Meetings & Montana

     Mitch and I have the opportunity to be leaders for our church's senior high camp!  The camp is located near Whitefish Montana.  We will be participating in white water rafting, cliff jumping, and touring Glacier Bay National Park.  We are really excited to be able to go!  Mitch and I have never been to Montana and we are thankful for the chance to be there for the next week.  :)

     Earlier this week we met with the missions team from our church here.  It was a wonderful time of encouragement and sharing.  We were able to share about our training with them, and discussed the church's ability to partner with us.  It was amazing to see how God has orchestrated the timing, yet again, for us to be able to move towards with our training through the partnership of others!  Please be praying as the missions team will  be sending forth a proposal to be reviewed by the elders team regarding the church's partnership with us.

    Within the last couple of week we have had numerous opportunities to get together with friends new and old.  It has been wonderful to reconnect with everyone!  After we get back from camp we will have roughly 2 weeks left here in Idaho before we go back to Ontario to begin our training.  We are So excited! :)

House Sitters

Mitch and I have been in Idaho Falls for about a week and a half now.  We were able to spend lots of time with my aunt and her family, it was great to catch up with them!  Fishing has become a new favourite sport for them, and we had lots of fun going along with them.

The view from our fishing spot (notice the beaver damn)

Mitch & I giving it a shot

The family fishing it up a bit too!

We also were able to celebrate my cousin Hailey's 13th birthday with her!  We had a volleyball party at a local park and had some other friends and family over to celebrate with.

My aunt and I at my cousins birthday party

Mitch & I with the birthday girl! :)

Mitch with our youngest cousin :)

One of our goals while being here was to be a flexible as possible as we re-connect with our friends and family.  As we have begun to re-connect we have been given several opportunities to house sit, so we have gratefully accepted the offers.  :)  It is exciting to see God provide for us, while providing for those who are seeking people to look after their homes while they are away at the same time.  Its pretty awesome how He has it all planned out, and just provides exactly what we need in the time that we need it. :)

The cost

   The cost of going.  

     This has been on my mind a lot lately.  The price that we are choosing to pay in order to pursue taking Gods Word to the nations...It is a price we are most certainly willing to pay, but I am beginning to feel the depth of the cost.  

     Last week we met our niece for the first time.  The picture below was taken as we were leaving to go to the other side of the state for the rest of the summer.  

A 'Goodbye' picture with our adorable niece 

     We will be able to spend some more time with her and my brother and sister in law before we fly back to Ontario, which we are very excited about!  Man, I really love this picture!  It is such a sweet thing to have a niece, and I LOVE her so much!  Every time I look at this picture I am reminded of the cost of going.  
     I would like to ask for your prayers...as we spend time with those we love we again realize the sting of leaving them behind as we move forward.  For the sake of taking Gods freeing Word to those who do not have it, we go.  

Travels

Here is a picture post!  I figured I would post pictures to explain and show what we have been up to in the last couple of weeks.  :)

Mitch and I had the chance to go to Newfoundland to visit some friends there.  It was so pretty and we really enjoyed spending time with our friends, and seeing the sites we have never seen before.

having a bbq on the beach

a little lake behind one of the banks in town

Mitch looking off over Saint Johns

The most eastern point of North America.  The next land is Europe!

An old armoury

Next we traveled to Ontario.  We packed up everything and set out to travel to where we will be living over the next 2 years while we study linguistics.  We arrived in Durham (the town of the training center) and had a few days to relax and unpack before we headed west to Idaho.  One of the evenings we spent out on the lake fishing for some bass.

We next jumped on a plane and flew from Toronto to Boise Idaho.  My brother and his wife live there and they have our niece who we have not had the chance to meet before now.  We will be in Boise for a few days and then we will be going to western Idaho to visit the rest of my family.  :)

 playing in the morning

 having some fun with the blocks

 So far we have had a great time!  We are so blessed to be able to travel a bit and catch up with friends and family before we start our training in August.  We are looking forward to the rest of our time in Idaho and so thankful for this gift we have been given!!!

807 Pounds

  Boxes.  Boxes and then more boxes.  Packing, weighing, writing with a sharpie, taping, recording the weight and the boxes contents, then setting that box aside and moving on to the next one.  That is what I did today.  I went through all of our boxes that hold all of our personal belongings in them.  I removed more items that we dont really need so we can hopefully sell them this weekend in our yard sale.  After I finished that task I added up the weight...807 lbs.  807 pounds of clothing, and household items.

