Life in Combine Mode

Last Warning: New Site

2007-07-26T18:08:00.001-07:00

I am no longer going to be using this blog anymore. What I mean is that I will no longer bother posting here. I will leave it here in case I need it in the future for some as of yet unknown reason, I have officially (as official as this kind of blogging gets) switched to the superior, option-loaded multiply. It's simpler for me that way. I'm tired of updating two blogs and cross-posting doesn't seem to want to work. If you like hearing about my life, go to www.mennoman.multiply.com. Shalom!!!

Processing...

2007-07-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a week! Camp ministry is something. We were at Camp Okatoks this week. We were co-counseling and taking care of the chapels so it was a full plate. I learned a few things about myself and about camp ministry. Firstly, that it is not the thing I feared all year. It's hard; don't get me wrong. I hate disciplining kids and trying to be their mom as well as their friend and spiritual mentor. It's a lot to do. I wouldn't mind the other two roles if not for the mom part. However, despite the fatigue and difficulty, I enjoyed it very much. I had a good cabin of boys and I felt like I connected to most of them well.

With discipline, I discovered that it keeps me up at night. You see, night time was one of the primary times when I had to be mean and threaten consequences if they refused to be quiet and go to sleep. I feel very bad after I threaten and I am kept awake thinking about the times during the day when I should have been softer or harder on them just as much as I am kept awake by the heat in our very warm cabin.

I also re-discover that I a selfish person. You see, as a counselor, I am required to be a good example to campers. I must be kind when they are unkind. I must be cheerful when they are complaining, which really does happen a lot. I must be very godly and perfect. I am tired of this by the end of one week. 1 hour after my campers leave, I whine about the weather. How ironic.

I realize that the campers are not any worse than me because they bicker with each other and complain about every activity and every other boys cabin. You see, I have been thinking these same thoughts all week. I have simply learned not to say what I think because it is rude and I'm supposed to be a good example. These children have not yet learned to resist speaking their mind; they are transparent. I shared with one of my boys that I am an awful person; just as bad as those rebellious guys in the next cabin. I am not rebellious and disrespectful to my leaders, but I think angry, dark thoughts a countless points in the day. After I restrain these thoughts for one blasted, miserable week, I want to blow. I feel justified in this. I am not.

I'd recommend camp ministry to anyone who is not faint of heart. You don't have to be good with kids (don't feel like I am) but you have to be tough enough to fail and keep rolling with the punches. It will change you.

Camp Mizpah

2007-06-30T12:34:00.000-07:00

We were at camp last week. I loved it! I was worried about camp ministry, but Rhys and I had a cabin full of awesome, fun guys. The Holy Spirit moved that week and challenged a lot of people. I'm praying that God continues working in all of their lives. We had 11 people sign up for info from VTI and a couple guys who are seriously considering a GAP team next year. One guy has a Friends & Followers application for next year. He was filling it out in the lunch line-up. I told him he should do while he was sitting down, but it's very cool that's he's so excited. I found the week energized me as much as it tired me. Praise God for a very good week. Pray that He keeps on driving the campers to keep the commitments they made to him last week.

One of the cool points was a long hike we went on with some campers. In the process, we climbed a big hill. It was exhausting for me, let alone the campers, but we made it. I had the song "One Step More" running through my head as I heard staff encouraging the campers to keep walking, one step at a time. I thought about perseverance and how God only shows one step at a time in life. It would probably have killed me to know everything I would be doing this year last September, but each step I have taken has made me stronger so that I am able to take the next. I remember a poster I once had in my room that says, "Don't pray for challenges to equal your strength, but for strength to equal your challenges".

Montana is a beautiful place.

VBS

2007-06-23T10:18:00.000-07:00

It has been far too long since I've blogged, but energy is becoming rare for this sort of thing. We are in Montana until July 7. We have been doing VBS the last to weeks and tomorrow we start a week of camp. This week we did a VBS in the morning and one in the afternoon. We had two pretty good groups of kids and it was a great week, though very tiring. I rather enjoyed getting to know the kids a little. We'll get a chance to see some of them again next week at camp along with some from our VBS a week ago. I'm looking forward to that as well. The whole team has been learning a lot about working with children these days.

