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Message

Surrender the 2012 Candidate Class shares stories of answering Gods call to the mission field

Across Borders for World Evangelism

2

It was at a roaring su m mercampfire in England, while I wasser v ing on a short-term missiontrip in 1981, that I surrendered mylife to Gods will. That night, I gavemy life as a living sacrifice so that

He might use me any where and any way He chose. Sincethat time, there have been many times when I have hadto re-surrender my life to Gods will and way. I find thatit is a daily battle to submit my human will and desiresto the care and control of my Lord, but when the Spiritcontrols me I know am most useful to Him.

This month we are featuring A BW Es new careermissionary candidates for 2012. Three of them will beserving with A BW E Canada. The Taylors plan to serveas church planters in Quebec and Bethany Collins willserve in the Balkans with her new husband Brad. Asyou read their stories, I trust you will be as encouragedas I was by their willingness to surrender their livesto ser ve in obedience to the Lord s command to gointo the world and preach the good news of salvationthrough faith in Jesus Christ.

Our church recently sent out the Weston familyto ser ve in Togo, West A frica. As we commissionedthem during a Sunday morning service, through tears,a family member sang , Down any road, at any cost,wherever You lead we will follow, because we knowYou have cal led us to take up our cross. That actdemonstrated true surrender to God s will, both onthe part of those who were going and those who weresending them. I long for all believers in Canada to bewilling to do the same for God s glory. With such ateam, we could change the world.

David W. Smith

President, A BW E Canada

EDITORIAL

w w w . a b w e . o r g / n e w s

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Features

SurrenderMeet the 2012 Candidate Class

By Message Staff

[4]

35 Years of Sacrifice Honoring the 2012

Bomm Award recipients

By Message Staff

ConnectionsGlimpses of God at work

By Message Staff

[18]

[24]

Mobilizing MissionariesA behind-the-scenes look at

ABWEs Mobilization Department

By Dan Branda

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26

CONTENTS

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What does it mean to surrender? In warfare, to surrender meansto relinquish the battle, to wave the white flag, to admit defeat.But for the 2012 Candidate Class, surrender means to heed thecall of Christ to make the incredible sacrifice of becoming careermissionaries. Each candidates story points to specific momentsof surrender. For some, that turning point came in childhood; forothers, the moment occurred much later in life. No matter thetiming, we praise God all have made the decision to obey His calland surrender to His perfect plan.

SurrenderThe 2012 Candidate Class shares stories of answering Gods call to the mission field

4 w w w . a b w e . o r g / n e w s

Ben DeLarme attended Cedarville Universityto major in education and play on the basketballteam. During that time, God started drawingBen toward full-time ministry, and he realized hewanted to invest his life in teaching young men.

Growing up, Ben often wondered why he wasso blessed, until he realized he had been givenmany privileges so he could share those bless-ings with people less fortunate than him.

All of the blessings were not just for me, butfor God to use me in some way, Ben said.

He is currently working toward receiving hisMaster of Divinity degree from Baptist BibleSeminary and will serve in South Africa.

Benjamin DeLarme Durban, South AfricaFirst Baptist ChurchDuBois, Pa.

5

Watch the full testimonies of the 2012 Candidate Class at:

www.abwe.org/testimonies

Cassandra HillDurban, South AfricaFellowship Baptist ChurchBarboursville, W.V.

Average Age

33Oldest appointee: 51Appointees in their 40s: 12Appointees in their 30s: 11Appointees in their 20s: 17Youngest appointee: 19

Cassie Hill accepted Christ at summer campwhile watching a drama presentation aboutbeing stuck in a web of sin. She realized sheneeded Jesus Christ to set her free.

Two years later, Cassie returned to the samecamp and heard a message calling for her gener-ation to change the world for Christ. She made acommitment that night to become a missionary.

Cassie attended Appalachian Bible Collegeand wanted to minister in North America untilshe took a world geography class. She realizedshe had to be willing to go tell the world aboutChrist.

I realized that I needed to rid myself of planB and follow Gods plan A, Cassie said. Idont know exactly where Gods calling me,or to what country or what region, but I knowthat with the help of the Spirit, He will use meto share the message of the gospel with thosewho have not had a chance to hear it.

Africa

Josh Paulick grew up in aninner-city environment andattended church with hismom. But those weekly tripsto church ended when hismother married. Through-out the next few years, Joshsaw a f lurry of drug and alco-hol abuse take place withinhis home.

Mercifully, God protectedJosh from the drug and alco-hol scene, even though he sawseveral friends travel downthat path. He started ridingthe bus to church and beganto grow his relationship withGod during that time.

God provided an opportuni-ty for Josh to go to a Christianschool and travel on severalmissions trips with his youthgroup. During one of thosetrips, Josh committed his lifeto missions. He later went tomedical school at the Univer-sity of Cincinnati in prepara-tion to serve as a surgeon onthe mission field.

Beth Paulick grew up in aChristian home as a pastorsdaughter. She earned a degreein nursing from Cedarville

University and worked in ahospital with children suffer-ing from cancer. After goingto a missions conference, Bethcould feel God calling her tobe a missionary.

Beth met Josh at theirchurch. The two later mar-ried and traveled to Togotogether for a six-week mis-sions trip. The Paulicks vis-ited the Karolyn KemptonMemorial Christian Hospi-tal in Tsiko, Togo, and werestruck by how much the gos-pel is intertwined with theeveryday work at the hospital.

Josh and Beth felt God call-ing them to work in medicalmissions at the new WendellKempton Medical & Minis-try Center in Mango, Togo,when they drove by a ceme-tery there, seeing freshly duggraves that were very small.

