Ron and Hetty have been supporting Mustard Seed (MSI) for over 50 years.
They chose to further amplify their impact in 2023 and 2024 by matching all donations for the Go the Distance Challenge. Their generosity has significantly expanded school development in Indonesia’s remote villages.

How did you first hear about MSI?
In 1969, while attending university in Toronto, Hetty and I, both evangelical Christians, met at Knox Presbyterian Church’s young people’s group. After marrying in 1971, we attended a mission conference at Knox where Lillian Dickson, Mustard Seed International’s founder, was a guest speaker. Inspired by Mustard Seed’s mission, we decided to support a student on a regular basis.

When the student you were supporting graduated, did you continue to support?
Yes, we continued our sponsorship. Sometimes we supported the same student for years; other times, the students changed every few months. Lucie Howell, former MSI staff and now MSI Director, was our main contact for decades, keeping us informed about the status of the students and teachers. Over the years, we extended our support to many students and teachers. Those we supported in early years were born in the 1950’s (and would now be retirees!)

What has impacted you most about being a sponsor?
As we sponsored many children and students successively over the years,
we always felt we were valued and made a small but important contribution to Christ’s ministry at Mustard Seed, even though we were sponsoring only one individual at a time in those years.

Why did you decide to increase your giving?
A few years ago, we decided to update our estate planning and initially made two decisions regarding the Christian charities we had supported for decades. There were three charities including MSI where we were supporting a child or student.
Given our age, we knew our remaining time on earth could end soon and we did not wish those individuals we supported to lose their support after we died. So, while continuing our support of the existing students, we decided we would not assume any new individual support. Instead, we would donate a significant part of our estate to those —and a few other— Christian charities that we had supported over the decades.
We realized it would be both better (and a special blessing to us) if, instead, we set aside now, the funds we had intended to leave to charities in our wills and used those funds to donate large amounts to projects we believed would materially benefit those charities and their ministries. We put this arrangement in place in 2021. MSI was one of those charities.

How has becoming a major donor impacted you?
It has been a blessing to us to see our donations make a difference to its ministry and help so many children in Indonesia receive both the message of Christ and a Christian education.

Would you recommend others to support the work of Mustard Seed? If so, why?
Yes. MSI focuses primarily on children and young people—the future of the country— providing them with both the Christian message and an excellent education, an open door to an improved future. MSI extends their reach to the diverse regions, differing people groups, and religions of Indonesia, including some of the most remote and primitive regions still remaining in our world. In addition, MSI is a relatively small Christian charity, so its ministry is well-focused and its supporters can get to know the work and its staff well.

Is there anything else you would like to share with MSI supporters in North America?
Because MSI is a small organization, an individual donor can quickly feel they are making a significant contribution through donating to help at least one child or student. None of us can help all of the world’s needy, but each of us can help at least one person improve their life and faith and make a difference. Also, if God blesses one with moderate wealth over the years, so that 5 or 6 figure donations become possible, that will enable the funding of an entire project at MSI, thereby enabling one to help an entire Indonesian village or community.