What a blessing to have an entire new coating and sealer for the entire parking lot at Mission Central! This special treatment was applied in order to take care of cracks and weathering on our asphalt parking area. Here you can see this impact at Mission Central Parking Lot to have an excellent area for our thousands of…
Pictured here in front of our sign at the Lord’s Mission Central is the group of 9 special people who drove all the way from Peace Lutheran Church in Hastings, Nebraska for a round trip of 8 hours of driving in order to see this MIRACLE PLACE! This group of NOT NORMAL PEOPLE made this trip so that they…
What a very, very special group of “Home Schooler Moms and their children” from Winterset, Iowa came on May 27th, 2026. An entire afternoon was so, so much appreciated by the entire group. Every single one of those students knew the full story of our dear Savior Jesus. Every one of those students gave such a wonderful profession of their…
Yes, it truly was one of those SUPER SPECIAL MEMORIAL DAYS which included so many, many memories! Rev. Paul Nelson and his dear wife Gena came all the way from Asia and specifically Indonesia AND Rev. Adam and Christine Lehman and their family from Puerto Rico came on this special day to present EXCELLENT pictures of how the Lord…
Each day is such a “BUSY” day at the Lord’s Mission Central! Yes, the Lord does send special people “at just the right time and just the right people”! Over the last 32 years we have witnessed this over and over….just when the right people are needed our LORD JESUS SENDS THEM AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME! One…
What a truly special worship Sunday on May 17th, 2026!! Yes, the Honorable Missionary Pastor Martin Hill brought his congregation from Martinsburg, Nebraska to the World-Famous Mission Central! Here you see pastor Hill presenting the special message and the entire congregation was able to have a special meal and also to have a COMPLETE TOUR OF THE MINISTRY…
What a blessing to welcome the Mock Family to give their full report on their work for the Lord Jesus. Here you see the Mock family in our office and also for the people who prayed for them to send them back to their calling. It was a special day.
What a joy and blessing to welcome a large group of NOT NORMAL people on Ascension Day for our Annual Ascension Day meal and service to commigrate the 40 days from Easter Sunday to Ascension Day that is celebrated every year here on May 14th!!! The Honorable Rev. Richard Snow, President of the Nebraska District of the LCMS…
It was truly a special day with tours in the morning and afternoon with visitors from Nebraska. One of our long, long time special friends came for their first time tour! Yes, dear Gahlen and Diane Anderson came for a full tour on this special Tuesday on May 12th, 2026!!! They so much enjoyed their tour of the…
What a JOY to welcome this special couple and their son for a “first time tour” of the world-famous Mission Central. Yes, on May 12th, 2026 this dear family came and they were able to see what the Lord has done here in the middle of the hills here in Western Iowa 2 miles east of Mapleton, Iowa with…
The one thing that keeps us all going at Mission Central, is the fact that we have the privilege and honor of working with our dear missionaries around the world! We had such a wonderful time on May 8th, 2026 when Rev. James Sharp, our dear missionary in Puerto Rico came and brought with him our lead missionary in Jamaica,…
The Lord sends special people to Mission Central at just the right time, and that’s what happened on Friday the 8th of May, when Rev. Ite came with the honorable Missionary Rev. James Sharp! Rev. Ite is our lead missionary in Jamica and is doing such excellent work. We were able to provide a full and long tour of…
On Wednesday the 6th of May it was that special time when the Lord called HIS special helpers to clean the Barn Museum and Wayside Chapel. These are special people that come together twice a year to help with complete cleaning of these buildings! Here you see these special NOT NORMAL PEOPLE that have been “sent” to come and…
What a blessing to welcome missionaries Dave and Janice Oppedahl from Boone, Iowa who made a special trip to see what the Lord has done here in the hills of western Iowa at the world-famous Mission Central!!! This dear couple enjoyed their morning tour and they had their personal photo taken with our Boss in the office here at…
What a wonderful day to welcome the confirmation students from Sioux Falls, South Dakota at Faith Lutheran and their pastor Rev. Corey Aker, who is truly NOT A NORMAL PERSON! Here you can see this wonderful group by our sign and in the Creation Theater. It was such a blessing to “swear in” these young people as true missionaries…
Here you see a full house of missionaries that were sworn in for the rest of their lives to tell people about our dear Jesus! Yes, all the students from the Lutheran School in Norfolk, Nebraska arrived at 10:00AM for a full day tour at the Lord’s Mission Central! As the entire membership of TWO LARGE BUSES ARRIVED YOU…
What a blessing to welcome a full bus load of NOT NORMAL people for a wonderful day tour at the Lord’s Mission Central. We were so happy to help provide a wonderful meal and a complete tour of all of the facilities at our location! Yes, this huge bus load began with a special tour of the Wayside Prayer Chapel,…