Josh and Beth realized peo-ple young and old were dying.The people of Mango needboth physical and spiritualhelp; the Paulicks know Godhas equipped them to helpaddress both of those criticalneeds.

Joe Gelatt fell off the roofof his home while hangingChristmas lights, requiringhim to rest for two months torecover from his injuries. Hehad to take time off from hisjobs as a full-time teacher anda part-time youth pastor, dur-ing which God planted a seedfor missions work.

Looking back, Joe realizedthe life I dreamed of wasnothing, and the life God hasgiven me is everything. Theplans and the things that Ithought were shiny werentreally that shiny compared tothe Lord.

Janelle, who was pregnantwith her sixth child duringJuly Candidate Class, has aburden to minister to teenagegirls, as she has five daughterswho will all be teenagers at thesame time. She lives her life bythe wisdom of Romans 8:28:And we know that all thingswork together for good tothose who love God, to thosewho are the called accordingto His purpose.

All these things that dontlook like they could be part ofthe tapestry, He weaves intothe story for His glory, Janellesaid.

6 w w w . a b w e . o r g / n e w s

Joshua & Elizabeth Paulick

Togo, West AfricaWashington Heights Baptist ChurchDayton, Ohio

Joseph & Janelle GelattGhana, West AfricaFairview Loop Baptist ChurchWasilla, Alaska

The life I dreamed of was nothing, and the

life God has given me is everything.

Africa

Tyler and Sarah Andersonfell in love with Belize aftera missions trip and had theirhearts set on being full-timemissionaries to the country.They even picked out a homein Belize. But God showed theAndersons He had other plansin mind.

God worked on our heartsand we realized that we needed

to let go of Belize and go withGods plan whether thatwas Belize or somewhere else,Tyler said.

The Andersons now under-stand their whole journey isabout being obedient to Godand the call He has on theirlives. The couple is now pre-paring for full-time ministryin South Asia.

7

Tyler & Sarah AndersonSouth AsiaCrystal Lake Baptist ChurchFrankfort, Mich.

* Video testimonies andportraits are not availablefor all of Asias candidatesdue to security concerns.

North America

8Latin America

6

Europe

9

Africa

6

Asia

12

Open

4

2012 Candidates by the

Region

Asia

Michelle Flint grew up in aChristian home and acceptedChrist at age 7. W hile shecould feel God calling her tothe mission field, Michellesfear and shy nature initiallykept her from committing herlife to full-time missions work.

S he later received herb a c h e l o r s d e g r e e i nintercultural studies fromNew Tr ibes M i ssiona r yTraining Center, where theLord spoke to her about thepressing needs for ministry

in South Asia. Just one weekafter beginning to pray to goto South Asia, she heard aboutopportunities for a short-termtrip, which only confirmed toher that she was following theright path.

There is no way that I coulddo the work that God hasfor me in South Asia on myown, but my weaknesses andinability will demonstrate hisglory and power and His love,Michelle said.

8 w w w . a b w e . o r g / n e w s

Michelle Flint South AsiaFaith Baptist ChurchUnionville, Va.

Growing up, Josh described himself as a Christian whoexcelled at faking it I knew what to say and when to sayit, he said. That all changed when he went on a missions tripto Thailand.

One boy at an orphanage Josh visited grew particularly fond ofhim. When Josh had to leave, the young boy spoke to him in Thaiand said to come back so that he could ride on the shoulders ofthe white giant again.

Since meeting the boy, Josh has returned to Thailand threetimes. He plans to teach auto mechanics to the young men atthe orphanage while also mentoring them.

Joshua Morgan

First Baptist Church of Whitney PointWhitney Point, N.Y.

Jenni Starkey attended Pied-mont Baptist Bible College,where she met Ed Weber,who now serves as an ABWEmissionary to Thailand. Shelater met Eds wife, Darlene,and the two became very closefriends.

Jenni went to Thailand tovisit the Webers in 2001 andgrew heartbroken upon seeingthe conditions children livein, as well as the child pros-titution rings. She knew Godwanted her to serve Thailandas a full-time missionary.

Jenni has served in Thai-land for almost five years withanother missions agency andwill continue her ministrythrough ABWE.

Jennifer Starkey

Liberty Baptist ChurchIndianapolis, Ind.

Asia

North America

18%

Asia

27%

Europe

20%Latin America

13%

Africa

13%

Open

9%

Brett and Meghan Dempseywere coast ing t h rough life six years ago, with Brettpursuing a residency as anear, nose and throat doctorand Meghan raising theirf irst child. But hearing af ield repor t f rom A BW Emissionaries to Southeast Asiaunexpectedly set their lives ona very different path.

As the Dempseys listened tothe missionary speak abouthis ministry as a surgeonat an A BW E hospita l in

Southeast Asia, Brett foundhimself realizing he couldpursue surgery and ministerin the same way. After thepresent at ion, Bret t a ndMeghan waited 45 minutes totalk to the missionaries.

Its hard to describe howintensely we felt that we musttalk to these people and findout more, Meghan said.

The missionaries not onlyencouraged Brett to pursuesurgery instead of an ear, noseand throat residency they

said it would be a far moreuseful skill on the missionf ield but encou ragedthe Dempseys to come toSoutheast Asia to see thehospital and visit.

Three months later, Brettand Meghan were in SoutheastAsia with their 1-year-old son.I had it all planned out in mymind, but God had a differentplan in mind, Brett said. Itbecame crystal clear that Godwanted us to serve there.

Brett & Meghan DempseySoutheast AsiaVictory Baptist ChurchRochester, Minn.

Missions

FACTS

ABWE 2012

Candidates

North America

4%

Asia

20%

Europe

25%Latin America

29%

Africa

18%

GAP

4%

ABWE Missionaries

On the Field

Asia

of the world is illiterate. Literacy training is an urgent need in missions.

