My father resigned from his high paying sales job and enrolled in seminary in Tacoma, Washington. His love and commitment to Christ was the thrill of his life. He wanted to become a pastor. He became a youth pastor, then a senior pastor and endured many hardships of the ministry in smaller locations. I admired his faithfulness, and he played a strong role alongside my mother in raising us five girls. I am one of a string of ‘K’s’: Kim, Kristin, Kerri, Koni and Kandace. When it came time for college, I was actually at a good place as a result of intentional parenting. My spiritual life was alive, but I knew it needed a boost. In the late 1980’s, Word of Life had a minimal presence on the West Coast. I actually was attracted by a half page Moody Monthly magazine advertisement for Word of Life Bible Institute. It was trivial, but God used it. A one-year Bible Institute in upstate New York? It sparked my interest because I was undecided about a future career, and I felt it would give me a meaningful year and time to pray about the future. My husband’s (Gerald) first experience with Word of Life was attending as a young camper with his parents, Robert and Barbara Ziemer, who were Local Church club leaders. They always spoke highly of Word of Life during his formative years. And at the end of high school, he decided to attend Word of Life Bible Institute to strengthen his beliefs. His parents have worked on staff at the Florida campus for the last 25 years. It was an amazing year both spiritually and socially. The missions conference had a huge impact on me. I really wanted to serve God as a foreign missionary. I met Gerald that year, and we dated. Throughout the final college years our dating relationship plummeted and then ignited again. WE BOTH HAD THINGS TO WORK THROUGH AND
Building Community in Romania
KRISTIN (KENYON) ZIEMER '89
A vacuum formed by the trend of liberal and humanistic thinking pulled at the mind and hearts of my parents on the West Coast in the early 1970’s. Thankfully, they divinely connectedwith believers from an evangelical church, and my father was saved. My salvation succeeded my father’s sweet story of repentance. His was vital to mine. At a young age I remember there being joy in our home. My father and mother were certain of their eternal destiny, and it made me curious. My questioning led me to an understanding that I was separated from God because of my sin, but Christ paid my debt on the Cross of Calvary. I placed my trust in Jesus and became a child of The King! I was saved and baptized and learned Bible stories alongside my father who never learned them as a child.
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