Bob Neyland
General Director of PIEI
My journey to becoming the General Director of PIEI began in 2005 with the arrival in Wheaton, Illinois of Mboligihe Ndalu and his wife Yoanna from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). I was introduced to this wonderful couple by a mutual friend from our church, Dr. Fran White. Fran had met Mboligihe in the DRC when she was a missionary a number of years ago. Mboligihe served as her translator when she conducted trauma counseling sessions for the victims of the brutal violence thrust upon them by the Lord's Resistance Army, a marauding band of rebels originally from neighboring Uganda. Mboligihe, a pastor/teacher and community developer in his native town of Dungu desired to come to the States to study clinical psychology so he would be qualified to continue Dr. White's counseling efforts, which had benefited so many people in his community and beyond.
Dr. White arranged for him to study at Wheaton College under a Billy Graham Scholarship. My wife Cathy and I, along with a number of other people from our church, developed a profound friendship with Mboligihe and his wife as we learned about his culture, the condition of his homeland and his ministry dreams and vision. We learned of PIEI's vision to partner with nationals and we quickly discerned God's leading for Mboligihe, upon finishing his studies at Wheaton, to return home as a PIEI missionary.
I became part of the U.S. Partnership Committee and, along with four others from our Committee, made a trip to the DRC in the summer of 2008 to see what God was doing through the ministry of Mboligihe and his wife. It was a life changing experience and I could see the benefits of having a national in charge of ministry in such a culturally different part of the world.
After serving as Chairman of the Congo U.S. Partnership Committee for several years, Wayne Taylor, with Cornel Stef's and Gene Brush's blessing, asked me if I would consider serving as General Director, as Wayne was looking to step back and spend more time in ministry with his new bride at their home church in Michigan. I felt God leading me to take a more active leadership role in this organization because of my passionate belief in PIEI's core mission of partnering with culturally diverse nationals across the globe. This idea of a strong partnership reminds me of scripture found in Philemon where Paul is describing to Philemon what, in spite of their separation, they share in Christ as partners of the Gospel:
"I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord's people.
(Philemon 4-7)
Since beginning my role as General Director in the Spring of 2012, I have felt it a blessing and privilege to be able to be aware of and serve such a wonderfully diverse and effective group of ministries around the globe.
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