Wayne Ferris – WKS Alumni

I know now that Wayne Ferris didn’t finish his dream hovercraft back in high school but I knew then that if anyone could have made one, Wayne surely could. When I chose Wayne as our next Featured Alumnus and communicated this to other classmates, stories were recalled and laughter was plentiful. Always a practical joker, Wayne made a telephone extension for a friend’s bedroom back in high school and while hooking it up, shocked his friend who was holding the wires and said “Boy, there’s a lot of current in these things, isn’t there?” and winked. When a huge metal sign blocked his access to an old highway, Wayne and friends cut it in half and made hinges for it to allow their vehicles to pass through. At the Minnesota State Science Fair, Wayne found the roof access door where classmates gathered and later got in trouble. Yes, Wayne was a geek in high school. He even refers to himself as a “fix it” kind of guy. He also was a happy guy.

I recently spoke with Wayne by phone about his life’s path and experiences. It seems to me that he put his talents to good use throughout his life. He is now more serious and humble...and has been driven by his commitment to service.

Wayne is a William M. Kelley alumnus from the class of 1975. After high school, he initially enrolled in Duluth Vo-Tech to study electronics. Knowing that he needed a more challenging education in order to achieve a career in electronics, he pursued a 4-year degree at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota. While there, he became involved with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship where he found a sense of community, made new friends and met his future wife, Maggie. They married and after his college graduation, Wayne worked for EF Johnson in Waseca, MN as a manufacturing and RF design engineer. They purchased an old farmhouse in the country and had 3 children….a daughter and 2 sons. Wayne and his wife were involved in youth ministry in their local church and became involved as leaders there. Life was good.

As their children grew, Wayne and Maggie spoke openly about their desire to someday become missionaries. Their then 9-year old daughter wasn’t hearing of it, however, and advocated such to her younger brothers. Bur after accompanying her parents on a short term mission trip to Bolivia and experiencing the impact made by such visits, she changed her mind. Soon the entire family was on board.

In the early 1990’s, representatives from Wycliffe Bible Translators (www.wycliffe.org) spoke at their church. Wycliffe’s mission is to provide God’s word to everyone on earth in a language they understand. They had a job opening: the position of Youth Director at their translation support center in Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea. Ukarumpa center exists to help translators with their basic needs: housing, administration, schools, venues for work, meetings, worship, a health clinic, general store, reliable electricity, computer services, etc. The Ferris family was intrigued and curious…and in August 1993 they attended Wycliffe’s orientation program. Following building a team of supporting

partners, in 1996 Wayne became the Youth Director at Ukarumpa and for 9 years served 250 students in grades 7-12 from 15 different countries.

Ukarumpa is in the Eastern Highlands (5,500 ft) of Papua New Guinea (a Pacific island nation which occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea). It’s an ideal 70 degrees all the time. It is also wet. Wayne told me that it was common for bridges to wash out, to be cut off from other towns and to not have certain items available at stores due to deliveries being delayed. “Plan B’s” were often needed, he said. It seemed to me that Wayne found his niche…a perfect place for a “fix it” kind of guy.

Wayne and his family lived in a home similar to a well-made cabin, school was in session year round with two 5-week breaks in the summer and at Christmas time. Maggie was a primary school librarian, high school English teacher, drama director and assistant principal. As he got older, Wayne had less energy for effective youth ministry so he transitioned to the Computer and Technical Services Department. There he assisted his translator colleagues with their electronics needs….short wave radios, solar power systems and communication systems. He interacted with both expats and Papua New Guineans in his work.

Wayne and Maggie’s 3 children attended Ukarumpa International School (an accredited international school for missionary kids) from grades 7, 4 and 3 onward. This preparation enabled each of them to attend the college of their choice…all in Pennsylvania. Each has returned at least once with a spouse to visit Papua New Guinea.

In 2018, Wayne and Maggie left Papua New Guinea and settled near their children and 5 grandchildren in the Harrisburg, PA area. They have not retired. Wayne continues his support work for Wycliffe teams using satellite phones and solar power systems but now does it remotely. They miss the close community they belonged to in Ukarumpa but have found unending joy in being near their children. They were recently able to hold their 5^th grandchild in person shortly after her birth….something they were never able to do before.

I enjoyed hearing about Wayne’s life. Again I am reminded of the wide range of life experiences our alumni have. If you’d like to learn more about Wycliffe Bible Translators, visit their website. You can read more about Wayne and Maggie here.