Rick was challenged into missions at Osgoode Bible Chapel, in the village of Osgoode, Ontario. Here, he attended a children’s club and heard the gospel. The need of missions was so clear to him that even before salvation, he felt that to be saved would mean being a missionary.
Muriel was raised near the small town of Sawyerville in Quebec where she attended Sawyerville Baptist Church. At a young age she would accept God’s call on her to mission work. After training and working as a nurse, she entered Ethnos Canada’s training program for missions. This led to joining a team working in Côte d’Ivoire among the Komono people.
She met Rick on her first home assignment and after their marriage in 1993, they continued the work with the Komono people together. Their daughters, Anna-Lee and Jenna-Mae were adopted in the period they were with the Komono.
As a linguist, Muriel created an alphabet for the language and started a literacy program in preparation for teaching God’s Word. The team witnessed several people come to faith as God’s plan of redemption was understood.
A war during this time brought about changes in ministry. One year and a half was spent helping at the Ethnos Canada training program. From there, they moved to Senegal, so Rick could take the role of Regional Culture and Language Acquisition Consultant Coordinator for the Africa Region. Muriel became involved in the orientation program for newly arrived missionaries. Through this time, the Lord has shown himself faithful and able to continue the work He started.