The_Journey_Summer_2026

Journey The

Summer 2026 Free

Ben Cox - 1955-2026

Inside: Inspirational Stories from People You Know

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.

Samaritan’s Purse®, Franklin Graham, President P.O. Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607 | 1-800-528-1980 SamaritansPurse @SamaritansPurse @SamaritansPurse © 2026 Samaritan’s Purse. All rights reserved.

03-31-616

samaritanspurse.org

Well Drilling & Pump Repair, Consulting, Water Systems and Filtration Water Pump System Installation, Service & Repair Water Filtration Installation, Service & Repair Pressure Tank Installation, Service & Repair Well Restoration & Abandonment Serving North Carolina and Tennessee

CALL US TODAY • 828-773-1590 Your GO-TO Water Well Company!

828.773.1590 info@blueridgewaterworks.com blueridgewaterworks.com Licensed and Insured.

Owner & Publisher Ben Cox Co-Owner & Distribution Manager Connie Cox

✓ Scan above to view the Journey online.

Graphic Designer Terry Henry Blog Manager Sydney Sheets Accounts Manager Heather Cotten Contributing Writers

Ben Cox | Emily Mitchell | Terry Henry | Baylee Sanders | Stuart Burns Cover Photo by Paul Pierce

Online flip-through version, distribution locations, and other inspirational content available at: JOURNEYNC.COM 828.263.0095 | info@journeync.com 1651 Highway 194 N. - Unit 4 • Boone, NC 28607 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.

Chick-fil-A now serving the High Country with 2 locations!

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

“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.

Website: https://www.cfarestaurant.com/boone Chick-fil-A of Boone located at 2082 Blowing Rock Road

04

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

CONTENTS 06

CONNIE COX:

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

BEN’S TESTIMONY - PAGE 7 REFLECTIONS ON A WELL-LIVED LIFE - PAGE 10 Stories of how Ben’s life impacted so many in the High Country

KINGDOM OVERFLOW - PAGE 16 The Roten’s Journey of Faith, Surrender & Everyday Ministry

A CALL TO TEACHING & SERVICE - PAGE 26

By Gary Childers

IT IS WELL - PAGE 32

By Benjamin Cox

FAITHFUL PURSUIT OF A FATHER - PAGE 35

By Nathanial Cox

FINDING HOME AFTER HURRICANE HELENE - PAGE 37

By Baylee Sander’s

INTERNATIONAL MINER’S MISSION (USA) - PAGE 41

By Stuart Burns

THE JOURNEY |Summer 2026

05

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Ben was a man of many hats – devoted husband, demption in different ways, our transformed lives are father, friend, grandfather, pastor, neighbor, and busi- a testament to how a life can be changed through His nessman. He joyfully embraced each role with enthu- Lordship. The testimonies in this magazine are the siasm. His love for Christ was certainly the foundation heartfelt realities of lives touched by the love of God upon which all other “hats” rested. Beginning each new and the impact others have had along their journeys. day with Bible study, journaling, and prayer, Ben’s reIf you have come to know Christ, you have a teslationship with Christ timony. We must share was foremost and dithat light, not hide it. We rected how he showed may be tempted to feel up in his many roles. hindered by looking at Ben was a peacemakour own failures to share er. He sought lasting about our hope in Christ, peace between peoif we remain silent, no ple–not just temporary one will receive the glofixes–and went out of ry for the joy within us. his way to ensure true There is power in our tespeace and unity evolved, timony, for others’ sake, even in hard situations. and for our own. Sharing As I reflect on his what Christ has done for passion for The Jouryou solidifies the reality ney, I think it indiof a changed life withrectly flowed from his in yourself. As we hear peacemaker’s heart. Ben each other’s stories, we longed for, hoped for, can rejoice in seeing lives strived for the church changed as a result of in Boone to not be censurrender to Christ. tered around denomiBen was a simple man national divisions or inwho surrendered his life dividual congregations, to Christ and was transbut to be known as the formed. Perfect? Hardly.

“Church of Boone”, uniRedeemed? Yes. Transfied in love and demonformed? Continually. He strating that love to was called by the Lord the community. We’ve to be a pastor. He was a A man of “Many Hats” always sought to make man of integrity, with a this publication denomicontagious laugh and an nationally diverse in order to highlight that our views enthusiasm for Life. He was a testament to how one life of Scripture do not produce change in us; rather, our surrendered to Christ can have a far-reaching impact biblical understanding of WHO Christ is and our rela- on others. tionship with Him produces change in us. And through This edition is dedicated in memoriam to Ben, Him, we become the aroma of Christ, ambassadors of whose testimony the Lord used to transform many His love, conduits of His character. lives. I cannot express the void that his sudden passing The cord that unites believers is faith in Jesus and has left in my heart and my life. Ben greeted each day the grace we receive because of that faith. While we with a sense of purpose and had a vision for our lives each have come to accept Christ’s forgiveness and re- and God’s purpose in them for the next twenty years.

06

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

While I grapple with the timing of his death, I take Welcome!” And his laugh probably resounded great comfort in Psalm 139 which states that before throughout heaven! we were born, He knit us together, quite purposefully.

I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love He walks before us, next to us, and comes behind us and support I have experienced from the community throughout our lives. He knows each day that He has throughout this journey of mine. Thank you also to the ordained for us. sponsors who have supported the vision of sharing our The Lord knew the exact day He had ordained for Ben testimonies for others to be encouraged by, for the gloto enter the heavenly ry of God. You have realm. As I told my been such a blessing grandkids on the day to me and my family. of his passing, we We are so very gratecannot see Heaven ful. any more than we May our voices be can see the ocean reawakened to share from the mountains. our testimonies and But that does not give Him the glory change its reality. It is due to His name. there, with a rhythm Hats off to you, and beauty we can’t BC, for a life well comprehend.

It lived and well loved. is with a sense of Blessings to each certainty I believe and all, Ben has heard, “Well done, good Connie Connie and Ben and faithful servant!

