Becky and I were married in 1997 as we were part way through earning our degrees at Columbia International University. We had plans
to complete our degrees, join a mission organization and go overseas as missionaries. However, early in the Fall semester of 1997
we found out we were expecting our first child. This changed many things about the plans we had carefully laid. Josiah was born
in the summer of 1998. Becky graduated just before Josiah was born and Chad graduated in May of 1999. We then joined Wycliffe Bible
Translators in the Fall of 1999.
Micah (our 2nd child) was born in the spring of 2000 while we were raising prayer and financial support for our ministry with Wycliffe. Our training began in Dallas, TX in 2001 and Ethan (our 3rd child) was born in early 2002. By the summer of 2002 we had raised sufficient support to allow us to travel to the Philippines for field training. Then, with full financial support in February 2003 we traveled to our first assignment in Central Asia.
In the summer of 2003 it was clear that we were "burned-out" from all the changes in the previous five years. So, in consultation with our leadership, we decided to return to the USA for a time of rest and reflection on where the Lord was leading us. Since then, we have continued to work with Wycliffe Bible Translators and SIL from the United States. (See the table "History of our SIL Work", found on the "What We Do" page.) In 2008 Becky and I began praying for another child and God was gracious to give us Tirzah in 2010. It was our desire to have one more child after Tirzah, but God did not grant that to us, until ...
Micah (our 2nd child) was born in the spring of 2000 while we were raising prayer and financial support for our ministry with Wycliffe. Our training began in Dallas, TX in 2001 and Ethan (our 3rd child) was born in early 2002. By the summer of 2002 we had raised sufficient support to allow us to travel to the Philippines for field training. Then, with full financial support in February 2003 we traveled to our first assignment in Central Asia.
In the summer of 2003 it was clear that we were "burned-out" from all the changes in the previous five years. So, in consultation with our leadership, we decided to return to the USA for a time of rest and reflection on where the Lord was leading us. Since then, we have continued to work with Wycliffe Bible Translators and SIL from the United States. (See the table "History of our SIL Work", found on the "What We Do" page.) In 2008 Becky and I began praying for another child and God was gracious to give us Tirzah in 2010. It was our desire to have one more child after Tirzah, but God did not grant that to us, until ...
We thought the four wonderul children we had was to be our family until January 2018 ... The t-shirt
being looked at in the photo said, "Little sisters get promoted to big sister!" It took Tirzah a couple of minutes to work out
the implications. The boys got it pretty quickly. 
God surprised us with a fifth child!! His gifts are the best and we couldn't be more thrilled. Tirzah had been
praying since she was four that God would give her a little sister. He has done just that. Our little Eliyana is due in late September and
we impatiently await her arrival.
Becky has always wanted to be a mom and she has received her heart's desire five times over. She works
hard at loving her family and most of her activities center around things relating to the children and the home. She homeschooled
all three of our boys for most of their school years and has enjoyed the extra time with them. Ethan, a high school junior, will finish
highschool in the next couple of years. She will continue to homeschool Tirzah, who is in second grade this year. When Becky does get
some time to herself she enjoys reading and sewing. Making quilts has become a love of hers in the last few years. One of her favorite
family activities over the years has been camping and hiking.
Chad came to Christ at the age of 11 through the influence of his Dad, among many others. He was having
many doubts about whether he was saved and his Dad gave him some verses on assurance of salvation to read and memorize. It was then that
he experienced the power of God's Word in his life. His interest in missions began forming as he went on summer missions trips to Mexico
in his highschool years. He attended a local college for a year to see whether computer science might be a good vocation. In the end he
decided that it was a nice hobby, but he wanted to go into missions full time. He next attended Columbia International
University (CIU) in Columbia, SC. That is where he met Becky and fell in love with her. The rest of his story is written in the family
paragraphs above.
Chad loves learning and enjoys many different pursuits and hobbies especially those that involve creating things with his hands. Music has always been a love. He plays bass guitar in the praise team at church and plays piano and guitar in his own time. He loves photography, especially when it involves his kids or beautiful scenery found on a hike. He enjoys making wooden furniture, playing airsoft with his boys and learning about historical guns and shooting them on occasion. More meaningful to him than any of those things are the relationships with other men that God has brought into his life over the last five years. The Bible studies and times of mutual encouragement are what keep him going and growing.
Chad loves learning and enjoys many different pursuits and hobbies especially those that involve creating things with his hands. Music has always been a love. He plays bass guitar in the praise team at church and plays piano and guitar in his own time. He loves photography, especially when it involves his kids or beautiful scenery found on a hike. He enjoys making wooden furniture, playing airsoft with his boys and learning about historical guns and shooting them on occasion. More meaningful to him than any of those things are the relationships with other men that God has brought into his life over the last five years. The Bible studies and times of mutual encouragement are what keep him going and growing.
