Presbyterian Mission Agency missionaries Archives

Mission vision

Posted October 22nd, 2018

As a child growing up in Luverne, Minnesota, Doris Schoon learned the words to “Jesus Loves Me” in Chinese. Doris was touched by this simple exercise led by her pastor, the Rev. Otto Braskamp, who had once been a Presbyterian missionary in China. Though she no longer remembers the Chinese lyrics, the music of mission continues to play in her heart.

Meeting Christ in an old family journal

Posted August 7th, 2017

Joanna Shelton spent many years believing there was no God. However, reading her great-grandfather’s journal of his time as a missionary in Japan changed that. She says that she is his latest convert.

Four generations of Presbyterian mission: From potted plant to garden

Posted June 15th, 2017

If there is a revered profession in my family, it is a life given to the ministry of the Presbyterian Church. In 1884, my great-grandfather J. Vernon Bell began his ministry as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Dubois, Pennsylvania, almost 100 years to the day that I entered Union Theological Seminary in New York City.

Presbytery of West Virginia

Posted June 12th, 2016

Finding inspiration in a glass of milk When my father was born in Qingdao, China, Grandmother had a hard time breast-feeding, and Dad was losing weight. So a message went to the missionaries to the south that the babies up north needed milk. Apparently all food that the American missionaries ate came from the U.S. because they did not know which food was safe and which was not. Food had to be ordered 18 months ahead of need because of shipping time. Obviously one does not anticipate the birth of a baby 18 months ahead.