Our Story

Early Years

When Shari was in middle school, her family’s church in upstate New York decided to sponsor a Vietnamese family who had come to the USA as refugees. One of the boys from that family lived in Shari’s home for five years, so Shari grew up with a Vietnamese older brother. Later, in college, someone was praying over Shari and saw a picture of Shari someday going to the nations of the world.  

David did not grow up in a religious family, but as a teenager he was deeply touched by the famous words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. He had an inner knowing that someday his life would be devoted to this vision.

“Give me your tired, your poor, 
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.  
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Our Vision Expands

In the months leading up to our marriage, we talked a lot about our shared dream of living and working cross-culturally. Our hope was to someday live outside the USA and devote our lives to international service. In the early years of our marriage we moved to a section of our city where many immigrants and refugees were living. We reached out to neighbors from Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe, and David’s position at the local employment office enabled him to find jobs for newly arrived immigrants. Our church welcomed international students from the local university, and we developed cross-cultural friendships which still remain today.

The Birth of Spring Rain International

In early 2010, we gave up our jobs in the USA and spent the next 14 months living in a children’s home in northern India and volunteering with organizations in both India and Sri Lanka. We worked side-by-side with local residents and learned about some of the challenges and opportunities in South Asia.  

We then returned to the USA and spent the next two years managing the USA office for a charitable organization. During this period David completed a one-year master’s-level certificate in Nonprofit Management, and we also became involved with the Bhutanese/Nepali refugee community in our city.

In 2014 we launched our nonprofit organization Spring Rain International. We spent time praying over the map of India, asking the Lord where we should be located in order to best fulfill our vision. A few weeks before Christmas we flew to India on a one-way ticket and spent the next five years (2014-2019) living in the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains. We are now based in the USA but spend part of each year in India overseeing Spring Rain’s projects.  Over the years God has connected us with trustworthy, precious Indian partners, and the work continues to expand under their capable leadership.