Meet Our Staff
Bill is the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. Trevor Berry serves on our board along with Karen and Bill. Our Stateside Administrator is Linda Simmer. Below you will meet our staff working in the Dominican Republic.
Bill Rumple
Founder and Pioneer of Grace & Peace
Bill Rumple founded Grace and Peace in 1987 soon after his first trip to Haiti. The Lord has given him an amazing vision for the Dominican Republic, working with both the Dominicans and the Haitians who came to the DR to find a better life. Bill is the Director of Grace and Peace.
"I was born in Warren, Ohio, on February 1, 1950, to William and Marilyn Rumple. I have two sisters, Carol and Cindy (deceased) as well as one brother, Gary. I became a Christian in 1973 and an ordained minister in 1989. I worked at General Motors for 21 years and took the buyout in 1989 to go into full time service for the Lord. In 1991, I began a cleaning business and became the first chaplain in the Mahoning County Jail in Youngstown, Ohio.
Starting in 1985, I started travelling back and forth to Haiti, which shares the Island of Hispanola with the Dominican Republic. Because of political unrest, we decided as a family to travel over the border into the Dominican Republic in 1998 to see what the needs were. While there, I found that many Haitians were living in the Dominican Republic in deplorable condition. We sold his business in June of 1999 and left to begin construction of the Mission House in July of 1999. In January of 2000, I moved my wife, Karen, and my children, Mary, Lee and Nicholas to Barahona in the Dominican Republic.
Over the last 15 years, Karen and I developed The Farming Project, Widow Program, Water Project, built a Medical Clinic, planted a church and built a 10,500 square foot Mission House that can house up to 100 short-term missions team members along with my family, where we reside on the 3rd floor."
Karen L. Rumple
Director/Administrator of Missions
Karen Rumple, Bill's wife, arrived in the Dominican Republic with Bill in 2000 to serve full time with Grace and Peace. She started the Widow Program in 2001 and today they help 105 widows and widowers. Karen is the Administrator of Grace and Peace.
"I was born November 17, 1060, one of six children to Steve and Dolly Hansley. I grew up in Brookfield, graduated in 1978 and then graduated from YSU in 1982 with an Associates Degree in Applied Science. I became a court stenographer in 1982 working until 1992 in Trumbull and Mahoning Counties. Bill and I were married in 1984 and have 3 children, Mary, Lee and Nicholas. I left court reporting after 10 years to help run the small business Bill had started, Sunrise Industries. Sunrise Industries was a high gloss floor shine and cleaning company.
In 1998, we travelled to Barahona, DR, to see where the Lord was leading. Truth be told, I was not ready to move my entire life there but supported Bill as he began construction of the Mission House in July of 1999. Continually praying for the Lord to guide our family, I asked specifically for the Lord to give me the courage to make this bold move. All the while, Bill was building the mission house and seeking the Lord in helping us figure out His plan. On November 2, of 1999, the Lord complete broke down every barrier in my heart and gave me the courage to move to the DR and work a a family as full time missionaries. It has been the hardest but richest and greatest 15 years of my life. I started the Widow Program in 2000 and today we take care of 105 widows and widowers."
Keila Moreta Cuevas
Dominican Widow Program Director
Keila is the our In-country Coordinator. She has been with Grace and Peace since 2003. Keila's husband, Yefri (pronounced Jeffrey) is a pastor of a local church. They have a son, Eliel and a daughter, Shela. Keila assists G&P and runs our programs with her team of Dominican helpers.
"My name is Keila Moreta Cuevas, I am 30 years old and married to Yefri Perez Cuevas. We have one son, Eliel Perez Moreta. I have four sisters and one brother and we grew up in a Christian family. My father, who was a pastor, passed away when I was nine years old, so my mom took over the church. In my country when a woman has a husband that is a pastor and he dies, if she agrees to take over the church she becomes the pastor. My mom has a church of 50+ members.
Growing up, I became a Compassion International sponsored child. Compassion International helped me with school supplies, food, christmas gifts and took me to different parts of my country to learn about our history, What a blessing Compassion was to me and my family!
I have worked for Grace and Peace Missionary Fellowship for 10 years. I met the Rumples when my youngest sister, Cecia, was taking English classes with Mary, Bill and Karen's daughter. Mary and I became really good friends. Now, the Rumple family has been like my own family over the years, They have been a great blessing for my family and my people. They gave me a job that I love and put my mom - a widow - in the widow program. Also, my mother is the pastor for the widows that attends a Bible study in her church. I am so blessed and grateful for Grace and Peace Missionary Fellowship and I always keep them in my prayers for the amazing things they are doing in my life and my people."