Missionary: Barry and Desma Abbott and Family

Mission: The World Team

Location: Central African country of Cameroon

The Abbots have two teenage children, Brianna and Brendan, who attend boarding school in the capital city. They work with the Baka people, a tribal group of pygmies who live in the rainforest. Barry and Desma are using the traditional style of storytelling to introduce the Bible into the culture.

They are equipping the Baka people to learn and share oral Bible stories from the Old and New with their own people. These stories are bringing transformation as people are turning away from abuse and alcohol to God, who loves and cares for them. Barry and Desma's vision is to plant churches among the Baka that are led by local people and to ultimately work with the people to translate the Bible into their own language. They also have a CrossFit gym in the village to bring physical strength and community. In addition to the gym ministry they also offer literacy classes and teach farming skills.

See how the Gospel is being shared among the Baka in this video

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Missionary’s Email: barry.abbott@worldteam.org
Oakdale Contact: Heidi Cordero - heidicordero@hotmail.com

Missionary: David and Christine Anasco

Mission: Go to Nations
Location: Thailand, Asia

David and Christine Anasco have been missionaries in Asia for more than 15 years with Go To Nations. Currently, they live in Chiang Rai, Thailand. They are the national team leaders of the agency. David’s focus is on training missionary interns; teaching pastors and church leaders in Thailand and around Asia. Christine is the principal at her children’s elementary school. Their two older children are in college in the U.S. and younger two study at Chiang Rai International Christian School.

Missionary’s Email: david.anasco@gotonations.org
Oakdale Contact: Milt Roberson - milt.roberson@gmail.com

Missionary: Christopher and Darlene Clark

Mission: Wycliffe

Location: Papua New Guinea

TThe Clark family serves with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Papua New Guinea, an island nation north of Australia. Christopher is a missionary pilot who supports Bible translation and literacy work in Papua New Guinea by providing safe and reliable air transport. He also serves the aviation team as an instructor/examiner/manager. He also serves as an elder in their church. Darlene teaches fifth grade math and Christian education for all ages in both their church and community. Their children Nehemiah and Hannah attend Ukarumpa International School where Darlene teaches. Nathan graduated from the International school in June. Together, they work with other missionaries to reach out to the local community and develop leadership among the people. Please pray for Nathan as he comes to the US for training and schooling. This is a very difficult transition for the entire family. Pray also that God would provide more pilots for the aviation ministry.

Missionary’s Email: christopher_clark@sil.org
darlene_clark@sil.org
Oakdale Contact: Sam Smith - samsmith3690@gmail.com

Missionary: David and Moraima Crespo

Mission: The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM)

Location: Tenerife, Spain

The Crespo family ministers in Tenerife, an island territory of Spain off the coast of Africa. The Crespos originally are from Venezuela and recently moved to Tenerife to continue the work of American missionaries that planted a church there about 10 years ago. David is an elder and co-pastor at their church, Fountain of Peace and Hope. Moraima is helping with Christian education and music. Through weekly Bible studies, individualized discipleship, and pastoral care, they are developing spiritual growth. Their teenage children, Deborah and Dana, are also involved with the music ministry.

Missionary’s Email: davcrespo@hotmail.com
moracrespo1@hotmail.com
Oakdale Contact: Heidi Cordero - heidicordero@hotmail.com

Missionary: Duthie Family

Mission: Christian Ambassadors Network
Location: Georgia

Joe Duthie is originally from India but now lives with his family in Georgia. Born and raised in a tea plantation where his father worked. He graduated with Finance and Accounting and MBA in Human Resources Development. After working in the corporate world for some years, God called Joe Duthie to serve Him. He moved to north India as missionary. Later the Lord has placed him in many leadership roles including Regional Director for Asia-Pacific and eventually, he was appointed as the International Director of Ambassadors for Christ International (AFCI). He was involved in training and developing leaders and teams in 26 nations around the world. Later, he stepped aside as God called him to mobilize believers as witnesses worldwide and he founded an organization called Christian Ambassadors Network (CAN) focusing on evangelism and discipleship. His wife, Rhoda has been great support all through the years of their ministry. CAN is active in India, few Middle Eastern countries, the UK, and the USA. CAN is in the process of launching a mobile app to mobilize, equip and network, believers around the world to be active and effective in evangelism. For more information email him at contact@cannet.org or see the website cannet.org/

Oakdale Contact: Hjarman Cordero - corderohjarman@hotmail.com

Missionary: Jen and Jim Forrest

Mission: Engineering Ministries International
Location: South Africa

Jen and Jim Forrest, from Rockville, Maryland, are both civil engineers serving with Engineering Ministries International (EMI) in South Africa. They have three adult children living in the states. Jen taught engineering and technology at Rockville and Sherwood High Schools and now serves as the EMI South Africa intern coordinator. Jen mentors and disciples interns and works with them to tutor 6th graders in one of the local townships. Jen also looks for opportunities to work with students from local schools to assist with STEM advancement. Jim previously worked as a project manager with the Department of Veterans Affairs. He will now manage a wide range of construction projects throughout the Cape Town area and southern Africa. Each year, EMI completes over 80 development projects to serve the poor and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

