October 18, 2021

Last Tuesday, many of our family members gathered in Kokomo, IN for the funeral and burial of our young cousin, Kaleb Teachout. We are grateful for the technology that made it possible for us and many others to join our loved ones over the livestream. Please continue to pray for Randy and Kari and their family as they continue to heal and seek God’s guidance and timing regarding their return to their ministry in South Africa.  

I have been preaching for EBBI chapel every other Wednesday during September and October.  I have enjoyed those opportunities along with my classes on missions and worship.  Cherith and I have been working with the students to prepare musical presentations (both vocal and instrumental) for them to present in the churches that they visit to represent the Bible Institute.  On Sunday evening, we went with them to another sister church here in Moncton.  The pastor, had asked me to share my testimony of how God led me to serve Him in missions and how He brought us here to partner with Emmanuel Baptist Church and Bible Institute.  It was particularly compelling to see the fruit of EBBI visible in that one congregation.  The assistant pastor and his wife are graduates, along with a few others and there were many who have taken or audited classes there. 

On Saturday morning Cherith needed to practice the special music for Sunday with the young couple that was singing, so we went over to the church as a family.  The boys helped me watch the kids during the practice.  Then Cherith and I went over the piano and organ music for the morning service, including the offertory.  Later Saturday, when we were about to head back to church to set up the chairs and instrument for the French service the next morning, the boys grinned sheepishly and let me know they had already done it.  They normally help us with the set up but this was the second time they had done it without us and without being asked.  We are sometimes discouraged by attitudes we see but what a blessing it is when things like that happen.  Last Tuesday was Josiah’s 12th Birthday. Please keep our boys in your prayers that God will continue to grow them to know and love Him more and more.  We had our French service Sunday morning and despite our numbers being down as Covid regulations continue to wreak havoc, we had a wonderful time of corporate worship and Bible study in French.  

We continue to pray for my cousin Michael.  He has begun to show some improvement and there is hope that he would be able to come off the ventilator very soon.  He is weak and still has a very long road ahead, but he has made progress and we are grateful for God’s hand on him. 

Monday, October 11, 2021

Happy Thanksgiving in Canada!  We are thankful for God’s bountiful goodness to us each and every day and for the assurance that He is at work here and around the world.

On Friday evening, our city entered a 2-week period of a lockdown “circuit breaker” with limited social interactions outside the home, families restricted to themselves, and church activities limited to services only.  While many activities were cancelled, we were able to have our French service on Sunday before the English service at 11 a.m.  We wondered if anyone would come out and if they would want to continue but were pleased that there was a good group out and high interest in continuing.  The morning English services were well attended as well, though some were out due to health concerns and risk.  On Sunday evening, we had a special Thanksgiving praise service with music and testimonies.  Instead of singing favorites, there were more special music numbers and many shared testimonies of God’s blessings and faithfulness this past year.  We sang and played as part of several special numbers, including a father and son duet with Caleb.  

As many family gatherings for Thanksgiving were cancelled due to the “circuit breaker”, our family was invited for an early Thanksgiving dinner with the family of the pastor of a sister church here.  We enjoyed getting to know them better, especially since there is a US connection.  It was especially nice for our boys.

It is encouraging to see the students making progress in the piano and vocal lessons.  One student told said he was so excited about learning the piano because after trying to learn several other instruments in the past, he is actually seeing progress!  We are happy to see the motivation they have, especially for using music in ministry for God’s glory, which makes teaching a real joy for both of us.

This past week we had word from a dear pastor brother in Bambari, CAR who told us of a vicious rebel attack on a loaded truck not far from Bambari.  Passengers were killed and the truck burned.  

The population of Bambari has been forced to hunker down, not knowing when and where the rebels will strike next.  Physically, this makes life even more difficult as most people’s livelihoods are connected with their garden fields outside of Bambari, which they are unable to get to at this time. Please pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ, and for peace and security to return so God’s work can continue to go forward. 

Center 1 Baptist Church, Bambari

Michael and Sarah

We appreciate your continued prayer for our loved ones.  My cousin Michael has had a difficult week and remains in very critical condition needing a miracle. Yesterday, the Lord chose to heal Mrs. Verna Friesen by calling her Home to Glory.  Her husband (Tim) remains hospitalized in fairly critical condition though he has made a little progress. We appreciate your prayers for Tim’s recovery and for God’s comfort for the whole family in this time of sorrow. His family is connected to ours as his daughter Nicole is married to my cousin Rob Teachout. 

Randy's family

The Lord brought Rob’s brother Randy and his family safely home to IN on Friday where they are preparing for the funeral for their son Kaleb tomorrow.  We are very sorry not to be able to attend the funeral, but are thankful for the comfort and healing God is giving to the family. 

We appreciate your prayers and know that God is at work.

Tuesday, October 5, 2021

On Sunday morning our French meeting was interrupted with everyone going up to the auditorium for Pastor Eastwood to be able to share with the whole church what the church was facing in the way of new C-d restrictions, some of which had just come out Saturday afternoon.  We pray the Lord will continue to give His protection and guidance and the church will be a bright beacon of light to those in darkness.  

That evening, our family accompanied the students of EBBI and the family of the EBBI administrator as they ministered across town in an EBBI day at Jones Lake Baptist Church.  We appreciated the opportunity to minister with them and get to meet those in another church here in Moncton.  It was encouraging to meet a young man in his senior year of high school who is already planning to attend EBBI next year.   

Some other special opportunities the Lord gave us this past week included joining our friends at Plainfield Baptist Church at the men’s missions breakfast over zoom Saturday morning, helping out here at Emmanuel Baptist for a church workday and delivering a fresh apple pie from Cherith’s kitchen to the youth pastor’s family who just welcomed their third child. One of the week’s blessings was having a dental filling repaired that had broken the week before our move to Canada in July.  

We appreciate your prayers for our kids, Adrianna far away at BJU and our boys here with us.  Hockey is big (huge!) up here and the church started a new season of Monday evening ball hockey last week, which Caleb attended.  It is an outreach with a devotional halfway through the evening, and some come from outside the church. Caleb and Josiah enjoyed their first field trip with the homeschool co-op on Thursday as they went to an apple orchard outside of town and picked 20 lbs of delicious apples.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Ps. 46:1).  As many of our family members are going through difficult days, we are grateful for God’s presence and help for each one.  He is answering prayer for my cousin Randy’s family as they prepare to leave SA for the US this week for the funeral and burial of their son Kaleb, scheduled for October 12 in Kokomo, IN.  Another cousin, Michael, was hospitalized on Saturday with C-vd and blood clots.  He is receiving good care but is on a ventilator and in critical condition. We have several family members that are battling cancer.  Pastor and Mrs. Friesen remain in critical condition in the hospital in Saskatchewan.  We covet your prayers for God’s help and care for these precious loved ones.