Douglass Update – Nov 2025

At 21, Sarah is learning to walk. Her parents can interpret her verbalizations, which range from murmur to piercing, but most others need an interpreter. On Sundays during the sermon, Zoe and Matti would teach Sarah a simple Bible lesson.

Sarah’s father commented how excited she has become to come to church, to be with her friends. And tears welled in her mother’s eyes as she shared that for the first time ever, she was able to check “yes” in answer to the question, “Does your child have a friend?” Forgive us for the pride that swells our parents’ hearts to see our girls responding in such a way to God’s call for this moment in their lives.

Glimpses like this made the next big decision even more difficult. Rich’s boss asked almost daily when we’re moving to Bozeman but for months we remained delicately balanced on the fence, begging God to either anchor us in Colorado Springs or shove us off to Bozeman, two hours from the current RW360 headquarters in Billings, MT. As it turned out, we launched out for Bozeman in August.

Much else continues to happen on the daily stage of our lives, for which prayer is a necessity. Here on this blog, however, the desire has always been to highlight where we’ve seen God at work. As such, I realized in time that these posts have become more of a spiritual discipline for me than a public update. And as a spiritual discipline, their proper place really is private, not flaunted abroad on the internet. At the same time, we’ve begun to recognize that there is no substitute for face-to-face friendships, where you hear the tenor of voice and look into the soul behind the eyes.

We cannot express how much your company along the road has meant to us, especially those who have blessed us by sharing your journey and burdens with us! Thank you!!!

If you are so inclined, we’d still love to hear from you personally, either via comment (comments remain private) or via email directly. And we continue to pray that your walk with the Lord grows ever closer beside Him!! Finally, if you would like our current address, please comment below or email us.

(Note: This was begun in January and revised until now.)

Hiking at the Air Force Academy in June.

 

Zoe’s 16 Adventure

“For my 16th birthday, will you help me free children from poverty?”

That’s not exactly how the conversation went, but it’s not far from the truth either. “I’m not asking for a car (to go with her license). Do you think we could run 160 miles to support Compassion International?” Overwhelmed with a feeling of being blessed, we continued the discussion until arriving at something the family could actually support: hiking 16,000 feet of vertical feet in four days, culminating on the top of Mount Elbert, the highest peak in Colorado. This isn’t just an ordinary 16,000 feet either: all of it will be above 9,000 of elevation, much like the life of a child in poverty comes with more fundamental challenges than those of children elsewhere.

Following in Donna’s overachieving footsteps, Zoe is inviting you along for the ride via updates on her GoFundMe page and pictures on Flickr. Her training hike is already available for your enjoyment. The others will begin arriving early next week (14 Jul) and be complete by 21 July, the day on which the whole family will join her on Colorado’s highest rock.

Donations will go to Compassion International with their expertise in releasing children from poverty in Jesus name and through whom Zoe has befriended Alondra, a young lady in Honduras, corresponding with her several times a year since Zoe was 12. For even more impact, don’t just support Zoe’s adventure, but change a whole life by sponsoring your own child!

Thank you in advance for your support financially and in prayer that God would work through this endeavor (and keep us safe as we journey). We pray you’ll enjoy the adventures vicariously!

 

Douglass Update – May 2025

In our world of relative opulence, sometimes it can be hard to feel needs in such a way that we’re driven to prayer. But since the middle of March, I (Donna) have felt a bit as if I’m falling, needing God to catch me. And in so many ways, He has.

In mid-March communication from Mom and her friends became concerning. First she fell while taking a walk. Her nose broke her fall and the fall broke her nose. But it was the toe surgery while in the hospital that began the decline. It was the second infection that just refused to heal and led to removal of the toe. Mom began sounding more discouraged and disoriented during my daily phone calls, if she even answered. With the help of her friend Ellen, I decided it was time for a visit.

A week later, I knew I was seeing her for the last time on this side of Heaven, but nevertheless, it was time to return to my own family. My sister Ginni would arrive the following morning. Just three days later, Ginni sat beside her while Mom breathed her last and her heartbeat faded to stillness. Aside from being in the hospital instead of at home, it was what she’d wanted: no more IVs, breathing treatments or other unpleasant procedures. God took her peacefully after just enough time for her to mentally and emotionally process through her life and for us to assure her that she’d done well.

