You Are Special Ministries

Heaven's Cup in the Sault

2011-03-07T14:19:00.000-08:00

Heaven's Cup is gearing up for March Break Bible Adventure at Elim Pentecostal Church in Sault Ste Marie, March 14-18, 2011.

Elim Church Online

Treasure Seekers

2010-06-10T05:40:00.000-07:00

We are currently writing a new program called Treasure Seekers where we will go digging for treasure.
Treasure Seekers will emerge in July at Living Waters Boys & Girls Camp in Macdowell, Saskatchewan and Riverview Camp and Conference Centre Family Camp.

Preparing for Rain

2008-05-06T03:23:00.001-07:00

The winter had been cold and there had been little snow. Spring came with lots of sun, blowing dust and hard, cracked fields. The water table was low and local farmers feared a drought was in the making. Many wondered if it was even worth planting. If there was no rain, it would just be throwing away seed and labour.
Thomas and Will, two farmers in the community, were avid Christians. Each and every morning, they petitioned the God they served for rain and a fruitful harvest. There the similarity ended.
After morning prayers, Thomas went and met with local farmers down at the coffee shop. They talked about what it would cost to plant and lose the crop. Then home for lunch and he would chat with his wife about the talk around town and wondered when God would break the drought.
Will, on the other hand, ate his breakfast, picked up the lunch his wife had prepared, and headed out for a day on the fields. He ploughed up the fields after their winter nap. Fertilized. Chose his seed and went out and planted it. While waiting on the crops to grow, he made sure his barn was ready to receive his crop and his harvesting equipment was in good repair. Every night, he thanked God for the rain he believed was coming.
Two men, both believed in God. Both believed God was the giver of the rain. But which one was prepared for rain? Thomas who left his seed in the barn, or Will who planted his field.
If I were you, I would go to God and present my case to him. He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles. He gives rain for the earth and water for the fields. He gives prosperity to the poor and protects those who suffer. (Job 5:8-11 NLT)
Our van has reached its point of endurance(308,768 kms). We have only driven when necessary. Non-essential trips had been cancelled. For going on a trip out of town, we felt renting was our only option. We have been praying for a new vehicle for eight months, but now it’s spring. It was time to prepare for rain.
We cleaned out the van. Vacuumed it; washed it inside and out. Checked to make sure all the pockets and nooks were empty. Physically the van was ready to leave.
When we moved to Belmont, we owned a mobile home which we needed to sell. We finally did sell it almost two years ago but it was at quite a loss. Since then we have been working hard at paying off the remainder of our loan, the equivalent of a mortgage. We needed the rain.
Over the past five years, life has been financially challenging. There were times we did not know how we would pay for food, medication, gas, van repairs and other necessities. We often felt we were in a financial drought and wondered when the rain would come. We look back and are amazed at how God stepped in and met our needs in so many different ways and using so many different people. But we were still waiting for the rain.
We want to let you know, the spring rains have begun. This week God has walked us through a path of his making. We pick up our new van in a few days. The noose of the loan/mortgage is gone. We had trouble sleeping the other night. Then it hit us. The stress exhaustion that has dogged our steps for so long is gone!
Do you feel like you are in a drought? What steps do you need to take to prepare for the rain? What fields do you need to plant? Begin thanking God for the rain that will produce a good harvest.

The Work Begins...

2008-04-05T06:49:00.000-07:00

Summer may still be three months away but the work has already begun on the YASCAR. Pastor Joel has been visiting local businesses who have been willing to get on board with donating supplies. Soon, I hope to have a YASCAR page up which will keep you up to date on the progress of the car and all the people and individuals who have donated to make the YASCAR a reality.

Today, the men of the church will be starting to build. A picture log will be taken as we watch the YASCAR begin its transformation from two lawn tractors to one dual driver YASCAR.

Winning Heaven's Cup ~ New for 2008

2008-02-25T05:47:00.000-08:00

We are well on the way to preparing our new car racing themed program for this summer. Joel is having way too much fun writing the puppet scripts.

Snidely is deviously thinking up ways to trick the unsuspecting racers into using some underhanded means to win Heaven's Cup.

D.I.P. Stick needs to follow the manual when he tries to repair his car. He would probably have a lot more success if he just followed the rules.

plus much more...

We are booked for Silver Birches Family Camp (July 12-25) and will be presenting Winning Heaven's Cup during the second week when Dave and Anya will be with us, and possibly some brand new team members.

We will also be racing into Cedardale Camp (July 27 - Aug 3) again this year where Charity and Rhian will be with us. Charity is working at Cedardale this summer and will be there for all of July and much of August.

Winning Heaven's Cup will also be the theme for Summer Vacation Adventure (dates TBA) at New Life in Belmont.

We are already booked next year (2009) for Manhattan Beach's Family Camp and in 2010 for Boys and Girl's Camp.

Updates Coming Soon

2008-02-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

It is definitely way past time for a new look!

So keep watching, we will be transferring some of the information from the main web page - newsletters and stuff. I can even post everything according to its original date, so everything is chronological.

Plus we have a new site that is called YASM Stories which will have original stories written by us on.

The old website will also be undergoing a transformation and I hope I will be able to seemlessly blend the two, or should I say three sites into a terrific new format where you can have your input by posting comments, letting us know what you like about YASM and more.

It will probably be a bit before the new site is fully functioning, so please bear with us as the site will look a little choppy in the meantime.

Mary, for the YASM team

The YASM Team is Growing ~ 2004 - 2008

2008-01-30T14:20:00.000-08:00

Time has passed so quickly along with many changes. We love pastoring in Belmont. In March we will have been here five years. We have not lived this long in one house since we have been married. And just to clarify, we are not looking to leave any time soon. For the first time, I have actually decorated a house the way I like.

Our church is small. We have the ultimate small group, but we are also pleased to say we are finally starting to grow. Since being here, it has been our prayer to see growth take place from Belmont. It is awesome to have the numbers but if you are not reaching your own community then are you really connecting. In the past year, the growth has been taking place locally. Our children's program is growing with kids from Belmont. We have just begun a young adults group with our first event last week. There were twelve playing ball hockey and having a great time. Next month we will be playing Snow Football and Tube Mania.

Changes have been taking place in our family as well.

In May 2005, Anya graduated from Tyndale Unviversity College with her BRE with a major in ECE. Although offically not dating at the end of school, a friendship between Anya and long time friend Dave Bysterveld, was in the process of changing. In July, Dave joined us on a trip into Waskaganish. While there he asked permission to date Anya which we were delighted to give.

What a trip to Waskaganish that was. Sam Martin was also with us. Sam had been with us on our first trip to Waskaganish and he absolutely loved it, so we brought him along again. We did Boot Camp, the program Anya and Charity had written several years earlier. Dave had a crash course into a dramatic ministry. It wasn't until we were on our way home, we discovered how out of his comfort zone it was. In spite of that he did great and has been part of the YASM team ever since.

We were also thankful to have Dave's French skills on the way home. After our three hour delay on the highway waiting for the forest fire to clear away enough so we could drive through, we lost a wheel on the van. We were in Northern Quebec on a Saturday night and Dave was our translator. Through a series of God co-incidences and Dave's language skills, we were on our way after only about a six hour delay. Dave was definitely inducted into the team and family on that trip.

Anya was not able to travel with us very much anymore as she had been blessed with an amazing job at Temple Tots, a Christian daycare in London. In February, 2006, Dave proposed and the wedding plans were in full swing for an October wedding.

Charity was completing her schooling. In her third year, she lived for half the semester with good friends from the Newmarket area. It was a difficult time for her though with the commute. By Christmas she was exhausted, and had the opportuntiy to rent the same apartment she and Anya had shared before. She moved in with three college roomates, and was home most weekends. By reading break, Charity was quite sick and with symptoms similar to meningitis we took her to the hospital. The spinal tap tests came back clear and after the CAT scan she was pleased to hear that her brain was in a "pristine" condition. The rest of the semester was busy with endeavouring to finish her assignments and thanks to extensions from her teachers she had them in on time (I think).

Summer 2006, found us back at Manhattan Beach Retreat Centre in Manitoba. It was a joy to be back and actually using the new dining facilities we had helped fundraise for the last time we were there. The changes at Manhattan Beach in our years there have been a pleasure to see. The end of July found us back at Cedardale Nazarene Camp in Pefferlaw for our sixth year. OUr team was beginning to change with work schedules only allowing the team to be there for a few days at a time. Even Dave came down to help out as we were short staffed and Anya was unable to take the time off work.

By the time camp was over, we were into full time wedding plans for Anya. Charity was heading off to Parkwood in Windsor for her internship. Rhian was at home working as a supply teacher at the daycare with Anya and also at a local cafe in Belmont.

Charity was enjoying her Worship and Creative Arts practicum for her internship. She was involved with the children's choir, led the song service on several occasions, was involved both in the behind the scenes and the presentation of the Christmas production, plus helped out in the midweek children's program. In the centre of this, she was also trying to be on hand as much as possible for wedding preparations as she was the maid of honour.

October 14, 2006 arrived and we had a beautiful day. Joel performed the ceremony and now we are thrilled to have Dave as an important part of the family. After their honeymoon, Anya packed up everything that hadn't already gone ahead and moved away to Sundridge where she is actively involved in the church there.

May 2007, Charity graduated from Masters College and Seminary with her BTh with her major in Worship and Creative Arts. Following graduation she joined us at Belmont as our Music and Family Ministries Pastor. It is a joy to have her still involved locally and in YASM as much as she is able. She has dreams for YASM which involve discipleship and youth training. We are still waiting on God's timing to see how this will all come together.

Summer of 2007 found us packing up the van for a trip to Living Waters Camp in Saskatchewan. It had been many years since we had been there before and we were to experience some first time events. During Family Camp, the caretaker's house was being used for a movie shoot so the campgrounds became the set up for the day at the lake. One of the characters was a dead man discovered in the lake by some dogs. The cast were quite friendly and Rhian had her photo taken with the 'blue' man.

One night a horrible storm blew in. We had to get up to close the windows because the rain was blowing in. We heard a horrendous crash and Charity jumped out of bed and ran into the living room. The next thing we knew, a tree came through the roof. About twenty or thirty minutes later, someone came by and saw that we were okay. We were trapped in our cottage as the tree that came through the roof also blocked our door. An hour later after we had been cut out, we felt a little like we were entering Narnia. What was totally amazing though was the clean up. The storm came through around five. By two in the afternnon, you would not have known our cottage had been damaged. The many trees that had fallen, of which four were immediately around our cottage, were cut up into fire logs and piled. The co-operation and speed in which the clean up took place was phenomenal. It seemed like we may have had a wind tunnel come through the camp. If the path of destruction would have been slightly to the right of the path it took, the dining hall would have been taken out. Instead the uprooted trees did some damage to our cottage, fell on one or two cars, and the rest of the damage was at the mini-golf course.

