Candidate Class 2005 (testimonials)
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Zina Allen
theallens@abwe.cc
Children: Drew Jonathan (’94), Bradley (’00)
Heritage Baptist Church, Prattville, AL
Age saved: 6
Education: Bob Jones University (BS)
Field: Mexico City
Zina accepted the Lord at age six, and as a teenager committed her life to missions at a church camp. Following graduation from college, she returned to her home town in Georgia to teach at Stone Mountain Christian School. A few years later, she met and married John Allen Baker, and the couple had two sons together, Drew and Bradley.
She always wondered if God would call them into missions, but He did not. In 2001 Allen was diagnosed with cancer and went to be with the Lord later that year.
In 2003 Zina recommitted her life to missions. She remembers telling the Lord that if He wanted her to be a missionary, He would literally have to bring someone to the church and make the decision to become a missionary clear to her.
Within weeks, her life changed when Ron Allen, an ABWE missionary returning from Mexico City, attended a Missions Conference at her home church. The couple began corresponding with one another, and Zina and the boys visited the field.
Both Zina and Ron looked to the Lord for direction in the matter. As a result of much prayer, they felt the leading of the Lord to marry and go to the mission field together. The Allens were married November 27, 2004, and the family plans to serve together in Mexico City.
Jason Bennett
Jason.d.b@juno.com
First Baptist Church of Whitney Point, NY
Age saved: 4
Education: Practical Bible College (now Davis College) (BRE)
Field: Africa (Ghana or Cameroon)
One Sunday when Jason was home sick from church, his mother led him to the Lord. Although he doesn’t remember a specific time when he felt a call to missions, he knew by his junior year of high school that this was the ministry direction in which God was leading him.
Jason says, “I received a strong Bible education from Baptist Bible College and Practical Bible College. God has blessed me with the opportunity to make four short-term missions trips, and has worked in my life through each trip to influence my progress in the ministry.”
On a trip to Haiti during his high school years, the Lord confirmed Jason’s call to missions. In college, Jason went to Jamaica, and there developed a desire to work with the deaf. Two years later, he again worked with the deaf on a trip to Benin, and in the summer of 2003 he spent two and a half weeks in Ghana involved in many aspects of a church-building ministry, including teaching in the Bible Institute and preaching. Besides these international trips, Jason has taken several missions trips with his youth group to ministries near home, such as rescue missions. These also helped confirm his decision to serve in missions.
“I want to work with people who love Jesus, and help them serve Him better,” Jason says. “I look forward to this next step of pursuing what God wants for me.”
Amanda Bevan
abevan@abwe.cc
South Baptist Church, Lansing, MI
Age saved: 6
Education: Pensacola Christian College (BA)
Field: The Gambia, West Africa
At Lake Ann Baptist Camp, near Traverse City, Michigan, Amanda felt the tug to go to the mission field when a speaker challenged the young people to consider full-time ministry. Through her college years, Amanda was committed to discerning what God wanted in her life. All through her time at Pensacola Christian College, Amanda grew in her Christian life. “I was open to missions,” she says, “and I thought it made sense to try a short-term trip.” She applied for ABWE’s Assistant Missionary Program (AMP) and checked off all the African countries on the list of places where she was interested in going. She received an invitation from the field council to come to The Gambia.
Three weeks after graduating from PCC, Amanda flew to The Gambia for 15 months to work with the literacy center, filling in for a missionary on furlough. Amanda adds, “One of my goals in the short-term trip was to see if this was something God would want me to do full-time. Being in The Gambia was not always easy, but God taught me that ‘faithful is he that calleth you who also will do it.’ Through prayer and godly counsel, I feel God has called me back to The Gambia to assist in church planting, in the area of community development and skills training.”
Dan and Bridgot Byrum
byrum@abwe.cc
Children: Hannah (‘91), Daniel (‘93), Natalie (‘96), Ethan (‘00)
Berean Baptist Church, Grand Rapids, MI
Age saved: Dan 7, Bridgot 7
Education: Dan—Cedarville University (BA); Bridgot—Cedarville University (BA)
Field: The Gambia, West Africa
Dan grew up in a Christian home and first experienced mission work while in high school, when his youth group traveled to another state and ran a Bible school for a new church plant. This experience led him to pursue a Bible degree at Cedarville. While in college, he traveled to Ivory Coast to do sports evangelism in bush villages, which began his enduring love for Africa. Bridgot decided during her sophomore year at Cedarville that she was willing to serve in missions, but had no particular calling.
Several years after they were married, the Byrums took a two-week missions trip to Mali, West Africa, and Bridgot found that God was causing her to consider foreign missions. In 2001, the Byrums had the chance serve in Mali for eleven months. There, they discovered that missionaries are “regular people, not super-gifted or super-spiritual,” and realized that they, too, could have a part in serving God this way. The Byrums feel that God has clearly led them to career missions in Africa, with their sights set on The Gambia.
David Carrel
carrelda@yahoo.com
Heritage Baptist Church, Kentwood, MI
Age saved: 4
Education: Tennessee Temple University (BA)
Field: Amazonas, Brazil
David grew up in a Christian home and credits his parents as one of the main reasons he is in missions today. “My dad has never ceased to be involved in missions through giving, as well as through short-term missions trips.”
