Pray for our Missionaries
"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Matthew 28:19-20
Jon and MaryAnna Casey – Nulato, Alaska, USA
Jon grew up in a strong Christian home and put his trust in Christ while very young. In 1994 he was baptized and committed to follow God with his life. His parents are missionaries and he was able to join them in ministry as God cultivated his heart for missions. MaryAnna trusted Christ as her personal Savior at the age of five. As she grew up and faced challenges in life she went through a time of questioning God’s existence. It was through this season that her faith was tested and solidified. In 9th grade she rededicated her life to God and chose to follow Him with her life. Jon and MaryAnna have seven children and consider them to be their first ministry and other forms of ministry pour out from their family to those around them. While attending Alaska Bible College from 2002-2006, they became active in praying for the villages in Alaska and were made aware of many of the needs off the road system. They heard of the drugs, alcohol and suicide, and especially noticed the high number of villages with no Christian families living in the communities. It was through this time that their hearts were drawn towards western Alaska. The Casey’s moved to the village of Nulato, 300 miles west of Fairbanks on the Yukon River. Their hope is to live there long term where they can reflect Christ to those around them and encourage friends and neighbors as they serve God in Alaska.
Luke and Tracy Hamer first arrived in Papua New Guinea in November of 2017. They are both experienced floatplane pilots and mechanics from Alaska. Luke and Tracy graduated from Liberty University; Tracy with a BS in Commercial Aeronautics and A&P Certificate, and Luke with a BS in Missions Aviation and A&P Certificate. Luke also serves as Samaritan Aviation’s Chief Pilot. Luke and Tracy have two daughters, Lorelai and Emory.
Our goal at Black Forest Academy, which is located in Kandern, Germany, is to teach and mentor the missionary kids that God brings to our school. Whether we are teaching them in the classroom, coaching them in wrestling, or teaching them a piano lesson, we are helping to equip them to become globally-minded Christians who will be contributing participants and bring positive influence to their world. One of the main reasons missionaries leave their field of ministry is because of the educational needs of their children. Our school strives to meet the physical, emotional, spiritual, and academic needs of the teen-aged missionary kids that come to our school. This enables their parents to continue on in the ministry that God has called them to do. If they have to leave their field of ministry, it will take years for another couple or family to “take their place” as they work on learning the language, and the culture, and developing friendships that then would enable them to share the gospel with people around them.
We devote our efforts to the vision of Crossworld to make disciples and disciple-makers in the least reached marketplaces of the world. Larry serves as a Vice President of Crossworld focusing on the challenging, preparing, deploying and mentoring people from all professionals – helping them use their skill to live like Jesus and testify to his grace in the world’s hard places. 2012 completes our 40th year with Crossworld and we trust to serve another couple of years full time. The need and challenge is great.
Dr. Smith is Minister-at-Large for OMF International and is convinced that majority Buddhist Asia is the greatest challenge facing the church in the 21st century. He travels widely, training and speaking extensively across the globe. He was Northwest Director for OMF International (US) for 18 years (1984-2002). Prior to that he spent 20 years as a pioneer church planter in Central Thailand. Born in Brisbane, Australia, Alex was trained as a chartered accountant and as a pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force. He met his American wife, Faith, at Prairie Bible Institute in Alberta, Canada. Joining OMF International in 1964, the Smiths served in pioneer evangelism, church planting, training national leaders, teaching church growth, supervising new missionaries, coordinating field evangelism and directing the Thailand Church Growth Committee. Alex earned his Doctorate in Missiology at Fuller Theological Seminary School of World Mission in Pasadena, California, and his Master of Divinity at Western Evangelical Seminary, George Fox University in Oregon. He also graduated from Daystar’s International Institute of Christian Communication in Nairobi, Kenya. Alex authored two Thai books on church growth and evangelism, as well as several English titles, including Siamese Gold: A History of Church Growth in Thailand, Strategy to Multiply Rural Churches, The Gospel Facing Buddhist Cultures, Buddhism Through Christian Eyes, and A Christian’s Pocket Guide to Buddhism. He also contributed chapters in each of the Seanet Book Series. A frequent lecturer at seminaries and colleges, Dr. Smith also taught many Perspectives courses for the US Center for World Mission. For 18 years, he was adjunct faculty at Multnomah University in Portland, Oregon. He served as the first Northwest Vice President of the Evangelical Missiological Society, and as Buddhist Track Chairman for Regent University’s Unreached Peoples Consultation. He is the Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the SEANET worldwide network. Alex and Faith have three grown sons, Tim, Dan, and Jonathan, and four grandchildren.
Tim is a part of the Member Development team of PIONEERS. He works with missionary families focusing on training and encouraging parents to care well for Third Culture Kids (TCKs) and to equip them to thrive despite the challenges they face growing up cross-culturally. Tim’s title, as of January 3, 2012, is the Director of EMBRACE. Our mission statement is being revised, but for now, it is “to embrace every TCK, wherever they are, equipping them and their families to foster healthy relationships with God, self, and others throughout their whole life.” The idea of EMBRACE is that we want them to be embraced by PIONEERS, we want them to embrace God in the middle of their challenges and throughout their whole life, we want them to embrace each other as Third Culture Kids, and we want them to embrace their TCK experience as a part of God’s plan for them.
Phil and Jan were saved at a young age. They were married in college, have 2 grown children and 4 grandchildren. They are from Indiana. They were called by God into missions in their late 40's and love serving and ministering to the people in Papua New Guinea. Phil and Jan Smith have served in Papua New Guinea since 2016 and live at the Goroka Baptist Bible College. Phil and Jan are church planters as Phil preaches, is involved in music ministry, and teaches the youth. Jan teaches children's church, helps lead youth, and teaches Ladies Bible Study. Both teach at the GBBC. Phil teaches computers, Math and a STEM class and Jan teaches ESL, Science and Math. Phil is the Information Technology Director at GBBC. Jan teaches Pidgin Literacy to Papua New Guineans who don't know how to read or write. She has trained 2 national teachers who teach alongside her with the primary focus for the students to be able to read the Pidgin Bible for themselves. Phil and Jan lead Religious Instruction at the high school. Each week they, along with some of the college students, teach 9th and 10th graders about God in the local public high school. They are Awana trainers and have trained 35 churches to start and run Awana programs. They love the Lord and the ministries God has called them to as they serve in Papua New Guinea! Whatever ministries Phil and Jan are involved with in Papua New Guinea, although the challenges are many, they know they are right where God wants them to be.