The Walk of Faith is an honor/memorial pathway for those who love missions and inspire others in missions. It is for those famous names we all hear often, like Annie Armstrong and Lottie Moon, yes, but it also includes those unsung missions heroes, like the Girls in Action leader you had as a child or perhaps a coworker who has helped you in your walk with Christ.
Cherry Himstedt, Sherry Smith, and Denise May recently took the opportunity to honor their mother with a brick on the Walk of Faith. “Our mother, Jo Lee, has been a participant in and a promoter of missions for many years,” explained Cherry. “She served as a missionary in Peru and at the Baptist Spanish Publishing House from 1960 until 1974, and, from 1999 until 2009, she was the Associational WMU Director for the San Antonio Baptist Association.”
Mrs. Jo Lee found her missions passion through the work she did with WMU and it showed in the life she led. “She was a member of the Texas WMU Board for a number of years while also serving as third and second Vice President of Texas WMU,” continued Cherry. “She was also an Area Equipper for South Texas and a board member for the San Antonio Christian Women’s Job Corps. On the local church level, our mother has been a WMU Director, Women on Mission Director, Prayer Coordinator, and Acteens Leader.”
While Mrs. Jo Lee’s name might not come up in your next WMU meeting the way Annie’s or Lottie’s might, her story and love for missions deserves to be celebrated. There are so many stories like Mrs. Lee’s that need to be told and heard to help us remember the work we are doing is important and valuable. She might not have realized at the time the difference she was making in her daughters’ lives, but it clearly made an impact. “We are proud to recognize our mother for her years of service on the Walk of Faith,” concluded Cherry.
Do you have someone in your life whose missions story needs to be told? What better way to honor them with a brick on the Walk of Faith, putting their brick alongside missions advocates like Annie Armstrong, Lottie Moon, and Mrs. Jo Lee?
When you honor someone with a brick, 100% of your gift goes to the Wanda Lee Joy Fund to help with operating expenses for national WMU. Regular-sized bricks are $250 and offer three lines of text, and large bricks are $500 and offer six lines of text.
You can visit wmufoundation.com/walkoffaith to learn more, order a brick, or to request more information by mail.
Written by Maegan Dockery, WMU Foundation communications manager.