Only later did I realize that she’d always done well at everything she did (see her obituary). Now, from the threshold looking back, no doubt she wondered if she’d done the important – though far less tangible – things well, like loving her family. Before I left, she asked me if she’d done okay and I assured her she had as I brushed her hair back from her forehead like she’d done mine once upon a time.

In the following weeks, with so many folks praying, God continually showed up. People at Mom’s retirement community couldn’t have been more helpful, from neighbors to the executive director to the custodian who said almost forlornly, “She was my friend!” Randi at the county surrogate office went out of her way to speed the process. Jeanette was willing to give me a ride to the truck the second day, after the trailer they’d rented to us was un-drive-able the first day. Loading the truck went super fast with four strong men to help – what would we do without a church community?

Thankfully we discovered the low trailer tire before getting on the road on Day #2 and were able to keep it close to the proper pressure, though it involved adding air whenever we added gas. Fix-a-flat helped with that tire, but on Day #4 someone pulled up beside us to say we had a flat tire – a different one! Though it was in the middle of Kansas, someone was there to fix it in 20 minutes! As it turned out, their shop was on the next exit, so we drove there to let them fix the trouble tire as well before the final push home. So thankful for the way God worked all that out.

We exited I-70 with plenty of gas but wind and rising terrain sucked the tank dry much faster than anticipated. But the last few miles were actually a long coast downhill to one of the least expensive gas stations in the area. So thankful for that, as well as for the many hours with Ginni, in the truck as well as on a variety of trails, pools and hotels. Turns out we’re a pretty good team. Almost as if we were related!

All that to show just a few of the ways God was at work over the last few months. Thank you for so many of y’all’s kind words and prayer. We would appreciate now intercession for the remainder of mom’s estate to be settled quickly and uneventfully. And for wisdom as we face some significant decisions. Please let us know how we might join you before the throne!

Ginni and I with one of the arrangements from Mom’s memorial. Apparently yellow was her favorite color.

 

Who was Donna’s Mom?

Diane Kohout (Knocke) was born in New York City on Jan 26, 1943 to Lazelle and Frederick Knocke. When she married William (Bill) R Kohout on Jan 25, 1964, she was competing in stadium jumping on her horse Suntan at nearly an Olympic level. With relish she recalled jumping at Madison Square Garden over fences so high she allowed the horse to choose if he wanted to give it a go or not. Over he sailed, again and again. Her passion for action transitioned to tennis and teaching swimming as Bill’s Air Force Career began to move him away from the North East. In Biloxi, MS, Diane gave birth to her first daughter, Virginia (Ginni) who now runs Sea Kayak Baja, Mexico, leading and outfitting advanced kayak excursions in the Gulf of California. Donna was born three years later on Long Island and grew up to become an F-16 pilot and the first woman to fly the F-117 Stealth Fighter. Having much to brag about in her daughters, Diane rarely said much about her own shelves full of tennis, running and triathlon awards, nor the amazing gardens she nurtured, growing tomatoes so big that a single slice drooped over the edges of the bread slice it rested on. On the whole block, her house stood out with its immaculate carpet of lawn, lush vegetables and vibrant bushes with nary a weed to be seen. Cherry and dogwood trees dotting the property exploded with color in spring. Inside with the onset of winter, Diane fired up the famous Kohout Christmas Cookie factory, gifting innumerable plates of handcrafted delicacies to friends, neighbors, family and beyond. Having volunteered to coach gymnastics so that both daughters could enjoy the sport, and stepped up again to help coach the Ramapo High School team while Donna competed there, Diane herself transitioned to golf once her body began to rebel from years of tennis. She and Bill continued to lead woodland wanderings with a myriad of compatriots all over New Jersey and New York and even in destinations as far as Hawaii and Florida as they frequently shared their vacations with friends and family. Diane slipped away peacefully on March 25, 2025 at the age of 82 to join her husband Bill on the hiking trails of Heaven. She will be fondly remembered by those into whom she invested her life, her dear friends and surviving family members including her daughters Ginni and Donna, son-in-law Rich and three grandchildren, Zoe, Matti and Gwen.

Diane’s celebration of life will be at Hawthorne Gospel Church, Hawthorne, NJ on April 4, 2025 at 1030am Eastern US Time.

If you are able to attend in person honor of Mom’s passion for flowers and gardening, we’d love for you to consider adding a splash of her favorite color, yellow, to your attire!

We also plan to livestream the service. Here is the link.