It was truly a special day that we won’t forget for a long, long time! Yes, on this special Saturday people came to see our two dear missionaries from Belize and Taiwan, Rev. Herb Burch, from Belize and Rev. Dr. Tom Park from Taiwan. Here you see the FULL HOUSE from Council Bluffs, Iowa and Polk City, Iowa…
What a JOY and blessing to welcome the Honorable Missionary Pastor Rev. Steven A. Weispfennig, Senior Pastor at St. John Lutheran Church in Yankton, South Dakota and his dear son and members of the congregation for a full day tour at the World Famous Mission Central on March 28th, 2026! Yes, these dear folks came on a 2…
Yes, the day was Tuesday the 17th of March and this special group of NOT NORMAL PEOPLE ARRIVED AT 9:00AM and spent the day at the Lord’s Mission Central in the hills of Western Iowa 2 miles east of Mapleton, Iowa! Here you see Rev. Chris and Jenny Yang, our new missionaries going to Taiwan and you will see…
Here is a wonder group of Volunteer Cooks from Mapleton, Iowa that came to prepare a SUPER, DUPER delicious meal at the world famous Mission Central on March 17th, 2026! These dear mission volunteers are one of about 5 groups that come and cook for our dear visitors that come by the thousands. Yes all these dear ladies…
What a JOY to welcome “mission minded” friends from Christ Lutheran Church in Ankney, Iowa and their dear pastor the Honorable Rev. Paul Rieger, as well as a wonderful group of the folks from St. Paul Lutheran Church at Ida Grove, Iowa. We were especially blessed with one of the finest meals which featured steak, gravy, salads, potatoes,…
What a blessing to welcome some dear friends from the E-Free Church of Arthur, Iowa. They came for a special full tour on Thursday, March the 5th, 2026. These dear Christian Friends were given a full tour with a prayer in our little wayside prayer chapel to start the tour, and then full tour of the office area,…
God sent another REAL MIRACLE to take place on this special day! Totally out of the blue the honorable missionaries Jason Schleis of Fremont Nebraska and his dear daughter Beniah came for a special, special tour of this MIRACLE PLACE. Jason and his family attend “Stonebridge” in Fremont, Nebraska, and they were so excited about bringing a bus…
December 25th, 2025 will be a Christmas day old Missionary Gary will never forget, because he was able to spend time with the Honorable Missionary Family of Rev. Merle F. Mahnken, Senior Pastor of the famous Immanuel Lutheran Church of Schleswig, Iowa!!! Here you see this special family in their home, with Pastor Mahnken, his dear wife Chris,…
Yes, what a blessing to welcome our amazing missionary Chelsea Irwin from the Czech Republic, where she is telling so, so, so many people in darkness about our dear Savior Jesus! As usual Chelsea gave a wonderful report with special pictures. A great group of people came from Sioux City, Iowa, Wakefield, Nebraska and from Kansas! They all…
Always remember that the Lord Jesus only sends truly NOT NORMAL PEOPLE TO VISIT HIS MISSION CENTRAL! Yes, here in the hills of Western Iowa God calls HIS PEOPLE TO COME EVEN IN A WINTER STORM. Who would come to visit when all night and morning on Saturday the 13th of December it snowed and snowed!!! But, yet the honorable…
December 10th, 2025 was a special day at the world-famous Mission Central, when Mike Mettenbrink came to present the “SERVANT LEADERSHIP AWARD” that was awarded to Old Missionary Gary Thies! It was truly an honor to be given such a special honorary award! This award will have a special place on the desk of Gary! Over the years…
What a blessing to welcome Rev. Matthew Wood and his dear family to the world-famous Mission Central on Saturday the 22nd of November to a large crowd of people. This was truly a special day when so many dear Pastors also came from area churches. Here you see the large group of people as Paster Wood was presenting,…
Yes, what a blessing to have the Honorable Missionaries Rev. Charles and Laura Adams return to the Mapleton, Iowa area, where these dear friends served so faithfully for many years at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Mapleton, Iowa! These dear friends came to Mission Central on Saturday the 22nd, 2025, to see some dear friends Rev. Matthew Wood…
On Monday, November 17th, Kris Boyles and her son, Hunter, came all the way from Newhall, Iowa to have their personal full tour of the facilities at this MIRACLE PLACE! They were reminded once again that we are ALL missionaries who can tell others about our dear Jesus, and Hunter was so delighted to have the opportunity for the first…
Each day here at the Lord’s Mission Central we see MANY, MANY REAL MIRACLES! That’s what happened on November 17th, 2025! The telephone call came in the morning and the voices of our dear, dear long time friends Billy and Alice Revell from Ireton, Iowa, said, “Missionary Gary, are you going to be around the office today as we…
As time passes, we see more and more real MIRACLES HAPPEN AT THE LORD’S MISSION CENTRAL. Our Lord Jesus is still doing amazing miracles and people just don’t hear about them, so today we are sending a real MIRACLE STORY ABOUT 2 YOUNG missionaries! On the 2nd of November, a Sunday down at Trinity Lutheran Church in Manilla, Iowa,…
Here at the Lord’s Mission Central we just send out ONE MAILING A YEAR! We do this at Thanksgiving Time, in order to let people know how much we love them and appreciate their love, prayers and support here at this “miracle place”. The number one complaint we have heard over the last 32 years is “Don’t be sending…
