About the Tobey Family
Bob and Donna are serving Christ with the Navigators ministering to
International Students at Michigan State University. Donna came to Christ through confirmation classes in her church. Bob
met Christ partly through Donna's witness, at the US Naval Academy. After receiving
Christ, Bob joined a Navigator "Design for Discipleship" Bible Study and learned about the basics of the Christian life. A couple
of years later, he joined the ministry team. Donna really began to grow after
attending a conference and committing to read the Bible for 5 minutes a day. She later joined a Navigator
Women's group.
Onboard his first ship, Bob became the Lay Leader, leading Divine Services and Bible Studies, and being active in the Navigator ministry on
base. After they were married and Bob became the Executive Officer (second in command) of a Minesweeper in Tacoma WA, they not only led
Bible Studies on the ship and on the base, but used their home for hospitality to reach out evangelistically.
They lived in Saudi Arabia for 2 1/2 years while Bob served as the Mine
Countermeasures Advisor to the Royal Saudi Naval Forces. While Navy "tentmakers" there, they ministered among expatriates (internationals)
and saw how strategic Internationals are, and had two of their three children born there. They also visited 23 countries and stayed with
several missionaries. Talk about developing A Vision for the World!
From Saudi, they came here to Aloha and became active in Faith Bible Church. Bob led Bible Studies at work, an Evangelistic Bible Study in
the neighborhood, and served as the elder of Evangelism and Discipleship. In 1989, Bob left the Navy and Faith Bible sent the Tobey's to be on
staff with the Navigators ministering to officers at the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, CA. Gradually, God led them to labor among
the International Officers and switch to the International Student Ministries of the Navigators. When Faith Bible merged with Calvary, Bob
and Donna became part of the Calvary Chapel Worship Center family.
In 1997, they turned over their ministries to lay people they had helped
train, and moved to Lansing, MI to minister to a few of the nearly 2700 International Students from 181 countries at Michigan State University.
There Bob and Donna are claiming promises for and pouring their lives into a few hungry Internationals to fulfill their vision "to reach and
raise up International Students to be reproducing missionaries in their home countries -- and the world!"
The Navigators have asked Bob to significantly reduce campus ministry to
work on sharing their ministry and inviting people to prayerfully consider supporting them financially. Donna now brings in half of their
income working part time as a physical therapist, while she also home schools two teenagers and a 12 year old. Being up to budget would allow
both Bob and Donna significantly more time to minister to and train students, some of whom will become self-supporting missionaries to their
home countries.
And if you pour out your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then shall your light rise in darkness and your darkness be as the
noonday. And the Lord shall guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in
drought, and strengthen your frame. And you will be like a watered garden, and
like a spring of water whose waters never fail. And they that shall be of you shall build the old waste places. You will raise up the
foundations of many generations. And you will be called, "The repairer of the
breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in." Isaiah 58:10-12
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This site is maintained by David Gaddis. You can reach him via e-mail at dwgaddis@teleport.com |