation at a time, God was teaching them something profound.

Kingdom ministry starts with seeing people.

Breakthrough Through Surrender

As the needs around them became more apparent, another uncomfortable reality emerged.

Many of those needs involved construction and home repair.

Matt knew construction, but it was the last thing he wanted to do. Years earlier he had worked in the industry and experienced enough frustration to convince himself he would never return.

Matt heard God tell him to get his contractor’s license. Matt’s response was immediate: “Anything but that.”

He spent months arguing with God. Surely God had another plan. Surely there was someone else better suited for the task. Surely construction wasn’t part of the calling.

As he felt God continue to instruct him, Matt finally surrendered. While it didn’t make sense to him at the time, he felt God telling him to not only get a contractor’s license, but to get an unlimited commercial and residential license.

In hindsight, the Rotens see God’s wisdom in getting the expanded license. It became a foundational

piece of what would eventually become Kingdom Overflow Ministries.

Through this act of surrender, God demonstrated a principle He had been teaching them all along: Often the greatest breakthroughs come through the very things we least want to surrender.

The thing Matt never wanted to revisit became one of the primary tools God would use to expand their ministry.

When Ministry Became a Way of Life

As Matt began pursuing his contractor’s license and the couple continued serving neighbors throughout the High Country, God began to give them a larger vision for their life and ministry.

What initially looked like a series of unrelated events—a construction license, porch conversations, home repairs, discipleship relationships, and a growing hunger for the Kingdom of God—was actually part of the same story.

“We felt very clearly that the Lord was calling us into full-time ministry,” Jordan said. The realization was humorous in light of the fact that they were already working in full-time ministry. But God was calling them into a discipleship ministry that looked different from anything they had previously imagined.

For years, they had associated ministry primarily with programs, outreach efforts, and church activities. Those things are valuable, but God was giving them a broader vision for his Kingdom.

Living in the Kingdom of God meant learning to live under the rule and reign of God every day, in every aspect of life. Whether at home, work, in relationships or in business, the Kingdom was not simply a future

Matt prays with attendees during one of the ministry worship nights.

destination. The Kingdom was a present reality that God was inviting them to participate in.

The Kingdom of God wasn’t meant to be compartmentalized. It wasn’t intended to occupy a few hours on Sunday and then disappear into the background of everyday life. From work and business to family and friendships to construction sites and neighborhoods–the Kingdom of God is meant to overflow naturally into every sphere of life.

That realization became the foundation of what would eventually become Kingdom Overflow Ministries.

The name itself carries the heartbeat of everything Matt and Jordan have learned along their journey. For Jordan, it goes back to one of the most important lessons God has ever taught her.

“Everything with eternal value has to come from Him first,” she explained. “We don’t manufacture it. We receive it from Him, and then it overflows out of our lives.”

That lesson emerged during what she describes as another pivotal season in her faith.

As ministry opportunities increased, she found herself doing more and more for God. She was serving, leading, teaching, and helping–all good things. But in the middle of her busyness, the Lord asked a question that stopped her in her tracks.

“What’s the most important thing?”

The answer isn’t ministry. It isn’t influence, impact, or growth.

The answer is love.

The most important thing in her life was learning to love God with all her heart, soul, mind, and strength. Everything else was meant to flow from that place.

“We serve from intimacy,” Jordan said. “Not because we’re trying to do things for Him, but because we’ve spent time with Him.”

That conviction would eventually shape every aspect of Kingdom Overflow Ministries.

Building Disciples in the Marketplace

As the ministry grew, another conviction began taking shape.

Many Christians understood how faith fit into church life. Far fewer understood how faith fit into their work life. Most people spend far more hours at work than they do in church, so what does Kingdom living look like in the marketplace? What does it look like to follow Jesus on a Tuesday morning? What does discipleship look like on a construction site?

Rather than separating ministry and business, the Rotens felt God calling them to integrate them. Out of that vision, Kingdom Overflow Properties was born.

While they function like a regular construction

company that builds homes, repairs structures, completes renovations and manages projects, something much deeper is happening.

Every morning begins with prayer. Scripture is discussed alongside project plans. Discipleship happens while swinging hammers, installing flooring, and rebuilding homes.

The work itself becomes part of the training ground.

As crew members learn a trade, they are also learning how to walk with Jesus.

“As I’m teaching someone how to swing a hammer,” Matt explained, “I’m also teaching them what it means to follow Christ.”

For the Rotens, employment itself becomes ministry. People are not merely workers. They are disciples. The goal is not simply to complete projects. The goal is to help people become more like Jesus.

That philosophy extends beyond their own employees.

Every construction project creates opportunities for relationships. Unlike many professions, contractors are often invited into deeply personal spaces–into homes, living rooms, bedrooms, family gathering places, people’s sanctuaries.

“What other job allows someone to invite you into their home?” Jordan asked.

For the Rotens, each project becomes an opportunity to bring the presence of God into a place where people live their everyday lives.

They pray over foundations and walls. They pray for peace over families. They pray for healing where needed.

And whether the project is a ministry-related repair, a hurricane recovery effort, or a standard construction job, their mission remains the same: Bring the Kingdom of God wherever they go.

Walking Through Real Life Together

One of the defining characteristics of Kingdom Overflow is its commitment to authentic discipleship.

For Matt and Jordan, discipleship is not a class, curriculum, information transfer. True discipleship takes place when life is shared together. The model they pursue is intentionally relational.

