Growing up as a military kid, Richard was used to change. Richard with ODB booklet

“We lived in Southeast England, the Mediterranean, and Scotland,” Richard said, naming a few places he called home as a boy. “You tended to make the best of the time with the people in your life at the moment because you knew it wasn’t forever.”

It wasn’t until his late teens, though, that Richard accepted the One whose love endures forever into his heart.

John 15:5 spurred this life transformation.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

“It was that last bit that really stuck out: ‘Apart from me you can do nothing,’” he said. “My parents were very guarded with their faith, but I was the complete opposite. Once I discovered life in the kingdom, I was buzzing.”

With a personal relationship with Christ, Richard set out on more adventures, including a 10,000-mile hitchhiking journey across Australia and a diploma from an English Bible college.

However, the life Richard settled into looked a lot different than his ever-changing childhood. He and his wife, Jayne, raised two boys and planted roots in Northern England, a region home to slate cottages, grazing sheep, and the Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODBM) UK office.

“I had used ODBM materials for ages, and I found them very, very helpful. They’re all so practical,” said Richard.

That’s why when Richard and Jayne retired, they jumped at the opportunity to volunteer at ODBM. As volunteers, they do everything from opening incoming postage to packing and dispatching orders. But, above all, it’s a job that’s provided them with the type of long-lasting community Richard missed out on as a kid.

Richard volunteering at ODBM UK “There are people in here that I’ve known for thirty years, so I’m able to build on those relationships,” he said. “The lunch table is the best. There’s incredible fellowship every day.”

Still, Richard said that his upbringing gives him a unique perspective on ODBM’s global reach: “I’m blessed with having always had a large worldview, so I’m always excited to hear stories of how God is blessing people everywhere. We get letters from places like Southeast Asia and Michigan. It’s nice to be part of a global family.”

When asked what he’d say to others thinking about becoming a part of ODBM’s global family as a volunteer, Richard enthusiastically answered, “Do it!”

“It’s such a blessing. You’re involved in the physical with packing boxes, but it’s spiritual, too,” he continued. “We pray for whatever is going on in our readers’ lives. I know and trust the resources, and I hope that the Holy Spirit will take them and lead them to the right people.”

It’s a prayer that’s personal to Richard, as the Holy Spirit has led him through every adventure, whether as a child traveling the world or as a father and husband making a home for his family.

“We’ve now lived in the same house for 30 years, and ODBM is a very important part of my week,” he said. “I seek to get the best out of everything I do. I’m blessed by ODBM. I’m blessed with the church I attend and the men’s prayer group I’m in. They’re all part of the whole.”

From military bases to the ODBM UK office, Richard’s whole life reminds us of this universal truth: our circumstances may change, but God’s love remains the same.