A native of the Pacific Northwest, Terry D. Gobel was raised by loving parents in the pioneer tradition of true appreciation for the value of an honest day's work, importance of the family circle, genuine respect for your fellow man, loyalty to America, and love for our Almighty Creator. During his teens, whether from the long harvest days in local farmers' fields to pulling lumber from the dusty conveyors in a nearby mill, Terry understood that education was the key to better ones' self for maximum Christian service to mankind.
Mr. Gobel was accepted for undergraduate studies, as an honors candidate, at Walla Walla University, a private institution, in 1981. His studies emphasized history, business, and modern languages. Summers were spent working in all aspects of Alaskan fisheries. In 1983, Mr. Gobel left the United States and spent a year in Valencia, Spain at Colegio Adventista de Sagunto. There he took intensive courses in Spanish language, history, art, culture, and literature. Mr. Gobel so distinguished himself as a student that he was asked to join the staff as an assistant professor of English for high school level students. Walla Walla University bestowed on Mr. Gobel a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1985. Mr. Gobel is bilingual in Spanish, written and spoken.
In 1985, Mr. Gobel was appointed by Security Pacific Bank to serve as a salmon purchasing agent in the Pacific Rim, based primarily out of Bristol Bay, Alaska, and Bellingham, Washington. In 1986, he was recruited by ADRA to join the humanitarian relief effort in Kartoum, Sudan, a city located along the River Nile in Northeast Africa. Vast quantities of food resources were placed in vaults for use in case of future famine. This work continued until conflict resulting from the on-going civil war forced Mr. Gobel's secret evacuation from Sudan to Nairobi, Kenya by a special squad of United States Marines dispatched from the Embassy.
Mr. Gobel was unable to return to Sudan due to civil unrest. After returning to the United States, he was offered the position of Development Director with International Children's Care, Inc. (ICC). ICC is a non-profit organization under §501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Mr. Gobel traveled the world raising nearly $1,000,000.00 in funds annually, meeting with civic and government leaders seeking their assistance in the rescue, adoption, and raising of orphan or abandoned children. In 1988, he and his wife, spent six months administrating an orphan relief center in Guatemala City, Guatemala.