We were both born in North America — Derek in the U.S. and Chantal in Canada — but grew up in Asia — Derek in Taiwan and Chantal in Hong Kong. God crossed our paths when we left Asia to attend university in Chicago, and our similar cultural backgrounds drew us to each other.
Chantal was raised in a Christian household and trusted Christ at the age of 12. Derek grew up going to church, but did not understand the gospel until Peter Yoon, our Bible study leader in university (now serving with Ethnos Canada in Asia Pacific), took us chronologically through the Bible from creation to Christ. He also introduced us to tribal missions and impressed upon us God’s heart for every tongue and tribe to hear the gospel in their heart language.
After university, God led us both to serve with GoodSeed International, where Chantal was able to use her journalism training to write the book In-ká-hai: How Sweet It Is!—the true story of how the gospel dramatically transformed the lives of the Manjúi tribe in Paraguay.
After we got married in 2005, God brought us to Dallas Theological Seminary to be further equipped for ministry, then subsequently to Calgary, where Derek served as an assistant Mandarin pastor in our now sending church for three years. During that time God rekindled our hearts for tribal missions through the testimony of another Ethnos Canada missionary couple—Wayne and Gail Chen. We asked God to grant us the privilege of being directly involved in tribal church planting, and He’s been opening door after door ever since.
We finished our training with Ethnos Canada’s missionary training program in December 2015 and are currently ministering among the Tanguat people in Papua New Guinea. We’re super excited to be doing our part in making ready the Bride of Christ for His glorious return!