Shirley and I work with international students at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Rod: Our goal is to share the gospel with international students but sometimes that comes quite a bit later in the process. First we have to make contact with students. One of the ways that we do that is helping students from other countries whose first language is not English improve their English skills. Our goal is to get to know the students, find out about their field of study, the country they are from, and their interests and plans. Many international students are very secular or just culturally religious. . Shirley: I work mainly as a mobilizer along with helping as a language partner. I do a lot of networking and try to find volunteers to work with the students we are connected with. I work within the church sharing information and building prayer partners and hopefully as we start doing bigger events.

Shirley and I attended a Perspectives class at Hawthorne Gospel Church and were introduced to the idea of working with international students at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken. We got involved and Shirley went on staff with International Students Inc and I worked as a volunteer while teaching at the Hawthorne Christian Academy. When I retired from teaching, I applied to be on staff with ISI as well and now we work with ISI here in Stillwater. Shirley: I am a numbers person. When I was reading the book, "Cat and Dog Theology" I came across a statistic that said although there would be over one million students coming to the US from all over the world, only about 12% would get into an American home. That shocked me because I thought that was a statistic that could and should be changed. So for me my calling came from a statistic.

Both Shirley and I made the decision to be missionaries as teenagers and after we were married we applied to be missionaries with Word of Life in Ecuador, South America. We served there for nearly 15 years.

We were motivated to serve in missions by spending time with missionaries. We had missionaries in our churches and in our home after we were married. Shirley: For me it was missionary stories and needs. I read, and still read, missionary biographies. These inspired me to become more than I thought I could be.

Rod: I pastored a Spanish church in New York City. Shirley: I served as an administrative assistant in various locations, as a training leader at MetLife in NY, and then opened my own retail business.

Rod: I enjoy reading and hiking. Shirley: reading, crocheting and cooking.

Rod: We cheer for Oklahoma state teams. I also enjoy my grandson's wrestling team at his school but that's about it. Shirley - I grew up as a Philadelphia Phillies fan. Then when we moved to NY I became a Mets fan. I also love watching Tennis tournaments, football, and ice skating.