Karen and I got engaged during a very heated discussion.
Some might call it an argument—about the nature of service.
Karen comes from a missionary family who dedicated their lives to serving in Kenya. I, on the other hand, grew up in a blue-collar family that depended upon hard physical labor and a weekly paycheck to get by. Our views of the world were very different. In spite of this, Karen said yes to my question about whether or not she would marry me. I think part of our motivation was so that we could continue the argument and see where it led.
I took this woman who had grown up close to the equator with a mild climate to a place that was nearly 60° latitude north, featuring winter temps that went to -40°C for weeks at a time—before wind chill was factored in. For someone who liked being outdoors in the warm sunshine, Karen had a very difficult time adapting. To make matters more difficult, our oldest daughter Jennifer was born 18 months after we got married.
At this time, Karen would describe herself as frail and inadequate. She was trying to make sense of where God had placed her—so very different from what she had envisioned. She began to realize God values humble service. As a husband, I was nearly oblivious to the stress she was under. Instead, I was intent on earning a living and supporting my new family in an environment I had grown up in and was comfortable with.
Karen began to look for ways to be useful outside of the stay-at-home Mom she had become. During this time, I began to realize I had married someone who could be focused and relentless in trying to accomplish something. She took a correspondence course on writing and almost immediately began writing as a freelancer for many publications that included the local newspaper, Ranger Rick, The Western Producer, and a host of others. Within a couple of years’ time, she had published 8 novels: 5 for Zondervan Press and 3 more for Multnomah Press. Our family motto had been formed during all of this, and it goes, “Bite off more than you can chew and chew like mad.” There was another idea gleaned from a quote by Hunter S. Thompson that began to characterize our thinking:
Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!
When both our children were nearly grown, we moved to Longview, Texas, so I could teach at LeTourneau University in the flight department. As was typical of Karen, she went about finding the most useful thing to do. After a few odd jobs around the LU campus—including working as a groundskeeper—she started teaching as an adjunct instructor while working on her Master’s degree. About the time Karen graduated with her MSc in Biology, a full-time faculty position in Biology became available, and Karen applied and was accepted.
It was at LeTourneau that God opened doors for Karen to reconnect with overseas service. An engineering professor was testing prosthetic knees in Kenya. Karen got involved measuring human outcomes. She went on to create and lead the Wheels Project for wheelchair functionality. With the Wheels project, Karen was able to serve in a way she had always wanted to: providing service to people in resource-challenged settings.
And that project created the foundation for the Assistive Technology Catalyst Project or AT Catalyst.
On July 1st 2018, Karen and I will be officially done at LeTourneau and going full time with AT Catalyst. The objective is to help faith-based hospitals set up and maintain wheelchair services to people who need them. We will be bringing resources together with the hospital programs to help provide a reliable supply of wheelchairs, training, and initial wages for staff and physical space for clinics where wheelchair services can be provided.
As per our family motto, we have again bitten off more than we can chew. We are chewing like mad, but we need help from others. You can become part of this effort by coming alongside as financial partners. Please prayerfully consider what part you might take—and come and chew like mad along with us.