In 1993 and again in 1996, David’s father, a medical doctor, took the entire Carrel family to the Amazon, where he filled a vacancy at the Amazonas Baptist Hospital for several months. It was after completing these two trips with his family that David knew he was called to missions, and never had any doubt throughout his high school and college years that this was God’s plan for his life.
At Tennessee Temple, David was even more encouraged toward missionary service by the school’s strong missions emphasis. David recently completed his internship in missions by traveling to Brazil and ministering there. He looks forward to taking the things he has learned and giving them to others, as Paul instructed Timothy, by training nationals.
Les and Debbie Collins
lesndebcollins@aol.com
Children: Jeffrey (’85), Sarah (’89)
Plymouth Baptist Church, Plymouth, MI
Age saved: Les 6, Deb 11
Education: Les—Moody Bible Institute
Field: South Asia
Although Les became a Christian as a child and was involved in church throughout his teen years, he later drifted away from his relationship with God. Deb thought she was saved at age eleven, but that experience didn’t really affect her life. After Les and Deb married in 1981, they left the church and lived far from God for a decade.
However, Deb had faithful Christian grandparents, and her grandmother never gave up praying and inviting the couple to attend church. “She was so gentle and loving,” Les writes of her. In response to her invitations, they finally did return to church and the Lord began convicting them as they heard the Scriptures taught.
“I began to understand the meaning of grace and mercy as I realized that He was faithful even while I was faithless,” Les says. “The road back was long and painful, but God has been gracious to be with us every step of the way.”
Deb and Les went to South Asia in 1999 and stayed for nearly a year, which Deb describes as “the most life-changing experience I could have imagined.” Les worked at a hospital, filling in for the injured maintenance supervisor there, and Deb helped in a ministry to widowed women. They now anticipate returning to South Asia as career missionaries.
Beth Cooley
bethrcooley@yahoo.com
Grace Baptist Church, Cedarville, OH
Age saved: 10
Education: Cedarville University (BA)
Field: Central Europe
Beth grew up in Cedarville, Ohio, and was saved as a young person. In the summer following her first year of college, Beth counseled at Scioto Hills Camp, and it was there that God led her to commit her life to ministry. When she returned to college, she changed her major to Christian Education and Missions.
Her youth pastor had made her aware of missions in general, and conversations with ABWE missionary Bill Dooley inspired and motivated Beth to consider missions as God’s specific will for her life. Missions trips to Central Europe challenged Beth to consider carefully what God was doing in her heart. Soon, she knew for sure that He wanted her in missions.
While in Central Europe, Beth was deeply touched by the needs of the people there, especially the widows and orphans. She has just returned from a year of short-term service in The Balkans, and has come to understand through her experiences how she could contribute to the ministry there. Beth looks forward to using her gifts to serve in the ministry in The Balkans.
Ken and Sharon Crider
crider@cecnet.net
Children: Michaela (’98)
Calvary Baptist Church, St. Charles, IA
Age saved: Ken 16, Sharon 6
Education: Ken—Faith Baptist Bible College (BS); Sharon—Faith Baptist Bible College
Field: Cameroon
Ken was saved during high school, and began growing in the Lord during his time at Iowa State University, while he attended Campus Baptist Church. Sharon grew up as an MK in Ghana, and from the time she was saved, was committed to doing God’s will.
During a college retreat, Ken yielded his life completely to the Lord. He enrolled in Faith Baptist Bible College and has served in various churches since then. Even as a child, Sharon felt that missions might someday be part of her life again, and that she would revisit Africa. She even studied French in high school to prepare.
During a missions conference at her parents’ church in 2000, both Ken and Sharon knew that God was calling them into missions. They were not clear where they would be serving when they first came to Candidate Seminar, but God’s will became clear during that time. Ken says, “I think it’s important to know that sometimes you have to move forward before you have all the details.”
Ken looks forward to using his technology skills in the university in the Cameroon, and plans to combine both computer and Biblical instruction in a county hungry for such training. Sharon anticipates using her gift for hospitality, and her office and administration skills. Both find the idea of involvement in a new work exciting.
RC and Annie Cromwell
Cromwell@abwe.cc
Children: Zoe (‘94) Zachary (‘97)
Grace Baptist Church, Anchorage, AK
Age saved: RC 8, Annie 5
Education: RC—Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (BS), University of Christian Studies and Seminary (MS); Annie—Yavapai College
Field: Trinidad and Tobago
Both RC and Annie were saved before age ten and grew up grounded in God’s Word. Annie felt called to missions since she was little. When RC was working on his master’s degree, the more he learned about the Bible and God, the more he felt called to the ministry.
Annie says, “After my husband and I were married, we were attending the Lord’s church, but not attending to the Lord’s work.” The couple said that they were using the fact that their church was thirty miles away as an excuse not to be involved. Consequently, their pastor, Virgil Redmond came to them and explained where he thought God was leading them and suggested that they attend a church closer to their residence, Grace Baptist Church, so that they could become more involved in ministry opportunities. This has allowed RC and Annie to meet people in missions and to develop their gifts in teaching and ministry.
