Asher and Suzanne Motola

Asher was born into a Jewish family in Istanbul, Turkey. As an only child he moved to Montreal, Canada when he was 10 yrs old. He graduated from McGill University in Montreal receiving a B.A. in philosophy and literature (English and French), a BCL (law degree) and a diploma in education. He is married to Suzanne who was born into a Catholic family in Detroit Michigan – one of five children.

In 1973 while traveling in Mexico they gave their hearts to the Lord and began to preach the gospel on the streets of Mexico, Canada, Australia, Tahiti and in the US. - They have four children: one born in Mexico, one in Tahiti and two in Canada and eight grandchildren. They lived for a while in British Columbia, Canada where Asher taught in a public school and Suzanne taught their children at home.

In 1989 they went to Hawaii to attend a Discipleship Training School at the Youth With A Mission location in Kailua Kona. Following this initial training they felt the Lord inviting them to enter missions on a full-time basis by joining YWAM and its University of the Nations. As a member of the U of N Campus Asher was:

Head of the Foundation School (children and youth) 1991 – 2005
Dean of the College of Education, 1994 – 1997 • Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, 1997 – 2003
Executive Director for Admissions and External Relations, 2003 – 2005
PDSO (Principal Designated School Official) this is a US government designation and responsibility re student visas, 2003 – 2008
Responsible to oversee campus visa and immigration issues, 2002 – 2008
Over the years he served on the U of N Kona Council, the Chancellor’s Council, and on many of the overall campus leadership teams.

Suzanne is responsible for the creation of a children’s playground called the Arc Park on the U of N Campus. Starting in 1998 Suzanne began volunteering at The Pregnancy Center – a community based prolife center which offered free pregnancy tests, ultrasound exams, education, counseling, etc. She became director of the ministry in 2000.

In 2005, Asher felt the Lord call him to divide his time between the U of N and service at The Pregnancy Center with Suzanne. They enjoyed ministering together and sharing the fulfillment of seeing babies saved and lives transformed. They resigned from this responsibility on March 31, 2008 after having spent eight months training and preparing the couple they had recruited to take over the ministry. In 2005, when the pastor of the church they were attending resigned unexpectedly, Asher was asked to assume leadership of the church. He held that responsibility for three and a half years - even while an interim pastor served - until a permanent pastor could be recruited.

In September 2006, during a week of prayer and seeking the Lord for their future, they felt that the Lord was calling them to begin the process of laying down their ministry responsibilities, (The Pregnancy Center, the Church, and at the U of N.) They felt that they were to leave Hawaii (after 19 years,) and move to the mainland to work in other areas and to be closer to their children and grandchildren. After prayer and discussion with long-term friends who live in Chico, California, they decided to move to YWAM Chico and work in the short team outreach department – Mexico Adventures.

They lead groups from churches in various parts of the US and Canada to a location in Mexico where they can serve at an orphanage or build a house for some of the very impoverished farm workers who live in the area. In 2012 they moved to SoCal and are living close to one of their children. They are still involved in Mexico Adventures, leading groups into Mexico, and helping with visa petitions for internationals who want to serve or study at the Chico base.