DeBee Trant is a highly celebrated contributor of the book, Refined by Fire: Becoming a Champion of Life Challenges,She has lavished us with her heart stopping testimony and life changing message of triumph, hope, and success.Refined by Fire: Becoming a Champion of Life Challenges, is a women’s inspirational and instructional book that is a part of the growing Refined by Fire book Series. DeBee Trant is the founder of Up Close Ministries in Southern California a 501 c 3 non-profit. She is a contributor to the book, Remarkable Women of Faith. and is a speaker in great demand, addressing a wide variety of audiences. Through her experiences, she addresses loss and suffering, faith, encouragement and hope by reaching out to others through her personal life stories. DeBee encourages others to embrace pain and emotionally heal through the application of spiritual truths. Serious life circumstances affect all of us and DeBee’s desire is to help others grow while being empowered by the struggle. Her message ranges from inspirational to motivational.

DeBee is a 5th generation granddaughter of Hannah Boone and niece of the famous American pioneer, Daniel Boone. She is also the sixth child of twelve, born to alcoholic parents. She was sexually molested at the age of five and raised in a poor, violent environment.

DeBee was spiritually and emotionally damaged by being brought up in a family full of pain. She made many poor decisions and many times hurt herself and blamed others for the things that happened in her life. She worked hard and tried to recover from her childhood traumas but could not understand why negative things happened to her.

Through the culmination of many of these ‘life problems’, DeBee was spiraled into a deep, dark depression in 1990. This depression and the journey that it took her through helped her to find out who she really was. Her recover resulted in the forming of Up Close Ministries in 2001. DeBee is the Founder and does work within the faith based community through this 501 c 3 non-profit.

DeBee had to deal with herself in regard to her family of origin and her own feelings about herself that resulted. She began to search out possibilities for recovery from her child hood memories. Not only did she find profound healing and developed a deep love and commitment to other women, she also received a new name…DeBee. Through her life experiences and personal, emotional and spiritual journey, DeBee has been given a unique ability to apply personal encouragement and restoration to those wondering if they will ever ‘bee’ normal.

DeBee is married with three grown children. She lives in Pine Valley, California with her husband Michael and two grandchildren. She was the caretaker of two adult developmentally handicapped males. One is her brother Mark (who is down syndrome and the 12th of the 12 children) who has since passed away and her husband’s brother Terry (who has brain damage and functions at the age of 8) and is still in her care full-time. She is also the legal guardian of her three grandchildren. DeBee understands the hardships of care giving and the life changes that caregiving requires in people’s lives.

DeBee was on staff at Skyline Church in San Diego, California for over seven years. She had the opportunity to be on staff with the internationally known; Dr. John Maxwell of Injoy Ministries. She credits her development as a speaker and motivational leader to learning from the time she was there.

DeBee was the teacher/leader of what became one of the largest healing ministries at Skyline Wesleyan Church at that time. For nine years she taught “LORD, Heal My Hurts” using Kay Arthur’s book as a guide. DeBee helped over eight hundred women restore joy back into their relationship with God. This intense teaching of healing and recovery is what has become the foundation of “Up Close Ministries” and the desire that DeBee and her husband Michael now wish to bring to others. DeBee is currently on staff at Lake Morena Community Church as the women’s ministry director since 2018.