FREY, ESTHER (Puerto Rico; Emmaus Correspondence) PRAISE: The activity January 14 was very interesting, hearing testimonies from ex-prisoners, and meeting those who studied the courses while in prison. Also met a man who attended S.S. in our Quintana chapel when he was a boy. The eye specialist gave me the results of the study which showed inactive. That was good. But now a spot was found in the better eye so I had to get a first injection in that one. PRAY: Several doctor's appointments this month. Teamworkers are coming Feb. 25 or 27 to paint the chapel inside and out. They will be with us for two weeks. Pray for safety in all that takes place. May the Lord help me with my sight.
Jenn Brubacher - February 2023
BRUBACHER, JENN (Listowel, YFC) PRAISE: I was thankful to attend and emcee YFC's Eastern regional retreat in Cobourg, gathering with staff from Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes. The more time I spend with this volleyball team, the more I am reminded of the gift it is to be present in students' lives. They are starting to share things they are wrestling with, enjoying and thinking through. Trust is being built, which is an honour and responsibility. Our junior high drop-in is growing! PRAY: Pray for students as they enter exam season. These are the first exams since the pandemic, and stress and anxiety levels are high. Continue to pray for 'Georgia,' that she would continue to choose life, for the student that lost a family member a few weeks ago, and for the student who has a strained relationship with their parents. Our team needs God's presence, wisdom and care to walk with these students well.
Esther Frey - Puerto Rico
Charlotte Martin (Power to Change)
The Start of 2023
Wallenstein, I always find the beginning of a new year brings me fresh energy and renewed motivation. This has been true for me this year and it is a gift. As I started this year, one verse that came up in my Bible reading is Nehemiah 8:10 - "the joy of the Lord is your strength." The Lord has been placing it on my heart to grow in contentment this year and I want joy in him to be my strength.
We are one month into 2023 and already there have been ups and downs, joys and challenges. Let me share a few:
1) A loss - 2023 started off with the passing of my last grandparent. Grandma Martin had a deep trust in God's sovereignty and a sincere interest and care for people. As she aged and her eyesight failed, she would spend a lot of time on the phone checking in and talking with people. I hope to emulate her trust in God, and her love/care for people in my own life.
2) A hope - In December we had our first Canadian staff member, Derek, move to Vietnam as we continue to develop and cultivate a new partnership there. He is getting settled in, making connections, and sorting out visa issues. As well, we have a good number of students interested in our Vietnam mission trip for 2023.
3) A joy - As we start to process mission trip applications for our 2023 trips, it was encouraging to get an application from Asher. Asher's family is Muslim, but in the past few months he made a decision to follow Jesus. Asher is eager and excited to grow in his faith and sees a mission trip as a great opportunity to help him do that. We have accepted him to our Praxis Ottawa mission trip and we are excited to see how God will use this experience in his life. Pray for more than 50 students to go on mission trips this May/June. Currently we have 3 students accepted and another 43 who have started applications.
4) An opportunity - For the next 5 weeks I will be taking part in a course about soul care. Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." As a leader I want to care well for my heart and my soul so that God can bear fruit through my life. This course is an opportunity for me to develop some habits and rhythms that will help me do better at caring for my soul. As I engage in this experience I am looking for a handful of people to pray for me. If you would like to intentionally pray for me throughout this journey, please respond to this email and I'll send you more specifics of how you can be praying.
One of our last Sunday afternoons with Grandma Martin.
In person meetings in Guelph last week with the National Leadership Team.
J&R K - South Asia
Faithful Prayer Partners,
We've recently returned from some time away getting rested & refreshed. R has jumped back into work full-time while the boys enjoy the remainder of their winter break. One of the perks of boarding school life is extra-long breaks between semesters!
We're thankful for your prayers as we gear up for another term. We love hearing from you as well, so do drop us a note anytime!
PRAISE the Lord for a truly restful time away. J was quite ill with the flu the last week of term, and R caught it just as we were leaving the country. Praise the Lord for the perfect place to land. We spent lots of time resting, getting over our sicknesses and then enjoying the wonderful fellowship of dear friends at their home in a nearby country.
PRAISE for some fruitful meetings with the ladies groups before our absence and also while we were away. Our local friend who has been organizing food distribution among these families organized a time of sharing the gospel story from Creation to Christ at each of the groups that were willing to have us come. R was able to use her Urdu to share with one group of women and we offered New Testaments to anyone who wanted them. Everyone wanted a copy!
PRAY for favour with the Foreign Regional Registration Office as J has applied for visa conversion. We found out in November that he was issued the wrong visa type back in July. Pray that everything would go smoothly, and that no issues would arise for J or the School.
PRAY too for R's Indian Identity card issuance. This is needed for many things including banking and SIM card registration among other things. We have applied twice only to have the application rejected for unknown reasons.
PRAY for the new staff joining us at school this month and for those who have transitioned out. This type of environment is always very transitional. May we be welcoming and faithful in the roles the Lord has placed us here.
The group of women R shared with before Christmas holding their food packs and New Testaments.
R with the new Admissions Secretary. Both of us are taking over from long-time-serving staff who retired this December.
The boys thoroughly enjoyed our time exploring another country over the break.
Dear friends from our past ministry days who graciously hosted & spoiled us over Christmas.