“We don’t just want to walk out the Sunday version of faith,” Jordan said. “We want to walk out the Wednesday slump and the Thursday struggle and the Friday where you’re asking, ‘Do I even know Jesus today?’”

That honesty has become one of the ministry’s defining strengths.

The Rotens are not interested in presenting a polished image of perfection. Instead, they believe transformation happens when people are willing to

surrender every messy part of their lives to Christ.

“Living life together exposes things,” Jordan said. “It exposes wounds. It exposes places that still need healing. It exposes places that still need surrender.”

Far from seeing that as a problem, they view it as part of the discipleship process. Becoming more like Christ requires allowing Him access to every corner of the heart, including the parts we would rather keep hidden.

That understanding flows directly from both of their personal stories. Jordan’s freedom began when she brought hidden things into the light. Matt’s healing began when he trusted God beyond what seemed reasonable.

Their ministry now invites others into that same journey of surrender.

No Ishmaels and No Dead Isaacs

Along the way, the Rotens have developed a phrase that captures much of their ministry philosophy.

“No Ishmaels and no dead Isaacs.”

Making Earth Look Like Heaven

If there is a single idea that summarizes the heart of Kingdom Overflow Ministries, it is this:

The Kingdom of God was never meant to remain confined within church walls.

Matt often explains the concept through the example of historical kingdoms. When powerful nations established colonies, they didn’t transport everyone back to the original kingdom. Instead, they transformed the new territory to reflect the culture of the kingdom they represented.

The phrase comes from two familiar stories in the life of Abraham. An “Ishmael” represents something produced through human effort rather than God’s timing. A “dead Isaac” represents failing to keep listening after God speaks.

The lesson is simple but profound. Obedience requires continual listening, not just hearing God once. Obedience requires hearing Him daily, following Him daily, surrendering to Him daily.

Whether making ministry decisions, business decisions, or family decisions, the goal remains the same: Stay close enough to hear His voice.

Jordan laughs that she understands Jesus’ habit of slipping away to pray far more now than she once did. Every morning begins with the same question:

“Lord, what’s the plan today?”

The longer they follow Christ, the more convinced they become that success is not measured by activity. It is measured by obedience.

Languages changed. Customs changed. Laws changed. The colony began looking more and more like its home country. Matt believes Jesus had something similar in mind when He taught His followers to pray.

“Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

The church’s mission, he says, is to help earth reflect heaven. This change won’t happen through force or power or might, but through people who have surrendered themselves completely to Christ.

The Kingdom will come through people who carry His love, compassion, truth, and presence. It will come through people who bring His Kingdom into their homes, workplaces, neighborhoods, schools, and communities.

The more Matt studies Scripture, the more he sees that theme everywhere.

“The Kingdom of God has arrived,” Jesus proclaimed. It is here NOW and believers are invited to participate in its expansion.

That conviction fuels every home repair, every discipleship conversation, every Bible study, every prayer meeting, and every construction project connected to Kingdom Overflow.

The goal is not simply to build buildings. The goal is not even simply to build disciples.

The goal is to help create a place where the King feels at home. The goal is to make earth look a little more like heaven.

This will only happen by staying close enough to Jesus that His life begins overflowing through yours and changing the lives around you.

Matt and Jordan run a construction business alongside their ministry, using both to support their mission and serve others.

A CALL TO TEACHING & SERVICE: GARY CHILDERS STORY

By Terry Henry & Emily Cox Mitchell

Gary Childers’ story begins in rural Burke County, where life was simple but deeply rooted in family and faith. He was born into a family shaped by hardship and by faith—parents who had lived through the Great Depression, a father toughened by serving in World War 2, and a mother whose steady devotion to Christ set the tone for their home.

Church was not just a Sunday obligation but the center of life. Three times a week, Gary sat in the pews of a small missionary Baptist church, absorbing lessons he didn’t always appreciate as a boy but were building the foundation of his life.

“I got my desire to serve and to help people from my mother, and my stubbornness/toughness from my father. I have a good blend of both of them–I care deeply for people but am also very determined and won’t be pushed around. I think this combination is what drove me to education–the desire to help people,” said Gary.

I would say that, similarly, I had a calling to teach. To me, it was more than just a profession–it was what the Lord had planned for my life,” said Gary.

Gary sporting the Watauga “W” while on vacation.

A Calling to Teach

His calling to teach came around seventh grade when a teacher at Rutherford College Elementary School showed him what it meant to not just teach but to deeply care about students. The teacher’s care struck him. It stirred something quiet but persistent: I want to do that. I want to help kids who don’t have much.

“I know many preachers feel a call to ministry, and

Still, the path was not straightforward. No one in his family had gone to college, and the idea of higher education felt distant and uncertain. It took the guidance of a local preacher— someone who quite literally drove Gary and his cousins to a small junior college, Wingate College—to open the door. At that Baptist-affiliated school, in the turbulent 1960s, Gary’s faith and identity were tested.

Understanding Grace and Forgiveness

The world around him was changing rapidly—The Vietnam War was raging overseas, civil rights unrest was pervasive at home and cultural values were shifting. Gary found himself questioning things he had once accepted without hesitation. Though he had accepted Christ as a young teenager, the reality of human imperfection, especially within the church, unsettled him. He saw hypocrisy. He wrestled with doubt. He wondered if the faith he had been given was real or merely tradition.

