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Home Alone

After a wonderful time with Angela’s family it feels a little like when Kevin is left home and the family leaves for Europe (from the movie Home Alone – you know, when he wakes up and he’s sad because they left without him). It was a real treat to have them visit. Especially because it was the first time we met Kevin’s (that’s Ang’s brother – not the actor) girlfriend Tanya.
 
We enjoyed a very unique trip to the top of the world and some down time too. There were laughs, there were tears but we never made it to Denny’s the whole time they were here.
 
Well Mom and Dad, Kev and Tanya – we sure enjoyed your visit! Enjoy the pics.
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Cutie Pe-tu-ties!

Well, I don’t really know if that is a word but it is what comes to mind when I think about tonight.
 
For our worship service at the ywam base this evening we focused on children! We had kids greeting, a family with children MC’ing, a kid’s story book read, a song sung, and the children played with tambourines and drums during worship! Can you picture it?
The scripture shared was from Matt 18:4-5 "Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me." And the highlight from the evening was at the end all the kids on the base came up to the front and if anyone needed prayer they came up and had the kids pray for them! It was so awesome! I (Angela) had a little boy named Caleb pray for my cold and I am feeling a little better already :) 
 
We will post a few pictures from tonight but first here are a few sayings that kids have said to give you a smile:
 
    • Dear God:
      Did you mean for the giraffe to look like that or was it an accident?
      Norma
    • Dear God:
      Instead of letting people die and having to make new ones. why don’t you just keep the ones you have now?
      Jane
    • Dear God:
      I went to this wedding and they kissed right in church. Is that okay?
      Neil 
    • Dear God:
      Thank you for my baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy.
      Joyce
    • Dear God:
      Please send me a pony. I never asked for anything before, you can look it up.
      Bruce
       
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The heavens tell…

Yesterday we went up the tallest mountain in the world (if you measure from ocean floor) to see the sunset and stargaze with Kevin (my brother) and Tanya (his girlfriend). 14 000 feet is pretty high up and it was amazing. Check out the video for the 30 minute sunset sped up to 1 minute and 30 seconds.
 
Psalms 19:1-3
The heavens are telling the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims he handiwork.
Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.
 
There is no speech, nor are there words, there voice is not heard;
Yet their voice goes out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world. 
 
In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,
and like a strong man runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens
and its circuit to the end of them and nothing is hid from its heat.
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Learning to be relaxed and stress free :)

Good adventures come from family trips don’t you think so??
 
Well, last night my family flew into Kona (dad, mom, brother and girlfriend) at about 10:30pm. By the time we got their luggage, the rental car and some food it was about 11:30pm. Everything was right on track, but boy were they tired (it was like 4 am to them). They had rented a house to stay in, a really nice place! We had the directions how to get to the house and everything was fine and dandy…
 
Unfortunately things didn’t turn out so fine and dandy. The first thing we notice about this house is that the driveway is literally at least a 45 degree angle up. No prob! We start cruising up this driveway and we get about half way when the tires start spinning. Loud screech marks at 12:00 midnight is not the best in a residential neighbourhood, but what are you going to do? So we reverse down and a few of us get out thinking we will walk up the driveway to see what we are heading for. All of a sudden we see people on our balcony. Turns out that we had the wrong dates and they were not due to be out of the house until tomorrow! Now what?
 
Everyone is so tired, desperately just wanting a nice bed to sleep in, and now my family is homeless for the night :) This is what memories are made of! We offered them our floor in our place, but they kindly refused the offer and we found them a nice little hotel just a minute away from our campus. At the end of it all, it all worked out (doesn’t it always?) but it was definitely a little stretch to remain relaxed and stress free!
 
So now we have a super funny memory, and we’ve all learned another small lesson that it is good to be flexible in life :) Today we will re-attempt the driveway! Hopefully we can make it up! 
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The Garden Island

Transition week – the week between semesters is now behind us. But we had a wonderful week filled with rest, hiking, windy roads and beautiful views! We hopped a short commuter flight for the garden island, Kauai b/c we had to leave the base anyway.
 
