Totally blessed.

Greetings, friends! I hope your week has been full of blessing and joy!

God has been so good to us. Last Friday, Tim and I sent a $9,000. (US) check to Mercy Maternity Clinic to pay for my first year of midwifery training! Since October, 2006, Tim and I have been saving and raising money for this trip.....the financial cost seemed to never end. But on Friday, we learned that we had saved and raised $11,000. (CDN) towards our journey! PRAISE GOD!

Not only that, but after paying tuition, we have enough leftover to pay for our missionary visas and our first month's rent! Though we are no longer receiving a paycheck, God has provided for our needs while here for the month of June, too! He is so faithful and once again reminding us that this journey is His will and His desire for us. Heavy.

This week, we've had some good friends come and help us with moving and cleaning the house, too. Today, Tim's buddies, Michael and Allon, moved some of our belongings (the ones we didn't sell) to Tim's parents' house to be stored until further notice. My buddies, Sarah and Kate, worked their bums off cleaning house. Then we headed to North Vancouver to try out some authentic Filipino food to thank them for all their gracious help!!! FUN!


Yes, it was REALLY authentic. I had to say g'bye to my nutrition plan from the naturopath as the whole meal was white rice, shellfish, fried fish, pork tummy, and fried ripe banana with ice cream.....there wasn't ANYTHING on the table that I could have besides the water! I better get used to that! :) It was pretty tasty...it will take some work to get used to it all, though!

But God used that time to bless me beyond belief. With our buddies beside us, we laughed and talked about the crazy adventures we might encounter and the waitress joined in telling us stories from her Filipino journeys. Then we found out that the waitress and the owners of the restaurant were Christians!!! We met a man named Raymond, who was overjoyed that we were going to HIS country to minister to HIS people and he excitedly asked if he could pray for us before we left the restaurant. We gladly accepted.

Raymond prayed the sweetest prayer of protection and grace....asking Jesus to fill us wherever we go and that the Lord would prepare our path. I cried. We were so refreshed by our gracious host. God was once again communicating to us that He is with us and will connect us with the right people....Divine Appointments no matter where we go.

Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude. I feel so small. So blessed. So humbled.

Thank you for all your prayers....things are moving so quickly and yet your prayers I know are being heard....just look at what God has done!

Be blessed!

Death to Passion....the end has come.

Greetings! No, this isn't a depressing, sad post....a somewhat bittersweet, happy post!

I must explain the title:

For the last four years (since we've run this group home), I have been nursing a beautiful Passion Flower (pictured here). I bought it because I needed to see REAL growth. The kids in our group home were always growing, but not very fast and sometimes it felt like they weren't growing at all. So I bought a "difficult to grow in the northwest" plant because I wanted a pet...something to watch....something to observe, something beautiful that didn't talk back, fight or hate my cooking...something to teach me.

Every year I fertilized it, killed its awful pests like earwigs and aphids. I pruned it, cut its flowers to bless others and in the winter, I would bundle it up with fleece and newspaper to make sure this tropical plant would make it to the next spring without difficulty.

The Lord used it in so many ways throughout our time here. It would grow up to 100 feet every summer!!! It was the talk of the neighborhood and I had the opportunity to tell its admirers the story of the Passion (where it got its name).

I would wait with bated breath each spring to see the first sign of growth on it....and then it would take off covering the entire fence with blossoms and bees. I knew the Lord gave the plant to me to keep me going through the tough spots in our job.

But this year, with the harsh extended winter, the Passion Flower Vine died. Yes, I went out in late February to fertilize it and realized that the bark had turned a deep brown. I fertilized it anyway and hoped for the best. Then in March, I gave it a little shake to see if its branches were soft or crackly.....soft, it was holding on for dear life. Then in April, I took the fleece off, fertilized it once more and pruned it.

Then today, with the bark as black as poop, the branches cracked off....dead. I peeled the bark to see if there was a pest that could be blamed for the death....no pest. Clean.

Then God spoke to me.....He said, "I gave that plant to YOU and now that you are leaving, I am taking it away. You aren't going to be here to take care of it and no one will be blessed by it as much as you, so I want you to take it out. Your time here is done."

For me, it was another confirmation that God has ordained our steps. We were to stay here in the group home four years, not two, not three, four. And we were to leave. The Passion Flower's season had ended and ours, too.