Although RC and Annie’s home church is sad to see them leave, they are very supportive of their decision. They have been an encouragement to the couple through prayers and financial backing.
Ray and Shari Druckenmiller
rayd@localnet.com
Children: Josiah (‘83), Ethan (‘84), Abner (‘85)
Calvary Bible Church, Lewistown, PA
Age saved: Ray 7, Shari 7
Education: Ray—Trinity College of the Bible and Theological Seminary, Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg School of the Bible
Field: Chile
Ray and Shari’s call to missions developed over a period of time. A retired missionary, Franklin Ballard, encouraged and discipled the couple as they searched for direction in their Christian life.
Shari said she always knew that Ray was called into some kind of full-time ministry. Financial circumstances and family obligations, however, prevented him from completing his training.
About three years ago, Ray went to his pastor and told him, “Whatever is left with this life, I want it to count for God.” At that point Ray began to be burdened for missions, and started researching information about Chilean culture.
After seeing a spiritual change in Ray’s life that reflected a true commitment to the Lord, Shari became interested in missions as well. Ray and Shari are committed to serving the Lord in Chile, ministering to the people in the area.
Brian and Angela Eggert
beggert@abwe.cc
Children: Maeghan (‘01), Gilbert (‘03)
Berean Baptist Church, Portage, MI
Age saved: Brian 3, Angela 3
Education: Brian—Moody Bible Institute (BMus), Moody Graduate School (MDiv in progress); Angela—Moody Bible Institute (BA)
Field: Australia
Both Brian and Angela were saved as young children and committed their lives to missions during junior high. As children attending summer camp, they were impacted by the stories and testimonies missionary speakers shared.
Brian and Angela met and were married during their time at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. While attending the Institute, they were both involved in choir ministry tours overseas. Brian recalls a trip to Australia when a pastor challenged his music team to consider a ministry there. He didn’t know at the time that God would direct him to that country in the future.
After college, the couple became active in music ministry at churches in Illinois and Michigan. In 2003, Brian returned to Australia as co-leader of a youth missions trip from his church. While there, he learned how his gifts and training matched current needs on the field. The Eggerts desire to assist in the training of national church leaders through theological education and the development of music ministry in Australian churches.
Cheryl Fawcett
CAbeachbum@juno.com
Shadow Mountain Community Church, El Cajon, CA
Age saved: 6
Education: Baptist Bible College (BRE), Wheaton Graduate School (MA), Trinity International University (PhD)
Field: Itinerant Youth Ministry Educator
In one sense, Cheryl’s entire professional life has been her preparation for the mission field. While teaching college courses in Christian Education, she frequently invited Don Trott to come and challenge her students. Cheryl found, however, that her students were not the only ones being challenged. God used those sessions to speak to her heart as well.
Over the years, Cheryl made multiple visits to ABWE fields in order to teach, and God’s movement in her heart towards missions continued to grow with each trip. Cheryl has determined God’s leading in her life by the “convergence of life circumstances, godly counsel, and a growing desire,” and finds that itinerant Youth Ministry teaching is a natural outgrowth of her experience. “I’ve been teaching for 23 years, I have years of academic background, and I have thirty years of volunteer or paid experience in youth ministries.”
Cheryl will travel to different fields from her home in California. “I want to teach nationals how to reach youth in their countries.”
Charles (Chip) Finck
chipfinck@yahoo.com
Calvary Baptist Church, Normal, IL
Age saved: 13
Education: St. Xavier University (MS), Illinois State University (BS), Trinity International University
Field: Thailand
Chip was saved at a Christian concert during his teenage years, but wandered away from God for several years. When he came back to the Lord and began studying the Word, God gave him the desire to share the gospel with others.
While working as a teacher, Chip took two short-term trips, to Cuiaba, Brazil, and Cameroon, Africa. In 2001, he followed God’s prompting to help work on the ABWE mission training center in Harrisburg. Each night he would “eat with those going through candidate seminar and hear about the needs around the world,” which broke his heart and made him strongly desire to be in missions.
In the last few years, Chip has worked with NYC Ministries and Chicago Outreach Ministries, and has spent a month in the Balkans with ABWE, ministering to Muslims.
He also looks for opportunities to witness here in the States, and writes “there should not be a mental shift from the ‘mission field’ to ‘back home,’ because you never leave the mission field—it’s where it has always been: under your two feet.” Chip went to Thailand with ABWE in 2004, preaching and sharing his testimony, and now looks forward to spending “the rest of my days serving Him.”
Heidi Gott
hrgott@hotmail.com
pinto@abwe.cc
Grace Baptist Church, Salem, OR
Age saved: 5
Education: Western Baptist College (BS)
Field: Spanish-speaking South America
“My Christian walk has been a journey of getting to know God more,” Heidi shared. She is grateful for being raised in a Christian home and coming to know the Lord at a young age.
In second grade, Heidi grew interested in missions after hearing a story about Amy Carmichael. As a teenager, she participated in several short-term missions trips and her focus on missions never changed. She has visited Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Brazil, ministering to women and children of the area.
Heidi looks forward to serving the Lord on the mission field, as she teaches and disciples the people she meets.
