Just The Ordinary

A heart can never quite beat the same way again after offering God the opportunity to liken it's rhythm a little more to His. My wish would be to transmit to you every last drop of Gods good glory that transpired throughout our journey in Thailand, though I know that to be an impossible task. And so my intention is to share some small fragment of what we were privileged to experience.

Our journey began like any other ordinary season of life; sprinkled with a good degree of challenge and seasoned with excitement and anticipation of the road ahead. The context of our trip was also quite average; a missions team sent out into the developing world of the 10/40 window, consisting of eight students, five staff and two kids. We (the fam) would join the team for the first five weeks in North East Thailand at Elisha Children Home. At this location our objective as a team would be to come alongside the children's home and local church (located on the same property) and serve the surrounding community. As staff of the Discipleship Training School, the primary objective of this outreach would be to help the eight individual students navigate their field experience as they put “theory into practice” from their 12 week lecture period.

This trip was not over planned by any means nor did it appear that it would fall apart at the seams - it was simply ordinary; five willing staff hoping to be used by God and longing to see freedom settle into the lives of eight students. If there were ever a time I've been thankful to be so strikingly ordinary it was outreach, for it left no room to claim any part in the transformations that began to emerge among some of the students. As staff our hearts were willing (to the best of our ability), prayerful (at times), sacrificial (somewhat), servant hearted (with effort), and exemplars of grace (when we remembered). God asked us to journey with Him and take His hand – for it is by His strength alone we would make any mark for His kingdom. So yes we gave it our best shot, but God gets the glory here and it was Him alone who put to work His transforming power! We saw students start living out the gospel, dying to self and serving each other, laying down desires and wants, even needs, coming last instead of first, acting honourably, with noble and pure intentions - all in submission to Jesus, whose example they followed. Those five weeks we witnessed a brief glimpse into the fresh journey for these few students. There was no state of perfection that had finally been attained or some level in which they were now deemed better people, but there was light, the light of Christ shining through their words and deeds.

And this is what we have felt so called to - the part we signed up for – to see hearts radically transformed by Gods grace - because we believe God is worth rewriting your life for.

This being my first time as a staff on a missions outreach has taught me more than I can even process. But for right now I'm being impressed upon to remember that God values the person and the heart and the relationship – the journey - above any product or achievement or standard of excellence. I saw this lived out so clearly as we served and witnessed members of our team touched by the heart-transforming power of Jesus Christ. I hope to cling to what God has taught me – care for His people just as He cares for me – just as He died for my life because He loves me! Jesus sought to meet the woman at the well, to call Zecchaeus down from the tree, to teach His young disciples the way. He longs to have our hearts, not the product of our hands, and in the midst of our day in day out ordinary walking with Christ God showed up on our outreach in Thailand. Five weeks in rural Thailand lends a lot of time to think about what we could have/should have done differently, how could the trip have been better; what could we do to improve. The fact of the matter is we did what we could and GOD SHOWED UP – regardless of our skills or talents or preparations – He came and the fruits of transformation is the story I share and the hope that I offer! Christ has the power to change your heart, give hope to your future and to re-write your life for eternity!

Philemon 1:6 I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.

Hewbrews 5:5 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been temped in every way, just as we are...Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Jenny

107 Year Old Miracle

Our journey here in Thailand continues. We have seen so much and grown even more. Here for you is a story I just had to share! I hope you enjoy...

