Mauritz & Sumarie Wentzel

Career Missionaries since 2025, serving the Thai Buddhists of Loei, Thailand, on the Loei River Project.

We are the Wentzel family, passionate followers of God, committed to sharing the Three Angels’ Messages so others can experience the same freedom, peace and joy we have found in Christ.

Our story began while we were both studying Mechanical Engineering at a university in South Africa. We each experienced a personal encounter with the Lord that transformed us in so many ways, and we submitted our lives to Him. Shortly after these encounters, we met and got married.

During Mauritz’s final year of studies, God began placing a growing burden for missions on our hearts. After completing this degree, we embarked on a solo, God-led mission trip to Malawi. There, the Lord completely transformed us. We started studying the Sabbath doctrine, and the Lord sent Sabbath-keeping non-Adventists across our path to teach us even more. They also gave us numerous other Bible studies, igniting our year-long search for the true church, one that believed what the Bible taught. It was then that we joined the Adventist Church.

About a year later, we sensed God calling us into pastoral ministry. This led us to Helderberg College in South Africa, where we began studying Theology. During our time there, the Lord once again impressed upon our hearts a burden for cross-cultural mission work. At the end of 2024, our family responded to that call, committing ourselves to serve wherever God would lead.

Over the next few months, we trained with Adventist Frontier Missions (AFM) and prepared to serve in Czechia. We poured ourselves wholeheartedly into the process, but after ten months of pursuing the necessary visas, the door unexpectedly closed. Despite every effort, it became clear that serving in Central Europe would not be possible.

Yet God was already at work.

Just one week before receiving the final news that our visas had been denied, the Lord began directing our hearts toward a different field—the north-eastern region of Thailand. Within days, a missionary friend from AFM serving in another country contacted us unexpectedly and asked whether we had ever considered starting a project in the north-eastern region of Thailand.

Through much prayer, wise counsel and the guidance of AFM’s leadership, it became clear that God was opening a new door. What first seemed like a disappointment became the beginning of an exciting new chapter in His plan for our family.

Today, our family—Mauritz, Sumarie, and our four children, Joshua, Kaleb, Daniyél, and Lukas—has joyfully accepted God’s call to serve the people of Thailand. We desire to share Christ’s love, make disciples and see lives transformed as we look forward to the fulfillment of Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:14:

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”


To donate internationally to the USA office, use the following giving options:

PAYPAL — Go to PayPal Giving Fund (charitable giving) and search for Adventist Frontier Missions Inc.
Or select this Direct Link.

CASH APP — Use the following $cashtag: $AFMdonations The maximum donation is $1,000/day.

ZELLE — Use the following email address: treasurer@afmonline.org.
The maximum donation is $1,000/day.

INTERNATIONAL CREDIT CARD — Make a credit card donation through AFM’s website. If you have an international credit card, select “Give” or “Give to This Project” on the appropriate page for the mission project to which you wish to donate. When you fill out the credit card information in your gift basket, select “Country Name” from the country drop-down list.

If you have specific questions, contact Cavelle Regis.

INTERNATIONAL CHECK – If you prefer to donate by check internationally, U.S. banks require a minimum amount equivalent to $300 U.S. dollars.

Frontier Stories

No Place for Prejudice

Our prayer is that God will help us be humble and willing to serve whoever He brings into our lives, seeing each person as someone precious for whom Christ gave His life.

By: Sumarie Wentzel
August 01 2026, 2:00 pm | Comments 0

What Poppy Needed

People all around us are carrying burdens, fears and deep spiritual needs—and Christ alone can truly fulfill them.

By: Mauritz Wentzel
July 01 2026, 9:04 pm | Comments 0

Little Light-Bearer Liam

A God who is still shaping hearts, still calling the young, and still reminding the rest of us what wholehearted devotion looks like.

By: Mauritz Wentzel
June 01 2026, 6:46 pm | Comments 0

Small Boys. Big God.

We are happy because God hears children, too. We hope our stories help you trust Him.

By: Joshua & Kaleb Wentzel
June 01 2026, 12:19 pm | Comments 0

Winter Will Come

Although seasons are now changing here in South Africa, we have yet to experience the significance of settling in. As we continue our preparations to launch, the hunger to serve and establish roots only grows stronger.

By: Mauritz Wentzel
May 01 2026, 12:58 pm | Comments 0

Back to top