We arrived home from Saskatchewan with just a day to do our laundry then we were back on our way to Cedardale. This time we had help with Miranda and CJ, teens from our church. We had been presenting a new program we had written called CSIU (Christ Seen In Us). Miranda was Mackenzie TopGunn and CJ was Jim Dandy. Along with Doc, they were discovering clues to solve a mystery.

The summer seemed to pass by way to quickly, although I must admit there were a few upcoming events we were looking forward to in October.

October 13, just one day short of their anniversary, Chloe Evangeline Bysterveld was born. We were half way to the hospital (a four hour trip) when Dave called to say Chloe had arrived. Dad, Mom and Baby were all doing well. I was blessed to be ble to spend Chloe's first week with her and her Mommy and Daddy, of course. So now the next generation of the YASM team have started to arrive. Chloe made her cameo appearance at Christmas as Baby Jesus.

We arrived home form Dave and Anya's Saturday night and left on the Sunday for our dream trip, a Caribbean Cruise. We had long wished to go on on, and this year God provided for us to be able to do that with our good friends Ken and Kathy. We loved the trip in spite of the weather. We were in Florida during the precursor of a hurricane, so the last few days were rainy. In spite of that, the trip and the friends were great.

Christmas was busy with a trip to the Richmond Hill Chinese Community Church for Christmas Eve. Dave and Anya were home with Chloe and she was very good in spite of all the people coming anf going.

Now it is a new year. We do not know what the year holds but we are looking forward to continued growth at NLCC. We are praying for a youth pastor who is willing to be a tentmaker.

We are returning to Silver Birches Camp and Cedardale Camp this summer. We were at Faith School in St Thomas for an assembly this past week, and will be returning for two more assemblies before the school year ends. We will be going to Blenheim to close out TNT for the year, plus there are a couple of upcoming events on the TBA burner. So keep tuned. YASM is still alive an well.

Transitions ~ 2000 - 2004

2004-05-21T08:18:00.000-07:00

As I read our history, I realize I have written as I speak "today". I talk about the future, that now has already happened and is part of our past. So I am going to continue on with the style I am most comfortable with, only I will now write as a journal, with the next entry bridging the gap between yesterday's tomorrow and today's past.

April 2000

In April of 2000, we relocated to Bayfield, Ontario to a year round resort where we could live in our mobile home. While in Bayfield we rounded out our tours of Canada with two trips to Newfoundland, one in 2001 and one in 2002. We were very busy with our travelling but other changes were taking place as well. Our family was growing up.

In the fall of 2000, Anya went to Tyndale College and Seminary. She will be graduating with her Bachelor of Religious Education (BRE) in the spring of 2005. The course she was in included an excelerated program in conjunction with Seneca College. Anya gratuated from Seneca College this spring with honours and now has her Early Childhood Education (ECE). This left a big gap in the ministry as we all had to pitch in to fill her shoes.

We knew that Charity was soon to follow her dream of higher education as well. It had always been our intent from the beginning to have our children involved in the ministry as much as possible and as time went by they became very capable ministers in their own right. We knew that losing Anya and Charity was going to leave a huge gap in the team.

Joel and I began looking at where we wanted to be in five years and praying that God would direct us. We had talked about returning to pastoral ministry, possibly in the children's ministry field, but we were still not sure that is what we wanted to do. Then a good friend called us and asked if we would be able to come and help him. The children's pastor from their church had resigned and they needed someone right away to fill in while they did a candidate search. We accepted the position.

We filled the position of children's pastor for about three months and enjoyed ourselves immensely. It was wonderful belonging with a specific group of people and we realized we had been missing that. Joel also decided to continue his education and so applied to Masters Seminary and is working towards his Masters in Theological Studies (MTS). Masters is run in co-operation with Tyndale Seminary so he is at the same school as Anya. As much as we enjoyed the children's ministry part of our time there, we also sensed that God was calling us into a broader ministry.

Six weeks after leaving that position, we accepted a position as pastor of New Life Community Church in Belmont, Ontario and began one week later. There is a beautiful parsonage in Belmont that we now occupy. As such we have our mobile home for sale. (It sold July 2006.) At NLCC we have a high priority on childrens and family ministries. They are still young but we believe that God is going to use them to grow our church.

In the fall of 2003, Charity took up housekeeping with her sister in Toronto, as she began her first year at Masters College and Seminary. (yep! It's the same one as Dad too.) She is working towards her Masters of Theology with a Major in Worship and Creative Arts. Next year, she will be Female Student Assistant at the school. She will be responsible for planning social activities for the female college students. Something she will enjoy very much.

Change is continuing to happen all around us as well. On February 27, 2004, my dad, Ronald Charles Meats, walked into the presence of Jesus. He will be missed.

Summer of 2004, will be an unusual summer for Joel and I. We will be away from home for only two Sundays - and one of those his holidays. (yes, we are actually taking holidays!) Anya and Charity will be the focal members of the YASM team this summer as they are away for seven weeks. We will be with them some of the time but in supporting roles. It will be our last full year of travel. Next year Anya will be looking for a job. Charity will find work locally and live at home, while we are forging ahead with the new direction God has given us. We will continue to minister as our schedule allows but I am beginning to like the living at home scene.

Expanding Our Territory

2002-11-30T07:37:00.000-08:00

Expanding Our Territory
From Newfoundland to Manitoba and the James Bay. We have had a wonderful, busy year. We spent almost two months in Newfoundland in the spring. Our summer saw us minister almost 100 times.
The year began in Ontario’s North and we have just come down from Quebec’s North. So many wonderful places and people and so many changes. I know the format is different than our usual newsletter but we did want to give you an update on what has been happening in our lives.
Answered Prayers
Over the past few years, we have been praying for a laptop to make our travel life easier. This year, God blessed us with a brand new Toshiba laptop. We have been transferring files over to Power Point. We can receive e-mail anywhere. The gift of the laptop has been greatly appreciated.
About five years ago, we were not travelling very much and so bought two puppies, Royal and Sasha. Then we went back on the road again and they travelled with us just about everywhere. As much as we loved them, their life was not ideal. They spent many hours in the van and tied up outside, so we prayed that God would provide a home for them. He did.
A few weeks ago, Royal and Sasha were relocated to Waskaganish with a wonderful family there. We miss them terribly but know that they are better off.
We have had some major car problems this year but they have been either before leaving home or after arriving at a location where repairs can be done. For that we are very thankful. We did have one repair enroute - a flat tire at night. Good thing there was a busy truck population. Now we have a flashlight in the van. :o)
Challenges Too!
My dad spent much of the year in the hospital before moving to a nursing home in August. He has also had both of his feet amputated. The last one just a few weeks ago.
Anya turned twenty-one this year and what a celebration weekend it was. She had four surprise parties in all. While on our way home from one of the parties, we stopped at McDonalds. It was late, and we were tired, especially me. I tripped over the curb and hurt my hand badly. It was not broken, but now two months later I still only have limited use of it. I was unable to work on the computer for much of the first month, which put our expected newsletter on hold - hence the reduced version.
We also never put out any of our Christmas advertising which ended up being a blessing in disguise.
A New Territory
Early in October, Ken Powell called from Queensway Cathedral in Toronto. Their children’s pastor had resigned and they needed someone to fill in the gap. We accepted and we are commuting to Toronto twice a week. We travel down Wednesday mornings and come home Thursday night. Then we travel down again on Saturday and come home after church Sunday night.
We have been enjoying our time there, but we are still honouring the bookings we had before we went. We expect to be there until at least the end of January.
Further Education
Another exciting change is also taking place. Joel is applying to Master’s Seminary for his Masters in Theological Studies. In January, he hopes to be taking one course just to get back into the swing of things. We are looking at relocating to the Greater Toronto area in time for the fall semester.
Thank You
We would like to say a special thank you to everyone that has prayed for us and also to those who gave financial blessings. We know that we would be unable to continue travelling without you. You share in the harvest of the over 400 children that have made decisions to follow Jesus.

