We were married in 1994 in a small chapel at Oak Hills Christian College, the place where we first met and fell in love. Even in those early days, we KNEW God was calling us to impact marriages. With the fiery zeal of two 21-year-olds passionate for God and full of vision, we believed we would make a dynamic impact for the Lord right away.

Mark completed his counseling degree at Oak Hills, and we moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he enrolled in seminary to pursue his Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy. But two years into the three-year program, life changed dramatically. I became pregnant and, due to significant health issues, could no longer work to support Mark’s education. With heavy hearts, we left South Dakota and returned home to Wisconsin in need of the support we had once hoped we’d never need again.

We were devastated. The calling we had once been so sure of now felt distant and uncertain. But what we couldn’t see then was that God was enrolling us in a higher education—a refining process to make us new wineskins, able to carry the depth of His Shekinah (Glory) and minister to marriages His way.

Over the years, we walked through economic devastation, nearly ended our marriage in divorce, faced deep wounds from church hurt, and raised two children in the midst of it all. Through these trials, we were brought into a deeper dependence on the Father, learning to rely fully on the Holy Spirit for guidance and healing.

Our understanding of Jesus as our intercessor became painfully real when Mark developed a mysterious illness that nearly took his life. In those dark, night hours, I learned to intercede like never before—to war in the Spirit and call him back from death. It wasn’t a glamorous education, but every moment of it was sacred, and every scar now tells a story of God’s faithfulness.

Through it all, God continued to place couples in our path—calling us to mentor, pray with, and encourage them in their marriages. We didn't always recognize it, but He was building the ministry He had spoken to us about from the beginning.

Recently, after years of preparation, we heard His voice clearly:
"Now. Now is the time for the ministry I called you to. Now is the time I have prepared you for."