If you’d like to join us virtually for the reception afterward at approximately 11am, please join us on Zoom – just leave a comment or send Donna an email for that link.

 

Douglass Update – April 2025 (Farewell to Mom)

Peacefully on Tuesday morning, March 25, Donna’s mom Diane simply didn’t take another breath. The pulse in her neck as she lay quietly in the hospital bed grew weaker and faded to stillness. “She’s gone,” Donna’s sister Ginni texted. Back in Colorado on spring break in Summit County, we let the girls know that Grandma had graduated to hiking the trailed of Heaven with Grandpa. We smiled that in the past nine years, he’s been scouting them out to share with her when she arrived.

With Donna having been in New Jersey caring for Mom for over two weeks in the past two months, the girls have demonstrated tremendous responsibility in helping Rich run the house. Nevertheless, we much appreciate your prayers as we mourn Mom and settle her affairs, with all that entails, including more time apart. We will celebrate her life on Friday, April 4 at 10:30am at Hawthorne Gospel Church in Hawthorne, NJ.

If you are able to join in person, we invite you to wear a splash of her favorite color yellow to honor her passion for cooperating with God to make His world even more beautiful through daffodils and other flowers, and through a wide variety of creative crafts.

The service will be livestreamed on HGC’s livestream website.

If you’re interested in joining us on Zoom during the reception, please (reply) to let Donna know so she can send a link.

And if you know any of Mom’s friends, please pass this info along to them along with the link to more information. Due to the loss of her phone, we are limited on contact information for those who may know her.

As always, let us know how we can join you in prayer as well – and maybe even in practical help!

Ginni (Donna’s sister), Mom, Donna, Zoe, Matti and Gwen in 2023 at Mom’s home in Wyckoff, NJ

 

Published at last!

After 25 years in the works, it is finally PUBLISHED!

A God’s Eye View: Survey for Yourself the Bible’s Big Picture leads you on a journey where you explore the single story that unifies Scripture while offering you the opportunity to build two daily habits: spending time in the Word and considering how God is asking you to respond to what you’ve read/heard.

Read more about it at www.DonnaDouglass.com/agev.html or purchase it on Amazon. We’d also love your help getting the word out by sharing this with your friends and/or by leaving feedback on Amazon.

On Donna’s website, you can download two chapters if you’d like to explore this book before diving in.

If you’re interested in doing this as an interactive study, which Donna has done several times, she will be running another online class next January through April. Contact Donna directly via email (reply to this), FB message or through her website, donnadouglass.com (Douglass has 2 S’s).

 

Merry Christmas!

(In case you didn’t get this via email already…)

BLUF (bottom line up front):

Merry Christmas and all the best for 2025!

It feels like this year has gone about as fast as it takes to read through this summary!

Enjoy a glimpse of the highlights.

January – It snowed just enough to make an igloo tunnel in the piles beside our oft-shoveled driveway, a perfect place for Gwen to read.

Meanwhile, Zoe qualified for the Colorado state meet in backstroke as a freshman on her state-champion High School swim team. (She’s the one in the grey suit with the great start!)

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February – Donna reached the summit (halfway through the race) during the Mt Taylor Winter Quadrathlon in Grants, NM, with Zoe, the youngest racer by several years.

Back home, Donna continued guiding the church youth in researching solid answers to apologetics questions.

March – Snow continued to be a central theme in our lives as we watched the ski joring in Leadville then cross country skied up Webster Pass, above the highest incorporated town in the US, Montezuma, CO.

Via work for NORAD (North American Air Defense), Rich / Slick finally fulfilled a long-time dream to visit England. Decades after earning his Masters in Shakespeare, he finally saw the Globe Theater and walked the same streets as that famous bard.

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April – Spring finally arrived with Matti’s soft heart and enjoyment of the game being rewarded by an invitation to play with her middle school’s unified soccer team where she helped a blind gal participate (Matti has the pink pants in the picture).

All three Douglass girls dove into the local swim team (Zoe’s the one in the pink suit) while Rich had two disks in his back replaced.

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May – Just after Matti’s stage debut we journeyed to Rocky Mountain National Park the day before Trail Ridge Road opened to cars – we walked up it in the company of a few brave road bikers.

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June – After Zoe beat Donna in the Colorado Triathlon in Boulder, she and Gwen trotted through their best week of the year up to that point – riding every morning at the Air Force Academy stables.