We each made it through almost three books, some fiction, some biography :) as well as the other pursuits. If you ever want to read a book about a missionary couple who experienced a move of God through their obedience then read one called "Anointed for Burial" by Todd and DeAnn Burke – excellent!
 
But I think the most enjoyable part was just being there, so even though pictures can never capture an experience, we’ll share them with you and hope you can enjoy the wonder and magnificence of God’s creation and simple pleasures.
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Happy Easter

It is appropriate that we celebrate Easter at the beginning of spring, because spring conjurs up thoughts of new life… stark dead trees getting new buds, fresh green grass growing where it is only barren brown. That is what Easter is all about: suffering… death… RESURRECTION!
 
As I reflect on Easter this year a few different thoughts come to my mind.  
 
Did you know we could get rid of crime in one day? Yes its true, you would just have to take away all laws and that would get rid of crime. None of us would want that of course because the law stops a society from spiraling downward. God out of love gave us a law to keep our world from spiraling downward, for our own good. He summarized them in ten laws, the first four had to do with our relationship to him (don’t have any others gods besides Him, don’t use his name in an unholy way…) and the last six had to do with our relationships with others, things like don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t covet a neighbour’s possessions. Now these would have only been advice (not laws) unless there were consequences. Just like today our laws are only advice unless there is a justice system to enforce them. Obviously I have broken those ten commandments, so what are my consequences?
 
There are actually lots of consequences that come from disobeying the law, but ultimately it is death and separation from God eternally. God never designed for people to die, that is a consequence of breaking the commandments (or sin as the bible calls it). Right now I know a few people who are grieving the deaths of people they knew and loved. It hurts. But God always had a plan, from the time of the very first humans who disobeyed God had a rescue plan. His name is Jesus.
 
Some people think of Jesus as just a good teacher. But lately as we have studied the bible I’ve realized that isn’t an opinion one can hold if they know anything about Jesus. Basically there are only one of two opinions one can have about Jesus. Either he was insane or he was God in human flesh. Why do I say this? Because He claimed to be God. Understandably we would say that someone claiming to be God would be a little crazy(!!)…unless he actually was.
 
His life lends to the latter statement being true, people healed, bread was multiplied, his disciples were willing to die for their faith, his family believed he was (think about that for a second!) but ultimately Easter sunday is what really proved it! After he was totally tortured and had died by crucifixion (taking my penalty on himself), three days later he rose from the dead and appeared to many people (over 500 at one point)! Amazing!
 
And so, I have come to live my life in faith that Jesus’ claim to be God was true. Not only did He die, but He did it for me, so that my penalty for breaking the law could be paid. So that I would have true life! Resurrection life. Now that is true love.   
 
So why am I writing all this today? Well, really today I am using this blog as a journal to write out some of my thoughts and reflections. Sometimes I get so influenced by my western, materialistic culture that I question having faith in God. But faith is more than just believing in the existence of God, it is believing in His character. And at Easter time I am reminded that His character is loving, gracious, and just. It is my favorite holiday!  
 
So whenever you see a tree getting new buds, or a flower coming into bloom, think about the resurrection and celebrate! Happy Easter!
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You were there

Have you ever done something that really took perseverance? Like about half way through you felt like you couldn’t go on, but you did? Well, that is what this quarter has been for us, a quarter of perseverance! We have gone through Genesis -Ecclesiastes book by book (except for a few we do next quarter) and what an amazing time it has been, but it has not been easy. One song that has really encouraged me is the one that will start playing on this website. If you are going through a challenging time right now I encourage you to listen to this song and read along with the lyrics. The events the song refers to are from the books we have been studying this quarter, but the amazingness of the bible is that its messages transcend time and culture.  The message: God was there, and He is here with us. He was definitely strengthening us day by day to persevere! Enjoy the song. We will be leaving for a little week vacation on another island and so we won’t be updating this website again until April 6th (Angela’s dad’s birthday!).   
 
