The Lord uses ALL KINDS of missionaries to get his work done! Yes, on April 19th, 2022 the Honorable Rev. Harrison Goodman came for a special tour of Mission Central and a good long personal visit with old Missionary Gary. Rev. Goodman has received a call to serve as a great connection with the youth organization called “Higher Things”…and is…
What a special 90th Birthday Celebration for Missionary Dolores Bartholomew from Seward, Nebraska! Dolores wanted her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren to see what the Lord can do with an old set of farm buildings in the middle of nowhere in the hills of Western Iowa. Her family came from all over the United States and came on April…
It was another one of those very, very special days on April 7th, 2022 at the world famous Mission Central. What a blessing to welcome the 5th and 6th grade students from Immanuel Lutheran School at Columbus, Nebraska for a day of Mission Activity. Yes, these students were all driven here by the adults, parents and special school helpers and the parking…
What a blessing to have two new Christian friends stop to visit the Lord’s Mission Central on April 5th, 2022! The Honorable Tim Mahoney, President of First Land Service, Inc. pictured on the left of our picture, and The Honorable Jerhamy Serrano, Contractor for NextEra Energy on the right of the picture. These two young men didn’t have a clue…
Something very, very special happened on March 27th, 2022 at St. Paul Lutheran Church in West Point, Nebraska. Yes, on that wonderful day Rev. John Gierke was installed as shepherd of the congregation at 3:00PM in the afternoon. Old Missionary Gary was able to attend this event, and what a JOY to be with the Gierke Family. Here you see…
I could tell the first time I met Grant and Vicky Krohn in Des Moines, Iowa that they truly were NOT NORMAL! They were people who were filled with the Lord Jesus, and they wanted their children to see Mission Central! It was a special time being with their family and they enjoyed a full tour and what a blessing…
We love to have young families come for a tour and begin to train their children about the Bible and missionaries. What a JOY to welcome Kenny and Emily here at Mission Central, who brought their children all the way from Des Moines, Iowa. It was a Sunday afternoon, and the children loved the animals and the artifacts in the…
It was one of those special days, when the Lord sent two Iowa District West Missionaries to come to Mission Central on April 1st, 2022! Rev. Keith Haney, our Mission Executive from Fort Dodge, Iowa at our District Office, brought for the first time our Iowa West Hispanic Missionary the Honorable Rev. Pedro Lopez, who has been called to reach…
That’s a question a lot of people ask as we feed bus loads, car loads, and large groups that come to spend the day at the Lord’s Mission Central? The reason is really very simple. The Lord sends special people to come and help with the cooking and food preparation. On March 29th, 2022, we had a large group that…
This is truly a real MIRACLE STORY! Who would make a round trip of nearly 900 miles to an old set of farm buildings? All the way from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin? What a Miracle Story! We have attached pictures of these dear friends! In the pictures you will see the MOTOR COACH driver, the Honorable Missionary Rev. Bruce K. Meier…
It is such a blessing to welcome people who have not been to Mission Central and on March 29th, 2022, a wonderful group from the congregation at St. John Lutheran Church at Fenton, Iowa came for their first visit. What a blessing to have their pastor come with a group of NOT NORMAL members. They came for a day tour…
What a blessing to see that “at just the right time” the Lord will send a group of NOT NORMAL people to come and help with a HUGE job here at the Lord’s Mission Central! YES, on Saturday the 26th of March, the Lord sent special friends from Our Savior Lutheran Church at Denison, Iowa, and our volunteer Wayne Kafton from…
My how time flies! Yes, my dad said, “The older you get the faster the time goes!”…and boy was he right. It seems only like yesterday that Rev. John and Tonya Gierke brought their little boy, Nicolaus, to have their picture taken by our Mission Central sign on June 27th, 2010! This family came all the way from Conway, Arkansas…
What a JOY and BLESSING to welcome Rev. Quintin Cundiff, his wife Lindsay and their 10 year old son, Carter to the Lord’s Mission Central on March 19th, 2022! Yes, this family has been serving at Amherst, Nebraska, where Pastor Cundiff has been the shepherd of the flock there at Trinity Lutheran Church. Now, the Lord has called this family…
HUGE TOUR GROUP FROM TRINITY LUTHERAN SCHOOL FROM FREMONT, NEBRASKA COME FOR SPECIAL DAY TOUR! It was truly one of those dear and special days that we will never, never forget. The Lutheran School from Trinity Lutheran Church at Fremont, Nebraska came for a day tour here at the Lord’s Mission Central. This was truly one of the most wonderful…
Veteran missionary nurse the Honorable Jamielynn Flores came to visit Mission Central on February 26th, 2022. She is a veteran missionary having served in the Dominican Republic for five years, and reaches so many, many people who don’t know Jesus. Jamielynn and her husband Vicar Raphael Flores will be traveling to be new missionaries in Chile South America sometime after…
Warren and Nancy Ploeger from Schaller, Iowa were one of the reason’s that Old Missionary Gary was able to “hang on” for 27 years! God has sent special friends into our life to “keep us going day after day” here at the Lord’s Mission Central. Our dear friend, Warren Ploeger, is waiting for us now in our real home in…
