Interests

Personal

Hometown: Bighton, near Alresford, Hampshire, South England
Spouse: Vicki
Children: Peter, Paul, Philip

Vicki and I are very happily married. We celebrated our fortieth anniversary in December 2007. We have three sons, six grandsons, and one granddaughter.

More About Me

I grew up in the South of England, where my dad worked as a gardener at local manor house. He was an expert at growing things. Since early childhood I have always loved gardening.

I was converted in November 1966 through a Canadian friend at University in Manchester, England. The day after graduation in June 1967, I hitch-hiked from home to Huemoz in the Swiss Alps and spent a year working as cook and gardener for Edith Schaeffer at L’Abri in Switzerland. While at L’Abri, I met and married Vicki Buxman, who was raised on a fruit farm (peaches, nectarines, plums, grapes, persimmons, kiwis) in Reedley, California. She was Francis Schaeffer’s secretary, working on his personal correspondence and typing the manuscripts for Escape From Reason and The God Who is There. The Schaeffers both had a very significant impact on me. Vicki and I married in December 1967. After a year at L’Abri and at Francis’s recommendation, Vicki and I moved to St. Louis, Missouri, for me to attend Covenant Theological Seminary, where I earned my MDiv and helped start a church.

We returned to England to serve at L’Abri in the beginning of a residential branch in Greatham in Hampshire, and also helped the founding of a church in which Vicki was one of the leaders of our music as she is a fine pianist. Our three sons—Peter, Paul, and Philip—were born there. During our 18 years at L’Abri and in my role as a pastor, we provided constant hospitality, talked through endless questions received from both believers and unbelievers, led discussions, taught and preached, offered pastoral care, participated in lots of practical work serving people and doing home and garden chores with them.