Further and further south…
Our next big weekend of ministry took place in Sudbury, Ontario. Sudbury is Shari’s birthplace, and, yes, the home of the big nickel. Our activities over the weekend included leading a seminar on short term missions with the youth and college age, sharing about our ministry at a potluck, teaching in adult Sunday School, sharing in the service, and leading a 2000 Years of Missions seminar. This was all at Lansing Avenue Baptist Chapel – thanks everyone for your warm hospitality and encouragement!
We’ve enjoyed some great visits with many other friends and family during the last couple of weeks, including cousins from both sides, Shari’s Uncle and Aunt, and Grandmother. For those who are interested, there are lots of pictures in the photo album. We also enjoyed attending Garside Bible Church in Hamilton over the weekend, although coming from Kitchener we got lost and missed part of the service. These are the hazards we have to deal with!
Over the past weekend we got to see Larry and Jayme Hower, Phil O’Day, members of the CAM International of Canada board (including my cousin Dave Cottrill), and others connected with CAM. It was a great encouragement, and quite interesting touring around southern Ontario with 3 Americans (Larry, Jayme and Phil). Actually, the Howers showed us an interesting monument – check it out here. Seeing Canada through the eyes of Americans is always a unique experience! 😛
Now we’re in Kitchener, and we’ll be in St Catharines over the weekend, although we don’t yet have a speaking engagement on Sunday. We’re trying to get our wits about us again after some very busy days, and to plan the days ahead. We’ve had a hard time finding churches and other groups in need of a speaker or in need of the seminars and things that we have to offer. But I suppose having too many people doing ministry is a good problem to have! If you are in southern Ontario and would be interested, we have a list of some of the services we’ve offered other churches in pdf format here. It sure would be great to be able to make use of the Sundays and even weeknights while we’re here! However, we are enjoying some great time with many people.
If you’re praying for us, keep praying about the energy level, which is still low, although I think we’re all over the sicknesses we were dealing with. Pray for us as we continue planning our trip, that we would find opportunities for ministry and that we would know how best to spend our time here. There are really 3 things we would love to see happen – a chance to use our expertise and talents in churches here, a chance to meet with friends and share our vision about the needs in Mexico, and a chance to meet with new friends who share the vision and are willing to commit themselves to help. It’s all about the God of the Universe and the millions in Mexico who don’t know Him…