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For the past 3 years, Shady Oaks has sent a mission team to Wales to help with their Holiday Bible Club. We have taken Vacation Bible School to Wales and helped Temple Baptist Church put on a 3-4 day event during their holiday in October. It has allowed us to grow sweet relationships with the people at Temple, while being a part of seeing the gospel shared with the lost in Wales.

This year, one of our Temple friends is coming to join US at our VBS! I am so excited for you to meet Dan Rees! Dan is a deacon at Temple Baptist Church in Pontypridd, Wales. He oversees the children’s ministry at Temple, which includes families, youth, and Sunday School. Dan’s passion is music and he has been able to use this gifting to perform within Welsh male voice choirs. He also leads worship within a Friday all-city youth group. Along the way, God has given Dan some amazing opportunities to sing across seas, including at the Welsh festival, Disneyland, and by representing Wales in the Interceltic festival in France.

Dan has always had a desire to do a mission overseas and has prayed for this opportunity. God has now answered that prayer by allowing him to come to Shady Oaks to share the gospel of Jesus with our community, as well as to share about life in South Wales. Whenever he thinks about mission opportunities, the song that echoes in his mind is “Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me.” Dan said, “I wouldn’t have these opportunities if it wasn’t for God and I give all glory to Him. I look forward to this adventure. I look forward to meeting you all soon and I hope, with God’s help, we can change the lives of the children as Wales and Texas unite.”

Join us NEXT WEEK at Illumination Station – VBS 2026. We will be here each evening, Monday – Friday, from 6:00-8:45m. You will have a chance to meet Dan, hear his fabulous accent, his testimony, and the truth about how Jesus is the light of the world! Invite your neighbors and friends. It is a week you won’t want anyone to miss!