Rich and Donna flew up to Billings, MT to meet Ken and Corlette Sande (author of the book Peacemaker) and – as it turned out – to interview to work with the Sandes in Relational Wisdom 360 (RW360.org).

July – After an amazing camping, hiking, biking and rock climbing trip near Buena Vista, CO, all the girls cut their hair to donate it for those in need of wigs. Their only regret? Thin hair! They wanted to be able to give more!

Just down the road, Rich’s work with our small church continued to grow beyond his leading worship and he finally handed that responsibility off to another musician.

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July – Last year, Zoe won her age group in the Pocono Spartan (obstacle course) race. This year, Matti did the same, both donating chunks of their winnings to Compassion International, along with the $485 contributed by some of you – THANK YOU!!

This year, Zoe won her age group in the 10k while Donna managed 2nd in hers. The next day, all the girls drove up to Camp Cedarbrook in the Adirondacks.

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Aug – During camp tours for almost 60 years, it was said, the shelter in the basement had never been used. Not 48 hours after our arrival, staff found themselves hurrying campers into that crawlspace as a tornado warning blared on cellphones.

Of the hundreds of trees torn apart and downed by the wind, not a single one significantly damaged a camp building or vehicle and all activities functioned as normal the following day, due to a massive clean-up effort by an amazing team of people.

A true miracle. (Read more on Donna’s blog.)

Back home, Rich had a total knee replacement.

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Sep – Donna and Zoe hiked the 7,000 feet and 11 miles from Manitou Springs to Pike’s Peak where Rich and the “littles” met them with the car.

The following week, three new, 2-pound, furry family members entered our home.

If that weren’t enough new-ness, Rich also began work for RW360 and our church while Donna began leading the church women’s group through her 12-step Bible study program called Tools of the Trade.

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Oct – With the end of summer and the brilliant aspens came the end of Rich’s time with NORAD and US NORTHCOM.

He also engaged more with several church reconciliations, marriage counseling and other RW360 work, to include teaching RW’s Relational Peacemaking to our adult Sunday School class.

(Mount Holy Cross is behind us in the family picture south of Vail Pass.)

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Nov – Three snow days in a row bumped school work back but found us sledding, cross country skiing, swimming and otherwise quite enjoying this time together.

As the girls prepare for the upcoming music showcase where they’ll each play their piano pieces and the “olders” will play and sing The Prayer together. What a joy to hear them!

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Dec – We’re looking forward to joining Donna’s sister Ginni on a kayak trip in Baja, Mexico, as we did 15 years ago when Zoe was just an embryo.

And we can’t wait to hear your stories from this past year – or to see you if you pass through Colorado Springs at any point!

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In the meantime, Merry Christmas and all the best for 2025!

• The Douglasses

Rich/Slick/Sandi, Donna, Zoe (15), Matti (12) and Gwen (10)

(How did they all get to two digits already?!!)

5169 Sibral Dr, Colorado Springs, CO 80924

More pictures HERE.

More updates HERE.

More resources HERE.

 

Douglass Update – Dec 2024

Why do I write these updates, seeing as we are now back in the US and no longer supported missionaries (and haven’t been for almost a decade!)? We began sending these updates to keep our prayer and financial supporters informed when we were on the foreign mission field. Along the way, so many people have expressed appreciation that we continued them both as a way to keep in touch and as an encouragement that God is working even today, even here in the US. I realized, too, that they have become almost a spiritual discipline for me (Donna): to monthly reflect on Jesus’s involvement in our lives and verbalize potential weaknesses in our battlefield where extra prayer is necessary.

Of course, we’d love to hear your God-stories and walk beside you in prayer as well! Leave a comment – they only come to us and are not public.

All that being said…November began with three snow days in a row. So thankful for the extra time with the girls, playing music, sledding, baking and of course, shoveling – and meeting neighbors in the process. Interesting how difficult it is to meet neighbors today!

The following weekend, as the girls were lowering their swim times, Grandparents Douglass decided to visit for a few days. We loved seeing love in action as the two of them care for each other in just the way the other needs, even though they’ve only been married for 5ish years. They are a living example of how love is a choice and the feeling grows from the action.

There was a very clear God-moment during that time, too, where our girls got to see how the prayer and patience of a wife allowed God the time and space to work in a husband’s heart. We have so much room to grow in that direction!