2/3

91% of the worlds population has access to Christian radio broadcasts in their native language.

82% of the worlds population has a New Testament translation in their native language.

A aaiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAA aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAA iaAAAAAAAAAAAAsssssssssAsAAAAAAssssssAsiaaAAsiaAAsAAAAAAAssiass aAAA aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassss aaAsAsAAsAs aaaassAAAAAAAsAsAA aaaaaaaaA aaAAAssAA aAA iAAAAAAA iAssssiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAsssssssssAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAsssssssssssssss aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAsAAsAAsAsAssssAsssAsssssAAAAAAAAsssssAsssAssAsssAssAsAssAsAAAAAAA iasiassiasiasssssss aaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA aaaaaaAAAAAAA

Source: Joshua Project, joshuaproject.net 9

Where in the world is the 2012Candidate Class headed?

Where are ABWEs 701 careermissionaries currently serving?

10 w w w . a b w e . o r g / n e w s

Peter Wakefield acceptedChrist at the age of 5. Hecommitted his life to full-timemissions when he was only 8years old after hearing hispastor speak about the GreatCommission.

After reading a variety ofbooks on missionaries, Peter,then 12, decided he needed tominister in East Asia, wherethe gospel is so desperatelyneeded.

When it came time to choosea college, Peter picked a schoolwhere he could master thelanguage he needed for hisministry. Scholarship moneybegan pouring in for him totake his studies to East Asia,where he could really learn andpractice the language.

Peters God-given gift forlanguages was so impressivethat a government agency triedto recruit him so he could teachthe language to its employees.But Peter knew that wasnt apart of Gods plan.

A scholarship came in thatallowed him to travel to EastAsia for a teaching internshipduring college. Peters littlebrother came to visit him;when they said goodbye at theairport, Peter said, Ill see youat home. But his little brotherreplied, From seeing you here,I know this is now your home.

Peter WakefieldEast AsiaGilcrest Baptist ChurchGilcrest, Colo.

Asia

Matt Harden grew up in aChristian home but didntknow the Lord until his fresh-man year in college. In con-trast, Jess Harden never wentto church growing up. Thetwo started dating during theirsenior year in high school andMatt started taking Jess tochurch.

The couple began pursuingthe American dream, with Mattworking his way up the corpo-rate ladder as an accountant.Frustrated by the emptiness

he felt in his life, Matt and Jessprayed God would show thema new direction.

Matt ultimately realized Godmight be calling him to themission field. One day at work,Matt found he couldnt concen-trate because he was so over-whelmed with the prospect ofbecoming a missionary.

He went on a walk and askedGod, Are you calling me intomissions? Matt immediatelyfelt God answer: Matt, Ivealready told you what to do.

Matthew & Jessica Harden South AsiaHenry Baptist ChurchMcDonough, Ga.

Jason & Kristin Sperling

First Baptist ChurchRichland, Wash.

Kidnapped at gunpoint at age 12, Jason became bitter and angryafter the traumatic event. After rebelling throughout high school,Jason heard a speaker in college who discussed the complex topicof why God allows bad things to happen to good people. Finally,Jason found himself ready to soften his heart and accept Christas his Savior.

Kris felt a burden to travel on short-term missions trips andrelieve the missionaries, while Jason felt the calling to full-timemissions. The couple developed a compromise to pursue a full-time ministry of supporting Thai pastors and other missionaries .

He went on a walk and asked God, Are you

calling me into missions? Matt immediately

felt God answer: Matt, Ive already told you

what to do.

11

Europe

Bethany Collins grew up as a pastors kid and accepted Christas a child. She participated in a variety of ministries growing upand regularly read biographies of different heroes of the faith.She was particularly inspired by Amy Carmichael and felt calledto commit her life to full-time missions.

She waited for the right opportunity to come along, studyingSpanish and preparing for missions work in a Spanish-speak-ing country. But God never opened those doors. Years later, shefinally took advantage of a longstanding opportunity to go on athree-week missions trip to the Balkans.

She not only fell in love with the people of this war-torn region,but she also fell in love with Brad Collins, an ABWE missionaryalready in the Balkans serving in sports ministry with teenageboys. During that trip, Bethany committed her life to servingthe people of the Balkans.

Bradley & Bethany Collins The Balkans, Eastern EuropeFaith Baptist ChurchPawnee City, Neb.

Danny and Jacqueline Dulin both had a natu-ral affinity to living overseas, as Danny servedmilitary deployments in Eastern Europe andJacqueline grew up in a military family.

But they had no idea that becoming emptynesters and having a desire to be good stew-ards with that season of their lives would takethem overseas as missionaries.

Danny worked in the information technol-ogy industry for 20 years with a large numberof Christian coworkers, allowing him to holdBible studies in his office environment. But he

began to feel uneasy and restless in his careerpath, believing he needed to be doing some-thing more radical in his Christian walk.

As the Dulins attend a church that heavilyemphasizes global missions, they felt natural-ly inclined to consider becoming missionaries.After speaking with the missions pastor at theirchurch, the Dulins found ABWE.

We are excited to go that extra mile for Christand go to a place where the gospel is needed andnot known, Danny said.

Daniel & Jacqueline Dulin The Balkans, Eastern EuropeColonial Baptist ChurchCary, N.C.

Missions

FACTSof Christians in Turkey say they came to Christ because He appeared to them in a dream.

1/3

2% of the worlds total giving to missions goes directly to the 10/40 Window.

We are excited to go that extra mile for Christ and go to a place where the gospel is needed and not known.

28% of the worlds population has not yet heard

the gospel.

