Grth grew up in northern Manitoba, and Mnc was born and raised in Morden, Manitoba. They dated through college at Canadian Bible College in Regina, and finished their senior year as married students. They completed an internship in Thunder Bay, did their home service in Terrace, BC, and then Grth concluded his education at Canadian Theological Seminary in Regina. Together, they have three children who are now young adults.

Grth first believed in Jesus as a child at Bible camp, but it didn’t “take” until he was sixteen because he wanted to fit into his rough town and was afraid to live the way he knew God wanted him to live. God graciously renewed Grth’s heart and mind, again at Bible camp. Since then it’s been the long plod of the pilgrim, complete with all the mountain tops and dark valleys of the Christian journey.

Mnc was raised in a home that introduced her to Jesus early in life. At the age of five, she knew that she wanted to be included in the family of God and that she was desperately lost without Christ. As a teenager, Mnc struggled to answer the “whys” of life and didn’t want to take the pat answers, but God was gracious and drew her to himself again in total commitment at the age of fifteen, making this choice on her own. From then on, answers for her faith journey didn’t come from home but from God’s Word.

God can’t steer a parked car. In high school, Grth was moving towards a career as a chiropractor, but God steered his desires towards church ministry and led him to Bible school. While at Bible school, God steered him towards missions, using both a short-term missions trip and a visiting international worker to redirect his path to overseas work. God’s call on Grth’s life to overseas work has been a series of gentle “bumps” as opposed to a dramatic one-time event.

At the age of seven, Mnc heard an IW speak about his life in Indonesia and he finished with a simple question, “If God asks you to go somewhere else to share the truth, are you willing?” It was simple but quite impacting for Mnc. When she committed her life wholly to God as a teenager, a big part of it was being willing to do anything, to go anywhere, at any time for him.

The region where Grth and Mnc serve is populated by members of the majority faith, even though there’s a vibrant Church in other parts of the country. The people are friendly and welcoming, but the spiritual climate is resistant to change. The country itself is beautiful – tropical climate, lush forest, and fertile farmland – but the cities are overcrowded and polluted. Unfortunately, visas in this country are becoming progressively more difficult to get and keep.

What Grth and Mnc love about being IWs is the adventure, variety, and gratification that comes with serving and knowing that this is God’s calling on our lives.

What they find most difficult is leaving friends and family behind on both sides of the ocean, which is becoming increasingly harder to do. It’s also challenging to work with people. People are messy.

Grth and Mnc would love to host short-term teams that want a cultural, prayer-focused experience. They need experienced and active pray-ers, as well as financial support for themselves and their social foundation, Love One Another Foundation, which is an approved special.