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We have had an incredible REACH Week so far, and we’re only halfway through!

Last Saturday night, we heard from Oleg and Marina Reutki (Moldova). On Sunday morning, Dan C (Asia) shared, and we had more than 30 Calvary missionaries on campus! Sunday night, we worshiped together and listened to powerful stories from Ireland, Spain, the Middle East, and Asia.

From Monday through this morning, we were away on retreat with our missionary partners. We had a special time of encouragement, rest, prayer, and connection.

And we’re not done yet!

Tonight at 7:00 pm:

• Global Family Fun Night in Fellowship Hall (for kids and parents)
• Students Global Night in the Underground - Middle School and High School Ministries with a Missions Focus
• Global Prayer Night in the Chapel - gathering to pray for our partners and for people they're reaching around the world

Then the rest of the week continues:

• Thursday Night – College & Young Adults will hear stories of adventure and God’s faithfulness from Lloyd and Nancy Peckham
• Friday at 7:00 pm – Hispanic Global Dinner in Fellowship Hall (Español)
• Saturday at 9:00am – All Generations Global Brunch in Fellowship Hall and S-7
• Closing Global Sunday – Featuring one of our mission partners from the Middle East and missionaries sharing in LifeGroups

We invite you to jump in over these next few days and allow God to stir your heart for people and the nations.

Last Saturday, we honored Calvary member Helen Williams as our 2026 Reach Volunteer of the Year. Helen is 98 years old and has made an extraordinary impact on our missionaries through her hospitality and faithful prayers.

We asked Helen to share why she has cared for missionaries so consistently and compassionately over the years. She wrote a beautiful letter that reflects her heart and wisdom.

I encourage you to read it and be inspired.

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Helen Williams reflections on caring for missionaries...
From the reflections of Helen, age 98

My dear young friends,

At ninety-eight years old, I’ve lived long enough to know this: people are people everywhere — whether they’re servicemen wandering the streets of Santa Ana in the 1950s, or missionaries returning home from the far side of the world. And people, no matter the decade, need a place to belong.

When I was young, we used to welcome servicemen who had nowhere to go. We, at Calvary Church, rolled cots out from under the old stage in Fellowship Hall. I made sandwiches in a tiny kitchen. We gave them a meal, a conversation, and a bed. That was a tangible lesson in hospitality: you don’t need much — just a willing heart and an open door.

Years later, that same kind of hospitality was how I cared for missionaries.

Missionaries weren’t names on a paper or faces in a handbook to us. They sat at our table. They slept in the extra room. They became friends — sometimes almost family. When they came home tired, overwhelmed, or unsure of where they fit after years overseas, we wanted our home to be a place where they felt seen and welcomed.

And I discovered something:
When you open your home, you open your heart. And when you open your heart, you gain far more than you give.
Hosting missionaries brought me joy — real joy. I loved hearing their stories, laughing at their mishaps, praying over their needs, and connecting them with others who needed to hear what God was doing through them. A single meal often grew into a lifelong friendship. Many mornings, I prayed through a binder full of missionary names, updates, photos, and requests. They weren’t strangers. They were people I knew. People I cared for. People I loved.

And that’s what I want you, the younger generations, to know:
Missionaries still need friends — not just supporters.
They need homes — not just hotels.
They need people — not just programs.

You don’t have to be called to foreign missions to be part of God’s work around the world. You just have to be willing to care. Invite a missionary into your home. Ask questions. Listen. Share a meal. Learn their story. Pray for them by name. Let them become real to you.

Because when you do, something beautiful happens:
They stop being “missionaries”
and start being
people — cherished, prayed for, and loved.
When you offer hospitality, you give them a place to breathe.
When you offer friendship, you give them strength to keep going.
And in the process, your own faith grows — sometimes in ways you can’t see until years later.

I only had one life to live. But through opening my home, God gave me a hand in many corners of the world — places I never would have reached on my own.

And that is my encouragement to you:
Let your home become part of the Great Commission.
Let your table become a place where God’s stories are told.
Let your hospitality become a bridge that carries the Gospel across generations.

One open door can change everything.
It certainly did for me.

Thank you.
Mrs. Helen Williams

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Aren’t these incredible words of wisdom! May we continue to care for missionaries at Calvary like Helen has for so many years.

I look forward to seeing you at the rest of this week’s Reach Week events!

Matt Doan
Reach Pastor