Source: Joshua Project, joshuaproject.net

Jill Womack grew up in aChristian home and acceptedChrist at a young age. Whenher church split and her familyhelped to start a new church,she began to wonder, Men

can teach, but what does theword of God say? I had tomake sure that what I wasstanding on was truth and notjust mans words.

A fter Ji l l graduated fromBryan College, her motherpassed away very suddenly.She had just started a new jobaway from her family, and hermothers death pushed herinto a very dark time spiritu-ally. But the body of Christsupported her through thattime, helping Jill to realizeshe could never make it on her

own without Gods provision.Jill later began working at a

very missions-minded church,which allowed her to go on10 short-term missions trips.She now knows God is call-ing her to full-time missionsin France, where her Frenchminor from college will provevery beneficial.

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Dmitry & Maria Kotik Eastern EuropeColonial Baptist ChurchCary, N.C.

Dima Kotik grew up in Moscow, Russia,and his family immigrated to the U.S. whenhe was a teenager. He attended a variety ofBible camps, where he accepted Christ as hisSavior in high school. Soon after, Dima feltGod calling him to minister in Moscow.

He attended Moody Bible Institute andDallas Theological Seminary, applying toABWE as a single missionary in the March2011 Candidate Class. Dima planned to gointo full-time church planting in CentralAsia, but his plans changed when he met Mariathrough Facebook.

Maria Kotik grew up in a non-Christianfamily in Ukraine and heard about Jesus fromher primary school principal, who encouragedall of her students to read the Bible. Familymembers took her to church, where sheaccepted Christ at 14.

Maria attended Kharkov National University

in Ukraine and later went to Capernwray BibleSchool in England for nine months, where sherealized God was all she needed to be perfectlysatisfied and content in her life. Right after shemade that decision, she met Dima and the twofell in love.

Dima and Maria courted online for sixmonths, until Dima surprised her by f lyingto Odessa, Ukraine, to meet for the first time.Three days later, Dima proposed. After anengagement that lasted more than a year,Dima and Maria were finally able to marrythis summer, attending July Candidate Classonly three weeks after their wedding.

Both Dima and Maria have impressivebackgrounds in languages and are excitedto pursue full-time ministry work in EasternEu rope t h roug h chu rch pla nt i ng a ndleadership development.

Jillian WomackFrance, Western EuropeSilverdale Baptist ChurchChattanooga, Tenn.

I had to make sure that what I was

standing on was truth and not just

mans words.

Europe

13

Europe

Katrina Padgett grew up as a pastors kid andfelt a desire to serve as a medical missionaryfrom a very young age. She traveled to Africaon a missions trip, but found herself unsure ofbeing a missionary when she returned.

She went on to major i n biolog y atCedarville University, where she met Steve,who earned his degree in physical education.Steve enjoyed working in sports medicineand physical therapy, and the couple neverthought much about going into full-timemissions.

A f ter mov i ng to Nor t h Ca rol i na forKatrina to pursue her physicians assistant

certification at Duke University, the couplewent on a short-time missions trip to Peru.Two years later, they traveled to Brazil towork in a missions hospital, where they meta missionary doctor who encouraged Steveand Katrina to consider medical missions.

In 2006 the missionary doctor contactedthe Padgetts about traveling to Togo foranother short-term missions opportunity.That month spent serving in Africa left themhungry for more. After four more years, theyreturned to Togo again. Now God is callingthe couple to serve Him in the Balkans.

Steve & Mary Katrina Padgett The Balkans, Eastern EuropeColonial Baptist ChurchCary, N.C.

Numbers by the

Region

Re

lig

ion

s in

Eu

rop

e

While Brian and Mandi Hanson enjoyed 22 years of fruitful ministryin the U.S., that didnt stop Brian from asking the question thatchanged it all: What are we going to do next?

God has opened many doors for Brian over the years, includinggiving him the opportunity to pray before the Ohio State Senate. Healso served as chaplain of the Central State University football teamand a semi-pro hockey team in Dayton, Ohio. But Brian knows Godhas a bigger plan in store.

If I said no to God any longer, I felt like I was going to be living insin, Brian said. So we are ready to jump in with both feet.

Brian & Mandi HansonNorth AmericaGrace Baptist ChurchCedarville, Ohio

North America

Cath

olic

Ortho

dox

Athe

ist

Prot

esta

nt

Mus

lim

Oth

erSource: PewForum.org

35% 27% 18% 15%4% 1%

Tim and Cara Hunsicker metwhen they were 8 years old andgrew up together in the samechurch. After an 18-year careerin architecture, Tim knew hewanted to tie in his trade withhis passion for missions.

The couple started examiningtheir lives and careers andasked, Is this what we want tobe doing when God returns?T hey ca me to a si mpleconclusion: No. Tim is excitedto use his extensive experiencein architecture to assist theABWE Project Office.

Tim & Cara Hunsicker

Parma Heights BaptistChurch; Parma Heights, Ohio

Moises Moura grew up in a Catholic family like many Braziliansand learned about Jesus through a friend at 16. He shared thestory of salvation with his family and began attending an ABWEchurch. Moises remembers saying, Here I am, Lord. Send me.

Lucy Moura also grew up Catholic and always felt emptyinside. A neighbor shared John 3:16 with her and she understoodthe importance of that verse at the age of 13. The Lord placedin my heart a deep thirst for His word, Lucy said.

Moises and Lucy met at Regular Baptist Seminary, an ABWEseminary in So Paulo, Brazil. The couple interned at anotherABWE church and Moises later pastored a different church inSo Paulo at age 25. He pastored that church for 16 years andleft it with 600 members.

