Photo courtesy of Lauren Deibert.
Mike and Lauren Deibert pose with their children in Nicaragua, where they met. After getting married, the two settled in Trussville where they both teach at Hewitt-Trussville High School.
When Mike and Lauren Deibert moved to Trussville in 2015, they were searching for a place to find purpose beyond their years as missionaries.
Their journey began thousands of miles away in Nicaragua where Mike, an Ohio native with a knack for blacksmithing and a heart for vocational training, spent over a decade building a school for young men to learn trades. Lauren, a former English teacher from Mountain Brook, arrived in Nicaragua fresh out of college, ready to teach, unaware she would soon meet her future husband.
“Mike and I met in 2005, but our love story took a minute,” Lauren said with a laugh. “Mike was sarcastic, and I didn’t get it. It took me a while to realize that was his sense of humor.”
After years of friendship and serving alongside each other, something changed.
Lauren had been accepted into a shared graduate program between Duke University and the University of North Carolina — a dual degree in social work and divinity. She had told her parents, made her plans and was packed to go. As the date of her departure approached, Mike had an epiphany.
“I suddenly realized I didn’t want her to leave,” Mike said. “I finally got my act together and told her how I felt.”
So, off Lauren went to North Carolina, spending a year at school while the two navigated a long-distance relationship. The following year, she was back in Nicaragua. They married in 2008, had their first three boys in Nicaragua and continued their work.
“Having kids there was beautiful,” Lauren said. “Nicaraguans celebrate children in a way that is just incredible. Strangers in grocery stores would offer to hold my baby while I shopped. People would ask to take our kids next door to meet their family. It’s such a deeply connected culture.”
Mike’s work at the vocational school focused on blacksmithing. Lauren, meanwhile, started Nueva Imagen, a program dedicated to helping women transition out of trafficking and other difficult situations.
By 2015, their vocational school was thriving under the leadership of local Nicaraguans, and Nueva Imagen was making a difference — but the emotional and physical exhaustion was real. Their oldest son was approaching school age, and they faced a big question: Did they stay or start a new chapter?
Prayerfully, they chose Trussville.
“Trussville felt like a place where we could belong.”
The transition wasn’t easy. Leaving the mission field came with its own kind of culture shock. Purpose felt murkier. Community took time. But slowly, things started falling into place. Mike began teaching Spanish at Fultondale Elementary before moving to Hewitt-Trussville Middle School. Lauren started part-time at Restoration Academy and Cornerstone Christian, eventually taking a full-time Spanish teaching position at Hewitt-Trussville High School.
Since moving to Trussville, the Deiberts have added two more sons, and life as a family of seven is full of energy, school, activities and friends.
“Our life is basically driving from one practice to another,” Lauren said with a laugh. “Football, basketball, tennis, soccer — there’s always somewhere to be.”
While settling into Trussville, Mike never lost his passion for blacksmithing. He set up a forge at their home, continuing to hone his craft, which led to an unexpected opportunity — a spot on the History Channel’s “Forged in Fire” reality show in 2018. Competing in the “Hollywood Edition,” he was challenged to forge a 1,000-layer Damascus katana inspired by “Kill Bill.”
Both Mike and Lauren have earned a reputation as outstanding Spanish teachers. Lauren was recently named Teacher of the Year at Hewitt-Trussville High School, an honor she insists is more about her students than about her.
Mike, meanwhile, enjoys the challenge of teaching a subject that once baffled him. “I was a terrible Spanish student in high school,” he said. “But now, I get to help kids realize that learning a language isn’t impossible. It just takes time and practice.”
After 10 years, Trussville has become home in every sense of the word — a place where they truly belong.
“We worried nothing would feel like home after Nicaragua,” Lauren said. “But Trussville took us in. The people here, the community, the way they’ve supported us — it’s been more than we could have hoped for.”
