About Me

FAMILY

I grew up in a loving Christian home with my parents (Joe and Darla) and my sisters (Rachel and Sophia). My sisters are two years younger than I am (they are twins), so we all grew up being very close. I am originally from the suburbs of Chicago; my family and I moved to Lansing, MI for my dad's job when I was 15. All three of us were homeschooled from the beginning to high school graduation.

TESTIMONY

We grew up attending a Lutheran church; thankfully, the gospel was still preached. It took me a little longer than some to understand my personal need for salvation. I was about 13 years old when the Holy Spirit would not let me go to sleep one night. I called out to God to save me through His Son Jesus, and I know that He did. The next morning I woke up with complete peace. Romans 10:13 says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (emphasis mine). That is a promise! I went through a period of doubt in college, but God simply brought me back to the promises of His Word.

MINISTRY CALLING

I took ASL during my sophomore and junior years of high school. By that time, I had met a few Deaf people, but I didn't really know any Deaf people very well. I simply enjoyed the language. When I was searching for where to go to college that next year, God showed me that Deaf people are a huge mission field of their own. He impressed upon my heart a burden for these people. I went to Crown College of the Bible in Powell, TN and earned a degree in Missions and an International Language Navigators certificate for the ASL Interpreter Training Program.

My final semester of college was pivotal. I went to England for mission work alongside taking classes. We ended up taking two trips to the Netherlands during that time. These trips made a lasting impression on my heart, and God grew that seed. It took such a deep root that I could not shake it, even when I returned home from England and back to "normal life." God led me through some personal spiritual growth that needed to happen, continuing to remind me of the people in the Netherlands.

I knew the burden for Deaf people had not disappeared either; I really wanted to understand how these two burdens could come together. In August 2024, I planned a short survey trip back to the Netherlands. Much prayer for specific direction fueled this trip. During this trip, I met the Boyd family. One of the people in the church plant they are currently leading told me that there is a Deaf community nearby. This was an incredibly specific answer to prayer. I am so excited, blessed, and humbled to be able to follow God to this field of ministry.

MINISTRY PARTNERS

I will be working alongside the Boyd family. They are third-generation missionaries to the Netherlands. Daniel's parents, David and Crissie, are still missionaries and work with them in their church plant as well. David's parents, Herb and Madaline, opened the first Baptist Mid-Missions work in the country in 1954, and David and Crissie have been missionaries in the Netherlands since 1983. Daniel and Heather arrived on the field in 2011 and took over the church plant in Bergen op Zoom (already begun) in 2015. Cole is currently in the States in Bible college, but Luke and Joel are still on the field with their parents.

From left to right: Daniel, Luke, Cole, Heather, Joel