The Lord drew me into the field of deafness at the age of 18. I became friends with a Deaf woman while working a summer job before starting college. The entire path of my life changed because of that friendship and another woman’s prayer that the Lord would use me in work with the Deaf. I graduated with a BA degree in Interpreting for the Deaf from Maryville College in 1978. Two months later I received national certification from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. Since that time, I have either been doing interpreter training or working as a freelance interpreter. Whenever possible, I was involved in Deaf ministries.

In 2015, I visited the Haiti Deaf Academy with a Deaf short term mission team. In 2017, my husband, Keith, and I became in-country Directors for Haiti Deaf Academy. Our time of serving the Lord there came to an end February 2022. However; my call to serve the Lord by serving Deaf people has not ended.

Through this position on the Deaf Catalyst Team, I will work as an interpreter within Converge (nationally and internationally), work with other Converge interpreters to provide workshops/training for Church/religious interpreters, and seek the advancement of the Gospel as Converge links arms with other Deaf Mission organizations and Deaf Bible translation organizations. I will also disciple younger Deaf or hearing women. The overall goal is to see an effective Gospel movement among Deaf people worldwide. Within a global Deaf population of 70 million, the number of Deaf Christians stands at 2%. Those numbers mean that collectively Deaf people make up the largest Unreached People Group. There is much work to be done and I am excited to be part of the work the Lord is doing to call Deaf people to Himself, individually and as a people group.