Those questions weighed heavily. But they did not drive him away. Instead, they deepened his journey. Gary came to understand something that had once eluded him: grace. Faith was not about perfection—it was about forgiveness, persistence, and a continual return to God. That realization became one of the defin-

ing moments of his life, not as a single dramatic conversion, but as a slow, humbling awakening.

“During this time, the Lord taught me so much about grace and forgiveness. For the first time, i truly came to know, experience, and be changed by his kindness.”

Steady Hand Leading Back to Boone

Through it all, the call to teach remained steady. Gary transferred to Appalachian State and stepped fully into the path he had sensed years earlier. He began his teaching career in Eastern North Carolina during the first wave of school desegregation in the South. For Gary, this moment in history gave him the opportunity to be part of something just and necessary. His faith, which had been tested and refined, now guided his actions.

“I’m

my pastor and wife Emily and a few divinely inspired conversations, I decided to take on the huge role,” remembered Gary.

Strength For a New Path

The new role at Watauga came with enormous responsibility and required extraordinary stamina. He joined at a time when the school was implementing a revolutionary block schedule that changed requirements and expectations for every teacher in the school. It was a huge undertaking.

so proud that people trusted me to make good decisions as a school board member. I was top vote recipient because of my commitment to doing the best I could to ensure every student was set up for a successful life.

Life continued to unfold in ways he could not have planned. The Vietnam War loomed over his future, and for a time, it seemed certain he would be sent overseas. He and his wife, Emily, moved back to Boone to prepare for deployment. But circumstances shifted, and his draft lottery number was never called. Looking back, Gary saw that moment as another instance of God’s unseen hand shaping his path.

A High Country Education

Back in the High Country, Gary’s career evolved. He started his teaching at Hardin Park Elementary which at the time was an new school, implementing many new, non traditional concepts. With a growing family, Gary moved into administration, serving as a principal for a six years at Bethel Elementary School before becoming principal at Parkway Elementary School, where he stayed for 15 years.

There were moments when the weight of responsibility nearly overwhelmed him. At one point, exhausted and uncertain, Gary reached a breaking point. Alone, he stepped away, prayed, and asked for strength. The answer did not come as a miracle that removed his burdens, but as something steadier—a renewed sense of purpose, a clarity that allowed him to continue. “God didn’t suddenly make things easier for me, but he provided me a path and the strength to see things through,” said Gary.

Wherever he served— elementary school, middle school, high school—Gary carried the same core belief: that education was about people. His role was not just to manage schools, but to serve students, families, and teachers. He approached conflict with calm, choosing understanding over anger, guided by the quiet conviction that faith should shape not only what one believes, but how one treats others.

When it was, at last, time to retire from the Watauga, Gary faced his colleagues and said, “I’m grateful for the time I had to work with you. I can truly say that I feel like I’ve done what I was supposed to do with my life.”

“I know God’s always been at work in my life and had plans for me that I hadn’t even considered. For instance, right when I was eyeing retirement from Parkway, I got a call from the superintendent. He asked me if I would take on the role of Principal at Watauga High School. I After a lot of prayer, conversations with

A Good Name is Better Than Riches

Although he certainly earned the right to a quiet life in retirement, Gary continued to follow God’s call to service and education. After a stint working with the United Way, he yielded to the call to go on the Board of

Swearing in as a Board of Education member.

Education. He was first appointed to the post to fill in for a sick member, and then he was elected twice based on the merit of his reputation in the community.

Proverbs 22:1 notes that, “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold,” and this is certainly true of Gary’s name.

“I’m so proud that people trusted me to make good decisions as a school board member. I was the top vote recipient because of my commitment to doing the best I could to ensure every student was set up for a successful life. Even if people might disagree with my approach to things, they understood that I always acted in a way that I felt was right and just and best for my students and their families,” said Gary.

A Faithful Life of Service

Looking back over decades of service, Gary began to see a pattern. The boy from a small Appalachian community, shaped by faith and hardship, had been led step by step into a life of impact. From classrooms to principal’s offices to the Board of Education, each role had been part of a larger design he could only fully understand in hindsight.

In the end, Gary did not measure his life by titles or accomplishments, but by faithfulness to the call he first sensed as a young boy. He believed he had been given much—opportunity, guidance, grace—and that, in turn, he was expected to give back.

And so his story is not one of a single defining moment, but of a lifelong journey: a calling discovered early, tested by doubt, strengthened by faith, and lived out in service to others.

Emily & Gary enjoying MerleFest.

Campaigning for Board of Education.

Emily & Gary celebrating 56 years of marriage.

“I know many preachers feel a call to ministry, and I would say that, similarly, I had a calling to teach. To me, it was more than just a profession–it was what the Lord had planned for my life.”

Help Send a Child to Crowder's Camp This Summer

Crowder's Camp provides children with a Christcentered environment where they can grow in faith, build confidence, develop lasting friendships, and experience the love of God through worship, fellowship, and outdoor adventure. Through the Coach Jerry & Margaret Moore Scholarship Fund, children who may not otherwise have the financial means can attend camp and experience this life-changing ministry.

Your donation honors the legacy of Coach Jerry and Margaret Moore by helping the next generation grow spiritually, emotionally, and personally. Every gift helps send a child to camp and invest in a future grounded in faith, hope, and purpose.

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Accepting a donation to High Country United Way.

As a lifelong educator, Gary cannot pass up a photo op.