   At first I was kind of taken aback at that number.  I expected it to be much less than that!  I got rid of 4 boxes of stuff, most of which was the heavy things like glass cooking wear, and books with lots of clothes and other miscellaneous things to go along with them.  I got to thinking, when we graduate in a year and a half, we are going to have to whittle this down a whole lot more!  I was reminded of a friend of mine who, upon graduating and leaving to begin her deputation, said that all of her families belongings were in their 4 suite cases!  If each one of those suit cases were at their max capacity , they are looking at around 200 lbs of stuff.  We have a ways to go before then I guess!

  Thinking about being that mobile, or really have the bare minimum for the sake of being able to travel, seems like it would be both freeing & yet at the same time very uncomfortable!  We are coming from a culture that has the mentality of 'he who has the most of the nicest things in the ends wins', and choosing to pursue this life of cross-cultural ministry challenges us to live a life contrary to that.  Being willing and able to give up our 'stuff' time and time again is, at times, uncomfortable but it is more than worth it!  I would rather live a long life with very little means if it makes it possible for me to reach those who live with very little means, including the Bible.  

  My prayer today is that God will help me to look past the 807 pounds of stuff sitting in storage, and see the faces of those who dont yet know Him.  I pray that I will find joy in Him, not in the things that I have, and I pray that whether I have much, or very little I will find my peace and fulfillment in Him! 

    

Laying on of Hands

  This past Tuesday at youth group we were blessed beyond words by the youth and leaders there!  Mitch and I both lead a small group with the youth.  Last week was our last youth group to volunteer.  I am one of those people who really find goodbye's to be awkward.  I have moved a lot, and have had to say goodbye to many, many people.  I also am one who really hates to cry in front of others.  So over the years I have come to the point where I just go on auto pilot when it comes time to move again.  I struggle with this about myself.  I truly care about and will miss those we are leaving!  I really am sad that I wont see them again soon, but I just dont like tapping into my emotions out of fear of crying.  I find myself in the midst of this again...
  The girls in my small group bought me a bouquet of flowers!  I was so blessed by their love and generosity!  We took lost of pictures and had a wonderful time together.  It was truly a blessing to have been able to get to know them, and to be able to learn from them and to invest in their lives the amount that I did. :)
  One of the things that they did for Mitch and I was pray for us.  This wasn't an average prayer though.  The entire youth group came up and laid their hands on us!  They, as a body of believers, prayed for Mitch and I as we leave and move forward in ministry.  What a blessing that was!  This Sunday the entire church is going to do the same in order to commission us before we leave.  It warms our hearts to have the support of our church family here.
  We fly out this coming Wednesday to visit some friends in Newfoundland.  We are very excited to visit 'The Rock' as they like to call it.  We have never been and are really looking forward to visiting this part of Atlantic Canada.
  As we leave this place, we will be returning to an old place.  A place that we have had to say 'goodbye' at before.  This is the part that I like about saying goodbye!  Its when you get to return and see them again that makes the goodbye sweet!  As much as I dont like saying goodbye I love it when you are filled with joy upon reuniting with them!
  We are having to say goodbye to so many here in Nova Scotia right now, but we greatly look forward to when we get to come back and see everyone again, just like we are getting ready to do to our friends and family in Idaho!

So rather than focusing on the sadness of departing from those we love, lets focus on the joy of the reunion instead!!  That is my goal in this season in my life.  To choose joy.

Change is not always bad, it brings with it newness of life, and opportunities for us to grow and learn. :)  So I  thank God for the change, and I trust that He will grow me through this season he has brought me to!

Prayers

I wanted to post quickly to ask for prayer!  A Proposal went through our church here regarding the church's support and partnering with us.  The missions team, & leadership team approved an amount and it will go to the congregation May 22 for voting.  Please pray that everything will go smoothly with that!
We have been overwhelmed with Gods amazing provision lately.  We have really been challenged in our faith to trust the Creator of the universe for our every need...and He has proven Himself to be more than faithful!  We are so blessed by the body if Christ, and we are enthused to see the Lord continue to work in our lives. 


May 23rd, 2013
An update to this post is that it was approved!  The church approved an amount that will cover half of our training costs while we are in Durham.  Our church has the desire to support global missions and has chosen to do so by supporting New Tribes through us! God is truly Jehovah Jireh!  He is paving the way for us to move forward with our training, so that we will!

Moving out!

Its moving week for us!  Our home is no longer out home...It is an empty shell of what was once our house.  Our dogs are gone-with their new owners.  We have boxes and furniture waiting to be sold around and lots of dust that needs to be cleaned up.

