the Canadian missionaries

In many ways our missionary colleagues from Canada are the most interesting. Peter and Debbie Ripple, from Nova Scotia, have been serving in the temple here for about ten months now and bring with them a very colorful history.
Peter Ripple was born and raised in Niagara Falls, N.Y. As a youth, he enjoyed hiking and spear fishing in the river gorge below the falls. In those years he was also introduced to some of the ways of the world along with his friends. He attended the University of Michigan for a short time and later Paul Smith College in Lake Placid N.Y. This was a tumultuous time for young people. The Vietnam war was raging and the country was becoming more and more divided because of it. Young people were questioning authority and demonstrating their disatisfaction with the state of the country by using drugs and participating in other risky behavior. On one occasion, he and a friend were walking in the early morning hours through the woods on their way back to their dorm. His friend said that he was afraid that a bear might attack them and asked Peter what he would do if that happened. Peter said, "I'd knock you down, leave you for bait, and run like h---".
Peter completed his degree in forest management at the University of Maine. Thinking that his degree in forest management would allow him to work out of doors, he took a job with Weyerhauser in Washington State. There he discovered that he would be stuck behind a desk most of the time and soon became unhappy and took a job as an apprentice carpenter building houses. The draft caught up with him and he entered the army. Not wanting to be part of the culture of killing, Peter volunteered for service in Alaska and spent three years there. Later he earned another degree of Master of Fine Arts, in wood work and furniture design and continued working in carpentry. After he and his first wife split up, Peter met Debbie and they began their life together.
Debbie Ripple is twelve years younger than Peter. She was raised with three brothers by her grandmother. Although they lived in poverty, they were cared for by their grandmother who was a member of the church. Debbie's church experience was very limited because of the distance to the chapel but she was baptized as a young girl. Later she met Peter and they lived together in a small trailer on a hill known by neighbors as "hippy hill one". The mission president visited them and offered to send missionaries to teach them. They accepted the offer. One time the missionaries were teaching them using a flip chart. The same principle being taught had been revealed to Peter previously and he accepted the gospel. He said that his life up until them had been like being in a maze and coming to dead end after dead end until finally breaking out into the light.
Before accepting their mission call, Peter and Debbie, had raised four children. All of them are active in the church. They have seven grandchildren with two more on the way. They had served in their small branch in many callings including branch president. Later they served for some time in the Halifax temple. This helped prepare them for their mission in Ecuador. They are being watched with keen interest by their home stake because they are the first couple missionaries to serve.
Before leaving home, someone gave Peter a sum of money to do something good with. Peter found a family that needed a bathroom/utility room addition to their home and set to work. He has long spent that money and more in constructing a beautiful addition to that home. This he has done in his free time from the temple. One remarkable aspect of his service is that Peter's communication in spanish is very limited, yet he is able to communicate with the family he is building the house for, the suppliers to purchase tools, and supplies, as well as the people he works with in the temple.
Peter and Debbie Ripple both love to get out and walk. They think nothing of walking two or three miles to a swimming pool for exercise. At home in Nova Scotia, they love to go canoeing or hiking in the forests and lakes in their vicinity. Peter has a long even stride when he walks and effortlessly covers the ground on his hikes. Debbie also loves to get out and walk. She has little trouble keeping up with him. They both love this experience and are leaving their mark with the people of Ecuador.