Uganda FAQs & Update

packing and moving

I(Vanessa) have always loved change.
It's the transitions that are tricky for me.
I don't especially like packing (unpacking I can totally handle), nor do I like co-ordinating all those little details or sorting through endless stuff.
But it's all part of moving and change.
(Unless you can afford movers.)

So we've been packing, packing, packing this week and we move to Toronto on Saturday.
Every time we move (this will be the 6th time in 7 years) I am amazing and overwhelmed at all the help we receive from those around us and we've already had so many offers already.
So we're thankful.
Thankful to you who pray for us and send us emails to see how we're doing and to you who are physically here, helping us with some practical things.
We truly are blessed.
Even in the transitions.

April 2011 Update

Good-bye, Guelph*

What a fantastic staff team we have here in Guelph.

Even though I (Vanessa) am not on campus and don't get to interact with these fabulous people every day, I know how stellar they are. 

Today we all went on a staff hike by Hilton Falls in Milton and it was the perfect day. The sun was shining and we all got some exercise walking for a few hours.

It is such a joy to trust these people completely with your children. It's completely reassuring to know that they will scoop them up away from danger or help peel a banana for them or fix their baseball cap. 

It's wonderful to just walk in comfortable silence or strike up a deep conversation or just catch up in the middle of God's beautiful creation. 

We will truly miss our Guelph staff team!

Back row: Alana (holding Jude), Jenn, Heidi, Jordi (wearing his daughter, Noelle)

Front row: Vanessa, Jamie, Dan, Noah

*We don't leave Guelph until April 30th but this was likely our last full team get together before we all leave for the summer.

full on

We are in full-on packing/sorting/organizing/preparing mode right now!
We are having a garage sale this Saturday and are hoping and praying for both good weather and a good turn out!
We'll be moving to Toronto at the end of April and this weekend was the only one available for us to do it, so it's now or never!
Vanessa is busy at home sorting, pricing, organizing and general garage-sale preparing while Jamie is finishing up on campus. It's the Guelph C4C banquet tonight and next week will be his last week on campus.
Pray for the students who are currently support raising for summer projects and for those who will be staying in Canada and working to continue to meet with other believers, spend time with Jesus and be a light no matter where God has placed them this summer.

We are in the process of planning our set up trip to Uganda in June to meet up with the Uganda project as well as find a house for us to live in and meet with the local ministry leaders.

It's a lot of transitioning and change (and to be honest, it's quite tiring at times) but we're trusting God to sustain us and provide for us.
Thanks for coming along on this wild ride with us!

February Edition

Our latest prayer letter.

humbled

Today Jamie and I got an email from one of our supporters.

One of YOU.


I was moved to tears and humbled as I read of this family's sacrifice to give their money back to God even though finances were tight and they were facing many hardships themselves.

We are all living a life of faith. We are all called to trust God to provide for our finances.

Just a few weeks ago I found myself thinking about how we would most likely be living a life of financial dependence on God for the rest of our lives because of our calling to full-time ministry {and feeling somewhat despairing about it, wishing we weren't coming up short each month of our goal, and wishing for a job with a dependable income and a Christmas bonus at the end of the year}.

What a sinful mindset! We are all called to live a life of financial dependence on God! For us in full-time ministry, relying on others to partner along side us with finances it's more tangible and "out there" but really, no matter how we get paid each month, we can still choose to trust God with our finances and depend on HIM to provide for us.
Are we praying and talking to God about our finances? That heater that needs to be repaired? The car that just broke down? The kids need new winter boots? How often do we take these requests before the Lord and ask HIM to provide? He is just waiting to blow our minds with his provision.

So thank you, dear brothers and sisters in Christ! Thank you for committing your finances to the Lord and I pray we all learn to trust in HIM, the giver of all good and perfect things to provide for all our needs.
Thank you for bearing our burden with us, for lifting us up as a family to the Lord.
Thank you for praying for the students we love and minister to and thank you for praying for our upcoming move to Uganda.

I am humbled. And thankful. And so amazed that God would choose us to live this life and serve in this way.
Thank you for joining us in our call to help reach the world through university students.

100.

I'm not sure if you caught the little note on the side bar...

If you didn't, let me tell you here:

100 students across Canada have prayed to receive Christ and are now our fellow brothers and sister in Jesus! How awesome is that?!?

