Wednesday the 5th of May we were able to welcome a group of young people from Immanuel Lutheran Church in Schleswig, Iowa and St. John Lutheran Church from Charter Oak, Iowa. Rev. Kurt Kaiser, Rev. Richard Merrill and Rev. Merle Mahnken all accompanied these young people and they enjoyed their tour of the Creation Theater and the Barn Museum. Here…
Yes, yes more and more Groups, Busloads, Tour Groups, Families, and many Church Groups are planning trips to the World-Famous Mission Central. We are amazed at the numbers of groups that are coming for a “Mission Tour”! As the virus restrictions are being lifted, we are seeing so many happy groups that are coming to this MIRACLE PLACE! On Tuesday…
What an absolute JOY to welcome some cousins of Old Missionary Gary to the World-Famous Mission Central! Yes, it was indeed a special time to welcome Gary and Jenise Sturges from Sgt. Bluff, Iowa and also their son, Jacob Sturges from the Minneapolis area. These family members had NOT seen the Lord’s Creation Theater, and came for a special tour! …
On April 27th, 2021 we had 3 special guests come and visit. Yes, the contractor and foreman of the crew that built our little wayside prayer chapel, the Honorable Missionary Dr. Keith Lambert and his wife Shirley came all the way from Rock Rapids, Iowa to visit. They wanted Shirley’s sister, Eileen from Moorhead, Minnesota to come and see this…
It’s always such a blessing to welcome Confirmation Students to the Lord’s Mission Central, as they are preparing for lifetime membership in the Lord’s Church! On Wednesday evening the 21st of April, Rev. Neil Wehmas from St. Paul Lutheran Church in Ida Grove, Iowa brought his 7th grade confirmation class to visit Mission Central and be able to pray in…
You just know for certain that you are NOT NORMAL when you drive all the from Kenesaw, Nebraska to Iowa to come and see the missionary that they are supporting! Yes, these dear friends drove all this way to see Missionary Johanna Heidorn from Latin America. Who gave an excellent report of her work in this part of the world!…
It was one of those very, very, very special days on Friday the 23rd of April. What a JOY to welcome our missionaries, Johanna Heidorn and Ashley Lehr our special missionaries from Latin America to spend a day at the World-Famous Mission Central! It was especially exciting because our guests for the day were all of the senior students from…
Tuesday the 20th of April was a very, very special day. Special Missionary Friends from Minnesota arrived at the Lord’s Mission Central! It was a day we will long, long remember! Rev. James Krikava and his dear wife, Peggy drove here all the way from Northern Minnesota. Pastor Krikava is the Regional Director for all of our Missionaries in Eurasia,…
I’ve heard of a mail man, a delivery man, a delivery service, but never a “Meat Delivery Man”. Yes, on Wednesday morning our good, good friend and co-worker for Jesus, the Honorable Missionary Rev. Michael Bodkins, Senior Pastor of the churches at Audobon and Wiota, Iowa stopped at Mission Central with a special gift. Yes, he was the Meat Delivery…
April 17th, 2021 was a special time! Yes, on this day, the confirmation students from Faith Lutheran Church at Sioux Falls, South Dakota made the trip to the Lord’s Mission Central to spend the day. This group of young people were able to see the Wayside Prayer Chapel, where their tour began, and also, the Offices, and the Ministry Central,…
What a blessing to welcome Rev. David Preus and his dear family to the Lord’s Mission Central on April 17th, 2021. This Missionary Family came all the way from the Dominican Republic to report to a group of folks from all over from Ogden, Iowa, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Rapid City, South Dakota, Ida Grove, Iowa, Latimer, Iowa, Hampton, Iowa…
People are absolutely SHOCKED AND AMAZED when they come to visit Mission Central! Especially, when they see the Lord’s creation theater. On April 10th, 2021 TWO groups from two different congregations came to see the LORD’S CREATION THEATER. The majority of the people had not been to Mission Central, nor had they seen the Creation Theater or Barn Museum. Here…
