Life Story of Rev. Dr. George Foxall 

George McWilliam Foxall was born, along with twin brother Ian, on June 20th, 1930, in Stettler, Alberta. Their mother Elizabeth tragically died four days after their birth.

George and Ian, along with their older sister Evelyn, grew up south of Erskine, Alberta, on a small farm.  George always felt blessed to be raised in a Christian home, and that they attended a country church and Sunday school, all of which made an impact on his life.

His country school was a one-room school house about a mile from Ewing Lake with one teacher for grades one to nine for 25-30 students.  The school house was also where the community had Sunday services, often with Mr. Fergus Kirk, and teachers and missionaries from Prairie Bible School in Three Hills.

On May 11, 1942, when an invitation was given during a church service, George accepted the Lord as his Saviour. As his church had hosted many missionary speakers, it was not surprising that the Lord laid on his heart at about the age of 13 or 14 to be a missionary to Africa. With that in mind he planned his high school and Bible school courses.

During summers, George worked at carpentry, farming and electrical work. He also helped with Sunday school work, children's camps, did some preaching and worked under the Pacific Coast Children Mission.

Rural students in the Stettler area had to board with friends in town to attend High School, as there was no school bus service at that time. George therefore enrolled at Prairie High School in September 1949. His room was on the top floor of H dorm full of High School boys. The rooms were spartan with a bunk bed, table and two chairs, a wardrobe, and a stand for a wash basin and water bucket.  This was before the town of Three Hills, with the help of PBI, put in the water works.

George’s three years at Prairie High School were challenging but enjoyable as he met dedicated teachers and many friends who remain so even to today.  Miss Ruth Dearing was the Principal.  Mr. Mumford taught Mathematics and Physics, who taught George to use the slide rule for solving problems.  Calculators were not invented yet to help solve sine, cosine and tangent problems.

What George learned and experienced during his PHS years was foundational for his spiritual growth and for post-secondary education.  During these years the Lord reconfirmed His call upon his life to prepare for missionary service in Africa. Prairie High School prepared George for Prairie Bible College, and then later Master and Doctoral degrees.  With deep gratitude and appreciation, he recalls his time at Prairie High School and Prairie Bible College. 

In 1952 George received a diploma from Prairie Bible Institute. In later years he continued his education during home assignments. In 1968 he received a Bachelor of Religious Education from Northwest Baptist Theological College, in 1974 a Master of Religious Education from Canadian Theological Seminary and in 1994 a Doctor of Missiology (Missions) from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

George was accepted by SIM on September 9, 1952. The verse the Lord gave him that year was "Go in this thy might ...have not I sent thee" (Judges 6:14).

His referees wrote: "George is quiet, sincere and very conscientious ... His prayer life is exceptional for so young a man and he is very much concerned about lost souls, especially children ... I believe that George will be one that our Lord will use greatly wherever he is either at home or on the mission field as he has a real desire for the deeper things of God."

George attended SIM candidate school at Bluewater Bible conference grounds, near Wallaceburg and Chatham, Ontario in the summer of 1952. It was there that George met his future wife, Ruth Balisky, who had also grown up in a farming family in northern Alberta. Ruth and George had separately made the decision to serve as missionaries in Africa. They fell in love very quickly and were engaged in December 1952.

George was Tommy Titcome's chauffeur for 3 months in the East on deputation for SIM. George got well acquainted with the stories from the book "Tread upon the Lion" and Tommy's experiences of Psalm 91. George left Toronto in mid-September with Tommy Titcome, travelling to places in New York State, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maine, Nova Scotia, Quebec, and then returning to Toronto in December.

From Ruth’s Diary: 

“George and I met and fell in love very quickly. Tommy Titcombe who was our SIM leader there encouraged our relationship. The first day that George arrived, Uncle Tommy said to me in his booming voice, “Ruth, you are on the ground floor so you must work fast.” How embarrassing that was to me. George and I got to know each other as we worked together for two months.  Also, we had a lot in common coming from the West and from similar Bible Schools.”

Because they were not yet married, SIM would not allow them to travel together to Nigeria, so George sailed on February 7^th, 1953 on the HMS Queen Mary from New York. After the New York to Manchester leg of the trip by ship he continued on to Kano Nigeria on February 22, 1953.

George was 23 years old when he first arrived in Africa. Ruth followed him February 19 on the HMS Queen Elizabeth from New York arriving in Southampton, then flying to Kano Nigeria on March 4, 1953. She was 25 years old when she first arrived in Africa.

Ruth was looking forward to seeing George when she arrived, but alas he had already been sent to Minna language school and she was sent to Katsina to the Baba Ruga Leprosarium 250 miles away to learn the Hausa language and about leprosy.

On August 12, 1953 Ruth and George were married in the Katsina leprosarium chapel with 25 expatriate friends and missionaries and 300 leprosy patients as their guests.

From Ruth’s Diary: 

“Our Nigerian Wedding, August 12, 1953 — At last after 6 months since I arrived in Africa and learning the Hausa language at the leprosarium.  George arrived the day before from Minna where he was learning the Language.  He had ordered the wedding cake from his uncle who was a baker in Scotland, and it arrived safely a few days before. Our friends who represented my parents assembled the three-tier cake on pillars, but alas it rained that evening, so it was very damp. At night Wynne Bingham heard a loud bang. She ran to the kitchen and found the top tier on the floor. What to do! The pillar had sunk down. Thankfully she was able to repair it with more icing, so no one knew about the episode.

I was concerned about the contaminated floor in the church as we had 300 leprosy patients and 25 expatriates as invited guests. My borrowed wedding dress had a long train, so I didn’t want it contaminated.  The nurse of the leprosarium said “No problem, I have a large bolt of cloth which we use for patients who die, for their burial cloth, so I walked to the front of the church on a carpet of burial cloth.  George was at the front already with the minister waiting. 

