Born and raised in the eastern foothills of the Cascade Mountain Range of Washington state, I grew to value the blessings of being in the country away from the hustle and bustle of the cities and towns. A place to simply enjoy the quiet and solitude of nature. Somewhere to be alone with God in His creation. The more I work in the cities and towns of the world, the more I appreciate this. Brought up in a solid Adventist home with Biblical values while being homeschooled, I’ve never ceased to appreciate the blessing and lasting impact my parents have had on my life.
When I was 14 I got my Ham Radio Technician license with the call KD7QKW and enjoyed getting on the radio and talking with complete strangers all of whom I had something in common with. When I upgraded to my General class license I got a new call KD7WER, which I retain today. Especially enjoyable was participating in the Simulated Emergency Test (SET) by FEMA in 2005 and a similar Red Cross exercise learning and demonstrating Ham Radio’s unique capability to provide communications when nothing else can. I also enjoyed building and erecting antennas, and operating on the airwaves whenever I could.
Spreading my wings at age 20 I left the security of home with my parents in my native town, county, state, and even country for the overseas mission field. I intended to become a missionary pilot, but God changed those plans. During the course of those 6 months I saw great poverty and great need of Jesus in these towns and villages of Cameroon, Africa. During that period I also saw God turn me in the direction of media as I had taken a small camera and editing software with me and learned how to use them.
After returning to the United States I learned all I could about media first by doing a 3 month internship with Jon Wood at Jesus for Asia. After completing the AFCOE course at Weimar, CA in the fall of 2009 I did a 6 month internship under Richard Ramont in the Weimar Media department. Following that I spent about 3 years again with Jesus for Asia working in the Gospel Ministries International office and studio in McDonald TN. I saw many missionaries come and go and eventually I went again.
In 2012 I received a call to source equipment and take it to Nairobi, Kenya and train them to begin production at a newly formed Adventist TV station there called Second Coming Broadcasting Network. After purchasing cameras, a switcher, and several computers I left for Nairobi to begin production there. After 6 months of production we were granted a broadcast license effective on the date of the switchover to digital TV, and we went on the air in Nairobi and surrounding cities. However with a small team and a large amount of work to be done, I burned out and had to start slowing down. After 11 months in Kenya I was able to turn over management of the network to Frank Ricks and his wife Valerie and head back to the US.
After working with JFA off and on during the year of 2013 I got word that Frank Ricks was leaving Kenya. I traveled back to Kenya to take over management and stayed there for several months during which God made me realize that I needed some additional knowledge in management and business. I left the management in local hands and enrolled in the Christian Business Management course at Ouachita Hills College in Amity AR. I graduated in 2016 with an Associate Degree in Business Management. During my time there I also got to know my wife and we were married on September 3 of 2017, a very joyous day indeed!
After graduating I moved back west and took a video production job at Better Life Broadcasting Network in Grants Pass, OR. The network covers southern Oregon and much of the Willamette Valley, along with much of the Oregon coast, as well as Reno, NV, and several cities in California, along with streaming on the internet worldwide.
In 2018 we began to consider the future and after prayer we decided that I should go back to school. I felt the need for a career change into something that was less subjective (media) and more objective (science). So in 2019 I began taking classes at the local community college and developed a plan to earn my Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering.