I’d Rather Have Miracles Than Money!

Just south of the double-row fence line that marks the US-Mexican border, Art Stoneking, one of the 24 missionaries with whom we collaborate in Mexico, is driving us in his white Dodge pickup. We’re headed out of the coastal city of Tijuana, Baja California, to the Monte de Dios Children’s Home, where he and his wife Joyce have labored to rescue, redeem, and raise children born into impossible circumstances.

As we weave through the traffic, trying to avoid the potholes on the poorly patched road,  Art tells the unlikely story of their arrival in Mexico, a place where he vacationed as a child and partied as a soldier. Their journey took them on a circuitous path from Southern California through Arizona and some brushes with the law before they recommitted their lives to the Lord and dedicated themselves to service in the local church. It was there that the Lord called them to be missionaries.

They began their missionary career working with church planter and builder, David Godwin. Serving as his associates, they ran logistics for teams and helped with construction, but what captivated them was their work with the children.

And in that work with children, Art and Joyce have truly lived out the counsel, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all of your might.” (Ecc. 9:10) As we drove further into the Mexican countryside, Art told stories of healing and provision. Admitting that they lacked professional experience and sufficient funding to run a children’s home, they’ve provided a safe, loving environment for dozens of kids, giving back the nutrition, education, and opportunities that their desperate circumstances had taken from them. The smiling faces that greeted them as we arrived at the home both from the children gathered in the living room and the photos of the graduates of their program are testimonies to the Lord’s faithfulness and their perseverance over more than 26 years of missionary ministry.

After telling us a story of how the Lord intervened in the lives of infant twins at death’s door that they nursed back to health, Art let out a sigh and exclaimed, “I’d rather have miracles than money!” Now in their seventies and closing in on retirement, their 403B may not impress many, but their investment in the children of Mexico continues to produce eternal dividends.