Rob & Sylinda (Birchard)
Alfred
Church: Summit Baptist Bible, Clarks Summit, PA
Phone: (570) 586 6237
Children: Paul '85; Sean '87; Kathryn '92;
Carl '93; Levi '98
E-mail: rsalf@earthlink.net
Country: Nicaragua
Rob: I thought I accepted Christ
as my Savior as a child. But as I grew older and got I
involved in church activities—even
becoming youth group president—something was missing.
During an evangelistic meeting
when I was in high school, I responded to the invitation,
but I wondered What will everyone
think? I'm supposed to be saved. It was as if God said, "Rob,
it doesn't matter what they think." I truly accepted
Christ as my Savior that night.
I served in the United States Air
Force for 12 years until a medical disability resulted
in a discharge and a scholarship
to attend the college of my choice. Since I knew God wanted
me in full-time missions, I applied to Baptist Bible College.
My veterans' counselor thought I was crazy, saying, "Missionaries
don't make any money."
During my junior year at BBC, my
family went to Peru. In July 2001 when I was hospitalized
for a serious cardiac condition,
ABWE appointees Paul and Carolyn Belt visited and gave me
a little Peruvian flag. When fears rose up, I looked at that
flag and sensed God telling me, "Rob, I've called
you for something bigger than you can imagine."
Sylinda: Having been reared in a Christian home, I was exposed
to the gospel from birth, yet I was fearful each night, worrying
about what would happen if I died. During evangelistic meetings,
I accepted Christ as my Savior, and He took those fears away.
During my husband's illness,
I felt increasing tension. ABWE missionary, Gretchen Carter,
showed me I had to be willing
to relinquish everything to God, not just the parts of my
life that were convenient. God has confirmed His call to
us to serve Him.
Ashby, Ivan and Kristie(Roberts)
Church: Calvary Community Baptist, Northglenn, CO
Children: Rebekah '99; Sarah '00
Phone: 303 438 1736
E-mail: ikr99@juno.com
Country: Peru
Ivan: I used to be concerned because
my testimony was boring: no shady past to report. Then
missionary Rich Davis corrected
me. "Your testimony is important because you were a
good kid, yet you still needed to be saved." At seven
years of age, I accepted Christ as my Savior.
Although I was active in my church and went on missions
trips, I was mainly a silent Christian in the secular world.
By high school, I knew God was leading me to be an elementary
school teacher, however, I had not totally surrendered everything
to Christ.
When the Davises visited us, they
played a video of their work in Lima, Peru. Watching that,
I sensed God leading us
there. While my passion is teaching children, I echo the
apostle Paul's words, "Woe is me if I preach
not the gospel."
Kristie: I made a profession of faith at eight, but in
high school I saw no spiritual fruit in my life and doubted
my salvation. When I was 17, I confessed my sin and received
Christ as Savior.
Teaching English in Poland for three months in 1995 was
a great eye-opener to the need of sharing Christ with others.
I forgot about this, however, until our first child was born.
In my desire to influence her for godliness, I became more
serious about my relationship to the Lord.
The plane incident with the Bowers family caused me to evaluate
how little I had been serving God. In May 2001, I completely
surrendered to the Lord.
Jon and Holly (Davis) Boyd
Church: Campus Baptist, Ames, IA
Children: Lucas '01
Phone: (515) 597 3093
E-mail: boyd@huxcomm.net
Country: Colombia
Jon: When I was four and a half,
I realized God loved me, not just the whole world. My dad
explained how I could receive
eternal life, and I asked Jesus to be my Savior. Today I
am still amazed at the gospel—simple enough for a child
to understand, but too profound for any human to fully comprehend.
During high school I worked at
camp for three summers. I had fun shoveling slime from
the lake, scrubbing toilets,
and cleaning up after messy junior campers. I wondered why
I was enjoying myself. Finally it hit me—I was serving
God, not myself. At camp, I heard missionaries who asked, "Does
God want you to serve Him on the mission field?" I was
interested but too frightened even to read the Scripture
aloud at youth group.
In 1996, I went on a three-week
MAP trip to the urban jungle of Bogotá, Colombia,
then flew down to the real jungle of the Amazon. God used
this trip to give me a desire to
train Colombians to reach their country for Christ.
Holly: My parents, Harold and Melody
Davis, were ABWE missionaries to Bogotá, Colombia. Although I heard many Bible stories,
I never thought they applied to me. Then I saw a video about
hell and realized that would be my fate because I had not
trusted in Christ. My father led me to the Lord, which is
a precious memory since he was murdered in Bogotá in
1993.
