Greetings in the precious, unconditional love of our Lord Jesus, Who came to earth to set us an example of righteousness, to die on a cross to shed His blood for the remission of our sins, and to rise again the third day, victorious over sin and death. Through all that JESUS has done for us, He has given to us a blessed hope. This is one of our favorite times of the year, when we have another opportunity to bask in the love of JESUS and to share His love with others. God has blessed us, in spite of us, and we thank Him for those He has brought into our lives through the years. We thank Him for family and friends who have stood by us in through the good and difficult times. Our desire is to finish well for His glory and His precious Name! This year started for me on December 11, 2023 at the annual business meeting in becoming the IGM Acting Executive Director because of extenuating circumstances. I now go to the office daily and Nancy works from home. We thank you all who pray and financially continue to support us as we serve the IGM family. We believe God is in control of every aspect of our life! Please, bear with us as we share a bit of our life for 2024. His mercy, grace and love grow sweeter as the days go by.
Gary: I took several of our National Pastors to churches and other meetings. We have had several of our National Pastors stay at the IGM house apartment. K. Vijay, Eunice, Timothy, and Eva, India, stayed from February 22–March 12. Roger Fetou and Kouami Midekor, Togo, stayed several days between February 8 and April 17. Wilson Maungo, Kenya, stayed several days between June 7 and August 12. Anthony Juma, Kenya, stayed several times between August 23 and October 23. Rao Jutike stayed from September 9 to October 24. Vijay Kummaragunta stayed from October 22 to November 5. I took a lot of the above mentioned National Church Planters to area churches and/or meetings. Also, I organized and participated in 3 Council meetings and the Annual Business meeting on December 10th. I keep very busy with phone calls, writing letters, emails, counseling many, and keeping the office functioning. On July 9, I had another ultrasound of the spot on my kidney and it had grown from 2.2 cm to 2.4 cm. It was checked again November 19th. It has grown to 2.5 cm. We decided to have it checked again on April 7, 2025. October 5 I had a heart echocardiogram and the heart was given a big okay! Nancy and I praise the Lord for His wisdom, strength, and encouragement for the awesome responsibilities of serving the Lord over 24 years with IGM. We praise the Lord for the journey ahead and for finding the right man to become the IGM Executive Director. Thank you for praying and giving to meet our personal needs. My email is genewhart@igmgo.org
Nancy: She has served as IGM Office Manager for 22 years. (2022 she served January—October). The last two years she has worked from home to help National Pastors obtain their passport/visa to go on tour in the USA . She also gets the materials ready for the Nationals to go on tour—brochures, sign-up sheets, letters, travel accounting sheets, display boards, etc. May 23-27 we visited our family in Forest, Va to celebrate on May 25th Mia’s graduation from high school and Faith’s 50th birthday. On June 2nd, Nancy and I celebrated our 62nd wedding anniversary. Faith and Steve, Jonathan and Rachel, Mia, Zachary, Megan and Dillan, and Steven visited us July 1-7. Of course, Luke, Jennifer, and Aubrey were with us, too. They all came to visit us and to celebrate my 81st and Nancy’s 82nd birthday and treated us all for a birthday dinner at Texas Roadhouse. On the 4th of July, we had a cookout at our home and every evening we had dinner together. We had a house full—14 people and 5 dogs! Nancy’s health is pretty good. She is taking blood pressure medicine and having a hard time keeping it stable. In July, she had a heart echocardiogram and it showed a white spot which will be checked December 19, with a MRI. Nancy and I go to the chiropractor every 2 to 3 weeks, which helps our back issues. She continues to have pain in her right hip and knee. It was checked November 8 and she will have to have a hip replacement, which should help the knee pain, too. She had a cortisone shot in her right hip on December 6th. Presently, a hip replacement will be scheduled in March or April. Pray for Nancy as she serves her Savior daily. Her email is ncn359@yahoo.com
Luke and Jennifer will be celebrating a remarkable milestone on February 9, 2025, their 18th wedding anniversary. Throughout these years, they’ve built a life full of love and commitment. Luke continues to make a meaningful impact at Wayne Finger Lakes BOCES in Newark, NY, where he serves as a Student Data Service Coordinator, marking his tenth year in this rewarding role. Jennifer’s dedication to her career has been equally inspiring. She recently graduated with her Master’s in School Counseling and is now working at Monroe 2 BOCES in Rochester, NY, as a School Counselor. Their daughter, Aubrey, has just embarked on her sophomore year of high school and is being homeschooled with great care. She recently celebrated her sweet 16th birthday, on November 3rd, bringing joy and excitement to their home. Please keep them in your prayers as they continue to seek God’s guidance and wisdom in raising Aubrey for His glory. Their journey together is a testament to their faith and love, and your prayer support means the world to them.