IT IS WELL

By Benjamin Cox, Ben’s Son

It was around 4:30pm, when the nurses at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center called us to my father’s room to say goodbye and be together, a final time, as a whole family.

We filed down the hallway, my mother and each of us six kids, each cradling our internal crisis and striving to hold it together. Pale fluorescent lights illuminated the hallway toward the ICU door, while muted natural light drifted through the courtyard windows, offering a quiet softness against the harshness of the moment. The nurses had us wait outside while they removed his ventilator. The doctor informed us it could be minutes, hours, or even days before he passed. Finally, they invited us into the room.

Dad was seated upright on the hospital bed, unconscious and breathing peacefully - a welcomed juxtaposition to the jerky nature of the ventilator he’d been on for days. My sisters put together a playlist of his favorite worship songs and hymns, which lilted softly on a phone by his left ear.

We did not enter that room with a defined order of operations, no guideline or agreed-upon sequence of events; just six adult kids and their parents stuck in a tortuous circumstance, bound by a divine trust that the space we inhabited in that moment was truly sacred. Perhaps the most grounding presence in the room were the familiar songs that filled the air between us, those we grew up singing in church: “Shout to the Lord”, “Awesome God”, “The Heart of Worship”, “How Great Thou Art”, and, appropriately, “It Is Well With My Soul”.

Sustaining Worship

“It Is Well With My Soul” was my father’s favorite hymn. The hymn had followed him through decades of faith, grief, service, and loss. His father, Benjamin Wofford Cox Sr., was a Baptist minister who exhorted faithfulness in God’s divine plan throughout life’s challenges. That faith sustained both him and the troops he served as a chaplain during WWII, where he sang the song with men on death’s door.

My brother-in-law, a minister, joined us, briefly, for an invocation. He started with Psalm 23, and asked God to be with us, to give us strength, and receive Dad triumphantly in His grace. We gathered around our dad and watched him breathe.

There is no doubt my father heard the hymn as a child, growing up a Baptist pastor’s son. As an adult, Dad carried the song with him into his own ministry, where he served as pastor in the High Country for over 30 years. He carried it with him into New York City, after the 9/11 attacks, where he volunteered for months

Dad worshiping at his granddaughter’s wedding

alongside Billy Graham ministries to demonstrate God’s love to a city gripped in fear and loss. The hymn was played at his mother’s funeral, his father’s funeral, his sister’s funeral, and eventually, his own.

Praise By Design

There’s something so innately human in the act of song. Perhaps as a gift unto Himself, God designed us to sing with the frogs and cicadas, the birds and the whales - a world’s chorus of joy and grief, majesty and suffering held in life’s journey.

Every culture in human history sings. Parents sing to children. Soldiers sing before battle. Seekers sing before God. When words fall short of emotional resonance, song springs forth, accessible to all. It is why, unlike many other artforms, a song can become a family heirloom, passed down generation to generation.

Christianity embeds song into its practice. Singing is not an adornment of worship - it is the very act. Faith operates within such a complex emotional landscape, and worship gives Christians a language for that complexity. Doubt can coexist with belief; where suffering spills out, peace can reside. The beauty of song is that these truths can live together, at once, within a single verse.

My father reveled in worship. His voice boomed through every refrain, harmonizing (always harmonizing) with the congregation, hands raised - sometimes pleading for mercy, sometimes stretching triumphantly toward the sky - each gesture its own unique prayer, a devoted and deeply personal appeal to God. He never restrained his tears, his joy, or his excitement. To fully emote in song is a peculiar freedom made possible, in part, by fellow believers inhabiting the same space and singing in unison. What a beautiful vulnerability it is to bring our whole selves - unguarded and exposed - before God and one another.

A Song Borne of Suffering

“It Is Well With My Soul” occupies a space of competing emotions with its central message of surrender, assurance, and spiritual steadiness despite tragedy. The hymn was written in 1873 by Horatio Spafford. The hymn’s message of surrender was not imagined from comfort, but conceived within catastrophic loss.

Horatio Spafford was born in Troy, New York in 1828. His family moved to Chicago during the mid19th century, where Spafford became a successful lawyer and real estate investor, amassing a sizable fortune. He and his wife, Anna, had five children early in their

marriage. They were devoted Presbyterians and were deeply involved in charity ministries around the city. Then came trials.

In 1870, at only four years old, his eldest child died from scarlet fever. Just a year and a half later, the Great Chicago Fire engulfed the city and destroyed nearly all of Spafford’s real estate investments. In 1873, all four of his daughters died when their ship sank as they were crossing the Atlantic. Horatio chartered the next available boat, travelling the same route his family had days before. Over the very waters where his daughters drowned, riddled with grief but impelled by a divine motivation, he penned the first few lines of the poem. The words spilled onto the page:

When peace, like a river, Attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, with my soul.

How in the midst of such unbearable loss could he summon these words - this insistence on faith when so much had been taken from him? Would he still find them three years later when his friend and the song’s composer, Philip Bliss, died in a horrific train wreck? Or four years after, when scarlet fever claimed his second son? Perhaps this song became, for him, a kind of meditation against tragedy itself, raging aloud in a blessed defiance and proclamation of his higher calling.