BEN’S TESTIMONY 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 THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

07

should pursue pastoral ministry. Honestly, I had always Before we departed for our honeymoon, my mom felt strongly that I would NEVER be a pastor after watch- gave me a Bible. I was at Cape Blanco State Park in Oring my dad experience some church ugliness. While egon, sitting in a meadow on a beautiful cliff overlookchurch members could be unkind and stuck to their ing the Pacific Ocean when these words from John 5:15 agendas, I am grateful that my dad was faithful in his caught my attention: “I am the vine and you are the calling to the church and he endeavored to teach his pa- branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will rishioners how to follow Christ, demonstrating Christ- bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” like character whethIt felt like the er they did or not.

Holy Spirit lifted So, in spite of my the last six words reservations about of the passage off being a pastor, I anthe page and said to swered the call I reme, “APART FROM ceived from God. I ME, YOU CAN DO went to Mars Hill NOTHING.” Then College in 1973 to Jesus said to me by study Philosophy and His Spirit, “not who Religion with plans you have tried to to enroll in seminary make Me to be and following college. not your version For a number of of what you want reasons, my plans Me to be, but who I and my faith derailed. really am!”

At 21, I transferred At that point, Ben & Connie in 1977 to another school and I dropped my Bible changed my major to and lifted my hands in English. I ended up dropping out because I was in a surrender to Jesus, realizing that due to my own pride, dark, depressed space, considering suicide as an option prejudices and sinful nature I had created a version to escape my self-imposed suffering. of Jesus that was wrong. I had created a “gentle Jesus, I was alone and confused in this new town and de- meek and milk” version of God, who would never hold cided to start from ground zero to find truth and peace anyone accountable for rejecting Him. But that’s not in other religions besides Christianity. I met my wife the complete picture of who Jesus is and doesn’t align during this time, and we were both spiritually minded with what Jesus says about Himself or what Scripture and sincere about seeking truth. proclaims Him to be. I’m so grateful that Jesus used His Connie is one of seven children, and her brother and Word and spoke to me by His Spirit to pull me out of sister had recently begun their own spiritual journey deception and darkness and into the light of His truth. that led them to the real Jesus. Their search for truth led I’m also grateful that He will faithfully works in them straight into His waiting arms. Because of this, our lives on a daily basis if we devote ourselves to Connie’s brother Bob strongly resisted my claims that reading the Bible and asking the Holy Spirit to reveal “all paths lead to God.” He insisted that Buddha and truth or teach us truth on a deeper level than we knew.

Krishna and Mohammed were dead, but that Jesus was Through the Spirit and Word working together, Jesus alive. He challenged us to read the Bible and to simply will conform all of His followers into His image which pray that God would reveal His truth about Jesus. is so much better than trying to get Him to conform We followed this lead, and I’m still in awe that Jesus to what we think He should be. pursued me like He did when I had forsaken Him. 08

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

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

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

09

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

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 & 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.

10

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

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.

Ben’s laugh is recognizable & contagious 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.

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

11

Kevin LaPlante Friend of Ben

Pat and Cary Rowland Friends 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

12

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

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.

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 Ben & Chip him. He would be moving fast while talking nearly non-stop the whole way! We enjoyed many meals together, too.

Melody and I helped lead worship at that church for a while. It always made me smile to hear Ben’s high tenor Melody and I have been blessed to be in a home felharmony from his seat in the congregation - ringing lowship that met at Ben and Connie’s house nearly out clearly over our full band, microphones and ampli- every week for the past three years. Once during that fiers. What a voice! time, when Melody was only 30-minutes away from being wheeled into major surgery, Ben showed up at Flash forward about fourteen years: her hospital bedside to pray for and encourage us.

That meant so much. After over thirty years, he was Our happy times at that church were over. Melody and still faithfully filling the role of Pastor in our lives.

I were living way out near the Tennessee state line with minimal fellowship. We were reeling from “church Ben was one of the great encouragers in my life. He hurt.” By that time, Ben understood church hurt also, wanted God’s best for me and for my family. as he had just experienced it himself. But while I was isolating myself in my pain, Ben dealt with his own Flash forward less than two years after Melody’s surhurt by actively seeking out those like me who had gery and I was honored to stand at Ben’s own hospibeen spiritually wounded. tal bedside the day before he died. I don’t know if he could hear me, but I prayed for him and spoke hopeBen invited me to breakfast. I wasn’t expecting much, ful words. I told him that he was one of my very best but that breakfast meeting was momentous. friends and that I loved him.

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 forgiveness and it was real! I had known “plastic forgiveness” with others, where the right words were said, but only out of

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 Ben singing 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...

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

13

We are proud to be a sponsor of the Journey Magazine.

“OLD WORLD” VALUES Over 100 years of cabinet making experience among our staff Celebrating 31 Years Professional Service since 1994

www.appautoglass.com

nrlandsurveying.com alex@nrlandsurveying.com

14

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

288 Calvary St • Newland

(828) 733-3821

THE JOURNEY |Summer 2026

15

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

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

A Faith That Felt Like a Facade In 2019, by all appearances, Matt and Jordan Roten Jordan’s earliest memories are rooted in church. She were already livgrew up attending a ing lives devoted to small local congreministry. They both gation and was surworked for Samarrounded by the lanitan’s Purse, served guage and culture of faithfully in a local Christianity. While church and deeply she appeared to be loved Jesus. Their exactly what a young lives appeared firmly Christian should be planted in faith and outwardly, in her purpose. soul, a different story But if you ask the was unfolding.

Rotens today, they’ll At just six or sevtell you that God was en years old, Jordan only beginning to encountered inapreveal what it truly propriate content Matt and Jordan serve together as husband and wife, building both a family and a meant to follow Him. that led to years of ministry centered on living out the Word of God in everyday life.

