Current Leadership: Our Directors
President & Vice President of Mercy Smiles International:
On their very first tour to India. As they say, the experience was an overwhelming rollercoaster of emotions, culture, and sights. We were greeted by hundreds of kids, pastors, their families, and believers in homes, under tents, in extremely remote areas and mountain tops, accessible only by very bad roads. The love and appreciation and the gratitude and zeal to see us and at the same time worship and feel the love of God was really something that touched our hearts on numerous occasions. The smile and innocence on the kids of all our children’s homes, the reverence, faith, worship, and heart for the Lord from the believers at various meetings were just powerful and inspiring.
The journey to create begun in the year, 1974 by Bro. Linn and the dream was passed on to our most beloved, Gods servants, Bro. Norm and Karen Knudsen.
Responding with childlike faith in 1975, Bro. Norm and Sis. Karen, prayed for Jesus to fill them with His love and Holy Spirit. Two years later, they sold their Minnesota dream ranch and Norm gave up his dream job. With their seven children, they moved to St. Louis to attend Bible School. Six months later they were walking the dusty streets of India, touched by Jesus with a new vision to reach 1 million helpless orphans, destitute widows and the lost with the love of Jesus. Norm and Karen Knudsen have served in missions for over 40 years until the sad passing of our beloved Bro. Norm, on 25th of March, 2017.
Since then. Sis. Karen Knudsen, who is fondly called Mom by everyone in the Mercy Smiles family has carried along the baton and is serving to run even further and reach greater heights through sheer faith, believe and burden for the poor and lost.
Bro. Norm and Sis. Karen Knudsen, the Founders of Mercy Smiles.