About Us

Jim and Linda Dortch, Phoenix, Arizona, United States

Core Values:  Rescued by Christ, Resolved through purpose, Ready to serve

     We both grew up with a strong Christian heritage.  Jim, the son of a Baptist minister and Linda, the daughter of Baptist Sunday School teachers.  Our lives intersected in Memphis, Tennessee at the Millington Naval Hospital in 1970 where Linda was full-time employed with the American Red Cross and Jim had just returned from Viet Nam serving as a Navy Medic with the Marine Corps. Soon after we met on a hospital ward, we knew that our families had to meet who we had found.  Ninety days after our first date, we had a beautiful wedding.  Three and half  years later, our son, Matthew, was born.  By this time, Jim had completed his college degree at the University of Arkansas while Linda had taught high school English/Drama.  Jim began a corporate career resulting in multiple transfers and relocations within the Midwest and Southwest regions.  When Matt graduated from high school and headed off to college, Linda went back to school earning an Associate Arts in Interpreting for the Deaf and a Master of Arts in Education/TESOL (Teaching English to Students of Other Languages)from the University of Kansas.
     Regardless of where we lived, we were always active in church and ministries.  Missions had always held a special place in our hearts, but, through God's Providence, the TESOL degree played a role in moving us from listening to missionary stories to nudging us to become more deeply involved within the international community.  We began taking mission trips overseas, and each time we returned, we had been changed by our encounters with other cultures and peoples.  We did not intentionally identify the stirring during this time, but our hearts were being warmed and called into missions.  
    After we moved to St. Louis, we welcomed internationals from our university contacts into our home for dinners, cultural events and weekly Bible studies for more than twelve years.   Then, a message delivered by a dear missionary friend, whose family served in Ivory Coast, West Africa, played a pivotal role in our final decision - how we would spend our retirement years.  By this time, we had travelled overseas numerous times and had had more than two decades of teaching, reaching, interacting, and learning from international students.
     Upon retiring (semi-retiring), in December 2010, we chose to re-locate in Phoenix, Arizona, which offers outdoor living when not traveling overseas.  As a result of our decision to be an active part of missions, we attended Intercultural Training to become volunteers in a ministry that enables people to serve in all regions of the world.

•      In retrospect, although we didn't know it at the time, God had been working behind the scenes to place steppingstones that walked us toward His Great Commission:  "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."  (Matthew 28:19-20) 

          We are:

• Rescued by Christ 
• Resolved through purpose
• Ready to serve.