Welcome! Here is a little “about us”….
We are passionate about Jesus and have served Him within the ministry field for over twenty years. We have been married since 2003 and are blessed with two amazing children. Whilst serving in a worldwide Christian organization, Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in Denver, Colorado we met and God matched us together in 2001.
After living in South Africa (Kirsten’s country of birth) during the early years of marriage, where we worked as Children’s pastors, we felt called by the Lord to move to California, U.S.A, making our home in the San Francisco Bay Area, for over twelve years (2006 – 2018). During this time, Ryan worked for a mentoring organization matching at-risk youth with adults who were able to speak into their lives; he also conducted mentorship trainings. As a couple, we served within our church, helping oversee the large ‘young marrieds’ ministry. For over a decade, Kirsten worked for a statewide non-profit providing care to California’s most severely troubled children and families in multiple settings, including but not limited to private schools, group homes, after-school programs, and group therapy. The latter part of her career was spent directing the organization’s Institute of Advanced Practice; providing training to employees, foster/adoptive parents, therapists, and psychologists.
In 2013 we re-joined YWAM, serving under YWAM San Francisco (Bay Area), working in the incredibly diverse Silicon Valley (San Jose), home to many cultures and peoples. Ryan focused on mentoring and discipling workplace professionals within the surrounding technology companies; he also ran spiritual leadership courses. He became an ordained pastor and ministered within a wonderful Korean church, for close to four years. Kirsten ran mother support groups as well as worked with a large Baptist association helping to establish their ministry training institute.
In 2016, God placed a deep desire on our hearts to serve the poor, widows, and orphans within our neighborhood. James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” We felt led to become certified Resource Family(Foster Parents)/Adoptive Parents within our local county. It was such a joy to love on these precious children and individuals who like us, need God’s love.
In October 2018, God began a new chapter in our lives, a new adventure with Him. We felt Him calling us to pack up our family and move back to South Africa to continue serving and sharing “love with those who are unloved”. We thus started “Gray Family Missions” and have been working in the area of Johannesburg since November 2018 supporting orphanages and organizations that help vulnerable and orphaned children.