FOR a summary of Kiley’s story and how you can help share in her dream, click here for a downloadable PDF you can print and share with your friends and family.

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THE ORIGINAL STORY

…behind the Kiley Stuesse Mission Center (as told by Your Mission Matters Founder Mike Grober in December 2015):

“As I’m praying for you and your family today, I became so excited with expectation of what God will do this trip. I pray you will be strong and courageous.”

This e-mail, from my cousin Karen, was the first hint that God had a surprise in store on my trip to Peru earlier this month.  And did he ever!

So…after a 30-minute ride in a packed taxi followed by 10 minutes in a moto-taxi (think motorized tricycle with a cover over it) Cesar and I arrived at the house of Betty’s sister Triny in Izcuchaka (pronounced IS-coo-CHAH-ca). I thought we were there to start a house church. God had something much bigger in mind!

The previous week was a blur – visiting the Casa del Aguila orphanage/school/farm, hanging out with my friend Scott Englund with Motomission Peru, and teaching every night in the 13 house churches of YMM’s partner Zona Zegura.

The day before my return to the USA found Cesar and I winding our way out of the Cusco valley towards Izcuchaka, Cesar told me that Betty’s family owned some land that would be perfect for a church camp. Upon arriving, Triny showed us around her store and guinea pig farm before offering to show us the land Cesar had mentioned. After a 30-minute uphill hike through a eucalyptus grove, we arrived at the land overlooking Izcuchaka. It was as I looked out over this valley nestled high in the Andes that God pulled back the curtains and began to unveil a future that totally blew me away! I knew this land would be the launch pad for one of those “little guy with the big God” visions.

As I stood there, mind racing, overwhelmed by the view, I saw:

• A MISSION CENTER preparing and sending out South American missionaries throughout South America and into regions of the world where North Americans are not welcome.
• A STUDENT CAMP where students from the over 1,000 Cusco schools learn and apply biblical values that shape their lives and those of their families for generations to come.
• A VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER offering hope to orphans who “age out” of orphanages and are left to fend for themselves. Our focus would be careers in the hospitality and tourism industries (Cusco has over 800 hotels and 3,000 travel agencies).

I say “began” because the backdrop for the vision did not come into focus until two nights later, just after midnight, as I paced the airport in Lima waiting to board my flight back to the USA.

Lana texted me a copy of a Caring Bridge post from my sister Sheri. Her 27-year-old daughter Kiley is losing her battle with brain cancer.  The doctor asked Kiley what she wanted to do (continue with the chemo or stop altogether). Kiley replied that what she really wanted was to travel the world and tell more people about God. Immediately the backdrop for this vision came into focus.

Your Mission Matters will partner with Zona Zegura and others to build and dedicate a mission campus in Izcuchaka to Kiley, taking her missionary spirit to the world.  We will call it the Kiley Stuesse Mission Center.

So where are we two weeks later?

I met with Kiley and her family and shared our vision. I wish you could have seen how Kiley’s eyes lit up when I asked if we could dedicate the mission center to her!

Our offer for the land has been accepted. The cost, $34,375, is less than half what surrounding land is going for. Our Peruvian partner, Zona Zegura, has committed to raise $5,000 in the next three months (this from a house church network that takes in $500 a month in tithes). YMM has committed to provide the remaining $30,000.

The total estimated cost of the mission center is $225,000. After sharing the vision with Lana’s family this weekend, one of her nieces whispered in my ear that she and her husband would give $10,000!

When I talk about  taking Kiley’s missionary spirit to the world, i’m talking about a 27-year-old lady who has served in Romania, Kenya, Ecuador, Brazil, Kosovo, Puerto Rico, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, and Missouri. I’m talking about a young lady who lived and worked with women’s health organizations and with centers for children with communication deficits. Even after coming down with brain cancer,  Kiley and her husband Curtis continued to dream about moving to Nepal.

So what can you do?

Become a part of “Kiley’s Story” by helping her build the Kiley Stuesse (pronounced STEE-see) Mission Center. YMM has set up an account on its website.  All donations go directly to the mission center and are fully tax deductible. Click here to set up a recurring or a one-time donation. You can make the donation online or mail a check to:

Your Mission Matters
PO Box 55393
Little Rock, AR 72215

Please specify “Kiley’s Story” on your check.

Become an Advocate for “Kiley’s Story.” In addition to your own financial support of the mission center, you will receive a packet with instructions on how to raise funds by sharing “Kiley’s Story.”  To become an Advocate, e-mail me at mike@YourMissionMatters.org .

For those of you who already support YMM, thank you for getting us to where we are today, for championing the little guys with the big God. Just four years ago YMM set out on this journey to find God’s little guys and help them fulfill their God-given mission.  Kiley is one of those little guys.

For those of you who have fallen in love with Kiley’s Story, this is your opportunity to make a difference in the lives of orphans, students and those, like Kiley, who want to “travel the world and tell more people about God.”

Who knows where God wants to go with your story?