Thomas and Gela Graef
tomgraef@netzero.com
www.tomgraef.com
Children: David (‘91), Jessica (‘92), Hannah (‘97)
West Pines Baptist Church, Avon, IN
Age saved: Thomas 16, Gela 3
Education: Thomas—Baptist Bible Seminary (M Min), Baptist Bible College (BA)
Gela—Baptist Bible College (BA)
Field: Romania
Both Tom and Gela grew up in godly homes and made early decisions for salvation and dedication to ministry. Although they didn’t have a specific direction in mind at the time, the couple committed to being available in whatever way God would lead.
As Tom and Gela sought the Lord’s guidance, they took advantage of opportunities to serve the Lord. In 1987, Gela traveled with a group to Argentina and Peru as a team translator. Two years later, in 1989, Tom and Gela participated in a short-term missions trip to Chile. In addition, the couple has been active with church planting in Indiana.
When asked about their decision to go into missions, Tom shared that as the church plant grew, he had assumed that God would build within him what it would take to be a veteran pastor and to stay with the church until retirement. Instead, God put in his heart a passion for church planting.
A trip to Romania confirmed their decision to pursue missions full time. Tom and Gela are committed to partnering with the nationals to develop church planters and missionaries.
Kevin Hall
kshall9999@yahoo.com
Age saved: 6
Education: Pennsylvania State University (BS) Word of Life Bible Institute (BA)
Field: Russia
Kevin grew up in a Christian home and was saved as a child, but he didn’t begin living a life that was fully committed to the Lord until after he graduated from college. He participated in several Men for Missions construction projects here in the United States, and then went on his first missions trip overseas to Odessa, Ukraine, in 1995.
Kevin writes, “Two years after that trip I gave up my struggle with God and dedicated my life to missions.” In the decade since he traveled to the Ukraine, Kevin has made yearly short-term trips, to fields such as Ireland, France, and Papua New Guinea. After encouragement from a couple in his church who are also involved in missions, Kevin spoke with Ron Berrus, the head of ABWE’s Missionary Care division. Ron explained that Kevin needed Bible training, so Kevin quit his job and attended Word of Life Bible Institute.
During winter break at the Institute last year, Kevin took another missions trip, this time to Perm, Russia, and feels that this is the field where God has called him to serve.
Mark and Andrea Jones
marandgraluk@yahoo.com
Children: Grant (‘99), Luke (‘01)
Calvary Baptist Church, Covington, KY
Age saved: Mark 12, Andrea 9
Education: Mark—Cedarville University (BA); Andrea—Cedarville University (BA)
Field: Republic of Ireland
Mark grew up in a pastor’s home under the godly leadership of Christian parents and has always been open to missions. Andrea grew up in a missionary home and has always had a great love for the mission field.
Andrea and Mark met at Cedarville and have served together in youth ministry for the past 12 years. God used the counsel of Andrea’s missionary parents and the experience of several missions trips to woo Mark’s heart toward missions. Ultimately, Mark credits “loads of personal prayer” and intimate time with the Lord in His Word for their decision to go to the field.
When Mark and Andrea recognized that God wanted them to plant a church, they found Bible models of team-building in the examples of Jesus and Paul, and determined to follow those examples. “I can’t reach everybody around me by myself,” Mark says, “but if I surround myself with those who are strong where I’m not, I expand my opportunity to reach more people. And the team concept is bigger than just coworkers—it includes my family, as well.” To this end, Mark and Andrea have worked diligently at building their missions team, inviting fellow workers to consider with them God’s call to the Republic of Ireland.
Jeremy and Sher Kallin
thekallins@yahoo.com
Children: Gracie (‘03)
Cape Bible Chapel, Cape Girardeau, MO
Age saved: Jeremy (9), Sher (8)
Education: Jeremy—College of the Ozarks (BS); Sher—College of the Ozarks (BA)
Field: Brazil
As an MK, Jeremy grew up knowing the gospel, but wasn’t saved until he was nine. As a young teen, he decided that “obedience to the Lord meant following His purpose for my life at any cost.” While attending boarding school in Brazil, Jeremy had exposure to active outreach to the nationals.
Sher was saved as a young child and first dedicated her life to missions at fourteen. Her parents were the most influential people in her life and raised her to believe that she should “always follow God’s leading in my own life and serve Him first.”
Jeremy knew that glorifying God was his number one priority in life and decided the best way to do that was to dedicate his life to reach others for Christ. Since he knew the culture and the language, Brazil was the logical choice, and he feels strongly led to return there. For Sher, God’s leading came in response to her opening herself up to the Holy Spirit to work in her daily, “just putting one foot in front of the other.”
The Kallins find God continually leading them back into youth ministry in many different forms, and that’s where their heart is—in discipling young people in Brazil.
Tim and Kathy Laughlin
kdtim@abwe.cc
Children: Mark (‘82), Matthew (‘85), Sarah (‘88)
Calvary Baptist Church, Covington, KY
Age saved: Tim 6, Kathy 10
Education: Tim—Multnomah Bible College (BS); Kathy—Multnomah Bible College
Field: Republic of Ireland
Tim knew as a teenager that he wanted to attend a Bible college. He chose Multnomah because of the influence of its godly cofounder, Dr. John Mitchell, and Tim’s interest in missions began while he was a student there.