I dedicated my life to God at a
youth camp and my desire was to return to Bogotá.
However, at college, the Lord touched my heart to be willing
to go anywhere, even
to stay in the United States. When Jon and I married, we
decided we wanted to serve God wherever He wanted us.
Bill and Denise Braun
Church: High Point Baptist Chapel, Geigertown, PA
Children: Emma '99, Kara '01
Phone: (610) 286-6993
E-mail: billbraun3@juno.com
Country: Russia
Bill: During my high school and college years, I studied
Russian for six years and majored in Soviet politics. At
the time, I was an agnostic professional triathlete. I came
to know Christ in 1993 and began praying for hours on end.
I studied the Bible and began attending a Bible-believing
church.
The Iron Curtain had just come down, and I wanted to go
there as a missionary but was not prepared. I earned an M.
Div. at Baptist Bible Seminary and serve as pastor of outreach
and discipleship at High Point Baptist Chapel.
In the winter 2001 issue of the Message magazine, I read
that ABWE is expanding its church-planting ministry into
Russia. We visited Perm and plan to go there to train pastors
and to be involved in a church-planting movement.
Denise: I received Jesus Christ
as my personal Savior when I was five and soon became concerned
for lost people. At
the age of seven, I wrote a little book about myself. In
it I said, "When I grow up I want to be a missionarie."
In high school, my youth pastor,
Dennis Lutz, looked beyond my immaturity and challenged
me to follow Christ whole-heartedly.
Sally Chadwick, a godly woman who discipled me, also encouraged
me to wait for God's best in my life.
In 1997, Bill and I visited Ukraine.
After a disastrous train ride—sweating on the top bunk and appalled by
cockroaches dropping on me—I decided I was never going
back. Since then, God has brought me from "I'm
NOT going," to "I'm excited to go," and
now I can spell "missionary."
Phil and Karen
Coppola
Church: University Heights Baptist, Indianapolis, IN
Children: Joshua '89; Caleb '94; Charity '94;
Abigail '95
Phone: (317) 791-9380
E-mail: pastorphil@galaxyinternet.net
Country: Cambodia
Phil: I was raised in a religious
home, attended church, and learned that the Bible is the
Word of God. When I was
17, while dating my future wife, we started attending a Baptist
church where I heard Pastor Bruce Stewart explain the path
to eternal life. After several "theological" discussions,
I asked the Lord to deliver me from my sin.
After our marriage, Karen and I became active at West Chicago
Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan. In the spring of 1980,
I dedicated my life to the Lord.
In December 2000, while pastoring at Trinity Baptist Church
in Muncie, Indiana, our family spent 28 days in Cambodia
with missionaries Rob and Kristi Cady. I saw wonderful potential
among the Khmae people. I believe God can use us to lay a
groundwork for church planting that will reap a harvest in
coming years.
Karen: Although I was raised in a loving, moral home, I
felt something was missing. At Temple Baptist Church, I heard
for the first time that Jesus loved me enough to die for
my sins. Sitting in the balcony of this huge church, I thought,
No one will even see my hand when I raise it during the invitation.
God did, and an elderly woman showed me how I could know
for certain that I'd go to heaven.
I have always loved children, but
fertility tests showed we would not have any of our own.
I had to come to the place
where I said to the Lord, "I will still serve You,
even if we don't have children." Today, we have
a multi-racial family of two boys and two girls.
During our visit to Cambodia, we saw the hunger new believers
have to grow in the Lord despite their living conditions.
I long to be a part of doing something significant for God.
Scott and Danielle
(Keough) DeWitt
Church: Southgate Baptist, Springfield, OH
Children: Zachary '97; Abigail '00; Anna '02
Phone: (937) 325 6544
E-mail: sdewitt@commkey.net
Country: Paraguay
Scott: Growing up in a home where God was honored, it was
natural for me to accept Him at a young age. At Clear Lake
Camp, I promised God to use all of my life for Him, even
if that meant overseas ministry.
But the distractions of college, a wife, kids, and full-time
ministry courted my affections. Though I continued to be
interested in missions, my focus for the last 10 years has
centered on youth in America. Through the generosity of my
church, I spent a month in Albania followed by a week at
Dallas Theological Seminary. These experiences opened my
eyes to the needs of the world. No longer able to ignore
the yearnings of my heart, I dedicated myself to career missions,
focusing primarily on the youth population of the world.