God was inviting addiction and shame. them into something deeper—not simply ministry as Though she continued attending church, she felt ina profession, but a life completely surrendered to His creasingly disconnected from God. kingdom. They would discover that, as they lived this “My relationship with the Lord always felt kind of surrendered life, there was more freedom to experience, like a facade,” she recalled. “I always felt guilty. I always more intimacy to enjoy, and more purpose to live out. felt like I was hiding from Him. I was not able to really Their story is a story of a young woman hiding in have a relationship with Him.” a closet, convinced she had ruined her relationship For years, she carried the weight of shame. While with God. It is a story of a teenage boy who was told she believed in God, she struggled to believe that God he would never play sports again, only to walk out of could truly love someone who carried so much brokenchurch healed. It is a story of a husband and wife sepa- ness. She wanted a relationship with God, but her prisrated by hundreds of miles who experienced the same on of shame compelled her to keep her distance. spiritual breakthrough at the same moment.

Years later, Matt would describe her struggle with And, ultimately, their story is about what happens an analogy. “If you owe somebody a mortgage payment when ordinary believers decide that faith is not merely that you can’t pay,” he explained, “and you see them in something to believe, but something to live. public, you’re probably not going to run up and talk to Today, through Kingdom Overflow Ministries them. You’re going to hide.” and Kingdom Overflow Properties, Matt and Jordan Jordan immediately recognized herself in the story. are helping others discover what they have learned “I felt like I owed God something I couldn’t pay,” she firsthand: the Kingdom of God was never meant to be said. “I wanted a relationship, but I felt like I had to

16

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

“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.

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 The Wreck That Changed Everything possible for You to still love me?”

Shortly after her seventeenth birthday, Jordan was Before she could finish listing all the reasons she driving home when she was involved in a devastating believed He shouldn’t love her, she experienced somecar accident. Her car flipped multiple times and was a thing that changed her forever. total loss. The crash was so “It’s like He interruptsevere that first responders ed me,” she recalled. The struggled to comprehend room did not change. how she survived.

The circumstances did “It is a miracle that I am not change. But Jordan alive,” she said. changed.

Later, she learned that “I got hit by the love of only two things made it the Father. It was the first out of the wreck intact: time I’d ever felt it.” She Jordan and her Bible. struggles to describe the Determined to underexperience even today. stand God for herself, she The love she encountered had recently begun readwas unlike anything she ing her Bible seriously for had ever known. the first time. She started “It was so overwhelmat the beginning and was ing,” she said. “I knew it working her way through was Him because I’d never Scripture. felt anything like it before.”

In the aftermath, peoIn that moment, the ple repeatedly told her the shame that had kept her same thing. distant from God lost its “The Lord kept you grip. For the first time, alive for a reason.” she understood that God’s Those words lingered in love was not reserved for her mind. What did they the version of her that mean? More importantly, had everything figured As a family, they are committed to creating spaces where people can what did God want from out. His love was pursuing encounter God and discover how faith connects to everyday life. her? She knew she had surher right in the middle of vived for a reason, but she still didn’t know who she her brokenness. was in Christ.

That encounter ignited a hunger that has never left.

Eventually, the questions became impossible “I wanted to know the God who could love me to ignore. like that.”

One day she found herself sitting alone in a literal Choosing Boone closet. The enclosed space felt safe, private, and hidden.

There, surrounded by hanging clothes and silence, she As graduation approached, Jordan faced a did something she had never fully done before. She told crossroads. One path seemed logical: A promising God everything. She was honest with him about every corporate opportunity in Washington, D.C. The other THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

17

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

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.

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, 18

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

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.

Doctors latThe conversation er compared new felt strangely familiar. scans to the origYears earlier, she had inals. The injury sat in a closet and conwas gone. fessed her life before The experience God. Now she was preleft an indelible paring to do something mark on him that similar with Matt. went beyond his One by one, she immediate healing. began recounting the He now knew and failures, mistakes, adhad experienced dictions, and struggles that healing was that she believed dereal. The questions fined her. She expectthat followed would ed disappointment and shape the next deconcern. She was cerJordan speaks at a women’s conference, sharing about faith, purpose, and the cade of his life: How tain he would agree that everyday work of walking with God. did God do that? pursuing a relationship And what else had he yet to discover about the fullness would be a mistake. of Christ and the power of a God who heals?

Instead, Matt looked confused.

“Jordan,” he finally said, “I don’t understand.” Then “Why Would I Hold It Against You?” he asked a question that would forever change her unAfter their initial meeting at Samaritan’s Purse, the derstanding of the gospel. friendship between Matt and Jordan developed nat“If Jesus already forgave you for all those things, why urally. Working together each day, they found them- would I hold them against you?” selves drawn into conversations about faith, life, and Jordan still remembers grabbing his arm. what God was teaching them. Matt quickly recognized “What do you mean Jesus already forgave me?” something special in Jordan. He admired her sincerity, For many believers, forgiveness is a familiar concept. her hunger for God, and the way she pursued truth.

But for Jordan, that evening was a revelation. The love Jordan, however, saw things differently. of God had rescued her from shame. The gospel now Though her encounter with God’s love had changed rescued her from condemnation. her life, she still carried remnants of the shame she had Matt patiently walked through Scripture with her, lived under for so many years. She knew God loved her, explaining what it meant to be a new creation in Christ. but she had not yet fully grasped what it meant to be He explained what it meant that Jesus had taken her forgiven. sins upon Himself and that God no longer defined her The distinction may seem subtle, but for Jordan it by her past. was life-changing.

“This is what it means that you’re a new creation,” he She believed God had spared her life. She believed told her. “This is what it means that your sins have been He had met her in that closet. She believed He loved cast as far as the east is from the west.” her. But she still viewed herself through the lens of her His simple presentation of the gospel was one of the failures. defining moments of Jordan’s spiritual life.

