ABOUT US
Daniel
I was born on May 11, 1981 in Des Moines, Iowa.
I was two years old when my parents arrived in Holland as missionary church planters. I had the privilege of growing up with two younger brothers in our home in Veghel, the Netherlands. I enjoyed my childhood and the opportunities that came with living in a missionary's home. I attended public school (which is mandatory), which fully immersed me into the Dutch culture.
I was saved at the age of six during a furlough, when my father confronted me with my own sinfulness and I realized my desparate need for a savior. That afternoon in Waterloo, Iowa I came to believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for my sins and I asked Him to be my Savior. I was baptized when I was thirteen. It was during this time that God began to work in my life regarding church planting. In the summer of 1994, I surrendered my life to whatever work God would have me to do.
In 1999 I graduated High School and moved to the United States to attend Faith Baptist Bible College in Ankeny, Iowa. I graduated in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. In the fall of 2003 I attended seminary at Faith Baptist Theological Seminary and graduated summa cum laude with a Master of Arts degree in 2004.
Heather
I was born on February, 20, 1979 in Dubuque, Iowa.
I have two older brothers and one younger brother. My dad worked in a local bakery that produced Sunbeam Bread, so I wasn't allowed to eat any other brand. My parents were new Christians when I was born, but they were very faithful to church. I even remember walking up the snow covered hill to get to church when the roads were impassable.
I was saved when I was five years old. One day on the way home from church I just kept thinking to myself that I really needed to get saved. I had grown up in church and knew what I needed to do. When we arrived home I sat down on the couch, confessed my sins and asked the Lord to forgive and save me. I was baptized shortly thereafter.
I attended public school in Dubuque, IA and attended Faith Baptist Bible College when I graduated in 1997. I received my Teaching degree in 2001.
Daniel and I met in the kitchen of Faith Baptist Bible College, became best friends, and started dating my senior year. In deciding to pursue a relationship with Daniel I realized that God was changing my future as I had envisioned it. God specifically used a sermon from Luke 14 to challenge and comfort me with this change of direction. I realized that night that God had been preparing me for this all my life. We were married on August 3, 2002 in my home church in Dubuque.
Our Kids
Nicolas (Cole) was born on June 3, 2005 in Cedar Rapids, IA. He loves cars and has a motor mouth. Even though deputation is over, his favorite question is still: "How long until we get there?"
Luke was born on March 3, 2008 in Dubuque, IA. He has proven to be a little more "set in his ways". He enjoys looking at (since he doesn't read yet) books and can spend an hour pouring over one book in the comfy chair.
Joel was born on March 2, 2010 in Dubuque, IA. He's our little big boy, fearlessly copying everything his big brothers do! It also makes him our little bruiser and the only one who has ever needed to go to the ER.
Our three boys are a true blessing from the Lord and we love our parenting task, but covet your prayers for them as they go to public school and make friends in this Godless society.
Our Ministry
Before we knew each other God gave Heather and me Psalm 73:28 as a life verse, the truth of which has been clear in our lives: As we have drawn near to Him, and learned to trust Him with all the circumstances of life, a desire has been cultivated to declare all His works. This has been a driving force behind every ministry we have been involved with and propels us into the ministries that lie ahead. We want to declare all God's works to the Dutch people.
The Lord drew us together as a team at Urbandale Baptist Church, where we learned to work together and complement one another in ministry.
In 2004 the Lord moved us to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to join the ministry of Good News Baptist Church. There we worked alongside the youth pastor and taught the young adult Sunday School class.
A counseling ministry was based at the church as well, which became a great opportunity to put some practical experience together with my counseling training at Faith. Good News Baptist Church became our commissioning Church 2006.
Applying to Baptist Mid-Missions and the subsequent deputation were the next steps in our learning and growing experience. Heather and I learned to be flexible and deputation required us to become better parents. We both developed our skills as communicators (public as well as private) and we refined our people skills as we saw countless new faces and made many new friends.
In October of 2007 we were asked by the Dutch field if we would consider coming to Holland in the summer of 2008 to run teen camp. This is a one-week ministry that Heather and I have been looking forward to spearheading once we got on the field. It was a privilege to run camp and see the Lord work in the lives of 31 young people. Since then, I have run teen camp every summer.
On May 21, 2011 we boarded a plane and flew to Belgium. Really. It was cheaper to fly to Brussels than to Amsterdam and the distance to Veghel (where my parents live) was the same. It has been amazing to see how God has blessed and guided since arriving here. We found a car within two weeks, an apartment a month later, and were moved in by July. By Dutch standards that is unheard of (some people wait for months). My parents left on furlough halfway through July and we became the interim pastor and wife of the Evangelical Baptist Church of Veghel (the church I grew up in). This was an incredibly rewarding time and Heather and I again learned and grew into a ministry in a different culture. It was here that Heather also started language study and the kind people of Veghel helped her immensely.
In June of 2013, Heather and I moved to Bergen op Zoom to join our collegues John and Anna Kay Haskell in a young church plant. John and Anna Kay are nearing their retirement and we will gradually transition the ministry here, so that they can return to the US.