We continue to pray {and are so thankful that you come alongside us in this} that within our ministry we will see God bring 264 students to himself as new brothers and sisters.

thoughts from the home...

What an incredibly busy semester.

Both Jamie and I feel like we have never worked harder and never been busier than we have been in these last few months.

But they've been really good.

I think as a mother {and as anyone, really} I've had good days where I accomplish a lot, am patient, loving and creative as I interact with the boys and care for both my family as a whole as well as specifically my husband, Jamie. And then there are days where I feel like from the moment I get out of bed I am dragging myself through the motions of the day. I am tired, impatient and have a short fuse.

But God is shaping me. It's a slow, painful process; one in which I feel is taking far too long. But it's happening. He's giving me love. He's giving me a heart that is soft and seeking to serve. He's giving me a desire for His Word.

I am thankful for His Grace.

Please pray for me and my realm of influence. I want to make the most of my time here in Canada {did you hear? We are moving to Uganda!} and I want to continue to take steps of faith so that my faith continues to grow and also to continue to model to my boys how awesome it is to trust in God and see what He does and how we get to be a part of it all!

Please pray for Noah. He has a strong will. He has a tender heart. He is truly such a blessing and I have never known such joy {and sometimes such frustration} as I have raising him so far. Please pray for him to have a hungry heart for God and for His truths. He is so drawn to television and the world and I want him to grab hold of how awesome God is. How He is SO much more amazing than any media or video or Disney movie.

Please pray for Jude. He is a jumble of craziness and I love that kid! He too, has a strong will and {as a close friend put} is VERY passionate and seems to know exactly what he wants. He is very "hands-on" and is into everything.

Pray for me that I would have wisdom on how to navigate the waters of siblings and to teach Jude to respect Noah but also to teach Noah to have a tender, compassionate heart for his brother. These two silly boys love each other very much, but I want to continue to lift them up individually and together in prayer as they grow and one day become men.

What a blessing to have you partnering with us as a family as we seek to take the gospel to Guelph, Canada and the world!

I, as a mother & wife, am so thankful for YOU for your prayers for me, for Jamie and for our boys. We are so grateful for your partnership with us.

October Update

September Update

Staff Conference and training

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. We've been out and about, to and from both our Campus Staff training days as well as the entire Power to Change staff conference out west in BC.

It was amazing to hear all the encouraging stories of how God is working on campuses all across Canada and then to hear thoughts from Leonard Bueller (our Power to Change President) as well as thoughts from Erwin McManus (author of Chasing Daylight) and Campus Crusade for Christ US Mark Gauthier.

It was also largely a refreshing time spent with our friends and colleagues who we labour along side and who understand what it's like "out there".

Our boys loved being around the other staff kids and had a ton of fun in some of the childcare sessions they went to. It is truly a wonderful time to raise kids on staff as there are just SO MANY KIDS!

We thank you for your partnership with us that we can go to conferences like these and be built into and refreshed, ready to be sent out again into the next school year.

one week

We survived our week without Jamie.

Myself (Vanessa), Noah & Jude got through the week without "Daddy" and had lots of help and visitors from friends and family for which we are very thankful. It didn't help that all three of us got sick by the end of the week (which I am still recovering from!) but we were all pleased to hear that Jamie had switched his flight to come home 2 days earlier! We all met him at the airport on Saturday - just in time for Mother's Day!

Stay tuned for an update from Jamie on his week in South Africa and the encouragement he received from being there.

So thankful for you!

the week before...

I can hardly believe Jamie will be in South Africa in a week! Where has the time gone?

This week Jamie will be meeting up with a few supporters and potential supporters as well as finish up the last essay for the course he was taking this past semester at Heritage Baptist College in Cambridge.

We'll also be attending a family gathering in Toronto for my (Vanessa) brother who will be going to Afganistan with the army in a couple weeks.

Please pray for Jamie's travels as he has a few layovers and for safety while in Johannesburg. Jamie will be traveling with 2 other men on staff with Campus for Christ.

Please also pray for me (Vanessa) as I care for Noah and Jude on my own for 10 days. I'll have some help from family and friends, but it will likely be hard on the boys (and me!) who love their Daddy and will miss him very much.

Thank you for your care, support and prayers!

Spring Update