One of the first days I had the pleasure of petting a dog and calling it ministry. Yes, when we went outside to do some games with our VBS crew, the neighbors' dog got very excited about all the people and started getting in the way. The only way to keep away her from the action was distraction so I sat there scratching the attention-loving pooch's tummy for about 20 minutes. The gross thing is that this dog starting licking her own butthole while I was doing this. That was somewhat appalling, so I scrubbing my hands very thoroughly when that was over. Gotta love dogs, eh?

This is the end haul for the team. We are very concerned about things such as energy and I'm searching for time for us to write and learn new dramas and stuff for a youth conference we are doing later on. We were asked to do several youth sessions at a missionary conference at Briercrest after team year is over and we all agreed, so we have that to prepare while our camp and VBS ministry is still going on. The greatest challenge at this point is maintaining an unselfish attitude while still getting the rest we need to work hard. It is very easy to either be lazy or do too much and burn out. Pray for common sense and supernatural energy.

Trek-A-Thon II

2007-06-04T09:45:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday, VTI held its annual fundraising event, the Trek-a-thon. Trek-a-thon is basically a time where people raise money for VTI and then walk, run, cycle, blade, whatever 15-30 km, depending on how far they want to go. My team was there to help out with the festivities. This meant getting up at 6:00 or earlier to start setting up at Fish Creek Park by 7:00. As people started arriving, a few of us directed traffic, though I basically just stood there and looked friendly (I think). When the trek itself started, I went out on an old street bike that had no such thing as low gear to be what is called a course marshal. That means that we basically were supposed to tell people which direction to go (I didn't even know), repair minor injuries, and pump flat bike tires when needed. It also involved fooling around on radios for no reason whatsoever. FUN!!!

I think this means that I was supposed to know the course fairly well, but as it turned out, I ended up going the wrong way with a group of people. We eventually found our way and, shortly thereafter, I got a flat tire. I tried pumping it up with my slow hand pump and finally decided that it was punctured and started walking it back. At the 5km mark, I borrowed someone else's bike and got back when I was supposed to be back for lunch. However, lunch wasn't there, so I took a golf cart out to pick up my bike. The bike had gotten home some other way and, by the time I got back, I was late for the program we were going to do for the Trekkers. I felt slightly conspicuous, but I often feel slightly conspicuous. It worked out in the end. I was tired out of my mind from cycling around up long hills in high gear and a black t-shirt. Oh well! It makes a good story. I like good stories.

Trek-a-thon

2007-06-01T15:44:00.000-07:00

We are at the VTI office preparing for Trek-a-thon. Tomorrow we are helping out at the actual Trek-a-thon itself. It looks like it will be a nice day and we are all wearing black T-shirts. Hooray for cooking to death. At least we get to drive around sweet old-fashioned bikes and catch a breeze. I'm looking forward to it.

The boys are all staying at Mark Sorell's house. He is the director of VTI and his sons have a Nintendo Wii. Rhys and I got a chance to play one while we were in England, but being non-gamers, we didn't take it, much to the dismay of James and Aj, who are more gamish than us. Nontheless, Wii (har!) have enjoyed playing golf in this Wii, though it is just as frustrating as real golf and I am just as bad at it.

Last weekend, our team went to my hometown, AUSTIN. The highlights of the weekend were seeing Dielle & my family, going to ACA (my old school), and seeing old friends for a short while. It's always good to go home again. I miss that town. AND IT'S GETTING PAVED STREETS!!! That's right! Austinians no longer need to hang their heads in shame because we have gravel roads. No, we have plenty of other things to hang our heads about. But we also have many things to hold our heads high about, so we'll just hold them somewhere in the middle and call it even. Yep!

I'm looking forward to the coupons I'll get to helping out with Trek-a-thon. I like coupons. These particular coupons involve fries, a burger, and a slurpee. I am happy about this for I enjoy all three of those things, but am often to cheap to buy them, which is probably a good thing, anyway. Usually, cheapness saves me from junk food, but not this time!!! I'm getting carried away and I am liable to post something really dumb soon... never mind. Too late!

