When God called us to found Rest & Talk in 2016, we began to realize how much people need support, comfort, encouragement, and someone who is willing to listen and simply be there for them.

We understand that people go through different seasons in life because we have walked through many different seasons ourselves. We have walked through valleys and deep waters, and through it all, God has been with us, helped us, and carried us through. We know what it is like to face difficult seasons, and we also know what it is like to experience God's comfort and faithfulness through them.

Jesus Himself went through so much too. He experienced pain, rejection, betrayal, sorrow, and suffering. Especially on the cross—can you imagine what He experienced? Yet throughout His life and ministry, Jesus cared for people, comforted them, and healed them. He never sinned, even though He faced many of the struggles, temptations, and suffering that people experience.

We never had plans to start a ministry. Rest & Talk wasn't something we had planned for ourselves or expected to do. But for about a month, God kept tugging at our hearts to establish His ministry, Rest & Talk. The prompting wouldn't go away. Again and again, we felt God placing Rest & Talk on our hearts and calling us to take that step.

Eventually, we realized that God was asking us to stop hesitating, surrender to Him, and say yes.

And when we finally surrendered and said yes, we began to understand why God had been tugging at our hearts so strongly. We watched Him move in ways we never expected. Doors opened, opportunities came, and we witnessed things that we could never have planned ourselves.

Sometimes we think about what the story might have looked like if we had continued to say no. We could have missed the opportunity God was placing before us. Instead, we surrendered, trusted His leading, and took that first step of faith.

Since 2016, we have continued to follow His leading, one step at a time.

After Rest & Talk was founded in September 2016, we started with only a small network of people. We didn't know how quickly things were about to change.

Then it felt like a whirlwind.

God began opening doors one after another, and everything seemed to move so quickly. It reminded us of Moses and the Israelites standing before the sea. There appeared to be no way forward, and then God opened a way where there wasn't one before.

That is how those early days of Rest & Talk felt to us. God was opening the way, and we were trying to keep up with where He was leading.

In a very short period of time, we met and connected with so many people. The ministry grew quickly, and along the way, we learned so much. We were also blessed with an amazing board who shared the heart and vision of Rest & Talk.

At this point, Rest & Talk was not yet an officially registered charity in Canada. We were simply doing the ministry—connecting with people, listening to them, supporting them, and serving wherever God opened the door.

Most importantly, we began witnessing what God was doing in people's lives. We saw people grow, find hope, and experience real changes in their lives.

We noticed how difficult it was for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people to find Deaf ministry or full access to sign language and closed captioning in hearing churches.

God placed it on our hearts to establish Deaf Home Church, and we felt Him saying, “Set up Deaf Home Church, and I will multiply the church in My terms.”

Deaf Home Church was established by Rest & Talk on May 19, 2019. Many people showed up, and we even had a guest speaker come from the United States to join us.

We celebrated our first baptism on Canada Day! Many people came, and we had a wonderful celebration together. We witnessed God move and bless Deaf Home Church in so many ways. We learned together, grew together, and continued to see what God was doing.

We also faced challenges along the way. There were a few people who tried to take control of Deaf Home Church and pull it in another direction. It was a difficult season, but God protected the church. Eventually, those people left, and we continued moving forward.

When we look at Jesus' ministry, we are reminded that He also faced strong opposition. The Pharisees and Sadducees challenged Him, opposed Him, and ultimately sought to destroy Him. But Jesus did not give up because of them. He stood firm, spoke the truth, and kept going.

Jesus knew why He was here. People needed Him, and above all, He was committed to doing His Father's will. Opposition did not change His purpose.

That became an important lesson for us too. Following and obeying God does not mean everything will always be easy. There can be opposition, disappointment, and difficult seasons. We experienced some of that ourselves.

But we did not give up.

We continued Deaf Home Church because we knew people needed an accessible place to worship, learn about God, grow together, and connect in their own language.

Through both the blessings and the challenges, God gave us new strength. We learned, we grew, and we continued.

In 2021, God placed a vision and dream on our hearts for a future retreat centre for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities.

The vision was much more than simply having a building. It was for a peaceful place where people could step away from the pressures and noise of everyday life—to rest, breathe, reconnect, receive support, grow, and spend time with God.

Rapha Retreat Centre is not a Deaf camp or a camping program. Think retreat centre, not campground. The vision is for a fully developed and welcoming retreat centre designed with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities in mind.

We envision a place that can offer retreats, counselling, coaching, mental-health workshops, Bible studies, personal growth, fellowship, community programs, comfortable accommodations, gathering spaces, gardens, recreation, and a welcoming café. A place where communication and accessibility are naturally part of the environment, and where people can come during many different seasons of their lives.

