Full Time Missionaries

William and Sharyn Vaughan

It was a privilege and I am grateful for being brought up in a home where my parents were faithful in teaching us the Bible, even hearing many stories of missionaries and the places where they served the Lord.  At a young age I came to realise through the teaching I got from home and at Sunday School that I was a sinner and needed to trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of my sin (Rom 3:23, 6:23).  I couldn’t come into a right relationship with God through my parents but through Jesus Christ alone (John14:6).  So my parents were instrumental in leading in coming to salvation.

With my dad being a pastor my siblings and I were taught how we could be involved in the life of the church and serve, even as young as we were.  But I also had a desire to serve.  But there was one big problem – I was quite a shy person, especially when having to face people.  I would rather have the earth open up and swallow me.  I learned how to deal with it to a certain extent.  I even got involved with our youth group and later even helped lead that ministry until I finished school and left home to serve in the compulsory military service at the time.

Maybe my choice of career even somewhat reflects my shyness – I trained to be a motor mechanic.  Trucks, cars and engines don’t talk back.  During my apprenticeship I moved to Boksburg which was closer to my work place and then went to work for Mercedes Benz.  I met my wife, Sharyn, at the Baptist church in Boksburg and was married less than 2 years later.  We even spoke about the possibility of serving the Lord full-time in ministry but I felt and even said to others that asked if I was considering it, that the Lord will have to show me very clearly that this is what He wanted.  Sharyn and I were very active in the life of our church and served wherever we could.

I had a good job and promising prospects for the future with Mercedes Benz after being with them for over 6 years, but decided to go work for someone else who offered for me to help run a workshop.  This did not last very long and I opened up my own business, my own workshop.  All through this time I felt the Lord was using these times of change to challenge me as to where I was going with my life.  I never said anything to anyone and even said that if I could do well in my business and make enough money, then I could go and be better equipped in seminary and pay my own way without having to leach off other people for my needs.  Well, the Lord had to teach me many things through this.  Things went ok for about a year then He clearly showed me through events that took place and the reading of Scripture that this is not where He wanted me to be.  I had to humbly submit to God and put my trust in Him, especially now at a time when I was in financial trouble.  I was able to pay all my debts through the sale of some of my workshop equipment and the help of family, friends and a church who supported us in our decision in following the Lord in obedience to serve in full-time ministry.

During my 4 years of study Sharyn and I asked the Lord to take us to the place where He wanted us to be, and so we even put a map of the world on our kitchen wall to remind us that we were open to wherever God wanted us to be.  For us it became clear that our own continent of Africa is the place that He wanted us and I believe God brought us into contact with Samaria Mission so that in this team we could be His instruments in His hands to reach out to the lost.  My desire has been to help churches grow and develop into churches that in turn go out with the Gospel.  2 Tim 2:2 challenges us to find faithful men to teach the Word of God who in turn will do the same.  I am often reminded of the words of my father to me before joining Samaria Mission, khruxon ton logon, PREACH THE WORD! 2 Tim 4:2. 

Sean and Gena Mullin

Sean and Gena were called to full time ministry in 1993. They left the United States for South Africa in September 1995 and served with Jesus Alive Ministries for 3 years in their aviation department maintaining and flying aircraft throughout Africa.

They joined Samaria Mission in January 2002. Sean heads up the practical side of the ministry, such as construction and well drilling. He also assists with teaching and leads teams on outreach into Mozambique.

Gena is a huge blessing when it comes to repairing and making things that we need for our ministry. Her creativeness with a sewing machine is astounding! She is also a great help when it comes to making sure that the guys will have food on their trips into Mozambique and she is becoming quite the professional in whipping up "padkos" (road food) for them!

Another part of their ministry is promoting awareness of the work of Samaria Mission and motivating churches across the United States to be involved, by sending short-term teams and assisting financially in the work of the Samaria Mission.

Sean and Gena have a long-term commitment to serve the Lord with Samaria Mission according to His will and purpose.

Andrew works as an IT and internet technician and Nikki is married to Gabriel Pretorius .

Gordon and Santie Hayes

Gordon joined Samaria Mission in 2003 and has served as Administrator since joining the Mission – his knowledge of the corporate world is a huge asset in the running of the Mission. Gordon is a Gideon and is very involved in Bible distribution to the rural schools in the Limpopo Province, he occasionally assists with training in Mozambique and is involved in short term outreaches. Santie serves as one of the secretaries of Christ Baptist Church and is a blessing to us with her willingness to help out wherever needed. They have 2 grown children, a son-in-law and a grandson.

Doug and Debbie Crawford

Our journey in missions really started when my wife Deb who had been on previous missions trips and such began to pray that God would stir in my heart a desire for missionary work.

But this prayer wouldn’t be answered until the fall of 2006. We had just started attending 2nd Baptist Church in West Frankfort, IL my home town. We were asked by our Pastor Brett Beasley if we would be interested in going to Mozambique with the church on a short-term mission trip. We both said “yes” not knowing how God would use this trip to change our lives.

2007 was our first trip to Xicumbane, Mozambique with Samaria Mission. God touched both of us through this trip. We felt God was calling us to work here with Samaria Mission that first year. We wanted to make sure we were not being led by an emotional experience of our first mission trip. We began to pray about our desire to come and minister to the people of Mozambiqe.

We continued to pray and came on outreaches again in 2008 and 2009. It was during the last day of our 2009 trip that Bro. Joe Zibenden also from 2nd Baptist shared Matt. 9:37, 38 in our morning devotion: Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” He shared that we shouldn’t be surprised if when we are praying for workers God wants to use us as His workers. When we returned to Polokwane we spoke with Pastor Johann about the possibility of coming to be a part of the mission. He encouraged us and after seeking counsel with our pastor in 2009 we took the step of faith and said “Yes, we will go” and asked our church family to join us in prayer.

