Retro: School Photos (New Year, New City)
Ten years ago today. A new school year was about to begin, and we were in a new city – Ixtapaluca. So, it was time for some paperwork, including new photos of Hannah and Nathanael!
Family
A Quick Update About What We’re Up To In Canada
Thanks so much for your prayers for us during our time of ministry in Prince Albert! Yes, my voice did hold out – a little painful by the end, but I think everyone could hear me. 🙂
We very much enjoyed our time at Community Bible Church – and it was great to see those of you who came even from other churches to visit!
Thanks also for your prayers for the VBS in Las Palmas. We have gotten lots of good reports – many children who attended were from outside the church, and there have been some new people coming to worship on Sunday mornings.
Today, Hannah will be heading to ReBoot Alberta, a week-long camp for MKs who are transitioning to life in Canada! I’m sure Hannah would appreciate your prayers as she goes. It looks like it will be a fun time!
On top of that, we have lots of work to do. We’ve been dealing with various medical appointments, getting errands done, getting other work done, preparing for upcoming ministry, and so on.
On the 12th we’ll be at Penhold Church of Hope, just south of Red Deer. If you’re in the area, it would be great to see you! The service starts at 10:30am.
For more on our upcoming schedule, just check our summery itinerary here.
Thanks again for your prayers! I hope we can see many of you soon.
Family and Heritage
We’ve enjoyed some time with family and friends lately, and a Sunday off (we enjoyed worshipping at Kimberley Baptist Church, but we weren’t on stage at all!). 🙂
We enjoyed some time in Kimberley, BC with Shari’s brother and his family, Shari’s sister and her daughter, and Shari’s parents – the main purpose being to celebrate Shari’s parents’ 50th Anniversary!
So an extra congrats to them. 🎉 
It was great to spend time with the family, which is spread out between two continents and three countries normally!
Now we’re back in Alberta, and the schedule is picking up again. On Sunday we’ll serving at Mirror Alliance Church, and then on to Glendon and then on back to Saskatchewan for lots more! Remember, you can check out our full schedule here. We hope to see as many of you who are in the area as possible!
Oh, I forgot to mention. We had fun on Tuesday at the Calgary Stampede! The “greatest outdoor show on earth” is certainly a part of Hannah and Nathanael’s heritage. 🤠Another 102,204 people joined our family at Stampede on Tuesday, meaning well over 1/2 a million people so far – and Stampede isn’t over yet!
We do appreciate your prayers as things will be especially busy over the next three weeks. Let’s do it!
Retro: Amy & Nate
Really? Ten years already?
That’s right! Ten years ago tomorrow, Nate and Amy got married! (For the uninitiated, Amy is Shari’s sister). Congratulations!
So this would be their “tin” anniversary. Tin protects and preserves other metals, so I believe it represents the continued preservation of a precious marriage.
Anyway, here they are the day before the wedding – ten years ago today!
50th Anniversary Celebration
On Sunday we celebrated my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary! As a bonus, Shari’s parents were able to attend, and they also recently celebrated 50 years.
As I mentioned in my last post, the actual day was the 1st, but we were able to delay most of the party until we arrived. 🙂
Not long ago, a girl who was about to be married mentioned that she appreciated seeing our “stable” marriage, and hoped to have the same for herself. I don’t know about you, but “stable” is not a word I really like applied to myself – sounds boring and pedestrian.
But as I thought about it, I realized – God is pretty “stable” too. We don’t always see Him that way from our human perspective, of course. But He is always faithful. He is always loving to His people. His promises are solid. Without that stability, life would be a terrible thing.
And who likes to paint a detailed painting while going through the rapids in a canoe? Stability is what actually allows us to do the wild and creative things that we want to do – that we were created to do.
And so 50 years of marriage – of ups and downs, I’m sure – does give us a moment to reflect on the power of stability.
So I thank both my parents for their godly stability over so many years. And most of all, we thank the Lord for His grace in our lives as a family.
Once again – Happy Anniversary!
Elizabeth & Robert Cottrill – 50th Anniversary!
Congratulations!