When Matt began expressing interest in her romanThe Father’s love had drawn her close. The truth of tically, alarm bells went off. In her mind, he was a ma- the gospel set her free. ture believer pursuing God wholeheartedly. She was “A few months later we went on our first date. I knew still carrying the baggage of her past.

I was going to marry him,” she said with a smile.

“I felt like we would be unequally yoked,” she said.

Building a Life Together Eventually she decided she needed to end any possibility of a relationship before it began. One evening she Marriage brought joy, growth, and the ordinary invited Matt to chat with her on her porch, prepared to rhythms of life. Matt and Jordan settled into careers tell him everything. with Samaritan’s Purse and Operation Christmas Child.

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

19

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.

20

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

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.

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.

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.

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

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 THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

21

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 22

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

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.

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.

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.

No Ishmaels and No “Your Kingdom come, Dead Isaacs Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Along the way, the The church’s mission, Rotens have developed he says, is to help earth rea phrase that captures flect heaven. This change much of their ministry won’t happen through philosophy.

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

“No Ishmaels and no but through people who dead Isaacs.” have surrendered themselves completely to Christ.

The phrase comes from two familiar stories in the The Kingdom will come through people who carry life of Abraham. An “Ishmael” represents something His love, compassion, truth, and presence. It will come produced through human effort rather than God’s through people who bring His Kingdom into their homes, timing. A “dead Isaac” represents failing to keep workplaces, neighborhoods, schools, and communities.

The more Matt studies Scripture, the more he sees listening after God speaks.

The lesson is simple but profound. Obedience re- that theme everywhere.

“The Kingdom of God has arrived,” Jesus proquires continual listening, not just hearing God once. claimed. It is here NOW and believers are invited to Obedience requires hearing Him daily, following Him participate in its expansion. daily, surrendering to Him daily.

That conviction fuels every home repair, every disWhether making ministry decisions, business deci- cipleship conversation, every Bible study, every prayer sions, or family decisions, the goal remains the same: meeting, and every construction project connected to Stay close enough to hear His voice.

Kingdom Overflow.

The goal is not simply to build buildings. The goal is Jordan laughs that she understands Jesus’ habit of not even simply to build disciples. slipping away to pray far more now than she once did.

The goal is to help create a place where the King feels Every morning begins with the same question: at home. The goal is to make earth look a little more “Lord, what’s the plan today?” like heaven.

The longer they follow Christ, the more convinced This will only happen by staying close enough to Jethey become that success is not measured by activity. It sus that His life begins overflowing through yours and is measured by obedience. changing the lives around you.

or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fade-less under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]. Love never fails [never fade out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].

1 Corinthians 13:13 and so faith, hope, love abide... of these three; but the greatest of these is love.* *Agape - Unconditional Love Scripture taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright © 1987 The Lockerman Foundation. Used by permission of Zondervan.

Pastor Morris Hatton Teaching Ministry Daily Devotions

Live-stream Every Morning at 7am (EST)

Looking for a

CHURCH HOME? Worship with us at Mt Vernon Baptist Church!

Visit Us

Facebook @morrishatton1

Wall to Wall Construction Katahdin Cedar Log Homes® Dealer

Pastor Philip King

SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICES & LIFE GROUPS 8:30 AM & 10:00 AM 3505 BAMBOO ROAD BOONE, NC mvbcboone.org

Celebrating 160 Years of God’s Faithfulness

24

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

Scan to

LEARN MORE & PLAN YOUR VISIT!

Aaron Shaw - Owner

Licensed General Contractor #61897

366 Windy Acres Ridge • Fleetwood, NC • 828-964-1289

HighCountryLogHouses.com• info@highcountryloghouses.com

OPENING IN 2025!

more quality more compassion more support YOUR GIFT OF LOVE WILL HELP BRING

TO THE HIGH COUNTRY

In 2021, the state granted AMOREM’s request to build a hospice patient care unit for residents of the High Country. Donate today or learn more at 828.754.0101, www.amoremsupport.org or scan here!

828.754.0101 l 1.844.4AMOREM

WWW.AMOREMSUPPORT.ORG

YO U R LO C A L , N O N - P R O F I T H O S P I C E A N D PA L L I AT I V E M E D I C I N E P R O V I D E R

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

25

A CALL TO TEACHING & SERVICE: GARY CHILDERS STORY

By Terry Henry & Emily Cox Mitchell Gary Childers’ story begins in rural Burke Coun- I would say that, similarly, I had a calling to teach. To ty, where life was simple but deeply rooted in family me, it was more than just a profession–it was what the and faith. He was born into a family shaped by hard- Lord had planned for my life,” said Gary. ship and by faith—parents Still, the path was not who had lived through the straightforward. No one in Great Depression, a father his family had gone to coltoughened by serving in lege, and the idea of higher World War 2, and a motheducation felt distant and er whose steady devotion uncertain. It took the guidto Christ set the tone for ance of a local preacher— their home. someone who quite literally Church was not just a drove Gary and his cousins Sunday obligation but the to a small junior college, center of life. Three times a Wingate College—to open week, Gary sat in the pews the door. At that Baptist-afof a small missionary Bapfiliated school, in the turtist church, absorbing lesbulent 1960s, Gary’s faith sons he didn’t always apand identity were tested. preciate as a boy but were Understanding Grace building the foundation of and Forgiveness his life.

The world around him “I got my desire to was changing rapidly—The serve and to help people Vietnam War was raging from my mother, and my overseas, civil rights unstubbornness/toughness rest was pervasive at home from my father. I have and cultural values were a good blend of both of shifting. Gary found himthem–I care deeply for self questioning things he people but am also very had once accepted without Gary sporting the Watauga “W” while on vacation. determined and won’t be hesitation. Though he had pushed around. I think this combination is what drove me to education–the accepted Christ as a young teenager, the reality of human imperfection, especially within the church, unsetdesire to help people,” said Gary. tled him. He saw hypocrisy. He wrestled with doubt.

