The Ministry of D&D Missionary Homes

How It All Began

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The story of D&D starts with the founding visionary, Alma Doering – a feisty, head-strong young missionary whose sole purpose in life was to serve God.  God led her on a life-long adventure, though there were times of sorrow, sickness and pain, through it all she kept her eyes on Him and lived a life of great faith, victory and accomplishment. 

Alma Doering was born in Chicago on April 18, 1878.  Her father was a Civil War veteran.  Her grandfather was one of the early settlers of Chicago and his farm eventually became a part of the famous Gold Coast section of Chicago’s north side on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Miss Doering accepted Christ as her Savior at the age of nine and by the age of 13 was teaching a Sunday school class, and at 16 years of age she was teaching several classes in two different Sunday schools.  When Miss Doering was 18, she was working at Chicago’s Merchant’s Mercantile Company while attending Moody Bible Institute.  It was during this time that Miss Doering felt a call to full-time ministry and gave her life to Christ claiming Romans 6:11 and Philippians 1:21 as her life verses.  She placed herself and all of her possessions on the altar of sacrifice and became completely dedicated as a child of God and became His servant.

Her first formal mission work was on Chicago’s South Side, in the dirtiest, darkest corners of the city’s slum districts.  In 1898, Miss Doering became a pioneer missionary to the Indian reservations of the Lake Superior region and the lumber camps in northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, where she often spent the long lonely nights in isolated log cabins with little food or heat.  Seeing the desperate need of the women and children in the camps, she found ways to minister to them and reach them for Christ.   

While attending Moody Bible Institute, Miss Doering felt a stirring in her heart to reach the “unreached, untouched, unevangelized primitive tribes of the remote parts of Africa.  Her first trip to Africa was in 1900, but before arriving in Africa, she stopped in Europe for six months of Red Cross nursing training, learning about tropical diseases.  Then, she traveled to Africa.  During this trip a fire destroyed all of Miss Doering’s personal belongings, so her ministry in Africa started with God alone.  Her attitude was, “What else do I need?”

Upon arriving in Africa, she studied several dialects to prepare for her work among the tribes.  It was during this time she felt called of God to go to the very heart of the Congo region, a thousand miles from civilization.  In preparing to go, she requested permission from the Belgian Congo government authorities, to travel into the inner Congo regions.  The government authorities denied her permission as much of he inner Congo was inhabited by cannibals, head-hunters, fetish worshippers and witches and the authorities did not want to be responsible for her life.  Miss Doering, never one to give up, continued to meet with the authorities and continued to state her case that God had laid these tribes of the Congo on her heart and she believed that if God told her to go, then she must go.  After several months of meetings, persistence and persuasion, Miss Doering was finally granted permission, only after legally signing away the Belgian government’s responsibility for her life, to travel throughout the Congo region. Still, the government officials strongly advised her to stay away from and make no contact with the Badinga tribe.

As Miss Doering began her work in the Congo, she contacted eight different tribes and over time reduced their dialects to writing.  She gained the friendship and trust of these eight tribes, who had never before seen a white person, shoes, or books.  As she moved from one tribe to another she continued moving inland and as she did, the travel became more difficult.  There were no roads, no busses, and no transportation of any kind.  There were only foot paths and monkey trails through the dense jungle, so Miss Doering hired a few native men from one of the friendly tribes to carry her baggage and possessions.  They had to walk single file as the path was so narrow through this remote jungle region.  At times the path was climbing up steep slopes and it was often necessary to pull themselves up using the roots, vines and trees that were beside and above the narrow path.

When they arrived in the area of the Badinga tribe, and when the natives that Miss Doering had hired to carry her belongings realized where they were, the hired natives became very frightened and dropped everything and ran…….they couldn’t get away fast enough!

Miss Doering and another young lady missionary that traveled with her set up their tent and got settled.  It was later that evening when they began hearing the sound of drums.  As the young missionaries listened, they realized that the Badinga tribesmen were coming closer to the tent and the chanting of the tribesmen and pounding of the drums were getting increasingly louder.  As the tribesman continued coming toward the tent, the drum noise and sounds of the tribesman became so intense that the tent was vibrating.  Miss Doering, in a loud voice began singing, “Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go.”  As she sang, all of a sudden the drums stopped beating, the chanting stopped – it was dead silence.

Several years later when other missionaries came to join Miss Doering in that region, one of the first things that they were asked by one of the Badinga chiefs, who had by then accepted Christ as his savior, “How did Miss Doering have authority to call all of those Belgian soldiers to come help her that first night?”  The missionaries explained that Miss Doering had never called on any soldiers to help her, and even if she did, the Belgian soldiers were too scared to come near this area.   The Chief explained, “we had the fire hot and water boiling, ready to put her in – we were preparing for a feast.  Then, in a loud voice she began to call out to the Belgian soldiers and when we saw the soldiers come and surround her tent, we ran for our lives.”

