Meet The Team!

MEET OUR TEAM!!!

SallyJo Gieser

People ask me “why do you keep going on mission trips?” and my answer is “because I can”.   But it
 is more than that, though I am thankful that God has given me the strength and energy to go.  Several years before Chuck and I retired from 30 years of camping ministry (7 in Texas and 23 at Deerfoot Lodge in the Adirondacks), we heard a preacher in a church in Florida challenge the many retirees in the congregation… “folks, it’s not retirement, it’s reassignment”.  One of my reassignments has been involvement in foreign missions – whether it’s supporting and encouraging others or going myself.  Helping at Centro Escolar is not always easy, but it always a blessing.


Joshua and Sarah Krepel
Joshua is the assistant pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church.  Sarah is a Structural EIT at Ryan Biggs | Clark Davis.  They met in college at Oklahoma State and have been married for four years.  They moved to the area one year ago and have been adjusting to life in the Northeast.  They love their church and new family dearly and are so excited to be part of this amazing trip to Nicaragua.

Victoria Lizor
I am a high school special education teacher from Delmar, NY. I am most happy spending time with my partner Alan and our children Lynsea, Gavin, Cooper and Lydia and two dogs, Finnegan and Boogie. In my leisure time I enjoy reading, music and entertaining with friends and family. In 2010 I participated in my first missions trip to Petionville, Haiti and volunteered in an orphanage shortly after the earthquake. It was a very humbling and life changing experience. I am excited to work along side this awesome BLC team in Nicaragua. I look forward to growing spiritually while serving those in need by performing God's work. I am thankful for this opportunity and to my friends and family who have supported me through financial donations and continued prayers.

Lydia Martell
My name is Lydia Martell. I am 15 years old and just finished y freshman year and Bethlehem Central High School. Throughout my years of growing up, I have thoroughly enjoyed making close relationships and working with many different people through BLC. This church family has always been there to support my family and I for as long as I can remember. I love to serve in my community and I pray that this trip will extend my ability to work with others in every way God makes possible




Katie Matthews
Katie Matthews is a middle school math teacher. When she's not busy sharing her love of algebra and all things numerical with adolescents, she can be found doing some sort of music. At BLC, she's part of the Choir, Bell Choir, and MEGA Praise Band. She also sings with Albany Pro Musica and the Jubilate Singers. She continues to plays the viola, which she began as a child. She's very excited to teach music to the students at Centro Escolar! She's looking forward to sharing God's love with the people of Sandino and learning all she can from them.

Bonnie Mueller
This will be my second mission trip with Bethlehem Lutheran Church. My first was to Poland in 2011 to help run a week long English Bible camp. With this trip, I am looking forward to the chance to work on the school grounds of the LifeLink International School to help their ministry opportunities grow. As a Lutheran school teacher here in Albany, I am excited to have the opportunity to share the message of Christ with the students in Nicaragua.





Tim Mueller
This will be my second mission trip with Bethlehem Lutheran Church. My first was in 2010 to Poland to help run a week long English Bible camp. I enjoy construction and landscaping so I am very excited to work on the grounds of the LifeLink International School in Nicaragua. This will be a great opportunity to assist the school in sharing the message of Christ with the students.






Erin Newell
My name is Erin Newell I am 16 years old and I go to Bethlehem Central High School. I play tennis and sing in the BLC praise band. I hope to help others,meet new people, and grow as a person, as well as in my faith. 





Tom Newell
I graduated from BCHS in 1965, and from Cornell University in 1971 with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Agriculture.  I was blessed to work in a profession that I loved for 25 years as a dairy farmer with 3 Farms Dairy.  In 1995, when the dairy business was sold, I began working for the Town of Bethlehem Highway Department, from which I recently retired.  My wife, Val and I have three daughters, Kim, Stephanie and Erin.  We have raised them on our family farm, where I grew up.  Erin 
and I are excited to be on this journey together.  Our desire is to share our faith and bring God’s love through this wonderful experience while learning about a culture so very different from our own.


Peter and Grace Smith
This both Peter and Grace's second mission through BLC. Peter will be returning to Nicaragua for the second time on this trip, and Grace went with BLC to Poland in 2011. Both have experienced the feeling reward while serving God and wish to provide His word again to the children in Sandino. This is their first mission together and are extremely excited to walk in the path of God as they serve at Centro Escolar. They are incredibly thankful to the senders who made this trip possible and are blessed to be the goers.






Hannah Thien
Hannah is 17 and is very excited to go on her first mission trip with BLC. She has spent the past six years serving BLC through the Praise Band, but has been anticipating this trip for a long time. Her biggest hopes for this trip are that this group of goers grows to be an incredible family in Christ, and that we spread God's love as far and wide as possible.






Logan & Jessy Wilson 
We have been blessed to serve  Bethlehem Lutheran Church Logan as a member of the praise band and I as a Deacon. As members of BLC we feel that God has blessed us with an amazing church family which has surrounded us with Gods love. We pray that we can share some of that love with the people of Ciudad Sandino. We also hope that this trip will bring us closer to each other and to God.

Todd Vogel
 I have been a member of BLC for about 13 years and have seen my daughters baptized here - one by Pastor Winterhoff and the youngest by Paster Mueller.Over the last half of my time at BLC I have been a part of the Master Planning Committee and am currently part of the Building Design leadership team and a member of the Missions Committee Team. I should also not forget the musical portion of the church were I volunteered to sing with MEGA Band and of course was shortly afterwards recruited for the second time by Ruth Rice to sing with the Senior choir and Bell Choir  And, I can't forget my first  wonderful experience this past year as part of the Jubilate Singers. I am a Designer/Project Manager at Mosaic Associates. In whatever free time I might have I enjoy wood working, biking, walking, snowshoeing and in general working out to keep the body and mind in shape. I have been involved with this mission trip multiple times since BLC started to be a part of Centro Escolar Lifelink. I hold that this will be another extraordinary experience to help grow God's Kingdom. Thank you and God's Blessings to all who continue to support the children and school at Centro Escolar LifeLink and to those who are "Senders" or "Goers" on the mission trip


Whether you know the team personally or from a distance, we are truly thankful and humbled that you are supporting us in our endeavors to grow as Christians and short term missionaries!!