Saturday, we said a weepy good-bye to our favorite girls in our group home and ached deep inside. We've had them for all four years and no doubt they will always have a place in our home wherever we go.
They have grown so much...more than any plant ever could. We will never forget the Lord's goodness, His provision, and the simple pleasures He's given me.....like my Passion Flower.

Be blessed and keep us in your prayers! Week one of my new nutrition plan from the naturopath is finished! The moving sale went awesome! This week is moving week and we are running around like chickens with our heads chopped off! My dear friend, Heather, is coming this weekend to hang and be a blessing (which isn't hard for her to do!)! AND, we have a final farewell benefit concert happening at our church on June 2 featuring a number of artists! It's free and it should be a gas! Let me know if you're interested in coming. June 24th is our last Sunday at our church, too. They are praying over us and sending us off. If any of you can make it, please come as we would like to say good-bye. The service starts at 10 am. Have a blessed weekend!

the moods of millet....

Greetings! Thank you all for your prayers and comments this week! It has been a doozy, woozy week, but we're doing really great.

Tim took this photo and it reminds me of something I ate this week...I'll explain......

As I had said in last post.... Thursday I visited a naturopathic doctor out in Langley and on the way there I prayed that the Lord would speak to me clearly through the doctor and that His grace would cover me. To be perfectly honest, I was scared and excited all at once. For some reason, this visitation felt different than all the others. I took the "vega test" and while taking it, the clinician talked with me about some of my issues....the bloating, the PCOS, IBS, infertility and wonky periods. She shared story after story of people who discovered the parasites, food allergies, and difficulties their bodies were experiencing and through eating differently, felt better and their health issues disappeared. I was skeptical, but I had prayed that the Lord would reveal Himself, so I had some hope.

Then I found out all the food sensitivities I've acquired.....gluten, sugar, coffee, honey, citrus fruits, tropical fruits, all dairy products, turkey, pork, shellfish, eggs, wheat, barley, nuts, certain vegetables...etc. I can eat peaches, apricots, apples, avocados, spinach, eggplant, kidney beans, carrots, celery, asparagus, millet quinoa, brown rice, beef, lamb, salmon, chicken, coconut, and cashews. That's it! And I have parasites (big surprise) and an overwhelming amount of yeast causing weight gain, food sensitivities, fatigue, allergies and PCOS! I had no idea Candida could be so toxic! My liver is fried, too. The doctor said I had a lot to work on.

I remember having yeast infections as a little girl, but I just figured they'd go away....well, apparently, yeast has consumed my whole body and it cannot digest food properly as a result and getting on antibiotics makes it worse. So now I am on a strict no bread, no dairy, no sugar, no gluten, no caffeine nutrition plan. oooky. But I told the Lord that I would do whatever was required of me to make me healthy to serve Him more effectively.

Then I discovered the cost.....the money, the supplements, and the high cost of millet, quinoa, cashews, goat cheese and organic meat....I struggled with believing that God would provide for those needs. My dear sister-in-law offered to go to the store to get the items I could eat because we were so overwhelmed with getting the moving sale ready at our house.....she came back with the whacko hippie food and I started to experiment. Millet sucks.

I tried Millet with steamed spinach, then chopped carrots, cardamom, cinnamon, salt, plain, with garlic and herbs....millet sucks. Quinoa's worse. Goat cheese is yummy and lamb rocks. Now if only I could make Quinoa taste like lamb! Mmmm.

But God is bigger than my taste buds and He will give me the discipline, courage, and endurance to get healthy. Whew.

And you know- the Lord HAS been faithful. I made cookies for our moving sale with our dear 14 year-old on Thursday night and my favorite part has always been picking in the dough and eating the first cookie out of the oven. But I purposed in my heart that I wouldn't pick and God covered me.....He took away the cravings and the temptation. I was grateful. With His help, I will be healthy enough to give Tim babies, lose the weight that has frustrated me for over 10 years, serve the Lord wholeheartedly with every bit of energy I have in the Philippines, and I'll be strong enough to endure the hardships we're about to face.

Please pray that God will continue to provide for our finances (as this nutrition bit is somewhat out of our budget) and that He will give me strength to make hard decisions and choices in this process. Thank you so much for all your encouragement and support! Only 2 more weeks until we move outta the house!!!

Be blessed.

BLAHHHHHHH!

Greetings! I am not sure as to why I posted this Tim pic, but I never understood why newspaper dispensers were always so close together and some were free and others you had to pay for. Seems as though one would pick up the FREE one if they had so many choices!