Nonsomboon Church

Construction Project

A highlight from the last three weeks came in the form of a 107 year old Thai Man. Our team had travelled into the country with the Pastor and some members of the local Nonsomboon church (This church resides on the same property as Elisha Children Home) to visit and pray over another church family. While we were there the team was outside praying over the family and I happened to stay in the truck with the napping baby. The truck I was in happened to be pointed away from the team in the direction of a little rickety old shack, hoisted off the ground by posts, and seemingly nestled away in the trees. I looked up and saw these worn legs begin their descent down the narrow steps to the wooden pallet landing below. I was overwhelmed with the sense that I was bearing witness to a miraculous form of unexplained glory. I had no idea of the magnitude of this man's story until later, but I've been following Jesus long enough to know that when my hair stands on end and my heart quickens at the sight of something to listen intently for God to speak. The man continued to proceed slowly, and carefully down the steps like He could quite possibly have been emerging from nine months hibernation, and my instincts flew immediately to the thought that this man needs to hear the gospel! With Penny sleeping in my arms and an abyss of culture and language between me and this man I knew I needed to stop and evaluate my current action plan, which was to jump out of the truck and run over with my baby flailing in my arms to save this man! So I stopped and asked God to ensure if this man did not yet know Him, that He would use the believing family already living on the same property as this man to share His love with him. I felt a peace wash over me and my heart rate began to slow as I relaxed at the whisper from God that this man already knew who I desperately hoped he did.

Sugar Cane

Nathan later asked me if I had spotted “the old Thai man”, and I shared with him the gift of glory I witnessed and explained my fumbling thoughts to give this man the gift of life. Nathan explained with a great smile on his face that while I was sitting unaware in the confines of the truck that the team heard the story of how one week earlier this man of 107 years was far from a picture of health he was that day, being unable to walk or eat for sometime. One of the members of the church had come to him and prayed over his health and he was miraculously healed and accepted Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. After having the use of his legs restored the man has been walking a couple kilometres each day to the village and is now able to eat and drink again. Our team was able to watch in amazement as this new believer at 107 years old prayed one of his first prayers ever, and was shown by one the church elders how to fold his hands and bow his head. GLORY. What a privilege and gift given straight from the gates of Heaven to see the first fruits of God's amazing miraculous power and love!

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Blessings you ring in the new year!

Jenny (N,R,P)

Gifts of Glory

Packing up four lives, moving across the world and hoping for the best seems to make sense to this mama when all other areas of life swing in the pendulum of change. However we could not have predicted the spiritual rebuttal that would unfold in the wake of saying “yes” to God yet again. Following our decision to go as a family to Thailand, the weeks days and hours preceding our departure, felt like a battle of epic proportions in staying the course. Rosyn experienced her first grand mal seizure as well as a change in medication, we packed up all of our belongings into storage (we will continue searching for Vancouver housing while in Thailand), and we packed suitcases and made preparations to venture off into the unknown on our first missions trip outside Canada and to a developing Nation.

Vancouver YVR; the big adventure awaits!!

Thai friends with gifts to give!

Among each of these unfolding events this last month, the health of our child seemed the centre of what I'll call a spiritual tug of war. I cannot begin to wrap my head around the spiritual realm in which we live – but I do know God tells us; for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (paraphrased Ephesians 6:12). It would make sense that a threat upon our highly cherished gift, our child, would be easily used to cloud our vision of truth and certainty in trusting God. Satan set out to destroy our hope in our Father's goodness and instil fear in place of trust. There were days/hours/moments when the fear crept in all around and I believed that going to Thailand was crazy and that I would be putting Rosyn at risk, but Christ's perfect love cast out all fear, and I chose to believe in The Truth instead of the lies. These trials have tested our faith immensely and as such we have built perseverance, and been gifted a depth in our love of Christ.  Practically God has shown us that we will be uniquely equipped to share God's love as a fellow YWAMer pointed out; you have been given the gift now to connect with parents in Thailand who may feel they have no control over what is happening to their child. God's plan is always for His glory!

Fun and games

"shoulder shoulder, head" leading Compassion International Children's Day 

And out of these ashes will come tears of joy. Our arrival to the Elisha Children Home (ECH) in North East Thailand has been exceedingly more than we could have ever asked or imagined. Christ reigns in this place and His spirit lives in the abundant service of the people He has placed to live and work at ECH. Not only have we been blessed by the people at ECH, our portion only multiplies as we walk along side our team paying witness to God at work in their lives; it is yet another gift to partake in the journey of those who are seeking to know God and make Him known. Three fold; our little ladies have experienced a connection with the other children and the workers here at ECH that has come so naturally we again find Gods insurmountable gifts of grace sprinkled throughout our time here. It is unlikely I could even begin to do justice in expressing the beauty and wonder of our experience here so far and so my words of our time boast in nothing but goodness from Jesus Christ alone - there is nothing better!