As a young teen, Kathy heard a missionary to Africa speak at a camp and urge the teens to commit their lives to missions, and Kathy did so willingly. “I often told the Lord that I was still willing to go if He called,” Kathy says.
In 1995, the Laughlins were transferred to the Midwest and began attending Calvary Baptist Church in Covington, Kentucky. Dr. Loftis spoke at the church’s missions conference in the late 1990s. At that time, Tim reaffirmed his willingness to follow Christ’s leading.
Meanwhile, Kathy was telling the Lord that no matter where He wanted her children to go, she freely gave them to Him. “In my heart,” she writes, “I sensed Him asking, ‘What about you?’ I answered aloud, ‘Yes, Lord, wherever You want me to go.’”
Soon after, the Laughlins were invited by the youth pastor at their church to join the missions team he and others were developing, and both Tim and Kathy believe God is leading them through this invitation to work in the Republic of Ireland.
Jesse and Tena Luper
nbc@northsidebaptistchurch.org
Children: Cassandra (‘83), Jessica (‘86), Jesse (‘90)
Age saved: Jesse 34, Tena 9
Education: Criswell Bible College (BA); Tena—Criswell Bible College
Field: Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Although Tena was saved as a child, Jesse didn’t meet the Lord until he was an adult. He visited Messiah Baptist Church in Wichita, Kansas, and the pastor’s message on being a responsible father touched him deeply. Realizing that only Christ could change him, Jesse acknowledged Him as Lord that day.
In 1987, the Lupers attended their first missions conference and became burdened for the people of the world. They volunteered in the youth department of their local church, where in 1996, the youth pastor and several workers began praying together that God would send families from their congregation to the mission field. As a result, five families, including Jesse and Tena, answered God’s call to missions. The Lupers attended Criswell Bible College in Dallas, Texas, and Jesse went on to serve at Northside Baptist in Carrollton, Texas, as Assistant and Missions Pastor. Missions conferences and short-term trips have taught the Lupers much, and their five-week trip to Venezuela in 1996 especially burdened them to get as involved in missions as possible.
Jesse and Tena look forward to starting churches in Vancouver, British Columbia, and working with the street people there.
Krista Manago
krista_manago@abwe.cc
East Side Baptist Church, Crawfordsville, IN
Age saved: 5
Education: Baptist Bible College (BA)
Field: Portugal
Krista grew up in a pastor’s family and always had an interest in missions. During her years at Baptist Bible College, she was able to take a 4-week missions trip to Ghana and Togo, West Africa. The trip confirmed that God could use her in missions. Although she knew she could be used, she wasn’t sure where or in what areas.
After graduation from BBC, she had the opportunity to serve for one year in England as a short-term missionary in the ABWE Assistant Missionary Program (AMP). During this year, God made it clear how He could use her. She thoroughly enjoyed working with a church plant in the areas of children’s ministry, youth ministry, discipleship, and hospitality, and determined to move from AMP to career missions upon her return to the US in the spring of 2005. She met with the ABWE board in April of 2005 and was appointed to Western Europe.
However, in the fall of 2004, as part of her AMP ministry in England, Krista was able to attend the Western Europe conference for all ABWE missionaries in that region. At the conference in Sicily, Krista met Nick Rachevsky, a single missionary on prefield to Portugal. After a courtship of writing, calling and visiting, Nick asked Krista to marry him. They were married on September 10, 2005, and look forward to ministry together in Portugal.
Evangeline Mann
Calvary Baptist Church, Covington, KY
Age saved: 5
Education:Moody Bible Institute (BA)
Field: Republic of Ireland
Evangeline grew up in England as a child of missionaries and was saved at a young age. As a teenager, she dedicated her life to the Lord with the intention of becoming involved in full-time ministry.
After graduating from high school, the Lord worked in Evangeline’s heart and gave her a desire to teach. As a result, Evangeline enrolled at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois, and earned a degree in elementary education.
She knew from spending her childhood in England that more Christian workers were needed to minister to the people in that area of the world. At Moody Bible Institute, Evangeline was moved as she met international students who had been saved as a result of missionary work.
Recognizing the need and effect of missions has burdened Evangeline to enter full-time ministry in the Republic of Ireland. She looks forward to helping children come to know the Lord as she interacts with them.
Lesa Morgan
lesa40@juno.com
First Baptist Church, Whitney Point, NY
Age saved: 7
Education: Pensacola Christian College (BS), National Institute for Learning Disabilities
Field: Thailand
Lesa asked the Lord to be her Savior at age seven. She recalls missionaries always being part of her life, sharing God’s love with her. Some of these individuals were close family members, and others were visitors to her church and home.
As a young child, Lesa felt burdened for the less fortunate. Nevertheless, it wasn’t until her freshman year of college, during a missions conference, that she dedicated her life to the Lord for missionary service.
In May, 2004, she visited Thailand on a short-term missions trip. That encounter immediately drew her to the culture of the Thai people. She remembers the experience as life-changing: exposing her to a new climate, different smells, and a population that needs to hear about the hope of God. Lesa’s desire is to return to Thailand to teach English and share the gospel as part of a new ministry outreach called “City on a Hill.”
