TWR Love Stories: Spotlighting the Whitmores and the Lowells
[Estimated reading time: 7 minutes]
The island of Guam has long been TWR's gateway to sharing the gospel across Asia. [Image by TWR]
What does the westernmost U.S. island and love have to do with the ministry of TWR? The island of Guam represents an important part of the TWR ministry, as its transmitting site has been a gospel gateway to Asia since Jan. 1, 1977. Also, Guam is the birthplace of two TWR couples’ enduring love stories.
Meet Gary and Winnie Whitmore
Rise up! Oh, men of God, have done with lesser things. Give heart and mind and soul and strength to serve the King of kings.
These words, sung out at a U.S. missions conference, pierced the heart of Gary Whitmore, a young widower and father of a 2-year-old son, David. This was two years after Gary lost his wife following the birth of their child while the couple was serving with TWR on another small island, Bonaire.
Engineers were needed at the new KTWR station on Guam, and Gary was asked to serve there. At the time of the mission conference, Gary had been praying about TWR’s request.
God was working!
“So, how could I do anything less than go to Guam to work at KTWR and leave everything in God’s hands?” Gary shared.
While he felt God confirming in his heart it was OK to remarry and for little David to have a new mom, he wondered how the remote island of Guam would be the place. And who would want to marry a single guy with a 2-year-old son?
Rather than stay in the U.S. and have family help him raise his son, Gary accepted the call to KTWR Guam ... leaving everything in God’s hands.
Meanwhile, the young, single Winnie Hekman was working at an insurance office in Florida but felt God was calling her to something more fulfilling. She prayed daily for the Lord to lead her to a believing husband and/or a ministry to work with to make her days count for eternity.
Interestingly, her mother’s best friend, Tina Velders, had just returned from a trip to Bonaire to volunteer with TWR. Tina learned about Gary Whitmore’s story of losing his wife while living on Bonaire two years earlier. She also noted that he was now serving as a widower and single dad on Guam.
As God would have it, soon after Tina was back in Florida, she was seated next to Winnie at a church bridal shower. She told Winnie about Gary raising young David on Guam and asked Winnie if she would be willing to correspond with Gary. The daily prayer Winnie had been praying immediately came to mind and she indicated she was willing.
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In the 1970s, letter writing was the primary mode of long-distance correspondence. So, Gary received a letter from a woman he did not know, Tina, introducing him to another woman he did not know, Winnie. Gary wrote Winnie. This began the exchange of 130 letters between the two. But after Gary and little David visited Winnie in Florida, Gary’s letter writing slowed. He began seeking Christian counsel about marriage.
When Gary’s letters became more intermittent, Winnie believed perhaps God used Gary to introduce her to TWR. She began to consider serving as a single missionary. Meanwhile, both KTWR broadcasters whom Gary consulted agreed marriage for Gary and Winnie would be a great idea.
Winnie then received a long letter from Gary asking her to reconsider the relationship with the intent of being more serious. At that point, Winnie began to apply for service with TWR. In April of 1979, Gary and David were back in the U.S. for Winnie’s interviews to become a TWR missionary. Soon afterward, Gary asked for Winnie’s hand in marriage.
After their June wedding in Florida, Mr. and Mrs. Whitmore began their TWR deputation. By November, the family of three was flying to Guam to begin their missionary career together.
“With one ‘I DO,’ I became a wife, a missionary and mother of a 2½-year-old!” Winnie Whitmore said.
God continued to bless their marriage, family and ministry. The Whitmores served on Guam, (1979-83); Hong Kong (1983-1990); Singapore (1991); and back to Guam (1992-94). Their son, Daniel, was born on Guam, while their daughter, Deborah, was born in Hong Kong.
In 1994, Winnie and Gary moved to the U.S. to continue serving as TWR missionaries. Today, they serve in ministry partnerships as an interface between TWR’s global work, churches and individuals in the U.S.
When asked what makes their long-lasting marriage work, Winnie said,
“Our marriage is based on the sure foundation that it is God-ordained, and our love and devotion for each other have grown steadily through the years for the glory of God.”
As for their faithful service with TWR these combined 94 years, Gary said:
“If the need was great in the 1970s, how much more in 2024 to be totally committed to helping fulfill the Great Commission, 'telling the world of redemption’!”
Meet Lee and Lonna Lowell
The island of Guam and missions with TWR changed the course of these two people's lives forever.
When Lonna Springer said yes to serving with TWR on Guam in 1981, she didn’t know that Lee Lowell was serving there and would one day be her husband. Never mind the fact that Lee’s parents, Tom and Glenda Lowell, became TWR missionaries when he was only 8 years old. Tom Lowell eventually served as TWR’s president and CEO.
Just days after Lonna’s arrival on Guam, TWR colleagues hosted a young adults singles gathering, and it was there that Lonna and Lee met for the first time. Three weeks later, Lee asked Lonna for a first date. That date involved Lee picking up Lonna on his motorcycle and taking her for Japanese food, teaching her how to use chopsticks and then eating the last shrimp on her plate!
Not long afterward, the couple began to realize they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together wherever God led them.
That December, four months after they began dating, Lee returned to the U.S. to apply for long-term TWR service and to spend time with his family. On that trip home, Lee bravely chose to add one more stop to his itinerary: a flight to Quincy, Illinois. From there he drove an hour to meet Lonna’s family. Lee spent several days with them and asked Lonna’s dad for her hand in marriage.
When Lee returned to Guam in January 1982, he had a plan to keep Lonna’s engagement ring safe by wearing it on a string around his neck. Lonna noticed the string and asked Lee about it. Lee then showed her the ring and proposed. She said yes! Lee and Lonna returned to the U.S. in May 1982 to prepare for their June 19, 1982, wedding and to raise support. They returned to Guam later that year with full support for their work to continue.
Now, 42 years later, Lonna shares the staying-married advice she received as a young bride:
“We were told when we first got married to enter marriage with our eyes wide open and after marriage to keep them half shut. There’s a little truth in that. It’s best to not dwell on the small stuff and remember what brought you together in the first place.”
As for serving with the TWR ministry for a combined 87 years, Lee said:
“We both feel that the ministry of TWR is being used by God in an amazing way to reach those who might otherwise never hear the message of God’s greatest gift. We feel honored to be a small part of this amazing ministry.”
Today, the Lowells are still actively involved with TWR in the U.S. offices. Lonna serves as executive assistant to the chief financial officer, while Lee works as an IT systems administrator.
TWR rejoices in the long-standing love and service of the Whitmores and Lowells.
Images: (top, banner) The island of Guam has long been TWR's gateway to sharing the gospel across Asia [Image by TWR], (Whitmore top, right) Gary and Winnie Whitmore have served with TWR for a combined 94 years, (Whitmore middle, left) Gary and Winnie's love story began with written correspondence from across the world, (Whitmore bottom, right) Gary, Winnie and son, David, (Lowell top, right) Lee and Lonna Lowell met while serving with TWR on the island of Guam, (Lowell bottom, left) Lee and Lonna wed in January 1982 and continue to serve with TWR to this day. [Images courtesy of the Whitmores and Lowells]
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