Ian and Katharina were married in 2012, after being encouraged by a colleague to write to one another. Ian was born in Melbourne, while Katharina comes from Germany.

From 2000 to 2010 Katharina worked in language assessment in Francophone Africa, initially in Togo and Benin, and later in Chad, where she was the team leader. She researched community language use, and assessed the need for literacy and Bible translation projects. In 2011, she taught language assessment at a training institute in Nairobi. She graduated from the University of Manchester with a Masters in Linguistics in 2012.

Ian has long had a passion for making God's Word available to people in a language they clearly understand. Between 2000 and 2004, he completed a Masters in Divinity at Ridley College (Melbourne). From 2006 to 2009, Ian worked in Papua New Guinea, mentoring three Bible translation teams and conducting linguistic research in support of Bible translation. In 2014, he graduated with a Ph.D. in Linguistics from La Trobe University.

Since May 2019, Ian and Katharina have been in Cameroon, working with coastal language groups. Ian is mentoring local Bible translators and researching their language. Katharina is conducting research on language use to determine how Wycliffe can best serve the language communities. Previously they worked in South Asia (2014-2016) and in research for Wycliffe Germany (2013-2014).