Though Satan should buffet, Though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ hast regarded My helpless estate, And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Somewhere between the Atlantic waters, where Spafford found his inspiration, and over one hundred fifty years of trial and tragedy, surrender and hope, “It Is Well With My Soul” ceased to belong to a single man’s grief and became an anthem for the masses. It passed from one grieving heart to another; it passed through revival tents and warzones, sanctuaries and funeral homes. This is the heirloom in motion, words woven into family histories, each generation clinging to the message amidst sorrow; each generation discovering its promise anew.

My father reveled in worship. His voice boomed through every refrain, harmonizing (always harmonizing) with the congregation, hands raised - sometimes pleading for mercy, sometimes stretching triumphantly toward the sky - each gesture its own unique prayer, a devoted and deeply personal appeal to God. He never restrained his tears, his joy, or his excitement. To fully emote in song is a peculiar freedom made possible, in part, by fellow believers inhabiting the same space and singing in unison. What a beautiful vulnerability it is to bring our whole selvesunguarded and exposed - before God and one another.

My sin, oh, the bliss

Of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole, Is nailed to the cross, And I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Never could I have known how deeply I needed a melody until it found its way into the sterile hospital room where my father lay dying, surrounded by his wife and children. When we first entered the room, my mom told us how proud our father was of each of us. We shared stories and anecdotes, took turns holding his hand, speaking to him. But now we waited and watched his breath shorten, until, eventually, it stopped. We were physically and emotionally exhausted. Words failed us. God sent us a song.

And Lord, haste the day

When my faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll; The trump shall resound, And the Lord shall descend, Even so, it is well with my soul.

Heather suggested we queue “It Is Well” to play again. She was the first to sing. Her ethereal voice cut through the moment with startling clarity as she carried the first refrain. Emily joined; then the rest of us

began to sing. God’s presence settled over the room like a palpable embrace - so near, so unmistakably real, I wonder if I’ll ever experience anything like it again. Later, my mother described the moment as holy. It was, undeniably, the most holy moment of our lives.

We found the words, singing through sobs, defiant and resolute, resigned to the present. I could hear my dad’s voice so clearly singing with us. I could see him in memory, when I was a child, standing above me, tears on his cheeks, as he recited these very words.

Now those tears were my tears, my mother’s, my sisters and brothers. They flowed freely from our eyes and onto my dad’s body, now just a body, just an empty vessel for the soul that had already begun its journey home.

And we continued to sing when his chest was no longer moving.

And we continued to sing with the knowledge he was gone.

And we continue to sing despite this chasm of loss.

And we continue to sing:

It is well

With my soul, It is well, it is well with my soul.

FAITHFUL PURSUIT OF A FATHER

By Nathanial Cox, Ben’s Son

My earliest memories are rooted in church life. As a pastor’s kid, our lives revolved around ministry. Our entire community was made up of families from our church, and my parents gave us a firm foundation of faith. By the time I was in college at Appalachian State, I played drums on the worship team, attended church weekly, and was active in the campus ministry at dad’s church..

When I was twenty years old, everything changed.

Turmoil in my dad’s church resulted in his being let go in a deeply painful and dishonoring way. Suddenly, the church where all my friends attended that held so much of my identity became a place I couldn’t stay. I was angry—at people, at the church, and ultimately at God. In my anguish, I told Him to leave me alone.

fruit. He was patient in cultivating the change in me and understood my hesitation to return to church after everything that had happened.

What amazes me now is that after all the mistakes I had made, my parents never stopped believing in me. More than anything, my dad demonstrated the heart of the father in Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son. He didn’t greet me with condemnation or remind me of all the ways I had failed. Instead, he welcomed me with love, encouragement, and grace. Through him and my mom, I learned that repentance is met not by rejection, but by the overwhelming love of God. I learned that there truly is nothing that can separate us from His love.

I dropped out of school, played in bands, and spent a lot of time partying. During that season, I lost my cousin and two close friends all within the same year. Lost, hurting, and directionless, I tried returning to college at Appalachian State, but failed out. I was pretty hopeless about my prospects.

Everything changed when I had a real, intense encounter with Jesus. It felt as though God was pouring love, forgiveness, and truth directly into my heart. For the first time in years, I saw clearly.

When I told my dad about this experience, he was excited. He began discipling me right away, determined to nurture my faith so that it would take root and bear

Eventually, I returned to Appalachian State, earned a degree in physics, and later completed a Ph.D. in Microsystems Engineering.

Years later, in 2020, I found myself struggling again. On paper, life looked great. I had a wonderful wife, a good career, and every reason to be grateful. Yet spiritually I had drifted.

I was overweight, drinking too much, unable to quit smoking, and carrying burdens I didn’t know how to overcome.

Once again, I turned to my dad.

His advice was simple.

“Start carving out time to read the Bible. Go to God first. Seek the King, and everything else will follow.”

Because of the pandemic, attending church regularly

Nate and Ben at Nate’s wedding

was difficult, so we began reading through the Gospel of Mark together. We journaled our observations and met weekly by phone to discuss what we were learning.

What I remember most is how encouraging he was. He was truly a biblical scholar, but despite his incredible knowledge of Scripture, he genuinely celebrated insights I shared and often told me I had noticed things he had never considered. He built my confidence and strengthened my faith.

A year later, I had quit smoking, lost forty pounds, stopped drinking excessively, and was healthier physically, emotionally, and spiritually than I had been in years.

Since my dad’s passing, I’ve realized something that has deepened my appreciation for who he was. I always knew he had a pastor’s heart. I saw firsthand the patience, grace, and encouragement he extended to people. What I didn’t fully grasp was just how far that reach extended.