You Were There – By Avalon
I wonder how it must have felt
When David stood to face Goliath on a hill
I imagine that he shook with all his might
Until You took his hand, and held on tight
‘Cause You were there, You were there
In the midst of danger’s snare
You were there, You were there always
You were there when the hardest fight
Seemed so out of reach
Oh, You were there, You were always there
You were always there
So there he stood upon that hill
Abraham with knife in hand was poised to kill
But God in all his sovereignty had bigger plans
And just in time, You brought a lamb

‘Cause You were there,
You were there
In the midst of the unclear
You were there, you were there always
You were there when obedience
Seemed to not make sense
You were there, You were always there
You were always there

So haven’t I learned that my ways
Aren’t as high as Yours are
And You alone keep the universe
From crumbling into dust
You are God and though we would
Not have understood You
There You were

Hanging blameless on a cross
You would rather die than leave us in the dark
Every moment, every planned coincidence
Just all makes sense
With Your last breath

You were there, You were there
During history’s darkest hour
You were there, You were there always
You were the Victor and the King
You were the power in David’s swing
You were the calm in Abraham
You are the God who understands
You are the strength when we have none
You are the living, Holy one
You were, You are and You will always be
the Risen Lamb of God

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Just some questions…

This week as we studied wisdom literature I discovered that much of the wisdom literature in the Old Testament (and the New for that matter) deals with how to make wise decisions not only for oneself, but also with the perspective of how it will influence the whole community. This is a very different way of thinking in light of our individualistic, western society. Out of this week I wrote a poem about my thoughts and feelings and thought I would share them. 

Just some questions…

Is it all about me? Am I that main character in a life full of secondary characters?

My decisions, when I make them, who do I consider?

Do I think how they will affect

                my family?

                                my friends?

                                                my church?

                                                                my neighbourhood?

                                                                                my city?

Would I lay down my life for my friend? What about a stranger?

Does God care about how I treat my neighbour?

                What about the one two doors down?

                                The next street?      

                                                The poor area of town?

                                                                The rich area of town?

I don’t want to be reactive, but proactive…

                to decide to do something,

                                think up a new idea,

                                                take initiative  

                                                                to do something kind to another.

Not be thanked, not to feel good about me, but to bless THEM.

Am I responsible for the others around me? Even just a little?

                I have allowed myself to be numb?

                                close my eyes?

                                                walk by without a word?

                                                                 without helping?

Is this bondage? I hear ‘you can’t live for others.’

Why not? Jesus did. Actually He lived AND died for others.

I can anticipate your thoughts, because they are my thoughts…

                Won’t you be pulled a million directions?

                                Get used?

                                                Never be happy?

Yes! Without God, yes.

But walking with God’s gift of the Holy Spirit brings wisdom:

                when to say yes

                                when to say no

                                                when to wait.

The superficial relationship won’t do this, but true intimacy and abiding will.

God wants the best for others… and for me…. and He knows how to bring this to pass.   
 
 
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Send Us Your Favourite Saying

This week we’ve been studying about Hebrew wisdom literature. So, we want to hear some of your favourite quotes, sayings, proverbs and cliche’s, email us at badoerksen@hotmail.com or add them as a comment.
Here’s some to ponder if you’d like. Enjoy.
 
One good turn deserves another.
Every picture tells a story.
Revenge is sweet.
Divide and conquer.
Curiosity killed the cat.
Garbage in, garbage out.
 
And we’ll conclude with possibly the most profound:
 
Laughter is the best medicine.
 
Thanks to Theresa who emailed us today a few she and Kelly like:
 
"a happy wife means a happy life"
"best way to avoid punch, don’t be there"
"if you fail to plan, you plan to fail"
 
 
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Xie Xie

Xie Xie means Thank you in Chinese (prenounced Shie Shie). However, I was prenouncing it Che Che which means older sister…oops! Everyone had a good laugh at that!
 