Tears of Joy:)

The Lord provides, Jehovah Jirah

As I sit back and ask myself why, why do I, the least deserving, get any of these gifts at all? Why would I cross the world and find God, and His good glory here waiting for me to unwrap? This is God, this is the centre of His character; to give love. And so the story seems fitting; as I unwrap the seemingly endless gifts of His glory here in Thailand that we celebrate the birth of our Saviour; the greatest gift of all.

May you find all the glorious gifts Christ has come to offer you this season!

Ma Pon and Pa Don who oversee ECH

Compassion International games!

Jenny (N, R & P)

Giving Joy

It's been two weeks since we were home to Alberta for the “Go Conference” and I can't shake the words spoken from Brad Stanley, “Jesus is worth losing your life for”.

Who is that Jesus and do I love Him enough to give up my life? Mathew 16:25 says, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it". Jesus poses the paradox that losing one’s life bodes the finding of a different one. This promise from Christ appears to claim there is infinitely greater life to be found when we die to ourselves through the wholehearted love of God. And so I found myself asking, do I love God wholeheartedly and I am willing to die to myself?

Brad Stanley proposed that to love God and serve Him wholeheartedly we must become addicted to what brings Him Joy. He visited The Parable of the Lost Coin, and highlighted Luke 15:10, “just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Brad suggested the joy in this passage is coming from God who sits before the angels. With that in mind, what would it be like to witness God getting joy from one sinner who repents or even from the heart that searches to wholeheartedly know God!  Imagine that even while I may not yet know the fullness of Christ, He get's joy when I desire to change my selfish ways! As Brad Stanley said, the Greek translation of the word joy in Luke 15:10 means under the influence of violent emotion, meaning God throws Himself into a demonstrative celebration when we desire to change for him! We bring God joy when we love Him, when we simply love him!

Go Conference 2013

Rosy and Niki

Brad Stanley challenged us to ask God to reveal to us each day what brings Him joy. When we stop to hear God tell us what brings Him joy, we will be so overwhelmed with fullness of life that we will want to live to bring God joy over and over again.

Who knew our street was famous - coined "Fall on Fire"    

Shortly before the Go Conference it happened that Nathan and I were contemplating whether or not to go on outreach with the DTS as a family or if it would be easier for him to go alone. God and I had been talking extensively about what it would mean for our entire family to go on outreach. I was heavily on the fence as the trip was far outside my comfortable and familiar world with the girls. During the way home from the Go Conference I decided to put into practice Brad Stanley’s challenge and ask God what would bring Him joy, the answer was not surprising; one word came to mind, Thailand. He never told me we all should go but He spoke clearly and revealed to me that He would do far more than I could ever ask or imagine if I granted Him my trust to take care of us. Given the choice to give God joy, knowing he would be celebrating under the influence of violent emotion before the angels in heaven my decision became so clear and simple – give God joy! Wholehearted love is not a feeling but a choice, one choice at a time and my choice was to trust. The joy of the Lord is my strength and dying to myself, is life abundant!!

Life Abundant!

Ephesians 3

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.

Blessings,

Jenny

Destiny

When I think of the word destiny, and immediately ward off any urge to belt out bootylicous, its connotation seems to shout of life’s far off and intangible dreams. Destiny was the first topic to find its way into the DTS classroom where the staff and students learned God’s destiny for their lives is not achieving the ultimate goal but rather finding identity as sons and daughters of the Great King.

At Mt. Seymour getting aquainted opening week of DTS

high fives on her own two feet!

As the first week unfolded, teacher Joseph Watson taught that the world gets their identity from four places: what they do, what they look like, what they have and what they know. And I find common ground in all four parameters; in my parenting, my appearance, my possessions and my education. What does it even mean to find my identity as a daughter of the Great King? And how do Nathan and I begin to live out our true identity?