It was a special Monday, the 21st day of February 2022! This group came under the leadership of Rev. Dave Lyons and Missionary Nancy Ploeger! This youth group from St. Paul Lutheran Church of Schaller Iowa was so excited about returning to see the Miracle Place called Mission Central. The amazing thing was the fact that a number of the youth…
Over the years the time has gone so quickly. We have so, so, so many wonderful friends that the Lord has allowed us the privilege of working with and have become “just like part of our real family” here at the Lord’s Mission Central! One of the reasons that Old Missionary Gary can keep on going and going each day…
Here at Mission Central we have the privilege of meeting special people that the Lord sends at “just the right time”! We have been so blessed by a wonderful gift that was left by the estate of an amazing Christian couple. Their gift will be totally directed to support missionaries around the world who will tell more and more people…
One of the greatest JOYS in this journey we call life is the gift of special Christian friends! It was such a blessing to have the privilege of spending the overnight with the Honorable Missionary Pastor Dean A. Hanson. Old Missionary Gary and Pastor Hanson and his dear wife Lois have been friends for nearly 30 years! On Saturday night…
What a blessing to welcome longtime friends, Ron and Celia Siecke from Norfolk, Nebraska on Saturday morning on February 5th, 2022. We have known these dear friends for so many years, and they live on a farm near Pilger, Nebraska and attend at Christ Lutheran in Norfolk, Nebraska. These dear friends have been an encouragement over the years, and what…
What a JOY and blessing to welcome special NOT NORMAL people from Merrill, Wisconsin who would be willing to make the effort to visit a place in the hills of western Iowa? Yes, Kevin and Connie Eckert made the trip to see the Lord’s Mission Central, and what a blessing to welcome these dear friends. At one time they were…
It was a special afternoon that brought Missionary Brent Harm from his newspaper office in Ida Grove, Iowa. The thought came to Brent that he was interested in writing a story of a place in the middle of nowhere, with a set of old farm buildings! Brent came to the Lord’s Mission Central for a purpose and reason and that…
Many, many people don’t realize what is in the Barn Museum here at Mission Central and there are always new, new additions that are added all the time! Some time ago, we received an amazing artifact. It is called a “temple rubbing” from the HUGE Buddhist Temple in Bancock, Thailand! Yes, a special paper is placed over the idol in…
What a special Sunday….yes, a youth group and adults came all the way from Peace Lutheran Church in Rock Rapids, Iowa to visit Mission Central on Sunday Morning the 30th of January 2022! It truly was a special group, and IMMEDIATELY we noticed that they were NOT NORMAL. Who would come for a visit on Sunday morning at 10:00AM to spend…
LARGE AFRICAN PYTHON IS PART OF MISSION CENTRAL! From all over the world, we are blessed to have artifacts that reflect the location, the culture and the creatures that God has provided for the world that HE created. In the Barn Museum we have one of the largest snakes you have ever seen in your life! Yes, we have a…
As one travels to different parts of the world, we find that there are so many types and kinds of art! Some of our Missionaries that work in Africa have found that one of the most unusual types of art is called “Butterfly Picture Art”…and that’s just what was given to Mission Central recently. Here you see two pictures that…
In China, Asia and around the world there is a belief called Buddhism! This belief is founded on the teachings of a man by the name of Budda! There are millions and millions of Buddhists. One of the items we were able to acquire some time ago was the head of Budda. Many people pray to Budda, and strongly have…
Few people realize the fact that in many parts of the world, and even here in the United States there is a belief in “Black Magic”. This belief is totally directed by the Father of All Lies, and that is Satan. We had a missionary family that served in Africa and they were kind enough to donate some “black magic…
Several weeks ago, while Missionary Gary was visiting Hope Lutheran Church in South Sioux City, Nebraska a wonderful gift was given. Yes, people ask all the time….are you getting any new items for the Barn Museum Artifacts? The answer to that is YES, YES! We are receiving gifts from our dear missionaries that visit Mission Central. The missionaries all know…
As each year passes at the Lord’s Mission Central we see more and more and more REAL MIRACLES! On January 22nd, 2022 old Missionary Gary was scheduled to drive nearly 4 hours out to Davenport, Nebraska to speak on Sunday the 23rd of January at St. Peter Lutheran Church. The week had been filled with so much activity and appointments. The…
What a blessing to welcome the Board of Directors of the Gary and Maxine Thies Mission Foundation on January 24th, 2022 to come to Mission Central for their Semi-Annual Board Meeting! This meeting was so important, and what a blessing to have every member present. The meeting began at 9:30AM and was concluded at noon. Our volunteer cooks prepared a…
