Ontario, Canada

Shane grew up in the Asia-Pacific Region where his parents served as tribal church planters with New Tribes Mission for over 30 years. He attended an MK (missionary kid) school for several years and lived in the dorm. He was homeschooled for most of high school, living back in the tribe. Karen spent most of her childhood in Panama. Her parents worked at the NTM school base filling several roles during their two terms on the field. Shane & Karen met in Bible school and got married in 1996 towards the end of their university years. They first headed overseas in 1998 as associates with New Tribes Mission to teach at an MK school for four years. Shane loved his 4th-grade students, and Karen greatly enjoyed serving as the school registrar and teaching a number of high school classes. They returned to Canada to complete the missionary training here in Durham in 2002-2004. Upon graduation, they served on the training staff for three years while Karen completed the process of becoming a Canadian citizen. In 2007, they returned to the mission field for another four years, this time serving on field leadership and the orientation team that helped new families as they arrived on the field. Shane was also a culture/language consultant, and Karen was the field secretary. They returned to Canada in 2011 for critical health needs related to a hereditary condition Shane has. They rejoined the training staff and feel privileged to be a part of equipping labourers the Lord has raised up to send into the fields.