Josh and Alicia Crowe graduated from Wheaton in 2007 with M.A. degrees in Intercultural Studies. Having served for two years in Japan as an English teacher, Alicia came back to the United States to complete her education. During that time she met Josh who was completing an internship in inner city Chicago. The two fell in love, got married and God began developing their passion for missions. At Wheaton Graduate School, they deepened their personal spiritual walks and narrowed their focus of ministry on the youth culture of Japan.
They were approved as career missionaries in 2007 with the International Mission Board of Free Will Baptist. In May 2009, their family of three deployed to Japan and will spend the first two years there in language study on the Northern island of Hokkaido. It is their hope to participate in grass root church movements among the youth culture of Japan in Tokyo.
Sarah Agee graduated from Wheaton College in May 2008. While she was here, she got started working with Viña in Guatemala when she did a HNGR internship in 2007. As a Bible and Theology major, she wrote scripts for Bible Story videos and lessons for use in rural Sunday Schools in Guatemala. She has always wanted to be a full time missionary, and the Bennett Scholarship gave her the freedom and courage to make a long-term commitment.
Guatemalans exclaim for joy when they learn she has made a four year commitment to serve there. She considers her work at Viña, and her experience in the Guatemalan church to be a constant learning experience, and feels honored to return to a place that she has grown to deeply care about.
Christopher and Rebecca Vogt Christopher earned a M.A. in Christian Formation and Bible in 2005 at Wheaton College. He was a Bennett Award Recipient in March 2008. This year, 2013, Christopher completed earning loan forgiveness for his undergrad studies through his work in the field.
Christopher and Rebecca Vogt felt called by God to work in the context of caring for fatherless children and came initially to Uganda to attend 5-months of training through New Hope Uganda. This experience transformed them and God opened a way for them to stay and continue to serve on staff there. Though New Hope cares for over 500 children, their main role is the training of men and women who come from around the world to New Hope’s Institute of Childcare and Family. Over 11 years ago, this ministry was established to train ministry leaders who serve the fatherless. The Vogt’s heart is to see men and women transformed by God and to help mold the unique visions, gifts and callings God has already placed in their hearts. Many of these students have a passion to see God glorified through adoption, fostering, education, working with street children, establishing a children's home, etc. but primarily students come because of their hunger to minister to children and families through their local church.
The Vogt’s have also begun PTI (Pastors Training Institute). The church in Uganda has often been said to be "one mile wide but one inch deep". There is a tremendous need for proper training in understanding God's Word and its implications for ministry and life. They desire to see the church in Uganda take the lead in building solid families, thus limiting the broken families and number of fatherless children in Uganda.
“We are so grateful to our Father for the years God has given us here and the added blessing of the Bennett Scholarship which has enabled us to live among a beautiful people (Uganda) in whom the Gospel is needed. And all of this debt free. Thank you.”
John Wilson graduated from Wheaton College in May 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and English Literature. After serving in Hungary on three separate short-term mission trips, John felt led to invest his life more fully in Hungary, specifically to serve, challenge, educate, and facilitate both existing Christian churches as well as church plant initiatives in evangelism, discipleship, and social ministry. In 2004, John moved to Hungary, where he serves as a career missionary with United World Mission.
John and Zsófi (Sophie) were married in 2006, and have a beautiful daughter, Eszter (Esther). They are also expecting their second child in October 2008! Zsófi studied psychology at the University of Vienna before completing the equivalent of a Master of Arts degree in Psychology and Christian Counseling at IGNIS-Akademie in Germany. Her passion is to help bring God’s healing to those who are broken.
The Bennett Fund Scholarship has been a tremendous blessing for John and Zsófi, removing a major financial hindrance of theirs, and allowing them to devote all their passion to ministering to the people of Hungary.
You can find more information about John and Zsófi on their website >>
Joshua Ryan graduated from Wheaton College in May 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics. In preparation for his mission work in Thailand, Josh earned a Certification as an Emergency Medical Technician in December 2006.
Josh feels especially called to serve the many displaced people living along the Thai and Burmese border. His passion is to relieve the suffering of these people and to serve them through spiritual and medical relief efforts. Josh’s first goal is to learn the Thai and Karen languages.
“What a blessing it has been to receive this scholarship. It has brought so much financial freedom and opens doors on the mission field that weren't open to me before!"
Rebecca Thompson has served with Christ for Children, International (CFCI) in Fresnillo, Mexico since June 2003. Her responsibilities include growing the children’s ministry and training new missionaries in the program. She also participates in women’s ministry, especially to younger women between the ages of 20 and 35. She graduated from Wheaton College in December 2001, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. Mary Dorsett, executive director of CFCI, states “Becca is much loved by missionaries and nationals alike. Her command of Spanish and her practical leadership ministry experience makes her a “sure bet” for “advancing the Kingdom both now and in the future.”
Becca had struggled with her undergraduate debt from Wheaton as she was contemplating God’s call to serve overseas. Finally, she decided to step out in faith and go to Mexico in June 2003. From her modest salary, she regularly portioned out payments for her loan. She expressed her amazement at learning about the Bennett Fund for Missionary Service. Tears came to her eyes as she shared how God was faithful to her in providing this award so that she might answer His call and obey the Master.
This recipient graduated with a B.A. in Biblical Studies in '09 and will be working in East Asia doing Church planting among Muslims.
He and his wife met overseas while on the same language-learning team and both have a passion for declaring God's glory among the least-reached. They are committed to going, for the sake of proclaiming the Gospel, to the farthest places where Christ is not known and to mobilizing others, local and foreign, to join them in those efforts.
Dave Terpstra graduated from Wheaton in 1998 with a B.A. in Archaeology. Dave and Amy, his summer camp sweetheart-turned-wife, moved to Denver to pursue graduate studies. Dave then became the Teaching Pastor at The Next Level Church in Denver, CO, where he continued to serve in various capacities for the last decade.
God began to grow the Terpstras’ passion for Africa through short-term missions, child sponsorship, and their support of other missionaries, and it soon became clear God was directing them leave the church they love and commit themselves full-time to overseas missions. The Terpstras and their children now live in Mozambique and with church leaders and children’s workers in the capital city of Maputo with WorldVenture. Their hope is to build a network of church leaders, employ several pastors in various business ventures, and train children’s workers.