My Bio

Gary was born in Volga, South Dakota and Nancy in Wilmington, Delaware.

Gary grew up on a farm near Volga. Nancy grew up in Wilmington. They met in 1961 at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa and were married in Wilmington in 1964. In 1965, their son Kevin was born.

In March of 1968, they moved to Agawam, Massachusetts where Gary assumed the office manager position of the Liberty Loan office in Springfield. The following spring, they relocated to Sioux Falls, South Dakota where Gary began working with Beneficial Finance.

In July of 1970, they moved to Aberdeen, South Dakota where Gary assumed the office manager position with Beneficial Finance. In 1972, their daughter Connie was born.

Shortly after Connie was born, they began attending the C&MA Church in Aberdeen. After hearing a series of special messages, they began going to a weekly Bible study. They initiated a monthly activity for couples, took Sunday School teaching positions and implemented a weekly door-to-door evangelism outreach effort. Gary became an elder.

In July of 1972, they left for Moody Bible Institute in Chicago where Gary would graduate in 1977 with a Missions major (He returned to Moody Bible Institute to receive a B.A. in 1986 and a M.A. 1994). In the summer of 1976, they spent about seven weeks in Colombia on a thirty member summer team. From the fall of 1977 to the spring of 1978, they studied Spanish at the Rio Grande Bible Institute & Language School in Edinburg, Texas.

In August of 1978, they arrived in Bolivia for their first of three terms as missionaries with South America Mission (SAM). They were members of an eleven member church planting team their initial years in Bolivia. During their first four-year term in Bolivia, they planted the Pari Church, implemented a two year rural resident leadership training program and led three summer teams that were in Bolivia for over seven weeks.

They spent their second term in Bolivia at the two year rural resident leadership training center administrating the program there. They also led two more summer teams during their time in Bolivia. For their third term, Gary was the Field Director for the SAM missionary team in Bolivia. They raised funds to purchase property and then to begin a two year urban church planting training center. They also continued to work closely with the seven week summer teams that arrived in Bolivia each year.

A year after returning to the U.S. in 1990, they were asked by SAM’s headquarters to move to Lake Worth, Florida where Gary assumed the position of overseeing missionary candidates. The following year, Gary was asked to become the Canadian South American Mission Executive Director and eventually moved the Canadian SAM office to Three Hills, Alberta.

In December of 1994, they joined OC International as missionaries and were with the Guatemala OC field missionary team by October of 1995. Within a month after her arrival in Guatemala. Nancy was asked to be the Field Treasurer. Gary implemented a two year contextualized Bible training program (PEB) and became the Guatemalan Field Director in 1997 for the CART (OC) field missionary team. They lead three summer (STEP) teams during their time in Guatemala. They were integrated into short term ministry teams, they assisted with a hands-on, cross-cultural, in-country missionary exposure program and they taught PEB modules. Gary also wrote an editorial article for a quarterly publication that went to over 10,000 churches in Guatemala.

In May of 2003, they returned to the U.S. for an OC headquarters assignment in Colorado Springs, Colorado. At OC headquarters, Nancy coordinated the introduction of new candidates to OC. Gary first had the responsibility of accepting and facilitating the assignment of short-term personnel. He then was asked to help with the deployment of OC’s new interns to their assigned countries. Gary and Nancy were mentor couples for five summers for OC’s summer internship. They have had opportunities to return to Guatemala as members of short-term ministry teams.

On January 1, 2007, Gary and Nancy joined Shepherd Services at Adventures in Missions (AIM). They are very grateful for the opportunity to use their 30 years of missionary experiences, training, education, etc. to help young people and those in career positions to better minister cross-culturally. Gary and Nancy will continue to make overseas trips – to encourage and to affirm career missionary staff with AIM.

Gary and Nancy are missionaries with a faith or nondenominational mission agency. They are expected to raise an annually budgeted amount of funds. Their budget for 2007 is $4,800 a month. Gary and Nancy need to raise funds for their own salary, health, life and dental insurance, retirement, FICA, travel, prayer letters, etc.

Gary and Nancy would be very grateful if you would join them as a prayer partner. They would also be very thankful if you would make it a matter of prayer as to whether you would like to partner with them through financial support. Support donations are tax deductible. Checks should be made out to Adventures in Missions. Please designate them for Gary and Nancy Lengkeek. The address of Adventures in Missions is: 6000 Wellspring Trail, Gainesville, Georgia 30506