Dan’s first trip to the mission field came at age 2! His parents were church planting missionaries in Honduras, so Dan grew up as a missionary kid. MeLinda was born in Guatemala to missionary parents. Her parents did church planting, first in Guatemala and later in Mexico. They retired after serving as missionaries for over 50 years.

Even though Dan and MeLinda met in high school, they did not start dating until they both attended Moody Bible Institute. They were married a year after graduating. While Dan worked on a master’s degree at Denver Seminary, they joined Converge Rocky Mountain as church planting missionaries. After having three children (Diana, Karina and Adrian) and planting two churches in Denver, the Lord called them to go with Converge to Guadalajara, Mexico, where they planted a third church.  In Guadalajara, the Lord brought their fourth child, Marcos, into their lives when they adopted him at the age of 6 after the death of his birth mother.

Dan and MeLinda have moved into a new role coaching and mentoring the next generation of missionaries.  As the Culture and Transitions Coaches, they will be walking alongside new missionaries as they prepare to leave for the field and mentor them as they navigate the transitions for the first two years of ministry.  They seek to use their almost 6 decades of experience as the children of missionaries, missionaries, and raising children on the mission field to help our newest missionaries thrive in their new ministries.

Our greatest privilege is joining Jesus in what he is building: his church. When we reach across the street and around the world with the gospel—locally and globally—we impact lives for eternity.