The Breens joined NCEM in 1986. Len first served in the Mission’s Printshop in Prince Albert, then moved on to Bible camp leadership. Ministry locations included Big River, Timber Bay (both in SK), before moving to Ontario to give leadership in NCEM’s Eastern-Field. The Breens are now honorary members living at Sexsmith, AB.
Len & Lorrayne met in eighth grade, graduated together from high school, and married two years later. In 1975 they moved from their hometown of Newmarket to Peterborough (ON), where Len worked as a graphic artist.
Ten years later, while reading NCEM’s magazine, Northern Lights, Len noticed an appeal from the Mission’s printing department. “We had been feeling unsettled,” he recalls, “and were seeking the Lord’s direction. Thinking this might be an open door, but not really expecting a positive reply, we sent a letter off to NCEM.”
Lorrayne’s mother’s desire was for each of her children to have a personal relationship with the God she knew. “She took us to every activity at church, where we heard the Gospel clearly presented,” says Lorrayne. At age 10 Lorrayne placed her faith in Christ. As a teen there was some unhappiness due to spiritual struggles, but she came to realize that peace would only be found in obedience and trust in God.
Len also says his parents made sure he and his sister attended Sunday school. “Although my father never made a personal commitment to Christ until he was in his 70s, he was an avid Bible reader, and committed many portions of Scripture to memory. I can say we were raised on biblical principles.” At age 12 Len experienced God’s forgiveness. Christian Service Brigade, youth group, and other church meetings remained an important part of his life growing up.
As youngsters, Len & Lorrayne both recall visiting missionaries. Lorrayne remembers being “in awe” of those “special” people up front. “Missionaries were high up on my hero list!” she says. Len says the first missionary he recalls meeting not long after accepting Christ was NCEMer Jack Gordon. And he remembers one particular Sunday when Jack brought Native believer Stan Williams with him, who shared his testimony, and how God was calling him to reach his own Ojibway people with the Gospel.
On occasion the Breens hosted missionaries in their home overnight. “It didn’t take me long to realize these people weren’t really ‘heroes’ as I had thought in my younger years,” says Lorrayne. “They were ordinary people who loved the Lord and desired to serve Him wherever there was a need.”
To their surprise, the Breens’ letter to NCEM in 1985 had a positive response. By the spring of 1986, with their prayer/financial support team in place, they with their two children moved to Prince Albert.
Looking back on how the Lord has led, Len says, “I have often reflected on the fact that the first missionaries who left an impression on my young mind were NCEM missionaries.”
