Finding direction

11 December 2004

Quick hi from Montana

Just heading to bed here, and I thought I’d drop by and say a quick hello. We’ve been enjoying a little family time before continuing our ministry tomorrow, in Billings Montana. We’ll be sharing at the Westside Baptist Church in the evening.

Nathanael has tooth number 2. I guess that means he now has one Canadian Tooth and one American Tooth. How very multicultural! Hannah has been enjoying a bit of swimming, and Nathanael – well, he has been really enjoying it. Apparently we have a little water baby.

We’re looking forward to visiting some of our friends in Montana, although we won’t be able to see them all. Then it’s back to…where do we live again? Well, somewhere in Canada, anyway. It’s been over 16,000km of travel so far (that is, over 10,000 miles), and almost 3 months. Since we hadn’t been living in our apartment that long before we left, sometimes I forget what it looks like! But soon enough it will be a familiar site. An apartment filled with half unpacked boxes, suitcases, and us. Hey, be it ever so humble…

10 December 2004

Minnesota and beyond

Jim Ministry glimpses 0

I’m excited about what’s happening at the Buffalo Covenant Church. We were there on Wednesday night, which is when they run their AWANA program. I spoke to about 100 children, from about 4 years to 11 years old (in two groups, first the younger then the older). I was training them to be missionaries to Mexico – telling them a little about who we are and what we want to do, and then starting them out on how to share the Gospel in Spanish. Then we had a quiz and learned a little about Mexico and Spanish again. The other cool thing was that this club has another connected club down in Mexico.

So we had fun, but that really wasn’t what I was excited about. I’m just excited about this huge, growing group of people who are coming out and learning Scripture, learning about God, and seeing His love in so many volunteers that are coming out to help. Wow! If you think of it, pray for this AWANA ministry, and pray for each of the children and leaders who are coming out.

We’re in Minnesota still, and we got a little bit of snow but so far have missed the big dump that they were predicting. We’re looking forward to a bit of a break as we have some shorter days of travel before coming to the Westside Baptist Church in Billings to share on Sunday night.

By the way, we were speculating earlier on whether or not Hannah and Nathanael were good travellers. Well, they really have been. Praise the Lord! Here’s the interesting thing. I think if we had left a month or two later, it would have been a whole different story. We caught Nathanael at just the right time to get him used to it. Already he’s moving around more and not travelling quite as well as he used to, although he’s still doing well. So praise the Lord for helping us to time this trip right!

8 December 2004

First week in the USA

Jim Ministry glimpses 0

Our first week in the USA has been great. We’ve been in eight states so far – ate at Subway in NY (realized afterwards that that was somewhat appropriate), bought a book in PA and visited some friends in OH. We visited friends in MI, and stopped to eat at a Cracker Barrel in IN (thanks to Shari’s Mom’s suggestion). Then in IL we…well, we payed tolls. In WI we visited friends and even bought cheese, and now we’re visiting more friends in MN, and preparing to share at AWANA in the Buffalo Covenant Church. If you know what all those abbreviations mean, that’s great! It saves me trying to spell every state. Spelling never was my strong point.

Sunday morning we were at the Delaware Bible Church in Delaware, Ohio. I shared briefly in two morning services, and enjoyed Sunday School with a small group in between. Because there were two services, I listened to the sermon twice, but it really was a sermon worth listening to twice! We’re still trying to get over the sicknesses we’ve had, and I think we’re on the mend, but not quite there yet. I had a very bad weekend with migraine headaches mixed with the bug I already had, but we were able to carry on.

And now we’re on to our last week on the road. The good news is that we really have been catching up on sleep during our trip through the USA. So praise the Lord for many blessings! 😀

7 December 2004

The Shepherds

Jim Devotional and Bible 0

Christmastime is coming around again, and we’re listening to Christmas music on the road. I’ve been thinking a little about the shepherds. A few years back I wrote a monologue that represented the words of one of the shepherds, just before the angels broke through the sky above the flocks. As the history continues, though, we know that the angels appeared and the shepherds were told about the Saviour who had been born in Bethlehem. They were given instructions on how to find him, and they ran off, presumably leaving the sheep behind (or perhaps leaving some poor Joe to watch them).

