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Meet our missionaries ...
Allan & Esther Giesbrecht
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As the oldest of six children, Allan learned responsibility early in
life while working with his parents to clear and develop their land in a
Mennonite farming community near Ft. St. John, BC. "The church which
my parents helped start was the centre of our community and social life,"
reflects Allan. "And even though my parents faithfully taught me about
my need for salvation through Jesus Christ, I kept putting it off."
He was 13 when he decided not to put it off any longer. "It was
youth night at a Barry Moore Crusade when I accepted Christ as my
Saviour.
At age eight, Esther, the fourth of six children -- and a "pastor's
kid" -- began a four-year cross-cultural experience on a Montana
Indian reservation. "Being a white kid had some hard challenges,"
Esther admits, "but for the most part it was a positive, enjoyable
experience."
Through her parents' teaching, she knew she couldn't rely on
their faith. "I was receiving all the blessing of having a Christian
home, but knew that was only temporary. My parents led me to the Lord
when I was nine." When she was 12, Esther's family moved to B.C.,
where her dad pastored Allan's church.
Both Allan and Esther gained an interest in missions as missionaries
visited their homes and churches over the years. After high school, each
went to Columbia Bible College for a year, Esther four years after
Allan. "I wanted to find a wife there but the Lord had other plans,"
Allan jokes. "Some time after returning home, I discovered Esther had
been there all the time!"
The Giesbrechts married in 1977 and continued to farm for the next
six years until the Lord once again brought missions into focus. "I
knew we could do anything for the Lord -- farming, business... ,"
says Allan, "but sitting on a tractor 10 to 12 hours a day wasn't
allowing me to impact [peoples'] lives the way I wanted to."
Allan's interest in aviation prompted a "fly-in" trip with
Wycliffe missionaries to JAARS Headquarters and to Moody's Aviation
school. Encouraged by the positive testimony of other "faith"
missionaries, the Giesbrechts themselves soon began to find out about "living by faith" when Allan was accepted into Moody's five-year
Aviation program.
Before graduating in 1988, it seemed the Lord was drawing them to
North American Native ministry. "We already knew about NCEM and its
aviation ministry," explains Allan, "so we applied and were accepted
that fall." They were assigned to the Inuit community of Salluit, in
Arctic Quebec. Of course there were adjustments to the culture and the
climate, but they say that they really enjoyed their three years of
village ministry there.
Since then, the Giesbrechts and their six children have been a vital
part of NCEM's aviation ministry serving northeast Canada out of
Timmins, ON.
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