A Calling to Teach He wondered if the faith he had been given was real or His calling to teach came around seventh grade merely tradition. when a teacher at Rutherford College Elementary Those questions weighed heavily. But they did not School showed him what it meant to not just teach but drive him away. Instead, they deepened his journey. to deeply care about students. The teacher’s care struck Gary came to understand something that had once him. It stirred something quiet but persistent: I want to eluded him: grace. Faith was not about perfection—it do that. I want to help kids who don’t have much. was about forgiveness, persistence, and a continual re“I know many preachers feel a call to ministry, and turn to God. That realization became one of the defin26

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

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.”

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 Through it all, the call to teach remained steady. joined at a time when the school was implementing Gary transferred to Appalachian State and stepped a revolutionary block schedule that changed requirefully into the path he had sensed years earlier. He began ments and expectations for every teacher in the school. his teaching career in EastIt was a huge undertaking. ern North Carolina during There were moments “I’m so proud that people trusted the first wave of school dewhen the weight of responme to make good decisions as a segregation in the South. For sibility nearly overwhelmed school board member. I was top Gary, this moment in history him. At one point, exhausted vote recipient because of my gave him the opportunity to and uncertain, Gary reached commitment to doing the best I be part of something just and a breaking point. Alone, he could to ensure every student was necessary. His faith, which stepped away, prayed, and set up for a successful life. had been tested and refined, asked for strength. The answer now guided his actions. did not come as a miracle that Life continued to unfold in ways he could not have removed his burdens, but as something steadier—a replanned. The Vietnam War loomed over his future, and newed sense of purpose, a clarity that allowed him to for a time, it seemed certain he would be sent overseas. continue. “God didn’t suddenly make things easier for He and his wife, Emily, moved back to Boone to pre- me, but he provided me a path and the strength to see pare for deployment. But circumstances shifted, and things through,” said Gary. his draft lottery number was Wherever he served— never called. Looking back, elementary school, middle Gary saw that moment as anschool, high school—Gary other instance of God’s uncarried the same core belief: seen hand shaping his path. that education was about people. His role was not just A High Country to manage schools, but to Education serve students, families, and Back in the High Counteachers. He approached try, Gary’s career evolved. He conflict with calm, choosing started his teaching at Hardin understanding over anger, Park Elementary which at the guided by the quiet convictime was an new school, impletion that faith should shape menting many new, non tradinot only what one believes, Swearing in as a Board of Education member. tional concepts. With a growbut how one treats others. ing family, Gary moved into When it was, at last, time administration, serving as a principal for a six years at to retire from the Watauga, Gary faced his colleagues Bethel Elementary School before becoming principal and said, “I’m grateful for the time I had to work with at Parkway Elementary School, where he stayed for 15 you. I can truly say that I feel like I’ve done what I was years. supposed to do with my life.”

“I know God’s always been at work in my life and A Good Name is Better Than Riches had plans for me that I hadn’t even considered. For instance, right when I was eyeing retirement from Although he certainly earned the right to a quiet Parkway, I got a call from the superintendent. He asked life in retirement, Gary continued to follow God’s call me if I would take on the role of Principal at Watauga to service and education. After a stint working with the High School. I After a lot of prayer, conversations with United Way, he yielded to the call to go on the Board of Steady Hand Leading Back to Boone

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

27

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 celebrating 56 years of marriage.

28

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

Emily & Gary enjoying MerleFest.

Campaigning for Board of Education.

“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.”

Accepting a donation to High Country United Way.

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

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.

Scan the QR code to support sending a kinship kid to summer camp !

Donate today and help create a life-changing summer experience for a deserving child.

www highcountrycaregivers.org THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

29

Family Owned & Operated since 1981 Voted Best Furniture & Mattress Store since 2008 YES...We Deliver!

160 NW School Rd, Warrensville, NC • 336-384-2929 jimscornerfurniture.com Hours: Mon, Tue, Thurs, Fri 9am-4pm Sat 9am-3pm Closed Wednesday

SHOP DINING PASSES

The High Country Package

OVER 170 BOGO DEALS

A portion of all dining pass sales will be donated to disaster relief.

A Great Gift For You, Friends, Family & Christmas or Birthday.

CALL OR ORDER ONLINE highcountry365.com • 828-263-0095 30

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

Featuring Restaurants Such As: Restaurant & Wine Bar

ONE BOGO

ONE BOGO

ONE BOGO

ONE BOGO

ONE BOGO

Bocca ONE BOGO

Bistro

ONE BOGO

ONE BOGO

ONE BOGO

FOUR BOGOS

BARE’S TIRE AUTO REPAIR

Owners - Benny & Janet Bare 970 US Hwy 221 N. Jefferson 336-846-3992 We Insta l l

3 Ye ar s / 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 Mi l e s Par t s & L ab or Nati onw i d e War rant y!

“As for me and my house we will serve the Lord” Joshua 24:15 (KJV)

Serving Family Style For Over 60 Years! www.DanlBooneInn.com

421-321 Intersection Boone • 828-264-8657 THE JOURNEY |Summer 2026

31

IT IS WELL

By Benjamin Cox, Ben’s Son

It was around 4:30pm, when the nurses at the Wake We did not enter that room with a defined order of Forest Baptist Medical Center called us to my father’s operations, no guideline or agreed-upon sequence of room to say goodbye and be together, a final time, as a events; just six adult kids and their parents stuck in a whole family. tortuous circumstance, bound by a divine trust that the We filed down the hallway, my mother and each of space we inhabited in that moment was truly sacred.