We always enjoy having children come to visit the Lord’s Mission Central and to see the shock and surprise at what they witness here at this MIRACLE PLACE! On Saturday the 10th of April we were able to welcome 3 special children from St. Paul Lutheran Church in Sioux City, Iowa. Here you see these 3 special students who were…
It was over 20 years ago that Old Missionary Gary met the honorable Missionaries Dr. Ralph and Lillian Schroeder of Sioux City, Iowa. They are so active in their congregation and from the very first time, I could tell that they truly were NOT NORMAL PEOPLE. We have remained such good friends over the years, and it was from the…
It was a bit cloudy and cold, and for certain normal people would not like to come out to the hills of Western Iowa for a tour and program to an old set of farm buildings. However, the people from St. Paul Lutheran Church under the direction of The Honorable Missionary Pastor Kenny Hsu, came to spend the time on…
Sometimes the evil one can get ahold of a person, and we feel depressed and down in the dumps. The evil one wants to “discourage” us Christians, in this dark old world we now live in! But, what a JOY to realize that our Lord Jesus “PUTS SPECIAL PEOPLE IN OUR LIVES TO KEEP US GOING”. And, we have to…
In this journey we call life, it is filled with special memories! Yes, this Palm Sunday was NO EXCEPTION! What an absolute JOY to spend Saturday and Sunday at Trinity Lutheran Church at Glenwood, Iowa with the saints there! It was indeed a time old Missionary Gary will never, never forget. What a privilege to speak at the service on…
As old Missionary Gary travels to so many locations to talk about our dear missionaries…one of the greatest blessings is the fact that We have the privilege of “swearing in” missionaries for the rest of their lives. We MUST get to the young missionaries, because many of us “gray haired” Missionaries are going to be called to our real home,…
Some folks ask us “how can you keep on going and going day after day”? Well the answer to that is really, really simple. It’s because God calls special NOT NORMAL people to come to this MIRACLE PLACE….at “just the right time” It was such an encouragement to welcome missionaries John and Judy Matthies to Mission Central on March 20th,…
Many people marvel at the amount of work that gets done here by our Boss, whose picture is right above the desk of Old Missionary Gary! Yes, God CALLS special people to help with the work here, and what a MIRACLE that the Lord has called over a hundred Volunteer missionaries to help with the work for Jesus! Pictured here…
WHAT IS a Flagallante whip? The Philippine Catholics (men who chose to do so) still practice this on Good Friday, hoping to atone for their sins. The Church doesn’t condone this practice which has been going on for years. Some make a vow to God to become a Flagellante after some event in their lives. The whip was used…
When a dad comes to visit Mission Central with four of his children, a person just has to realize this family is TRULY NOT NORMAL! On the 13th of March, the Honorable Missionary Mike Janssen from Carroll, Iowa brought 4 of his 11 children to Mission Central to see the grizzly bear, and the other 29 animals in the Lord’s…
It was one of those very, very, very special times that do not always happen! Yes, God has called our newest missionaries to go to the MOST Muslim country in the world….INDONESIA! On March 13th, 2021 we had the privilege here at the Lord’s Mission Central to welcome Rev. Paul and Gena Nelson from Santa Barbara, California. They came for…
What a privilege it was to travel to Mt. Olive Lutheran Church at Watertown, South Dakota to be with the Bill and Myrna Snow family on March 12th, 2021 to be a part of the celebration of Bill Snow’s “GOING HOME”. Yes, it was 27 years ago that I met Pastor Rich Snow and his family, when Pastor Snow was…
The years have gone by so quickly and for the Lord’s Mission Central, we see over the history of this MIRACLE PLACE…that God really does place people in our lives that help us to continue on this journey called “life”. At the Lord’s Mission Central we work so closely with the Nebraska District, Iowa District West, and the South Dakota…
What a blessing and real MIRACLE to have one of our newest missionary families come and visit the world-famous Mission Central! Yes, on March 6th, 2021 we had a full day session of orientation, training and interviews with the Honorable Missionaries Rev. Christian Tiews, and his lovely wife Lula, and their daughters Lillian and Mariam. These NEW missionaries drove all…
