Our Story  

 
Personal Background: Pat was born in Independence, Missouri. He grew up there with his parents and two older brothers. At the age of 15, when invited by a neighbor friend, Pat went to a Bible teaching-centered church for the first time, and received Christ as his Lord and Savior. Two months later at a Missions Conference, Pat dedicated his life to being involved in missions to unreached peoples. Tena was born on in Independence, Missouri. At age 13 Tena received Christ as her Lord and Savior as a result of her parents' death. Even though Pat and Tena were acquainted with one another through church during their high school years, they did not date seriously and get engaged until their senior year in college. Pat and Tena were married in November 1985. During their first term as missionaries, they had two children in Africa, Rachel Danae (Sept. 1990) and Nadia Marie (Dec. 1992). During their second term as missionaries, they had a child in Africa, Sean Patrick (Jan. 1997).

Schooling: During the Spring semester of Pat's senior year in high school, he began to further his missions training at Open Door Baptist Bible College. Pat graduated from that school in 1985 with a Graduate of Theology degree. He and Tena spent a year studying French at the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi in 1989. Pat received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Missions from Calvary Bible College in Kansas City in May of 1999. Following Tena's high school graduation in 1981, she graduated from Bob Jones University in 1985 with a B.A. in Practical Christian Training.

Christian Service prior to Missionary Involvement: Pat's Christian service was local church oriented. While he was still in high school he served as a Sunday school teacher, as well as in a bus ministry. While in college, Pat was involved in leading a youth ministry, working in the bus ministry, leading worship services in a retirement home, being a church song leader, and leading a discipleship group. Pat has been an effective leader since he was in high school and desires to invest his life in eternal values: God's word and people. Tena was involved in a bus ministry while in high school. However, during her college years she was involved in juvenile delinquent ministries as well as child evangelism teams. While working in these ministries she saw the results of God's working in those young people's lives, who were searching for answers to life's problems.

Missionary Experience: During the summer of 1984, Pat received an opportunity to spend the summer as a short term missionary to the Muslims in Senegal, West Africa. At that time he determined, Lord willing, to return to work among the Muslims of West Africa. A couple years after Pat and Tena were married, they heard of the work God was doing in Mali, West Africa through the partnership of Gospel Missionary Union's (GMU) missionaries to Mali and the Malian churches they had planted. In July 1988 they applied and were appointed by GMU as missionaries to Mali, developed their support team, and in January, 1989 went to French language school in Quebec. After a year of study and ministry there, they went on to Mali in January, 1990. They finished an eventful,and productive first term in Mali in May 1993, served stateside for a year of home ministries until May 1994, then returned to Mali for their second term of service there. During this second term, from May, ‘94 to May ‘98, they worked with the Malian churches to reach the Muslims in the historic Segou Region of Mali. They served stateside again for a year of Home Ministries from June, ‘98 to July, ‘99. They served a third term in Mali from July ’99 to June ‘02, basing out of the capital Bamako, continuing their ministry of leadership development in evangelism and discipleship, working with Malian pastors, churches, and church leaders, to reach the unreached peoples of Mali.
Since June 2004, Pat and Tena have been serving with Wycliffe Bible Translators. They served in Mali West Africa, assisting with translation teams in getting the Bibleless peoples of Mali access to God’s Word, from 2005 through 2007.
They are currently serving in Dallas, Texas in the area of Scripture Use Training and Recruitment.


My Salvation Experience by Patrick J. Walkinshaw

I was saved on July 9, 1978. This was the summer before my Sophomore year in High School. I was 15. I had never gone to church much, and never one that taught the Bible as the authoritative Word of God. My family were members of a Christian (Disciples of Christ) Church.

At that time in my life I was a troubled young man, in search of something. I had no idea what the Bible said I needed to do. Eccl 12:1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them". What a stormy adolescence I was going through! I was lost and alone in a topsy-turvy world. I had friends, I was popular, I was an A student, and I was athletic, and I was unhappy and empty.

The week prior to my salvation a neighbor friend who was a couple years older than me, started taking an interest in me, and we started running around together. It was great having a friend who had a car. He would talk about God, Jesus, and the Bible, and pray over his food, even a quick hamburger from McDonalds. I could see that God was real in his life. He invited me to church. Although hesitant and skeptical, I consented.

It was an independent Baptist church, on a Sunday morning, and the pastor was preaching from Revelation. I remember he said something about how people who weren't born again Christians would never have any rest (There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image; Rev. 14:11), and I remember thinking how much I wanted rest for my heart and soul. Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matt. 11:28-30) There was an invitation afterwards, and my friend encouraged me to go forward, to not be embarrassed, and that he would go with me. I did, and a counselor showed me how to be saved (it didn't take much to convince me that I was a sinner), and led me in a prayer to tell God I wanted to receive His payment for the penalty of my sins.

At that time I admitted I was I sinner (Rom. 3:23), and that I deserved God's punishment and eternal separation from Him for my sin (Rom. 6:23). I recognized that I couldn't save myself (Eph. 2:8-9), and that God loves me, having Christ die on the cross to pay the penalty of my sin (Rom. 5:8). Through prayer I confessed Christ as my risen Lord and Savior (Rom. 10:9-10), and thanked Him for saving me.

That day many questions that had subconsciously been in my heart were answered and I found purpose and meaning to life. 2 Cor 5:15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. What a release and relief it was! I still had a lot to learn, and didn't understand a lot of things, and the Bible was a dark and mysterious book, but I knew Jesus had entered into my heart and life, and that I would never be the same. 2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

That very night I came back to church with my friend and was baptized (Acts 2:41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.). My family thought that I had gone crazy, but with time they've seen that what I have is real. Jesus changed my life.