On the Road Again

2007-05-06T21:06:00.000-07:00

Well, we're off again. I feel pretty good, though. For much of our time overseas, I felt like I was running on 3/4 of a tank because of culture stress or something. I feel very good now, fully rested and ready to go. I guess that's a good way to start your tour. In comparison with our overseas schedule, this has been a picnic so far. Just wait until camp ministry.

We have just arrived in Calgary. We will be here for a week. We will spend a day at the Mustard Seed and work with the Foothills Alliance youth group fair share as well. We spent our weekend in Cremona, which is actually about 10 minutes (if that) from our training centre, but we still billeted out for the two nights we were there. It was cool. Pastor Mitch is a funny guy, very blunt. It's nice, though, because that means I don't have to worry that I'm being offensive and he's just not saying anything. It puts my mind to rest.

Missions Conference

2007-05-06T21:05:00.000-07:00

We are currently having a missions conference here at VTI training centre recently renamed Discovery Lodge. So there's a bunch a Bible College and Mission reps here right now. It's actually really fun to hang out with them. Missionaries are supposed to be boring, right? HA!!!! I have news: if you think missionaries are boring, know that they have a much more exiting life than you do. It's true. These reps have already poured tons of advice and encouragement into my life. This is so much fun!

Yesterday evening, we did a presentation for them about our overseas time. We got a lot of positive comments about it afterwards. They got a lot of out of it. I'm glad we could encourage them after how they've all encouraged us this week. I've also gotten some food for thought on what kind of missions work I'd like to be involved in. It's lots of fun. I like brainstorming for the future. I just need to be careful that I'm still listening to God. It's too easy to stop listening while you're planning.

Tour Bus

2007-04-02T03:03:00.000-07:00

Groundstaff drives around in this sweet beat-up, orange van! There are memories made in that van. Like watching Rhys and AJ blow off stress with an insane game of punch buggy. It is a good chance to chat with the boys of Groundstaff when we get the van full of guys. They're pretty crazy. Sliding door on the side of the van doesn't open from the inside cuz the latch is busted or something, so they just left us in there today and walked inside. They came back a minute later while Rhys and I were jerking on the door and fiddling with the latch. Yeah, good times. Life just seems so much better when you're in a beat-up van full of guys. I doubt girls feel the same way. It's good to be a guy.

Oceans

2007-03-24T13:13:00.000-07:00

One windy day, we took a drive to the see the English Channel in Wales. As we drove up, I remember thinking that the water looked incredibly mean and powerful. It actually scared me. When I got out of the car, I found myself in a wind that made it impossible to stand up straight. I can't remember any wind as strong as that ocean gale. As I stood on the edge of a hill that became a cliff above the rough water, not daring to wander too close to the edge in case the wind might suddenly let up and make fall over, I saw the the sunlight reflecting across the water. I wondered how powerful the wind that parted the Red Sea must have been. Even this wind made it hard for me to keep my balance. No wonder the Israelites begged Moses to shield them from God's presence.

The splendour of the King
Clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice

He wraps Himself in light
Darkness tries to hide
It trembles at His voice

How great is our God!
Sing with me how great is our God!
And all will see how great, how great is our God!

Lancing College Chapel

2007-03-17T06:16:00.000-07:00

If Anyone wonders how churchgoers could possibly enjoy singing the old hymns for centuries before we discovered rock music, try singing in one of these chapels/cathedrals. It's amazing. In fact, a full band would sound awful in there because of the echo, but one voice sounds like a thousand.
Next week, Germany. I am feeling really good right now. God had an attitude check with me and things are better for me now. Everyone is tired, of course, but that's a way of life now. In Germany, we are working with a band called Groundstaff. They said they're going to go easier on us than the team last year because they burned them out a bit. Apparently, that didn't work out so well. That seems too obvious to me, but our team is not totally innocent of overworking ourselves either. For the most part, it hasn't been brutal, so I think our team is very fortunate in terms of business.
We have a lot of prep work to do before Germany that won't all get done. We'd like to have some more program items running; some dramas and maybe a few songs, but that's not looking so promising right now. We'll have to play it by ear. Coralie is the scheduler and I feel bad for her. I know how frustrating it is when there is never enough time to do everything and she can be hard on herself when she makes a scheduling error. She does such a good job! Some things just have to be pushed out of the way if we're ever going to take a break. Thanks for your prayers.