Perhaps the most us six kids, each cragrounding presence dling our internal in the room were the crisis and striving to familiar songs that hold it together. Pale filled the air between fluorescent lights ilus, those we grew up luminated the hallsinging in church: way toward the ICU “Shout to the Lord”, door, while muted “Awesome God”, natural light drifted “The Heart of Worthrough the courtship”, “How Great yard windows, offerThou Art”, and, aping a quiet softness propriately, “It Is against the harshness Well With My Soul”. of the moment. The Sustaining nurses had us wait Worship outside while they removed his venti“It Is Well With lator. The doctor inMy Soul” was my faformed us it could ther’s favorite hymn. be minutes, hours, or The hymn had foleven days before he lowed him through passed. Finally, they decades of faith, grief, invited us into the service, and loss. His room. father, Benjamin Wofford Cox Sr., was Dad was seated a Baptist minister upright on the hospiwho exhorted faithtal bed, unconscious fulness in God’s diDad worshiping at his granddaughter’s wedding and breathing peacevine plan throughout fully - a welcomed life’s challenges.

That faith sustained both him and the juxtaposition to the jerky nature of the ventilator he’d been on for days. My sisters put together a playlist of troops he served as a chaplain during WWII, where he his favorite worship songs and hymns, which lilted sang the song with men on death’s door.

There is no doubt my father heard the hymn as a softly on a phone by his left ear. child, growing up a Baptist pastor’s son. As an adult, My brother-in-law, a minister, joined us, briefly, for Dad carried the song with him into his own ministry, an invocation. He started with Psalm 23, and asked where he served as pastor in the High Country for over God to be with us, to give us strength, and receive Dad triumphantly in His grace. We gathered around our 30 years. He carried it with him into New York City, after the 9/11 attacks, where he volunteered for months dad and watched him breathe.

32

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

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.

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

33

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.

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

34

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

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 fruit. He was patient in cultivating the change in me a pastor’s kid, our lives revolved around ministry. Our and understood my hesitation to return to church after entire community was made up of families from our everything that had happened. church, and my parents gave us a firm foundation of What amazes me now is that after all the mistakes faith. By the time I had made, my I was in college at parents never Appalachian State, stopped believing I played drums on in me. More than the worship team, anything, my dad attended church demonstrated the weekly, and was acheart of the father tive in the campus in Jesus’ parable of ministry at dad’s the prodigal son. church..

He didn’t greet me When I was with condemnatwenty years tion or remind me old, everything of all the ways I had changed. failed. Instead, he Turmoil in my welcomed me with dad’s church resultlove, encourageed in his being let ment, and grace. go in a deeply painThrough him ful and dishonoring and my mom, I way. Suddenly, the learned that repenchurch where all tance is met not by Nate and Ben at Nate’s wedding my friends attendrejection, but by the ed that held so much of my identity became a place I overwhelming love of God. I learned that there truly is couldn’t stay. I was angry—at people, at the church, and nothing that can separate us from His love. ultimately at God. In my anguish, I told Him to leave Eventually, I returned to Appalachian State, earned me alone. a degree in physics, and later completed a Ph.D. in MiI dropped out of school, played in bands, and spent a crosystems Engineering. lot of time partying. During that season, I lost my cousYears later, in 2020, I found myself struggling again. in and two close friends all within the same year. Lost, On paper, life looked great. I had a wonderful wife, a hurting, and directionless, I tried returning to college good career, and every reason to be grateful. Yet spiriat Appalachian State, but failed out. I was pretty hope- tually I had drifted. less about my prospects.

I was overweight, drinking too much, unable to quit Everything changed when I had a real, intense en- smoking, and carrying burdens I didn’t know how to counter with Jesus. It felt as though God was pouring overcome. love, forgiveness, and truth directly into my heart. For Once again, I turned to my dad. the first time in years, I saw clearly.

His advice was simple.

When I told my dad about this experience, he was “Start carving out time to read the Bible. Go to God excited. He began discipling me right away, determined first. Seek the King, and everything else will follow.” to nurture my faith so that it would take root and bear Because of the pandemic, attending church regularly THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

35

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

36

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

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.

FINDING HOME AFTER HURRICANE HELENE MY TESTIMONY

By Baylee Sanders 2025 was the year that I accidentally became an au- my relationship with the Lord at the same time. High thor and the Lord did a lot of really big things in my school gave way to college, which is where I really built life. But before I tell you that story, I want you to hear upon the solid foundation of faith that was established about where I came from and how the Lord led me to in my childhood. the release day of my first Appalachian State was book, Coming Home With the only university I wantShouts of Joy. ed to attend, but when I I’m a small-town girl opened my acceptance from Burnsville, North Caremail, I had no idea just olina, home to the highest how much the Lord was peak east of the Mississipplanning for my life. The pi, Mt. Mitchell. My childgirl who walked on camhood was a pure and sweet pus as a student for the first one full of family gatherings time in August of 2018 was with my gaggle of cousnot the same woman who ins, time spent outdoors walked across the stage to camping at Black Mountain receive her diploma in DeCampground, perpetually cember of 2021. I came to having my nose in a book, college as a small-town girl and faithfully attending Elk who loved Jesus but wasn’t Shoal Baptist Church. sure how to serve Him, and I cannot remember a I left as a married womtime when I didn’t know the an who was ready to jump name of Jesus. I was raised headfirst into a career in in a loving home that priorministry. During my time itized going to a church that at App State, I was a part has a heart for making sure of Church in the Harvest, a whoever entered their doors house church that came out leaves having heard the name of Baptist Campus Minisof Jesus and how He died for tries. It was in this ministry our sins. I accepted Christ that I learned how to share Current picture of Baylee as my savior at a very young the Gospel, what true disciage, and while I may not have pleship looks like, and how always lived out my faith to the fullest since that mo- to live on mission for the Kingdom. God used my time ment, I do fully believe my journey with the Lord can there to really change my life. be traced back to that moment of confessing my need I have so many stories from college and early adultfor a savior as a seven-year-old girl kneeling at the altar. hood that I could share to testify to how the Lord has From that moment on, my life unfurled in a pret- worked in my life, but one of the most remarkable ones ty typical manner. I had elementary school innocence, is how the Lord worked in my life during Hurricane the awkward middle school years, and a boy-crazy Helene and all the devastation that came after. high school experience full of soul-searching, heartLike many of us, I had no clue just how much my break, and identity-seeking all while trying to grow life was going to change when it started to rain on SepTHE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

