Billie Callendar at the diner in Cumby, Texas, in May.

“Jesus came to them and said: ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples.’” Matthew 28.18-19a (CEV)

On a modest plot of rural acreage near Cumby, outside of Dallas, Texas, Billie Callendar and her husband raised and sold registered quarter horses, miniature horses and pygmy goats. But now, as a widow in declining health, she keeps company with just a few pygmy goats, an Anatolian shepherd dog, a boxer dog and two calico cats. Her biggest challenge is battling congestive heart failure and chronic leukemia. She reports with a gleam in her eye that her love for Christ is perhaps deeper than it's ever been.

Billie's favorite “hangout” is a diner in Cumby. In a town with a population of 600, that's all she needs to get her meals and keep up with what's going on with her friends. Right across the street is the United Methodist Church, where, as a lay minister, she preaches and leads Bible studies.
In 2001, Billie had a vivid vision of an angel in the sanctuary of the church. The angel appeared to be composed of light in the mixed tan and gold colors of chalcedony. It seemed to float just above the floor, beckoning her to come forward. Billie was deeply moved and credits the power of this vision with a great awakening in her spiritual life.

Since then, Billie has become an avid student of God's Word. She is dedicated to teaching, preaching and evangelizing in the church, on the streets and through organizations, such as American Bible Society. Through the Bible Society's Bible-A-Month Club, she sends Bibles to people hungry for the Word of God in nations around the world.

After joining the Bible-A-Month Club, Billie learned through Bible Society representatives about new gift planning opportunities to support the work of ABS. She had her lawyer draw up a will and a revocable trust that include her investments and property that will all distribute to American Bible Society upon her death.

“I know that through the Bible Society, I'm fulfilling Jesus's Great Commission. I can reach so many more people for Christ through ABS,” she says. Billie has peace of mind knowing the investments she makes in the mission and work of the Bible Society are funding her soul's deepest desire: to obey Jesus by spreading God's Word to people and places around the world she will never be able to visit herself.

American Bible Society is deeply grateful for the commitment that Billie Callendar has made to getting God's Word into the hands of men, women and children where it is needed most.

Planned Giving can ensure a legacy of God’s Word. To learn more visit Annuity.AmericanBible.org.