Tracy Nissley
tracynissley@iserv.net
Calvary Baptist Church, Grand Rapids, MI
Age saved: 8
Education: Grand Rapids Baptist College (BA)
Field: International Baptist University
Tracy’s family was active in their church, and she accepted Christ at a young age. In high school she felt that God might want her to consider some type of missions work. “I wasn’t sure where or how,” Tracy says, “but I committed do ‘whatever, whenever, wherever.’”
Tracy attended Grand Rapids Baptist College (now Cornerstone University) where she earned a degree in Business Administration. To graduate, she had to complete an internship. Remembering her commitment in high school, she applied for a short-term missions trip where she could fulfill the internship requirements and went to Liberia, West Africa, in 1987. It was there that Tracy began to realize that she could use her business skills in missions. After college, the Lord provided a job at Nationwide Truck Brokers, a trucking company in Grand Rapids, and she has worked there for 17 years. Tracy’s interest and desire for missions grew as she went on several missions trips and stayed involved in her local church. For the last three years, Tracy has served on her church’s missions team committee.
A year ago Tracy heard about International Baptist University, whose purpose and goal is to provide training for national pastors and church workers in various countries around the world. They had a need for a business person, and Tracy saw how she could be involved. “I had always been willing and ready, but the Lord has used my experience of the last 17 years to prepare me.”
Andrew & Leah Postema
agapehaus@aol.com
Children: Grace (‘00), Rose (‘0l), Wayne (‘04)
Highland Hills Baptist Church, Grand Rapids, MI
Age saved: Andrew 4, Leah 7
Education: Baptist Bible College (BS), Grand Rapids Theological Seminary(MDiv); Leah—Baptist Bible College (BS)
Field: Romania
Andrew and Leah both grew up in Christian homes and were saved when they were children. As a teenager at camp, Leah made a commitment to give her whole life to the Lord and began to develop an interest in missions. Although Andrew was open to God’s direction, he didn’t become interested in missions until later.
After high school, Leah and Andrew attended Baptist Bible College in Pennsylvania. While in college, Leah went on a short-term missions trip to the Philippines to speak at a conference and encourage believers. This experience fueled Leah’s desire for missions and she began praying that Andrew, her soon-to-be husband, would be open to the idea.
After their wedding, Andrew enrolled in seminary. Their call to missions became clear through church support, desire to spread the gospel, recognition of giftedness for missionary service, and specifically, through study of Mark 10:29-31.
Leah and Andrew have recently completed an internship with Lake Ann Baptist Camp in Michigan, and are in the process of developing a camping ministry in Romania. The couple looks forward to using their ministry gifts to serve the Lord in Romania.
Bill and Carol Prime
wprime@europe.com
Emmanuel Baptist Church, Chatham, Ontario
Age saved: Bill 4, Carol 5
Education: Bill—Muskegon County Community College (AA) Carol—Royal Conservatory of Toronto (ARCT), Western Conservatory of London (AMus)
Field: Central Europe
Bill and Carol individually asked the Lord into their lives at very young ages, but did not commit to missions until their children were nearly grown. In 1989, they attended a conference at Word of Life in New York. There Carol made a decision to pursue missions if that was where the Lord was leading. On the drive home to Ontario, Bill also realized God’s calling in his life for this ministry.
In 1990, Bill and Carol were asked to serve the Lord in Pakistan. Realizing how far away the country was, the couple requested time to pray about the possibility. Within two years, Bill and Carol had made a decision to go there.
In addition to working in Pakistan, the couple has ministered in Istanbul, Turkey, and Kansas City. More recently, Bill and Carol have spent two years in Central Europe and look forward to returning. Their desire is to work with widows and orphans.
Elizabeth Proctor
Proctor_liz@yahoo.com
Grace Baptist Church, Daytona Beach, FL
Age saved: 4
Education: Spurgeon Baptist Bible College (AA, BA)
Field: Chile
Elizabeth grew up in a Christian home and dedicated her life to missions as a teenager. As a child, she loved to read biographies and was impacted by the testimony of Elisabeth Elliot.
Since Elizabeth was home-schooled during high school, she was free to be involved with her church and participate in missions conferences. During this time she visited Mexico twice on short-term trips, once in 2000, and again in 2001. In addition, she has tutored Hispanic children in Florida. These experiences strengthened Elizabeth’s conviction that God wanted her to become a missionary.
Her desire is to minister to the missionary children of Chile. Elizabeth feels that her background and education in teaching have prepared her for this challenge.
Steve and Karen Rance
RanceFamily@juno.com
Children: Kisha (‘85), Paul (‘89), Elizabeth (‘92), Autumn (‘92)
Landmark Baptist Church, Logansport, IN
Age saved: Steve 10, Karen 18
Education: Steve—Bob Jones University, Northland Baptist Bible College
Field: Ghana, West Africa
Steve became a Christian when he was ten, and Karen was saved at eighteen. After Steve graduated from high school he joined the military, and by the time he was nineteen, he writes that he was a “backslider, making decisions on my own. I felt as if I had the world by the tail, but I was wrong.” Steve realized his condition and repented. After this turnaround, he married Karen, and together they had four children.
