Dorothy Ford knows a thing or two about trusting in God’s provision. From her childhood in rural Minnesota to the mission fields of the Congo and Alaska and, in recent years, making her home at Covenant Villages of Golden Valley, Minnesota, Dorothy has come to understand the deep generosity of God.

Modeled by her faithful and hard-working parents, Dorothy’s resilient spirit and strong work ethic helped her thrive in the mission field. She enjoyed making all of her own food from scratch, fighting off a variety of ‘critters’, and building schools from the ground up. Not much threw her off, and she was able to improvise through all kinds of life’s surprises, including the kind that bothered her the most: snakes, ants, rodents of unusual size, and those pesky and dangerous malaria-carrying mosquitos.

“I was very susceptible to malaria.” remembers Dorothy. “During my 20 years in the Congo, it seemed like I contracted the disease every six months. Luckily, treatment was readily available for me.” she continued. “Many of the Congolese weren’t so fortunate.’

Although she didn’t have much by way of material goods for much of her life, she felt a keen appreciation for God’s generosity and found great joy in paying it forward.

One of her favorite opportunities to be generous came as a surprise in 1946 during a village trip. One of her students told her of his sister who was dying, and of the baby who would now also die without his mother. Dorothy stepped up to care for the infant boy. Within days, a second baby was brought to her. Ann Berg, a missionary with her, took this infant. Ann and Dorothy raised the infants until they could be adopted by Africans. She fondly refers to these little boys as her “Congo surprises.” As a result of her bravery and generous spirit, her Congolese neighbors gave her the name, Demomo, which means Child of Love, because she worked in the villages with their children and showed them love. She also proudly received the name, “Mama na Camion” or “Mother of Trucks,” because she was the only female missionary skilled and, at that time, brave enough to drive the local trucks on the precarious and often dangerous roadways, and maybe even more so because her name was Ford which was also the name that appeared on all the trucks.

As a Covenant Missionary, Dorothy appreciated the faithfulness of supporters from all over the Covenant that made it possible for her to serve in Africa and Alaska. She is grateful that she can now do the same for others. She has generously supported Covenant missionaries, as well as the Paul Carlson Partnership since returning to the United States in 1964. In addition, she has remembered the Evangelical Covenant Church through a generous bequest in her estate plan.

Dorothy has made plans to leave a legacy that will provide resources for the church to continue to join God in God’s mission to see more disciples, among more populations, in a more caring and just world.

“I grew up in the Covenant Church and Covenant World Mission has been a major part of my life.” says Dorothy. I look back on my years as a missionary with great fondness and appreciation. “

“I want to give back so I have provided for an undesignated bequest to the church in my will to be used where it can accomplish the greatest good.”

In addition to generous giving that broadly supports the church and its many ministry expressions, Owen and Linda Youngman, members of Libertyville (IL) Covenant Church, have been members of the President’s Circle for over two decades. Their giving reflects a life of gratitude and a deep commitment to what God is doing in the world through the Covenant Church.

Linda and I have been associated with the Covenant for literally our entire lives, since each of us was born in a Covenant hospital – me at Swedish Covenant in Chicago, Linda at Emanuel in Turlock, California. We were raised in Covenant churches and grew up participating in their music ministries, Linda playing the piano and me playing the trombone.

We attended Covenant camps, went to CHIC the same year (but in different locations — Linda in Estes Park, Colorado, and me in Speculator, New York), and wound up at North Park College, where we met and where we were married in Isaacson Chapel on a very, very hot August day. We’ve attended Covenant churches throughout our lives, and have been attending and serving through Libertyville Covenant since 1987. My father is a retired Covenant pastor.

We also have seen the impact of the Covenant’s work as a denomination up close. Along the way, Linda served for a time as managing editor of the Covenant Companion, and I have served on the boards of Swedish Covenant, North Park, and of the denomination. For as long as we can remember, we had cousins serving as Covenant missionaries, in Congo and in Taiwan. Our parents have benefitted from living in Covenant retirement facilities, as did my father’s parents. And many of our most valued friends are those we made during our years at North Park – and their children.

We know from experience and observation the impact the Covenant has had on real people in real places, spreading the Gospel at home and abroad.” Giving to Friends of World Mission, Kingdom Builders, North Park, Swedish Covenant, our regional conference and our local church, makes us feel like we are helping to meet the current needs of real people.

Still, the institutions that enable ministry to happen need support too, and that’s why we have been giving to the President’s Circle every year since Milt Engebretson invited us to join in 1990. And, that’s why the denomination has a central place in our estate plan (along with North Park). We agree with President Gary Walter, who often says that God has called the Evangelical Covenant Church for a particular purpose at this juncture in time. Supporting the President’s Circle is an important way that Covenanters can help the church to fulfill that purpose.”

There’s no way to overstate the role the Covenant has played in our lives. And there’s no better way for us to respond other than to give joyfully, and encourage others to do the same.