37

tember 27th, 2024. The morning of the 27th started off who made the chainsaw stop working and saved my like any other day until my husband said he was not dad’s life. going into work beWhen I ancause of the hurriswered my dad’s cane. He hardly ever call, he told me that misses work due to story and begged weather, so that was me to stay inside my first clue that and stay careful. this storm might be After telling him bigger than we all how much I loved thought. We turned him, I hung up the on the news, and phone and stood as we heard reports in my kitchen in of major flooding, utter shock. This my phone began to storm was deadbe bombarded with ly, and I had no texts from my mom idea just how bad and brother back in things were about Burnsville checking This picture is from my baptism at my home church in 2008 after I got saved in 2007 to get. Shortly afin on us. As I aster that call, our sured them that we power went out were okay so far, and then the cell I got a phone call towers went down from my dad that too, casting us into instantly changed utter darkness. everything.

My husband My dad is a and I came deputy for the through the storm Mitchell County with no damage, Sheriff ’s Office, and but when the sun he spent Septemcame out and ber 27th just like our cell service he spends every returned, I had day that he puts on radio silence from his uniform: putmy family for three ting his life on the days. For three line to serve and days my dad’s protect the people phone call played of Mitchell County. on an endless This is the tree that would have fallen on my dad, he took this picture after it fell.

My dad spent that loop in my head, harrowing morning out in the wind and the rain, cut- spiraling me into a complete panic over if my family ting trees out of the roads so rescue services could keep in Burnsville survived the storm or not. I finally heard moving to go help those in need. At around 6:30 that back from them and was relieved to find out that morning, my dad’s chainsaw suddenly stopped working. everyone survived and had only very minimal damage The pause in momentum made my dad take a step back from the storm. so he could examine his chainsaw. Mere seconds after Physically we were all okay, but mentally? That was he stepped back, a tree fell in the exact spot he had just another story.The months that followed the storm were stood. Had his chainsaw not stopped working, that tree spent trying to wrap my head around everything that would have surely taken my dad’s life that day. I know, happened while simultaneously trying to get back to without a shadow of doubt, that my Jesus was the one “normal” life and all of my responsibilities. I’d have 38

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

good days where I’d go throughout my day without on Amazon on September 27, 2025, the one-year annieven thinking about Helene; then I’d have days full of versary of the hurricane, all I could do was stand back survivor’s guilt, feelings of deep sorrow and loss, or bad in awe of all the Lord had done. Writing those poems weather days that left me reeling and feeling panicky. brought so much healing to my heart. They also gave Finally, in February 2025, I couldn’t take it anymore me a way to offer hope and the love of Christ to others and I cried out to God, begging Him to bring healing who lived through Helene too. to my weary heart. Moments after praying, I pulled Most importantly, the process of putting together out my journal and wrote a poem reflecting on the day my book taught me how to listen to the Lord and the of the hurricane. One importance of saying poem quickly turned “yes” to whatever He into three, and when I puts on the table. I still closed my journal, I sat don’t feel qualified to back, stunned by what consider myself an auhad just happened. I’ve thor, but I think that’s never been one to enkind of the point. I nevjoy poetry, and I had er could have done this never written a poem in my own strength. I of my own free will bedid it because I was refore that moment. lying on the Lord, and A few days passed I trusted that He would and I found myself guide me every step of unable to stop thinkthe way. I knew that He ing about the poems, would provide what I and I was itching to needed to accomplish keep writing. I asked what He called me to the Lord what He was do. And He did! doing and He gave me We all have things a very clear response. we know the Lord is I was to keep writing calling us to do. It may poems about Helene, be as big as moving and eventually they overseas to share the would turn into a colGospel, or it may be lection of poetry split as small as asking your into two parts. Part one coworker how they are would be my story, a actually doing and not retelling of my experiaccepting “fine” as an ences during and after answer. We are called the storm. It would be to love what Jesus loves Baylee in Burnsville last year on the release day of her book dark, raw, and honest. and to do what Jesus Part two would be God’s story, a space where I bring does, and the only way we can do that is by putting God into the narrative and ask Him where He was our trust in Him and faithfully saying yes. Even when during the hurricane. It would be light, hopeful, and we’re scared. point others to Christ.

I said that 2025 is the year I accidentally became Armed with a clear vision from God, I wrote. I an author, but I know that was no accident. Just bewrote poems in my journal for three weeks straight. cause authoring a collection of poetry is something After that, I spent the summer editing the poems and I never imagined myself doing, doesn’t mean that it putting them all together into a book. Coming Home wasn’t in God’s plan. I firmly believe that God uses With Shouts of Joy is the result of hard work, vulner- all things in our lives for His glory, and sometimes ability, faithful obedience, and most of all, answered that means we do things we never thought we would prayers from the Lord. When the book was released do. Am I glad that I experienced Hurricane Helene?

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

39

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

The digital file of the cover of my book.

40

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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!”

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 Stuart & Cherry Burns at home and Cherry were married A few months later, the in December of that year. Their two oldest children, Burns paths crossed with a missionary couple from Naomi and Jo-Anne were born in Cape Town. The South Africa who were serving with AEF (Africa Burns lived and worked in Cape Town for 7 years, until Evangelical Fellowship) in Namibia (where Cherry was they emigrated to the USA and settled in Nashville, born). After sharing our hearts and burden for the lost, Tennessee in 1977. we were accepted as missionaries with AEF and assigned to serve in Zimbabwe. However, God changed that. We In 1979, the Burns were transferred to Roxboro, could not get a visa for Zimbabwe, so AEF reassigned NC where their two youngest children, Graham and us to South Africa. We had a choice, either to serve in THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

41

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!