Here we go again! Yes, a lot of NOT NORMAL people come to this place in the middle of nowhere! On Saturday, March 6th, 2021 we welcomed a wonderful group of NOT NORMAL people here to visit Mission Central. The mission minded members of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Carroll, Iowa came for a morning visit to see firsthand, some…
We get to see real MIRACLES here at the Lord’s Mission Central. What a real JOY to see how the Lord provides at “Just the Right Time”. On February 21st, 2021 a REAL MIRACLE took place at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Osmond, Nebraska. On Sunday morning old Missionary Gary had the honor and privilege of speaking at the church in…
What a JOY and BLESSING to have the Burakowski family all the way from Hartford, Wisconsin come to visit the world-famous Mission Central! This new family has accepted the call to go and serve the Latin American Region as missionaries who will be based out of the Dominican Republic! This new missionary family arrived at Mission Central at 12:50PM on…
We need more missionaries to tell people about Jesus! Several days ago, Old Missionary Gary had the most amazing blessing of being “in person” with 224 students at Christ Lutheran School at Norfolk, Nebraska! The entire school came to the sanctuary of Christ Lutheran Church in Norfolk, where they were able to be dressed in clothing from around the world!…
On Tuesday the 2nd of February we were able to welcome Rev. Henry Witte from the Siouxland Hispanic Ministry from South Sioux City, Nebraska along with his special friend, Rolando. Rolando is from Peru and came to the United States 18 years ago. He was confirmed at Hope Lutheran Church in South Sioux City, Nebraska. Rolando’s good friend and mentor…
The amazing and truly NOT NORMAL Pastor David Lyons, Senior Pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church at Schaller, Iowa brought his confirmation class to “EXPERIENCE” what it was like to travel to the Lord’s Mission Central! This major Mission Trip was designed to help the students better understand the First Article of the Apostle’s Creed…”I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER…
In this journey we call life, we have found that some of the BEST missionaries can be grandparents! Grandchildren love their grandpa and grandma, and listen carefully to what they say and do! This past week we had the blessing of seeing this in action here at Mission Central. George and Karen Janssen from Denison, Iowa had their grandson Abraham…
SPECIAL HISPANIC FAMILY FROM SCHLESWIG, IOWA VISITS! What a JOY and blessing to welcome a very, very special family that came for a tour on Sunday evening on the 27th of December! This family lives south of Schleswig, Iowa, and the family came to the United States from Mexico. Maria and her family are members of the Catholic Church, but,…
What a JOY and BLESSING to have 15 special NOT NORMAL people willing to help with our Annual Thanksgiving Mailing! These faithful volunteers had to work in Des Moines in a much different approach than the previous 26 years! However, under the faithful help of our Volunteer “Mailing Director”, Kathryn Sprecher, the job is now complete! The year 2020…
SPECIAL NOT NORMAL COUPLE FROM OMAHA COME FOR SPECIAL VISIT! The first time Old Missionary Gary spoke to this amazing couple he knew IMMEDIATELY that they were in the world, but not of the world…yes, they were truly NOT NORMAL! It was on December 28th, 2013 that our journey together began! What an encouragement that the Lord sent these dear…
YOUTH FROM CALVARY & FAITH LUTHERAN IN SIOUX CITY COME FOR NIGHT PROGRAM! It truly was a very, very wonderful evening to welcome some of the NOT NORMAL youth and parents from Calvary Lutheran Church and Faith Lutheran Church in Sioux City, Iowa. Rev. James Travis was able to record the story of the visit, and Rev. Charles Horkey and…
The first time Old Missionary Gary spoke to this amazing couple he knew IMMEDIATELY that they were in the world, but not of the world…yes, they were truly NOT NORMAL! It was on December 28th, 2013 that our journey together began! What an encouragement that the Lord sent these dear friends to be a part of our journey for the…
