About the Artist
I was born in America, but at the age of five my family moved to South Africa where my parents began their first term of service as career missionaries.

My first 4 years in Africa  were spent in the Lowveld, an idyllic place halfway between the majestic Drakensberg Mountains and the world-renowned Kruger National Park.  My childhood was filled with long, sunny days of roaming the bush with my African friends, climbing trees, chasing goats, and generally getting into whatever mischief we could.

Some of my fondest memories are the many trips we took to Kruger National Park. I was in awe of the majestic creatures we saw there and my fascination and love for the park and its animals has become an integral part of who I am.

After our time in South Africa, we were assigned to Mozambique, still in the grip of a 16 yr long civil war. We spent several months in Portugal for language study and then moved to Swaziland, our lives on hold until it was deemed safe to enter Mozambique. We arrived there shortly after the Peace Accord was signed in 1992.

It was a difficult transition. Mozambique was at its lowest.  The roads were not safe -there were landmines and marauding bandits, gunfire at night. The limitations of language only made my feeling of isolation worse.

But as time passed, I did learn Portuguese, made dear friends and grew to love the people and country of Mozambique. Perhaps even more for the hardships at the beginning.

When the time came to return to the USA for college, it was a difficult transition, leaving so many of my friends and what I knew and loved behind. 

I have been drawing and painting ever since I could hold a pencil, but being far from home, my art took on new significance. At the time, it became a way for me to express my love and homesickness for Africa and to share it with others.

I have always considered my artwork as a gift to me from God --freely given.  As such, I see my artwork as a means of ministry and God has been able to use it in ways I could have never imagined!
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