How it all got started

In 1997, the still single Kim Bland answered a Call from God to give her life in service to others in the name of Jesus. At the same time, a young Theodore Treadway saw her picture hanging on the wall of the church that was sending her to the mission field. The pastor, encouraged him to come to a talk she was giving before she embarked on her call to the Great Commission . . . serving in a Feeding Program in the Peten jungle of Guatemala, with indigenous populations relocated to the Peten after the 40 year long internal conflict. Theodore never made it to the talk, as he just finished Graduate School and already was called to his new job. Two years later, out of the blue the same pastor called Ted and asked if he remembered the missionary girl on the wall. Ted and Kim met up at a Christian conference of Faith Christain Fellowship in 1999.

In July 8, 2000 we were married, and thus began our adventure together of serving Christ by being His hands and feet. After seven years serving in our local church in Decatur, Illinois; serving as children’s teachers, Mission leaders, and more, we heard God’s call and were released to go into the nations. Since 2007 we have given their lives to the children and youth of the Peten. We serve in the community of Villa Hermosa, San Benito, Peten in a variety of ways: feeding programs, school supplies, tutoring help, Bible Club, and running a learning center with facilities to give impoverished children a chance in this world and to show them what the love of Christ looks like.

In 2014 through our Feeding Program outreach in our community, a young child of God came through the doosr of our mission facility. He came for most of the year until He and his child-aunts and uncle who cared for him all disappeared. He was found abandoned and neglected by Kim and a visiting mission team, followed by a visit by Ted where he found this little baby in a ditch crying a block from the house where the government of Guatemala had put him. After seeking emergency medical care and agreeing to help him with the aunt who had custody of him, he was abandoned and literally left on our door step. Since then, after many battles with the government, and protection by Ted and Kim, little Daniel has and continues to be under their protection and although the government will not cooperate, Daniel has become their son and they his parents. He is now an integral, and undeniable part of our lives and part of our mission here on planet earth, ordained and divined long before we were even aware of God’s greater plan for our lives in Guatemala.

We believe in the five-fold ministry and that many can serve the kingdom of God in the unique and special ways that God has made each of us, using the gifts and talents God has given us and allowed us to develop. As such, we partner with those who want to serve God’s kingdom in those unique ways. We partner with those who want to do correct Bible teaching and distribution through our Action Bible Outreach here in the Peten. We partner with medical ministries who work with local populations to bring dearly needed healthcare opportunities to those who cannot afford to go to the clinics or hospitals, and we look for ways to partner with those that can help us feed children with nourishment through feeding programs tied together with nourishment spiritually.

Today we find ourselves answering God’s call to keep on keeping on, to persevere despite the many obstacles of the enemy and seek out partners to be the hands and feet to those that God puts in their path. The recent acquisition of an abandoned mission has opened up doors for expanding ministry and outreach and being the catalyst for life transformation for many young people. Seed planting is the key to our mission service and we believe that you must keep planting seeds and pray and in faith wait for the harvest to come, knowing that in all things God uses and works it out for His kingdom.

Theodore Treadway is ordained through International Christian Churches International, and has been a pastor to children and youth for almost 20 years. He holds a B.A. in Spanish Language and Literature from Illinois Wesleyan University and and M.A. in TESL from University of Central Missouri. The World is Yours, NFP is a not-for profit entity recognized in the state of Illinois.