Hafa Adai from the beautiful island of Guam.

“When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” (Isaiah 43:2)

This verse resonates with me deeply and characterizes my personal missionary journey up until now. All along the journey, I knew the steps taken were what the Lord had for me to take. This is a brief testimony:

When we landed in Guam on September 10, 2000, the Lord had a burden ready and waiting for me to bear. That specific burden became heavier over time, no matter how much I asked the Lord to remove it or how hard I tried to remove it myself; it was mine to bear, and I knew it. I was in God’s will for my life and doing it, yet I had to bear that burden while doing it. For me personally, 2024 was the most difficult year, and when it ended, I did not know how I was going to be able to continue to bear that burden. But then, at the beginning of January 2025, through a series of circumstances which seemingly came out of nowhere and were out of my hands, the Lord turned my “captivity,” which led to that specific burden being removed from me. And this also happened before my 55th birthday. I am so happy!

“When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.”
(Psalm 126:1-3)

The Lord continues to use me personally to lead people to Christ. Since my last update, the Lord has used me to lead 32 people to Christ, and for January, the Lord used me to lead 25 people to Christ.

One evening while soul winning, a man came walking towards me holding a ten-foot-tall stalk of bamboo. Before he got too close, I said, “Hey, that looks like Moses’ staff.” The man’s face broke out into a smile. He then laughed and said, “Yeah, right? Moses’ stick!” As we admired the bamboo, he told me he had found it at the beach on his walk home from work. It was then that I introduced myself and asked if he knew for sure he would go to Heaven. He did not know and allowed me to explain the Gospel to him. He acknowledged that he understood and believed it and then prayed with me to receive Christ into his heart as his Saviour.

A different time, I met a man who had an angry spirit and wild-looking eyes. I was hesitant to talk with him but decided to anyway. When I asked if he knew whether he would go to Heaven when he died, tears welled up in his eyes, and he said that he had “hurt a lot of people.” He allowed me to explain the Gospel and prayed to receive Christ as his Saviour. When we finished praying, he seemed relieved, shook my hand with a firm grip, and in a serious tone said, “Thank you.”

Island Baptist Church said goodbye to one of our faithful Mun-um-ko (“elderly”). Ms. Gloria Mecate “graduated to Heaven.” She was our church “grandma” and especially dear to my wife. The loss was great. As our church folks continue to be faithful, the Lord continues to bless them for it in tangible ways, such as one of our faithful elderly ladies still having a damaged house from the last typhoon and waiting for the approval for a “disaster loan” to fix it. She recently went to a funeral and crossed paths with a man who had fixed her house after a typhoon more than twenty years ago. He went and looked at the damage and said he could fix it for a fraction of the cost estimated for the loan. Now, if she wants to, she can pay for the repairs out of pocket instead of taking out that loan. The Lord was so good to her! As the Lord blesses our folks, there are those who want to talk with their family members about the Lord to receive Christ. We pray that the Lord prepares their hearts for the Gospel and gives opportunity for their salvations.

Thank you for faithfully praying for and supporting us. We take great comfort in knowing that our Stateside supporters care about us and pray for us. Please continue to pray for our health and safety, Island Baptist Church, Guam, and Micronesia.

In His harvest field,

Dan Rothwell and Family