Early Morning Ramblings

I should be sleeping, but alas I am not. Those that know me well would take from that that either one of two situations had occurred that I had been out with friends and the extravert in me got so charged up by stimulating conversation that I couldn’t fall asleep, or that I am stressed. I wish I could say that it was the extravert in me at work because then I would have at least been doing some thing fun and exciting like visiting with some of you. But really it is a combination of stress, an ear infection that is driving me crazy and the fact that my neighbours have been out enjoying the Canada Day weekend early and the “extravert” in them decided that they needed to carry on a conversation at 3-5am. I guess there are some things that I won’t really miss about Canada.

One other thing that I won’t really miss but I am afraid that it follows me where ever I go is the packing. I had calculated being done this weekend, so that I could finish the last of the renovations next week and the shopping and packing the week after. Needless to say that my calculations were off and I will be lucky to have the house packed and the renovations done before the renters move in on the fourteenth. (Anyone interested in nailing up trim or painting a bathroom?) I just don’t think that I will be able to keep my sanity if the packing is still being done within hours of leaving for the airport. Last time we were still throwing things into a suitcase just before rushing off to the airport because we didn’t realize how much longer it takes to pack a suitcase that you have to be careful about weight allowances and size, etc. It was not a pleasant experience, especially when you have an hour car ride to the airport to remember everything that you forgot! At least on that front I am a little ahead of the game because I have two suitcases packed and weigh already and as long as they don’t end up in storage instead of going on the plane I’ll be in good shape.

This past weekend we made our last road trip to Deep River, Ontario via Huntsville. We took some pictures of the families that we visited and the boys in church with the pastor’s kids and all kinds of things, but either Dave has removed them from the camera and put them on the other computer or the batteries were too far gone and the pictures didn’t take. Sorry!

Please pray for us as we journey through this time of transition. Pray also for the boys, while in Deep River they told the pastor’s kids that the African boys used to beat them up. It was true that they both had a bad experience and so we are praying that they can get past that and it won’t interfere with their ability to make friends and connect with the community. Hopefully we will see many of you at the commissioning service (Dave promises to have a map up later this week!).

Weekend of Celebrations

This past weekend was definitely a weekend of celebrations. We started by celebrating my dad’s birthday with my whole family actually being there. My sister and her family had double cause for celebration because the deal on the house that they thought they had bought and then thought that they hadn’t actually did go through. (If you didn’t catch that –they took possession of a new house in Fonthill on Friday!)

From there we were off to the Jennings Family Reunion on Saturday where we had loads of fun reconnecting with Jenn’s mom’s family (any guesses where she gets her name?). The neighbours even got in on the action by providing additional entertainment—their hay bales caught on fire bringing the local volunteer fire fighters. Then Sunday we celebrated Father’s Day and even Cole and Ben got in on the action as the Sewing Circle at Zion FMC presented them with new quilts to take back to Niger. Yes, they do use a quilt in the heat. A lot of the time it is there to look pretty and keep the dust out, but occasionally during the cold season when the temperature drops to 20 degrees Celsius you will find the boys curled up under heavy blankets in Niger. For that matter Ben wore a heavy sweatshirt and long pants to school the other day when it was hot here and the humidity was high. I don’t know if he was just trying to get ready for Niger or he had spent too long with us packing in the basement and didn’t realize how hot it was outside.

Please pray for us as we take our last road trip this weekend to present at the Deep River Church. I am afraid that we are a little distracted with all that there is left to do and I hope that we will be able to do the service justice. We received an answer to prayer this past week and were able to make arrangements to book a place to stay at the SIL guest house in Niamey for at least the first couple of weeks in Niger (they have a big conference on Aug. 5 so we will have to be out by then). Please also keep in mind Sahel Academy (You can check out their website at: http://www.sahelacademy.com/ ) . We still aren’t sure if there will be a teacher for Cole’s class next year.

Dave signs in

Thanks for remembering Jenn's Dad. He's home from surgery but is having trouble with some kind reaction producing blisters.

Last Thursday Jenn met with a group of ladies from Welland at Esther Teal's home. They had a great evening of sharing together and getting dressed up.

On the weekend we decided to pick up the boys at lunch hour on Friday to head up to Ottawa. We spent the night at the Pilot's in Almonte, where the boys had a great time playing with Nathan and Natalie. Gerry cooked up a great breakfast for us the next morning, and then we headed out to the Museum of Science and Technology, where the boys had a great time checking out old trains, watching things explode and getting all revved up! In the evening we had a BBQ at the Hagget's and then the boys settled down in their hot tub. The following day we had a very warm response to our presentation at the Arlington Woods Free Methodist Church and quiet ride home.

Monday we visited Cole and Ben's classes at Meadowvale School where did a one hour presentation on Niger. The children were very attentive and enjoyed getting dressed up as well as seeing pictures and objects from our adventures in Niger.

I completed the papers for my last seminary course last week. I had hoped to take another course this week but we have just too much to accomplish in the next few weeks before we get on a plane. I am disappointed but am also attempting to set up a reading course or two for next year while I'm in Niger.

Dave

Exciting News!

We just got word today that we have been official appointed to Niger for missionary service by the Free Methodist Church in Canada. I guess that makes it official that we are going back. We are in the process of working out the details for returning and hope to be flying out on July 16 arriving July 17. I may try to get together a supplemental newsletter for before we leave because I don’t know how long it will take us to get established when we get there and what kind of access that we will have to the internet (and/or other forms of communication at least while we are trying to find housing and things.)
You can pray for all of the arrangements that need to come together over the next little while and I would appreciate it if you would remember my Dad in prayer as he recovers from knee replacement surgery over the next few weeks. Also, we are heading to Arlington Woods FMC this weekend where we will be giving a much abrieviated version of our presentation (10-15 minutes instead of 25) because they are having presentations from 3 different missions groups all in the same service. Please pray that God will be at work in the service and will use us to minister to the needs of the people there and that we can communicate something meaningful in that time.

Please Pray

This is just a quick note to ask for prayer. Both Dave and I are sick and struggling to maintain our voices. He is trying to get a paper written and we are scheduled to speak at his brother's church on Sunday. It's funny how everything happens all at once (or maybe not). We can't thank you enough for remembering us in your prayers and we try to pray for you every time we think of you! Thanks!