The People
But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;
I have made the Lord God my mahseh (refuge),
That I may tell of all Your works. Psalm 73:28
Rob and Debbie Wingerter, founders of Mahseh Ministries, make their year round home in Zionsville, Indiana, but spend many weekends at their lake home, Dunrovin, on beloved Lake Bruce. They raised one daughter and three sons, and are immensely enjoying grand parenting sixteen grandchildren. Rob is retired from Ernst & Young but does consulting for foundations and businesses. He and Debbie have been married since 1976.
Rob officially retired July of 2012 from Ernst and Young in Indianapolis. Rob has a passion to serve the community and has served on numerous boards through the years. And although he’s stayed in the same job, the same house, and with the same wife for all these years, there’s nothing static about how Rob lives life – he’s our visionary, the one who sees beyond the present to the possibilities to which God may be calling us each and all. He also loves the joy of exercise and of learning (Rob holds a law degree from Indiana University, along with degrees from University of Indianapolis, Moody Bible Institute, and Covenant Theological Seminary). Rob has led several retreats at Mahseh, and we expect to see him teaching even more now that he has retired from the corporate work world.
When you send in an application, or email a query to Mahseh, you will most likely be in touch with Debbie, Mahseh Reservations Coordinator. Deb is gifted in organization and management. Her schooling as an English teacher and her special love for children's literature have served her well in raising her children and nurturing her grandchildren. Additionaly she taught the two year olds for twelve years for the women’s Bible study at their home church, Zionsville Fellowship. She currently writes and teaches curriculum for the women’s Bible study. Debbie has mentored numerous young Christians, both formally and informally. We find she has emerged as our prayer warrior and exhorts all four of us to pray without ceasing. Debbie also teaches on selected Bible passages at the quarterly Mahseh Morning for the Ladies.
Ron and Alison Wingerter are the hosts and keepers of Mahseh and the surrounding grounds and buildings. Ron and Rob are brothers. Ron and Alison have four grown daughters, two-sons-in law and four grandchildren, living in four different communities. They are hoping the lake will become the annual rendezvous point for the girls and their families. Ron and Alison didn’t expect to live in six different communities over 36 years of marriage, but the fruit of that journey has been that, added to families that love them, they have the privilege of having dear, dear friends from every place they’ve come to love and call home. They have always hoped their home was seen as a place of peace and refreshment. Their great delight is for beloved family, and friends, old and new, to come for refreshment at Lake Bruce. Through the years Ron and Alison have attended mostly non-denominational Christian churches. They delight in the fellowship and learning involved in hosting and leading small group Bible studies in their home. They are currently attending The Vineyard Community Church of Logansport.
Ron is a Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology graduate and worked as a professional engineer at various manufacturing companies for 34 years before coming to Lake Bruce to do the work of his dreams–Mahseh’s facilities manager who cares for the properties at Lake Bruce which includes the Mahseh Center, along with meeting and greeting guests when they arrive. He loves being the chief problem solver of the mysterious inner workings of Mahseh’s functional systems plus he delights in keeping the grounds well groomed with the Dixie chopper, the giant snow blower and the enormous leaf collector, not to mention the recently acquired muck pump. In addition to the mind of an engineer, God has placed the heart of a servant – what a combination!
Alison is delighted to find that all the skills and interests of those homemaking years were being honed for God’s purposes at Mahseh – tending the gardens, photography, writing for website and newsletter, and helping Ron host both overnight guests at Mahseh as well as friends from around the lake and around the state in their own home. She’s reviving her cooking and baking skills as well! Alison feels privileged to have her love for beauty (Rob calls her “the artsy one”) valued as a real asset for the work at Mahseh. Alison loves to talk with others, but perhaps even more considers it a privilege to listen as another pours out their heart.
All four of us thank the Lord for this opportunity to draw together in service to Him by tending to and sharing with others the overflow of what God has done and is doing in our own lives through time at Lake Bruce.