A Letter Home

2007-03-11T12:35:00.000-07:00

Dear Father,
"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not whither. Whatever he does prospers." Psalm 1:1-3
My God, there is nothing I want more than to be in your will. "One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple." (Psalm 27:4) Lead me. Do not let me go anywhere that you don't want me. Make me do things that make you happy. Destroy my pride. Leave no trace of self-service in me except to enjoy the good things you give me. Let me do even that in complete gratitude, knowing that everything good comes from you. Make me only always for you, my King. For everything you have done, giving me life, rebirth, creation to enjoy, giving Jesus as a sacrifice for my sin, the Holy Spirit to show how to live, give me the ability to live a life of constant gratitude. I trust you. You have my life. Do want you want with it. Help me trust you more.

Your adopted and eternally grateful son,
Bryce

Puppets are taking over!!!!

2007-03-10T02:54:00.000-08:00

We've decided that the puppets will do the children's ministry from now because they relate better to kids. However, they get a little out of control on the instruments. We're still ironing out a few bugs.

Pictures

2007-03-09T15:29:00.000-08:00

I have been bad at posting pictures this year, so I'll start trying to make up for it now.

Memories are made

2007-02-24T03:32:00.000-08:00

This country is beautiful! I can't get tired of the constant smell of spring. The people are incredibly warm and generous! I have found many passionate Christians. It is encouraging because this country has hard soil for the gospel, but we are called to proclaim it. The conviction and work of salvation is God's.
I did the dumbest thing yesterday. We were hanging out with some youth and getting ready to do a program fro them. James and Rhys were jamming beforehand and I quickly picked up a guitar to come in with them at one part of the song. But I picked up the guitar too quickly and as I put the strap over my shoulder I hit myself in the bridge of the nose. I actually cut myself and had to plug it with some kleenex and do a program that way. It made for a good icebreaker, though.
This is the point where the whole team is tired a running on fumes. Some days, I really want to be done with this because it's so exhausting and I miss Dielle. However, God is very faithful in giving rest and supernatural energy when we need it most.
I just realized that my entire time in Russia is this huge fuzz. My mind was numb the whole 2 months because of culture stress, business, normal stress, being around people stress, lack of sleep stress, and miscellaneous stress. I love ministry! Really. I do. It makes life so unusual. I wouldn't have it any other way.
God bless you all! Thanks for your prayers. We are pressed for time but not too, too late. We are exhausted but never unable to move around. We are stressed and feeling overworked but for God's Kingdom. We are not in prison. We are never hungry. In fact, I've never eaten so much glorious food in my life. We are blessed beyond imagination to be part of Christ's Church and in his will.
Bryce

Good-bye Russia!

2007-01-23T05:43:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! It’s been so long since I’ve posted anything new. Russia has treated us well and we are packing up to go. The lessons we have learned will stick with us for a lifetime.
Cool answer to prayer: we’ve been all worried about getting our luggage to England inexpensively. When got to Russia we found out that weight restrictions on Russian flights are less than North American flights. We managed to bargain down the overweight charges (the airport official likely pocketed some extra cash in the exchange) when me flew from Moscow to Krasnoyarsk where we were ministering for the first month, but we didn’t know how we would get our stuff back to Moscow from Ulan Ude where we are now. The missionaries have been looking for cheaper ways to move our equipment, but couldn’t find any. We resigned ourselves to the ridiculous overweight charges. Then, earlier this evening, we found a cheap way of getting our luggage to Moscow along with us. Praise God!
I am sad to say good-bye to our Russian friends here. We got the greatest encouragement today. One girl in told us that she could feel the peace in us despite the chaos we are often in. She also said there is great unity on our team. I am happy to hear that. Praise God for keeping our team unified and shining the light of the Gospel through our love as Jesus commanded us. It is not our own hard work that accomplishes this, but the power of God. If God is for us, who can be against us?
I have had the blessing of having access to phone and internet as long as I share with the guys, although I forgot my username for my blog, so I have been unable to use it or post anything until now. Thank-you for telling me my own name, Dielle. I feel a little silly now. I am SO computer savvy.
Pray that God continues bless our team. Pray for the growth of His Church in Russia and that leaders are raised up for the Church. There is much to be done here, but God is changing lives and that is AWESOME. Live for His glory. It’s not just the best way; it’s the only way.

