Terri had her first global experience on a short-term trip to France for a summer in 1986. That trip changed her life. She wanted to help others have the same experience as well as see missionaries as real people with real needs. She left her teaching career in Florida in 1989 to go to Dallas Theological Seminary where she received a Master of Arts in Cross-Cultural Ministries. It was there she encountered SEND International. She joined SEND in December 1991 before graduating in May 1992. She served for 10 years as SEND’s Short Term Ministries Coordinator, developing a training and debriefing program that sent hundreds of people overseas.  She grew in her love for global workers as she visited their homes in almost every field of SEND.

In 2002, Gary Vincelette, a recent widower and mission pastor, asked her to train him and his college pastor to take a group of young adults to the Czech Republic in August 2002. It was in the training and going on that trip that Terri and Gary fell in love. They married in October 2003.

As a couple, they began doing member care in 9 countries, living in Budapest, Hungary from 2012-2015. In September 2015 they moved to Germany so Gary could teach at the Academy for World Missions, but a health crisis for Terri forced them to return back to the States. While Terri got treatment for her illness and recovered, Gary continued to teach. Because of her own experiences, Terri has great compassion for those who go through trials and suffering. Jesus is our gift, and ministry is something we get to do but is not our life. Jesus came to give us life abundantly, and Terri wants to see global workers experience Jesus through their trials and come out in His abundance on the other side.

When Terri married Gary in 2003, she gained one grandchild.  Now they have 11 grandchildren!