Ben grew up in a Pastor’s home in Cheyenne, WY and Marie grew up in a Christian home in Frederick, Maryland. Ben and Marie both came to a personal saving knowledge of Jesus Christ at early ages. God impressed on both of their hearts the need for missions and flexibility and they each pursued trade based degrees; Ben graduating with an Aircraft Maintenance degree (’14) and Marie with her nursing degree (BSN ’12). Through a series of events the Lord led each of them into Deaf missions, with Ben preparing for the field by receiving an MA in Biblical exposition, a ten month ministry apprenticeship, and advanced missionary training for language learning and cross-culture communication. Marie’s route of training was more hands on, and took her to Honduras as a full-time missionary with Baptist International Missions Inc. from January 2017 to May 2020. While there she trained a national couple in Honduran Sign Language, Deaf culture, their personal walk with God, and a philosophy of ministry under the local church, Iglesia Bautista El Faro.

God gave Ben a burden to reach the Deaf in Eastern Europe by establishing a local church and training institute in Romania for Deaf and hearing to multiply laborers for the Deaf world. The Lord led them together and they were married June 6th, 2020, and joined Silent Word Ministries International July 31, 2020. They are excited about discipleship and investing their lives in the Silent World. Their sending church is Stanley Heights Baptist Church in Chattanooga, TN.

Mission Statement: Training Men in the Local Church to Reach the Silent World