The couple then moved to the U.S. so Moises could attendDallas Theological Seminary, where he received a fullscholarship. The Mouras planned to return to Brazil whenMoises completed his education, but their oldest daughter, Julia,became very sick with lupus, which kept them in the States.They realized there were many other ministry opportunitiesavailable, so they began leadership training through ABWEsAssistant Missionary Program.

Moises and Lucy have since taught online classes for pastorsaround the world through Horizon International Schools andInternational Theological Education. To develop leaders isour call and our passion, and we praise the Lord for that, Lucysaid.

Moises & Lucy Moura

International Theological Education &Horizon International SchoolsMimosa Lane Baptist ChurchMesquite, Texas

Missions by the

Numbers

people across

the globe come

to faith in Christ

every day.

50,000new churches

are planted every

week around the

world.

3,500of the worlds

people groups

are still virtually

unreached.

6,600Christians will be

martyred this year

in counties without

religious freedom.

200,000

Source: Joshua Project, joshuaproject.net

North AmericaAh Amhh Amh Amh AmAmmAmmAAmAmh AAmhh mh mhhh mh Amh AmAAAAAAAAhh AmmmmmmmmmmmmmmAAAAAAAAAAAAmmmAAhhh AAAAAAAmh AAAAAmAAAAAAAAAAAAmmAAAAAAAhhhhh AmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmAAAAAAAAAAmAmmmmmAAmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmAAAAmAmAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAmmmAAmmmAAmmAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAArthrthh

14

Josh Taylor grew up in a Christian home and accepted Christ at age 9. A youthtrip to New York City helped him realize he had a gift for sharing the gospel.In contrast, Kim Taylor grew up in a non-Christian home and received Christafter attending youth group with a friend. She was hot and cold with her faiththroughout high school until she met Josh and began going to church with him.

Josh told Kim the two had to be on the same wavelength with their faith ifthey wanted to continue dating. The couple realized they both felt the call tomissions and God opened the door for Josh to serve as an associate pastor at achurch in Ontario, Canada. While visiting Quebec, Josh and Kim fell in love withthe province and knew they wanted to return as missionaries one day.

While it has taken the Taylors 10 years to get to the point of beginning theirministry in Quebec, God confirmed many times over the last decade that Hemeans for the couple to serve there. When He calls, you have to be obedient, and(we) have chosen to be obedient to the gospel, Kim said.

When He calls, you have to be obedient, and (we) have chosen to be obedient to the gospel.

15

Joshua & Kimberly TaylorQuebec, CanadaEmmanuel Bible ChurchOntario, Canada

Latin America

Kurt Goglin accepted Christat a young age and grew up ina Christian home. He traveledto Brazil on a missions tripduring his senior year of highschool and attended Wordof Life Bible Institute aftergraduation. He went back to

Brazil on another missionstrip before attending Bap-tist Bible College to major incounseling.

Amanda Goglin grew up in ahome where her mother madesure she went to church everySunday. At 13, Amanda real-ized her need for a Savior. Godput a desire in her heart to seepeople come to Jesus, just likeshe had.

Amanda also attended Bap-tist Bible College, where shemet Kurt. She loved that Kurtalways wanted to talk aboutthe Bible, a quality she foundvery refreshing. The couplehas always wanted to do morefor the Lord and is excited towatch God work in the lives ofothers as they pursue full-timeministry in Peru.

Kurt & Amanda GoglinPeru, South AmericaCommunity Bible ChurchTunkhannock, Pa.

North AmericamAmmAmAmmmmmmmAAmmemememeeeeeeeeeeeeeememeeAmAmeeeAAAAAAAAAAAAA eAAAmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmAAAAmeemmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeemmmmmemmmmmmmmmmmmemmeememmmAmAmAmmmmmmmmmmAmAAAmAAmAAAAth hthh

Naldy Park grew up in Chileand accepted Christ during aSunday school class taught byher parents. In eighth grade,she started sharing the gospelwith her classmates. Her familyenjoyed participating in manytypes of ministries, holdingBible studies in their home andeven in their neighbors homewhen the group grew too largeto host in one place.

Jared grew up participatingin camp ministries and wenton a missions trip later in lifeto Colombia, where he visitedA BW Es Berea Camp andConference Center. He saw achurch plant there and realizedhe could lead camp ministrieswhile also planting churches asa missionary.

A f ter g radu at i ng f romseminary, Jared went to Chileto teach at a Bible school. Hestarted working at Word of LifeMinistries, where Naldy hadworked the year before. Thetwo were connected throughmutual friends on Facebook.The couple is excited to returnto Naldys home country ofChile to pursue ful l-timeministry.

Jared & Naldy ParkChile, South AmericaHigh Point Baptist ChapelGeigertown, Pa.

Nicholas & Rebekah Ecker Chile, South AmericaHyde Park Baptist ChurchHyde Park, N.Y.

At the tender age of 6,Rebekah Ecker made a prom-ise to God that she would putevery penny she ever maderight back into the offeringplate. Rebekahs father helpedher understand that Godwanted her to submit everyarea of her life not justthe financial apsect whichhelped her make the decisionto dedicate her life to full-timeministry.

Nick Ecker grew up in a Cath-olic home and a mutual friendled the family to Christ; his

family members were bap-tized on the same night. Nickloved to play sports growingup, admitting he focused moreon playing baseball than a rela-tionship with Christ.

Nick played on many baseballteams growing up and had apromising opportunity toplay professional baseball, buta hamstring injury ended thatdream. He can now look backand see God used that injury tochange his heart and desires.At 19, he decided to devote hislife to saving lost souls.

16 w w w . a b w e . o r g / n e w s

Missions by the

Numbers

additional New Testament translations are needed to reach the remainder of the worlds population.

