Denise Snoke

Administrative Assistant

I was born in Mitchell, SD (home to the only corn palace in the world!). My parents immigrated from Brazil in order to pursue their education and ministry. My father, now retired, was a pastor for over forty years. We lived in South Dakota, Ohio (where my brother was born), then California where we raised support to return to Brazil as missionaries. We lived with my extended family in Rio Grande do Sul (most southern state), then in Sao Paulo through high school. We adopted my youngest brother during my sophomore year. I taught English at a language school for two and half years, moved to the Chicago suburbs for junior college in 1994 then Chico, CA for undergraduate studies in 1996. I met and married my husband and dear companion, Bob, in 1997. I graduated college in 2001 and followed my husband and his job with the CHP until finally settling down again in Chico. In 2005, we welcomed a sibling group (two teenage boys and an infant girl) into our lives, and finalized the adoption (of the three) in 2007.

Ministries
I was spiritually sensitive even as a small child, prayed "the prayer" at our nation's bicentennial celebration when I was four, and have pursued an increasingly intimate relationship with the three-part Godhead ever since. Ministry, to me, is engaging the gifts with which the Lord has equipped us, and stepping into short or long-term opportunities requiring the uniqueness of those gifts for the advancement of His Kingdom. Discovering and understanding one's design and how it fits in the Great Love Story should be our ultimate pursuit. My "ministry" has been about beauty, creativity, design, expression and truth.

Education
BA Art Studio (painting and ceramic sculpture), Chico State, 2001.

Interesting Facts

• I'm a third-culture kid (combination of two cultures, forming a third, and not easily relating 100% to either culture).
• I have dual citizenship, US and Brazil. (I could be the president of either country! Look out!)
• Graduated high school with two diplomas (American and Brazilian) and a certificate of translator/interpreter.
• Moved 23 times during my 8th grade year in the Bay Area of California while remaining at the same school (everything we owned fit into our baby blue, wood panel siding station wagon).
• I have a very diverse ethnic background, being German (mom's side) and Italian, Bantu of Angola, Uruguayan Indian and Portuguese (dad's side).
• Became a mother of three in two weeks.
• LOVE Sci-Fi and ancient history.
• Passionate about color and quick wit.
• Have a broad experience in the arts from theater to music to speaking to painting to sculpting to designing.