Bright and early sunday morning we drive to the Pastor’s house. She has a beautiful large living room that can hold a lot of people. What they do is they use a church building on Saturday nights for a service, but on sunday mornings they meet together in her home to have a deeper study time. We were the ones facilitating this particular week. Were we nervous? A little, but during the time of worship at the beginning God met with us and calmed our nerves. It is amazing how we could worship in our heart while the rest of the people sang a different language, but we were unified! The sincere worship and love was so refreshing by this little group of believers.
 
We were next up and after an introduction from Wendy our staff leader we had them reading the book of Philemon in Chinese, picking out the main characters, learning about slavery in Roman times and applying all the principles to their own lives. It was really cool to see that even though there was a language barrier they really picked up the main points of this tiny book in the bible! We were blessed to enjoy lunch with them half way through, yummy fish, rice, and beef! Even though their culture generally inhibits public participation they really were all taking part and thinking/answering all our questions!
 
Thank you so much for your prayers. One of the girls was a brand new Christian and shared with us that she now wanted to learn how to read the bible and apply it to her life- that is what this is all about! Helping people discover for themselves all that God has for them! There were so many times when they were working in groups that Ben and I said, ‘This is what drives us and gives us joy!’ This was just a little taste of what awaits us in the future, and boy are we excited! Taiwan, here we come…
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Troy and Tonya’s Visit

We had such a great time with Troy and Tonya when they were here! We played games, kayaked in a bay with dolphins, went swimming in huge waves at the beach, and prayed together! It was such a blessing to have them here, they actually came during a week when we didn’t have a lot of homework so that was perfect timing! On the last night we went to a place called ‘Lava Java’ and played Phase Ten while the sun went down over the ocean. We talked about how to hear God speaking to us and then we finished off praying that we would all grow in our intimacy to hear God speak. We even prayed that Troy and Tonya would have a divine encounter on their way home to hear God speak. Here is part of an email that Troy sent us when he got home! Thanks for letting us share this Troy, it is a little longer than our usual entries but if you have the time to read it YOU WILL BE ENCOURAGED!:
 
Angela mentioned in prayer about possibly having God place someone in our travels (even on the plane next to us) that we could encourage or be encouraged by and/or even plant seeds with those listening. Oddly enough, that is exactly what happened. It was very cool, and it was specially great to listen to God’s voice and respond. As that is something I’ve been praying for. And you know what, you’re right Ben and Ang, it’s not that hard to do.
 
In the plane on the way home we sat down next to a young girl. I couldn’t wait to move seats because I was in a middle seat and there were lots open. All I wanted to do was move seats and sleep! I noticed the young girl right next to me pull out a Max Lucado book, "Facing Your Giants". I didn’t say anything as I figured she just wanted to read her book and be left alone.

So time went by and I felt God prompting me to say something to her. Anything at all just to open up a dialogue. It took me awhile but eventually I asked her how she liked the book. This girl hadn’t even graduated high school yet but she spoke like one on fire and totally devoted to God, a fresh new awakening was taking place right in front of us. we noticed others around curiously listening to the conversation for most of the flight to Edmonton.

We learned that this girl had recently moved to Vancouver to attend a Christian school for the last part of her grade 12 year. She was in the midst of making huge changes in her life. Raised as a Christian but lived rebellious for the majority of her upbringing. Now she
was commiting her life to God totally. She was totally inspired and encouraged to know that there were other Christians sitting right next to her on the plane. We spoke freely of God’s working in her life, she had such passion  that it convicted me to be more open with my love for God.

