I grew up in a small town of about 500 people in rural Minnesota. Both sets of grandparents lived there, and I grew up seeing them all the time. Both had a heart for missions but were involved in different ways. One was a businessman who gave generously to support missions. The other was a farmer/businessman that sold his farm/business at 51 to be a self-supporting missionary. He stayed in the mission field until his health gave way in his 60s and moved back to Minnesota but continued ministering in a drug/alcohol rehabilitation center until he died at 74.

In 1972/73, at 19 yrs old, I made a solo trip around the world. I flew, hitchhiked every type of vehicle imaginable and walked a lot. I visited many missions and missionaries in 34 countries. Some were very disappointing and a waste of resources, but most were very inspiring and accomplished great things. When I got back, I knew I wanted to be involved in missions, but I didn’t know how.

What I’m about to tell you is something I’ve never shared with any of the churches I have pastored. It embarrasses me to talk about it, but it’s all true. By the time I was twelve, I was a full-fledged drug addict. I never got arrested, I never spent time behind bars—probably because my drug was not illegal. I was hooked on winning. You see, when I was born on the day peace was signed in Tokyo Bay ending in World War II (September 2, 1945), they put a picture of me in the local newspaper where we lived in California. I was the longest baby they’ve ever had in that hospital: 24 inches long and just 8 pounds. I was ugly. But I was tall.

As with every growth company, financial capital is necessary to take advantage of the opportunities. Paul Thomas had been talking with many sources which were reluctant to provide investment dollars into a currently non-profitable business, even if it has tremendous upside. Listening to negative responses can be very discouraging and cause stress and anxiety.

A friend of Paul’s, Clayton, who is a medical doctor, approached Paul to say that he had experienced something that he had never experienced before. He was convinced that God spoke to him telling him to get Paul and his wife as well as, Clayton and his wife to fast and pray for 72 hours and the answer would come. In the 72^nd hour Paul receives a phone call telling him that an investment company wanted to invest a large amount in this growth opportunity.

My husband and I once accepted an invitation to an Astros game at the Houston Astrodome with a couple connected to the Houston Chronicle. Baseball had never struck me as a dangerous sport, and I certainly wasn’t expecting anything unusual that night.

Just before the game, I had finished reading a story called Where Miracles Happen by Joan Wester Anderson. In it, a father at Wrigley Field suddenly sensed a warning: “Janet is going to be hit in her temple with a fly ball. If you don’t take action, she’ll be seriously injured or killed.” He began quietly practicing sliding his arm in front of his four‑year‑old daughter’s head. Moments later, Pete Rose hit a screaming line drive that shot across the field like an arrow—straight toward Janet. The father reacted instantly, shielding her with his arm. The ball struck him with tremendous force, but his daughter was unharmed.

Scott Lewis grew up in instability and scarcity. After his parents divorced when he was a toddler, he bounced between homes and attended nine different schools before graduating. His father, a barber who struggled financially, often “borrowed” the money Scott earned shoveling snow. Amid the chaos, Scott longed to fit in and turned to drinking and drugs in his early teens, even as he pushed himself academically and athletically. He hoped a high ACT score would earn him a college scholarship, but when his father admitted he had never filed taxes—and feared prison if he completed the financial aid forms—Scott’s dream collapsed. Disillusioned, he settled for a small vocational scholarship and drifted deeper into substance abuse.

My life was headed on a seemingly predictable path—until I got an unexpected phone call from my doctor. I thought he was going to tell me my MRI revealed a disc injury in my back. Instead, he told me I had cancer.

Crushing fear gripped me immediately and would become my constant companion in the coming weeks and months. It followed me like a shadowy figure, an ever-present threat. It kept me up at night (my wife, too) and spoiled days that should have been enjoyable.

As a single mom living on a teacher’s salary, I had received a notice that my flower beds needed to be better maintained. One afternoon I was outside working on them — really just raking the dirt to make it look like it had been freshly mulched. While I was there, I remember asking God out loud, “Lord, if I only had $50 to buy a bag of mulch to spread on these beds, it would help me so much.”

I did the best I could with what I had. When I finally stood up, looked over the beds, and brushed myself off, I thought, hopefully this will be enough.

Prior to Wanda’s going Home to Heaven we traveled to 93 countries and all USA states, usually with pleasure and God glorifying purpose. Wanda’s heart was focused on people’s eternal destiny and one of the Vice Presidents of Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU) nicknamed her the “little evangelist”.

Wanda shared the Good News of Jesus Christ everywhere that we were. Usually on airplanes, she would sit in the middle seat with me on one side or someone that was getting ready to hear about Jesus on the other. Wanda was a gentle, kind, non-aggressive, and soft-spoken woman who offended no one in her evangelistic approach.

The Lord has allowed me to have many adventures in my walk with HIM.

One that is still so sharp in my mind was my going with Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, to Moscow Russia when the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Power in Eastern Europe collapsed and access to Russia opened up.

God is asking us to step out in faith and to include Him where it is certain that unless He joins us in our goal that it will certainly be a failure. Would we allow Him the opportunity to use us through His power to do exceedingly abundantly beyond anything that I could ask or imagine?

God wants to challenge us to allow Him to use us in supernatural ways. He wants us to get out of the boat and be stretched in our faith to do something supernatural with God. In our giving that may even mean ADDING A ZERO.  ''With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'' ~ Matthew 19:26 With this “Add a Zero” faith challenge you have to involve God.