The story behind the mission began in June 1990.
God gave Dean and Susan Christ the vision to provide a place for believers to set themselves apart,
out of the chaos and routine of daily life, to hear the voice of God.
Busy running a business in Phoenix, the Christ's decided God meant the retreat to be a retirement mission.
Reason told them they first had to earn a living while saving enough to build the prayer center.
While vacationing near Cassville, Missouri, in July 1990, they decided (on what they considered a whim) to search for retirement property.
Discovering 320 acres of pasture and timber sporting a large pond (and being only half serious), they made a ridiculously low offer.
To their surprise (and the surprise of the realtor) the offer was accepted.
Before the sale could close, however, the Christ's were advised that the property was landlocked.
Several options were discussed, but the situation looked hopeless.
Running out of vacation time, the Christ's were packing to return to Phoenix when their realtor called to say they had received an offer on the landlocked property,
and another piece of property that might suit their purposes had just come on the market.
Taking time to scout the new piece of property briefly (the realtor did not even have the gate keys yet!), the Christ's liked what they saw and made an offer.
While traveling back to Arizona, using pay phones and fax machines, they bought and sold the first piece of property and purchased the second (their offer was accepted).
Now they owned 323 acres of pasture and timber with seven year-round springs.
Since they had only seen a few acres on foot, they eagerly planned their next visit to Missouri to explore their new retirement property.
In October 1990, the Christ's learned that nine RV's and a small mobile home, previously used for a lakeside resort, had been repossessed and moved to a site not far from the road to their property.
Sensing God's Hand at work, the Christ's purchased the trailers, realizing they would make instant hermitages, saving countless weeks and months of building.
Inspection of the trailers revealed some weak floors, but most were in pretty good condition.
During the next two and a half years, the Christ's worked on their property in Missouri as much as possible and prayed for God's perfect timing concerning the move.
God had given them the name for His retreat center, Still Waters (from Psalm 23), as well as inspiration for building a chapel and furnishing the hermitages.
As they looked at what God had wrought, they realized God intended the move to take place before retirement.
Trusting God's faithfulness, the Christ's prepared to move.
Leaving family and friends in Phoenix was especially difficult, but God showed them they were walking in His will.
He provided 33 intercessors to undergird the mission in prayer, and their Phoenix home sold in a buyer's market in three weeks, so the Christ's began their trek east.
The new property was bare except for a three-sided barn and corral.
A well and lagoon were dug and electricity brought in so the Christ's could live on the property.They moved into the mobile home, using four of the RV's for bedrooms for their children.
Thirty acres of woods above the stream were set aside for Still Waters, and a cattle operation was begun on the remaining acreage.
Near the end of their second year in Missouri the Christ family moved into a new home. Nearby a raised-bed vegetable garden grew wild with weeds, an newly-planted orchard began to produce fruit, and 22,000 pine trees reforested the woods around Still Waters.
Work on the Still Waters site progressed slowly as utilities were brought in and an access road was built. At long last, on April 12, 1997, the first hermitage was dedicated and Still Waters was ready for its first guest.
In late fall 1998 God called the Christ's into part-time church work which led to full time positions in a town a little distant from Still Waters. Therefore, after much prayer, the Christ's decided to put Still Waters and the surrounding acreage up for sale in order to shorten their commute to work.
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