2,500Africans accept Christ every day. Many African countries have seen half their population accept Christ.

20,000people accepted Christ in the last decade, making Christianity one of the fastest growing religions in the world.

300 million

Source: Joshua Project, joshuaproject.net

Latin America

17

Open

Benjamin & Ashley Krueger OpenBethany Community FellowshipSylvania, Ohio

Ben and Ashley Krueger both accepted Christat a young age during a thunderstorm. Ashleygrew up in a Christian home and attended amissions conference at age 12. On the last day,she told her parents she needed to commit herlife to missions work.

It was an exciting moment, but it was alsoreally scary, Ashley said. She knows she canlook back on those times of uncertainty andsee that she followed the right path. Ashleytraveled on short-term trips to Mexico andDominican Republic, and to Thailand withBen before the two married.

Ben Krueger grew up in a Christian home.His faith became more than just words on apage when he ministered to children duringa youth group trip in high school. God calledhim to Moody Bible Institute and he latercompleted an internship with his pastor at hischurch in Ohio.

While Ben and Ashley are unsure of whereGod will lead their ministry they have aheart for Asia they know He is guiding everystep of their lives. We know that we are calledto serve, Ashley said.

K athleen Long grew upin a Christian home, whereher parents homeschooledher to encourage a biblicalworldview. Her parents alsoi nt roduced her to ma nymissionaries as a child, whichhelped her decide at a veryyoung age to dedicate her lifeto full-time missions work.

She hopes to serve as a Bibletranslator and is open to gowherever God can use her totranslate. I wanted to give theBible to people who have neverread before, Kathleen said.

Kathleen LongOpenGood Shepherd CommunityChurch; Bellingham, Wash.

Peter Hudson OpenWhitney Baptist ChurchBoise, Idaho

Peter Hudson grew up in aChristian home and lovedplaying sports, especiallybaseball. His baseball careerended abruptly, however, andGod opened doors for Peterto help lead a junior highschool youth group.

He later attended T heMasters College and servedin Colombia with ABWEsA s s i s t a n t M i s s i o n a r yProgram for 14 months.Peter intended to work witha Chilean pastor during histrip, but plans changed andhe found himself on his ownin a foreign country, trying to

learn a new language.W hen Peter star ted to

become discouraged duringt he t r ip, he u lt i matelyrealized he needed to makehis ministry his own. Hedecided to use his passion forsports and coached a baseballteam in a small community inColombia.

Peter looks for ward todedicating his life to full-time missions work, hopingto use his talents to ministerto people in Colombia, orwherever God decides toopen a door.

Nancie Dellaganna

Every year ABWE honors missionaries who have served faithfully for 35years with the Edward and Marian Bomm Award at the annual MissionaryEnrichment Conference. This year ABWE had the incredible privilege of givingBomm Awards to 15 missionaries, the highest number in ABWE history.

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Nancie Dellaganna pursued nursingat Biola College after sensing Godscall to missions, graduating in 1972.She later took a tropical medicine course andstudied further training in anesthesia to meeta need at an ABWE hospital in Southeast Asia.Nancie was accepted for missionary servicewith ABWE in 1975, arriving in 1977 for lan-guage school.

Seeing the great need for preventative medicine,Nancie started training teams for communityhealth work, including training traditional birthattendants. Nancie also has a special heart for

children and worked to develop more than 450AWANA clubs for native children.

Her love for tribal people in distant areas gaveher a vision of training healthcare workers fortheir villages, where medical care is scarce. She,along with several other missionaries, developedseminars to take to surrounding areas to teachmidwives and health workers.

Nancie has also been instrumental in develop-ing an agriculture program for growing vegeta-bles and fruit trees to assist the local churches.She also develops teaching and evangelistic vid-eos for the hospital and clinics.

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Bruce and Bev McDonald joined ABWEin 1977 to focus on a campus ministry atthe University of Texas in Austin. Theirgatherings grew so large that the McDonaldswere asked to consider starting a church. Godblessed that ministry and grew a vibrant church.

In 1987, former ABWE President Dr. WendellKempton invited Bruce to begin a ministry toprofessional athletes. This led the McDonaldsto New Jersey for 14 years, as Bruce became thechaplain for the Philadelphia 76ers and later forthe Philadelphia Flyers. He also held Bible stud-ies with some of the Philadelphia Eagles players.

In 2001, the McDonalds left the sports chap-laincy ministry and moved to Colorado, wherethey developed Coach Ministries. They minis-ter around the world to the ABWE missionaryfamily and continue their speaking ministry.Bruce and Bev have hosted numerous mission-aries and pastors in their home, as they seek toencourage, strengthen and counsel them.

Bruce and Bevs many hours in prayer and timereading the Bible are key ingredients to Godseffectiveness in using them. Some whom theyhave mentored called them the two most sig-nificant people in our adult lives and godlycounselors and prayer warriors.

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Edie Sartor was appointed to a field inSoutheast Asia during the summer of1975. Edie arrived on Jan. 9, 1977, andspent 12 years teaching in the school for mission-ary children, a ministry she found deeply reward-ing. Other ministries for Edie during this period ofher life included leading the teen choir, directingschool plays and teaching Sunday School.

God led Edie to move to a different area in South-east Asia in July 1992. Tom Sartor arrived a monthlater to help out in the MK school, and sparks ofinterest quickly began to f ly. The ever-observantMKs did their part to nurture the romance by ask-ing subtle questions, such as Uncle Tom, whois your favorite single lady missionary? To theirimmense satisfaction, Uncle Tom and Aunt Ediewere married in January 1994.