When the minister gave our vows in the Hausa language and said “Until death do you part” there was an audible gasp from the Muslim audience. Muslim men can divorce their wife at any time of disagreement, or if the wife doesn’t cook well, or if she doesn’t produce a child, especially a boy.

However, all went well at the end and everyone congratulated us as Mr. & Mrs. Foxall, “Amarya” & “Ango”. Our reception was special with Nigerian food outdoors for our leprosy guests. Our 25 expatriate guests ate a turkey dinner (special for Nigeria) & indoors out of the sun.

The pilot of the SIM plane who sang at our wedding then flew us to Zaria where we spent 3 days at a lovely government Rest House. The plane then returned to take us to Miango, the SIM Rest Home for 10 more days.”

Ruth and George were then moved by the mission to their first “station” in Moriki, an isolated sandy outpost near the Sahara Desert and many arduous travel hours from their nearest missionary colleagues. Moriki was 60 miles from Gusau their supply center, and 45 miles from Gatawa their nearest neighbouring SIM mission station.

The majority of the population was Muslim and there were very few visible results of people coming to faith. The heat, loneliness, lack of fresh food, difficult medical cases without a doctor’s advice and the propensity of bugs made life difficult and at times discouraging. The work was demanding. In addition, Ruth also dealt with patients in the segregated leprosy village. For Ruth, facing these many medical challenges and the decisions that needed to go with them was greatly demanding. George spent much of his time trekking in the villages to distribute medicines and seeking opportunities to talk to Muslim village elders about the gospel. However, George & Ruth’s awareness of their mutual calling to missions, their steady and tenacious personalities and their love for the Nigerian people enabled them, with God’s help, to meet the daily challenges

Ruth and George faithfully served in Moriki for over three years. In April 1956, their only child, David, was born. He came three weeks early and they didn’t make it to the hospital in Jos. Instead, he was born in a missionary’s home in Gusau, 60 miles from Moriki. They thank the Lord for His mercy as the umbilical cord was around his neck and in a knot. A week later they were able to continue on to Jos where they enjoyed some cool weather and rest.

In December 1956 the mission moved Ruth and George south to a small agricultural town of Kwoi. Ruth was again assigned to head a medical clinic and George taught at the Hausa Bible School. They were welcomed by a small community of missionaries and a large population of Christians in Kwoi.

From Ruth’s Diary: 

“Our first Sunday at the Kwoi church there were over 1000 in the congregation. I wept thanking the Lord that He was working after all.  It was as though we came from darkness to light. Christianity made the difference as Kwoi had the Gospel for many years. Formerly the people were animists who believed in idols then many became Christians. Christ made a radical change in their lives, but it took many years of sowing and reaping by the missionaries. Schools were started in the early years so people learned to read and write and get a good education.”

Their next 18 years were fulfilling serving the people and students at Kwoi. George was appointed principal of a Hausa language Bible school and then an English language Christian Training Institute for church leaders. Ruth managed a daily 250-patient outpatient department, trained health workers, conducted minor surgery and worked with over 2,000 leprosy patients in nearby villages. It was here that George & Ruth and their son David faced the great challenge of separation as he went to boarding school.

After their home leave and return to Africa in September 1974 the mission placed George and Ruth in the city of Kaduna. It was here they would spend the last nineteen years of Nigerian ministry.

The first six years in Kaduna George was involved in Theological Education by Extension (TEE), providing support and printed materials to over a thousand students.

In this role, George made a very valuable contribution to assist the pastors in the Central District of Nigeria. He also did a lot of counseling and was a great help to the Nigerian church leadership.

Beginning in 1979, George devoted most of his time to the Accreditation Council for Theological Education in Africa (ACTEA) responsibilities where his drive and ambition found outlet in a full travel schedule inspecting Theological Schools all over Africa for accreditation. George served the next 13 years working with the Accrediting Council for Theological Education in Africa.

When he was reappointed to a new term as ACTEA Administrator in July 1988, Dr. Titus Kivunzi, the ACTEA Deputy Chairman, wrote to Dr. lan Hay of SIM:

"It is my pleasure on behalf of ACTEA, and at the direction of the ACTEA Council, to convey to you and to SIM as a whole, our deep appreciation for the sterling service given by Rev. George Foxall to ACTEA over the past nine years. We are most grateful for this on-going tangible express of SIM'S support for the work of ACTEA."

George and Ruth returned to Canada in June 1993 and George continued his responsibilities in the International Council for Theological Education, Accrediting Council for Theological Education in Africa (ACTEA), and Hausa literature. 

They rejoice at having a small part in planting an indigenous Church, Evangelical Church Winning Africa (ECWA) in Nigeria which today has 6,000 Churches, having an adult membership of 2.5 million and over 10 million in total attendance.  ECWA also sends out 1,600 missionaries to Nigeria and 17 other countries through the Evangelical Missionary Society (EMS) of ECWA).  (Source: ECWA website) 

George also took on a special project of compiling Dr. Byang Kato’s writings which he digitized on CDs and then mailed to over 500 Theological Schools, teachers and students mostly in Africa. He also facilitated a web page for theological education in Africa.  He and his son David manage an online learning portal Christian Ministry Academy which provides free professional development training to Christian service workers around the world. 

George also was involved in providing support to the pastoral staff for two years at the Prairie Tabernacle Congregation, Elders Board, PBI Board, Three Hills Arts Academy Board and Senior Outreach.

 George retired in 1995 after 42 years of active ministry.

Ruth and George enjoyed their home on 6^th Avenue North for 21 years, and travelled to numerous countries, before moving to Golden Hills Lodge in August 2014.