Story after story has emerged from people throughout the community. They tell me how he gave them his time, listened to their struggles, encouraged them, prayed for them, and pointed them toward Jesus. In hearing those stories, I’ve realized that the love and grace he showed me weren’t reserved for a select few—they overflowed into the lives of everyone God placed in his path.

We used to tease him for talking to everyone, asking endless questions, and showing interest in complete strangers. Looking back, I understand what we missed: he believed people’s stories mattered.

He wanted them to know their stories mattered.

Every conversation was an opportunity to show someone they were seen, valued, and loved by God. I recently found out that he’d met with a friend of mine whom he barely knew. When I asked him why he’d do that, he told me, “I don’t know how much time I have left, but I’m going to spend as much of it as I can pushing back the darkness with light.” And that’s exactly what he did.

This publication, The Journey, is part of that legacy to push back darkness with light. He believed testimonies were powerful because they reveal what God is doing in ordinary people’s lives. He believed that stories could build faith, encourage believers, and help point wandering hearts back to Jesus.

As Scripture says, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”

Today, as you hold this publication, you’re holding part of that vision.

My dad hoped these stories would encourage Christians, but I also know he hoped they would reach prodigals like me.

In Scripture, Jesus told a story about a shepherd who leaves ninety-nine sheep to search for the one who is lost. I know that story is true because I was that sheep.

Through the relentless love of God—expressed so faithfully through my father—I was found.

Dad & I with some of my dear friends he loved to spend time with

FINDING HOME AFTER HURRICANE HELENE

MY TESTIMONY

By Baylee Sanders

2025 was the year that I accidentally became an author and the Lord did a lot of really big things in my life. But before I tell you that story, I want you to hear about where I came from and how the Lord led me to the release day of my first book, Coming Home With Shouts of Joy.

I’m a small-town girl from Burnsville, North Carolina, home to the highest peak east of the Mississippi, Mt. Mitchell. My childhood was a pure and sweet one full of family gatherings with my gaggle of cousins, time spent outdoors camping at Black Mountain Campground, perpetually having my nose in a book, and faithfully attending Elk Shoal Baptist Church.

I cannot remember a time when I didn’t know the name of Jesus. I was raised in a loving home that prioritized going to a church that has a heart for making sure whoever entered their doors leaves having heard the name of Jesus and how He died for our sins. I accepted Christ as my savior at a very young age, and while I may not have always lived out my faith to the fullest since that moment, I do fully believe my journey with the Lord can be traced back to that moment of confessing my need for a savior as a seven-year-old girl kneeling at the altar.

my relationship with the Lord at the same time. High school gave way to college, which is where I really built upon the solid foundation of faith that was established in my childhood.

Appalachian State was the only university I wanted to attend, but when I opened my acceptance email, I had no idea just how much the Lord was planning for my life. The girl who walked on campus as a student for the first time in August of 2018 was not the same woman who walked across the stage to receive her diploma in December of 2021. I came to college as a small-town girl who loved Jesus but wasn’t sure how to serve Him, and I left as a married woman who was ready to jump headfirst into a career in ministry. During my time at App State, I was a part of Church in the Harvest, a house church that came out of Baptist Campus Ministries. It was in this ministry that I learned how to share the Gospel, what true discipleship looks like, and how to live on mission for the Kingdom. God used my time there to really change my life.

From that moment on, my life unfurled in a pretty typical manner. I had elementary school innocence, the awkward middle school years, and a boy-crazy high school experience full of soul-searching, heartbreak, and identity-seeking all while trying to grow

I have so many stories from college and early adulthood that I could share to testify to how the Lord has worked in my life, but one of the most remarkable ones is how the Lord worked in my life during Hurricane Helene and all the devastation that came after.

Like many of us, I had no clue just how much my life was going to change when it started to rain on Sep-

Current picture of Baylee

tember 27th, 2024. The morning of the 27th started off like any other day until my husband said he was not going into work because of the hurricane. He hardly ever misses work due to weather, so that was my first clue that this storm might be bigger than we all thought. We turned on the news, and as we heard reports of major flooding, my phone began to be bombarded with texts from my mom and brother back in Burnsville checking in on us. As I assured them that we were okay so far, I got a phone call from my dad that instantly changed everything.

who made the chainsaw stop working and saved my dad’s life.

My dad is a deputy for the Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office, and he spent September 27th just like he spends every day that he puts on his uniform: putting his life on the line to serve and protect the people of Mitchell County. My dad spent that harrowing morning out in the wind and the rain, cutting trees out of the roads so rescue services could keep moving to go help those in need. At around 6:30 that morning, my dad’s chainsaw suddenly stopped working. The pause in momentum made my dad take a step back so he could examine his chainsaw. Mere seconds after he stepped back, a tree fell in the exact spot he had just stood. Had his chainsaw not stopped working, that tree would have surely taken my dad’s life that day. I know, without a shadow of doubt, that my Jesus was the one

When I answered my dad’s call, he told me that story and begged me to stay inside and stay careful. After telling him how much I loved him, I hung up the phone and stood in my kitchen in utter shock. This storm was deadly, and I had no idea just how bad things were about to get. Shortly after that call, our power went out and then the cell towers went down too, casting us into utter darkness. My husband and I came through the storm with no damage, but when the sun came out and our cell service returned, I had radio silence from my family for three days. For three days my dad’s phone call played on an endless loop in my head, spiraling me into a complete panic over if my family in Burnsville survived the storm or not. I finally heard back from them and was relieved to find out that everyone survived and had only very minimal damage from the storm.