Faith and Steve are headed toward 31 years of marriage on July 9, 2025. As they close out another year, they look back on a year filled with cherished moments and blessings. This past July, they celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary, marking over three decades of love and partnership. This year, they made some major changes, including relocating to Bluefield, VA, where Steve was appointed the 10th president of Bluefield University. Faith stepped away from teaching at Forest Elementary School and is now a course designer for Houston Christian University. They both love their new positions and enjoy their time in Bluefield. Their eldest grandson, Steven, now 28, is recently engaged to his fiancée, Syndi, and plans to marry next October. We are thrilled for what God has in store for them. Steven works as a digital media specialist at Houston Christian University and has started serving as an adjunct professor. Zachary (26) usually does two or three things to keep life exciting. He continues his work at Liberty University as a computer programmer, a job he thoroughly enjoys. He has also taken up disc golf and has competed in several tournaments over the past year. He even launched a YouTube channel to chronicle his journey. Megan (24) and Dillan (23) have been married for three years. They recently added a new member to their family, a dog named Reggie. He quickly adapted to the pack and has a lot of energy. Over the past year, they enjoyed several trips, visiting Alaska, Ireland, and Iceland. Jonathan (23) and Rachel (23) celebrated their first wedding anniversary in September. Rachel works as a counselor while completing her master’s degree at Liberty University. Jonathan is working for Verizon Wireless and completing his undergraduate degree in business. They have two puppies as part of the pack, Ace and Kenny. Mia, now 20, graduated from high school in the spring and is now a freshman at Bluefield University pursuing her business degree. She enjoys college life and participated in her first school play, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and had a blast. Please pray for this family as the Lord leads each one of them.
M i n i s t r y N e w s:
Since December 11, 2023, I have been serving as IGM Acting Executive Director full-time, since the position of Executive Director became vacant. Our IGM Council members have been helpful in this season of IGM. Russell Alexander, our present chairman of the IGM Council, has come alongside to serve as IGM Coordinator for Kenya. Pastor Matt Ferguson, our Council Secretary, has cared for the international devotions on Wednesday mornings. We continue to praise the Lord for our staff — Cheryl Smith, who started with IGM in December 2012 now serves as Office Manager/FMI Orphans, Tanya Sakoswsky, Bookkeeper, joining our team in December 2023, Ginger D’Aloisio, Donor Services (volunteer), Linda Koenig, was hired in August, part-time, and serves as Administrative Assistant, cross training, travel care, receptionist, Director helps, etc. and Michelle LaRiccia, is writing bios for the IGM website (volunteer). We praise the Lord for our office team. We continue to praise the Lord for our IGM Mission Central Headquarters. It will be 19 years in July that we moved into the building. Floors in the building have been upgraded, rooms painted and upgraded, hallway stairs, etc. replaced with carpet. Outside the building, brick has been painted, and siding, soffits, trim, and gutters are under contract. We still have National Field Representatives serving in many countries, helping with accountability. If you are receiving a paper copy of our prayer letter, etc. and have an email address, please let us know as soon as possible to help save on our mailing costs. We continue to keep up-to-date through the use of email and WhatsApp with our Mission Family and donors to save on postage, phone calls, travel, and accountability. Thank you for faithfully praying and financially supporting our missionaries, national church planters, orphans, and the “Special Project Fund” used to meet ministry and social needs. (in great need). Please visit our website—www.igmgo.org to see prayer letters from the IGM family. We are also on Facebook and Twitter. Note: Nancy and I will still be Missionaries with IGM and will continue to depend on our supporters for their continued financial and prayer support.
Together Reaching the World for Christ!
Editor’s Note: This may be a repost from last month but I do not see it published.