Founders

A long term spiritual investment

will-diane-opal-house

About Will & Diane – the Founders of Opal House

Dr. William Boegel and Diane were married in early 2004 and vowed to serve the Lord in Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the World. They have always been involved in medical missionaries and have served in Mexico, Guatemala, Egypt, and Vietnam. They have performed surgery for Healing the Children and worked for Operation Serve International. After years of short term mission trips, they have been called by God to make a long term investment into Guatemalan society for broken and impoverished children. Dr.William Boegel is a Physician of the Foot and Ankle (Podiatrist) and Diane is a Surgical Technologist.


Jackeline Arely Salazar Pérez– President

I am a married Mother of twins and am 33 years old. I have a teaching degree as primary education teacher. I am also an attorney and graduated from the University of Mariano Galvez. I am the School Director for the Opal House school at the Opal House Mission farm. It is the Harriet Shrontz Montessori school and I have received Montessori training in Cancun, Mexico and Guatemala. I oversee five other teachers and as we grow by one grade each year my job gets a little bigger. My husband and I were married at the Peace Chapel at Opal House a few years ago and we consider it a great privilege to serve the rural needy here in my home country of Guatemala. Jackeline serves on the Opal House Civil Association Board nonprofit in Guatemala.


Diane Boegel – Vice President

Diane has served as a Sunday School Bible teacher for three decades. She had lived all over the states and world as a daughter of a Master Sergeant. She received surgical technology training and then worked in Harborview Medical center operating rooms, and Group Health medical center on the Eastside, Capitol Hill, and Tacoma. She has served as a missionary in Venezuela for three months, and Mexico City, Guatemala, Egypt and other short-term mission work trips. In 1990, she had a prophetic revelation that she was going to be the “Mother of brown faced children” and searched all around the world for these children to raise, and, not until the very day of our Opal House farm Revelation (Will’s 50th Birthday on Jan 12th, 2007), did that revelation come to life. It is a very certain and powerful calling and the Lord has settled the barren mother with almost too many children to count! Now both Will and Diane are “singing beautiful songs in strange lands”.


Opal House – Board Members

Glen Barde – Treasurer

Glen is described as our Board member with infectious enthusiasm. He has construction skills, landscaping experience and a mature understanding of farm development, leading the Opal House farm development over the last eight years. He is “all in” for the Mission as a fundraiser, spokesperson at Rotary meetings and at his home church. Glen has visited the Opal House farm twice a year for almost a month at a time for the last 8 years. He is also a professional chef and has cooked for our surgery team annual intense two weeks of surgery for the last six years. Glen runs his personal construction business, Creative Formations, for the last 30 years with his wife Mary Jean. Glen has been a great fundraiser and recruited our most two recent board members. Glen has been the Opal House Treasurer for the last 6 years.

Stephen J. Miller, DPM

After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Dr. Stephen Miller spent four years at the Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine in Philadelphia where he obtained his DPM or Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree. He served three years of hospital-based residencies specializing in reconstructive foot and ankle surgery. He is a retired and licensed podiatrist with 24 years of experience in private practice and five years experience working in an orthopedic surgery group, all within Washington state. Besides his faith and family priorities, his interests and subspecialty are foot/ankle/leg surgery and medical missions as well as other humanitarian work. Since 1999, he has gone on 32 medical missions to eight different countries, the last 24 as Team Leader. Most of his work has been in Nepal and Guatemala. He has been involved Rotary since 1984 and Opal House since 2011.

Todd Marshall – Secretary

Everyone says I’m a nice guy, at least when I’m listening. I think of myself as a creative fellow, building things from vineyards to a home B&B business to landscape artwork. I’m a Lithographer, owner and operator of a Company more than 36 years (printer) by trade but I’m interested in so much of what makes the world tick. I love meeting people and a good conversation. With being active in my local Church choir, community, local neighbors and folk from afar, I believe we are to immerse ourselves.

Wonderfully married to my friend Tia of 34 years and we are delighted to say that in the year of our Lord 2000, we became a multi-cultural family. Merging our two biological kids with three kids from Sudan was life changing. I’m thrilled to quote Nike…” Just do it”.