Another major change for Edie came when shetransitioned from teaching high school MKs tocoaching adult language learners. Over the past10 years she found it very rewarding to have a partin laying the foundation for the ministry of manynew missionaries. When the going gets tough,she finds encouragement in remembering God will not forget your work and the love youhave shown him as you have helped his people(Hebrews 10:6).

2012Bommawards

Roy and Nancy Jones moved to Spainin 1973, where Roy continued hisservice with the U.S. Air Force andNancy became the first full-time teacher ofthe Evangelical Christian Academy in Madrid.When Roy finished his military assignment in1975, he was appointed as a missionary to Spain.

The Joneses moved into an apartment inMadrid to establish a local church; they livedthere for the next 22 years with their threesons. They began to hold Bible clubs in theparks, along with other Bible studies. In 1983the Coslada Baptist Church began meeting intheir living room before later moving to a rentedfacility. Roy mentored many young men andNancy led a weekly Bible study for women.

Since then they have moved several moretimes and now find themselves in the processof beginning a new work in the town of Torres dela Alameda. Nancy began a library conversationclass and Roy makes the time to walk throughthe town, getting to know the people who liveand work around him. They are praying fora space to rent for a ministry center and arelooking forward to what God has planned forthis new venture.

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Dale and Bev Foggwere appointed asABWE missionariesto Amazonas, Brazil, in 1976.The Foggs were cleared to leavefor the field in 1979, but foundthat Brazil was not grantingvisas for the Amazon. Theyrequested a transfer to Para-guay, arriving in 1980.

Dale and Bev demonstrat-ed a pioneering spirit as theydeveloped the aviation min-istry, unraveling the bureau-cratic red tape for permits andlicenses. Their aviation minis-try touched many lives, as theybegan several outreaches in theinterior towns and ranches,which were often unreachableduring rainy seasons.

When unable to f ly due toweather or health, Dale andBev faithfully ministered inlocal churches in the capital

city of Assuncion. They alsowere active in the field teamwith regular responsibilities,as well as oversight of the con-struction of the guesthouse,and were instrumental in incor-porating ABWE in Paraguay.

In 2002, the Foggs returnedto minister at the ABWE Airheadquarters in Concord, Ga.,

where they have been involvedin aircraft maintenance, logis-tical support and resourcingpilots in the field. Dale has alsobeen involved in several inter-national trips for survey of newfields and major aircraft refur-bishment, as well as serving asa southern representative forABWE.

Tim and Esther Neufeld joined ABWEin 1973 to help form the first team ofmissionaries to open the field of Togo.Their willingness to jump right in and beginworking remains one of the reasons that manyBaptist churches exist in Togo today. They havenot slowed down.

Both Tim and Esther served in multiple teamleadership positions, including Togo TeamLeader, but their greatest service to the Togoteam became their willingness to penetrate newareas of Togo with the gospel. They are the only

missionaries in Togo to have initiated churchplants in all five team locations first in Lome,then Kpalim, Adeta, Kara and Mango.

Brief ly during their 37 years of service withABWE, Tim and Esther served as ABWE WestCoast Representatives while caring for theirelderly parents. Their faithful service to thechurches of the northwest has made them iconicmissionaries held in great appreciation. TodayTogo is dotted with churches impacted by Timand Esthers ministry of teaching, training anddiscipleship.

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Carol Ann McCaffreywas appointed as acareer missionar yto Spain in 1976 and left forthe field in August 1977. TheEvangelical Christian Acad-emy in Madrid, Spain, was ingreat need of a teacher for the1977 school year. Carol also feltdeeply burdened to reach Span-iards, and her ministries includ-ed teaching Sunday school,teacher training, youth meet-ings and ladies Bible studies.

In 1994 she transferred toItaly, where she spent two

years learning to speak Italianwithout Spanish popping out.Carol arrived in Italy at a cru-cial time in the ministry, when

the team had only a few newlysaved Italian believers and hadbegun formulating a churchplant. Her experience from theyears serving in Spain provedto be an immense advantageto the team as they strategizedand developed the family cen-ter and began worship services.

Carol is loved by her team-mates in Italy for encouragingthem to persevere in sharingthe gospel in a difficult place,and for willingly and self less-ly loving and caring for theirchildren.

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Craig and Elaine Kennedy wereappointed to the Philippines in August1974 and received training for Theo-logical Education by Extension (TEE) at GrandRapids Baptist Seminary. The Kennedysdeparted for the Philippines on Sept. 1, 1977,to live in Manila while studying the Tagaloglanguage and Philippine culture.

They moved to Puerto Princesa City, Pala-wan, where Elaine held seminars for Sundayschool teachers at their home and played pianoat Puerto Princesa Baptist Church. Craig ledTEE classes on Palawan. The Kennedys alsoplanted a church with Filipino co-workers inthe southern town of Bataraza.

Soon other Filipino Christian workers start-ed a church in Brooks Point, which led to theeventual birth of the Palawan Association ofBaptist Churches, which totals more than 100churches today. As the Kennedys second termprogressed, so did the demand for theologicaleducation on Palawan. Craig teamed with Pas-tor Eleazer Tablazon to start the Palawan Bap-tist Bible School in 1986.

The Kennedys concluded their ministry byattending the 31st biennial conference of theAssociation of Fundamental Baptist Churchesin the Philippines, a storybook ending, as theconference was held in Puerto Princesa City,Palawan, where their ministry started.

Bill and Sue Spoelhof were appointedas ABWE career missionaries to Ama-zonas, Brazil, in July 1977. However,due to not receiving visas for the Amazon, theywent to So Paulo to teach at the Pan AmericanChristian Academy from 1979-1981. Later theymoved to the Amazon, where they taught MKsand became involved in local church ministriesfor eight years.