Physically we were all okay, but mentally? That was another story.The months that followed the storm were spent trying to wrap my head around everything that happened while simultaneously trying to get back to “normal” life and all of my responsibilities. I’d have

This picture is from my baptism at my home church in 2008 after I got saved in 2007

This is the tree that would have fallen on my dad, he took this picture after it fell.

good days where I’d go throughout my day without even thinking about Helene; then I’d have days full of survivor’s guilt, feelings of deep sorrow and loss, or bad weather days that left me reeling and feeling panicky.

Finally, in February 2025, I couldn’t take it anymore and I cried out to God, begging Him to bring healing to my weary heart. Moments after praying, I pulled out my journal and wrote a poem reflecting on the day of the hurricane. One poem quickly turned into three, and when I closed my journal, I sat back, stunned by what had just happened. I’ve never been one to enjoy poetry, and I had never written a poem of my own free will before that moment.

A few days passed and I found myself unable to stop thinking about the poems, and I was itching to keep writing. I asked the Lord what He was doing and He gave me a very clear response. I was to keep writing poems about Helene, and eventually they would turn into a collection of poetry split into two parts. Part one would be my story, a retelling of my experiences during and after the storm. It would be dark, raw, and honest. Part two would be God’s story, a space where I bring God into the narrative and ask Him where He was during the hurricane. It would be light, hopeful, and point others to Christ.

on Amazon on September 27, 2025, the one-year anniversary of the hurricane, all I could do was stand back in awe of all the Lord had done. Writing those poems brought so much healing to my heart. They also gave me a way to offer hope and the love of Christ to others who lived through Helene too.

Most importantly, the process of putting together my book taught me how to listen to the Lord and the importance of saying “yes” to whatever He puts on the table. I still don’t feel qualified to consider myself an author, but I think that’s kind of the point. I never could have done this in my own strength. I did it because I was relying on the Lord, and I trusted that He would guide me every step of the way. I knew that He would provide what I needed to accomplish what He called me to do. And He did!

We all have things we know the Lord is calling us to do. It may be as big as moving overseas to share the Gospel, or it may be as small as asking your coworker how they are actually doing and not accepting “fine” as an answer. We are called to love what Jesus loves and to do what Jesus does, and the only way we can do that is by putting our trust in Him and faithfully saying yes. Even when we’re scared.

Armed with a clear vision from God, I wrote. I wrote poems in my journal for three weeks straight. After that, I spent the summer editing the poems and putting them all together into a book. Coming Home With Shouts of Joy is the result of hard work, vulnerability, faithful obedience, and most of all, answered prayers from the Lord. When the book was released

I said that 2025 is the year I accidentally became an author, but I know that was no accident. Just because authoring a collection of poetry is something I never imagined myself doing, doesn’t mean that it wasn’t in God’s plan. I firmly believe that God uses all things in our lives for His glory, and sometimes that means we do things we never thought we would do. Am I glad that I experienced Hurricane Helene?

Baylee in Burnsville last year on the release day of her book

Absolutely not. If I could have chosen, I would have never let the storm happen. But I am glad that God works all things for good and that He used the hurricane to teach me so many things. I would not be the woman I am today if I hadn’t lived through the storm. My prayer is that my story reminds you that God is present for even your darkest, hardest moments and that saying yes to whatever God is telling you will absolutely always be worth it.

If you want to read Coming Home With Shouts of Joy, you can purchase copies on Amazon or at my website: www.authorbayleesanders.com.

This is a shot I got while editing the poems last summer

This photo is of me and my friend Emma on our way to a mission trip to Miami FL in 2019.

The digital file of the cover of my book.

INTERNATIONAL MINER’S MISSION (USA)

STUART & CHERRY BURN’S STORY

By Stuart Burns

“Not to us, not to us, but to Your Name give glory.” Psalm 115:1

Background – Stuart & Cherry met in the 1960’s while working at an insurance company in Johannesburg, South Africa. Both Cherry and Stuart were saved when they were 12. Cherry made Jesus Lord of her life when she was 17.

A significant part of Cherry’s salvation resulted from the prayers of Andrew Murray, one of her ancestors, who prayed faithfully for his descendants to be saved. Cherry has followed in his footsteps. We get excited every time we remember that.

Stuart’s family moved to the USA in 1966, and he soon joined the US Army for three years, and served in Vietnam for 20 months. Cherry and Stuart wrote to each other almost every day, and in 1969, Stuart returned to Cape Town, South Africa where he and Cherry were married in December of that year. Their two oldest children, Naomi and Jo-Anne were born in Cape Town. The Burns lived and worked in Cape Town for 7 years, until they emigrated to the USA and settled in Nashville, Tennessee in 1977.

Hannah, were born. Stuart managed a lumber yard in Roxboro until 1985.

In 1983, Stuart’s expectant sister, Heather (24 at the time) was tragically killed in a head-on collision near their home in Akron, Ohio. Fortunately, her husband Dana was not seriously injured. Dana and Heather already had one son, Dan who today is the Minister of Music at a church in Florida.

Heather’s death had a profound impact on both families. For Stuart, God led him to James 4: 13-17, a key verse being “your life is a vapor”. God then directed Stuart to read “Through Gates of Splendor” by Elizabeth Elliot. Stuart was gripped by the true story of the martyrdom of the five missionary men. A quote from Jim Elliot has stayed with Stuart every since he read the book: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose!”

