Following military service with the USN in Viet Nam, Bible college, and two years as the pastor of Wi-Ne-Ma Christian Church in Oregon, Ralph and his family served four years as church planters with the nomadic Turkana of Kenya, with Christian Missionary Fellowship. After studying at Fuller Theological Seminary School of World Mission, they founded New Mission Systems International in 1989, with the goal of serving churches and communities in restricted or difficult access regions of the world (Egypt, USSR, Myanmar, Cambodia, China, and Tanzania). For more information go to www.nms-intl.com After over 20 years of service, Ralph retired from full time Christian ministry. He is currently a VP of Corporate Technology at Washington Mutual in Seattle.

Ralph and Cheri have been married for 29 years, with two children, Jennica and Joshua. Ralph and Cheri live on Bainbridge Island where they are members of Cross Sound Church and they serve as missions advocates for a Mayan village in Chiapas,Mexico. Ralph describes imself in the words of one of his favorite authors,Brennan Manning, as "a ragamuffin saved by grace!"