We worked on paying off our debt and put our house up for sale. We continued to pray and began reading books on missions. God in different ways made Psalm 96:2, 3 very real to us: Sing to the Lord, bless his name. Proclaim good tidings of his salvation from day to day. Tell of his glory among the nations, his wonderful deeds among all the peoples. This became our missions verse. We began to realize that what we knew in our hearts was truly from God.

We did not come in 2010 because of our house being up for sale. God sold our little 1100 sq. feet home in a matter of three months in a very down market. He also sold our van in a way He could only put together two weeks before we were to leave but that story is for another time.

So in June of 2011 we came with our church team, 4 suitcases and 6 action packers filled with what was left of our belongings to begin our new life in service to the Lord.

While I will still be a part of leader training, I am going to start spending more time with Sean and learning more about well-drilling. Upon Gabriel leaving, Deb and I have started overseeing the orphan ministry. Deb teaches the women leaders each month in Xicumbane and takes care of the clothing room ministry.

We give God all the glory for us being able to be here. We are thankful also for you all as a church family that have welcomed us and allowed us to not just be a part of the body but to be able to be a part of the ministries here within the church also.

Brad and Jill Hixon

Member Ngobeni

Darren Early

Derrick and Sarah Chauke

Derrick Chaukehas served Samaria Mission since 1998 and is a vital part of the team.  His knowledge of the language and people of Mozambique and his ability to read a situation is vital in our cross-cultural ministry, he goes into Mozambique on a monthly basis as part of the Leadership training team.  Derrick is married to Sarah, they have a son, Akisano and a daughter, Angarelani. 

Mark and Alicia Raley

I have been in law enforcement since I was 21. Alicia had studied to be a teacher, but took a position as the preschool coordinator at our church. In 2003, Sean Mullin came to our church to present Samaria Mission to the congregation. Afterwards, our pastoral staff decided to organize a trip to join Samaria Mission. For many years, I have had a deep inner feeling to go to Africa but had never pursued it. This opportunity presented itself and I put my name on the list. Alicia decided to attend the first meeting with me and the others wanting to go on the trip. Before we left the meeting, Alicia had put her name on the list as well. So we made our vacation dates with our employers and proceeded to raise funds. This is when our real journey begins… In October 2003, we went on our first outreach trip to Matsilele, Mozambique, and both the Mullin’s and the Vaughan’s lead this team. The Lord began to open our eyes to missions and the importance of taking the Gospel to the unreached. October 8th is our anniversary, and on that evening, we sat underneath a full moon in Mozambique reading the Bible. Alicia and I questioned each other as we both knew God was calling us to be involved in missions. Upon returning home, we were very careful not to make any decisions on a "mountain top" experience. Several church members would randomly approach us about when we were going to be involved in missions full-time. God opened our eyes to the work He was inviting us to join Him with. The following year (2004), I had an opportunity to go to Guatemala and work with Pat and Charlie Reynolds, who at the time were involved with taking the gospel to the local law enforcement. I spent 2 weeks there and had a great time and enjoyed the work we were able to do. The Lord used this trip to continue to grow a love for missions in our heart, especially for Mozambique. In 2005, we once again joined Samaria Mission on an outreach. The desire to move to Africa became stronger and we began to talk to people about serving full time in missions. In 2006, we went back on outreach to Mozambique and took our 2 children with us (age 6 and 11 at the time). We felt like the Lord was continuing to open a door for us to move and join Samaria Mission and we wanted Brit and Luke to experience it. We were able to come on outreach again in 2007 and began to talk to the mission staff about the possibilities of joining them full time. They invited us to stay for one extra week after the outreach in 2008 so that we could meet and interview with the staff and elders of Christ Baptist Church. After returning in 2008, the Lord continued to work in us and was moving us to join Samaria Mission but we just were not sure of the timing. We prayed and sought wisdom from the Lord on what to do. This was not a move we could do on our own but one that had to be guided by Him. Together we studied Experiencing God, by Henry Blackaby. Chapter 18 is titled, "Joining God Requires Obedience." It is a great chapter and in it Henry Blackaby says that obedience is costly to you and those around you but disobedience is far more costly. God was opening a door for us to serve as full time missions and we knew we had to obey him. We have to trust that His plans are perfect for our family. We began to make steps toward the move, with LOTS of prayer, trusting the Lord to open or closed doors as we walked. As 2008 ended and 2009 begin, we started raising full time support, resigned from our jobs, sold our house and vehicles, and moved in June of 2009. We arrived at our new home on June 24th. We are so grateful for Samaria Mission and CBC, who together, made us feel at home in South Africa. It has been and continues to be a journey, one that is sometimes difficult but most of all we praise the Lord for allowing us to serve Him here. We love working with the mission and being able to build relationships with the people of Mozambique and South Africa and share the gospel of Jesus Christ with them. I think about the twelve apostles, particularly Matthew. Matthew was not the best qualified to be a priest, but he was a tax collector and publican, he was despised by the Jews for the position he held. Yet, God called him to be a follower, an Apostle. We may not have been the best qualified or educated to be involved in God’s calling on our lives, but God’s calling on our lives qualifies us to join Him at His work.

Truly Truter

Truly has been our bookkeeper since 2001. Her knowledge and insight in good bookkeeping has been a tremendous help to Mission over the years. Truly is married to Daan and has two sons and a daughter and two daughter-in-laws and have a grandson.