Danielle: My dad has been a pastor
for 30 years. He and my mom made sure my sisters and I
had every opportunity to
hear the truth. My parents told me that I was saved at the
age of four, but in my freshman year of high school, I realized
that I wanted to please my parents and not get into trouble,
but I did not have a personal relationship with God. At the
age of 16, I gave my life to Christ. From that time on, I
sought God's will for my life and experienced a hunger
for Him and His Word that I never knew was possible. My four
years at Cornerstone University were a time of spiritual
growth.
Last November we visited three
countries in South America. When we were leaving Paraguay,
I cried saying, "This
is where I want to be." For me to want to leave the
comforts of home and live in another country has to be from
God.
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Jonathan and Bobbi Emsheimer
Church: Garfield Baptist/Spring Creek Church, Pewaukee, WI
Phone: (403) 535-9543
E-mail: jbemsh3@aol.com
Country: Brazil
Jonathan: My story begins with my Jewish
grandfather who came to know Christ and went with his family
(including my father) as missionaries to Brazil. He is still
there 51 years later! My father also returned as a missionary.
I loved my life as an MK in Brazil, hunting and fishing.
One night, at the age of five, during family devotions while
swinging in my hammock, I put my trust in Christ.
During my two years at Bible school,
God affirmed that He wanted me to return to the Amazon to
spread the good news of salvation. So many in Brazil have
never heard the gospel. I have seen the need and the opportunities,
and feel God can use me to help meet those needs.
Bobbi Jo: I grew up in a Christian home
and believed in Christ at a church camp when I was eight.
Dedicating my life to missions happened years later during
my first semester at the New Tribes Bible Institute. A group
of high school students reported to our church about their
missions trip. I said, "If they can go, why not me?"
Last year, Jonathan and I visited along
the Amazon River. I became ill, couldn't communicate,
and was upset by the lack of privacy and noise of an all-night
festival. Then a local believer gave me a gift. I thought,
If these people who are so poor can give to me, surely I
can sacrifice a bit of sleep and discomfort for them.
David Kelly Fath Jr.
Church: Calvary Church, Fruitport, MI
Phone: (616) 847 2643
E-mail: kelly.fath@alumni.cedarville.edu
Country: Central & Eastern Europe
I came to know the Lord as my Savior
when I was four. My parents grounded me in the Word of God
and challenged me to grow in my faith. As a pastor's kid,
I met many missionaries, and our family prayed for many missionaries.
My first ministry trip came during high
school on an Operation Barnabas team that traveled for six
weeks in Washington and Oregon doing drama, puppets, singing,
preaching, and service projects at various churches. Cedarville
University further prepared me for ministry and provided
opportunities to serve in New York City and Germany.
Despite God's leading to law school,
I remained challenged by Bill Commons' simple statement "Preparing
to Go, Willing to Stay," After leaving the practice
of law to attend seminary, I began to plan for international
ministry until that door closed. I was blessed to serve short
term in Brazil, Romania, and Albania.
My parents' example and sacrifice
in obeying God's call and their encouragement that I follow
God's direction have given me freedom to enter missionary
service.
D. & D. F.
Church: Alpine Baptist, Comstock Park, MI
Children: Kara '85, Joshua '86, Holly '88, Alyssa '90,
Anna '97, Andrew '99
Phone: (616) 364 4992
E-mail: marioford@cs.com
Country: GAP - Asia
Dave: My parents worked at Camp Gitchee
Gumee all summer every year from the time I was two until
I graduated from high school. After summer camp when I was
13, I kept thinking about a sermon I had heard and accepted
Christ as my Savior.
After our marriage, we took a trip to
Bangladesh. I thought it was hot, humid, and full of bugs.
I never expected to return, but in 1997, Jack Archibald asked
if I could replace him in the business office at Memorial
Christian Hospital. That was the best year our family has
ever had. It wasn't problem free, but we became much more
dependent on God and much closer as a family.
Since then we have prayed continually,
talked with missionary friends and heard missionary speakers
whom the Lord has used to keep tugging at my heart. I believe
the Lord is leading our family into full-time missions.
Diane: My parents, ABWE missionaries Jay and Eleanor Walsh, taught us seven
kids to know the Lord. I received Him as Savior when I was five. I went through
the war that resulted in the formation of Bangladesh. Even at the age of seven
when bombs were dropping and we were evacuated out of the country, I remember
the assurance that I would go to heaven if I died.
