Ever since she was little, Gweneth Alexis had a dream.

“After giving my life to Christ when I was 14 years old, I wanted to be a missionary!” Gweneth says. “I used to read books about missionaries when I was a kid. I wanted to go to India.” But some dreams don’t come true—at least not as we hope.

“I didn’t have the opportunity,” Gweneth explains. “We had a hard time financially. Money was very hard to come by to go to Bible school and things like that.” Gweneth eventually moved from the island of Saint Thomas to Texas. She started working in a department store. Then for 12 years, she worked in the cafeteria at Houston’s M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Although she often struggled to make ends meet, Gweneth offered up a bold prayer to the Lord. “Dear heavenly Father,” she prayed, “I was not able to do the desire of my heart—to be a missionary. So, whatever you give me financially, I’m going to give part of it to you!” That’s when God taught her a life-changing truth: not all missionaries travel the globe.

“I heard about American Bible Society through a Houston radio station,” Gweneth recalls. “I realized that although I cannot go in person to the mission field, those who do go need financial help. I started giving a little bit of money over the years.”

Gweneth says she is still inspired by the courage and persistence of missionaries and translators who go into different countries with the message of Scripture. “Although we’re living in the 21st century, so many people still haven’t heard about Christ!” she says. “That’s why it’s very important to give the Bible to others, especially in their heart language.”

Today, Gweneth is the happy owner of a Charitable Gift Annuity with American Bible Society, which provides a lifetime of guaranteed income for one or two annuitants. “I really love and appreciate Charitable Gift Annuities. You can dedicate some money to God, and it will grow and continue to do God’s work—even when we are no longer in this world,” Gweneth says. “My gifts will continue to do my heart’s desire and what God has commissioned—to go into all of the world with the good news.”

Although she has not become a missionary to India, Gweneth knows that she is playing an indispensable part in God’s plan.

“You know, we all do different work in God’s vineyard,” Gweneth explains. “Some go, some pray, some give. We’re all building up the Kingdom of Christ.”