What is God's Blessing

2002-02-21T07:36:00.000-08:00

What is God's Blessing
OH, Lord, bless me indeed! A greedy, self-centred prayer? A believer’s right? What is it about these few words that has created such a whirlwind?
We first heard about the prayer of Jabez through several organizations in regular mailings that we receive. The letters assumed that we knew who and what was being talked about. However, we did not, and all the talk about the "bless me" part made me a little bit cynical. Everything we saw and heard seemed to be more conducive to our North American materialistic lifestyle than discovering God's plan for our lives. Then we discovered that the uproar was caused by a small, devotional style book by Bruce Wilkinson, called The Prayer of Jabez.
Just in case this is the first time you recall ever hearing of Jabez, let me give you a little bit of history. Smack dab in the middle of the genealogies, we find him in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10. Interestingly enough, we do not know who his parents or his descendants are. But he does make a bit of a splash among the begots. We know that he was not an only child as he was more honourable than his brothers. We also know that the time surrounding his birth was difficult. Why? The naming of a child was very important. The name created an identity and even a promise. Jabez' name meant "pain". Talk about an identity crisis. Every time he was called, his self-esteem would receive another hammer blow. Somehow, in spite of this, Jabez knew that God could make a difference. So he prayed,
Oh, that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil that I MAY NOT CAUSE PAIN. And God granted him his request. It was while staying with friends that we first read The Prayer of Jabez and we also saw some videos of Bruce Wilkinson as a guest of 100 Huntley Street, a Christian Talk Show in Canada. It was then our attitude began to change. I am not sure if it was something in the book or on the video that sent my thoughts back about six or seven years.
Gary Smalley and John Trent authored a book called The Blessing which was about the importance of the patriarchal blessing throughout Scripture, and the importance of us passing that blessing onto our children today. The patriarchal blessing included: 1. Meaningful touch 2. A spoken message 3. Attaching “high value” to the one being blessed. 4. Picturing a special future for the one being blessed. 5. An active commitment to fulfill the blessing.
Every morning, just before Anya, Charity and Rhian would leave the house for school, Joel would bless them. Often the blessing would be similar to this: Joel would place his hand on the head of the one being blessed and would say something like, “I love you. You are going to have a great day. God is going to keep his hand upon you today. I know that you are going to be a great lady for God.” Then Joel would kiss them and they would leave. Before long, two of Anya and Charity's friends, who came from fatherless homes, began arriving in time to receive a blessing as well.
It was during this time that Joel suffered the accident that eventually cost him his index finger on his left hand. He was injured at work and underwent surgery that tried to repair the hand. A friend brought the three girls in to see Joel when he came out of surgery. Still groggy from the anaesthetic, Joel called the not be home when they left for school in the morning. Joel would have no memory of that event but it left such an impression on Charity that she told every one about it.
When Anya, Charity and Rhian were again being home schooled, the daily blessing was sometimes forgotten without the daily routine of leaving the house. One of the girls would often come and ask, "Daddy, can you give me a blessing?”
Joel's answer was always, "Yes." Was he ever offended that they asked for a blessing. Of course not! What were they asking for? Money? No. Health? No. A new car? No. Guidance? Maybe? Assurance of love? Definitely.
So why do we automatically assume that when we ask God for His blessing that we are being greedy? As a father, Joel loves to bless his girls. As a Father, does not God want to bless us also?
So if God wants to bless us, what is the blessing He wants to give? That is where I think the confusion comes in. We are so attuned to thinking that God's blessing is financial or material in nature that we are preconditioning ourselves to only see that. But God's blessing is so much more. It is also God's choice, not mine. The girls never told Joel how to bless them, they just wanted Dad's blessing. In the same way, God, our Father, knows exactly what kind of blessing we need.
In October, we were challenged to pray the same prayer that Jabez prayed and see if anything happened. So we did.
After beginning this, I began to analyze why praying this simple prayer seemed to change people's lives and I came up with several reasons why I think it works.
1. First of all, people are praying. Some people, although professing to follow Jesus, may not talk to Him outside of the obligatory table grace and bedtime ritual - if then. Now they are praying and circumstances in their lives are changing. They are requesting God's blessing and He is faithful to meet them at their greatest need.
2. People are not telling God how to bless them. They are simply asking for His blessing. The way God chooses to bless us may not be the way He chooses to bless you. This idea transcends material blessing - although that may be how God chooses to bless you. For our brothers and sisters in countries closed to the gospel, His blessing may be freedom from fear or discovery. For another it may be the grace to endure pain, comfort in sorrow, or peace in the storm. God's blessing may be safety on the road, good health, or learning to depend on Him completely. The blessing may be the certainty of knowing a heavenly future awaits you. Whatever God's blessing is, you can rest assured that He is doing exactly what is best for you.
3. People are anticipating God to move on their behalf. Then when a blessing comes they are thankful to God for it. Very often we receive what we expect. When a church calls us to come and minister with them we can thank God for that blessing, or we can justify that the church would have called anyway and think of it as our just rewards. So when we anticipate God to move on our behalf, our eyes are open to see what God is doing.
Have things changed at our home since we began asking God to "bless us indeed"? Indeed they have.
When we wrote our last newsletter, it was a difficult one for us to write, and our October - February calendar was pretty bleak looking. We began to pray and God began to move. Most of our weekends in November and December filled up. We were very busy.
In November, we were privileged to attend a worship conference for kids in Ohio. We were thoroughly blessed. There were over 300 people, mainly children and youth (ages 6-18), with parents and children's leaders, at the conference . On the Saturday afternoon, this group of people interceded on behalf of our world and the war on terrorism for one and a half hours. One of the children at the conference wore a T-shirt that proclaimed, "Children Prayed, Revival Came". It then listed on the back of the shirt all the revivals that began because children prayed. One of those revivals was the Welsh Revival which so influenced my grandparents. So maybe because children prayed in Wales, our family ministers to children today.
In December, we returned to Waskaganish, in Northern Quebec, for a children's weekend and had a fantastic time. Over 90 children attended each service with over 60 children responding to an altar call to accept Christ. That was not the only miracle of the weekend either.
After leaving Matagami, the last town before reaching Waskaganish, we would travel 340 km without seeing a gas station, coffee shop, or any of the conveniences we were used to. We may have seen five other vehicles, and the weather was bad for the last 150 km.
We arrived safely in Waskaganish only to discover that as we came to the conclusion of our journey, we had a flat tire. That tire could have gone flat anywhere in that 340 km of barrenness but it stayed usable until we reached our destination. Joel attempted to have the tire replaced the next day but it would need to be flown in. It should arrive by Monday when we needed to leave.
Monday morning arrived and there was no tire. It would maybe arrive Tuesday or Wednesday. We were in Quebec’s north and it was December. We had no idea what the weather forecast was but we did know that the sky looked like a storm was brewing. Both Joel and I felt strongly mpressed that we needed to leave that day. So we began our trek out with a donut tire on the van and no spare. These tires are only rated for 100 km. We had already put over 500 km on ours and now we were going for another 450 before we could buy a new tire. We actually travelled for 770 km, praising God the whole way. By Christmas God had blessed us with new tires all the way round on the van.
January saw our territory being expanded as we were invited to be part of a local TV station’s Christian talk show. We were blessed to be able to present “He Took My Place” and “Healing the Brokenhearted” on the air.
Now we are looking at a reasonably full calendar for the next seven months. Yes, God has definitely blessed.

Anya's Additions
It is difficult to believe that we are already into the new year. I have finished my first semester at college and has the time ever gone by fast.
College has been great and I have made new friends. I am looking forward to this next semester as well, although I did enjoy the month that I had off between terms.
One of the courses that I am taking this winter is Children's Ministry. It sounds like something that will really interest me - especially since I have been doing children’s ministry for over fifteen years.
I am looking forward to my day-care placement and actually working with the little ones. I spend every Thursday afternoon with the four and five-year-olds.
It has been such a blessing to be able to attend college and watch as God provides for each of my needs and I am so glad He is there for me.
I had a great time last year and I expect this year to be even better. God will still provide and lead me in the direction He wants me to go. I will keep following Him every day.
I love you all.
Keep living for Jesus.

Charity's Chatter
Can kids touch God? Do they have the ability and the desire to have more of God in their lives? To know about who God is, what He does, and what He can do in their lives? Yes, I believe they can. Why, because I have seen it first hand - children seeking after God; interceding for Him to move. God has placed in each one of us the desire to worship Him and have an intimate relationship with Him.
So why is it assumed that desire is not there until we hit our teen years. Why do we place all our efforts and money into the youth, music and adults so that all the children receive are the left overs. People say that the youth and the children are the church of tomorrow, but they are not. They are the church of today. If we do not invest into the hearts and lives of our children then there is not going to be a church tomorrow. If there is nothing in the church to hold them there, they will go the way of the world.
Have you ever gone to a banquet and there was all this delicious food on the tables? It was hot and steaming, just taken from the oven. The smells were absolutely heavenly and you could hardly wait to sink your teeth into one of those juicy steaks, creamed potatoes, glazed baby carrots, or hot gooey apple crisp. Then just before you reach out to take the food someone steps up and says that the food is not for you. Then they take you off to the nursery where you receive cookies and apple juice or they take you to kids church and all you get are hot dogs and flavoured water. Pretty disappointing, eh?
Sometimes that is what we do with our kids. Our adult services are on fire for God but we send the children off to their church where they have a song, three minute Bible story and then it is snack and craft time. We believe we are reaching the kids at their level but we are not challenging them to be all they can be in God.
I know that children can worship, they can touch God. I have seen it. They can have that desire placed within them and they can be tools in God’s hands. We need to challenge them, on a level that they will understand. We need to allow them to worship as children not as little adults or they will never reach the full potential that God has for them. They can make such a mighty difference for Him when they are still young.
It is my desire to see children, all over Canada and America, become the great and mighty warriors that they are in God. But that will not happen unless they are taught that God wants to pour out into their lives His Holy Spirit and His power. God is seeking worshippers who will abandon themselves to Him and give Him praise that is right when it is done with all of your might. I believe that God is building up an army of worshipping children that will go before us into battle.
God Bless.

Rhian's Remarks
Mr. Son, Son, Mr. Glorious Son. Please shine down on us...
Last year, the Lord shone down on us as a family and in the ministry. He has blessed us in so many ways we can't even count it on our hands and toes and that's with our socks off. Children, youth and adults came to the Father in all the programs we did.
In this new year, we are hoping for great and new things - ‘out with the old and in with the new.’ Isaiah 43:18-19 tells us “‘Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old, Behold I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it.” Let God do something new in your life this year.
In 2002, remember that whatever you do, do it for Him as we are told to in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Remember to keep us in your prayers and when you do pray make this prayer yours: ‘Oh Lord, that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that your hand will be with me, and that you would keep me from evil; that I might not cause pain. (1 Chronicles 4:9) And you will see God’s blessings.
God bless,
Joel & Mary
Anya, Charity and Rhian

Go MAD

2001-10-31T07:35:00.000-08:00

Go MAD
Go Make A Difference! shouts back the audience. Everyone knows that “Go MAD!” was not a plea for insanity but a cry to Go Make A Difference for God. We were wanting everyone to make a difference at home, at school and in their community.
X-stream-ly MAD was the theme of our summer VBS. Each program centred around an extreme sport, including rollerblading and mountain climbing.
One of the ways, we could make a difference was by forgiving others. God wants us to forgive others is so that we can be whole. Unforgiveness is like a splinter in your hand. As long as it remains, it causes pain; infection can set in; and it will not heal. But remove the splinter and healing begins.
We saw it happen. Michelle* was brought to the services. She did not want to be there. She hated God. Profanity spewed out of her mouth as easily as water from a tap. God met her at her place of need. Near the end of the week she asked Jesus into her life. The change was immediate. A smile replaced the swearing. A hug was given instead of a slap. There was peace instead of anger.
Jenny* had forgiven the abuser but the painful memories were still there. She needed the balm of Gilead poured over her heart to have peace. We were privileged to pray with her until the deliverance came.
We have been blessed to see over 400 people make a decision to follow Christ this year. Many others found healing or forgiveness in Jesus. You too can Go MAD! Go Make A Difference.

A Time of Transition
This will be a newsletter unlike any we have written before. Usually, we talk about all the good things that happen and keep the ‘bad’ things to ourselves. When I was praying about this letter though, I felt that God wanted us to open up our hearts to you and let you know how things have really been.
I think the past two years have been a time of transition for us, and to be honest, not all of it has been pleasant. Some of it has been downright uncomfortable. As many of you know, in late 1999, Joel accepted a ministry position at a camp that fell through before it had even begun. In a four month time period, we found ourselves making a second move. This move, however, was much more expensive than we had anticipated. In addition to this we were plagued with van repairs throughout the year. By the end of 2000, we had paid out in unexpected bills over $10,000.
By the fall of 2000, we had been on an emotional and financial roller coaster that we would not wish on our worst enemies (if we could figure out who they are). Our two oldest daughters were making plans to enter college over the next few years. Ministry opportunities were few and the bank account was empty. The future looked bleak and uncertain.
We began to wonder if it was time to go off the road. We put our name out as available to become a children’s pastor. We had several good offers, and even went as far as doing a ministry presentation at one church. But why were we looking for a church? Were we wanting to go off the road because of the financial instability or because God was directing that way? We loved the travelling, meeting people and making new friends but the emotional and financial turmoil we were in was interfering with every decision we made.
Everything came to a head in January when we almost lost our van. We sent out an appeal for prayer to many of our friends and they prayed, and prayed, and prayed. A few who did know what was happening gave financially. Our Itinerant Ministries Director intervened on our behalf, and we were able to keep the van.
It was then that things turned around for us. New doors for ministry opened up. Another ministry took us under their wing and helped us heal. New programs were developed featuring Rhian who will be with us for a while yet. We were given a fresh vision for the ministry God has called us to. Without intent, Jeremiah 29:11 became our theme verse.
Our calendar began to fill up. Out of our brokeness, we were able to minister to others and see God bring peace where once there was pain.
Now it is fall again. It has been a good year. So why do we feel so fragile?
Physically, we are tired, but well. We ministered over 100 times from June through September. Then for three weeks, we were care giving for Mary’s dad while her mom was on a much needed vacation.
Emotionally, we are just entering the empty nest stage. We have sent Anya off to college and miss her terribly. We are not looking forward to doing this two more times.
Ministry wise, the bookings are few at this time. We hope that it will change for December as we have just written a new Christmas program called ‘The Gift’. It is about a father who does not understand Christmas, but meets God in a special and unusual way.
Financially, we are still recovering from the disaster of 2000. For the past two years, Joel has only been receiving 50% of his salary, and not all of that is paid up. Anya, Charity and Rhian have had a small amount of their salaries paid, but most of it is still on account. Churches want us to come and yet cannot afford to pay us. We want to go and yet cannot afford to go without being remunerated adequately. Our van is still in need of $2000 worth of repairs. Before the crash, Anya, Charity and Rhian had braces put on their teeth. They cannot come off until the orthodontist has been paid in full.
As a result of our financial no-cash flow, we have some dreams that are currently on hold (see Dreams). We also have had to turn down some invitations to minister overseas. One invitation that is on the table now is for Iqualit, Nunavit in Canada’s far north among the Inuit. The church there wants to start a children’s church and would like for us to come and do some teacher training, and help them start it. It will cost us about $6000 to go. We have the time and the willingness but not the finances.
So we wait, wondering where God is directing us next.

