Saying "Thanks!" at times seems like it doesn't convey enough..but in the limitations of my small grasp of the English language, it's all of I've got. So, I'll give you my all: Thanks!! A whole bunch!! Over the last several years, the Governing Board of our home church, the Sarnia EMC, has given me the freedom to spend two weeks away on Global Mission. It's a gift that continues to provide tremendous encouragement, refreshment and energy. Serving on the Shelter Canada Board of Directors is a tremendous privilege. It has allowed me to see the Lord making a transformative difference in the lives of thousands of Salvadorans, and hundreds of Canadians, every year.
One highlight from our meetings has been the recognition that in this past season, 2018/2019, Shelter Canada has built 464 homes for 464 families in El Salvador. This past season 313 team members, in response to God's commissioning call, made their way from Canada to El Salvador. As a result 1,527 people were moved into new homes that provide safety, security and shelter!! 1,527!! That means that every team member had a Kingdom influence on five Salvadorans. Each one of those people the 313 + 1527, were enfolded within the work of confronting injustice and demonstrating mercy. The result, we pray, is that many are being transformed to make their life decisions in ways that honour God. Our theme verse for Shelter comes from Micah 6:8.
As we get the chance to connect with other leaders from across our country, we are humbled by the stories they tell of their personal transformation as well as how the lives of their team members are being transformed by the grace and truth of Jesus!
There is more to tell...always there is...but for now, I'll leave at this: Thanks! For your support, your prayer, your encouragement and your interest.
If you'd like to join one of our teams, let's talk about it!
Deve
Friday, April 12, 2019
Thursday, April 11, 2019
Meet me at the Meeting
Well first, let me apologize for the lack of blogging here this week. There are three main reasons for this:
First, we have 54 Canadians staying at the hotel (an amazing number, as there are a number of prospective new team leaders). This means that there are 54 people vying for wifi all at the same times.
The second reason for the lack of blogging has been the number of meetings that are part of Leader's week. We have our general meetings, workshops, and special speakers. This year our guest speaker has been comedian Phil Callaway. He has brought great levity and also some very insightful teaching on leadership and communication. In addition to our general meetings, I also have board meetings to attend. Our Shelter board, to this point, only meets face to face twice a year. As the Lord increases our capacity, the policies and preparations that we need to make as a board increase and require more time, discussion, debate and resolution.
Ephesians 4:3-7 "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."
The beginning of these verses are so important, "Make every effort". This is the hard work of ensuring that we are pulling in the same direction, as we follow Jesus in this ministry. Meetings are not my favourite thing (surprise, self disclosure...haha), however, the common effort to seek the unity of the Spirit is always very compelling.
Having gone through these last four long days and nights with meetings, I am thankful for your prayer support and encouragement. We celebrate 464 families receiving homes and entering into discipleship relationships through Shelter. We celebrate the growing capacity of our El Salvador team. We celebrate the enthusiasm of new team leaders. And I celebrate more chances to share the story of our home team, the Sarnia EMC!
I did mention that there were three reasons for the lack of blogging...the third reason: I'm travelling with Tyson :) He's a great ambassador for the Lord, and for the SEMC, but he's no blogger!!
Thursday, 12 families will be receiving the keys to their homes. Tyson helped to build two of those homes, out in the warm (hot) sun, while I was in meetings. It's going to be a great time celebrating with this community.
Thanks so much for your prayer,
Deve
First, we have 54 Canadians staying at the hotel (an amazing number, as there are a number of prospective new team leaders). This means that there are 54 people vying for wifi all at the same times.
The second reason for the lack of blogging has been the number of meetings that are part of Leader's week. We have our general meetings, workshops, and special speakers. This year our guest speaker has been comedian Phil Callaway. He has brought great levity and also some very insightful teaching on leadership and communication. In addition to our general meetings, I also have board meetings to attend. Our Shelter board, to this point, only meets face to face twice a year. As the Lord increases our capacity, the policies and preparations that we need to make as a board increase and require more time, discussion, debate and resolution.
Ephesians 4:3-7 "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."
The beginning of these verses are so important, "Make every effort". This is the hard work of ensuring that we are pulling in the same direction, as we follow Jesus in this ministry. Meetings are not my favourite thing (surprise, self disclosure...haha), however, the common effort to seek the unity of the Spirit is always very compelling.
