Chris grew up in Kenya as MK and and felt a strong tug on his heart to become a missionary shortly after he moved to the US for college.  Heidi grew up in Washington State, having exposure to missions, through her local church and through family friends who as missionaries in Papua New Guinea, lived in a tree house.

Having a love for kids, Chris and Heidi served as children’s pastors in Washington for three years before moving to Africa where they served for eighteen years, in Zambia, Sudan and Ethiopia.   Africa is “home” for their three children, Larissa, Brailynn and Caleb.  Larissa and Brailynn were 2 years old and 4 months when they moved to Africa and Caleb was born in South Africa during the Ness’ first term in Zambia.  Chris and Heidi served African National Churches through children’s ministries training, children’s evangelism, discipleship, children’s ministry resource develpment and teaching children’s ministries in local Bible Schools.

God is now leading the Nesses to Sicily, Italy to work with the marginalized.  Hundreds of thousands of refugees arrive in Sicily each year, many of them from Africa.  The Nesses time in Africa learning culture and language has helped prepare them for “such a time as this” to share God’s love and His hope to refugees in Sicily.