And finally, over Thanksgiving in Montana, we met Matt and Amanda DeSarro who run Hope Ranch International serving the underprivileged of Billings (and two other international ministries) and hear several of their miraculous stories. Now we have returned home to Colorado Springs, where Rich continues to serve with Relational Wisdom (RW360) and Donna finishes up the Bible study on Bible study, thankful for the women’s enthusiasm for their new insights into Scripture and their perseverance to the end. Would you join us in asking the King for the connections He’d have Rich and Ken make, and for clear guidance both for the ladies’ next study and for our next steps as a family?

A visitor at the DeSarro’s

Montana sunset over the Tobacco Root Mountain Range

Zoe herds Thanksgiving dinner – definitely need sound for this one, but you’ll have to use your imagination since this is just a picture!

 

Douglass Update – Nov 2024

Three surgeries in seven months are a lot, but with his new knee and new synthetic spinal disks Rich is looking forward to less pain in the long run. More than that, he’s hoping to being able to hang with the kids’ activities for just a little longer. Already they are getting faster and stronger than us parents! Prayers for patience during recovery and full healing for the patient are very welcome!

Speaking of kids growing fast, we entered the world of children driving this month with Zoe’s new permit. Of course between daylight savings turning it dark early and three-day blizzards, she hasn’t logged many hours yet, and therefore we still have a few brown hairs left between us… It didn’t help that we also departed the realms of single-digit ages this month as Gwen turned 10. One whole decade of three daughters, and only 2.5 years from the first high school graduation! Pray with us for them to continue to grow into their own relationships with Jesus, with love for His Word and a keen eye for His work!

Aside from surgical recoveries, Rich had a stellar month of full time focus on RW360, directing a marriage conference outside of Washington DC in mid-October and returning to the Pentagon two weeks later with Ken Sande, founder of RW360, to address some military leadership about what RW offers. When he’s not traveling away from home in Colorado Springs, Rich continues to seek organizations interested in Relational Wisdom training, to work through some reconciliation and to do some marriage counseling, sometimes in exchange for cookies – literally! This last is with a neat young couple who just want to get started on the right foot.

Meanwhile, in the crevices of time between running the house and shuttling kids, Donna is on the verge of finishing a guide to Bible study with the ladies of our church (https://donnadouglass.wordpress.com/resources/#How-to-study). Continued prayers for clear thinking as well as guidance on what to dive into next are appreciated! And as always, we’re honored to pray through your burdens with you, as well.

Moods of “America’s Mountain”, Pike’s Peak from our porch (mostly)

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Douglass Update – Oct 2024

A whole new world: guinea pigs! Gwen holds one on her lap while doing homework each afternoon. They squeak when I come up the stairs to visit them (and give them green pepper). And they poop like crazy!! But we’re already learning life lessons, both that the things you own, own you – it takes time to clean the cage daily! – and that life is terribly fragile and the death of loved ones terribly painful. One of the pigs accidentally died already.

Thankfully that was the only accident that happened while we drove all over central Colorado enjoying God’s amazing fall colors and visiting friends in Summit and Eagle Counties.

Back home in the Springs, Slick / Rich’s Sunday School continues to teach and delight our adults with Ken Sande’s RW360 course, Relational Peacemaking. As Rich begins to meet with more and more people in more and more organizations spreading the word about RW360’s amazing resources and training various groups, we’d greatly appreciate your prayers for wisdom about where God is working and which to pursue, especially as many of these contacts require travel around the country.

Us girls very much enjoy being home, where Donna continues to teach the women and now the youth as well about How to study the Bible, based on Dr. Larkin’s seminary class at Columbia International University. Zoe also has been praying about leading a “deeper” Bible study at school, asking that God would bring along a co-leader if this is His will. She met a boy who might be interested in joining her effort, so we’re now bringing that before the throne as well.

As for the “littles,” Gwen recently won every one of her events as well as the award for most points scored by a 9-year-old girl at her first swim meet of the season. Matti’s Sunday School teacher in Summit last Sunday complimented her on her theological knowledge, but our prayer for all three is that they grow deeper in relationship with Jesus, not just in knowledge and worldly achievement.

Would you also pray for spiritual protection as we dive deeper into ministry? We definitely experience opposition! And let us know how to join with you in the presence of the King of kings.

Sapphire Lake at Farish Recreation Area above Woodland Park, where Zoe and Donna ran a 5k Folksmarch.

Pumpkin and Eddie (both girls!). Pumpkin the orange, and most vocal, oval. Eddie the quiet one with eddies (cowlicks) in her fur.