Danny Jaynes - Class of 1971

Danny Jaynes’ parents, Turner and Francis Jaynes, moved to Bridge City in 1958. After graduating from Bridge City High School in 1971, Danny Jaynes joined the US Air Force and married Harriot Sue Wilkinson of Orangefield. His first station was Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. From there, Jaynes was sent to Takhli Air Base in central Thailand to train Thais on how to program a keypunch machine. After 80 days of his ninety temporary duty assignment, he was informed that the U.S. Air Force wanted him to extend his assignment for a total of one year. He called my wife, Sue, and she wanted to go to Thailand, so they were granted permission for her to stay with him for nine more months. At the time, the 13^th Air Force band out of Clark Airbase Philippines was doing a series of shows across SE Asia and was taking auditions at every base for future shows. Jaynes auditioned and was accepted to join the band for a tour of Taiwan. After that tour, he returned to base in Thailand and received a request to join the band for a second tour of Subic Bay and the northern Philippines. After that tour, Jaynes was asked to stay on as a vocalist for the Air Force but declined and returned to finish his four-year commitment at Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin. Texas. 

Jaynes entered the insurance business when he departed the military and, after several years, opened a brokerage house. Jaynes also joined a church and became a leader. In the mid-1980’s his family joined a group of fellow Christians and began the construction of an orphanage in Mexico in honor of the late Keith Green and his children. The seed for missions was planted in his heart during these visits. Jaynes’ wife had felt called when she was 12 years old but did not tell anyone for fear that God would send her to Africa. They have now been serving in Africa for 23 years. In 1997, Jaynes was asked to join two other missionaries and teach at a bible school in Moscow, Russia. It was while teaching in Russia that he discovered his true passion for what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. 

After arriving home from Russia Jaynes’ wife, Sue, went on another medical mission trip to Mexico, and when she returned, they felt it was time to do full-time missionaries. A missionary their church supported had a bible school in the capital of Ghana, West Africa. The missionary extended an invitation for the Jaynes family to join his ministry and teach in his school, which they accepted. While teaching in the capital, Jaynes attended a meeting with a group called Pioneers. They explained that over three million in the north of Ghana had never heard the gospel. The Jaynes felt it was time to leave the city and move further north. For 4-5 years, they provided English services for a church in the middle of the country that was made up of 85% converted Muslims. All their outings with teams took them 14 hours north to minister in remote villages where the people were still living in mud huts with grass roofs. After making this trip several times, the Jaynes felt it was time they moved into the north and established a home base. They now live with the largest Muslim tribe in Ghana. 

According to Jaynes, “God has opened many doors for us to minister, but the most effective was putting movies into the local languages, a skill I learned while in the insurance business. We also conduct kids’ clubs for approximately four hundred children weekly which Sue develops the curriculum for. They also have provided water for neighboring villagers during drought conditions. Recently, they were given the funds to purchase a new tractor. Living in a farming community, this tool has opened tremendous doors for them. They now provide a vocational school for extremely poor girls. “Most of the girls’ parents have died and the relatives they were left with see them only as a burden. These girls are flourishing,” said Jaynes. They are about to start providing eye examinations and free glasses for remote villages, which is a proven platform to share the gospel.

Jaynes and his wife, Sue, have three children and twelve grandchildren. They live in Brownwood, Texas, and travel back and forth to Africa.  The Jaynes children are Heather Jones, Lark Terry, and Micah Jaynes. Grandchildren are Faithe, Timothy, Braden, Hannah, Christopher, Liam, Keegan, Joel, Haylin, Ellie, Chole, and Jack.  His three brothers are Mikel and Jerry, who graduated from BCHS in 1967, and Rodney Jaynes who graduated from BCHS in 1971.

The Bridge City High School Alumni Association chose two alumni as Distinguished Alumni for 2023, including Danny Jaynes, who graduated in 1971, along with Dr. Nina Scales Leifeste, a 1979 BCHS graduate. They were honored during ceremonies prior to the homecoming game on Friday, September 22, 2023, and again at The Classic Cardinal Reunion on Saturday, September 23.