42

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

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

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

Bolivia – Prayer Warriors

Bolivia – Horita Feliz Children’s Ministry THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

43

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.

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

IMM Peru Team – Santos Valero (left) is Coordinator

44

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

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

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.

Africa – Pastor Elijah Dube – Open Air preaching near a Platinum Mine THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

45

Day & Time: Saturdays From 2pm - 4:15pm - Rain or Shine (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.

3470 US Hwy 221 North

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.

Crumpler, NC 28617

email@ashelawn.com www.Ashelawn.com Phone: 336-982-2121 Recorded Obituary: 336-982-2120

Sign up at:

www.highcountryfoodtours.com Contact us at: 828-268-1388 email: info@highcountryfoodtours.com “Great food satisfies your appetite. Great stories satisfy your curiosity. On High Country Food Tours, every bite comes with the history, people, and traditions that make it unforgettable.

Because context defines value.”

300 Main St.

West Jefferson, NC 28694

email@badgerfuneralhome.com www.BadgerFuneralHome.com Phone: 336-246-7114 Recorded Obituary: 336-246-5526

Locally Owned and Operated by the Roten Family

46

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

Photo by Kharissa Delaney

Voted Best Heating & Cooling Company In Ashe County For The Twelfth Year In A Row!

Proudly Serving the High Country for over 30 years!

Blue Ridge Insurance Service, Inc.

WWW.BLUERIDGEINSURANCESERVICE.COM THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

47

336-838-9004

1704 2nd Street, North Wilkesboro

336-846-3293

158 Northview Drive, Jefferson

Fast Internet.

Local Service.

­

Speeds up to 2 Gig*!

FIBER-OPTIC INTERNET BUSINESS PHONE SYSTEMS SECURITY | VOICE

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS “air • i • tey ” excellence, vir tue

www.areteengineers.com | 828-434-0587 | info@areteengineers.com

48

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

skybest.com | 1-800-759-2226 *Restrictions apply.

Next Visit To Bella’s us Italian at Restaurant! our new

location.

CUSTOM FINISHES FOR FINE HOMES

Home & Business Computer Services Full Service Technology Consulting Call us today!

BENEFITS Siding & Trim Custom Patterns Ceiling Boards Shiplap

• Instant UV and Moisture Protection

James Hardie . Allura LP SmartSide . Cedar Cypress . Cedar Valley Shingles

• Factory Controlled Quality

• Available Year Round • No Overspray, Drips, or Streaking • No Weather Delays • Instant Curb Appeal

We've Moved!

202 Southgate Dr. - Heights Boone, NC 196 Boone Dr.

CALL US 704.528.7136

(828) 264-0959

www.dougnetconsulting.com

WWW.LEGACYPREFINISHING.COM / 450 S. EASTWAY DR. TROUTMAN, NC 28166

E AM

ORCHIN’ H O SC

Y RAN CH

T

CR

NATURE SIG

HONE Y

SW

EET

CHILI

Q BB E HON Y MUS

R TA

D

THE JOURNEY |Summer 2026

49

T H A N K & S U P P O RT OUR SPONSORS 31 | Alliance Insurance Group

30 | High Country 365 / Dining Passes

25 | AMOREM

14 | Highland Landscaping

14 | Appalachian Auto Glass

09 | Home Group Reflections

52 | Appalachian District Health Care

30 | Jim’s Corner Furniture

15 | Appalachian Furniture

49 | Legacy Pre-Finishing

46 | Appalachian Legacy Funeral Services

45 | Linville Caverns

48| Arete Engineers

48 | Los Arcoiris Mexican Restaurant

15 | Austin & Barnes Funeral Home

15 | McCoy Minerals

31 | Bare’s Tire and Auto Repair

24 | Morris Hatton Ministries

47 | Blue Ridge Insurance Service

24 | Mount Vernon Baptist Church

03 | Blue Ridge Waterworks

14 | New River Surveyors

48 | Bojangles

48 | Northwest Dance

04 | Chick fil A

14 | Precision Cabinets

15 | Church of Jesus Christ

02 | Samaritan’s Purse

48 | Cline Church Nursery

47 | Scott Brothers

14 | Dacchille Construction Company

48 | Skyline/Skybest

31 | Dan’l Boone Inn

14 | Stick Boy Bread Company

15 | Dom Bakeries - Wilkesboro

24 | The Hope Center

49 | Dougnet

09 | Three Forks Baptist Association

30 | Edmisten Heating & Cooling

15 | Town of Boone Public Works

51 | Greene Construction Inc.

24 | Village Jewelers

29 | High Country Caregivers

24 | Wall To Wall Construction

46 | High Country Food Tours

49 | Wendy’s

51 | High Country Pain Relief

25 | WJ Office Supply

For more inspirational content & distribution locations visit: JOURNEYNC.COM 50

✓Scan above to view the Journey online.

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2026

We offer an Initial,

$49 Introductory Special.

Hi, I’m Dr. Derrick Denman, DC., PA. Let me personally invite you to our office. Feel free to stop in, allowing me to shake your hand and take a few minutes for a quick office tour!

[in the Harris Teeter Shopping Ctr.]

Disclaimer: G.S. 90-154.1 “If you decide to purchase additional treatment you have the legal right to change your mind within three days and receive a refund.”

We’ve been building the High Country for over 75 Years! Put our experience to work for you!

Delivering Quality In: Commercial Residential Infrastructure Instatutional Concrete Hardsapes Service & Repair 525 George Wilson Rd Boone, NC 828-264-2611 www.gci.build

WOMEN’S HEALTH SERVICES Compassionate healthcare for women of all ages

Accepting New Patients Carrington Pertalion Certified Nurse Midwife

Comprehensive services including primary care, gynecological care, birth control options, STD screening and treatment Accepts private insurance and Medicaid, as well as patients with no insurance

(828) 795-1970 www.AppHealthCare.com