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Meet our missionaries ...
Roger & Janeice Hill
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Born into a missionary family in northern Alberta, Roger and his
brother and sister were all involved in their parents' ministry,
especially as teenagers after Carroll and Cathy Hill had transferred to
the Maritimes. Roger says, "I always had it in the back of my mind
that I would work with NCEM."Roger was seven when he accepted the Lord as his personal Saviour,
and 12 when he dedicated his life to full-time missions. But it wasn't
until he was 17, and about to start Bible school, that he experienced a
real assurance of his salvation and a greater joy in serving the Lord.
Meanwhile in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, Janeice had been
faithfully attending Sunday School with her mom, brother and sister.
Three older girls who sang in their church became her role models -- and
one of them was her counselor when, at age 13, Janeice came to know the
Saviour at Bible camp. NCEM missionary, Bob Steward, was the speaker. "I remember that rainy evening ... but was really concerned about
telling my dad, who was not living for the Lord," recalls Janeice.
However, to her joy, God had been working in her dad's heart, as well,
and that next Easter they were both baptized.
Janeice admits her stereotypical idea of missionaries ("shorts, tin
hats, and living in a jungle") radically changed at New Brunswick
Bible Institute. NCEM came into focus, as well, after meeting Roger and
his family. "It was then I realized that the Northern Lights
(magazine) and several NCEM missionaries had already impacted my family
over the years."
Though they shared a special interest in each other, after realizing
Roger's burden for First Nations, and her own fear and lack of
understanding their culture, Janeice felt that they should "go their
different ways."
"It was a hard sell," says Roger, "but I still convinced her I
was the one for her!" Janeice clarifies that it was really their visit
with an NCEM missionary couple and her first real exposure to Native
people that resulted in "a love for Native people ... and a fiancé."
They were married that same year.
After finishing school the Hills attended NMTC (NCEM's summer
program) "just to see if maybe the Lord was leading in that direction."
After their experience, God's call was confirmed. The Mission's
Headquarters needed a maintenance worker, so they stayed to fill that
need. In 1989 they began their work at Arrowhead Native Bible Center in
New Brunswick, spent four years in P.E.I., and then returned to ANBC
with their three boys in 1999.
Both agree that ministry has not always been easy, but it is exciting
to see the Lord at work changing hearts and directing their steps as a
family. Janeice sums it up this way: "There have been so many ways the
Lord has blessed us that we can't imagine doing anything else."
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