Missionary Volunteers Darrell & Joanie Bolton
Thank You for your interest in MVP Missions.
Since 2007 I have traveled to 30 nations working side-by-side with missionaries and indigenous pastors sharing the Gospel message in their communities. Joanie has traveled the past 11 years with me. We have shared the good news of salvation with over 200,000 people, and have led many thousands to the Lord Jesus Christ.
We hope you will get to know us better, and our desire to serve the Lord by:
1) Reaching those in the 10/40 window and the world with the gospel message
2) Encouraging missionaries & pastors to continue serving the Lord where He's called them
3) Pulpit-fill for missionaries that need to return to the U.S. for several months at a time
4) Working with churches so they can send their own members on a mission trip to accomplish goals 1 and 2 above
Our Mission ministry took an almost unbelievable turn in Aug 2011. The events we experienced were so remarkable, filled with miracles from God, that Joanie actually wrote a book about them. The Book is "With Unwashed Hands" and the book's website is www.withunwashedhands.com. In late July 2011, we were on a mission trip in a partially communist country. The day after we arrived we went soul winning, and later I had to be rushed to the E.R. due to terrible abdominal pain. I was diagnosed as having a ruptured sigmoid colon, and had to undergo 2 surgeries. The amazing thing is that an Anti-American doctor actually chose to not do surgery for many days! Along with graphic mistreatment by his hand, the God of heaven intervened to spare my life. Though very weak and close to death, God brought us through it all. Joanie's sweet mom passed away while we were committed to the surgical ward, and we had to miss her funeral. But what grace the Lord gave to us both! Joanie was still able to teach a ladies' class and witness on many occasions. We passed out gospel tracts in 3 languages while in the hospital and Joanie led 7 English speaking staff members to receive Christ at the foot of my bed! How sweet. Our missionary hosts took good care of us for about a week after I was discharged and we were on our way to Thailand, where I was to "rest and recuperate." Our first day in Thailand I preached on a Wednesday evening; but later that night had to return to the E.R. due to infection from the mistreatment in the first country. I had to undergo a 3rd surgery to surgically repair the hole the infection burned inside of me. I was admitted for a week, then had to have daily bandage changes for 3 more weeks before we could fly home to the US. The Lord provided a dear missionary lady, whom we've never met, who allowed us to live with her. God also provided a modern day Good Samaritan to help meet our needs. This choice servant drove us daily to and from the hospital for the wound care I required. The Lord provided everything we needed during those trying two months. We love and trust Him more than ever. I had one more surgery in the US in Jan 2012 to reverse my colostomy. We were blessed to travel again in Aug 2012 and get back to the mission field. Since then we have worked with missionaries in twelve countries: Philippines, Thailand, Ghana, Tanzania, Jamaica, India, Myanmar, Bolivia, Brazil, Aruba and Curacao, Cambodia. Please pray for us as we travel to churches in the US to share our ministry and seek the support we need to continue to travel. God bless you!
In the past couple of years we've had opportunities on our mission trips to visit orphanages. By bringing them rice, food and gifts, we've been welcome to visit them and teach Bible lessons. We love spending time with these special boys and girls. We have initiated the "40-4/O" program: for $40 we can purchase 110 lbs. (50 kilos) of rice which feeds them for several weeks. Your $40 For Orphans can help them in a great way. To help fund this ministry you can contact us or send a donation through PayPal; click on their Send Money tab. The recipient is: MVPorphans@gmail.com from their website http://www.paypal.com Thank you for your prayers and encouragement.
In Sept/Oct 2014 I traveled with another missionary to South America to the countries of Bolivia and Brazil. We worked with a wonderful second-generation pastor and his associate in, and around the city of Cochambamba, Bolivia. We were busy and besides preaching several times, we had Kids' club, showed gospel films, and presented the gospel in public and private schools to thousands and thousands of young people! God opened many doors for us and we were blessed to lead many to Christ. Our time in Primavera do Leste, Brazil was a great blessing to all of us. Once again, we preached in several schools as God opened many doors of opportunity to get into morning and evening sessions, and preaching to students and adults alike. Hundreds were led to Christ for salvation and we thank God for His goodness to bless us so!
In Nov 2014 Joanie and I were blessed to minister in Aruba and Curacao. In about 2 weeks we were able to preach and teach 13 times! We were excited to get acquainted with excellent churches and pastors on these island nations. The folks at Peniel Baptist Church and Calvary Baptist Church were so kind. We loved seeing what God is doing in these churches and look forward to returning some day.
This is the letter we sent out regarding our 2013 trip to the Philippines & Thailand.
Dear Faithful Friends,
What joy we have in serving on the mission field! The Lord surely provided and blessed every day while we traveled for almost the entire month of August. Our trip began with travel to the Philippines, a place Joanie had hoped to visit ever since she was a child.
We were scheduled to spend a whole week with Missionary Eddie Galyean and Crossroads Baptist Church for their 8th Anniversary celebration. I was put right to work preaching on Wednesday night and again on Thursday night at their second church in Mapandan. Joanie was excited to bring a special devotion to all the ladies of the church and they loved her lesson and presentation very much!