I sensed God prompting me specifically to ask her a question…but I was afraid. Afterall I had never done this before…and what if it was too personal. What if I had to act on it right away? Scary…

The question was specific and wouldn’t stop nagging me, then I remembered Angela had prayed for an experience like this for Tonya and I in our travels back home. So I knew I couldn’t live with being disobedient particularly after asking for God to speak to me in prayer.

The question was to specifically ask her what she needed prayer for. So after a long awkward silence I said, "I’m supposed to ask you what you specifically need prayer for."

She was taken aback a bit and paused…then smiled this huge 1000 watt grin and responded in detail.

 
What a feeling to obey God in such a simple task! It opened up a door and an opportunity to encourage another Christian in their walk. You see, in telling her story, this girl was going against great odds to change her lifestyle, she was leaving her friends and for a time her family to bravely step out and listen to God’s call on her life. She knew that going back home for the first time in months was going to be a challenge because she had been growing in leaps and bounds but her non-believing friends would not understand this and she would be tempted to fall back into old habits with them.
 
So when I asked what she wanted prayer for specifically…(thinking that I would mention it later to God in prayer), she called me on it right there! She asked after a moment, do you guys want to pray right now?

What could I say to that, "No thanks, maybe later." I don’t tihnk so, oh boy, now I was on the spot to live up to my Christianity if front of others on the plane and pray aloud. What will people think? More importantly what would God think if I didn’t!!!! I had come this far in hearing God’s voice, was I going to stop now….nope!

Tonya willingly jumped right in and prayed aloud as if she’d known this girl all her life, she spoke into her life with specific prayers that I have no doubt encouraged and strengthened her. Needless to say we are going to stay in contact with her via email and continue to pray for her needs. 
 
All I can say is that this was obviously meant to take place. But the key to encourage the rest of us is: as simple as this is, look what great things can happen if we listen and obey. We really do have to train ourselves to listen to God, to quiet our minds and just listen with open hearts ready to do his will. Always asking, "what do you want me to do in this circumstance God?" I was tired and focused on going to sleep as soon as possible, it’s interesting to see how we can distract ourselves and be consumed with selfishness and busy details so that we’ll never heard God’s voice. 

Seek Him and you shall find Him…
 

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What drives you crazy? Simple things you enjoy?

Every area of the world has different things that drive you crazy!
 
For instance, in Winnipeg it is the -40 weather in the winter time and the mosquitos in the summer. This weekend we experienced what would drive Hawaiian’s crazy-Termites! It is so interesting, they eat up the wood and then leave piles of wood shavings everywhere they go. You could clean up the whole house of all these little piles and then guess what? Tomorrow, there they are again! It’s enough to make someone go insane! 
 
We have been up north on the island at a retreat center with our whole class. Times of refreshing and relaxing were abundant. We went hiking for a whole day, enjoyed a campfire & drank lots of coffee (well not Ben, he just made sarcastic remarks about how gross coffee is!). We were able to enjoy the simple things like playing the guitar, swinging on a swing and staying up late playing games. It was a much needed weekend away for all of us.
 
We had some team competitions throughout the weekend, and the highlight for our team was when Will (a guy) had to shave one leg, a big sacrifice- but we did tie for first place! Thanks Will!
 
So what are the simple things you enjoy? Or what are the pet peaves that drive you crazy? Leave a comment and let us know :)
 
PS. We made a video for our church and have uploaded it to this website for those who don’t go to our church. We edited it a little so it may be choppy and to make it web compatible it may be not the highest quality, but we hope you get the jist and are encouraged!
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Who’s the King of the Castle?

It is good to learn from others mistakes.
 
This week we were studying 2 kings, Saul and David. They both disobeyed God and experienced the consequences of it. One rejected God and went his own way and one repented and returned to God. From the outside their experiences were quite similar but on the inside, one experienced hope and refreshment and the other experienced torment.
 
Sometimes I like to think I can do what I want but at the end of the day I end up regretting it and find myself realizing that the best way is to obey God, then I experience freedom and joy inside.
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This is insanity!