Anyways...Tim and I have been spending our days cooped up in the garage preparing for the BIG MOVING SALE this Saturday and Monday. We're praying for a good turnout and clear, sunny skies. The forecast calls for rain, but I KNOW we serve the God who created the rain, so He can make it stop! :)

We're now approaching the home stretch....this is our last weekend with kids and after this benefit moving sale, we have only one more benefit before we fly away. It's a benefit concert on June 2nd at our church, The Life Center. We're praying that people will come and enjoy good tunes, good food, and give to the good cause. We have quite a ways to go in raising funds for our first year tuition, so these last few pushes gotta be good. The rest is up to God!

Despite all the chaos and busy, filled days, God is teaching me to prioritize and to take time to care for myself. Last month I had some pretty crazy issues around my period and it raised some serious red flags in my world. Between the IBS, PCOS and parasites, I have been rebuking sickness all year. In the past, I would visit specialists and doctors, but their remedies didn't help. I got annoyed and frustrated and decided to just give up on being healthy. I figured that if I concentrated on serving God and doing what He asked me to do, then He would have to make me healthy enough to do it.

But then He started speaking to me again about my health. Poor timing, I thought. He spoke through a number of sources and I finally said to the Lord, "If I am supposed to see someone again about this health junk, then you have to provide the funds and the person I am to see."

Then I gave Him a time limit....because I really hate going to see doctors and things are just too crazy right now to spend hours and hours in medical clinics. So I said, "God, if you really think I need to focus on this right now, then please send an undesignated cheque in the mail that is significant enough to pay for treatment."

No sooner did I pray that a letter came in the mail with $500. in it!!!!!!! No kidding! Then my nursing buddy came over to help me with a first aid bag for our trip and she felt like the Lord had given her the name of a naturopathic doctor that I was to see. We looked her up online and found out that she is a registered midwife!!! AND NATUROPATH! AND she teaches midwifery! How cool is that?

But then we found out she wasn't taking patients.

But then...I told the receptionist my story of being diagnosed with IBS and PCOS, that I was told I wouldn't be able to have kids (bull!), that Tim and I had been trying for five years, that I got salmonella and mennicoccl-somethingorother, that my digestive tract was wacko and I was moving to the Philippines to be a midwife in July and wouldn't be returning for a long time. She nearly dropped the phone and demanded that I come in as soon as possible. She worked it out that I would see the doctor's apprentice, a naturopath AND a midwife in training! I was stunned at God's provision. He made it so clear that this was the next step to take so that my body would be able to keep up with the cuisine, pace and lifestyle I would be facing in the Philippines.

So, today at 11 am, I drive to Langley to see this naturopath. I am cautiously optimistic and maybe the only reason I am to go there is to learn more about midwifery, make connections or just sit and be encouraged. Who knows? But God provided once again and I am grateful.

Be blessed and thank you for all your comments. They are so encouraging and such a blessing!

I'm tired!!

Greetings! Happy Mother's Day to all of you ladies both natural mothers and those mothering others!

We are at the tail end of our second to last work weekend. We had to say goodbye to six precious kids this weekend.....well, some of them are precious. :)

It's been an emotional couple of days and I can tell that the kids are dealing with loss in their own ways, too. Some are downright rude and edgy, while others are weepy and "huggy". It's all a part of tying up loose ends here.

Being it Mother's Day and all, I have to say a few words about my mom.....but first.....

This week Tim got to take his mom out to High Tea at the Secret Garden Tea House on Tuesday and I got take my dear Sylvia out to High Tea on Saturday! I took the picture above to show Tim the pretty flowers on the sugar cubes! :) He was jealous! :)

Saturday was such a blessing and eating the dainty goodies in my new dress that Sylvia and I sewed together made it extra special. I felt like such a lady (which doesn't happen very often) and the company was perfect. Having Sylvia as my surrogate mother and my friend meant so much to me. She is my dearest, dearest friend. She makes even the tedious task (like hemming my dress!) fun and adventurous! What a lady!

And I missed my mom. My momma is such an incredible woman of God...she's strong and yet, so compassionate.

She has such a desire to ease others' burdens and to bless them. She's wise, but doesn't flaunt the fact that she knows what the RIGHT decision is.

She has an amazing sense of humor and can laugh in the face of misfortune and deals with mistakes with such grace.

She is constantly desiring God and His best....she seeks to know Him better daily and strives to be like Him. She takes every thought captive and allows the Holy Spirit to penetrate every corner of her being. She stands as a beacon of light wherever she goes desiring for each person to see Christ in her so that they come to know His love.