The Holidays, Russian style.

2007-01-09T16:50:00.000-08:00

Sunday, December 24, 2006

We have 3 days of rest. We got the great news before we left that some of the girls who had handed in follow-up sheets to the Church in Dubinina accepted Christ. That was great news to drive home with. Thank-you God! Last night we wandered around Krasnoyarsk . We saw some of the partially finished ice sculptures. They already look great. We slid down a few ice slides. We went church in Krasnoyarsk again. After church, we went to Dan, Joanne, Jenny, and Abbey’s house for lunch and sledding. The people we had lunch with are a missionary couple from California . But they’ve been in Nepal before. Sledding was awesome. I finally mastered that syanki-ladyanki-thing and got to try another sled that you steer with you feet or your hands if you go down on your belly. I didn’t even hurt myself. I did spray much snow in my face from steering with my feet, though. It was a blast! James and I had shoving battles on the way down the hill AND I WON!!!!!!! OH YEAH!!!!!! I’m not proud or anything. I’m just basking in my victory over the syanki-ladyanki-thing and the Russian sled-of-death.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

We went to Colleen’s (a missionary here) house for Christmas lunch yesterday. Mike and Fran (an engaged English couple we met in church on Sunday) were there. We played Russian Uno. It’s a crazy game. They have some interesting rules. When anyone plays a 7, the last one to slap the pile picks up a card. If someone plays a 4, anyone who talks has to pick up a card for every word they said until the 4 is covered. When a 2 is played, the first one to put 2 fingers on the pile gets to give out two cards to any two players. Not only that, but if you have the same color and number as the card just played, youi can jump in out of turn. And if you play 0, you can trade hands with anyone if you want. You get pretty lost in the flow sometimes, BUT I WON!!! despite having my inexperience taken advantage of. Russians aren’t compassionate gamers. ”. Rhys, James, and I fought on the couch in a giant tickle war. Good times! We got back the apartment and did some group stuff. We all told each other about a Christmas present God had given us. I talked about Lamentations 3:22-23. The other present I got ON CHRISTMAS was discovering a little note from Dielle in the back of my quote-book. What a great day to find it! Thank-you God! Thank-you Dielle!

Friday, December 29, 2006

Yesterday we had an incredible team prayer time. We asked God to do something we didn’t understand, but show us part of what He was doing. We had two programs in a school. The school psychologist didn’t want us there. She even tried to stop a few of us with a security guard on the way in. Praise God that didn’t work. There was only one security guard and he didn’t know how to block 3 people who couild understand him anyways fomr walking in. We found out later that our being in that school for the reasons we were there is actually illegal. Good to know! During our program, the psychologist was writing a letter of complaint to the local judge. Roma talked to her. The vice principle of education in the school told Roma the program was great and Roma said what the psychologist was doing. The VP said, “If she does that, I’ll fire her”. Praise God. While Roma and the psychologist were arguing, some of the students showed up and told the psychologist that they like it too and, “Why should we listen you and not them?”

Saturday, December 30, 2006

We had two hard programs today. Tough crowds. We met Pastor Valera. He has had a very difficult ministry here. There has been very little fruit. He often feels discouraged and, when he wants to give up, God sends someone to encourage him. My heart hurts for him. He has such perseverance. I wish we could have stayed longer and at least done one more program. Word I learned tonight: Slozhna (difficult) and Schodit (will go). As in, Ohn schodit toilet.

Monday, January 1, 2007

Snovom Godom!!!! Happy New Year!!! And what a new year it was! My sleeping habit were really weird because of all the driving we’ve done. We got drove to Sevra Yenisesk, did 2 programs, and drove back to Brianka all in the same day so it was an early morning and a long day. Then we woke up early Sunday morning so we could cross the ferry at 10:00. We slept during the day on Sunday and then went to the New Year’s celebration in the evening. We did a program there and talked to folks for a while. We left the party at 4:30ish and went back to Igor’s for about 5 hours of sleep before embarking on the trip back to Krasnoyarsk we are now on.

