We met and began dating while students at Hope College and were married in August of 2017. Pat is a specialized ordained minister with the Reformed Church of America, with a background in youth ministry. Kara earned her Masters of Social Work degree and has a background as a mental health therapist.

In February of 2018, God led us to Jamaica with our church and our lives were forever changed. There, we served with the Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf (CCCD), an organization that provides the Deaf with an accessible education, authentic community, and knowledge of the Gospel through the operation of three residential schools and one Deaf village. After this trip, we felt the Lord leading us to serve long-term with CCCD.

We lived in Jamaica at CCCD's Jamaican Deaf Village for nearly two years before the Lord called us to leadership positions in CCCD's office in the US. We will spend 2022 transitioning from our home in Jamaica into our new positions as a Vice President (Pat) and the Office Administrator (Kara) in Zeeland, MI. We are parents to our son, Silas, and our daughter, Gianna.