I grew up in Mansfield, Ohio, attending church all my young life, but I made a real commitment to Jesus when I was 16 and in high school because of the influence of the Youth for Christ club at school, and meeting Mark, who would eventually become my husband, and attending his church. I attended the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, married Mark, and then we both did a two year mission stint in the southern US, after which we both went to Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky. 

Immediately after that, both of us were ordained and served in multiple churches in Ohio. Our two sons were born during that time. During that time we felt called to overseas mission service and went to Indonesia for nearly 24 years with OMS/One Mission Society, where I served as a professor in our mission-related seminary for a number of years, and then after getting an MEd from Seattle Pacific in an online program, became a teacher and high school principal for our international MK school, and also junior high principal for a national school we started.

My ministry took place in both the Indonesian language and in English.  Those we ministered among were from many nationalities in addition to the majority population of Indonesians, who are also many ethnicities and languages. I also was trained in life coaching by CMI/Coaching Mission International in 2015, 2016. We returned in 2016 to the US and settled in the Oak Park/Chicago area, since both our sons live here, as well as our daughter-in-law and three granddaughters.

Though technically I retired in 2020, I still serve with OMS in their learning and development department, which also partners with Grow2Serve, where I am doing most of my service these days. My joy is in helping people to steward their calling from the Lord, and flourish in it.