In 1979, the Burns were transferred to Roxboro, NC where their two youngest children, Graham and

A few months later, the Burns paths crossed with a missionary couple from South Africa who were serving with AEF (Africa Evangelical Fellowship) in Namibia (where Cherry was born). After sharing our hearts and burden for the lost, we were accepted as missionaries with AEF and assigned to serve in Zimbabwe. However, God changed that. We could not get a visa for Zimbabwe, so AEF reassigned us to South Africa. We had a choice, either to serve in

Stuart & Cherry Burns at home

administration at a Bible School, or to manage one of the ministry stations of Christian Ministry to Miners (CMM). Faced with this decision, Cherry reminded Stuart that two years earlier, upon seeing a presentation about CMM, Stuart had said: “I would love to be involved in a ministry like that – 700,000 migrant miners from all over Southern Africa, a constantly changing group of workers, most of whom were not Christians, who needed to hear the Good News about Jesus.

And so, Cherry and Stuart were assigned to manage the West Rand Station of CMM, along with Elijah Dube, a Zulu evangelist and pastor who had recently graduated from the very same Bible School the Burns could have served in. The three of us were able to significantly able to expand the CMM ministry into a number of unreached Gold Mines west of Johannesburg.

After serving with CMM from 1987 – 1991, the Burns family began a 9 month furlough back in the USA. The furlough was due to end in February 1992. A crisis arose in that Stuart wanted to return to South Africa for a second term, but Cherry was concerned about the children’s well-being. Naomi was suffering from chronic fatigue and Graham was found to be dyslexic. The decision was made to remain in the USA. However, Stuart suffered depression for some time later. After all, God had called him to serve in South Africa, but Cherry believed we should put the children first, and that God would open a way forward for us.

At the end of February 1992, our last day of furlough with AEF, the Burns received a letter from IMM in the UK, inviting us to begin an IMM USA Committee. We were to take on responsibility for the Western Hemisphere, including all of North, Central and South America. We were to form a Board of Directors, raise funds for Bibles for the South African miners and investigate needs of miners throughout the Western Hemisphere. This was God at work – expanding our vision to reach miners, and still being able to help the ministry in South Africa.

Subsequently, Stuart has visited Eastern Kentucky, Mexico, Ecuador and established a solid ministry for IMM in Bolivia and Peru where today there are about 15 indigenous pastors reaching miners on top of the Andes in both countries. Stuart has also been able to visit South Africa, a real joy!

Stuart has been instrumental, along with others, in establishing IMM Committees in Australia (where he was born), South Africa and in effect, an IMM Committee in Latin America.

Stuart has close communication with Ruben Paco (IMM Bolivia Coordinator) and Santos Valero (IMM Peru Coordinator) along with IMM leaders and workers in South Africa, IMM Trustees in the UK and Switzerland.

Over the past 30 + years, IMM USA has established relationships with many other western missionaries who have helped the ministry develop.

Stuart’s responsibility includes a variety of administrative tasks, including gathering prayer requests for the Global Prayer Calendar, receiving and processing articles from the fields for inclusion in the bi-monthly Safety Lamp Newsletter, maintaining a mailing list of approx. 400 names, frequent contact with donors and board members, assists in wiring funds to Bolivia, Peru and South Africa, raises funds, attends missions conferences, visits the fields every 2 or 3 years, prepares for and participates in IMM Global Missions Conferences every few years.

Cherry and Stuart’s top priority is PRAYER. God hears and answers prayer, for the miners and their families. Many new names have been written down in the Lamb’s Book of Life through the IMM USA Ministry. Glory to God!

Bolivian Miners

Pictures tell a thosand stories - From the International Miner’s Mission

Bolivia – A new believer gladly receives a New Testament. Ruben Paco (IMM Coordinator) looks on.

Bolivia – From Left: Ben Wilson (IMM USA Chairman), Florentino Apaza (now with the Lord) and Stuart Burns

Bolivia – Prayer Warriors

Bolivia – Horita Feliz Children’s Ministry

Bolivia – IMM visits underground with pagan miners

Bolivia – Andres & Elma Negretty – they oversee about 20 churches, most without pastors.

Bolivia – Ruben Paco (IMM Coordinator) handing out tracts at a bus stop in Potosi.

IMM Peru Team – Santos Valero (left) is Coordinator

South Africa – Stuart visits the Elijah Dube family in their home near Johannesburg

South Africa – IMM evangelist Isaac Jali leads a session of the MBS program (Miners Bible School)

Africa – Pastor Elijah Dube – Open Air preaching near a Platinum Mine

South Africa – Pastor Elijah Dube at an Open Air site at Bekkersdal Gold Mine.

Africa – Outside a bar - 38 miners pray to receive Christ at an Open Air event in the Rustenburg Platinum mining area.

Day & Time: Saturdays

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(Call for Thursday tours/group discounts available)

Capacity: 10 hungry people [All Ages Welcome] This tour includes 3 indoor/seated tastings and 2 on-the-go tastings.

A Taste of the High Country Walking Food Tour is a blend of food, history and fun. Not only will you taste delicious foods but you will learn about many cultural insights and historical tales along the way. You will enjoy the company of other travelers from all around the high country and beyond.

“Great

Photo by Kharissa Delaney

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