Anya's Additions
Hi Everyone!
It seems so long ago that I wrote. Our last newsletter was written while in Newfoundland. I told you that I was planning on going to Tyndale College & Seminary in Toronto. Well, I have been here for two months already and am enjoying my time. I am in the Bachelor of Religious Education/ Early Childhood Education (BRE/ECE) program.
Living in Toronto is a neat experience. I have travelled to family in the area, by myself, using the subway and did not even get lost. :o) I have not done any sight seeing yet because I've been rather busy with classes, reading, more reading, and playing indoor soccer.
Back to school, for an orientation activity all the frosh went to Muskoka Woods Sports Resort. I met the other girls in my dorm and the other people who are taking the BRE/ECE program. There are eight of us - one guy - yay, for Jay! - and seven girls.
I have six classes this semester and I am enjoying all of them. This is the middle of the semester and I am in the midst of mid-term exams. Please pray that everything will go well with my studying and assignments.
I cannot believe that October will be over next week. This school year has gone by so fast. We are having a soccer tournament in the middle of November with the other Christian schools in the district. It is not a varsity sport or anything, just a little get together to have some fun with the other schools.
Please continue to pray for me, I need it. :o)
I love you all. Write me sometime. My address is Tyndale College, 25 Ballyconnor Ct., #1455, Toronto, Ontario M2M 4B3.

Charity's Chatter
Have you ever seen the old musical "Singin' In the Rain"? One song on there "Make 'Em Laugh" sung by Donald O'Conner has a line that says "And the show must go on!"
Well summer is over, the fall has begun, and Anya has gone off to school. I guess the only thing to be said is "And the show must go on". With or without Anya 'the show must go on'. :o) It has been a little hard on me to have Anya gone. There are times I go to talk to her and she is not there. I have to go places without her and sometimes that leaves me feeling very alone. But I am starting to adjust. By the time she comes home at the end of the year I think I will be over it. :o)
It is kind of fun to be the oldest, but there is so much responsibly that comes with it. The nice part though is that Rhian and I spend more time together.
This summer was amazing. We had some wonderful camps and VBS's.
We had a week off in July that we were able to spend here at home. It was heavenly. We spent almost every day out by the pool.
With the week off we were able to prepare for my grandparents 50th Anniversary. I wrote a song for them and sang it when they renewed their vows. The song was “I Would Choose You”. It talked about choosing that person you love over the greatest riches in the world. You can kind of see the parallel in it with Jesus. He had all the riches in the world. He was the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Creator, yet He still left it all to become a lowly man. He was not even born into a palace, the son of a King, but to a carpenter. His life was very simple. With that in mind He still came to earth, gave up all to die a criminal death on a cross to save the ones He loves. How great a love that is.
Honestly, and this is no joke, I started talking in full sentences before I was one year old. My parents joke that I have not stopped since and maybe that is true, but I have discovered something I can do with my talkative talent. I can preach. I can share the love of Jesus, not only with stories and puppets and songs, but also by just plain out telling them. I preached for the first time when we were out east during the spring and I never thought I would enjoy it so much. I find a joy in just sharing with people how I feel about Jesus and how much He means to me and how much they can Make A Difference for Him.
I would ask that you would pray for me. I am in the process of finding out what it is God wants me to do about school and what courses to take. Please pray that God gives me direction and provides the money for that.
God bless you and thank you all for your prayers.

Rhian's Remarks
GO MAD!
Not the crazy type, no just go mad, you know, go Make A Difference. That is what the kids this summer were learning. Even if they are small they are mighty in God's eyes; they can still go MAD! They can go MAD for Him in their schools, their towns, their world....
You too moms and dads. Now we all know we do not want to be mad, like angry, but you can be leaders to show your kids they can go MAD for Christ. You may also be thinking that I am already mad. My kids are drivin' me crazy. Hey, I know that feeling. I have got two great, crazy parents, and two great, crazy sisters, but I love them. But let me leave you with this GO MAD!
Bye!

How Can You Help?
Become a Prayer Partner. Pray for us, then pray for us some more. We need your prayers more than anything else.
Become a Financial Partner.
Consider a one-time donation.
Consider becoming a monthly partner. We are praying for 100 people, organizations and businesses that would support YASM on a monthly basis.
Sponsor a crusade so that we could go to a home missions or smaller church.
Become a Publicity Partner. Word of mouth is the best advertisement. You are familiar with our ministry, give our name out to churches and organizations that would be blessed by having us in.

Dreams Can Become Reality
Dream with us about the future. Dreams that we hope to change into a reality before too long.
Charity is ready to cut her first CD. $2,000
Marnie and Doc notepads and T-shirts. We also need a cartoonist who will make us line drawings of Marnie and Doc. $2,000
High end graphics capable laptop with DVD. $4,000
Video Projector. $8,000
Purchasing a motor home. Mary has recently been diagnosed as being glucose intolerant (early stages of diabetes). A motor home would enable her to be able to have a lot more control over her diet. $70,000
Publication of Shining For Jesus, a five part children’s story book.
Publication of See How Your Storytelling Can Sparkle, teaching others how to tell a good story.
Publication of an Activity Book.
Mission Trip with Tasch Ministries Int’l. TMI takes children on missions trip. It has been a long time dream of Joel’s to take children on trips. This trip would be excellent training ground.
God bless,
Joel & Mary
Anya, Charity and Rhian

Healing the Brokenhearted

2001-06-30T07:34:00.000-07:00

Healing the Brokenhearted
Louise - everyone knows Louise. Either you have walked in her shoes, or know someone who has. She is the person no one likes, and everyone ridicules. But Jesus loves Louise, and Barney, and Mark, and Debbie, and you. Not only does He love them, but Jesus wants to heal their broken hearts … and yours.
This year, Barney and Marnie, Louise and Dopey are helping us share this truth and God is healing broken hearts.
A young boy is weeping at the altar. His father, who he is very close to, has been sent to jail. Now Jesus is washing away the pain.
A teenager laughs. His laughter is music to his parents ears. Just a few days earlier, he says good-bye to his friends at school and before he arrives home, they are dead. His heart is heavy as he realizes that in spite of his witnessing they had not accepted Christ. As we minister, God restores the joy and releases the guilt.
A mom says, “Thank you.” She has two daughters waiting for her in heaven. Her sixteen year old daughter was hit by a car and killed this year. As Joel shared about our son in heaven, she was able to let go of some of her grief and Jesus moved in to bring peace.“This was not a kid’s service.” one man commented. “It was a service for everyone. It just reached down to the child in each of us.”
The stories go on. Children, teenagers and adults are allowing God to bring healing to their hurting hearts.
And He is.

Keeping Busy and Loving It
Wow! It’s hard to believe that it has been five months since our last newsletter and have we been busy!
To be honest, 2000 was a rough year for us. Then early in 2001, a seemingly uncrossable mountain appeared in front of us. We asked people to pray - and pray they did. Within a few days the craggy mountain top had been cut off, and we have been watching that mountain shrink in size ever since. A special thank you to everyone who was praying for us.
Since that time, we have been very busy. In January and March, we were in Northern Ontario three times. In February, we were in North Carolina enjoying the nice weather. I also discovered that I am not really a sports person unless...the person playing is related to me. Then the whole picture changes.
Joel’s cousin was playing in a college golf tournament while we were there. We happily followed her around the course and rejoiced when her school came in second out of twenty-two colleges.
In April, we were close to home building a trailer for our summer tour. God blessed us with a trailer base that was small enough for our van to pull. Then we needed to put the rest of it together.
We were also finalizing plans for our last NYSSSA conference. It was an extremely busy time with the conference booklet to prepare, having workshop and exhibitor applications ready to mail out for next year and all of the other million and one things that needed to be done.NYSSSA finally arrived May 11-12 and was a success. That final day was bittersweet knowing that after four years and seven conferences this was another chapter closed.Immediately following NYSSSA, we were involved in our first presentation of X-stream-ly MAD - Make A Difference, God’s Way. We were ministering at a local community park and saw over fifty first time decisions for Christ.
May also found us ministering to the Carisma congregations in Hamilton, Toronto and Cambridge - all on the same day. Our first service was in Hamilton at 11:00 and we were on our way to Toronto by 1:15. Weather and traffic were a real challenge, but we made it to church on time - we just were not set up yet. The service began a little bit late but God still moved powerfully. Then it was off to Cambridge. The rain had cleared and we were thankful that we had left our trailer at home. This time we did make it in time. Finally, we arrived home with two days to pack for the summer.
May 29, we pulled out with a fully loaded van, car top carrier and trailer - heading east. Most of June will be spent in Newfoundland. July will find us back in Ontario. August will be shared between Quebec and Ontario. Then we will have a few days at home. Now onto the family news.
Anya has written her grade 12 equivalency exams and passed. Although we did not receive her actual marks, her placing among recent graduates is in the top 15%. We are thrilled.Anya has applied to go to college this fall and we are just waiting to hear whether or not she has been accepted. We will certainly miss her but recognize God’s hand on her life.Anya and Charity both passed their driving tests so Anya is a full driver and Charity is in her final stage of the graduated license.
Charity is continuing to write music. My parents are celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary this year, and her latest song is one written especially for them.Rhian is enjoying her role as S. Papillon (social butterfly) in X-stream-ly MAD - especially the wild and wacky clothes she gets to wear. This summer Anya will be passing the mantle of clowning onto Rhian.
We have been intrigued as we have watched God orchestrate our plans as we look to the changes taking place in our family that will also affect the ministry team. Programs in the past that would have featured Anya are now featuring Rhian. Charity will be with us for another year, but God has already been laying on our hearts ideas for the future.
We are also looking towards making application for a non-profit status in the US either this fall or early next year. At this time we are considering Sanford, North Carolina; Hamburg, New York; Port Huron, Michigan or Springfield, Missouri as our office location. All four places have excellent reasons why we should choose them so please pray that we will know where to go.