But when God gave us this vision in 2021, there was something He didn't give us yet—the name.

We felt God telling us that He would give the retreat centre a Hebrew name, but that He would reveal it later when the time was right.

So we waited.

For several years, we carried the vision without knowing the name.

Then, in 2025, God revealed it.

RAPHA

Rapha Retreat Centre.

When the name came, it was beautiful. Rapha speaks of God who heals and restores. Suddenly, the name connected with the vision God had placed on our hearts four years earlier—a place of rest, support, healing, restoration, connection, and hope.

We could not have chosen a more meaningful name ourselves.

Rapha Retreat Centre has not been built yet, and we don't know every detail of how or when it will happen. But the vision remains very much alive.

A few years after Rest & Talk began, God placed another direction on our hearts:

It was a big step. Ontario was familiar, and moving across Canada meant leaving what we knew and stepping into something completely new. We didn't fully understand why God was calling us to British Columbia or what He had waiting for Rest & Talk there.

We prayed and sought God because we wanted to be sure that we were following His direction, not simply our own plans. As time went on, things began to fall into place. Doors opened, circumstances came together, and we became more certain that God was saying, “It is time to move.”

So once again, we surrendered and followed.

We moved from Ontario to British Columbia in 2023. We took Rest & Talk and the vision God had given us into a new chapter. We didn't have the entire picture. We simply trusted that if God was telling us to go, there was a reason.

Deaf Home Church continued online. This allowed us to remain connected with people even though our physical location had changed. At the same time, new relationships and opportunities began developing in British Columbia.

Looking back, the move wasn't simply about changing provinces. It was another lesson in learning to follow God even when we couldn't see what was ahead.

We had learned this before: God doesn't always show us the entire journey at once.

Sometimes He simply says:

And our part is to trust Him and take the next step.

In October 2024, God strongly called us to move again—this time from Vancouver to Vancouver Island.

It was not an easy decision. We had already made a major move to British Columbia, and now God was asking us to take another step. But as we prayed about it, something became very clear: we felt an incredible peace about going.

Then we learned something that touched our hearts deeply.

People on Vancouver Island had been praying for years for a Deaf pastor. There had not been one on the Island for a long time. We didn't know that when God first began calling us to move there.

As we followed His direction, things began falling into place. Doors opened, needs were met, and we experienced so many unexpected miracles along the way. There were moments when we could only stand back and say, “Wow, God!”

After moving to Vancouver Island, Deaf Home Church began gathering with a wonderful Deaf group in our home. People came together for church, fellowship, prayer, and connection. Again and again, God continued opening doors.

This season was especially powerful for us because it was one of the first times we had experienced God moving so clearly and so powerfully, one thing after another.

We had prayed. We had wrestled with the decision. And eventually, we obeyed and went.

Then we began to understand why.

What followed became another incredible chapter in the story of Deaf Home Church—and another reminder to us of what can happen when we trust God and follow where He leads.

In May 2025, Deaf Home Church hosted a special JESUS movie event on Vancouver Island.

The movie was created by Deaf Missions. It brought the story of Jesus to the screen in a way that was fully accessible to the Deaf community through sign language.

We didn't know exactly what to expect when we planned the event, but so many people showed up! It was incredible to see the community come together to watch the story of Jesus in their own language.

The event became about more than watching a movie. It brought people together, created new connections, strengthened community, and gave people an opportunity to support and encourage one another.

For us, it was another incredible experience of watching God continue to open doors for Deaf Home Church.

What started as a movie event became something more:

Today, we are in the fundraising phase for Rapha Retreat Centre. Once again, we are watching the vision God gave us continue to unfold.

We have found an amazing property on Vancouver Island that connects deeply with the vision we have carried for Rapha. When we first saw it, it reminded us of the story in Numbers 13–14, when the Israelites were shown the Promised Land. They could see what was ahead of them, but there was still a journey of faith before they could enter it.

Another incredible part of this journey is how Rest & Talk has grown. In October 2025, Rest & Talk became a registered charity in Canada, and in 2026, Rest & Talk also became a registered charity in the United States. What an amazing milestone—to now have Rest & Talk established as a registered charitable organization in both countries.

Since October 2025, we have also been on a season of mission journeys, which will continue through June 2027. We believe God has many purposes for this season—meeting people, building relationships, sharing the vision of Rest & Talk, serving communities, and fundraising toward the future of Rapha Retreat Centre.

At the same time, Deaf Home Church continues online. Even while we travel, we can stay connected, worship together, fellowship with one another, encourage each other, and continue growing together with God.

There is still a lot ahead of us. We don't know exactly how every part will come together, but when we look back at everything God has already done since Rest & Talk began, we are reminded of how many doors He has opened.