By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer

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Mark and Donna met after a benefit golf tournament that neither of them played in. They didn't have dinner together. No conversation. Just a brief introduction in the parking lot before leaving.

Mark walked alongside a friend with Donna on the other side. Their mutual friend halted and asked, “Do you two know each other?"

They didn't.

She said, “Well, you should. You both recently lost spouses."

She introduced them and Mark was starstruck when he really looked at Donna for the first time.

Once at home, Mark made a deal with himself. If Donna was listed in the phonebook, he would call her.

To his astonishment, she was listed.

His next dealmaking was that he would simply leave a message on her answering machine.

To his astonishment again, she answered after a few rings.

He was speechless but managed to ask her out. They’ve been married since 2009.

“It was a Divine appointment,” Donna says. Mark agrees. “It’s the absolute best evidence I have that God is real and active in my life. I get to see it every morning when I look at Donna.”

Mark and Donna are now partners in every area of their lives. Coming from similar humble beginnings— both reared in large families with Donna growing up in Norman, Oklahoma, and Mark in California—they've been involved in programs that have allowed them to see real poverty and pain in the world. Now in a position with resources, their mutual hearts’ desire is focused on specific areas of development—greatest human needs, sustainability and preserving natural resources, and building beautiful communities.

“For me, healthy communities are communities where an active lifestyle is easy,” Mark says. He is a retired civil engineer. “You walk out your door and you have options for how to get around under your own power, whether that’s walking, biking, or roller skating. And it has to be beautiful. You need natural components that are easily accessible— trees, trails, parks. Places where people can gather to interact.”

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When thinking about how to meet the greatest of humanity’s physical needs—food, clothing, shelter— Donna, who is a retired teacher, says, “It’s recognizing that there are moments in all of our lives when we need someone to help us with their expertise, finances, with job training or mental health. It’s offering services people need so they can recover, thrive, and take control of their lives.”

Now, through their Texoma Community Foundation fund, the Murphy-Miller-Mesiti, Mark and Donna's visions are poised to become realities.

Their loving relationship, which began with a Divine appointment, extends globally and also in the places closest to them.

“I think part of our desire in giving is, we love people,” Donna says. “We want to make our communities beautiful. There are people of incredible kindness and creativity that we want to help realize dreams. Most of the work done in this world is through others and they just need a little helping hand occasionally.”

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