While staying in a Swedish Mission during one three-year stint in Africa, Miss Doering endured several serious attacks of fever.  At one point, black-water fever came upon Miss Doering when there was no immediate medical attention.  She suffered from loss of blood, dehydration and a fever of 105.5. As those caring for her and others in the mission prayed for her healing, God intervened and touched her burning body.  As they prayed together for her, they saw the fever break and saw God save the life that He would use for His glory.

From 1904 to 1907, Miss Doering was on furlough in the United States, which she used to regain her strength and do deputation work.  During this furlough, she continued to have a deep desire to reach the unevangelized tribes of Africa.  In 1907, Miss Doering made her second missionary journey to Africa and settled for three years in British East Africa.  During this three-year period, she traveled and found tribe after tribe that knew nothing whatsoever of the Gospel.    Her heart was broken and she became obsessed to reach these tribes for Christ.  Her life theme became “Christ for the Congo.”

Because of Miss Doering’s passion for the Congo region and health concerns resulting from several bouts of malaria, she made several trips to the United States and Europe to rest and recuperate, but she remained focused on the unreached tribes of the Congo.  On one trip back to Africa from the United States, she was detained in Switzerland for several months.  She used that time, along with her natural promotional qualities and abilities, to become instrumental in the formation of several missionary societies in Europe to reach the untouched tribes. 

During nearly 25 years of missionary service to Africa, with the Congo Inland Mission and later the Africa Inland Mission, (which Miss Doering help found) she translated many books of the Bible into several tribal languages which were used by the British and American Bible Societies.  She also had her share of suffering, including ten attacks of malaria, one bout with black water fever, and three times had all of her possessions destroyed by fire. 

After being active on the mission field for 25 years, she spent the next 20 years continuing to promote missions and her heart remained dedicated to sending the Gospel to the tribes of the Congo.  She founded the Unevangelized Tribes Mission and recruited well over 100 preaching, teaching and medical missionaries to serve in the Congo.  Miss Doering was the primary promoter and fundraiser for the mission, traveling to 13 European countries, every province in Canada, and 47 states to raise support for these new missionaries, as well as raise the funds to purchase the supplies and equipment they needed.  This was during the 1930’s, and she raised over $1.5 million to support these missionary recruits.  As a direct result of Miss Doering’s work with the Unevangelized Tribes Mission was that many mission stations and sub-stations were established throughout the Congo, and many lives were changed and souls saved.

Miss Doering was well known in mission circles for her ability to communicate in many languages, as well as her ability to paint vivid verbal pictures of God’s work.  She could hold the attention of her audiences for long periods of time and encouraged them to “Watch God Work,” which became her life motto.  Over the years, she developed thousands of partners that supported her through prayer, as well as financially.

While on the mission field, Miss Doering often thought of a vision that had first developed in 1915, to establish a place where foreign missionaries could call home while back in the United States on furlough or medical leave.  She knew first hand that missionaries often sacrificed and often never had a home to come home to.  She dreamed of a place in sunny Florida where missionaries could get the rest and healing they need and enjoy a time of physical, mental and spiritual restoration as they prepare to return to the foreign mission field where they labored for the cause of Christ.  She also realized that often times when missionaries retire back to the United States they often have a difficult time transitioning from the remote and primitive life-style to the more advanced life-style back home, so she envisioned missionaries staying at this place of refuge as they begin their retirement and  transitioned back into what we would call a “normal” life.  On one occasion, Miss Doering referred to her dream of a home for missionaries this way:  “a place where soldiers of the Cross, old, tired, wounded warriors, may find a home in which they may come apart and rest awhile.”

In 1929, at the New Jersey America’s Keswick Bible Conference, a young lady named Stella Dunkelberger listened to Miss Doering speak.  One sentence caught Miss Dunkelberger’s attention:  “Don’t just pray for missionaries on the foreign field, pray for them when they come home because where are they going to live?”  Miss Doering continued:  “When I left home in 1899 and returned seven years later, my mother had died, and my dad was living in a small rented room.  My younger bother also was living in a small room that he rented while my older brother who was married and had one child lived in a two room cottage, so I did not have a place to live.”

As Miss Doering continued to describe her vision of someday providing homes for missionaries on furlough, Miss Dunkelberger’s excitement was beginning to mount – she realized that she and Miss Doering shared the same vision for providing homes to missionaries returning from a foreign field of service.  Miss Dunkelberger was working as secretary and bookkeeper for the D.M. Stearns Missionary Fund in Germantown, Pennsylvania.  When Dr. Stearns died in 1926, Miss Dunkelberger carried on his work under a Board of Directors.  In this work, two duplexes in Germantown had been acquired;  one to provide office space and a residence for Miss Dunkelberger and the other to be used as a haven for missionaries traveling to and from a foreign mission field.  Miss Dunkelberger, as she listened and thought about what Miss Doering was saying, realized that not only did they share a vision for temporary missionary housing, but in fact, Miss Doering was also one of the missionaries in need of a temporary home.