In 1999, during revival services, Steve and Karen surrendered their lives completely to the Lord, not realizing at the time that God was calling them to missions. In 2000, they had the opportunity to go on a two-week missions trip to Ghana. There, the national pastor got them involved in local ministries. Karen writes of that time, “Everywhere I looked there were children. I thought, who will go and teach these people? And I knew that was something I could do.” Steve adds, “After visiting the field, the Lord really placed a burden on our hearts to help build the ministry and to bring God’s Word to the many who are hungry and lost.”
After much counsel and prayer, the Rances sold everything and went to study missions at Northland Baptist Bible College. They thank God for leading them to Ghana and for the way He has touched their hearts for the lost.
Ryan and Gretchen Rought
ryangretchen97@yahoo.com
Children: Adrianna (‘00), Miranda (‘02)
Age saved: Ryan 6, Gretchen 21
Education: Ryan—Siena Heights University (BS); Gretchen—Kalamazoo College (BA)
Field: Costa Rica
Ryan’s mother led him to the Lord when he was a small child, and he names several other people, including his pastor, who have guided, influenced, and directed his life in Biblical truths. Gretchen began her relationship with Christ after meeting Ryan in college. Afterward, she moved to Costa Rica, where she began to love the people and to feel empathy for the lost. When she returned to the US, she and Ryan were married, and have continued to grow in their love for the Lord and in their drive to take the gospel to the lost.
Because of Ryan’s involvement in law enforcement, he was invited to travel to Bolivia to minister to the police and the military. In 2004 Ryan made another short-term trip, this time to Costa Rica, as team leader, and he took Gretchen and the children along. Since that second trip, the Lord opened doors in an amazing way for them to return and work directly with the police and authorities in Costa Rica. Over fifty officers were saved during the time they ministered there, and the colonel of the police force has extended an open invitation to the Roughts to return.
Their vision is to take the gospel to the people and especially the authorities of Costa Rica.
Sue Rowland
msrowland125@aol.com
Calvary Baptist Church, Covington, KY
Age saved: 8
Education: Grace College (BA)
Field: Republic of Ireland
Sue accepted the Lord as her Savior at age eight and a few years later dedicated her life to full-time missions. When she became a young adult, the Lord brought several people into her life who were interested in missions and these individuals challenged her to consider getting involved personally.
Sue’s first cross-cultural experience was in college when she studied in Freiburg, Germany, for a semester. During this time, Sue’s relationship with God deepened as she was exposed to a different culture and had to rely on Him. As a social worker, she could see the Lord preparing her for future ministry. She was developing “people” skills as well as strengthening her walk with God.
Sue enjoyed short-term missions trips, but her burden was for social work. In January, 2005, God began to move in Sue’s heart, and she recognized that it was time to proceed with career missions. She is excited about combining her educational skills with her passion for sharing God’s Word, as she ministers to the people of the Republic of Ireland.
Caleb and Christina Suko
calebsuko@hotmail.com
Children: Naomi (’99), Mishael (’02), Noelle (’04)
Age saved: Caleb 5, Christina 13
Education: Caleb—Shasta Bible College (BA), Northwest Baptist Seminary (MDiv); Christina—Shasta Bible College (AA), Northwest Baptist Seminary
Field: Ukraine
Caleb grew up as a PK (Preacher’s Kid) in Tacoma, Washington, while Christina was born and raised on the other side of the globe in the Ukraine. After the communist bloc broke down in the 1990s, Christina’s family was invited first to a Christmas outreach for children, and then to a Bible study. “From that Bible study, a little church was born,” Christina writes, “and there my parents were saved and I came to the Lord.” Christina met missionaries when she attended a Word of Life camp, and she decided that she also wanted to become a missionary. She studied English and became a translator for ministries in the Ukraine. Eventually, a missionary brought her to the United States so that she could attend Shasta Bible College.
Meanwhile, Caleb had trusted Christ through his parents’ teaching, and grew interested in missions during his teens. His first missions trip was to the Ukraine, where he helped with the initial construction of the Church Ministries Institute building in Odessa, and he returned within a year to help complete the project. Other missions trips also help develop Caleb’s interest in missions.
After the Sukos were married, they made several more trips to the Ukraine, often in conjunction with ABWE, began developing a passion and love for the people of that country, and now look forward to ministering there.
Aaron Thornberry
abthornberry@msn.com
Mountain View Baptist Church
Age saved: 5
Education: Northland Baptist Bible College (BS)
Field: Republic of Ireland
Aaron considers himself blessed to have grown up in a pastor’s home with godly parents who invested in him. In Bible college he became interested in camp ministry in Ireland after listening to a chapel speaker. He determined he wanted to serve there as a missionary. However, different circumstances prevented that from happening right away.
While in college, Aaron’s dad had moved to a new church in Colorado, so after graduation, Aaron moved there with his family for a year to work. Then the Mississippi Valley Christian School in Alton, Illinois, invited him to come and teach, so for the next three years he taught 5th grade and coached basketball.
