This past June, I had the incredible privilege of leading a team of 18 people from Christ Church Anglican in Midland, TX, including five of our youth students and two of our children, on a mission trip to Poland. We partnered with Pastor Marek Kiewra, who leads New Life Church, the only Protestant church in the city of Gryfów Śląski. Pastor Marek invited us to assist with a major city project: rebuilding a 300-square-meter walkway in the town’s central park. This park is a hub of community life, filled daily with children fishing, mothers strolling with their babies, and elderly residents taking their walks. The existing walkway had become broken, uneven, and unsafe, and because Gryfów Śląski is a poorer city, the cost of replacement was out of reach.
Our team raised all the necessary funds for materials and supplies, then spent three long, 18-hour days removing the old walkway and laying a brand-new one, brick by brick. As we worked, we encountered countless opportunities to minister to people in the park. We prayed with those battling cancer, multiple sclerosis, and other illnesses; shared the Gospel; and invited many into a relationship with Jesus. The people of Gryfów Śląski were deeply touched, some even moved to tears, that a team from Texas would come simply to serve and bless their community in Jesus’ name. The mayor expressed profound gratitude and shared that the city plans to name the new walkway and install a sign to honor our church’s gift.
On our final day, we partnered with New Life Church to host an outdoor worship service and community picnic. Our youth girls joyfully served by face painting, dressing as clowns to entertain children, handing out balloons, and distributing 300 gift bags filled with Bible coloring books, Christian stickers, and fun treats. They sang, danced, and prayed with the children, bringing light and laughter to everyone there.
This trip was filled with selfless, tireless service and powerful moments of ministry. Our youth were stretched beyond their comfort zones, learning the joy of serving others and sharing the love of Jesus in tangible ways. The impact will last for years, both in their lives and in the lives of the people of Gryfów Śląski.
Thank you, DHC, for your prayers and support. Through your generosity, the Lord used our team to bless an entire city and strengthen the body of Christ in Poland.
Mission Trip to Poland with Christ Church Anglican in Midland, Texas
By Megan Freese; In Christ Alone Grant recipient June 2025
Healing Profession and Ministry Through a Mission Trip to Costa Rica
By Nora Jones; School of Nursing Mission Outreach Trip to Costa Rica
In Christ Alone Grant recipient May 2025
In May, I was blessed with the incredible opportunity to travel to San José, Costa Rica, with the Sam Houston State University School of Nursing. This life-changing experience was made possible through the generous In Christ Alone grant, and I am forever grateful for the support that allowed me to serve others while growing in both my nursing skills and my faith.
During our trip, our team partnered with Fundación Humanitaria Costarricense to meet the physical and educational needs of the local community. We administered free flu shots to residents, built bunk beds for families in need, and taught children essential first aid skills such as wound care, safety awareness, and emergency response. We also donated 100 first aid kits to the foundation, ensuring that the community would continue to have the resources to care for one another.
This mission trip was more than an academic or professional experience—it was a spiritual journey. Each day reminded me of Christ’s call to serve others with compassion, humility, and love. Through prayer, teamwork, and hands-on care, I witnessed how nursing can be both a healing profession and a ministry. The joy and gratitude of the people we served strengthened my faith and reaffirmed my purpose as a future nurse.
As I prepare to graduate from Sam Houston State University in December, I carry the lessons from Costa Rica close to my heart. Soon, I will begin my career as a NICU nurse in Houston, Texas, where I hope to continue living out Christ’s example through service, kindness, and dedication to the smallest and most vulnerable patients. This experience not only strengthened my clinical skills but also deepened my understanding that nursing is a calling—a way to reflect God’s love through every act of care.
Mission Trip to Uganda for a Women’s Conference in the Mukono Diocese
By Deacon Shelly Sorem; In Christ Alone recipient October 2025
I can’t thank you enough for your prayers and support for the mission trip to Uganda! Our team spoke at five different churches throughout the Mukono Diocese which is located between Entebbe and Kampala. We gave Bibles, journals and multi-colored pens to all the attendees. We were planning on about 40 people at each church but ended up with 60 to 70 -- God is so good! We began in a remote village and ended speaking at the cathedral.
At the end of each day, we prayed over the women individually and it was truly powerful. Some of the women brought their young children with them. On the second day one of the women had her ten-year-old daughter, Genesis, with her. Genesis came forward for prayer, and asked me to pray that she could have her school fees paid so she could return to school. As I was praying for her the Holy Spirit led me to ask the Lord to have her fees paid in an unexpected way so that she would know that the provision came from the Lord. We learned the next day that her school fees were paid and her family had no idea how! God is so incredibly faithful!
The women we met were so wonderful and so excited to have their own Bibles. They were pastors’ wives and lay readers’ wives throughout various deaneries and they had to share their husbands’ Bibles. As leaders in the church, these women are going to teach the women in each of their churches what they learned from the conference so the ripple effect will be great. It was such an honor and a privilege to participate in this mission trip and teach these women. Listening to their stories, hearing their struggles, and being able to pray for them was so heartwarming. Please continue to pray for the women and those they will be teaching so that the Lord would prepare hearts and minds and protect any seed that is sown. To God be the glory for all He did during this mission trip!
I am attaching a few photos from the trip. Amazingly, we got a photo of me praying with Genesis.
A Mighty Work of God in Mombasa
By: Anthea Kotlan, Recipient of the Christ Alone Grant 2024
All Saints Church, Conroe, TX
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)
This was the theme verse for the women’s retreat in Mombasa, Kenya, where I had been invited to help lead and speak. In the months leading up to the event, I meditated and prayed about this verse. God had so much more in mind than I could ask or imagine.
What should you do when you encounter wrongdoing in your church? How should you respond?
Elema, a woman at the retreat, stood up, shaking as she hesitantly shared, “We were planning to leave our church next week unless we receive a different message from the Lord here.”
We sat quietly with the weight of this statement.
If you leave a church where Elema lives, there is likely nowhere else to go. Muslims surround these women on every side.
Then she continued, “There have been broken relationships, a lack of trust, and now betrayal from our leaders. Your message about forgiveness, not taking offense, and expressing lament made us think again. Your stories are our stories.”
The twenty hours of flight travel across the world, followed almost immediately by the twelve-hour journey from Nairobi by Jeep, proved to be challenging. However, that moment with Elema would have made all the hardships worthwhile, had I only seen this happen. But God is generous, and He moves in abundance.
I witnessed God do amazing things for these precious Kenyan women, like changing their perspectives, turning their anger into forgiveness, and showing them that the enemy works in similar ways worldwide. God showed them and me how to live our lives based on what we know to be true about God and not how we feel in the moment.
By the end of our time together, God had revealed how He faithfully orchestrated every detail of this trip. He made supernatural connections at every turn, encouraging all of us to come to a place of vulnerability. As our team shared our stories, we discovered how much we had in common as sisters in Christ. God held us and empowered us to remain steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in His work.
None of this would have been possible without your prayers and support.