In preparation for the big Sunday celebration, tens of thousands of invitations and gospel tracts were distributed over many weeks, and a “church parade” with balloons and a stream of some 25 vehicles was held on Saturday. Both Saturday and Sunday God was especially gracious and gave us dry and sunny weather…the entire island had been drenched recently with the arrival of cyclone weather. Sunday, the auditorium was packed and we had over 600 visitors…total attendance for the day was over 1,300! All visitors received a new Bible and a clear presentation of the gospel, and over 250 folks received Christ as their saviour that day. There were many folks saved in the Mapandan service as well.
From there we went to work with Iloilo Baptist Church and Missionaries Rick Martin, Ricky Martin and their families. What a blessing for us to get to know these faithful servants better. Our first day there, Joanie and I were able to witness to 3 sweet young ladies at a mall and they all prayed and received Christ. We went to multiple Bible Clubs with Mrs. Becky Martin and some college students, and I also got to preach and present the gospel in a small, rural village after an outdoor presentation of a gospel film…over 2 dozen were saved. Joanie was scheduled to be the guest speaker for all the college girls, over 120 of them! They enjoyed her lesson and stories so much! And, she was able to give them a nice photo with a reminder of the message on it. Bro Martin graciously allowed me to preach on Sunday night, and the auditorium was quite full that night with attendance of 2,000 or more. At the invitation time, the Bible college students personally spoke with all the visitors and again, many were saved and baptized that night!
Our last 3 days in the Philippines were spent on the island of Bacolod. We were working with Pastor Marc DeSuyo from Christian Faith Baptist Church. Again, Joanie had the chance to give a devotional message to the ladies and they loved it! The pastor’s wife immediately bonded with Joanie and couldn’t spend enough time with her!
The next day we went to one of the city’s police stations and I spoke to the officers, including the police chief, on staff. They enjoyed hearing a message from a retired (American) Air Force officer. I encouraged and challenged them, and afforded them the opportunity to trust Christ for salvation; many prayed for salvation! There was a small jail there. I asked, and, was allowed to speak to the men that were in there…they intently listened to everything I had to say. I told them how this time can be a turning point in their lives and that they can have a friend who will stick closer than a brother, and guide them to make the right decisions that they will face. I led them in prayer; all 6 prayed receiving Christ for salvation…many of them had tear-filled eyes when we were done. Pastor DeSuyo asked us to come back again, so that he could arrange a larger assembly of over 225 police officers for me to speak to. Also, that night I preached for Pastor DeSuyo.
We took the pastor, his wife, and our guide from Iloilo, Bro. Ulysses, out for a meal after church. They felt like royalty! We were at the hotel restaurant. We love to encourage our host pastor/missionary whenever we can, and this was the perfect opportunity. They could not believe the prices on the menu for the food we ordered. They felt awkward and nearly ordered whatever was the lowest-priced item on the menu (because no one in their church would ever be able to spend money eating out…so the pastor and his wife have never been taken out to a place such as this). After insisting they order something they would like, they finally did. They were shocked at the portion received—so much food all at once. All 3 of them ordered something different. When we asked them how they liked their food, they all said that it was good, but that this was the first time, and the last time they would ever eat this food. Why? Because the money spent dining out would go so much further if they could purchase ingredients and make food at home. They enjoyed the meal and the fellowship, but would never, ever indulge in such a way with their own money! “Bro. Bolton, how much did you spend on their meal?” The cost was about the same (or less) as a combo meal at a fast-food restaurant…about $4 and some change, each. What a lesson for us! They see the value in what we would consider “small things” and how they could be used better for things in the ministry. This pastor, on Sunday mornings, gets up at 4 AM so he can make rice cakes for his church members. He does this every week.
These are the kind of humble folks we have the privilege of serving with.
We left Bacolod for a week in Bangkok, working with Pastor Jomhong and his family at First Donmuang Baptist Church. We began our time there by going out Soulwinning on Thursday evening; that night we led 17 to the Lord. On Saturday we split up into groups after a morning meeting with pastor’s son, Saint; we went out to visit routes and witness. Again, many were saved that day. Sunday morning Pastor Jomhong preached and we heard the sermon twice…once in Thai, and once in English. Sunday night I was able to preach and we enjoyed a wonderful evening in church. We had a special visitor, Missionary Shari House, the one who allowed Joanie and I to move in and live with her for 3 weeks a year ago (exactly!) while I was recovering from surgery. It was so nice to see her again. She “barely recognized” me, since last year I was weak, underweight, quiet and frail.
On Tuesday, we made a day-trip to visit many missionary families that have recently relocated from the flood-prone area of Bangkok to a safe area located about 3 ½ hours away. We had a great visit with all 4 families there and would love to go back and spend more time with them. They are establishing an English language school which, in a matter of a few years, should be able to provide enough income to support them all on the mission field! What a great plan.
We are so thankful for your help and support for us with this ministry. Thank you all for your prayer support! It means so much and we can’t express how wonderful it was for us to BE ON THE FIELD AND BE HEALTHY AND USED BY THE LORD this year! If you are one of the churches that provided us monetary support, we are so grateful for you, we pray for you and are happy to represent your love for the ministry, by serving on the mission field overseas. Please pray with us for support to come in for our upcoming trip as airfare will be about $1,650 for each of us. We’re full of great anticipation as plans are being made to minister in Africa this Nov/Dec. Lord willing, we will work along-side great missionaries in Tanzania and Ghana. Thank you for helping us go!
For a Greater Harvest, Darrell & Joanie Bolton