Anya's AdditionsAnya is now attending Tyndale College and Seminary in Toronto, Ontario. She is currently enrolled in the BRE program with a minor in ECE. She begins classes September 10, 2001. Although she plans to travel with us next summer, this is her last letter as a full-time member of the team. As a member of the family, Anya's Additions will continue.
It is the season that we spend a lot of our time outdoors doing activities that we most enjoy.Summer is my favourite time of the year, I think. I like doing those activities that cannot be done during the rest of the year, such as water sports. My favourite are tubing, kneeboarding and swimming.
This summer is special for me because it may be the last time that I will travel regularly with my family and the ministry. I am planning on going to college in the fall. Please pray that all things will work out God’s way and that I will follow God's will for my life. I thank you all for continuing to pray for our family as we travel and minister.God is so good. I am glad He is watching over me always. He will never leave me, nor forsake me. God's beauty is grand and majestic. It is all over the place speaking of His power and might.
I am in Newfoundland. It is the last province of Canada for our family to minister in, and I am really enjoying myself. I have started to talk like a Newfoundlander. I have been on a deep sea fishing boat as well as the ferry for crossing, where I had motion sickness. I have had some lobster, something I am not to keen about. This week I was within one hundred feet of an iceberg grounded in La Scie. It was neat to see the water running off the frozen ice into the ocean like small streams. It has been great.
Everything is going well and I just want to remind you all that God is in control of your life. He knows what is best for you. Keep trusting in Him, He'll see you through. May God richly bless your life.

Charity's Chatter
For those who live in Newfoundland, I just want to say that your Island is beautiful. We really should have come here a whole lot sooner. In the last week and a half that I have spent on this Island I have felt completely at home. The people are so friendly and willing to share. I pray that God will bless richly those who blessed us. I just want to say thank you. You have made the start of my summer a true joy.
Summer!?! Can you believe it is almost here. It sure doesn't seem it weather wise, but wow it has come again. I am really looking forward to this summer, but at the same time not quite. This summer we are trying something new, but also heading into a time of change. Our X-streamly Mad VBS - Make a Difference God's Way - is really looking good. We are using extreme sports theme, but none of us know how to do any of them. We want to make a difference this year in lives all over Canada and the United States. We also want to teach kids that no matter who they are, they can make a difference too. Even though they are young they can still worship God with heart, body, soul, mind, and strength. Please pray with us that God would come and meet with the children this summer. Pray that they would experience Him in a new way and that we would follow the leading of the Holy Spirit as we lead the children.
We have already started our summer with a park outreach ministry. We did the X-stream theme and had an awesome time in the park in Dundalk. We taught that we can go extreme for God and saw a number of children make first time commitments to Christ. It is wonderful to see what God is doing and what He will continue to do there. Not only there, but also here in Newfoundland.
This is our first time on the Island and by being here it has made our 'Across Canada' complete. We have now been in every province in Canada (excluding the territories) for ministry. God is just doing wonderful things in the lives of the people out here. He is awesome.
Like I said, this year we are also heading into a time of change. Anya is planning to go off to college. This is really going to be hard on me because she is my best friend. She has always been there for me. I know I sometimes come off as the leader, but in truth I couldn't do it without my older sister. She has been my leaning post for...forever. This is a point of growth and I am going to need to learn to lean even more on Jesus, pray that I will be able to stand strong.
But above everything else, Jesus will be glorified this summer.
For those we are going to see in our travels, can't wait to catch up with you again. God bless and have an awesome summer.

Rhian's Remarks
On your mark! Get set! Go!
The summer is just around the corner. My summer started in May and does not end until September.
We left for Newfoundland at the end of May and will be there for three weeks in June. Can you believe it? Three weeks in one place. Wow!
God has been so awesome this past few months.
You know, life is like a race. We are trying to finish. We are trying to win but there are trials that we can go through. And there are mountains to climb. When you climb a mountain, you need to have the right gear: harness, helmet, rope, etc. When we climb we have to put our trust in the gear. When we go through trials, we have to trust God, just like we trust the mountain climbing gear.
Remember, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” When you need a friend just call on the Father. He's there and always near at hand.
Keep Living for the King.
:o) Smile, God loves you

Is There a Doggy or Two in the House?
Several years ago, we came off of the road in a full-time capacity. During that time we acquired Royal and Sasha, two cute and adorable Papillons, or toy spaniels. Since that time, God has redirected us back onto the road full-time and we are becoming increasingly busy.
Royal and Sasha travel almost everywhere with us. However, the busier we become the more Royal and Sasha need a different life. Living out of a suitcase is one thing - living in the van is quite another.We are looking at several options.
Someone who lives near us who would be able to doggysit for anything from a weekend to several months at a time.
Someone who would take the dogs on a semi-permanent basis until we have a motorhome or one of our family would be able to care for them on a permanent basis.
Someone who would take Royal and Sasha permanently with the understanding that should they ever choose to no longer have them that they would first let us have the opportunity to have them back. Royal (4 yrs., M) and Sasha (3½ yrs., F) are both neutered, house trained and friendly. Except that our life style makes it difficult for them, we would not be considering giving them away. They truly are a part of our family.

The Shoulder Model Needs the Shrink Cycle
A picture was sent to us recently of the new shoulder model laptop. Someone had humorously put together a full desktop computer system - complete with yoke - for over the shoulder ease of transportation. In some ways we can sympathize with the owner as we are packing two large totes and a 17 in. monitor into the van every time we go anywhere this summer.
Our busy year has resulted in not enough time behind the computer, at home, to prepare everything for our new VBS, X-stream-ly MAD. So our shoulder model comes with us. In some ways it is really nice to have the whole thing, but then it would sure be a lot easier if we had the smaller version. Because of everything that we use the computer for, a high end graphics friendly laptop has become a need for the ministry, not just a want.
Please pray with us that God would provide for this need quickly. Then we can return the desktop to its rightful place.

Thank You
A Special Thank you to everyone who prayed and gave during the past year. Without you we could not have accomplished what we did. May God richly bless you!
God bless,
Joel & Mary
Anya, Charity and Rhian

Precious Moments with a Child

2001-01-31T07:32:00.000-08:00

Precious Moments With a Child
Have you ever had those precious moments with a child that you remember for years afterwards? Like when your child wants to get the transgression card from the ABM teller, or going to Agony Tire (Canadian Tire) to do some shopping. In 2000, we had several of those occasions that we thought you would enjoy.
* * *
While Joel was walking down the street in Mistissini, Quebec, a young boy called out, "Hi, Mr. Jesus!"
What a privilege it was to know that we were living Jesus before these children.
* * *
A puppet was sitting on our equipment. A lady in the church asked one of the children, "What is that?" pointing to the puppet.
"A servant of God." replied the child. We had never thought of puppets in quite that way, but God can use anything.
* * *
We were eating breakfast, just getting ready to leave for home when the phone rang in our hostess' home. A mother of one of the children was calling. The night before, her daughter had a dream. She dreamt that she saw the puppet stage with Jesus sitting behind it. He was blessing the children.
* * *
We were raising money for Open Doors With Brother Andrew to send Bibles to children in China. Some of the children wanted to do their part and set up a kool-aid stand outside the dining hall. They raised over $30 through generous contributions.
* * *
Charity was talking to a little girl about Mary and Joseph. She wanted to know if they were real people.
"Yes," Charity said, "they lived 2000 years ago. That's a long time ago."
"Yes," said the little girl, "my grandma was alive then."
* * *
"What were the gifts brought to the baby Jesus, by the wisemen?" asked the pastor.
"Gold" said one child.
"Myrrh" said another.
"Franklinstein" answered the last little boy.
* * *
"If I was going to get a storyteller, I'd get you 'cause you're the best."

Highlights and Other Unforgettable Moments in 2000
For many of you, this will be the first time you have heard from us in over a year. We want to reassure you that you have not been forgotten. It was just one of those years. So we are going to share with you some highlights and other unforgettable moments.
Our year began with a move. We had purchased a mobile home so that we could take up residence at a camp. Shortly after moving, we discovered that the direction of the camp had changed and so we needed to re-relocate. So in April, we moved again to Bayfield, Ontario on the shores of Lake Huron. We love the new location we are in and have great neighbours. We also are attending a great church in Goderich. Our pastor, Duane McLean, was a classmate of Joel's in Bible College.
In spite of the move, we were still keeping very busy. So last winter, while everyone else was travelling south to warmer climates, we drove the same distance north so that we could access ice and winter roads. An experience we plan on repeating this year too. In spite of the cold weather, we had wonderful services, saw God move mightily, and made great friends.
April was a busy month with the NYSSSA conference in New York, followed by our move to Bayfield. Then after four months without a telephone and only limited time on the computer, we finally had a phone again and were back on-line for all of twelve hours. We printed off the spring newsletter just before a major thunderstorm hit. With all of twelve hours behind us, lightening took out our computer through the phone lines. We were without a computer until October - and also without our mailing list. We were able to write a summer newsletter as well, but again, without our mailing list were unable to send it to anyone. Now we have a new computer, and our mailing list.
Summer came in like a flood and in the course of two months, we ministered about one hundred times; raised almost $900 for Open Doors With Brother Andrew; travelled many miles; and visited the local mechanic - that's local to wherever we were ministering at the moment. Our minivan has almost been through a complete renewal - new tires, brakes, air compressor, transmission, plus more, much more. Almost sounds like a car repair commercial, doesn't it?
Then came the Fall with our ministry becoming mainly weekend in nature. We were in Montreal's China Town in October and enjoyed our first taste of 'Dragon's Beard', a delectable Chinese sweet treat.
In November, we were off to the east coast for a whirlwind trip. It began with the presentation of 'The Manger and the Tree' at an elementary school in Ormstown, Quebec. The only thing we were not able to do was give an invitation, but over 200 children were presented with the gospel. While east, we also enjoyed ministering to the youth in northern New Brunswick at their youth Christmas banquet, where Doc actually made a guest appearance - and sang, as the result of popular vote. We were privileged to be able to present 'The Manger and the Tree' about fifteen times from the middle of November, with our last presentation December 30. December was definitely a busy but great month.
That brings our year to a close. We ministered in 214 services and travelled over 60,000 km. Best of all, we have seen over 800 children, youth and adults respond to an altar call for salvation.