I'm a Canadian teapot!

2006-12-22T11:29:00.000-08:00

The biggest surprise I've had so far in Russia is that it's not all that cold! It's been a mild winter for them. That could all change when we train to Ulan Ude in a few weeks.

Tuesday, December 12 - We went to an orphanage with a lot of really shy kids in Bogotol. Our usual translator wasn’t there because she was sick, so Pastor Andrey read the train story for us and James and Molly translated for us. It was interesting. The kids were still scared of us when we started making balloon art. We had to go to them with them. They loved the balloon art and they gave us all thank-you cards. I got 4. I don’t if that means anything, but it was pretty special. We were running behind already, but they asked us to stay for chai, so we did. So we were even later for our next program. We were going to eat before we went, but we got about two bites down and then left. On the way to the program, we saw some people in the ditch. We stopped and pushed them out. It was very cold, the snow was very deep, and I was in my dress shoes. My feet were cold. We couldn’t budge the car, but a Uaz showed up and got it out eventually. I got to see a Uaz!!! It looks like a jeep. Our little interruption made it later yet.
It seems that, in Russia , when you show up 40 minutes or so late for a program in a community centre, they don’t care if you get there a little later than you already are. We got all our stuff inside and I was inwardly bemoaning the immense quantities of melted snow in my shoes from pushing out the aforementioned car when we were told to have some chai to warm up before we set up. I love this country! The program was fun. There is no church in that community as of yet, so many people heard the gospel for the first time.

Sunday, December 17 - Life is good. We had a day off yesterday. We went into a little village on the edge of the lake and stayed in Ernst’s cabin. Ernst is an African guy who speak English too. We also went on a hike and had a competition to see who could slide the furthest on the lake ice with a running start. AJ won. We also saw the hill that Ghengis Kahn apparently stood on to survey the surrounding area. The town we were in was once called “God’s town” and the lake beside it was “God’s lake” because of a miracle worker saint who lived there. The communist government changed the name and martyred the saint. They say all the officials who had a part in that died strange deaths. There’s a stream there and a picture of the saint beside it. The Orthodox church does baptisms in the stream. Kinda neat. Kinda sad too, though.

Wednesday, December 20 - We did programs in Sharipeva today. We had a tough program in a school/orphanage. The kids were really quiet and suppressed. It was disheartening. We did an impromptu program for the church this evening. I am so tired!!!!! I need sleep tonight. We all do. The program was fun though. We did “We Choose to Stand” and James and Janelle were hilarious. So hilarious that Bruce and Olga started laughing. Then the rest of us started to laugh and we lost our place. AAAAAAAA!!!!!! Good times. There was a few non-churched youth there too. That’s great because they got the FULL gospel out of the program tonight. It was tiring, but ministry is.

Praise God! Slava Bogo! It’s a saying I’m getting used to saying and hearing.

Live from Russia (not quite)

2006-12-02T20:13:00.000-08:00

Well, this post is to tell you that the owner and proprietor of this blog is safely landed in Krasnayarsk (sp?), Russia. He is well, except for that slight cold that he is catching, and his team seems to be doing fine. That's what they're telling the outside world, anyway. The team had a jolly good time sledding Russian style the other day. And the owner and proprietor of this blog loves to be awakened by phone calls in the morning, which are actually in the evening for the person on the other end. We have this on good authority. For those interested, the owner and proprietor is 13 hours ahead of Central Standard Time at the present moment.

More details will be forthcoming in the future, possibly even from the owner and proprietor himself. Possibly.

~e~

NBI HO!!!!!!!!

2006-11-08T14:35:00.000-08:00

I'm at Nipawin Bible Institute!!!! It's good to be back. Our team got here Saturday and we leave tomorrow morning at an insanely early hour. Life on the road is hard. On the plus side, I have the day off today and can spend it entirely with Dielle. I stayed up late last night catching up with some of the guys. I'm enjoying my stay here. The team definitely needs the day off. We haven't had one in a week and a half and we're all pretty tired. We have a long drive tomorrow all the way to Drumheller. Over 8 hours. We'll likely listen to some Chronicles of Narnia on cd and read lots and listen to a new cd I got from Dielle. She is also being kind enough to lend me her discman for the duration of the rest of the year. She's nice. I like her.