That night, at the end of the meeting, Miss Dunkelberger hurried to the front to meet Miss Doering.  Miss Dunkelberger invited Miss Doering to use one of the homes available in the Stearn’s missionary duplex – which Miss Doering did, and the two committed ladies became immediate friends.

Although Miss Dunkelberger and Miss Doering shared the same vision for helping missionaries, they had vastly different talents and personalities.  Miss Doering was fearless and outgoing – willing to challenge other Christians to do their duty for missions.  Miss Dunkelbeger was too shy to speak in public, but she knew how to handle both money and business matters with great skill.  As secretary and bookkeeper for the D.M. Stearns Missionary Fund, which was committed to getting 100% of designated funds to the missionaries, Miss Dunkelberger had learned how to use the difficult procedures for sending funds overseas and having them delivered to the missionaries.  These two single ladies – each blessed with different interests, talents, and abilities, working together with a shared vision of providing temporary homes for foreign missionaries, became a dynamic force for missions.

Miss Doering’s final trip to the Congo was in 1938.  She and Miss Dunkelberger sailed together and spent a year doing mission work.  After returning home, Miss Doering, because of health issues, was no longer able to serve as Director for the Unevangelized Tribes Mission, but her ministry was not yet complete. 

In the course of her travels promoting missions and raising funds for missionaries, Miss Doering often traveled to St. Petersburg, Florida.  She was impressed with the location and was convinced that some day St. Petersburg would make a great location for her vision of providing homes to missionaries.  She specifically asked the Lord for a strip of property 120 feet wide and a city block long on Lealman Avenue, on the north side of St. Petersburg.  She believed the St. Petersburg location in a warm, tropical climate was important as so many of the early missionaries had been ministering in countries with warm climates, and were accustomed to the warm weather.

With the help and urging of Miss Dunkelberger, on April 5, 1946, the first Board of Trustees signed the Articles of Incorporation so that the piece of property in St. Petersburg, Florida, that Miss Doering had prayed for years earlier, could become the first piece of property that D&D acquired.   In 1949, when Miss Deoring was 71 year old and Miss Dunkelberger was 73 years old, the new ministry, D&D Missionary Homes, was started with a 12-ft x 12-ft cabin with a single water faucet, donated by a widowed pastor’s wife.

From the beginning Miss Doering and Miss Dunkelberger believed the ministry needed three things to be successful:  

1. A caring and dedicated staff
2. rayer warriors to pray for the needs of the ministry and staff
3. People with the ability and heart to financially support the work of the ministry

Miss Doering and Miss Dunkelberger continued to live in Germantown, PA and traveled frequently to St. Petersburg to see the new ministry and help where they could.  Miss Doering was the primary fundraiser; calling on friends and acquaintances she had met during her years of mission work to help her finance the construction of homes on the D&D property.  By 1954, there were 11 small cottages, a chapel and a utility building on the original piece of property.

In 1953, Miss Dunkelberger passed away, and Miss Doering was left to continue on alone with the work of D&D.  In 1954, Miss Doering moved from Germantown, Pennsylvania, to the D&D property in St. Petersburg.  As funds became available more property was added and buildings built. 

On April 18, 1959, at her 81st birthday celebration, D&D, which was then 10 years old, took possession of the 20th home.  During that celebration, Miss Doering mentioned that she had lived a full life and had only one regret.  She said that when D&D started, she had asked God for 10 homes and He had given 20 – her regret was that she should have asked for 20 homes and He might have given 40.

For several days before her death, Miss Doering was longing for heaven as she talked about her life, saying that her work was done.  On Sunday afternoon, July 12, 1959, Miss Doering slipped into eternity while sitting in her favorite rocking chair, in her small cottage on the D&D property; the picture of a life well-lived, with a strong finish.

Miss Louise Howard came to D&D in 1955 to help and care for Miss Doering.  After the death of Miss Doering, Miss Howard became the Director of D&D Missionary Homes and continued in that position for 15 years.  Since that time, others have followed Miss Doering and Miss Howard in leading the ministry in the same  manner.  Today, the ministry still strong and spiritually sound, has over 50 homes that are fully furnished, equipped and maintained on a 7-acre campus in a quiet, peaceful residential neighborhood in St. Petersburg.  In a typical year about 300 missionary families, ministering in 60 foreign countries will call D&D “home” for at least a little while.  The homes are available for Bible-believing missionaries for up to a 12-month stay.