TALKING DRUMS

The newsletter of Bill and Sonia Shaw, serving the Lord in Lubumbashi, DR Congo

P.O. Box 1521, Port Orchard, WA 98366

Tel: 564 218 7695 / 564 218 7812

bill.shaw@agwmafrica.org / sonia.shaw@agwmafrica.org

AGWM Acct# 2162196      

Giving link: https://rb.gy/sg7eg                 

Summer 2025

 

“Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,

and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice” (Proverbs 27:9).

 

After five weeks of training the next generation of Mongolian church leaders, we landed in Seattle the day after Easter to begin several months of sharing how the Lord has proven himself faithful in the DR Congo. After crossing the International Date Line, we arrived at the same time as our departure from Mongolia—but fifteen hours later! Our bodies wrestled with what time OR day we existed for about a week!

 

While stateside, we share our Port Orchard, WA, home with daughter Gwen and her husband Kenn Jones and enjoy the opportunity to spend time with them.

 

Six days after landing our first itineration service took place in Bremerton, WA. We left immediately afterwards for Cœur d’Alene, ID, where the Northwest Ministry Network held its annual conference at the end of April. What a wonderful time of inspiration and reconnection with long-time friends and supporters! We wrapped up the conference at the 80^th birthday party for one of our early ministry mentors, Pastor Ray Jennings, the lead pastor at Hillcrest Assembly in Bremerton during our youth ministry years (April 1978 to December 1984).

 

Since our arrival we have travelled roughly 10,000 miles by car, shared with more than a dozen churches, and met with 25 other support teams or individuals. We recently returned from a three-week road trip visiting churches, friends, and family members as we traveled to Springfield, MO, for AGWM’s annual renewal conference for returning global workers. Worship and stirring messages filled the morning sessions. In the afternoons, we broke up into area studies for every region where AGWM has a presence. AGWM runs the best program for third culture kids, and our three grandchildren participated this year. We enjoyed sharing an AirBNB with our daughter’s family during the conference—most likely the only time we will participate in this convention together.

 

While in Missouri we also spent some time with two of our previous Engage interns, one of whom was commissioned this summer. Both will serve in sensitive access countries, so we cannot share their names in this missive. Just know how proud we are of these young women, as well as another young lady, who did not attend the conference but already serves! And the beat goes on . . .

 

Speaking of multiplying ministry, in this picture we have three “generations” of global workers. In the middle you see Jerry and Vickie Brown, Bill’s youth pastors from the early 70s. They served as global workers in Latin America and have retired in Springfield. Around them you see three generations of our family now serving around the world.

 

Wednesday morning of that week, we received a certificate for 40 years of service with AGWM, along with several other dear friends, including some from the NWMN. Here we have the honorees from our continent, including Africa Directors Greg and Danna Beggs on the left. Earlene Ligon, to the right of Sonia, received a certificate commemorating 50 years of overseas ministry with her husband Dan. He recently passed to eternity in Jos, Nigeria, where they were translating the Bible into Hausa. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants” (Psalm 116:15). On the far right stand Gayle and Carrol Deal, who served forty years in the Central African nation of Equatorial Guinea.

 

We highly recommend following this link to listen to John Easter, our AGWM Executive Director, as he outlines the direction we are going as a sending agency:

https://vimeo.com/1095656227/09dfa5faa7 .

 

Near the conclusion of our trip, following a service in Hamilton, MT, we spent time at family camp for the Montana Ministry Network in Hungry Horse, where Sonia received her calling into ministry many years ago. We enjoyed seeing friends from previous furloughs and Northwest University days, as well as acquaintances from Sonia’s youth group in Great Falls.

We delight in reconnecting with life-long friends during our stateside visits. As John Belushi said, “We’re putting the band back together!” In June we met several of our “kids” and their parents from our youth ministry days at Hillcrest Assembly. On the far right stands Nancy Valnes, a global worker of over thirty years now serving in Eastern Europe.

 

Our road trip also included a stop in Hood River, OR, where we spent time reminiscing with another “kid” from our youth group, Harvey Walls, his wife Donna, and their daughter and son-in-law, Allie and Daniel. Harvey and Donna served as children’s pastors for many years but decided to “retire” and support their children’s new ministry of mentoring at-risk youth and foster children in Tennessee. And the beat goes on . . .

Let us continue to invest in the next generation!

 

We have exciting news to share from the nation of Chad, where we worked from 1998-2010. The Bible school in Moundou recently graduated 28 new church leaders. Altogether 128 pastors have launched into ministry from the school since its establishment in 2009, tripling the number of AG pastors in that arid nation. Several of them planted churches in towns that previously claimed 100% Muslim citizenship. “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:19).

 

Blessings and Godspeed,

 

Bill and Sonia Shaw

 

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