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TMS Global cross-cultural workers who have two generations of family members currently serving on the field share their stories of being called to mission ministry. Read some of their stories and discover a call to cross-cultural ministry that spans generations.

Mark grew up in Maua, Kenya where his parents served as medical missionaries. “I have very happy memories of my childhood in Kenya,” remembers Mark. “I think the experience was an adventure for my parents, but it was just normal life to me.”

As an adult, Mark knew he wanted to serve as a cross-cultural worker. Mark met Kenzi during college. Kenzi was taking a year off of school to serve in Mexico when Mark and a short-term mission team traveled to serve with the same organization. Kenzi already felt called to serve in Africa, and their common desire to serve God abroad drew them together.

Today, Mark and Kenzi are raising their two children in Kenya in a similar fashion as to Mark’s early childhood. They recently opened One World Café, a restaurant in Nyahururu. Proceeds from the café support the Home of the Good Shepherd, an orphanage that serves 65 children and youth. Young adults who live in the home can be employed by the café, which generates income for the organization and provides necessary job training as teens age out of the orphanage.

For Mark and Kenzi, the café is the realization of a ministry they have dreamed of pursuing for years. “I think my parents' ministry and our life together in Maua, Kenya played a big part in my desire to serve God in Africa,” said Mark. “Growing up in such an environment gave me a bigger view of the world and of what God is doing in other locations. He gave me a desire to know and experience other cultures and explore the rest of this beautiful world.”

Lynn and Sharon Fogleman
Mark’s parents, Lynn and Sharon Fogleman, have served in medical ministry throughout their careers. Both family physicians, they spent 10 years serving as doctors at Maua Methodist Hospital in Kenya, followed by 14 years at the Red Bird Clinic in Kentucky.

In 2012, Lynn and Sharon moved to South Sudan where they taught a Community Health Evangelism program. The war in South Sudan forced them to relocate to Uganda in 2016, where they serve the South Sudanese refugee population through medical care.

Lynn and Sharon met on a short-term medical mission trip to the Dominican Republic in 1979. Both Lynn and Sharon were in medical school at the time, though living in different states. Neither had considered medical ministry before the trip; however those two weeks greatly determined the course of their lives and ministry.

Lynn returned from the trip and decided to pursue becoming a medical missionary. After medical school, he practiced an under-served community in western Kansas for two years. Sharon participated in other short-term medical mission trips during medical school.

Lynn and Sharon rarely communicated in the six years following their trip to the Dominican Republic. In 1984, they began to write letters to one another and began a long-distance relationship. They were married the next year.

“What a privilege to serve some of God's children who desperately need not only His healing hand in the medical sense, but to be able to share with them that He is the One who is able to give the true life,” said Lynn. “What a privilege to even walk in the midst of people from a completely different culture than our own, and get to see their lives, their differences, their view of the world. I thank God daily that He chose Sharon and me to live out this life, and to do this work. It was His hand that has brought this all about.”

Josh and Bekah Hilts
For Bekah Hilts, cross-cultural ministry was always something she wanted to pursue. After committing her life to Jesus at age five, Bekah was active in her local church throughout her young adult years.

The church her family attended was engaged in intentional disciple making and cross-cultural work. They often had cross-cultural workers speak at church services, and Bekah’s family would host missionaries in their home. She and her siblings attended short-term mission trips with the church, and their family participated in mission trips together as well.

“Those were some of my best memories as a family,” said Bekah. “It was such a joy worshipping together, learning about other people’s worldviews, and building relationships with people who were different from us. Those were extremely valuable experiences for me, and they opened up doors for us as a family to have deeper dialogue about life, suffering, and God’s movement in the world.”

Bekah served in Thailand short term after college and knew she wanted to return for a longer period of time. Bekah met and married Josh, who was serving in youth ministry, and the two determined to serve cross-culturally together.

Bekah, Josh, and their daughter now live in Bangkok, Thailand. They intentionally disciple Thai believers in their relationship with Jesus.

Randy and Pati Walche
Bekah’s parents, Randy and Pati Walche are currently serving in Liberia. The Walches have been involved in missions through their local church and have participated on a number of short-term mission trips. After retiring, Randy and Pati decided to serve a two-year term in Liberia, working with a national pastor.

The Walches serve Liberians who are struggling after years of war and the Ebola crisis. Randy ministers through family and trauma counseling, and Pati participates in health care education. Both are involved in teaching Bible studies and discipling Liberians in their faith.

For many TMS Global cross-cultural workers, growing up with a family who was involved in ministry helped direct their future involvement in missions. For more information about serving for as little as six weeks or four years or more, contact our mobilization team. We’d love to help you find your place.

Photo (left to right): Josh Hilts, Evangeline Hilts, Bekah Hilts, Randy Walche, Pati Walche, Sharon Fogleman, Lynn Fogleman, Kenzi Fogleman, Emma Fogleman, William Fogleman, and Mark Fogleman