We got some news yesterday. The father of a VTI staff member was just killed in a car crash. The staff member and here husband are in the Philippines right now with VTI's 4 month team, so they will be taking a flight back. Pray for Gary and Beverly (it was Beverly's Dad) and for the 4 month team as they will be operating without a staff member for a little while.

Fall Tour

2006-10-30T11:24:00.000-08:00

Well, tour is here and it's going well. We've had some interesting programs. It's hard to flexible, but we do what we can. It takes a bit of extra effort to do part programs as opposed to full programs because we know how a full program will run because we've done it several times. I'm doint a lot of reading on the road. The Circle Trilogy by Ted Dekker is an amazing series. I highly recommend them. This weekend we will end up in Nipawin for 5 days. There will be much catching up with family, old friends, and seeing Dielle. I am very happy about that. I may have a hard time going to bed while staying in the in the dorm though ( I hear that's the plan). It'll be wonderful!

We're visiting some awesome Churches. It's so exciting to see what God is doing in different communities here. It's a privilege to join for one morning or evening. God Bless you all.

(Insert Creative Heading Here)

2006-10-22T19:45:00.000-07:00

We get a whole day and a half off this week! I'm thrilled beyond imagining. We told Janelle that she can't do any work tomorrow because she'll get burned out. She works very hard. I'm going to break my own rule. It's okay. I take some time to chill everyday. I force my mind off work after 9:30. It's a good rule. Then I can do some work on Monday.

Today was our last Sunday in our home church. I'm gonna miss it. We did a program there and I got to preach. It was cool. I like preaching. Although I do need to do a bit more research on Oliver Cromwell before we get to England (he was English and they'll know all about him). He's one of my sermon illustrations.

I'm excited for fall tour. Partly because I want to get going and partly because we're going to NBI for 4-5 days!!! I get to stay in the dorm, see Dielle... it will be a jolly good time. We leave this Friday. One more week of training camp!

Timely Answers to Prayer

2006-10-16T11:21:00.000-07:00

A little while ago, our team had a great answer to prayer. We meet to pray every morning. One of our requests this particular day was for spiritual renewal. We were tired and needed some spiritual and physical rest. At breakfast, we got some great news.

We had been praying for a Christian school in Uganda that was under threat of being shut down. A group of Muslims were planning on buying the land surrounding the school and making the property inaccessible. The missions organization sent out a request for money to buy the land first. VTI responded by contacting some of their alumni and requesting money for this on behalf of the school. As the deadline for purchasing the land approached, the Muslims were celebrating, saying, "Muhammed is greater than Jesus". Two days before the deadline, God proved them wrong. The money made it and the school stayed open. Praise God!

This answer prayer answered the request we made that very morning: spiritual renewal. We had a morning of prayer that day. God is good! He Loves to answer our prayers.

I currently have more than enough support for this month. We'll see what happens in the months to come. God will bring in the money as I need it.

Beauty in insanity

2006-10-09T16:20:00.000-07:00

My teammates have discovered a new way to torment me. The other day, while we were doing dishes, I was scrubbing the pots and pans and silverware. I always try to finish the silverware first for no apparent reason and I don't like to miss any because it's easier if we do it all in one bunch. After I wash the silverware, it goes through the sanitizer and then to the dryers. It is this bunch of people who are my tormentors. You see, I missed some silverware and and bemoaned the fact loudly. After taking what I missed to the sanitizer, I came back to discover more silverware in the sink. I KNEW that this silveware had not been there when I had left and, seeing that there was a rack of silverware currently being dried by suspiciously smiling people, I began to make accusations. They were justified and correct, but they didn't help except to seal for myself a fate of silverware randomly appearing in the sink well after I washed the rest of it. I, began freaking out this particular time and drew the attention of a staff member. When he asked what I was ranting about, James replied, "Silverware". I like it here.
BJ

