Missionary Spotlight – Doug and Ellen Rolando

Like many of the Awana missionaries, I do not personally know Doug and Ellen. They are relatively new to the Awana mission field as full-time missionaries, but their desire to reach kids for Christ is not new. Doug was recommended to me to be highlighted by a fellow Awana missionary, so if you know of a missionary that I should shine the spotlight on, then I encourage you to let me know. Doug joins a team of missonaries serving in Texas and I know that Doug and Ellen will be used mightily by God as the serve the churches in their region.

As I always do, I asked Doug some questions and below are his responses. My prayer is that this will help you get to know him, his family and ministry a little bit better:

How long have you been an Awana Missionary?

We have been Awana Missionaries for 1 yr and 10 months.

What area do you serve? We serve in South Central Texas

# of churches under your care: Approximately 140

Fun Facts: Favorite food, favorite sport, something interesting people don’t know about you, etc…(whatever info you want to share):

Favorite food, of course, is pizza. Ellen and the kids share in my desire to eat the grease wheel as often as possible. Our family enjoys everything that has to do with the outdoors, fishing camping, hiking, etc. and when work does not have us traveling, we try and get out as much as possible.

Why are you an Awana Missionary?

First, because God called us to this ministry, After serving 20 years in the Air Force, it was obvious that He wanted us right where we are. Second, because of my own story growing up, I have a strong desire to see God’s wonderful children come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and then want to serve Him with their lives.

Share something God is doing in your ministry:

God is blessing our ministry in many ways. One of them is that children are getting saved. Another is the phenomenal growth of some of our churches that run Awana. We have a church in the Hill Country that started their first year of Awana this fall and were expecting around 70 kids. God had expected a little more, and they ended up with over 230 children on their third week,. God is good!

What advice would you give to a local Awana Commander or Leader?

In all the excitement and busyness of Club, don’t forget your own walk with the Lord. I even have to remind myself of this. I would also tell them to never underestimate the importance of training. Awana has many resources (local missionaries, online training, etc.) that are geared to make them better ambassadors for Christ. Other great resources are websites like commanderbill.net, where Commanders and Leaders can get plugged in to Clubs around the country.

How can we specifically pray for you over the next month?

For our continued financial support and for our event season. AwanaGames and Bible Quizzing are in full swing and we need God’s guidance and protection while planning and traveling.

Ministry website(s): www.awanatexas.org

Any other comments or thoughts you would like to share…

What a wonderful opportunity we have to minister to God’s precious children.

Awana missionaries are 100% faith supported. They receive no commission on products sold, they rely solely on gifts and support from individuals and churches. To learn more about Doug and his ministry and to see how you can support him, click here…

If you would like to financially support Doug and Ellen send a check for their support today to Awana Clubs International, One East Bode Road, Streamwood, IL 60107 and designate your check for the Rolando’s #303.  You can also set up automatic payments from your account or on your credit card by contacting Awana.  This saves you time and postage and is completely secure.

To learn more about Awana Missionaries and their roles, click here…

Click Here to see Awana Missionaries we have highlighted previously