Dwight & Kristen Wenger
Flight Instructor, Pilot/Mechanic
Dwight and Kristen were blessed to grow up in Christian homes. They each felt the Lord's call and accepted Christ as their Savior at a young age.
Dwight grew up in Pennsylvania on a farm with three sisters. From little on up, Dwight felt God calling him to a life of full-time service.
Kristen grew up in central Illinois on a crop farm with four brothers and two sisters. She was always inspired by stories of missionaries and grew up with the dream of serving the Lord on the mission field with her husband someday.
In January of 2007, God had their paths cross at a small Bible school in Elnora, Indiana. As they learned to know each other, Dwight and Kristen realized that both of their hearts' desires were to serve and glorify God wherever He placed them in life. In February of 2008, they were married and started life together in Pennsylvania. In August of 2009, they learned of missionary aviation and felt the Lord leading them to pursue it one step at a time. It was exciting because a missionary aviation career seemed to fit Dwight's gifts so well. He is mechanically minded and enjoys helping others achieve their goals.
Initially the plan was to complete all of his training at Moody Bible Institute, but God had a different route for their journey that allowed Dwight to keep his job and do his flight training locally. There have been many twists and turns in the road, but God has continued to faithfully lead them each step of the way.
As they dreamed about what mission God would have them serve at, they were drawn to the smaller organizations with hopes of finding one with a variety of areas to serve; one that he would not be solely a pilot, but could also serve in many different aspects of the ministry. They were first drawn to MARC because of the possibility of getting his A&P (mechanic's license) as an apprentice and then having the ability to stay on staff. That would be a definite bonus, but as they got to know the wonderful staff family, the way the mission operates--all serving together where needed most, and the very important role MARC plays in furthering the Gospel in Alaska--they knew this was the mission that God was leading them to!
During the time Dwight was getting his necessary flight training, they were blessed with three boys, Carver , Brody, and Aiden; and have been active in their local church serving on the worship team and as youth leaders.
They're excited to take this next step in the journey God has them on and look forward to aiding the spread of the Gospel in Alaska. Dwight will be serving as a mechanic apprentice and flight instructor.