She ministers peace with her contagious laugh and welcoming smile. She makes her home an oasis for rest in a desert. It is full of beauty and life.

She always hopes for the best and prays daily for her family. She speaks well of her hubby and loves to see him happy. She enjoys her time with him and is quick to point out when she sees in him the heart of Christ.

She loves to encourage, loves to build up and desires to empower people to walk in their destiny as overcomers in Christ. She patiently waits for her Saviour's return when He will say,

"Well done, good and faithful servant, my daughter Connie, my bride....come into your Saviour's rest, my dear."

I hope I get to be there when that happens.....

Be blessed and give your momma a BIG hug...parenting is a HARD job!

Blowing in the wind.....

Greetings! This week has been so FULL! Some days I feel like my head might explode and then others days, I find that the pace is just right.

Thank you all for your comments.....they have been so encouraging and a breath of fresh air! Congrats, Jenn, on arriving safely to Davao...I can't wait to hear more! God is soooo good.

Yesterday, my dear sister-in-law came to visit with our nephew, Micah. She came to help out with moving junk and even donated some stuff to our garage sale! How cool! The time spent was so great. Despite Micah's desiring to be the center of the universe (he's just at that age and soooo cute, it's hard to abstain) the two of us made a BIG dent in the garage sale work load. I was blessed that she came and then my nurse buddy came over and helped me set up a giant Foreign First Aid bag for our journey! I now have all my midwifery supplies AND a really good first aid bag! My mom and dad will feel more at ease with that! :)

Ya know, Tim and I feel very much like one of those little seedlings hanging on to the dandelion pod pictured above. Tim took that photo while in Oregon last month and I think it perfectly represents where we've been and what's to happen next.

You see, for the last few years, we have grown and been apart of a large community blossoming together, learning about the heart of Jesus and slowly dying to self.....our group contains friends, family, church members and our surrounding community. We've grown together like a dandelion papus...growing and changing.....and the Holy Spirit has been grooming us to prepare for "take off". Just like the seedlings of the dandelion, we have turned inside out and the Lord has purified us....white like the dandelion papus. Did you know that the dandelion white puff is called the fruit? When the Lord purifies us, we bear fruit, too! That's so cool.....

But now, after being fed in the community of mentors, friends, and family in Christ, the wind is beginning to blow.....

I watched today as one of those dandelion seedlings, complete with white poofy fruit, sailed in the wind. Its take off point was in the backyard and I decided to follow it.....it flew, swirled, sailed higher and higher.....then it swooped and swiveled low, almost touching the ground. Then it flew over the fence into the front yard! I was impressed! What a journey for a tiny seedling!

That little seedling had no idea where it was going or where it would end up, but it continued to sail as the wind carried it. The wind stopped and it finally landed gently in the front lawn between two large blades of green grass.

For a brief moment, I could identify with the seedling....and now it was going to MASS PRODUCE in my nice green lawn.....that's when I prayed and asked God to make our arrival in the Philippines that of the journey of this dandelion seed so far from it's original pod, but carried by the wisdom, care and love of God.....landing ever so gently, ready to plant with a result of a MASS PRODUCTION of the love of Christ. I never cared much for dandelions, but am so grateful for God's provision of His Word put to the flight of the dandelion seedling.

Thank you for all your prayers and support, everyone. You are a blessing.

And so we begin the moving dance!

Yes, this is the face I am making as we begin the moving dance.....AAACCCKKK! But I must say, within this face is great joy and great peace....

Thank you for all your prayers...it has truly made a GIGANTIC difference. Tim is feeling better and though the schedule is getting nutsy and everyday is filled, we are feeling at peace and gently grieving.....

Yesterday, a good friend of ours moved out some of her wall art that was hanging in our house for the last four years and with the bits of moving we've been doing along the way, the missing art made a HUGE dent in the appearance of our home and I began to feel the chill of closing up house. We still have three more groups of kids to tend to before our contract with the Ministry is up, but the house is getting more and more empty and the grieving is becoming more real.

But with every feeling of grief is a feeling of thankfulness and gratefulness. God is giving such grace to us these days.....I'll tell you what I mean....

Sunday night we had an incredible opportunity to meet with a lovely lady named Lois from Mercy Maternity Clinic in Davao City. She was here to be in a wedding and had a short stopover in Vancouver!

