Don and Diane (Killingsworth) Combs met on the first day of 8^th grade in Miss Fisher’s English Class. They became immediate friends. Following graduation from High school, they married on January 18, 1975 and moved to Naples, Italy where Don was stationed with the US Navy. Although they didn’t know it at the time, God was already preparing them for living and serving in a cross-cultural setting overseas. Both Don and Diane were raised in believing families which helped them understand their need for a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Following his five year enlistment in the Navy, the Combs returned  to Missouri where a year later, God called Don into full-time Christian ministry. He and Diane served as pastor and first lady in four Baptist churches in Missouri for 22 years.

In 1994, Missouri Baptists began a partnership with the country of Belarus which had recently gained it’s freedom following the break up of the former Soviet Union and the Combs immediately led their church to participate in the partnership. This led to both of them making two separate short-term mission trips each to Belarus in 1995 and 2000 and then a third trip together in 2002. During this third trip, God impressed on each of their hearts this question, “Are you available to go full-time to live and serve overseas?” Both of them separately answered, “Yes” which led them to make application with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Don and Diane were appointed as IMB missionaries on March 15, 2003 and shortly thereafter, moved to Belarus.   There they served for almost 3 ½ years, which were some of the most challenging yet rewarding years of their lives thus far.

Close to the end of their first term in Belarus, God revealed to the Combs that He was adding a new facet to His plan for their lives by calling them to leave Belarus to begin a new work in the new capital city of Kazakhstan – Astana. Becoming the new capital of Kazakhstan in 1998, Astana only had a population of less than 150,000, but today, close to 800,000 call this city home and at present, there is only one Russian Baptist church. Originally named “Akmola” which means “from out of dry bones” the Combs believe that like Ezekiel’s preaching to the dry bones, God has plans to breathe new life into this place so that a church planting movement can rise up out of this city that will spread across Kazakhstan, Central Asia, and beyond.

The Combs’ three children are all married: Jeremy and Melissa (Gadzinski) Combs live in Leawood, Kansas. Anders and Jessica (Combs) Snyder live in Denver, Colorado with their daughter, Adrielle, and son, (We’ll know his name soon!). Jimmy and Stephenie (Jackson) Combs also make Denver their home