What a special blessing to welcome our Monona County Home School members and parents to come and visit the world-famous MISSION CENTRAL on a warm Friday afternoon. The Lord provided such a special day so we were able to give a complete tour of the entire facilities here at Mission Central! A wonderful tour was provided by…
What a wonderful missionary family arrived on Thursday the 13th of November 2025, as this truly NOT NORMAL COUPLE THAT HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES TO THE JUNGLES OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA! Yes, in 1973 they were called to bring Jesus to one of the most primitive countries in the entire world! Yes, the Honorable Missionaries Rev. Ron and Mary Anne…
On the morning of November 6th, the Lord sent Pastor Greg Volzke and his wife, Peg, to visit us here at Mission Central. Pastor Volzke serves at Trinity Lutheran Church in Campbell, NE. They both stopped by to see what the Lord has done out here in “the hills of western Iowa.” It was such a huge blessing to have…
Yes, God puts the right people at just the right place at “just the right time”. The long, long time friends of nearly 50 years have been a part of the life of old Missionary Gary. Yes, the family of Eugene Sukup the founder of Sukup Manufacturing Company, the world famous grain bin builders….have been such wonderful Christian Friends! Dear…
What a huge blessing and JOY to have one of our veteran missionaries, the Honorable Kim Bueltmann, from Leipzig, Germany come and report on how the Lord Jesus is using her gifts and abilities to reach out to the Muslim people who have been FLOODING INTO GERMANY! Yes, now over 3000 Muslim Mosques are in Germany and over five…
Pictured in our Ministry Center, with the statue of our dear Jesus in the background are these special guests that came to spend the day on October 29th, 2025! Yes, they also had their pictures taken in our office with the pictures of our Boss in the background and in that trademark photo you will see from left…
The Honorable Dr. Perry Miller, Esquire came all the way with the 7th and 8th grade students from First Lutheran School at Glencoe, Minnesota for a complete day tour, which was a 4.5 hour trip by school bus! Nearly every year Dr. Miller has brought his students, and what a JOY to welcome this new Principal and his students, so…
A VERY, VERY SPECIAL “CLEANING DAY” AT THE WORLD-FAMOUS MISSION CENTRAL ON OCTOBER 23RD, 2025! WHAT A BLESSING! Yes, it was one of those special days, where the Lord called some very special people to help clean the barn museum! At 9:00AM the group arrived and Jesus called Ruth and Pat from Seward, Nebraska and 7 youth from Denison…
Sometimes we forget that the Lord Jesus truly is in charge of all of our schedules in this journey called life! Old Missionary Gary was SUPPOSED to be in his office on October 16th, 2025! Yes, special friends pictured in our office, from left to right, Dean, Pam, Lynda and Paul Heiden came all the way from Lincoln,…
Yes, on Wednesday the 15th of October a full day’s training session was scheduled for the World-Famous Mission Central! The Lord called some new Seminary Students that were pictured next to our sign on the grounds of these facilities. Here you will see the staff member at our Concordia Seminary who brought the students, the Honorable Rev. Kevin Golden…
God is continuing to call “brand new missionaries”…to come to spend time at this MIRACLE PLACE for training! Yes, on Tuesday the 14th of October the Lord Jesus send five (5) new missionary families for a full day of training! Pictured here in the Ministry Center at Mission Central you see our newest missionaries that are starting out to gain…
The Lord Jesus truly, truly has HIS schedule and always “puts the right people at the right place at just the right time”. From the very, very first time Old Missionary Gary met Rev. Ott Cloeter and his family up in Minnesota he knew that they were truly NOT NORMAL! What an encouraging wonderful family! Rev. Cloeter encouraged this…
What a blessing to welcome the Honorable Missionary Rev. Michael Moreno who was kind enough to stop to see what God has done at the MIRACLE PLACE CALLED MISSION CENTRAL! Yes, Pastor Moreno was on a “mission trip” to Sioux City, Iowa and when he realized that he could take a few minutes and stop and see for the…
The Lord has all of our schedules at “just the right time” What an absolute JOY and BLESSING to welcome special long, long, long time friends….that the Lord arranged to stop at the world famous MISSION CENTRAL. The Lord’s schedule allowed us to spend time together and for Ron and Glenda Gruenhagen from Blue Grass, Iowa. They wanted to…
On October 7th, 2025 what a blessing to welcome dear Missionaries Dave and Mary Forney for a day tour here at the Lord’s Mission Central. It was so great to have this family spend the entire afternoon and evening for an extended tour throughout the entire facilities! What a true blessing to spend a great deal of time here….
What a blessing to welcome a very, very special group from Christ Lutheran Church at Norfolk, Nebraska! This group of truly NOT NORMAL people came under the leadership of the Honorable Rev. James Carretto and his dear wife Rebecca. They started this new special senior group called the Golden Group and they so much enjoyed their full tour of…