It truly was a very, very wonderful evening to welcome some of the NOT NORMAL youth and parents from Calvary Lutheran Church and Faith Lutheran Church in Sioux City, Iowa. Rev. James Travis was able to record the story of the visit, and Rev. Charles Horkey and his dear wife were also able to come. The youth were just excellent…
STAFF INCREASES AT MISSION CENTRAL! It’s that time of the year, when the Lord’s hand of blessing begins to fall on HIS Mission Central! Hundreds of gifts are flowing into this MIRACLE PLACE…and to keep up with the recording of gifts and allocation of funding for our dear Missionaries we have to call in extra troops! God sends us…
REV. STEVE AND CINDY SCHUMACHER PRESENT AT MISSION CENTRAL! November 7th, 2020 was indeed a very, very special day! It was the day that we welcomed Rev. Steve and Cindy Schumacher from Ghana West Africa to this MIRACLE PLACE! We were so blessed to have members from Sioux City, Iowa, Centennial, Colorado, Morrison Colorado, Indianola, Iowa and Belleview, Nebraska all…
SPECIAL COMMUNION SET GOES TO GHANA WEST AFRICA! What a blessing to see how God provides for a congregation in West Africa! Some time ago, Missionary Gary traveled to a special Mission Festival held at Trinity Lutheran Church in rural Ogallala, Nebraska! There he met his long, long time special pastor friend, the Honorable Missionary Pastor Robert Pierce! Pastor Pierce…
MISSIONARY HELEN PIPER FROM IDA GROVE, IOWA NOW IN OUR REAL HOME, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN BY HER DEAR FAMILY! Helen Piper of Ida Grove, Iowa was a very, very, very special friend of the work of Mission Central. Helen came here many times to help with the work that God has called us to do here at HIS Mission Central. …
YOUTH FROM INDIANOLA, IOWA LEARN OF CULTURES AROUND THE WORLD! What a blessing to welcome the young people from Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church of Indianola, Iowa and help them to understand the words of Jesus in Mark 16:15 “GO INTO ALL THE WORLD AND PREACH THE GOOD NEWS”… Yes, on Saturday the 7th of November these young missionaries from Indianola,…
It’s that time of the year, when the Lord’s hand of blessing begins to fall on HIS Mission Central! Hundreds of gifts are flowing into this MIRACLE PLACE…and to keep up with the recording of gifts and allocation of funding for our dear Missionaries we have to call in extra troops! God sends us these special helpers and volunteers. It’s…
What a blessing to see how God provides for a congregation in West Africa! Some time ago, Missionary Gary traveled to a special Mission Festival held at Trinity Lutheran Church in rural Ogallala, Nebraska! There he met his long, long time special pastor friend, the Honorable Missionary Pastor Robert Pierce! Pastor Pierce presented Gary with a wonderful communion set, and…
Helen Piper of Ida Grove, Iowa was a very, very, very special friend of the work of Mission Central. Helen came here many times to help with the work that God has called us to do here at HIS Mission Central. Helen is now in our real home in heaven, and she would be so happy that her daughter and…
What a blessing to welcome the young people from Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church of Indianola, Iowa and help them to understand the words of Jesus in Mark 16:15 “GO INTO ALL THE WORLD AND PREACH THE GOOD NEWS”… Yes, on Saturday the 7th of November these young missionaries from Indianola, Iowa came and were able to be dressed in the…
ZION LUTHERAN AT HUMBOLDT, IOWA COMES TO HEAR REV. CHARLES ST. ONGE! What a wonderful way to celebrate “Reformation Day” at the world-famous Mission Central!! Rev. Charles St. Onge, from Latin America and from his congregation at Montreal, Canada came in person to present one of the finest programs. Telling of his work with immigrants and people who have never,…
TWO VERY NOT NORMAL MISSIONARIES FROM ALTA, IOWA VISIT THE WORLD-FAMOUS MISSION CENTRAL! Over the last 27 years, Old Missionary Gary has had the privilege of meeting some very, very NOT NORMAL people! One of the very NOT NORMAL couples that he met many years ago from Alta, Iowa was farmer Dave Friedrich and his dear wife Trish. They farmed…
