Both John and Rachael placed their trust in Christ for salvation at an early age, having be raised in Christian families.
John was introduced to the needs among unreached people groups by a missionary speaker at his church in Ontario. Rachael has known about New Tribes Mission for as long as she can remember, as her home church in Australia supported a number of missionaries.
After completing her training to be a school teacher, Rachael moved to Paraguay to serve short-term as a teacher in 2007.
She saw firsthand the impact of the gospel among the Ayoré people and decided to complete Ethnos’ missionary training before moving to the Philippines in 2015.
After completing his missionary training, John moved to the Philippines, and has been serving among the Agta people since 2003.
In 2020 Rachael was serving at a regional supply centre for missionaries, overseeing bookkeeping, guest rooms and supply buying for missionaries living in remote communities.
When missionaries had to move into the cities due to lockdowns, God brought John and Rachael together. They were married in 2021 in the Ethnos helicopter hangar.
The following year they moved back into Agta and resumed literacy classes among the Agta.
Pray for the Burbidges as they finish their maternity-leave and return to the Philippines later this year, with their son, Nathaniel.
Over the years, the Agta people have moved from having a superficial form of Christianity to having a genuine faith in Christ.
Pray for the Agta believers as they mature in their faith.