Anya's Additions
Christmas and the New Year! This is my favourite time of the year.
Don't you just love it, all the snow, singing Christmas carols and decorating for Christmas and the New Year? I also love to celebrate Christ's birth. Of course, we can celebrate Jesus all the time.
God has been good. During one trip, He provided the finances as we travelled. In spite of the many snowfalls we have already had, God has given us safe travelling. We have had wonderful services and seen God move in the hearts of the children.
I enjoyed teaching the children how to shoot arrows as we taught them that they were arrows in the hand of the warrior. God is the Warrior who is always pointing us in the right direction.
As you know, my sisters and I are being home-schooled and I am nearly finished my schooling. I am planning on going to Bible College in the fall and as of right now, but have not yet chosen which one.
Please pray about the direction the Lord wants me to go. Thank you so very much.
I have really enjoyed being involved with the youth group at the church we attend. They have become our friends and a blessing to us. I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to meet us.
At Christmas, I think about how Jesus came to earth as a baby, grew up and then died on the cross for me. Our Christmas program was called "The Manger and the Tree". It signifies Jesus born in a manger and then dying on the perfect Christmas tree, the cross. The greatest gift God gave to us was His Son, Jesus. I trust you all had a very blessed Christmas and a joyous New Year. Remember God's gift to you is Jesus, you can receive Him at anytime.
I know some of you just love writing letters or e-mails. You can e-mail me at yasm@sympatico.ca. Well, I have to go now, I hope to hear from you soon.

Charity's Chatter
I am sitting here and listening to the song 'This Generation' written by Matt Tapley. I wasn't paying much attention to the words, just singing and worshipping God, when it hit me — reaching this generation has been our theme all this year.
Psalms 71:17-18 says, 'O God, You have taught me from my youth; and to this day I declare Your wondrous works. Now also when I am old and grey headed, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come.'
This generation does not have any hope. They do not have many good role models to follow. All they watch on TV is drugs, sex and violence. It is no wonder children are taking guns to school and girls, GIRLS, are getting pregnant . The message they are receiving is kill the adversary, just remove the fetus.
They have nothing to live for. These children are just asking, pleading really, for someone to give them a hope, a cause to live for. And when they have a cause to live for, they will do great and mighty things for God even at their young age.
John Tasch, the guest speaker at our Children's Ministries conference,actually takes children on missions trips. Missions trips to Africa and South America where he has had kids as young as eight go with him.
These children see God do awesome things through them on these trips. They have a hope. They were given a cause and they went out in the power of the Holy Spirit, not a little pint size Holy Spirit, for the pint size worshiper, but the whole 100% Holy Spirit and they did mighty things for God.
Someone declared to those children God's Strength, taught them in the ways of God, and then sent them out to do His work. I believe that this is what God wants for all His children. He wants someone to give them a hope, teach them, and send them. And that is our calling. That is our mandate as the body. We need to teach those who are under us and then send them out - including the littlest lambs of the flock.
This is my passion and I pray that it will be your passion as well.

Rhian's Remarks
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! Yep! It's that time of year.
It’s starting to feel a lot like winter around here. The ground is covered in that fun-to-play-in stuff that's white and fluffy. Can you guess what I'm hinting at? Yep! It's snow. The stuff that you hate to shovel, and your kids love to play in. That’s me. I hate to shovel it, but love to play in it.
We have lots of snow and it sure was a White Christmas. Hey, but the real meaning of Christmas in that it’s Jesus' birthday, right?
It's not about getting gifts. It is about celebrating Jesus, the One who made the earth and made us. The greatest gift this season or any time of the year is the gift God gave to us, His Son Jesus Christ.
Think about it? Until next time, celebrate Jesus and have a Happy New Year! Rhian :o)

Thank You
A Special Thank you to everyone who prayed and gave during 2000. Without you we could not have accomplished what we did. May God richly bless you!
God bless,
Joel & Mary
Anya, Charity and Rhian

September 2000

2000-09-30T07:32:00.000-07:00

"Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me ... for the kingdom ofHeaven belongs to such as these.’ (Matthew 19:14, NIV) His words are being fulfilled in American society according to new data from the Barna Research Group of Ventura, California. The company’s nationwidesurveys have determined the probability of people accepting Christ as their Savior in relation to aperson’s age. The data show that if a person does not accept Jesus Christ as Savior before the age of 14, thelikelihood of ever doing so is slim." (Teens and Adults Have Little Chanceof Accepting Christ as Their Savior, November 15, 1999, www.barna.org)
When we realize the importance of these young lives, it truly is worth itto minister to them and thereby build the kingdom. This year, we have beenprivileged to see over 400 children respond to an altar call forsalvation. Our prayer now is that these children will be discipled andgrow in God.
This is why we believe in the importance of building strong families forGod and have chosen to emphasize ‘Building Families for the Kingdom’.Children should see their parents worshipping God. Strong, vibrant youthgroups are important for their continued development. They need to seethat serving God, or going to church does not end when you reach twelve years of age. We have developed programs that minister to the entire family - not justthe children - or the youth - or the adults. These programs involve theentire family, creating an atmosphere for worship, creativity and enjoyment while still ministering the Word of God.
This year it has been our privilege to help aim children in the directionGod wants them to go. According to Psalm 127, children are arrows in thehand of a warrior.. Those of us who minister to them are the bows thatGod, the Warrior, is using to point them in the direction. May we alwaysbe quick to allow the Warrior to bend us to His will as well.
A Touch of Summer
It is difficult to believe that our busy summer is almost over, but herewe are at our last week of meetings before our summer tour ends. Then weare jumping into the fall line-up with a series of Back to Sunday School kick-offs in September and teacher training conferences in October.In December, we are again doing "The Manger and the Tree", a powerfulpresentation for the entire family that presents the true reason forChristmas. But let's get back to late spring and summer.
The day after I printed the master copy for the spring newsletter, a majorstorm hit our area and took out our computer via the phone line. So asthose on our mailing list are aware, they did not receive the newsletter via the mail, neither have we been able to send it via e-mail,nor has it yet been posted on the internet. That will all have to waituntil we are able to replace the computer.
Two days after the storm, we left with Joel's parents for our vacation inNorth Carolina and Quebec. We had a wonderful time visiting family andCharity celebrated her seventeenth birthday in a grand way. While chillyweather had blanketed Ontario, we were enjoying weather around 35° C. Wewent swimming in the pool, enjoyed jet skiing at the lake, and jumped thewaves in the warm Atlantic Ocean. By the time we reached Quebec, theweather had improved in the north and we were again enjoying warm sunnyweather. We were also treated to a gourmet meal which, except for thesweetbread, was enjoyed by all.
All too soon it was over, and we were back into the regular routine oftravelling and trying to set up our home at it's new location. Eachweekend found us travelling to churches and every return trip home wasspent in doing something else at our mobile home - building steps. . .painting steps . . . tearing out a wall so we could put in our own fridgeinstead of the one that came with the trailer . . . landscaping, including planting vines that were supposed to grow to seven feet - at last checkthe largest one might have reached a foot . . . and the final finishingtouch - the skirting. We were able to have the skirting done just beforeour summer tour began - and does it ever look nice.
Then the rush began. We left for Mistissini, Quebec with only enoughmoney to go half way. While on the journey, God provided for the remainderof the trip. This year has certainly been an adventure in faith. We spenteight days there ministering twice a day. One day as Joel was walking downthe street a young boy called out, "Hi, Mr. Jesus". What a privilege itwas to realize that we truly were living Jesus before these preciouschildren.
We arrived back home with only one day to pack up for the rest of thesummer and we were off again. Our next stop was Mount Zion Camp in Gunter,Ontario. And stop we did! The transmission had gone on our van - we wouldn't be going anywhere until it was repaired. :(
In Gunter, we averaged about 25 children over the two weeks, and we beganour missions project. This year our missions offering will be going toOpen Doors With Brother Andrew for Bibles and music boxes for China. Inthe two weeks these children raised over $500. The Bible tells us that theLord loves a cheerful giver, well these children loved offering time.
At our next stop, we were in Ancaster, Ontario doing a VBS (Vacation BibleSchool) where Joel and I celebrated our twentieth wedding anniversary. TheVBS presented us with a vase of silk flowers. It has graced our places ofresidence ever since.
Then we crossed the border for Falconer, New York for another VBS and alsopark ministry. Our first day in the park, a group of young teen boys werestanding off to the side - wondering what was going on. As the half-hourprogram continued they began to circle around until they were all at theclimbers about twenty five feet away. We concluded the program by makingballoon animals for everyone that wanted them. These boys didn't want tomiss out so they came over to make sure they also received one. Then onour last day - instead of the park - Joel and I joined the Best Yearsgroup at their monthly outing. We shared that there is always something wecan do for God if we are willing. Paul and Silas seemed to have everyright to complain when they had been whipped and put in stocks for thesake of the gospel. Instead they chose to praise.
Then it was time for a quick trip home - fifteen hours in all and we slepteight of them. :)
Our next camp was Bethel Park in Rodney, Ontario. We again were taking upthe missions offering. Several of the girls set up a kool-aid standoutside the dining hall. The proceeds were all for the Bibles for China.At this camp we raised over $300 for Bibles and music boxes.
One night, as we were closing down one of the campers returned to the tentalone. I knew that his mother would be looking for him. So as he went in to be with PJ (Pastor Joel), Iwent in search of her. She had thought he had followed all the other children out to the highway, butwhen she caught up to them he wasn't there. She was coming down the roadfrom her search when I met her. The first words she spoke were, "I can'tfind ___." I told her where he was. "At least he knew the best place togo." was her response.
While at Rodney, we were also privileged to have the German speaker's wifeand one of the missionaries come and speak to us. Both of them had beeninvolved in providing Bibles for China. All summer long, we had beenteaching the children that they are arrows in the hands of God and He ispointing them in the direction He wants them to go. As the missionaryfinished speaking, about eight children responded in answer to "Who willgo for Me?"
Then it was off to Brantford for another VBS. We have been teaching aboutknowing God through the five senses - taste, sight, touch, hearing and smell - while digging throughthe Bible for clues to solve God's mysteries.
Inspector Clueless along with B.I.B.L.E. 2000 helped us learn what God'sWord had to say about knowing God. Everyone wanted to say the memory verseat the close of the morning as sour keys and dinosaurs were rewarding goodmemories.
Then it was back to Rodney for Boys and Girls Camp. While there we met awonderful lady visiting from the Middle East. One day she woke up feeling that something extraordinarywas going to happen. That evening following a precious time around the altar, she told us, "Now Iknow why I felt something special was going to happen today."
Although uneplanned, we enjoyed having a relaxing week at home, visitingfriends and family.
Now we are in Kaladar, Ontario for a VBS and our last week of the summertour. Something particularly special about Kaladar is that we are returning to the church that Joel'sdad pastored when Joel was born. We have enjoyed the opportunity to minister in churches where Joel grew upand meeting people who still remember him as a child.
We still have about three and a half weeks open in September and Octoberand are praying that God will open doors for us then. We are also still open in November and December.We have actually been amazed at how God has opened doors for us this year - sometimes with only a few daysbefore we are asked to minister.
We are enjoying our new home, when we have the opportunity to be there. Wehave great neighbours and we would like to say a special thank you to Jim and Sharon who picked upour mail and took care of our lawn while we have been gone.
We have loved being busy and seeing children impacted for Christ. All themiles of driving and hours spent in ministry have been worth it to see children accept Christ as theirSaviour with over 400 children responding to the salvation message so far this year. We hope to see manymore.
Anya’s Additions
We have been at Northwood Beach for almost four months and have reallyenjoyed it; swimming in the pool and walking along the lake.
In May we went to North Carolina to visit family. The weather was in thehigh eighties and nineties. We swam in pools, lakes and the ocean and had a blast.
Our summer months have been very busy and we did not have much time off.To begin with, we went back to Mistissini, Quebec for a week of ministry and had a great time.
In the course of a month and a half we have done three camps, two familyand one Kids, and four Vacation Bible Schools (VBS)and then we start into our fall season.
This summer has not been like past summers. It was pretty wet withstorms every so often. The grass is still very green and it is the end of August. While at one camp we hadfive good thunderstorms in one day. We also had our services in a tent at that camp. The tent had metal polesin it, so kids who liked to swing on them that to be kept off. What ariot. God protected us and He was present and moved in all of ourservices this summer.
I have enjoyed everything we have done and I thank God for taking care ofus each step of the way. Thanks for all your prayers and support.
Charity’s Chatter
It seemed like only last week that I was wading knee high in snow to getto the bathroom. Now the summer is almost over and that means that this year of 2000 is half over.
The summer was fun, full, and fantastic. :o) We saw many children cometo Jesus and worship Him and spend time in His presence.
We did The Peace Patrol this year and taught how to know God through thefive senses. Taste, sight, hearing, touch, and smell. We need to taste or try God and know that Heis good, see not only physically, but see Him through our hearts and know Him, hear that still small voicein our hearts and know that He is our best friend, and smell the fragranceof His presence and worship Him will our whole being.
We also taught on Psalm 127 where it talks about children being a heritagefrom the Lord and that they are like arrows in the hand of a mightywarrior. We wanted to point children into their destiny and launch theminto whatever career God has called them too.
God inspired me to write a song about the children being arrows. I usedthe words from the verse and wrote a song asking God to make me an arrow in the hand of the Warrior.
God is the Warrior and it is my prayer that He would use me in whateverway He needs me.
I am working on writing a few more songs and would like to produce a CDwith my original work. I have also taken the memory verses we have been doing this summer and put themto music. We are also looking at making a CD with my puppet, Baby Marnie, singing the memory verses.Pray that things will start to come together for that.
Also pray that I will be able to find a new Royal Conservatory Piano,Voice an Theory teacher in the fall, so I can continue in my music.
Thank you for all the prayers you have been sending already. Keep prayingas we go into our fall tour.
Rhian’s Report
This summer has been very busy with VBS and camps and full of fun. Thefirst camp we went to was Mount Zion camp, it was in Gilmour, Ontario. Wedid 26 services in two weeks. I also helped in the crafts and in thekitchen. That was fun.
Second, we went to Ancaster and did their VBS. That was full of games andcrafts and a lesson time where the kids could learn more about God.
This summer we taught Peace Patrol with Inspector Clueless and our robot,Biblical Input Begins Learning Experience 2000 also known as B 2000, andArrows in the Hands of a Warrior. The latter one was taken from thepassage from Psalms 127: 3-5
"Behold children are a heritage from the LORD. The fruit of the womb is areward, Like arrows in the hand of a Warrior, so are children of one'syouth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them, they shall not beashamed, but shall speak with their enemies at the gate."
When the kids learn their memory verse they run to the candy bucket andsay the verse as fast as they can. We are so happy that the kids arelearning God's Word the Bible. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. :o)
Thank you
We would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone whohas supported us through your prayers and financially. The decision to step out and be fully supportedthrough the ministry would not have been possible without you.
Prayer List
Fresh anointing for every service. We do not want to minister in our ownstrength and abilities but in God’s power.
Salvation of children, youth and adults.
Travelling safety as we travel the many highways of our nations.
Good health.
Computer and video equipment so that we can minister more effectively tothe Millennial Generation.
A new piano and voice teacher for Charity who recognizes the value of whatwe do, and will allow her to miss lessons without penalty.
That we will have a full calendar for ministry. November and December arequite empty, and there are many opportunities for ministry still available in September and October.
Anya is starting to look at where she would like to attend college. Wewant to be sure that she goes where God wants her to.
Rhian has requested prayer for the family of a good friend. God bless,Joel & MaryAnya, Charity and Rhian