At a youth outing when I was 12, I dedicated
my life to the Lord in any way He could use me. I felt sad
when leaving Bangladesh to enter Grand Rapids Baptist College,
thinking I would never return to that country again. It was
a life-changing time for our family as we saw God work to
raise our $54,000 support in five months. A seed was planted
in our hearts for full time missions. We want to serve God
as a family.
Pedro and Stephanie (Christian) Garcia
III
Church: First Baptist, Lapeer, MI
Children: Eva '01; Isabel '02
Phone: (810) 245 8687
E-mail: stepega@juno.com
Country: Chile
Pedro: My mother and father led me to
accept Jesus Christ as Savior at the age of six. A few years
later, I watched as my father's call into the ministry led
our family to Bible school, pre-field ministry, and church
planting.
A pivotal time in my life was when I
entered a large state university. I realized that for the
first time I had to stand on my own spiritual feet. During
my years at Central Michigan University, I became active
in a local church; served in a college ministry; dedicated
my life to full-time service for the Lord; and sensed God's
call for vocational missions.
During my 11 years of training, God has
supplied my needs. Now my wife and I desire to continue the
godly heritage passed on to us by our parents.
Stephanie: When I was five years old,
my parents, ABWE missionaries Jim and Gail Christian, moved
our family to Texas to study Spanish and prepare for the
mission field. During a children's meeting, I realized I
had not yet received Jesus Christ as my own Savior. My parents
helped me understand, and I was saved.
I loved life on the mission field and
always wanted to go back to Santiago, Chile. I struggled
with my return to the United States. For a while in college,
I walked away from God's path. However, the Lord helped
me realize I needed to be willing to go wherever God wanted.
Pedro and I desire to serve in
a place where there are not many missionaries. We hope
to join a team that will present Christ to people in Antofagasta,
Chile.
Barron and Heidi (Hecker) Geiger
Church: Grace Church, Des Moines, IA
Children: David '91; Emily '94
Phone: (515) 957-0529
E-mail: bgeiger9@aol.com
Country: Brazil
Barron: My father was a Marine Corps
drill sergeant. My mom accepted Christ shortly after their
marriage. By the time I was four, she had "loved" my
dad into the kingdom of God. When I was seven, I received
salvation. My father became a gifted teacher of the Word
and led many Bible studies.
After my first year of college, I auditioned
for a summer music missions team known as "The Celebrant
Singers." I served five summers with them, ministering
in nearly every Central American country. I met Heidi and
together we felt called to missionary work. But we weren't
ready. I spent 12 years in the business world. We attended
Grace Church, grew in the Lord, and served in a variety of
ministries. In September 2001, Shane and Erin Latham challenged
us about south Brazil. At a missions conference the next
week, we gave our lives to serve the Lord.
Heidi: I grew up in a Christian home
and in ninth grade accepted Jesus as my Savior. I was heavily
involved in athletics in high school and received a full
scholarship in springboard diving to the University of Nebraska.
I had spent many hours in church, but very little time getting
to know God personally. Without a firm foundation, I quickly
fell away from God.
In the summer of 1987, I moved back to
Des Moines to do my student teaching, I met a Christian athlete
who had grown in his relationship with Christ, not abandoned
it. Like the prodigal son, I returned to the Father. God
opened the door for me to travel with the Celebrant Singers.
Through the humble, loving leadership of our director, God
did great things in and through me. While on the trip, I
sensed God's call to dedicate my life to missions.
Vicki Greenfield
Church: Faith Baptist, Albion, PA
Phone: (814) 774 4735
E-mail: vickijo_ann@hotmail.com
Country:
Each Sunday, my mother took my five siblings
and me to church. I was told that I was saved at four but
don't remember. When I was eight, while preparing to
be baptized, my mother explained that I first had to be sure
I was saved. At the kitchen table, I accepted Christ as Savior.
At the same time, I felt a call to missions.
But in my public school, I lacked boldness and didn't tell
my peers. After high school, I enrolled in elementary education
at Appalachian Bible College. In my freshman year, the missions
conference speaker quoted Isaiah 6:8, "Whom shall I
send and who will go?" He said many people say, "Here
am I" but stop without saying, "Send me."
I joined the college hand bell
choir and went on a missions trip to Togo, but hated the
heat and bugs and told God I wouldn't go back. But
on one of Ron Washer's many trips to Appalachian
Bible College, he said he needed a teacher for missionary
children in Ghana. I spent ten months there and now can
say, "I'm willing to go wherever God leads."
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