Rose CowdenStep Up · the book & podcast
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Golden grassland of the South African highveld with a lone acacia tree at sunset

Eleven trips · South Africa

Have you ever thought about going on a mission trip? Not just to South Africa, but anywhere? What is stopping you?

Get the book on Amazon

The road to Madutle

Rose standing beside a friend in front of a white van in South Africa
From the pages of Step Up, 2025.

Meet Rose

She didn't like to fly. She went eleven times.

In November 2010, Rose Cowden was sitting in her community church when her pastor announced that the church had adopted a village in South Africa called Madutle. She turned to her friend and said, “I want to go.”

Then came the seventeen-hour flight, the second-guessing, and the prayers asking God to take the desire away. Instead, her pastor told her it was time to step up. So she did — and kept going back, year after year, until she was seventy.

Today she shares that story in her book, Step Up, and on her podcast, Stepping Up with Momma Rose.

The Story

Fifteen years, told one chapter at a time.

Keep scrolling. The pictures change as Rose's story moves forward.

  1. View from an airplane window over clouds at dawn
    Seventeen hours in the air.

    November 2010

    A Sunday at the community church

    The church had adopted a village in South Africa named Madutle — a feeding program, after-school and preschool programs, and a team of people to go build relationships.

    Rose wanted to go. But she did not like to fly. She searched for other ways to get there. She prayed God would take away the desire. When the table went around and everyone said, “Yes, yes, but not this year,” she offered to step back.

    “No, Rose, I think it’s time for you to step up!”

    — Pastor Brian
  2. A red dirt road leading into a small rural village at golden hour
    The road to Madutle, where it all started.

    September 2011

    Yes! I am on the team!

    Before the trip, Rose felt it was some sort of destiny. At ten years old, she had dreamt of bringing starving children into her house and fitting them with clothes from her closet. A seed had been planted way back then.

    To prepare, the team read A Hole in the Gospel by Richard Stearns. One line stayed with her.

    “God never asks us to give what we do not have… but he cannot use what we will not give.”

    — Richard Stearns, quoted in Step Up
  3. Rows of leafy greens growing in red soil in a community garden
    Gardens growing.

    The years between

    Seeds becoming gardens

    Rose kept returning — to Madutle, to the Impact Center, to the people she met that first year: PaPaJoe, Mike and Michelle Tessendorf, Pastor Obeking, Pastor Victor, Pastor Lucky, Pastor Archie, Lerato, and Kealeboha.

    Year by year she watched prayers answered, visions coming to fruition, and young people the team ministered to in the early years becoming leaders in their communities.

    “You will search for me, when you search for me with all your heart, you will find me.”

    — Jeremiah 29:13
  4. A training session at the Impact Center with a speaker addressing seated attendees
    Network training at the Impact Center — from the pages of Step Up.

    July 16, 2025

    The eleventh trip

    The 2025 trip was like no other year. One blessing after another. Back in Madutle, Gonte screamed with delight at seeing her again.

    “I couldn’t see my seventy-year-old body doing this trip too many more times. I couldn’t see my heart being okay with staying home.”

    “What a way to end my time in South Africa. I feel peace.”

    — Rose Cowden, Step Up

A question from the book

What is stopping you?

Pick the one that sounds most like you. Rose had most of these doubts too. Here's what she heard.

Choose one above…

The Podcast

Stepping Up with Momma Rose

The stories behind the book, in Rose's own voice. Press play and keep scrolling — the player follows you.

  • Episode 1Stepping Up Podcast, Episode #1The first conversation of the Stepping Up podcast, in Rose’s own voice.
  • Premieres Oct 11, 2026 · 5:00 PMStepping Up Podcast, Episode #2The next chapter of the conversation.
  • Premieres Oct 11, 2026 · 5:00 PMStep Up Book Signing at Sleepy Dog Book StoreRose meets readers and signs copies of Step Up.
  • Premieres Nov 1, 2026 · 5:00 PMStepping Up Podcast, Episode #4The story continues.
  • See every episode on YouTube

The Road So Far

From a church pew to an eleventh trip.

Tap a year, or use the arrows, to fly along with her.

2010

The community church

Pastor Brian announces the church has adopted Madutle. Rose says, “I want to go” — then spends months hoping God will change her mind.

1 of 5

Field Notes

Lines worth carrying with you.

  • “Rose, if God wants you to die, you’re going to die. If he doesn’t, you won’t!”

    — Dave, at the trip meeting

  • “You were Jesus’s hands and feet for me.”

    — Rose, to her final team

  • “When we, like misplaced puzzle pieces, fail to show up, the overall picture is diminished.”

    — Richard Stearns

  • “We were a team, and none of us were walking alone.”

    — Rose Cowden

  • “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me.”

    — Matthew 25:40

  • “Why are some people one and done and I am not?”

    — Rose Cowden, July 2025

From the Pages

Real faces, real places.

Every photograph here comes from Rose's own book. There are many more inside.

Cover of Step Up by Rose Cowden

The Book

Step Up

Have you ever thought about going on a mission trip? Not just to South Africa, but anywhere? What is stopping you?

Maybe it's time for you to step up. Rose's memoir follows fifteen years of saying yes — fear of flying, eleven trips, and the people of Madutle who changed her life.

5.0 on Amazon
Publisher
Christian Faith Publishing
Published
April 23, 2026
Length
90 pages
Formats
Kindle & print
Buy the Book on AmazonRead a sample

Speaking

Bring the story to your church or group.

For mission committees, women's groups, book clubs, and anyone wondering whether it's their turn to go. Leave your name and Rose will be in touch.

What is stopping you?

Join Rose's Journey for new episodes, stories from the field, and the occasional nudge to step up.