Monday morning worship at West Coast Christian Fellowship church

It was something of an old epiphany that surfaced in my bible study this week; at times I find my identity in the pleasant/unpleasant illusions in who I’ve created rather than who I am created to be in Christ. The Israelites turned to these false illusions repeatedly as found in Isaiah 30 “they said to the seers, ‘See no more visions’ and to the prophets, ‘Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy one of Israel!’” How often do I portray this attitude of the Israelites, irritated that God would care to interrupt my plans! Isaiah 30 continues, “The Lord longs to be gracious to you, he rises to show you compassions. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” Even when we push God away he longs for us to know His loving character, that we may embrace his compassion and walk as His chosen child. The disciple Peter wrote, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light”. These God breathed words are affirmation that I am not an orphan in darkness; I am Gods daughter, His precious creation.

Busy worker bee

Hanging out after class!

As DTS is just barely two weeks underway, we’ve been blessed as sons and daughters of God to pay witness to God in operation! He has miraculously provided housing for the students, provided a Canadian visa for a student from Argentina in a day when it should have taken weeks, shown the power of his Holy Spirit through the sharing of testimonies, and begun a work in the hearts of the staff and students alike. He pursues each one of us with His love and compassion and I want to pursue waiting on Him for therein lies my true destiny.

The journey continues...thank you for holding us up!

Jenny

The Winding Road

Thirty one days can pack a lot of change! Literally I have never packed and unpacked this much ever.  Our loaded up Toyota took us to Saskatchewan, Alberta, BC and Washington State, and we pulled up the covers in nine different locations! With much anticipation we heard back about Rosyn’s most recent medical tests (the 48hr EEG and the MRI) and absorbed God’s grace as we were told both test results are clear. The notorious house hunt kept us guessing right to the very end it seemed! We signed a lease August 24^th, moved in September 1^st and Nathan started work September 3^rd! The wonder of God’s timing never ceases to amaze us.

Along the road we travelled this past month, the order of these events and their outcomes shadows in comparison to the substance of change brought to our hearts. We fell to our knees in praise to learn of Rosyn’s hopeful prognosis; we were humbled and overwhelmed to be provided for financially and repeatedly received into the open homes of so many; and the last big mountain moved was the provision of a home for us to live, nestled in the exact neighborhood we hoped and prayed for, with plenty of room to run and jump and play. Mrs. Jackie Bishop, whose family lays claim to hosting us for two weeks during the months of August, wrote in our house warming card a quote by Augustine, “faith is to believe what we do not see; and the reward of faith is to see what we believe”. It seems these words of wisdom cover far more than the finding of our house.

We said goodbye to our Wilkinson Circle home, Sylvan Lake, AB

It’s been a little more than a week and life is taking the shape of comfortable once again. I’ve been wondering after life goes back to “normal”, how does a family cling to God with as much fervor as they did when a road of unknowns lay before them and continue on in faith, hoping for that which they do not see? Hebrews 1 says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”.  Nathan and I were talking yesterday about the arrival of the twelve Discipleship Training School (DTS) students next Tuesday (September 17^th) and how they have been unable to secure housing as of yet. If I’ve learned anything living out of a van for a month it is this; we stay zealous for God and in the moving of more mountains by taking a look around at the grace of each and every gift we owe to him. Our faith is renewed in knowing that everything we have comes from the God of the universe. Housing for the DTS students is not a discussion filled with doubt but an opportunity to pray and live by faith that is certain in that which we do not see, certain in Jesus Christ.

I’m wistfully hoping that the five weeks we spent packing and living out of our van will equate to the time it takes to unpack our life, make a home and transition into a new “normal” (whatever that means) – not a bad hope. I am so thankful to be able to testify to His goodness to us this last month! We praise Him and offer Him every ounce of fame for sustaining us on our journey. And praise him in advance for the mountains he will move as we prepare to start disciplining the hearts of a group of individuals eager to know Jesus Christ and make Him known.

Jenny