I was born August 13, 1981 in Lubbock, TX. My parents, Ron and Bev, were finishing up at Sunset School of Preaching. When I was two, we moved to Salvador, Brazil where my parents along with two other families ministered as missionaries. After four and a half years on the mission field, we returned state-side where my dad was hired to be the preacher at the Cloverdale church of Christ in Searcy, AR. Those nine years were some of the best years of my life. I was baptized after the summer of 1994. Camp Wyldewood and the Cloverdale youth group made a huge impact in my life.
In 1997 we moved to Lubbock, TX on my birthday. We arrived at 2am in the morning and that day was the first day of school. It was the first time I ever went to school on my birthday, however, no one said happy birthday to me because I was in a brand new high school. My dad had been hired to be the dean of preaching at the Sunset International Bible Institute. Neither Daniel (younger brother), Lori (younger sister) nor I liked this move. God would bless me though with an amazing youth minister and youth group who loved Jesus. During my three years of high school, my youth minister helped put a desire in my heart to be a Youth Minister. So when I graduated from Coronado High School in 2000, and enrolled in the only logical school for me, Harding University, I knew exactly what I wanted to major in.
I met my future wife that next summer at Camp Wyldewood. We were both counselors there for the first time. During the second session of camp we were paired together as the only counselors for Group 1 (ages 7-10). We started dating soon after that session. We dated for nearly two years before we were engaged in 2003. That summer, the Lord led me to Kara, Togo, West Africa on a missionary internship. I loved it so much that I wanted to be a missionary in Africa. We graduated in 2004 with degrees in Secondary Education (Kyleen) and Youth and Family Ministry.
After graduation we moved to Tabligbo, Togo, West Africa to be with the southern team in Togo. Kyleen taught the missionary children while I was an apprentice. I learned the tribal language of Ewe and went on many trips to different villages to help train the national leaders. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Africa. We grew tremendously as a couple. When we moved back to the states we were both hired at Westbury Christian School in Houston, TX. Kyleen taught Science and Social Studies while I taught Bible. In the summer of 2007 we found out that we would be having our first child. Aidan Patrick was born on April 9, 2008. Our lives have truly been blessed by his presence.
After working with Westbury for four years, I longed for a change in my life. The Lord quickly opened doors for me to move to Chattanooga, TN and take on my dream job of being a Youth Minister. We love it here and pray that the Lord will continue to provide for us.
Joshua Bontrager
