Dear Friends,

Thanks to your prayers and partnership, CAMA is sending out 12 new international workers! Over the next several months, eight units comprising of 12 new CAMA staff members will head to Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, as well as two new countries in Latin America. Below is an introduction to who these new team members are and how they will be positioned to help see lives transformed and communities restored.

Faith Pyne to Nicaragua

Faith is the first person ever from both CAMA and the U.S. Alliance to be sent to Nicaragua. Faith’s journey to Latin America began years ago when she made the decision to fully submit her life into the Lord’s hands. “After I became a Christian, God just really helped me to fall in love with Him and put this desire in my heart to serve Him with my whole life in full surrender,” said Faith. “I began praying when I was in high school that God would have His will in my life no matter what. At the end of my time in college, God answered my prayer and revealed His call of long-term missions for my life.”

Faith’s bold prayers, longtime passion for Latin America, and skills in compassionate health care as a nurse eventually led to her joining CAMA with the goal of opening a church-based health-care clinic with a multicultural team in the capital of Nicaragua. She is hoping that the location of the clinic combined with the offering of affordable rates will make health care more accessible to local patients.

“I’m praying that through this opportunity, God is going to reveal Himself to Nicaraguans,” said Faith. “To show them that He sees them, loves them, knows them, and wants to meet their physical needs and also give them the greater hope of eternity.”

Rocky and Shaina Higgins to El Salvador

Rocky and Shaina first met while serving at Envision’s site in El Salvador. During her time there as an intern, Shaina helped to start La Fuente, an after-school program that invests in the spiritual lives of teens to break the cycles of social injustice, poverty, violence, and crime being experienced by youth in El Salvador.

Rocky and Shaina eventually married, concluded their internships, and moved away. However, after years of working with inner-city youth and coming alongside refugees in Pennsylvania, they felt the Lord leading them back to El Salvador to do long-term missions. “We always felt like at some point the Lord would call us back,” said Rocky and Shaina. This led to them connecting with CAMA. “What drew us was the approach that CAMA had to come alongside the national church and not really be the center of focus, but rather come alongside the current body of believers,” said Rocky and Shaina.

As the first CAMA staff members to serve in El Salvador, they will be looking to develop connections with the regional church while coming alongside teens who age out of La Fuente. They are hoping to help teens launch successfully into adult life through a variety of ways such as providing them with assistance in furthering their education, learning about business practices, and finding employment. Rocky and Shaina are excited to be “helping those kids develop skills, stay in El Salvador, use [those skills] to boost the economy, and give back to their community.”

Daniel and Katie Hackett to Mongolia

The Hacketts felt the Lord call their family overseas after watching a short video with their home church that featured the story of an international worker serving in Asia. “Daniel had been praying for God to use our family for His Kingdom, and He told him this is how our family would serve,” the Hacketts shared. “Katie finally let go of any fears she held for her children’s future and found peace in realizing that as long as they know God, they will have all they need.”

Daniel and Katie previously served in Azerbaijan for two years as community development workers with the Peace Corps. “When we heard about CAMA, we agreed it sounded very much in line with our passions,” said Daniel and Katie.

As the Hacketts prepare for their departure to Mongolia, they are looking forward to potentially starting a ministry in the areas of agriculture and community wellness. “We hope to see Mongolian leaders rise up in the community to serve and bring the light of Christ to enrich the society they live in,” said Daniel and Katie. “It will be so incredible to help empower them to believe in themselves and to tap into their potential and the gifts that God has given them.”

Sully and Natalie to Indonesia

While growing up in Papua, Indonesia, Sully and Natalie learned about CAMA through the parents of a friend. As Sully and Natalie got older, they felt God calling them again and again to ministry overseas through mission trips, internships, college courses, and a variety of other ways. “God drew us through our upbringing in Papua, Indonesia,” said Sully and Natalie. “He has given us a love for the people, and we desire to see other unreached areas of Indonesia come to Christ.”