leaving the nest

2006-10-02T20:03:00.000-07:00

This has been a big weekend for the team! It was our first weekend away from training camp. We were billeted out to different families in our home church and we led singing on Sunday morning. We did not have a staff member along to guide us. I suppose you could say we were trying our wings or something like that. It was a wonderful weekend and we still love each other. In fact, we're getting tighter every day. God is really blessing us. We had a team day off today. We were told to go into Calgary and have fun together. So we did some shopping for a few necessities and we stopped in at a Christian bookstore (Blessings) and bought some books and cds. It's always so hard for me to look through book stores and only buy one book. However, I was sucessful, as usual, in limiting my spending to $23: a cd and a book. It has a been a jolly good time, but I am tired. Sleep is good.

First Program

2006-09-25T09:39:00.000-07:00

Friends and Followers just did their forst program. We took over the Sunday School for our home church this Sunday. It was a little hectic getting ready for the program. We learned a puppet script in two days. We're still just getting used to our puppets, too. The program went well, though. The kids enjoyed (so did we). It is very tiring to sing and jump around at the same time. It's not really good singing technique to be using your diaphram as a pivot point for swinging your upper body around. I'm starting to think that recreation time isn't actually there because we won't get enough exercise, but ot get us in shape for Children's Programs. It's a lot of fun.

Puppets are another thing. Our team has four puppeteers (I'm the puppet coordinator and a puppeteer) and only James has used puppets before. We have literally made up a personality for our puppets, including a life story, family, quirks, pet peeves, etc... Puppets are fun. There are rules about our puppets. They cannot accept Christ (they don't have a soul) and they can't get away with being bad (though they can be bad). Puppets are very realistic to kids, so we need to treat them as though they are real characters. No one puts on someone else's puppet. It's actually quite fun. The realistic part of it just adds to the puppet experience. It also set a standard of excellence for the puppeteers. Puppets are such an amazing teaching tool! They need to be used wisely.

Praying

2006-09-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling excited and stressed all at the same time. Sunday night was a night of prayer and fasting. That means we skipped supper and prayed form 6-12. It was great. God spoke to us. Today is our day off, so I slept 'till 9 to make up for staying up so late.

The guys have made a pact to be in bed by 11 every night because we're all getting really tired. This should help us get our rest. We also read a chapter from a book called Siberian Shivers every night. It's a collection of funny missionary stories from Russia. We're enjoying a lot. It's good to laugh before going to bed.

I have a lot to do today. It doesn't feel that much like a day off because my to-do list is so long. I guess I'll just have to see how much I get done. I have to remind myself that it's not worth stressing over. That's my life for now.

Things are underway.

2006-09-14T17:52:00.000-07:00

Training camp is about to get a little busier. We are now starting to get into the program planning part. We have to write our own dramas, puppet plays, and that sort of thing so it will be much work. It will also be fun. In 10 minutes, I'll be going to a preaching class with James. We are the two preachers on team. The rest will be creative teachers and chalk artists.

I feel like I'm constantly tired. I always wanted to nap after lunch and for the rest of the day. Mornings are great! I love walking outside and smelling the fresh, rainy, mountain air.

Training camp seems to be flying by. At the same time, time goes by very slowly too. It feels like I've been here forever and that it went by quickly. Time doesn't make much sense, really. These are the ponderings of my tired mind for the day.

Week One @ VTI

2006-09-11T07:53:00.000-07:00

Life at VTI is great. So much is happening here I don't know what all to say. The schedule is hectic (I learned that word from Mom), but there's still time to chill out and get to know the team. I'm learing alot just watching these people. Their lives show me things I want to have. They are so passionate and committed. I want that. I feel like I'm growing so much here.

I must say that the idea of missions scares me, but I've got a great team here. I'm going to learn to be a little less indiviualistic and work with other people this year. I don't have to do everything myself just to prove I can. The fact is, I need help. I know I can count on my teammates the way I want them to count on me.

I still need lots of money for the year. Pray for that, please. Pray for Team unity, too.

Harvesting grain with my eyes...

2006-09-11T06:20:00.000-07:00

I have a blog! Here you go Dielle! It's even your favorite colour.