STORIES FROM THE FIELD
FROM THE VICE PRESIDENT
Field Visits and New Ministry Openings
One of my responsibilities as the new VP of Field Ministries has been to begin visiting our field staff and the ministries they lead. This past month, I traveled throughout North and South Carolina, and it was a joy to meet so many of our missionaries—both those who are newer to Cadence and those who have faithfully served for many years.
It is especially encouraging to see new ministries opening in so many places. Already in 2026, we have seen Anthony and Jessica Amor open the Sanctuary Hospitality House in northern Colorado Springs. Elizabeth Sanchez has stepped into her new assignment in Yokosuka, Japan, and Lexy Krogman has tickets in hand to travel to Germany later this month.
From the Field
The InCadence Podcast:
Stories of God’s work in and through the military.
Pieces of Glory
I trust your gathering of friends and family over Christmas was meaningful and joyful, as was the experience for Joyce and me.
Legacy of Love
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16–17
A Soldier’s Child
After hearing about A Soldier’s Child SOS Christmas on WayFM a few times on our way to school, my nine-year-old daughter, Kenna, asked if we could participate. The following week, she sold items at our church’s holiday market and felt she could sponsor a child with the earnings. An easy click on the site led us to the purchasing of gifts for a girl the same age as my daughter.
Faithful and Available
One thing that continues to amaze Candace and me is how God works through those who attend our house ministry, not just us. One man, in particular, is relatively new to Korea and still processing through a hard breakup that occurred before he came.
Pieces of Glory
I trust your gathering of friends and family over Christmas was meaningful and joyful, as was the experience for Joyce and me.
Legacy of Love
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16–17
A Soldier’s Child
After hearing about A Soldier’s Child SOS Christmas on WayFM a few times on our way to school, my nine-year-old daughter, Kenna, asked if we could participate. The following week, she sold items at our church’s holiday market and felt she could sponsor a child with the earnings. An easy click on the site led us to the purchasing of gifts for a girl the same age as my daughter.
Faithful and Available
One thing that continues to amaze Candace and me is how God works through those who attend our house ministry, not just us. One man, in particular, is relatively new to Korea and still processing through a hard breakup that occurred before he came.
Name Above All Names
“There is a name I love to hear, I love to sing its worth. It sounds like music in my ears, the sweetest Name on earth. Oh, how I love Jesus, oh how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus, because He first loved me.”
Like many of you, I basically grew up in a pew. Church twice on Sundays, often on Wednesdays, and other times as well. The great hymns of the faith are etched on my heart from years of singing both melody and harmony along with my five siblings and the congregation.
There’s something about hymns that anchor those who know and love them. When my wife, Joyce, sits down to the piano in our living room to play a hymn (and she can play them all) there is a stillness and peace that permeates our home.
Shelter in the Storm
Recently appointed as new Cadence missionaries, Duncan and Suzanne have a wonderful story of God using Cadence in Duncan’s life as a young man serving in the Army. Cadence missionaries, Brad and Debbie Ellgen, were there for Duncan at a key moment in his life. Here is his story:
An Intern Returns
Joyce and I began our Cadence International careers as young adults serving in the mission’s Student Ministry division (known then as Malachi Ministries). We enjoyed over ten years of fruitful ministry to military students and their parents stationed at various Army installations in Germany.
Since then, we have served Cadence at our Headquarters here in Englewood, Colorado. We always love hearing stories from the field of transformed military lives, and it’s especially encouraging to hear of military students still being influenced for Jesus through Cadence Student Ministries.
The Gospel in the Center
Each Sunday at our local church, the cross is brought from the platform back down the aisle to the middle of the sanctuary for the reading of the gospel. Behind the cross, a pastor walks holding the Bible high as on each side the people turn to face the cross. Then it is said, “We bring the cross into the center of the people as an outward sign that Christ is with us and among us. May His Word be always on our minds, upon our lips, and deep within our hearts.”
One Hope
I attended two memorial services recently—one in Missouri and one in Michigan.
The service in Missouri was to grieve the sudden loss of a young man tragically killed in a car accident on his way home from work. He had been married for only two months to the daughter of one of our Cadence couples.
The chapel was filled with young people seeking to somehow trust God and celebrate Caleb’s life while also wrestling with the fragility of life here in this broken world under the curse.
We Stay
We Stay.
Thank you for your prayers for our recently completed Cadence worldwide staff conference in Green Lake, Wisconsin. Our theme, Unhindered, the last word Luke penned in the book of Acts guided our time together. We celebrated and took courage in the truth that the gospel will not be stopped, thwarted, or hindered in its advancement around the globe.
Unhindered
We gather.
Joyce and I recently gathered with the family and friends of Wilma Porter for her memorial service. She and her husband Ralph, who went to heaven in 2018, served military people through Cadence for over 50 years. We were honored to speak at her service, be with the family, and celebrate her life.
A Sailor’s Story
Joyce and I met Senior Chief Sonar Technician Joy Chase at the Cadence hospitality house in San Diego. We were encouraged by her love for the Lord and impressed by her service as an exceptional Sailor.
Ohana Night
We are delighted for you to hear from one of our full-time Cadence missionaries, Melissa Rafferty, who is serving in Okinawa, Japan. Melissa joined Cadence in 2011 with a desire to share the gospel and her life with young men and women in the military.