I was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1966 into a large Catholic family.
I studied theatre at the University of Baghdad and have always been interested in art. France’s reputation as a capital of art was one reason it attracted me.
I was able to move to France in 1993. During my time thier I met some Christians, and began to do Bible study with a pastor. Eventually I understood that I could have a relationship with God because of the life sacrifice that Jesus had made on the cross in my place. I became Christians and got involved with a small church in our neighborhood.
A year later I met my wife, who had come to work as a missionary in our church. She and I were married in Paris in June, 1998.

I was raised in the United States. Although my family attended church occasionally, I did not know Christ. In my early teen years, my family began attending a nearby church. Through the youth ministry, I first heard that God loved me and wanted a relationship with me. I learned that my good works could not save me, but only placing my faith in Christ, who died in my place on the cross. I put my faith in Jesus Christ when I was 15.
In college, I went on a summer mission trip and I sensed God calling me to serve as a missionary one day. Several years later, I arrived in France to work in a women’s ministry near Paris. During my fifth year in France, I worked in a small church plant in a suburb of Paris. In this church I met Sami, and two years later we were married in Paris. We had to return to the U.S. for several years, but were able to return to France in 2005.