Well, what can I say; Hawaii is really what it is said to be. I have spent the last week here with Ben and Ange, and I must say, they’re one amazing set of friends you’ll ever meet. My time here has been full of new experiences. One of the highlights I must say would be hitchhiking to the airport to pick up our rental car. Ben didn’t seem to be very fond of this idea, and was worried for his life, Ange and I on the other hand were super excited about it. We set out with our thumbs up. Amazingly, 5 minutes later we were picked-up by a nice Tacoma truck and brought right to the car lot in the airport.
The YWAM base here in Kona is very nice and if anyone is wondering where they would like to do a dts, I would recommend this base. The people here have treated me very well and I would definetly consider coming back to visit or to take some courses.
That’s about all I have to say, I could say so much more but I wouldn’t want to bore all you readers,
so God bless,
Joey
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What was right in their own eyes…

In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes. Judges 21:25
 
I want to reflect on what I have been learning and I hope it is okay to share this with you.
 
This week we are studying the book of Judges. It is interesting because it follows right after Joshua and the two stand in contrast to each other. In Joshua God leads Isreal into the promised land so that they can be a light to all the nations around them and show the nations who the One true God is. The book is a story of victory as the people obey God and follow his direction. The next book Judges is the total opposite, Joshua the godly leader dies and the book is one defeat after another with people not obeying what God said. In the end there is a brutal story of a gang rape and instead of the different tribes of Israel working together they are fighting each other. When I was putting a title to this book I wanted to call it "One big Mess!"
 
It is actually very sad but the key to what happened is in the phrase, "all the people did what was right in their own eyes." It repeats this phrase over and over in Judges. I was reminded how when I stop reading the bible and applying it to my life as the standard for living (instead of my feelings, what is right in my own eyes) that is when my life becomes a mess. But when I read, study and follow God’s ways then I live in freedom and victory. 
 
In a bigger sense we can see that in our society. As people live by their own standards, what is right in their own eyes, and we remove any sense of right and wrong (truth) then society spirals downwards. When we look at the rate of crime, abuse, broken families etc. sometimes I want to say "This is one big mess!"
 
The difference now is that God isn’t focused on transforming a political situation so that we abide by His standards of love, justice, selflessness and mercy- but instead he has given us His Word and wants to transform the society person by person, heart by heart! In my own life I am challenged to be one who ‘does what is right in God’s eyes’ and help others by letting them discover for themselves what God’s Instruction manual (Bible) says and how to obey it.
 
The book of Judges has just spurred me on to remind me how important it is to teach what we are going to be teaching all over the world, so that people have an alternative to doing ‘what is right in their own eyes’ and so that they can truly live in victory instead of defeat.
 
Thanks for listening to my reflection on what has been going through my heart and mind this week.  
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Make Love Not War

This was a great week!
We had some wonderful visitors – Dad stayed until Tuesday night and Chris and Katie Johnson arrived Sunday! They treated us to a great dinner at Quinn’s – fresh fish and Chips! They are leading the DTS in Honolulu with a wonderful team – 3 DTS’s joined Kona’s 3 for one week with some great speakers.
 
We worked through Joshua and the conquest of Canaan. Be strong and courageous to obey YHWH. There was also a fun map assignment – I haven’t coloured in a map in a long time, try it again some time. Our speaker also briefly introduced the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for us – thats a tough one. Especially for myself, I like it when people just get along. But I can proudly tell you that I now know what the west bank means.
 
On that note, let us be thankful for the incredible peace we enjoy in our daily lives!
 
ps. Liza’s song is playing in the background- she wrote it for our wedding and we thought this would be a great week to put it on the web :)
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Adventure Stories

WOOEE!!
 
This was a special visit – Dad really treated us! He took us to see the NFL pro-bowl, it’s an all-star game where all the big names play. Peyton Manning (QB Super bowl champions) only played a couple drives though. The last quarter was great when the NFC side caught up with two quick touchdowns (after an onside kick) but just couldn’t hang on as the AFC side kicked a field goal on the last play of the game to win it by 3.
 
