Photo by Julie Ranee Photography
NIKKI
I grew up in a small town outside of Hamilton in Southern Ontario, Canada as the second oldest of five siblings. Ever since I was 10, I've dreamed of living in East Africa, but was never quite sure what I wanted to do there! After graduating high school in 2019, I decided to take a 'gap year' and volunteer with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) rather than going into a university or college. Those six months were spent here in Athi River, Kenya, and absolutely changed my life. I met and started dating Evans (my now husband), and grew a fiery passion to follow God no matter where he called me. Once the covid pandemic hit, I went home to Canada where I grew my love for photography by joining Lambton College Photography program, and I grew my love for agriculture and art by working as a florist at a local flower shop and labourer at my family greenhouse. After some months of travelling, I came back to Kenya in October 2021 and got to marry Evans!
EVANS
I was born in a small village called Kandaria, around Lake Victoria in the west of Kenya. My parents passed away when I was young, my mom died when I was 2, and my dad died when I was 10. From there, I was brought up by relatives until the age of 13 when I started to live on my own. In 2012 I came to Athi River, Kenya, to work as a cook at a local restaurant, which is when I met people from YWAM Athi River through soccer that was held at their base. I made friends with them, and I fell in love with the YWAM environment and the people! I joined them officially in 2013, and in 2014 I did my DTS (Discipleship Training School). Since then, I've been in YWAM as a staff, working with the DTS and youth at the base. This led me to meet Nikki (my now wife), and marry her in October 2021!
OUR LIFE TOGETHER
We met in September of 2019, at Youth With A Mission Athi River and got married on October 16, 2021 after two years of long distance dating. After our incredible wedding, we spent one month doing missions in Kigali, Rwanda with Youth With A Mission Rwanda. We then came back to Kenya, where we put down our roots and began establishing our mission work. Nikki then became a board member for DECAS KENYA (Disability Empowerment Capability And Sustainability), and did photography work for local couples and sports photography for the missions soccer team. Evans started a soccer team for the local young adult men and ministered to the group though team building activities and bible studies. In May of 2023, we moved back to Canada and welcomed our first born son into the world weeks later.