In July 1989, they returned to So Paulo, wherethey planted churches and participated in lead-ership training at the Regular Baptist Seminary.Bill served as academic dean and Sue as librar-ian. Once again, God moved in their hearts andin September 2000 they moved to Bauru. Theirpersistence over the years played a key role instarting a church in Bauru, leading many toChrist.

As one of their children noted, As many othershave been blessed by their work, we are blessedto not only have them in our lives, but also to callthem Mom and Dad. It would be nearly impos-sible to sum up a 35-year ministry in earthlyterms, so it is Jesus who said it best: Whateveryou did for the least of these brothers of mine,you did for me (Matthew 25:40).

2012Bommawards

Jodi Boyd recently finished a Prayer Hike on the Tour du Mont Blanc, a long-distance trail

that passes through Switzerland, Italy and France. She collected per-mile pledges and raised

more than $4,000 to purchase a vehicle for her future ministry in Togo: I turned on a hiking

GPS every day when I walked out the door in the morning and turned it off every evening when

I arrived at our refuge. The grand tally for miles hiked was 113! Almost every day we climbed

and descended a mountain pass. Most of the hiking was around 6,000 to 8,000 feet elevation,

averaging 10 to 13 miles per day.

through ABWEs stories from around the world

Hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc

One of our greatest difficulties is teaching the OldTestament stories when the Old Testament has notyet been translated into the local language that we use.The same people who helped translate the Anufo NewTestament are now looking at starting the Old Testamenttranslation project. This could take 20 years, but it isgreatly needed. A few of us on the team may end up beinginvolved in various ways in this process. Please ask God tospeed along the day when a good translation of the Bible inAnufo will be available to any who wants it.

New Testament Needs

Peter Maybury teaches children at a Kids Club event in Togo.

24 w w w . a b w e . o r g / n e w s

Church TrendsWhich holidays see the highest church attendance?

A recent LifeWay research poll asked 1,000 Protestant pastors to rank the three holidays with the highest attendance at their churches. Easter, Christmas and Mothers Day were overwhelmingly selected as the top three choices. Heres a look at the other holidays or special services that see high attendance rates in North America:

How has God shown His love for you recently?

joy and holy presence. Mark R.

By giving me so many wonderful,loving people in my life: family,church family, dear friends! Kathleen L.

God grants me new days to startover in all that I do, to be better andlean on Him. Amanda D.

facebook.com/abweministries

Facebook FactsWe asked. You answered.

93% Easter84% Christmas59% Mothers Day26% Other

16% Homecoming 14% Friend Day 4% Fourth of July 4% Fathers Day

So, are you retiring? How often we have heardthat question these past few months. Ouranswer: Yes, and no. Confusing? Yes and no.What we mean is we plan to retire on paper, butnot actively. In fact, God has put five optionsbefore us as we look forward to returning toBrazil. One involves a possible church plant.As long as God enables us health-wise, theresnothing wed rather be doing than missionaryministry.

ABWE missionaries to Brazil

New Horizons

Praise the Lord for His provision, protection andsalvation of souls as a result of the outreachto Iquitos, Peru. We saw 912 patients in eightlocations, with three locations on the AmazonRiver. In all, Jennifer Wichterman and Larry saw35 physical therapy patients, each with somedifficult disabilities among them. The beautyof the trip was that 59 people were newlysaved, with two (Geronimo and Rosa), makinga decision for the Lord right in our physicaltherapy clinic.

Retired ABWE missionaries

Reaching Out

Dick and Mavis Buck

How has God shown His lovefor you recently?

joy and holy presence. Mark R.

By giving me so many wonderful,loving people in my life: family,church family, dear friends!

Kathleen L.

God grants me new days to startover in all that I do, to be better andlean on Him.

Amanda D.

facebook.com/abweministries

Facebook FactsWe asked. You answered.

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Source: LifeWay Research, 2012

26 w w w . a b w e . o r g / n e w s

Mobilizing Missionaries

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When I tell people I work in the Mobilization Department at ABWE, many dont haveany idea what that means. Quite frankly, when I first heard the term mobilization, I hadno idea what it involved either. I have since come to describe Mobilization as eHarmonymeets the monster.com of missions.

Let me explain. Our goal as a department is to give assistance to individuals who havesurrendered their lives to God to pursue missions. The eHarmony aspect of Mobilizationmeans we get to know people in such a way that we can discover their unique gifts, passionsand skill sets so they can be used to the fullest for Gods glory. The monster.com componententails screening people to make sure they are well equipped for the journey. If not, we helpthem get that training.

We believe that God uses the Holy Spirit to guide us as we gather information. With thisin mind, Mobilization seeks to accomplish three things for churches and individuals: topromote; to connect; to facilitate.

We want to make people aware of opportunities for service in the globalharvest field. Ideally, our desire is for someone to see an opportunity and feel that it wastailored specifically for them.

CONNECT Once we have an indication of a persons ministry passion or area of inter-est, we can begin to connect him or her with leaders and missionaries who can speak withauthority on the specifics of a team or field.

We strive to make the application process as simple as possible and thelife-changing decisions easy to make.

Many times when people say to God, Here am I, send me, they enter into a wholenew journey and have no idea what the next steps will be. In Mobilization we have thetremendous privilege of coming alongside these people to help them in this new endeavor.As we work with them and their church, we have one overall goal in mind: to help themdiscern what God wants them to do.

By Dan BrandaExecutive Director of Mobilization

Join our teamStudent Mobilization Director needed to engage and connect with college studentsand promote opportunities to experience missions in todays world.

Submit your resume to Robin Kephart, ABWE HR Coordinator, at robin@abwe.org.

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