We also did one of the coolest things here on the island – dwelt in the raw power of molten rock forming the earth, it sure was an awesome experience! We did lots of other cool stuff, Dad sure is adventurous, but I don’t want to give away all the good stories!
 
The best part was just having him with us for a few days, he got to see where we live, come to a worship time on that we have every monday morning, and even came to class with us. As we drove around the island (he rented a car) we had lots of time to talk. He sure does have some funny stories, and even some traumatic ones. We felt like little kids saying ‘tell us a story dad!’ For instance, we learned about just a few of the times that he narrowly escaped death – a careening truck, a rushing river (well, a stony brook), and also how to kill a snake in the wild (with only a stick and a machete) – don’t worry, there’s no snakes here, but the days in Africa will come.
 
And lucky you – you’ll get to enjoy some new pics finally!
 
We sure are blessed – what wonderful family and friends that share their lives with us! Can we tempt you to come visit too? You are always welcome as long as you don’t mind us doing homework along the way :)
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Dad’s coming!

Hey there! Guess what? Ben’s dad is coming to visit us tomorrow for about four days! We are really excited to see him! We’ve been working really hard to get our homework done early so that we can have time with him this weekend. We are just about done so it looks like everything is on track! We are hoping to show him around a little and since he has rented a car this is definitely going to be fun! We will post some pictures after the weekend. The only challenge will be that the traffic here on thei sland is pretty bad and the accident rate is high, in fact here is a picture of an accident that just happened yesterday:
 
 
Have a great day!
 
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Protection and Passion

For our Winnipeg readers you probably have all heard about the fire last night in St. Boniface. For those who are from far away, there was a huge house fire in St. Boniface where two fire fighters died on duty. My dad is a fire fighter and was at the fire that night. Thankfully he is safe and sound, for which I want to say thank you to God. I often pray for my dad’s safety and I am so thankful that he is okay. To quote him, "I’ve at least got to stick around for grandkids :)"  
 
On another note, tonight Ben and I had the chance to teach a short workshop to some of the friends in our class on the importance of long-term missionaries impacting their home team (whether that be church, friends, family etc.). It is something we are really passionate about and it went really well. Ben and I had a blast teaching together! It is our little way to give back to others what we have been learning.
 
Lately it seems we have been talking more about friends at home and what is happening there. Again, we just want each of you to know that you are loved and missed!
 
Time for bed, a big week of studying Deuteronomy ahead of us…
 
 
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MissionFest Manitoba

Just thought I would let you all know that my best friend Liza May is singing at MissionsFest Tonight (see her beautiful picture at http://www.mfest.mb.ca/liza_may.htm and Steve Saint is the guest speaker. I wish I could hear him because I am sure his story will be inspirational! Here is a quick recap of his story:
 
Born and raised in South America by missionary parents, Steve was just 5 years old when his father, Nate Saint, and four of his friends, Jim Elliot, Pete Fleming, Ed Mc Cully and Roger Youdarian, were killed by a primitive tribe of Amazon warriors, known as the “Aucas”, in 1956.

Miraculously, two years after the killings, Steve’s aunt, Rachel Saint and Elizabeth Elliot were invited by the Waodani,(as they called themselves, not Aucas) to live with them. When the Waodani heard the gospel, many believed and began to “walk God’s trail”. Steve grew up knowing the men who had killed his father and came to love them, regard them as family and at the age of 13 was baptized in the same river where his father was killed, by the very men who had done the killing.

If you want more info go to http://www.mfest.mb.ca or you can watch the movie that was just released to make the 50th anniversary of the deaths "End of the Spear." I haven’t seen it yet, but I hear it is AWESOME!

MissionFest is February 2 – 4, 2007
Grant Memorial Church
877 Wilkes Avenue, Winnipeg