wfn.org | Business owner finds new calling

[BethAH <BethAH@mbm.org>]

May 9, 2001
Beth Hawn
Mennonite Board of Missions
(219) 294-7523
<NEWS@MBM.org>

May 9, 2001

Business owner finds new calling in supporting missions

ORRVILLE, Ohio (MBM) – When you ask Wendell Schloneger what he’s
given to mission, he doesn’t respond with a dollar figure.
Instead, “Kwami Wendell” tells you what he has learned and
received.

Schloneger, from Orrville, Ohio, says the friendships he has made
are worth far more than the thousands of dollars he’s given.
“Many of my African brothers and sisters tell me they pray for
me.  This is humbling and I am grateful.  … They have taught me
that prayer is the most important thing in my daily walk with
God,” he said.

The name “Kwami Wendell” reminds him of this.  It’s a name given
to him by the people of Edwinase Mennonite Church in Ghana, a
congregation he considers part of his family.

For many years, Schloneger put business first.  “I spent many
years in business behind a desk competing with a variety of ‘big
box’ stores that would come and go,” he said.  “My goal was to
keep the business healthy, pay off debts, survive recessions, and
put five kids through college.  Now I felt God nudging me in
other directions,” he said.

Schloneger owns Bennet’s Appliance Centers, a business started by
his father-in-law, Bennet Geiser.  Schloneger married Elaine
Geiser in 1958, and started as a television technician in the
store after they moved to Orrville in 1961.  The young couple
became members of Elaine’s home church, Orrville Mennonite, and
raised five children.

“It was after my wife died in 1991 that I began to change my
life.  When someone close to you dies, you can become angry and
bitter … and distance yourself from God, or you can become closer
to God.  You cannot remain status quo,” he said.

“I began to pray and read the Bible more and have quiet time to
listen to God,” he said.  “I prayed that God would guide me –
where, when, who and how much to give of my resources, including
my time, talents and money, to helping other people.”

Schloneger soon had an opportunity to give his time.  A week
before Christmas in 1991, Orrville Mennonite Church helped to
reunite a refugee family from El Salvador.  Schloneger was one of
three men from the church to drive the mother and 10 children
from Texas to British Columbia to be reunited with their husband
and father after three years of separation.

His passion for mission has been unquenchable ever since.  In
1992, at age 56, Schloneger participated in a Mennonite Board of
Missions mission fellowship visit to Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina
and Bolivia.  “I came back a changed person,” he said.  “I had
experiences that were beyond description.  I wanted more.”

His wish came true.  His travels since 1992 include Jamaica,
Belize, Mexico, the Holy Land, Switzerland, Albania, Spain,
Italy, New Zealand, nine countries in Asia, and seven trips to
West Africa.  On May 1, he left for an extended visit to mission
workers in Asia.

The first trip to Africa marked another turning point for
Schloneger.  He received an invitation in 1994 to participate in
a mission fellowship visit.  Feeling a direct call from God to
participate, Schloneger agreed to go.

“I told God that he had my whole life from here on,” he said.
“Everything I owned and possessed I gave back to him.  All my
money, my business, my home, my most prized possessions.

“When I came back from this trip, my operations manager had moved
all my purchasing books to his office.  They have remained there
and I tell him that it is because of him that I can go on mission
visits.  God provided him and has taken care of things as he said
he would.  I came back from Africa a changed person.”

On that trip, Schloneger met Rev. Bismark Yevu, a pastor in the
Ghana Mennonite Church, who shared his dream with Wendell to have
a bigger church building so people would not have to sit out in
the sun or rain.  He has stayed in touch with Yevu ever since and
led the MBM building teams that helped the congregation construct
their new building.

“Many people begin to think about retirement and where they will
spend winters when they reach their mid-50s, when really this is
a time when many who are in good health can be at their best to
serve in missions,” Schloneger said.  “They can give of their
time, money, wisdom, experience and talents.

“If God has blessed me with abundance, I must share generously
and lovingly with others who are in need.  It is not an option;
it is a requirement if we want to be a disciple of Christ,” he
said.  “We must say without reservation, ‘Here I am, Lord.  I’m
yours.  Use me however you want.  All of me!  Everything I own,
which you have given me, is yours to use to further your
kingdom.’  Then as soon as we give ourselves totally to him,
everything else falls into place.  We want to give of our
resources.  It is natural.  The Holy Spirit prompts us out of
love.”

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Bethany Swope       PHOTOS AVAILABLE