Saying goodbye to Xerxes

One last picture before we took Sampson to his new home

As much as I really do not enjoy this phase in moving, it brings great joy in my heart this time.  Why? you might ask.  Because it means that we are moving on with our training to be missionaries!  As much as my heart has been saddened this week with no longer being a 'dog owner', I know it is for a great cause.  As much as I dont care for the transition phase of moving- I am, for the first time in my life entering a very long phase of transitioning where I dont know when the end will be.  We will be living with family & friends until the end of August beginning in just a couple of days.  We will be in school for 3 semesters and then will be in another phase of transition as we prepare to begin our ministry with NTM.  Its very exciting for us as it happens but is a whole new world that we are stepping into, one that is requiring us to rely on the Lord for our every provision!
We are SO blessed to share that God has provided our air plane tickets from Toronto to Boise Idaho this summer!  We are shocked and amazed at the Body of Christ's willingness to come along side us and join us in support of our desire to train and serve with New Tribes.

We are preparing to have a big yard sale on June 1st as a fund raiser.  If anyone has any items that they would like to donate to the sale, we will use the funds to go towards our travel expenses this summer, and our cost of living as we transition into school.  We still need to purchase our tickets to Newfoundland and are hoping to do that this week.  We plan to visit some friends and a church there from June 19th-24th.  It is so amazing to see God work out the details as we follow His guidance and leading in our lives.
We, again, want to thank every one of you who have shown us support through the years and continue to right now!  We should have an account set up with NTM this week.  Once that happens people will be able to search our name under the 'give' option on their site and donate to either our tuition or living costs while we are at school.  If you would like more information on how you can get involved, or would like to know details on any prayer requests that we might have, please email us and we can share with you about that: mitchamandachaplin@gmail.com

The Opening of Doors!!!

As of yesterday we were officially accepted to attend the MTC in Ontario this coming fall!!!  And within the last 24 hours many amazing things has happened!
I have been in communication with the admissions department of NTM Canada and have been able to get many of the details worked out.  We also have sold some of our big items of furniture, AND...God has provided for our Newfoundland and Idaho visits air fair to be paid for!
This whole thing has been such a huge step of faith, more like a leap, and it is so encouraging to see God opening up the doors for us to walk through!

We are very excited to keep moving forward, one step at a time.  I am so excited to see God work and to rest in Him daily as we pursue this goal of being part of giving His word to those who don't have it.  He really is Jehovah Jireh...my Lord who Provides, and I LOVE HIM.

Preparing...

8 places in 4 1/2 years

     That would be 8 different homes lived in,  in the 4 1/2 years we have been married.  That would be a an average of 5 1/2 months in each place since we said 'I Do'.  Jackson MI, Ammon ID, Idaho Falls ID, Middle Stewiacke NS, 3 different places in Truro NS, and now...Durham ON.  

     We are entering yet another season in our life!  A brand new season that is bringing with it many new and exciting things!  We are awaiting approval for our missionary training right now.  Once we are approved (hopefully within a week) we will plan to move again.  That will include selling most of our physical possessions-again, arranging airline tickets and a moving-trailer rental, some auto repairs to prepare one of our cars for selling and the other for the move to Ontario, and the one thing we have never done before - preparing to quite working.  

     The thought of us stopping a 'normal' job brings many emotions with it!  I, for one, am kind of a control freak.  I clearly understand that about myself, and the thought of quitting my job and trusting the Lord's provision to meet my every day needs is both exciting, but also very nerve wrecking!!!  I know God is Jehovah Jireh-The LORD who Provides.  It is one of my favourite names of my Lord.  I love it how Jesus explained his provision in Matthew chapter 6:

 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? "

      I am very excited to see how God will  provide our food, drink, clothing and so much more!  We are transitioning into a phase of living by the support of others.  One might ask why on earth we are doing this...  Well, there are roughly 2,000 language groups in this world that do not have His Word in their language, totalling around 200 million people!!!  When Mitch and I heard that our minds were blown away!  Our thought was, "why are there still so many?!  And why aren't more people going if there are still that many out there who haven't heard, or couldn't have heard because they don't have a Bible in their language?".   Our natural response was to make the decision to GO.  We knew that we would do whatever it takes to 'GO and make disciples', as long as we were physically able to, we would work towards that goal.  

Remember these faces.  They are brothers in Christ!

     We know that not everyone can  pack up their stuff and move to the outer most parts of this world, but they can still be Jesus' 'hands and feet' to the nations by partnering with those, through support, that can physically go.  That is part of this new chapter in our life!  One that is new and unfamiliar to us.  We are beginning to build a team that shares our heart for the nations.  A team that is passionate about seeing the great commission fulfilled!

Bible teaching in a tribe in Papua New Guinea

Will you join with us in the mission of taking God's Word to those who do not have it, being Christ's hands and feet right along side of us?  If you have more than one copy of an English Bible in your home or on your phone, and you value that priceless gift for what it is...
will you pray for us as we prepare to GO?  Will you give? 
 Will you  go???