Every time I share my testimony I am amazed at how faithful God has been, and how strongly He has had His hand upon my life from a very early age.  I was born July 21, 1979, in Hershey, Pennsylvania. I have loved chocolate ever since.  I was raised by my step-mother along with two half sisters.  My father died in a car accident when I was ten.  It was in the fifth grade that my Sunday school teacher, Mr. Beach, explained the Gospel, and I believed.  I prayed and accepted Christ that day.  My junior year of high school, God began showing me the importance of reading the Bible and prayer.  He also burdened my heart to attend a Christian University.

After high school, I began attending Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.  Once I arrived at Liberty, I began receiving the theological training that I needed to understand the Christian life and faith.

God began calling me to missions from my first week at Liberty, although I didn't feel called to foreign missions until Christmas of my sophomore year.  One December winter night as I spent time with the Lord, He used Scripture to call me to serve Him overseas.  It took several years for God to focus that call to ministering to women and children in West Africa.

God immediately gave me opportunities to go on mission trips.  I went to Hawaii with Christian Youth Ministries of Hawaii, to Mexico with MexQuest International, and to Egypt with Frontiers.  I also served as an intern at South Biscayne Baptist Church in North Port, Florida and at Bible Baptist Church in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey.  While at Liberty, I served in a prison ministry and led Campus Crusade for Christ.

I gained many things in college, including deep friendships, ministry and life experience, and a better understanding of God and His Word.  God taught me to fear and trust Him, and to work hard and persevere to put myself through school.  In time, I received my bachelors degree in religion with a concentration in missions and cross-cultural studies.

My husband, David and I met during a missions class at Liberty University.  Our call to missions led us to each other.  In late 2002, I moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where David was in seminary, and we began dating.  Through an amazing story and time of prayer, God made it clear that we were to marry and to serve Him together.  We married in May of 2003, and I began working full-time for Southern Seminary.  I also attended the Seminary Wives Institute during this time.

While in Louisville, we served at an ethnic African church.  The congregation consisted of African immigrants from such nations as Nigeria, Liberia, and Rwanda.  There, I taught children's Sunday school, served as the treasurer, went witnessing, and served in many other ways.  This experience laid a firm foundation for understanding West African people and culture.

In January 2005 when David and I were appointed to serve with Pioneers, we began traveling and sharing our burden for West Africa in many churches.  In April 2006, we moved here to West Africa to study French.  The next phase of our ministry began when we relocated to Guinea to learn the language and culture of our target people group.  I pray that God’s hand will continue to be upon us.

God has called me to serve Him through ministering to Muslim women and children in Africa.  It is my vision to see God bring salvation to Muslims through my life, witness and work.

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David's story