We would appreciate your prayers for the Bible studies this week! There’s a general study starting up tonight – please pray that God would bring the people that should come, and that God would speak through His Word.
We’re also restarting the Men’s Bible study on Saturday, after a false start or two! Please pray that God would guide as we move forward.
The Women’s Bible Study is also on Saturday, and will be wrapping up a study they’ve been doing for the last few months. So you can pray that God would give them direction for future studies.
Bible studies have been a particular challenge with this church because people tend to be so busy during the week. And when I say busy, I mean that people often are out of town from early in the morning until late at night due to work and study. And yet we know we need these times to study God’s Word together. So we’re trying to find ways to make it happen!
So if you’re a part of our Support Team, you should be getting our newsletter pretty soon in your mailbox. There are some extras in there for you to discover. 🙂
It wasn’t easy for us to get this newsletter out – we had various problems which delayed it. One was a technical problem that messed up some of our address database.
So – if you don’t get our letter, or if it’s forwarded from your old address – let us know! You can actually update your information here, or join our team if you’re not on it already.
And here’s another weird – embarrassing? – thing. We mentioned in our letter our particular need for regular pledged support. And … um … I kinda thought that our little donation cards that we’ve sent out for seven years had all that information on them!
Yes, seven years. And I never noticed that no, there isn’t anything on them about pledges at all.
So I will try to make that and other things a little clearer in our next letter – and here on the website. But in the meantime, there is some information on the “Donate” link above. Or you can go directly to the Avant website. There you can enter an amount (our account # is 82708), and then on the next page there’s a tiny box that says “Recurring” (almost missed it myself!).
Hmmmmm… we’re not making things easy, are we?
Anyway, once you click that, you will get options further down the page for dates and “Monthly, Weekly, Annually, Quarterly, Bi-weekly, or Every Six Hours”. (I might have made that last one up.)
The rest should be pretty clear.
Anyway, like I say, I’m hoping to revamp a few things around here later in the year so that everything is easier.
Here’s one small bit of news since I sent out that letter – just yesterday we finally got the last of our reimbursements from the luggage debacle from our trip to Canada in April. Yay!
Remember, if you don’t see our letter over the next week or two, you might want to check with us and make sure we have your correct address!
I’ve heard that you should never actually ask someone who recently moved if they’re “settled in”, because the answer will almost always be in the negative!
In our case, it’s been quite an unusual year. We moved suddenly and unexpectedly in January. Then there was a rush to get things kind of in working order in the midst of a busy ministry season – and in time for Nathanael and his friends to arrive a month later.
Nathanael left 🙁 and just over a month later we were on the airplane to Canada.
Now we’re back, and we quickly discovered two things. First, we have a lot of unpacking to do! And second, with everything else that has been going on there were a lot of things that we “put off” doing.
So, once again in a busy ministry time, we’re trying to get the house in order and to catch up on a whole lot of other things. Several van repairs, a major appliance repair . . . some household repairs are upcoming . . . Shari has had some success in unpacking . . . I’m hoping to get to that point soon!
A busy time, yes – at times overwhelming – but that’s not to say that it’s been a bad time! It’s been great to be back and to be back in ministry. I’ve been able to dive deeply back into Deuteronomy as we continue our teaching series – what a blessing! Shari has enjoyed the women’s Bible study, and we’re hoping to start up the men’s study soon.
Our pastor Ezequiel organized a day retreat for the men, which was excellent. Some of the men are newer to the church, so it was a great help for everyone to get to know everyone.
Here are some of the men packing up at the end of the day . . .
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That’s just a bit of what’s been going on! It’s been good, but I really need to unpack some things . . . I really need this item, and I’m constantly reaching for that item, and . . . well, if you’ve ever moved, you know how it is! 🙂
10 years ago today, we were helping with a visiting short term team from Mount Calvary Church. We went to a local Jr. High to help with activities for several hundred students. Our whole family got involved.
There were various stations with different activities, and Nathanael got in on this one – he had to walk through all the water cups without knocking them over, blindfolded, being directed by the crowd.
For all those still trying to remember the date of Hannah and Brandon’s wedding – yes, it has happened! On the 30th of May 2026, Mr. and Mrs. Brandon Crotser were first introduced to the public. 🙂
(Click image for a larger version)
It was a wonderful day and a beautiful wedding, and if I start really talking about it this will be a very long post. So we’ll leave it there for the moment! …other than to say, thanks so much for all those who made their day so special!
Aside from the wedding, we enjoyed time with friends, family and churches here in Alberta.
We’re now still tying up loose ends from the big event, and preparing for the next big phase of our trip, our travel in Ontario! We would appreciate your prayers as we head out on the second half of our time in Canada. Pray for health and endurance, and that we can be a help as we serve.
Pray also for Hannah and Brandon, who are on their honeymoon in Iceland. Pray for safe travels and a good start to their marriage.
Pray also for Nathanael, who has lost a roommate! And for his future plans.
For us, the month of May has always been the crazy busy month. Sometimes it’s things that just “happen” to appear in May, without any specific reason why it should be that month. But, of course, there are other things that make May extra interesting. Such as yearly family events, typical spring ministry, and even national holidays and remembrances in Mexico.
Wedding Prep!
And as many of you know, we’re adding another special event in May – thanks to a wedding that is about to take place! Hannah and Brandon’s wedding is a mere 5 days away. So the million little details are all coming together, and/or still being worked on.
Brandon’s parents were kind enough to have a whole bunch of people from both sides of the family over to their home yesterday, which was lots of fun!
We are trying to help where we can, while also doing our regular personal and mission work. So it’s a balancing act to try to prioritize and get everything done. But I thought it would be good to pause and give a bit of an update, since things will be even busier after this. 🙂
We’ve enjoyed visiting some churches and connecting with lots of people over the last little while. And we’re preparing for our trip to Ontario, which begins in 15 days.
We have our suitcases replaced, but we’re still waiting to see if the airline will reimburse us.
Anyway, we appreciate your prayers for the wedding, and for our upcoming trip!
Which reminds me, I have some things to do! Excuse me!