To learn more and donate, visit https://emiworld.org/the-forrests

Missionary Email: jforrest555@gmail.com
Oakdale Contact: Sam Smith - samsmith3690@gmail.com

Missionary: Grace

Location: Middle East

Grace serves in the Middle East. She met her husband while serving in the field. Together, they have a daughter who was born in 2019. She develops relationships with campus students with the goal of leading them to Christ, supports local staff, and helps administratively. Her husband does outreach through internet resources, where people can ask spiritual questions. He is also beginning a graduate program, which will open more doors to reach students. In addition, they support the ministry of their local church.

Oakdale Contact: Hjarman Cordero - hjarmancordero@gmail.com

Missionary: Lana Vasquez

Mission: Life Impact International

Location: Thailand & Brazil

At Life Impact International, Lana oversees all the ministries and personnel. The vision of Life Impact is to prevent human trafficking by intervening in the lives of at-risk children, youth, displaced people, refugees and orphans. They rescue children who have been sold into prostitution or child slavery, as well as those who are victims of abuse, abandonment or extreme poverty. They heal the lives of orphans through outreach, humanitarian aid, disaster relief, children’s homes and orphanages.

In Thailand, Life Impact has a safety haven called Promise Land. There, rescued children live in group homes with house parents, and receive academic and spiritual education, along with physical care. A smaller but similar home exists in Burma. Now a new ministry is beginning in Brazil. In 2020 after Lana spoke at Oakdale, the church donated more than $30,000 to support the ministry in Brazil. They are opening facilities in a high risk area that will be a prevention centers, offering classes and programs to about 100 children. This will get them off the streets and redirected away from child trafficking.

To learn more and donate, visit https://lifeimpactintl.org

Missionary’s Email: info@lifeimpactintl.org
Oakdale Contact: Richard & Ginny Lee - rclee1031@yahoo.com

Teams of Nationals Accelerating the Spread of the Gospel Through Local Churches Worldwide. For more information visit https://afciworld.org/

A national church in the Middle East that is reaching out to the people in their community with the Gospel. Oakdale has a personal relationship with the national pastor who leads and disciples the believers.

The Christian School in Coquimbo, Chile serves lower income students who are faced with many challenges. Oakdale has helped the school expand to educate students all the way through High School by providing funding to construct several new additions.

Peacemakers: Crossing the Divide is a film that brings a message of hope in the midst of the seemingly intractable conflict between Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs. The film comes with a 6 week study guide for small groups. The film has been translated in Spanish and will soon be translated in many other languages to reach the Middle East. For more information visit http://www.peacemakersfilm.org

The Persecuted Church Ministry is a multi-faceted effort to help believers in East Africa, particularly Eritrea and Ethiopia, who are persecuted for their faith. The ministry provides educational Zooms to learn about the persecuted including well known speakers like Helen Berhane (youtube.com/watch?v=RyRTBqakNOQ). There is also a prayer ministry which is supported by using prayer guides through Voice of the Martyrs (persecution.com/prayerguide). We encourage financial giving to the “Persecuted Church” through Oakdale Church. Donations will be used to support evangelists who are on the ground bringing the Gospel and hope to the people, and to purchase Audio Bibles that have multiple languages. Our vision for the future is to help Christian African refugees living in Maryland

Community of Hope Academy is located in Monrovia, Liberia. It was founded and is directed by Monroe Parker. Monroe attended Oakdale Church before returning to his home country of Liberia. Liberia was ravaged by war for 14 years. It left an entire generation without education and hope. At the Academy, Monroe and the staff provide basic education and rehabilitation from drugs and alcohol. Many of the students are street children who have never had the opportunity to get an education. The teachers do not have formal training and receive classes on the weekends and during breaks for their own professional growth. Monroe faces many challenges every day - financial, health issues, resistance from the community to see the need for education, students falling back into drugs and alcohol, younger students negatively impacted by older ones, etc. Monroe needs our prayers and support.

Village of Hope is a community of Zambian orphans that live in loving group homes. They have the opportunity to attend School of Hope which is also open to other children in the nearby communities. For more information visit https://www.akclivillageofhope.com/

Beletew Mengesha is the executive director of Voice of Wilderness Development Organization in Ethiopia. Beletew oversees over 18 different projects which includes schools, development programs and training for women. He receives funding from many organizations including embassies. The majority of the programs are for the Afar and Amhara which are unreached people groups with distinct cultures and language. Oakdale began their partnership with Voice of Wilderness in 2016 when we donated refurbished laptops to equip an entire computer lab for an Afar girl’s boarding school. Since then Oakdale has annually donated money which has supported the Afar, relief work from recent fighting and a center for disabled children.