Dear friends in Christ,

God instilled a heart for missions at a very young age. When I was in third grade, I began walking myself to a neighborhood church every Wednesday and Sunday. It was then I truly understood that God loved me and that he loved all of his children and that he had a plan for each of us. 

On Wednesdays, all of the elementary kids learned about missions. We learned about missionaries all over the world sharing Christ’s love and bringing hope to the hopeless. I didn’t know it then, but a seed had been planted in my heart. 

Flash forward to 1999, I was a senior in high school, and I had just been confirmed in the Episcopal Church. My mind was filled with getting ready for college, graduating, and being a teenager. Missions were the last thing on my mind. 

I was approached by my Sunday School Teacher, the curate of our church, about an upcoming exploratory mission trip to the Dominican Republic. Our church had never in its history been involved in global missions. A team was being formed that was composed of various people from our church. My Sunday School Teacher asked if I would be interested in going. My emphatic answer was YES! 

My heart was forever changed by that first exploratory trip. I would go on to help lead our youth the very next year to the camp in Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic. Since then, I have served on mission teams to Galveston, TX, Nashville, TN, Las Vegas, NV, Panama, Moldova, and of course to the Dominican Republic. 

My family and I moved to Tampa, FL for my husband’s neurooncology fellowship in June of 2021. My aunt reached out to me to see if I could “help” in the DDG office that was located in Tampa. At the time I was working remotely consulting with various nonprofits and since I had a flexible schedule, I said yes. Over the next few months, my heart began to hear the call to serve God fully through the ministry of the Dominican Episcopal Church and I said yes to becoming the executive director of the DDG.

Over the past few years, I have learned so much about missions from the DDG board, mission teams, our Dominican brothers and sisters, and especially Bishop Moises Quezada. My biggest lesson I’ve learned so far is that as God’s children, we are all a part of his very big kingdom and it’s our job to share our gifts that we have been so graciously given. Mission work is a continuum. We are all serving each other as we are called to do.

My prayer for every Christian is that they would know that there is a place and a purpose for them in mission- and that we are all called to pray, learn, give, and go. 

If you’re thinking about going on a mission trip, feel free to contact me today! Whether you’d like to come a long on an exploratory pilgrimage, work on a weeklong project, or put together a team yourself, our team can help you every step of the way!

Blessings upon blessings,

Christy Wallace

Executive Director

“I pray that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may perceive what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.” Ephesians 1:18-19