Change is coming...

Amidst our preparations for moving to the Philippines (in June) and waiting for baby boy #2 to be born (in April), we recently flew to Alberta for some speaking engagements. We preached at First Mennonite in Edmonton and at Foothills Mennonite in Calgary, stayed with some dear friends in both cities, and spent a memorable evening on a beautiful prairie farm with second cousins of mine.


Sharing our story, our vision and our love for the Philippines renewed our excitement for our upcoming big move. It is a blessing to connect with churches and know that many more people will be following our journey and praying for us along the way. 


I am thankful for the prayers, as there are times when I feel deeply overwhelmed about the changes that will soon be taking place- adjusting to the heat, traffic and general craziness of a metropolis full of 12 million people, leaving our dear friends and family, developing new relationships, learning a new language...  all this with an infant and a one and a half year old in tow. Yikes!!! Life has been very "normal" for the last 3 years here, and it's about to get a little crazy! 


While I admit to being somewhat scared, I'm also terribly excited for what is in store for us. I am very thankful for where God has led us and for what He is doing in the Philippines. When I feel overwhelmed about the church planting and peacebuilding task ahead of us, I remind myself that this is God's work, God's plan and God's vision for the Philippines and we are just excited to be part of it! Below is an excerpt from my sharing at the Alberta churches- it's a good reminder for me....

"We are praying and working towards a new global reality in the Philippines- one that involves shalom: globally, nationally and locally. We believe that the peace that the world can bring is not the whole peace that Christ can offer. We as humans can only do so much. True peace, or shalom, comes from Christ and enters into our broken world. We pray for this and ask Christ to work through us as He guides us in our work."


And now for a few pictures from our trip...

With our dear friends Russ and Kelly in Edmonton

With the Heidebrechts in Crossfield

Cody loved the snow!

A little change of plans....

A new little one is changing our plans.... Darnell and I are expecting our second child in the middle of April! We now plan to leave for the Philippines after our baby is born, which means in June we will finally be on our way to a new and exciting adventure of church planting in Manila. And now it will be even more of an adventure with two little munchkins about 19 months apart!


Because of our later departure date, we have been more deeply immersing ourselves in our local community this fall. Darnell is coordinating the Extreme Weather Shelter at our home church, Emmanuel Mennonite. For the month of December our church is open to shelter homeless people during below freezing temperatures. Darnell is finding volunteers now and will be very busy if we get a cold December! He is also leading our bible study and leading a monthly newcomers potluck at our church where he invites people to share what God is doing in their lives- so far, it has been a wonderful time of community fellowship.


In September Cody turned one and I went back to work as a Teacher-On-Call. I was going to TOC part time and was hoping to squeeze in enough hours for another maternity leave. On my first day of TOCing I happened to fall into a perfect position at my former school, WJ Mouat Secondary and I will be staying there the whole semester (until the end of January) and can receive another maternity leave! Because I had already given up my last position (thinking we were leaving much sooner!), I did not expect to get a great full-time position. Thank you Lord! I am teaching Beginners ESL, Planning 10 and French 9. It's really a great course load and I am still home at a decent hour to spend time with Cody:)


Cody is learning so much everyday and is such a happy, silly little boy. He is having a lot of fun with grandparents while I am at work- mostly Grandpa Barkman, who takes him all over town campaigning for City Councillor right now. I think if he's re-elected he'll have his friendly little grandson to thank!


This Sunday we will be preaching at our church for Missions Sunday and we are welcoming invites to other churches as we seek more ministry partnerships with local congregations. In February we plan to travel to Alberta to speak at a few Mennonite Church Canada congregations there.


Thanks again for all your love and support! I'll leave you with a giggly little pumpkin:)

Update from Pennsylvania

We have spent the last two weeks in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for mission's training. We have another week and half to go before we head to Winnipeg and I thought I'd give a little update on our time here so far. 

- We are with 12 other soon-to-be missionaries who will be dispersing around the globe this year. We are enjoying getting to know this great group of people.

- The discipleship centre we're staying in is in the ghetto of Harrisburg- quite an interesting neighbourhood! Right now I am listening to a crazy amount of 4th of July fireworks and firecrackers just outside my window (and am surprised that Cody is sleeping through it!).

Our little climber loves the stairs in the 100-year-old building we're living in.

- Cody was quite sick the first week with a flu, ear ache and rash (it was a virus). So needless to say, it was rather hard leaving him for the first time and he did spend a couple of the sessions snuggling on mommy's lap. He is back to his usual cheerful self now and is very happy with the lovely childcare girls.

He spends a lot of time eating and giggling in this great seat we purchased. 

- We have had some great cross-cultural experiences. We visited a Muslim mosque, a Messianic Jewish synagogue and a Conservative Jewish synagogue. This weekend we head to a Hindu temple in New Jersey.

- Being tourists here on the weekends has been much fun. We spent a day touring the beautiful Amish countryside. My favourite stop was a toy store with handmade wooden toys. We also went to Hershey, Pennsylvania and learned how to make a kiss! Cody loved the little train ride, especially the singing cows.

- We have really appreciated the classes. So far, I'd have to say David Shenk was my favourite. If you haven't read his books, you should. He has a wealth of experience, especially when it comes to Muslim-Christian dialogues and he shares the most interesting cross-cultural anecdotes.

- Lastly, it is HOT here! I know everyone at home is wishing it were hotter but this heat and humidity seems more like the Philippines and we don't have an air conditioner! 

He's getting good wear of his summer outfits!