May 2000

2000-05-21T07:30:00.001-07:00

In a Fog? Walk By Faith
Lacy tendrils floating lazily, subtly along. Clammy spidery fingers reaching forward, engulfing everything in their path. Then entombed by life's circumstances, we sit, unable to see or feel the sun's warmth.
There is an eerieness about fog that is missing with other weather. You feel boxed in and alone, yet there is a fear of the unknown, that which cannot be seen, sounds reach out to you, their location and nearness as much a mystery to you as your present location. Everything that happens lends itself to the instability and loneliness of the moment.
Newly married, we lived in a place of rugged beauty overlooking the Bay of Fundy. Yet some mornings as we stood looking out the living room window, grey fog blanketed the whole area. Fog so thick that the edge of the porch was barely visible.
On those mornings unless a trip was necessary you stayed home. At other times though, duty called and the crawl into town would begin. We would slowly creep up the mountain, sensing the desolation, yet conscious of the unseen dangers. Finally we would reach the peak. Before us the dew washed trees would sparkle in the bright sunlight. No more insecurity, desolation or poor vision. The chosen path lay clear before us.
Sometimes our walk with the Creator of the fog and sunlight mirrors these forces of nature. We find ourselves confused in the fog. Time and distance lose perspective, as all around us is this thick heaviness. We struggle through the uphill climb hoping we do not make a misstep, certain that 'I' am the only one struggling through the murkiness.
Everything we hear is distorted, and everything we see is hazy and unrealistic at best. Yet we keep trudging on, plodding up the hill.
Finally, we reach the mountaintop and realize that God has already been there and washed everything clean. Our vision is so much clearer. Our appreciation of God's handiwork is so much greater. We realize that God was with us in the fog, ever leading upwards, picking us up if we stumbled and finally bringing us into the sunlight. The fog is not sin but uncertainty, knowing that God is in control and yet being uncertain of where He is leading us. When we are in the fog, the only way to walk is by faith and not by sight. We need to let the Lord be our light and hang tightly to His hand so that he can lead us up out of the fog.
Hang On! The Ride Ain't Over 'Til It's Over
It sure is a blessing to know that even what we cannot see ever takes God by surprise. Even when the fog surrounds us, He has a clear view.
May has only just arrived and already this year has been packed full.
In February, we travelled north to Moosonee and Moose Factory. We were privileged to be able to minister in both adult and children's services. While there, we were thrilled to see over 80 children respond to the call for salvation. We also experienced the Moose River ice road between the two communities. God had orchestrated our entire tour.
The whole trip was put together within one week of it actually taking place. The Tuesday before we left, Joel called up the pastor in Cochrane to see if he would be interested in having us come on the next Sunday. He agreed. We presented a special Sunday School program for the children and Joel ministered in both services - including using a French interpreter in the evening service.
On our way up north, services were confirmed in Iroquois Falls on our way out of the north. Again, God moved in a powerful way on the hearts of the people there. Anya, Charity and Rhian were also able to be part of a youth retreat in South Porcupine before we came back down.
In March, we travelled into Northern Quebec. This tour was supposed to coincide with the cold weather, which would enable us to travel into Waskaganish on the winter road. In the summer we had been there but the only way in was by plane. During the winter, you can travel in by winter road. This is a mud road cut through the bush and over streams. In the warm weather it is impassable but in the cold winter weather a solid road is created. The week before we went up there had been an unseasonable thaw and when we arrived at the winter road on Tuesday afternoon we were not able to take it in our van. That same day two tankers had actually bogged down on the road as well. So we drove back out to the paved highway.
We were in the far north and the closest gas station was over 100 km (60 mi) away. By this time we needed to get to that gas station. After getting gas, we called the pastor in Waskaganish. He sent us to another community where they would fly us in on Wednesday. When we arrived at the motel it was locked for the night. The weather was just around the freezing mark, so with the occasional turning on of the ignition, we spent the night in the van.
The next day, we headed out to the airport, where we were to be picked up by a charter. However, the plane would not be large enough for our luggage, our equipment, and us. We sorted our equipment and packed into one container what we absolutely needed and shipped it by commercial flight. It would be leaving about half an hour before us. Only there was one slight problem.
At about 1:00 the freezing rain began. Our pilot was not able to come and pick us up. He was going to try later if the weather changed to snow. It did but the wind had picked up and after take-off he had to return to Waskaganish. The commercial flight had not landed in Waskaganish either and our equipment was at another airport. The weather had turned bitterly cold during the day and we knew that this was not a night we could just spend in the van and the motel was full. We needed to be headed somewhere. Just as we were going into the motel to call the pastor, he called the motel to talk to us. So the decision was made for us to travel to the first checkpoint or gate on the road to Waskaganish where we would meet someone from the church. We would transfer everything to the other vehicle and he would drive us in.
At just after midnight on Thursday morning, we began the 102 km (65 mi) drive into Waskaganish and somehow completely missed the first checkpoint. Uknown to us, our contact person had been waiting there since 11:15 pm. The second checkpoint was in Waskaganish.
About half way through, we talked with someone and found out we had missed the gate. We were already half way in, no sense in stopping now so we just kept going. Many of the partially frozen mud holes we prayed our way through. Finally, four and half hours after we began, we found ourselves in Waskaganish. We drove to the church, parked in the parking lot and attempted to sleep the rest of the night away. This time the weather was well below freezing.
At 8:00 the next morning, we called the pastor and after 48 hours in the van, we finally were able to fall into bed. After sleeping and eating, we felt much better. Now we were ready to minister.
Thursday night, Joel preached at the Bible Study. Friday was Youth Night where he shared the story of Dave Roever, a minister who had a grenade explode inches from his head and lived to tell about it. Saturday was a children's service in the afternoon with teacher training at night. Sunday, Joel ministered powerfully in both services. Then it was Monday and time to leave.
While in Waskaganish the weather had stayed well below freezing the entire time and our trip out was delightful. The weather was gorgeous, the road was fairly smooth and it only took us two and a half hours to get out. And this time we found the checkpoint.
After reaching the main highway, we travelled on paved road for about half an hour and then for the next six hours, we travelled on 400 km (260 mi) of gravel road through the Laurentian Mountains. We had steep hills and sharp curves and only saw six vehicles the entire time. The next day we reached our next stop in Mistissini, Quebec. Again God moved in a mighty way while we were there ministering to both children and adults. About 35 children responded to an altar call for salvation. We are looking forward to returning there for a week in June.
April saw us back in New York State for the NYSSSA Conference. All of our hard work of the past year paid off and the conference went very well. Because a major transition is taking place with several of the long standing board members leaving and brand new members coming on, we have agreed to remain on the committee for at least another year during the transition period.
Following the conference we went to another of the Hamburg churches, where we presented, 'He Took My Place', one of our ministry favourites that presents the gospel so well. Not only did several children respond to the altar call, but several teens were also impacted by the message of God's unconditional love and forgiveness.
Another change has taken place as well. At the end of February, we were talking with the managers of the camp we were living at. Their vision for the development for the camp has changed. They are wanting to make the facilities functional all year round and so are looking towards building a lodge. This means that at this time they will not be rezoning the grounds for a trailer park. When we moved the trailer there, we knew that it's present location was only temporary but had planned on moving the trailer to its permanent site as zoning regulations permitted. The camp is only zoned for four temporary sites and so we have had to locate another place for our trailer. We found it about 10 km (6 mi) south of Goderich on the shores of Lake Huron.
As of April 29, we have a new address. It is RR# 1, Box X17, Bayfield, Ontario, N0M 1G0. Although there are still a few things that still have to be put together - we have moved. We would like to take this opportunity to say a special thank you to all the people and churches who have given generously to us over this past few months. This move has cost us quite a bit and without your gifts it would not have been possible.
We have also had to cancel plans for Camp Rustic this year. With all the changes we will also need to locate a new home for the camp. We hope to be up and operational next summer however. There is one other change that we are also excited about. We are in the early stages, very early stages, of developing an American office for the ministry. We are looking forward to this change opening up new opportunities for ministry in the States.
In May, we are taking about ten days of holidays. Joel's parents are coming from Western Canada and we are taking them to visit with family in North Carolina, USA and Quebec, Canada. We are looking forward to this time of relaxation before the summer tour hits. Our summer is jam packed full with only a couple of days off late in August.
Anya's Additions
It's me again!
Last time, I wrote about our move to Wiarton. Well, we are moving again to a mobile home park in Bayfield. (Northwood Beach on Hwy #21.) We have also had some great adventures while up north.
In February, we were in Moose Factory, Moosonee, Cochrane and Iroquois Falls. We had a great time. We also went snowmobiling. God moved in the services we had.
In March, we went to Waskaganish and Mistissini in Quebec. The weather was so nice that there was a thaw and the winter road into Waskaganish started getting soft. The road was like a plowed field with lots of snow banks and rocks. We didn't drive through because it was too soft and mushy. The church tried to fly us in but the weather turned bad. Finally we were able to drive in.
On our way to Mistissini, we drove over gravel road for seven hours and our van was completely covered with dirt. In both communities, God really moved and we had a great time.
I really enjoy being in YASM. I have been ministring for thirteen years. I value the time spent travelling with my family. God has worked in my life in a miraculous way. I am so glad He died for me and that He loves me very much. I am constantly thanking Him for everything.
Ever notice how beautiful this world is? God made it - every single thing.
Thanks for praying for us. Please continue praying that God will do His work in His time. Thanks. God bless.
Charity's Chatter
Well, these past few months have really been a ride. It has been like a roller coaster, not the up and down but the excitement, fast pace, and thrill. All I can say is that God is in control and He always has been.
The trip up north, both to Moosonee and Waskaganish, were awesome and God really moved in the hearts and lives of people there. Over 80 children came to know Jesus as their Saviour in Moosonee and Moose Factory. In Waskaganish, we knew something awesome was going to happen because we had such a hard time getting in. First the weather was too nice for us to go in on the winter road and then it was too bad for us to fly in. When we finally arrived the Lord moved in. The same happened in Mistissini. Once we found out where to go and got there we were fine. About 35 children came to Jesus there. The Lord is good.
We are moving again. It is comforting to know that the Lord is in control all the time and nothing takes Him by surprise. We are heading back to familiar ground, just outside of Goderich. We are moving to Bayfield, about 20 minutes from family. We are all looking forward to the move and having running water in our trailer. :o)
Rhian's Remarks
April showers bring May flowers.
Well, it's that time again when God's beautiful earth needs the rain. We may not like the rain but it's good for everything, even us - God's special little lambs.
Did you know that 'You Are Special'? Well, you are! You are special to God and to us.
Please pray for us in this year. You Are Special!
Prayer Requests
Please remember Cleveland Howell and family. Cleveland and Leta Howell were part of the board of NYSSSA. Right after the conference they left for a mission trip to Mexico. While there, Leta suffered a heart attack which resulted in her death. Although we grieve at our loss, we rejoice that Leta is now with the one she has loved and served for many years.
For a fresh touch of God each time we minister. We do not want to just trust in our own talents and abilities but be wholly dependent on God.
Travelling safety as we minister this spring and summer and during our vacation.
A new utility trailer and other equipment.
To have our mobile home fully established before we leave for the summer.
We have seen about 200 children accept Christ so far this year. Pray that these children will become well grounded in Christ.

