Dave grew up in San Diego, and was a childhood friend of Pastor Bob's. Sylvia grew up in Long Beach. They met in Mexico City, both already serving with Wycliffe. They've been married 29 years. They have 3 daughters: Jenny, Kristin and Kimberly. None are married and none have children. Jenny is presently in Missouri, but will be in California in December. She will return to Kentucky in January. I think she calls Oaxaca home, but has a church home in Kentucky. Kristin is in Salt Lake City, Utah. Kimberly is in Wilmore, Kentucky. Jenny has joined OMS International and will be serving in Ecuador once she gets the needed support. She is planning to be in the area in December, and would welcome the opportunity to share what she is planning on doing there.

Dave was sent by Skyline Wesleyan to Peru to work with a summer program for Wycliffe MKs. His contact with the Bible translation effort there convinced him of the great value of making Scriptures available in each group's language. That one summer led to a lifetime commitment. He joined Wycliffe Bible Translators in 1975.

Sylvia attended Brethren Schools in Paramount, CA. Her high school Spanish teacher left teaching to join Wycliffe. It was through that teacher that she learned of WBT and became interested. She kept in touch with her through college, and began linguistic training. Sylvia joined WBT the summer after graduating from college, 1974.

For the most part they have served in Mexico. In the '70s there was a hostile element that worked to get them (SIL as they were known there) out of the country. They laid low for a time, but recently the government has been very supportive of their presence, and has lauded their efforts to provide secular materials in the indigenous languages. This has been a great platform for learning the languages and aiding the people in translation of Scripture.

Shortly after they were married, Dave and Sylvia were sent to Central and South America on a fact-finding trip regarding the need for Bible translation in certain communities. It was while they were in Bogotá, Colombia that Chet Bitterman was kidnapped and later killed. The terrorists came very close to taking Dave as well, but changed their minds at the last minute. They were all tied up there on the floor of the guesthouse. It was a very hard time, but God's hand was so obvious to them through it all. That was the only time that they personally have been threatened.

In addition to that first trip, Dave had an administrative type job for a few years that took him to meetings in several countries. Sylvia has also traveled in her former capacity with the Spanish Dept. Between them, they have visited Colombia, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Peru, Spain, Ecuador, Panama, England, and Thailand as well as Texas, Colorado, and Arizona in the States. They both studied Spanish in Costa Rica.

Their work has mostly been in front of a computer or with a few people over the translation desk. They are thrilled when they see that the people that they have worked with are discipling and evangelizing others. They get excited when people use the small books they have published and especially over use of the New Testament that they worked on for so many years. They don't often know the results of their work. How many people have seen the video of Luke? How many people actually read their New Testaments? Who is following the Lord as a result of reading the Word? They don't really know. They do know that many people can read Zapotec, and so they want to get more literature into their hands. If the people they minister to find reading fun, then the New Testament is an obvious follow up to simpler things. They trust that God is leading in this project and He will bring in the harvest. They see their job as being faithful in planting the seed.

Translation is the most in-depth Bible study, so those they have worked with have been discipled. Many people know how to read. The Baptist pastor is 100% in favor of people reading the Zapotec Scriptures and he uses them in church. The Luke video in Zapotec has been shown in San Cristobal and in the Logueche areas. Some folks have small mp3 players with the recorded NT. There are lots of little books in people's hands. There are calendars on people's walls with Scripture verses. There are over 100 young people who memorized verses in Zapotec when they were small. But, there is so much more to do. It is slow going and the Zapotec people need to take up where we leave off.

For fun, Dave cuts gemstones and Sylvia paints in oils. They both like birding, playing games, and reading.