What a JOY to welcome the confirmation students from Immanuel Lutheran Church of Schleswig, Iowa for a special tour and event at Mission Central on January 19th, 2022! This wonderful group came and were able to dress up in hats and items from Latin and South America, as shown in the photo! They enjoyed seeing the animals from around the…
What a blessing to have Rev. Merle F. Mahnken and Rev. Kurt Kaiser from Immanuel Lutheran Church at Schleswig, Iowa come and welcome our dear Missionary from the Dominican Republic, Tirzah Krey. These pastors brought a group of their Confirmation Students to have the opportunity to hear a special report from Tirzah. Then the entire group was honored to pray…
I’m sure that each of our co-workers, missionaries, and you and I are absolutely sick of hearing day after day about “the virus”, and “when we are going to get back to NORMAL”….. When old Missionary Gary spoke on Sunday the 17th of January in both services and the Bible Class down in West Des Moines,….there was someone very, very special…
SPECIAL “NOT NORMAL” VOLUNTEERS COME TO VISIT AND WORK AT MISSION CENTRAL! What an absolute JOY to welcome one of the reasons we have been able to continue our work here at the Lord’s Mission Central for 28 years! Yes, we couldn’t continue this work without the aid of over 100 volunteers that the Lord has sent to help with…
January 8th, 2022 was a special Saturday and we had a very, very wonderful group of NOT NORMAL people who came from Sioux City, Walnut, Ute, Harlan, Denison, and Charter Oak, Iowa! This group of folks came to hear the report made by Rev. James Sharp and his family who for 7 years have been serving people in total darkness…
From a farm down by Ute, Iowa a long, long-time friend came to visit Mission Central on January 8th, 2022, to start the new year in the best way. The Honorable Missionary Otto Kunze came to visit and help send the Sharp Family from Uruguay in South America, on their journey back to their calling where this family has worked…
What an absolute JOY to receive guests from Sherburn, Minnesota, Lincoln, Nebraska, Council Bluffs, Iowa and Mapleton, Iowa for a day tour here at the world famous Mission Central on December 28th, 2021. Yes, it was a day we will long remember, as a group of special people the Lord sent to spend the day here at the Lord’s Mission…
WOW, how the Rev. James and Angelia Sharp Family has grown! All the way from Montevideo, Uruguay on December 28th, 2021, we were so, so happy to welcome the Sharp Family, and they must be feeding their children special food to make them grow up so quickly. The Sharp family had to have their family photo updated at our trademark…
The Good Lord had a special plan for Linda Sharp. She was to be the mother of one of our finest missionaries that the Lord would call to his special calling in South America! Yes, 7 years ago God called Rev. James Sharp and his family to be our very first missionaries to serve in the darkest Christian location in…
How in the world do we feed all of the thousands of visitors that come to the Lord’s Mission Central? That’s a question that a lot of people ask us here at this MIRACLE PLACE! The answer is really easy! It’s because the Good Lord sends special Volunteer cooks. That’s what happened on December 28th, 2021 when on that Tuesday…
Yes, we have very, very NOT NORMAL people arrive at Mission Central, even at 7:00AM on a Monday morning. December 27th, 2021, was no exception, when Dr. David Reddel and his rescue dog, Grace, arrived for a special visit and delivery. Dr. Reddel was also delivering a MOST NEEDED resource here at the Lord’s Mission Central. For many years we…
What a blessing to welcome The Honorable Missionary Dr. Steve Meyer from Sioux City, Iowa who arrived here at Mission Central for a tour with his associate The Honorable Missionary Kevin Brown of Sioux City, Iowa. These two men are responsible for an amazing ministry of reaching out to families, children, and an orphanage in Tanzania, where Dr. Meyer has…
What a JOY and blessing to welcome Missionary Cookie Delivers, the brothers, Honorable Ron and Randy Koopmans from St. Paul Lutheran Church at Ireton, Iowa! Ron and Randy arrived in the afternoon of December 13th, 2021, and they had in tow, hundreds and hundreds of wonderful homemade cookies that were needed so desperately here at the Lord’s Mission Central! These…
One of the real “challenges” that we have in the world is the fact that there are some countries that DO NOT ALLOW CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES to come into certain areas of the world. However, we need to support, pray and encourage these special people, who have to be very careful about their work. That’s what happened here on Wednesday the…
It was one of those MIRACLE DAYS at Mission Central! The Lord sends special Not NORMAL people to send gifts at JUST THE RIGHT TIME! Yes, that’s what happened on November 26th when OLD MISSIONARY GARY opened nearly 300 envelopes to help the Lord’s missionaries! Here you see that stack of blessings! What a JOY to hear from the people…
One of the JOYS of this life is the gift of friendship and love with special Christian Families. Special families that know the Lord Jesus, and who are not of the world, but are the Lord’s people in the world. People that fully understand what we are doing here on earth…..and that is telling others about our dear Lord Jesus….
November 17th, 2021 was a special day here at the Lord’s Mission Central! It was the day that we had the honor and privilege of welcoming Rev. Brad Birtell and Rev. Rempfer and their students from St. John Lutheran School at rural Columbus, Nebraska. This group of young people were some of the best students that we had the privilege…