We met with her over some Butter Chicken and Indian Naan. She shared about her journey to the Philippines, what excites her about midwifery and the ministry, and what we are to expect upon arrival. We were so encouraged and for the first time, I felt completely at peace with our decision to follow God's call there. Tim and I were so excited to hear of the many opportunities to bless and show Christ to individuals in the clinic and in the surrounding villages. We learned that the beach is just a walk from where we'll be and that we can do medical outreaches to surrounding villages any time we want just by phoning one person! She shared that there is so much to be done and yet, there are times of really bonding with the other staff and the natives. The journey is becoming real.

Then yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit my dear friends, Rosemary and Stan, in Langley. The time was encouraging and they made a huge commitment to support and pray for us. We were humbled and once again struck by God's provision and constant confirmation of the calling.

I then went to my old university down the street from Rosemary and Stan's to change my alumni address as we're moving indefinitely and I ran into my old worship leader that taught me so much about the sovereignty and omnipotence of the Almighty God. He taught me a lot about honoring God, not just through worship, but through every part of life. We had such a good conversation and once again, I left encouraged.

Then I came home to pick up some stuff and head to a meeting and in the mail was a package from my dear Manitoba friend, Rebecca. Inside was a beautiful note and a CD filled with songs that brought me to tears remembering the incredible faithfulness of God. He has been so good. My spirit felt full yesterday.

With only three weeks until we move and seven weeks until we fly out, every moment spent with family or a friend is a treasure. With time running short, our finances are somewhat at the forefront of our minds. We did a tally last night of how much monthly support God has provided and it came out to $1220 (CAD)!! We only need $400 more monthly to get to our goal of $1400 (USD)! We have been planning and praying since October and God is working. AND, we need just $5000. more to meet our start-up cost goal! God is moving and we are so thankful.

AND...Tim is now getting a bit of work on the side taking family portraits before we go! He has two clients lined up and we're hoping that a few more will pop up before we go. Let us know if you're interested.

Thank you again for all of your prayers and we will need an extra dosage the next 7 weeks , so please continue to pray for God's grace and provision. He is so faithful.

Also, we're having our moving sale May 19 and 21 if any of you are around and wanna come check it out. Be blessed and again, thank you, thank you!

Working and Resting....

Greetings! Tim hates this picture, but there's something about it that invokes such peace to me. I love how water falls over a cliff....it has no control where it goes.....it just, well, flows....of course it flows in the direction of the current and the current has a lot to do with the way the land is shaped. But water also shapes the land creating deep ravines and waterfalls. Powerful...amazing. There's a sermon it that, I think.

This week has been one of hard work and deep rest. We were able to clean out ALL the closets, pack away the winter clothes and sort them, write some letters to bill collectors to tell them of our departure (it's kinda nice to know we won't have bills in this country collecting while we're gone!), schedule our travel clinic appointment, move lots of garage sale junk to the garage, spend quality time with our family, watch a good movie, hang with Naomi and help out with their packing, enjoy a meal with my dear friend, Emily. On Wednesday, I said my last goodbye to my BSF group and met two ladies from the Philippines who committed to pray for Tim and me...what a blessing...and a huge encouragement.....AND tomorrow we're tying up some loose ends with the Ministry of Children and Families, reprogramming computers, hanging with our girls and then we get to see Uncle Bob and Sylvia!

I have been so thankful for the Lord's peace this week. It's been a struggle to hold on to and there isn't a day that goes by that I have to lay down my expectations for Tim and myself and trust that what we accomplish in one day is all that God desires for us to accomplish.

It's easy for me to feel guilty that I didn't get enough done and I fight to stay positive....I know I am my own worst critic....time is getting short and I find that I get fixated on my own needs instead of the needs of others because there is sooooo much that needs to get done. It ticks me off. But I love it when the Lord takes me back to what is really important.....knowing Himself and tending to His purposes....thus, when I serve people, I feel the greatest joy. I don't want to lose that focus...

I think this week has been the most balanced I've felt in a long time. I've heard it said so many times that when we put God first, everything else seems to fit into place. Some weeks, though, I feel like I didn't accomplish what was needed even though I tried to put Him first.....and usually the Lord gently reminds me that those things needing to be accomplished weren't totally necessary afterall. It's so easy to get busy and no doubt it has been a busy week, but to experience a week of what appears to be 'balanced' is a HUGE blessing and I know it can only be the Lord's doing.

Be blessed and thank you for all your prayers. Please pray specifically for Tim as he is fighting a really crappy sinus cold....thanks!