For the past three years, Sully and Natalie have been preparing to live out their call by serving with the team at Envision Cleveland where they have been involved with urban gardens, greenhouse projects, international student ministry, and hosting Envision teams. As they look to return to Indonesia next year, they are excited to engage others through education, agriculture, and community wellness as they share about the Kingdom of God. Their hope is that through wholistic community development, communities will encounter and want to join Jesus and His Kingdom.

Amanda Gosline to Kosovo

When Amanda was a teenager, CAMA staff members came and spoke at her church about the work they were doing to see lives transformed and communities restored. “I was drawn to serve with CAMA because of the way they desire to have an intentional and impactful presence in the communities where they serve, seeking to share the gospel in word and deed,” Amanda said.

“I was always captivated by the stories of how God worked in the lives of people and moved them around the world to share about Jesus with others,” said Amanda. “For a long time, I didn’t believe I had a part in that, until one day I was listening to a speaker share about the opportunities for people to go to the nations and the lack of people to send. The Spirit stirred me up and said, ‘Go.’ Since then, I continue to sense Jesus inviting me to follow Him wherever He wants to lead.”

After five years of coming alongside refugees with Envision Atlanta, Amanda will be heading to Kosovo later this fall to join the team at the Bridge Community Center. Through community wellness and advocacy, she is hoping that people will discover the relationship they can have with Jesus and accept His invitation to do life with Him.

Heidi to the Middle East

After learning about CAMA through her local Alliance church, Heidi stepped forward in faith and responded to a call that God had been laying on her heart for several years but to which He had not yet opened the door. When asked what drew Heidi to serving with CAMA, she said, “CAMA allows me to use skills that I already have and develop new skills as I seek to minister in tangible ways to the felt needs of the community and to build relationships. I pray this will ultimately lead to others experiencing the joy of a relationship with God through Jesus!”

Heidi’s “yes” to the Lord’s leading will bring the light of the gospel to a region the Joshua Project lists as being over 93 percent unreached. She will be teaching ESL while assisting a women’s handicraft initiative through administrative, marketing, and logistical support in effort to facilitate sales. Through education and business development, Heidi is hoping to come alongside others to see lives become physically, emotionally, and spiritually transformed for the glory of Christ.

Scott and Deanna Blackwell to Senegal

Both Scott and Deanna have wanted to serve overseas since they were young and came to know about CAMA while growing up in The Alliance. “God has continued to sovereignly point our lives in this direction on numerous occasions to bring about a willingness to go where others aren’t willing to go,” said Scott and Deanna. Through Envision, the Blackwells eventually completed an internship with CAMA, teaching English at a community center in West Africa. “Our time there grew our desire to work in Africa long term and directed us toward developing a skill set that we could use for ministry,” said Scott and Deanna.

Looking ahead, the Blackwells are hoping to share the gospel through business development. “Our vision is to start a woodworking trade school and small business that will teach skills and provide job opportunities to young men,” said Scott and Deanna. “The space will also facilitate the demonstration and proclamation of who Jesus is in a day-to-day, tent-making, hands-on context.” As young men learn a trade so as to better provide for their families, the Blackwells are hoping their ministry will instill a passion for creating that turns others toward worship of the Creator.

Mary Anderson to Senegal

A former aXcess worker, Mary has been serving in West Africa with The Alliance since 2008. Mary began her service by working in a wound care clinic where she walked alongside and provided hands-on training to a small team of medical workers. She enjoyed building relationships with nationals and rejoiced when several of her patients chose to walk with Christ. During this time, Mary also took part in orality Bible storytelling ministries and served on a team that trained and empowered nationals to share the gospel in their unique contexts. When security issues arose, Mary transferred to a new ministry in an internally displaced persons camp where she used her medical skills and oral Bible stories to build bridges for the gospel.

When her former field of service closed due to security concerns, Mary realized that God had given her a burden for an unreached people group in Senegal. Knowing that CAMA’s values and mission reflected the posture of her heart, she contacted CAMA about serving. As she steps into her new role, Mary said she is looking forward to empowering others with basic education and life skills while “advocating for those who don’t have a voice or are powerless to find help and hope in their situations.”

Thank You!

We hope you are encouraged by these testimonies of faith, obedience, and hope. Will you join us in praying for our new staff members as they step forward in answering the Lord’s call?