Trade in, for just a day, the question what do you do for a living and trade up for the better question what do I do to bring life to the world. What a journey! Todd has been an Opal House board member for four years, serving as Secretary.

Tia Marshall

The single most important thing in my life is my Lord, Jesus Christ, without Whom, nothing else in my life matters. I am the youngest of eleven, and grew up in the Seattle area. I married my husband of 34 years, Todd, at age 21. We have 2 biological children, and two boys from Sudan. Hospitality and service are my passion. But I would trade that on any given day for time with our grandson! I have worked for many years for various families and in our home, cooking, flower-arranging, beautifying and hopefully loving those I am serving. I have led a small women’s Bible study for 25 years and love the interaction and encouragement of these women. Sharing the love of Christ and serving my family, friends and guests at our B n’ B and abroad (Opal House for instance) and loving my husband is the bedrock and joy of my life. It is a privilege to serve on the Opal House board, and I look forward to joining the medical team as part of the hospitality crew for the surgeons.


Opal House Civil Association Guatemalan Board members-Non-Profit, tax free Civil Association

Dr William Boegel
President

Diane Boegel
Vice President

Todd Marshall
US at-large board member representative

Tia Marshall
US at-large board member representative


Dr. William Boegel – President

Dr. Will has enjoyed a life of service, performing well in parochial school and excelling in high school and at The University of Maryland, also working at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda for 7 years. That is where he knew early on that he would serve others as a physician. He volunteered at the Haight Asbury Free Medical Clinic for his four years of Podiatry Medical School in San Francisco. He also served free clinics in Seattle during surgical Residency and helped turn his own residency program into a three year program as Education Director. He also completed a Swiss International foot and ankle Reconstructive Surgical Fellowship at Harborview Medical Trauma center in Seattle. Ten years of Prison Ministry at Monroe medium security prison stretched him out of his comfort zone as did helping bring Tent city to his home Church of St Jude’s in Redmond. He and Diane also served as street ministers to homeless, runaway street teens at New Horizons ministry in inner city Seattle. Dr. Will was named Podiatrist of the year in Seattle in 2005 by his professional Peers in Seattle Magazine.

Luis Gonzalos

I am a 26-year-old Guatemalan and first learned about Opal House in my first communion classes in the peace Chapel at Opal House. I worked for Opal House for three years and for the last years have been the Official Guardian and have five workers under my guidance here on the farm. I love agricultural work and am pleased to have steady work with benefits on this Mission farm and as a Christian, I feel like my work is valued and appreciated by our Father above and William and Diane here.

Nathaniel and Mayra Bacon

Serving as missionaries with Inner Change (an incarnational ecumenical Christian Order among the poor, ministering in 17 locations on 5 continents) for nearly 30 years. Since 2009, they have lived in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, where they serve in a regional capacity, overseeing teams in Latin America, and involved in exploring potential new sites and new starts in Latin America and beyond. Their ministry emphasizes partnerships with like-minded organizations, and catalyzing Christian unity for the sake of the poor and marginalized, as well as the social and spiritual renewal of cities and nations. Nate is an ordained Permanent Deacon in the Roman Catholic Church, and involved in several regional and global initiatives concerning mission, Christian unity, justice, and nonviolence. The Bacons have three children.

Joel Van Dyke

Joel is CEO and director of the Center for Transforming Mission(CTM) based in Tacoma Washington and has lived and served as a full-time missionary in Guatemala City with his wife Marilyn for the last 12 years. Joel is internationally involved in serving the poor, especially in Guatemala. Joel was instrumental in guiding Will and Diane through unknown and difficult start up times in 2007 through 2009 early years. Joel serves on many Mission Boards and has been the Treasurer of the Opal House Mission civil association board with his Board for the last two years

Marilyn Van Dyke

Born and raised in Philadelphia, she worked as a paralegal and in administration in the corporate and non-profit sectors . She also served in urban ministry with the local community church and non-profit organizations. She has lived and served in Guatemala City for the past fourteen years alongside her husband, Joel and two children, Joel and Sofia. In Guatemala, Marilyn has served in the areas of mentorship, financial accounting, administration, event planning and as well as homeschooling. In Guatemala, Marilyn’s family serves alongside the national leaders in their work in the marginalized communities in need.

Wayland Cossey