About Us

Heather writes:

I was brought up in a Christian home where my parents were both Christians and we went to our local evangelical church.
One day outside of my school there was a man giving out tracts to all the children leaving school and he stopped to talk with me about Jesus. He asked me if I knew Jesus as my Saviour and was I sure I was going to Heaven? I could not answer these questions and so I prayed to God to come into my life, take away my sin and be my Redeemer. I was only 8 years old at the time.

As I grew up I became involved in Christian activities like the SU in my high school and my church youth fellowship. But it was when I was 12 and started going to a group called Young Life that I really grew as a Christian. Young Life works throughout the UK with young people from 12 years upwards teaching them discipleship, evangelism and leadership skills. It is an interdenominational organisation and I was very challenged as a young person in telling others about my faith. Later on I was to work as a secretary for this organisation for a few years.”

Iain writes:

“I was brought up in East Belfast, from an early age my mum & dad sent me along to Sunday School. At the age of 11 they allowed me to decide whether to continue going along or to stop. I chose the later.
Though through High School and work, God set in place friends who had become Christians and witnessed and debated things of Christ, creation and ethics. So for around 10 years, God had been leading me towards a completely different path.
At the age of 21, an old school friend took me along to a missionary meeting. There I met my future wife, Heather. She took me along to her church on the Sunday following where a Dr Rodgers was explaining the gospel and the sin that separated mankind from God. After talking this through with Heather and praying to God for forgiveness, I became His child.

The road since has had many bumps, challenges, disappointments, but better than those I know of Christ’s love for me, that He is always with me and wants the best for me with His perfect plan.
Those challenges and bumps have great value, because we realise that we need His strength to go from day to day.
God has given me a beautiful wife and wonderful children. He had taken us through Bible College and to Peru, where we will soon return and serve Him.”

Heather continues:

“In our early married life we were encouraged to help out at an SU Special Needs camp and found this work very fulfilling. God was beginning to prepare us for our future.
Shortly after getting married Iain lost his job and spent 2 years in and out of different jobs.

Phillip was born in 1996 and when he was 18 months old Iain decided it was time to get an education and a career that would be able to support us all. He began with GCSE’s in English and Maths and then progressed onto the Access course to gain entry into University. During this year he thought about career options and decided that it would be worthwhile to become and social worker, but somewhere in the back of his mind he thought that he would like to do theology. So he put Social Work 1st, …. 2nd and Theology 3rd. A friend on the course with him took a look at his UCAS form and commented sometimes when you give God 3rd place, He sometimes works His way to 1st place.

And so we prayed. Iain went to the interview for Social work and was told that he would hear in about 6 weeks if he had been successful. But God had other ideas.
Within 5 days he had a letter saying he had been declined a place on Social Work and we were both gutted. Our dreams were shattered.
Around the same time we were given an invitation to attend an Open Day at Belfast Bible College and so off we went for a look. Iain was very challenged and we agreed that he should apply for a 2 year Diploma in Theology. At his interview I was told that they expected the wives to go as well, and so I too started Belfast Bible College, although part-time.
At the end of the first term we were given an anonymous gift of £500, and not quite decided what to do with it we put it in savings thinking that maybe God would make that clear at some point in the future.

In January Iain began his 1st field term with Dessie Creelman who takes a mobile book library around different shows and also does evangelism with local churches within Belfast. 10 days into this Dessie asked Iain if he would like to join him on a summer camp in Peru for 3 weeks, the cost of the airfare was £505. Iain prayed that when he mentioned it to me, that if this was from God, I would say “go for it”, and those were the exact words that I uttered.
After 3 weeks, Iain was very keen on returning and really felt a love for the people and the work in southern Peru. But I was definitely not keen. I really said to God “send me to Africa (or really anywhere else) but don’t send me to South America.”

Our 2nd child was born, Debbie, during the summer and Iain applied to do an extra year at college. During this year we prayed about the next Bible College Field term and finally felt it right to approach another mission about working in Spain which would use the Spanish that Iain had learnt. But it was clear that this was not God’s path for our lives after Iain fractured his ankle just 6 weeks before we were due to set off.

Later on that summer Iain suffered with Quincy just before taking part in a summer outreach team in Northern Ireland. This was a summer of discontent with our future and much prayer was offered up as to where God would have us serve.
After a chat with our Pastor, we decided to stop running away from Peru and contact SIM with the possibility of serving for 2 years. But this wasn’t to be either, for God wanted the whole of our lives on offer. During the summer of 2002 went on a 2-month fact-finding mission with the children and travelled about Peru visiting missionaries and their work and we felt most comfortable in Arequipa and felt a call towards the Breakfast Feeding Programme with the Reuter family. And so began the process of Doctrinal Statement, interviews and medicals. We were accepted as long-term missionaries to Peru working in the Arequipa Children’s Mission in the south of Peru in a breakfast feeding programme in June 2003.
The next year was spent raising support and taking meeting talking about the work of the programme. It was a difficult year during which Iain was diagnosed with Macular Dystrophy which affects the central vision. His own mother had been diagnosed with the same condition at a similar age and so it was determined that it was hereditary. Around the same time it was confirmed that the finance to return to Peru had come in and so all the plans were made to leave in June 2004.

During the first year we spent the majority of time in “cultural learning”, ie learning the language and culture. Afterwards we began to get involved in the programme, Iain with learning all the ins and outs of the programme and me with a project of supplying baby-clothes to those in need. We were very content in being there and were involved in daily life among those whom God had placed on our hearts.
Then disaster struck when Iain’s eyesight deteriorated rather quicker than the doctors expected and the possibility of altitude and/or sun was considered and it was thought best to come back to Northern Ireland.
This was very traumatic for the whole family and each flight brought tears of sadness of leaving and the unknown future. What was God doing? Where was He leading.

As it was August, it wasn’t long before the children had to start school and a home had to be found. Roots were put down and we began to start again. But the roots didn’t seem to want to go down too far. By the end of November we were both very unsettled and the children were still coming to terms with being back. The vision of Peru remained very real and clear.
I found a job with a 1 year contract but Iain could not find any work, no matter which way he turned. He tried many different avenues, praying all the time that God would open the door of His choosing. But as each door was tried, it remained shut. We began to pray about Peru and met with a couple from SIM who advised us to pray and seek the Lord’s face. This was very trying time.

And then at the end of March Iain’s mum suddenly died of a massive heart-attack. Finances were tight, but Iain was offered a job at the Ark Open Farm giving children’s tours a few mornings a week until the end of June. This was welcome, but was still only short term.
We talked again with SIM and our church Elder. The doctors gave a green light for going back, stating that it was necessary for Iain to wear protective glasses and a hat protecting his eyes as much as possible from the sun. We had 2 formal interviews with SIM during June and our church agreed to support our application to return to Peru. This door was the only one so far that remained ajar. A final meeting of the SIM Board in the UK agreed to accept us back as long-term missionaries to Peru.”