Having gone through these last four long days and nights with meetings, I am thankful for your prayer support and encouragement. We celebrate 464 families receiving homes and entering into discipleship relationships through Shelter. We celebrate the growing capacity of our El Salvador team. We celebrate the enthusiasm of new team leaders. And I celebrate more chances to share the story of our home team, the Sarnia EMC!
I did mention that there were three reasons for the lack of blogging...the third reason: I'm travelling with Tyson :) He's a great ambassador for the Lord, and for the SEMC, but he's no blogger!!
Thursday, 12 families will be receiving the keys to their homes. Tyson helped to build two of those homes, out in the warm (hot) sun, while I was in meetings. It's going to be a great time celebrating with this community.
Thanks so much for your prayer,
Deve
Monday, April 8, 2019
Anticipation
Well, Tyson and I arrived on time in El Salvador on Saturday night. I say that because it's easy to get used to smooth travel without incidence. We can take it for granted that we can travel thousands of kilometres through the air, as easy as a walk down the hall.
We left from Sarnia and flew to Toronto. Enjoyed a nice breakfast and boarded our next flight to Houston. All was well. We settled into our seats, went through the safety demonstration and the plane started to back out. All was well...and then it wasn't. The plane stopped. The pilot came on and informed us that we need to pull back into the gate because some trash had flown into one of the engines. Not to worry, he said, as it should only take a few minutes to deal with and then we'd be on our way. A few minutes turned into an hour, and then almost two. We then deplaned and got in line to begin making alternate arrangements, when they called us back on board. We were ready to go. While many would miss their connections in Houston, we still had a shot at making ours...did I mention that the South East of the U.S. was experiencing some bad storms? Well they were. The turbulence lasted for at least an hour - it was the drinks--sent-flying-people-bonked-their-head-kids-thinking-they-were-on-a-rolle-coaster kind of turbulence.
Somehow we made it into Houston. Thankfully our arrival gate was switched to the same terminal as our connecting flight and we managed to walk right into the end of the line just before the last call.
So we made it on time, as scheduled...with great anticipation for what the Lord will teach us and prepare us for next.
We are together with 54 other people from across Canada. Each person represents existing teams or potential new teams. There's anticipation. 7 years ago when we started these leaders meetings there were 13 of us. We met with anticipation then...and are humbled by what the Lord has done with us, through us and among us in that time.
In addition to our meetings, we will also be building homes for 12 families in need. A community will be enfolded within the Kingdom of God, as the Gospel lovingly goes out in word and deed.
What will He do next? We're excited to find out. Thanks for talking to Jesus about us and on our behalf this week...
Deve
We left from Sarnia and flew to Toronto. Enjoyed a nice breakfast and boarded our next flight to Houston. All was well. We settled into our seats, went through the safety demonstration and the plane started to back out. All was well...and then it wasn't. The plane stopped. The pilot came on and informed us that we need to pull back into the gate because some trash had flown into one of the engines. Not to worry, he said, as it should only take a few minutes to deal with and then we'd be on our way. A few minutes turned into an hour, and then almost two. We then deplaned and got in line to begin making alternate arrangements, when they called us back on board. We were ready to go. While many would miss their connections in Houston, we still had a shot at making ours...did I mention that the South East of the U.S. was experiencing some bad storms? Well they were. The turbulence lasted for at least an hour - it was the drinks--sent-flying-people-bonked-their-head-kids-thinking-they-were-on-a-rolle-coaster kind of turbulence.
Somehow we made it into Houston. Thankfully our arrival gate was switched to the same terminal as our connecting flight and we managed to walk right into the end of the line just before the last call.
So we made it on time, as scheduled...with great anticipation for what the Lord will teach us and prepare us for next.
We are together with 54 other people from across Canada. Each person represents existing teams or potential new teams. There's anticipation. 7 years ago when we started these leaders meetings there were 13 of us. We met with anticipation then...and are humbled by what the Lord has done with us, through us and among us in that time.
In addition to our meetings, we will also be building homes for 12 families in need. A community will be enfolded within the Kingdom of God, as the Gospel lovingly goes out in word and deed.
What will He do next? We're excited to find out. Thanks for talking to Jesus about us and on our behalf this week...
Deve
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