Aaron moved back to Colorado for a couple years and worked construction, during which time he sought the Lord’s leading for the next chapter of his life. He became active in his father’s church, teaching Sunday school and working with the choir. He specifically asked the Lord to direct him for the future and began to actively investigate potential ministry in Ireland. He applied to ABWE and is planning to join the team headed to the Republic of Ireland. He adds, “I believe the Lord’s timing has been perfect in all of this.”
Bill and Tammy Walker
wewalk4him@yahoo.com
Children: Bryan (‘00), Elijah (‘04)
Age saved: Bill 6, Tammy 18
Education: Bill—ITT Technical Institute (AAS, BAS), Word of Life Bible Institute (diploma); Tammy—Baptist Bible College of Springfield, Ravenscroft Beauty College
Field: Cameroon
Tammy was saved at a Bill Gothard Seminar, became involved in Word of Life clubs as a young person, and went on to attend Bible college, willing to go into any ministry where God might want her. Bill was raised in a Christian home and participated as a child in AWANA clubs, where he learned valuable lessons about the Word of God and his responsibilities as a Christian. When Bill was a teenager, his uncle, who served with Trans World Radio, challenged him to give a year of his life to missions. Bill accepted the challenge and spent a year and a half with TWR. During that time, Bill first felt called to missions. When he returned to the US, however, he “got married, got into debt, and got trapped in a job that was not where God wanted me.”
Then, in 2003, Bill and Tammy took a missions trip to Honduras, and God did some significant work in their hearts while they were there. “He broke our hearts for the people,” Bill writes. “He forced us to look at our lives, how blessed we were, and how we were squandering away valuable time that we were supposed to be investing into peoples’ lives. So, here we are, fifteen years late, but ready to do what God has called us to do.”
Janice Weber
jweber@abwe.cc
Calvary Baptist Church, Cresaptown, MD
Age saved: 8
Education: Bob Jones University (BS)
Field: Portugal
Janice grew up in a missionary home in Brazil and was involved in her parents’ church-planting ministries there. She attended Fortaleza Academy, where her mother and father served as dorm parents for several years during the time she was in junior high.
After high school, Janice attended and graduated from Bob Jones University. She knew she wanted to serve in another Portuguese-speaking country, and when the opportunity arose to go to Portugal to teach at the Greater Lisbon Christian Academy and help out in the local church, she took it. Janice left for Lisbon in the fall of 2000 and taught there for two years, in a split 3rd and 4th grade elementary class with six children.
After her years in Portugal, Janice returned to Brazil to work with her parents for a few months and then moved to Manaus to work at the American International Christian School, where she taught 5th and 6th grades for a year.
In the summer of 2004, Janice returned to Portugal for six weeks to help with summer camp for the churches. At the end of that time, Cal and Joyce Voelker asked her to stay through the first semester to fill a need at the Greater Lisbon Christian Academy. During her time there, Janice realized that she wanted to make a long-term commitment to the ministry and began the application process for career service with ABWE. She looks forward to returning to Portugal.
Daniel and Chrissy Winslow
Winslodj@netzero.net
Highland Park Baptist, Chattanooga, TN
Age saved: Daniel 16, Chrissy 16
Education: Daniel—Tennessee Temple University (BS); Chrissy—Tennessee Temple University (BS)
Field: Southeast Asia
Daniel was encouraged toward missionary service by his parents, pastors, college missions professors, and missions conference speakers. The biggest influence, however, was reading biographies of other missionaries, including that of David Brainerd and Hudson Taylor. Chrissy also received direction from others, especially from a local pastor who encouraged her to see what opportunities God might have for her in missions. From the time she came to know the Lord, Chrissy also experienced a strong desire to share the gospel with people who had never heard, which helped to bring her to this point.
Daniel credits Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 2:2 with his vision to build relationships and to entrust the truth to other men on the mission field. Chrissy’s passion to tell the gospel to those who haven’t heard will be fulfilled in working with women and children, doing discipleship, and working with those on the border who can then take the truth back into their countries, which are closed to missionaries.
Cam and Kerry Woolford
Woolford5@yahoo.com
Children: Alyssa (‘94), Victoria (‘97), Madison ( ‘01)
Age saved: Cam 16, Kerry 8
Education: Cam—BBC (BS), Philadelphia Biblical University (working on MS); Kerry—Baptist Bible College (AA)
Field: South America
Cam was saved during the summer he worked at Lake Ann Baptist Youth Camp in Michigan. His heart underwent a tremendous change at that time, and he began to sense that God had a purpose for his life, though he didn’t understand what it was just then. The next summer, he took a short-term trip with ABWE to Argentina and Peru, during which time the Holy Spirit made him aware of God’s call to missions in South America.
Kerry was saved while a child, and went on two missions trips to the Dominican Republic during her teen years. These trips resulted in a desire to work in some type of Christian service.
Both Cam and Kerry attended Baptist Bible College, committed to pursuing career missionary service. They met there and married, then went on to serve in South America for 10 years. They look forward to returning and ministering to the people there. ABWE will soon conduct a survey of Ecuador as a possible ministry opportunity for the Woolfords, and they will head up that ministry should the Lord so direct.
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