The found the baby lying in a manger, just as the angel had said. And they went away praising God for all that had happened.

Then what?

Then came years and years of…nothing. Did they stay in touch with Mary and Joseph? You’d think that would have been the logical thing to do. But even if they had, what would they have heard? Jesus was growing up, getting into the carpentry business, probably making farming implements (as some evidence from history indicates). This is all very well, but after the spectacular announcement of the angels, don’t you think they would be expecting something more? And something a little sooner? Years and years passed. Did their faith waver? Did they wonder if it had all been a dream? Surely not. Did they wonder if God’s plan had been thwarted? Maybe. Were they laughed at, believing such crazy things, when it all seems to be a ghost tale from the hills? Were the shepherds patient? Anxious? Angry? Weary?

It’s interesting to think about. I started thinking about those waiting for God’s promises, and wondering why He’s delaying. I thought about people in Mexico, many of whom may know the Christmas story, but wonder in the back of their minds why Jesus’ life doesn’t seem to make the world a better place, or their lives better. We can tell people of the wonderful transforming power of the One who came to earth, and we can tell those who know Him that His promises are always kept, even when it may not be when we expect.

By the way, time for another Christmas myth-buster. Contrary to popular belief, as far as we know from history, candy canes were not invented by a candy maker to explain the true meaning of Christmas. The story is a myth, caught up by popular culture as if it were true. But hey, now that you know not to believe everything you read, why not use the candy cane to remind you of the Christmas Story? It’s a whole lot better than simply getting a sugar high for no reason.

3 December 2004

In foreign lands

Jim Ministry glimpses 0

Hi! I just wanted to stop by really quick to let you know that we made it safely across the border with no problems. Praise the Lord! We’re now in Poland, Ohio. We also got our van partly fixed, so it seems to be roadworthy for now and a little less noisy. Perhaps as I have time this weekend or later I’ll do a tad more tinkering on my own.

Talk to you later! 😎

1 December 2004

Fairies and Butterflies

Jim Family, Ministry glimpses 1

I find that one of the best places to write to you is while I’m waiting at th repair shop. Sad to say, we’ve spent hundreds of dollars in maintenance and repairs on our van since our trip began, but the greatest challenge is finding a good place to take it in when you’re on the move like we are. Anyway, we’ll see what the folks here in Mount Forest can do for us.

We’re now 1300km (812mi) into our trip! We’ve had a busy week, and weather wise we’re back where we were last week, in snow. Most of our week has involved good visits with people all over the place. On Sunday we enjoyed a visit to Heise Hill Brethren In Christ Church. The folks at Heise Hill have been very supportive during our years in ministry, and we were able to finally meet the new pastor and his wife. I led a Sunday School for the Jr and Sr High, which was a lot of fun (for me, anyway!). We did a Bible study on clothing. If you’re curious, hey, invite us to your church! We also shared in the service and then enjoyed some time with relatives after the service.

Again, there’s too much to say to put it all here! But I will tell you briefly about this picture:

On Monday we visited an old classmate of mine from NDCA, Greg Beros. Greg caught me up to date on what some other elementary school classmates have been doing, and we enjoyed some time with him, his wife and his daughter, Hannah. So this is a picture of the two Hannahs. Knowing how common the name Hannah is, I’m surprised we don’t have more pictures like this, but no doubt there are many more to come!

Last night we enjoyed some time with our friend Amy and her Bible study group. Amy was kind enough to recommend a great Mexican restaurant in Barrie which we went to for supper. A taste of Mexico is always welcome!

We’re all still a little sick, but hopefully we’re on the way to getting better. Still searching for a good night’s sleep, but we shouldn’t have too many more very late nights like last night was. Today we start heading south, and we’ll end up in Ohio on Thursday, which is where we’ll be on Sunday, sharing at the Delaware Bible Church in Delaware, Ohio. We’re looking forward to a great visit with friends through the northern States, and Lord willing a few chances to share in churches along the way. We’ll let you know how it goes! Bye for now!

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