March 2000

2000-03-04T08:16:00.000-08:00

We are at present only just into March of 2000 and we are just about to embark on our second trip into the north this year. In February, we went into Moosonee and Moose Factory by train. While there we ministered ten times, had powerful services and saw over fifty children respond to the call for salvation.

Next week, we go north into Waskaganish. While everyone else is looking forward to the arrival of spring - and the earlier the better. We are praying for it to stay cold. We will be driving into Waskaganish via the winter roads. There isn't a road once the thaw comes.

Niagara Falls ~ 1996 - 2000

2000-02-21T08:14:00.000-08:00

We didn't actually live in Niagara Falls . . . It would have been awfully wet and cold, not to mention dangerous. But we did live in the part of the city that most people don't even realize exists. The non-tourist section :o)

Our time in Niagara Falls can be described as a growing time. We had actually been trying to leave the travelling life - at least for a few years while our family made it through high school. So we settled into church life.

Our first year was definitely a time of living by faith. We had come to a new, small congregation with no promise of income. Our first Christmas was extremely difficult. We had been able to scrape together $5.00 and Joel used this to make seven Christmas gifts. Early Christmas morning he was up sawing and nailing but that year became a memory we didn't want to forget.

Not long after moving into our new home, we knew we would not be in it long. Because of black mould Charity was very sick and missed over 40 days of school. As a result many of our boxes remained packed in the basement. When things became difficult Joel would joke that he had lost his brain the day we moved and it must still be packed in the boxes downstairs.

It was Christmas Eve and none of us had gifts for anyone. The only gifts under the tree had come from other family members. The girls came to me and asked how they could give Daddy a brain for Christmas. So we took a solitary green pea and wrapped it up with a note. The note said that it was a hardly used brain that would expand with use but needed to be swallowed whole to get the best effect. It was the last gift to be opened and the gift of laughter that was given to us that day is one we now treasure.

By spring, God directed us to leave the church we had come to Niagara Falls to be part of. In the fall, the church amalgamated with another church in the area and so we see God's wisdom in leaving when we did. We also moved out of our home and had not yet located another place to live. So while we began our summer ministry, friends were trying to locate a home for us to live in.

The next two years would be phenomenal however. In the spring of 1997, Joel would be asked to sit on the board of directors for the New York State Sunday School Association (NYSSSA). By the year end, Mary would also sit on the board. NYSSSA puts together two conferences per year for the training of people in ministry. The administrative skills learned from this committee have been priceless considering where we now know God is directing us. Also through this organization many doors have been opened up into Western New York for ministry.

In the summer of 1997,we decided to raise a missions offering this year to support Child Care Plus, a ministry of the PAOC. While at Mount Zion Pentecostal Camp in Gunter, Ontario we began our missions raiser. The money was coming in pretty slow the first week until Pastor Joel but an incentive out. When $200 came in he would shave off his beard in front of the kids. He didn't really think that they would make it but by the middle Sunday, Joel was outside shaving off his beard. When he went back into the main service, the only reason people recognized him was because of his clothes. Before the summer was through, we would be able to raise over $1000 for Child Care Plus - just from the kids.

In the fall, God opened up another door for ministry. We joined the staff at Central Gospel Temple in St. Catharines, Ontario for an eight month contract. Joel was the part-time assistant to the Christian Education Director and we were responsible for upgrading the Sunday School curriculum. Again our creative juices were brought to the forefront as we created everything from colouring sheets to complete Sunday School lessons.

We moved into our new home the same week that we began at Central - now how is that for God's timing. But God still had skills we needed to learn so for supplemental income Joel was employed by the Salvation Army in Niagara Falls. There Joel was placed into the retail world as a store supervisor.

Joel's contract came to an end at Central in June 1998 and we went back into the world of full-time itinerant evangelism. Even though the girls had enjoyed their schools, they were all excited about getting back into home schooling. Life on the road never looked brighter.

Have you ever had one of those times - or should I say years - when even though you have no doubt that you are in God's will somehow things are just not coming together? The Fall of 1998 seemed to be one of those times. The bookings were scarce, money non-existent, and we felt like David when he was being chased by King Saul. Then God stepped in and everything changed.

Along came 1999 and the calendar was booked solid from January until September. There was the odd weekend we had off and it just happened to snow that weekend, or the dog had puppies, or . . . You get the picture, it was a weekend we needed off. We were able to buy a new camera, the old one had broken in 1996 - that's why there's no pictures. :o( We began a $21,000 fundraiser - Catch the Vision - so that we can minister more effectiviely to the Millennial Generation. As of November 1999 almost $2000 has been raised.

This year was a year of firsts. We took our first ministry plane ride into Quebec's north. Waskaganish is an Cree Indian Reserve that sits on the eastern shore of the James Bay. While we were there we had anywhere from six to a hundred children in our service. Many of the children responded when asked if they wanted to be followers of Jesus. On the closing Sunday, some of the children were at the church waiting to go in three hours before the doors opened.

We also did our first street ministry which consisted of puppets and mime on the streets of Tobermory Harbour. The new portable sound system that we had been able to purchase this year made it possible. Rock climbing and snorkling were also firsts enjoyed by some of the team.

We also had new team members added to the group this year. During the summer Sam Martin joined with us and brought with him the unforgettable personality of Professor Hinkledinkle. At the end of the summer Sam returned home to go to school. Even though he had only been with us for two months we keenly felt his loss.

One of the other benefits of having another guy on the team meant we were able to do 'Ugly Louise', a drama that involved the whole team. Louise was the girl in class that no-one liked but even though no-one wanted to be her friend she new that Jesus loved her. It is a poignant moving drama that affects young and old alike. Hurts and past rejections can be taken to Jesus where healing takes place.

One of the camps we ministered at in the summer invited us to move there, making their place our home base. At first we said a very definite no, feeling that we were very happy in Niagara Falls. But then God began to open up a dream in our hearts. Some years ago, Joel had written the curriculum for a survival camp and we sensed the possibility that God was leading us toward the developing of the new camp. As a result Camp Rustic was born. Camp Rustic, where Radical Unequalled Saving Trust In Christ is the underlying theme that will determine every decision made, is a new ministry of YASM.

Since at the time of our move, the camp facilities were still quite rustic we looked into buying a trailer that would become our home for the next several years. We found a beautiful one that had been only used one season. So in the late fall our new home was delivered to the camp and we moved there just after Christmas.

The couple who invited us to come were planning on building up the camp and creating a trailer park. However, as they began their plans, they decided that it would be much more advantageous for them to build a lodge that could be used year round than a trailer park that would primarily be used in the summer. So as a result, we found ourselves in the position of having a home but nowhere to put it.

But as this is a story of up to today, we are at present looking for a new location to place our home. We still feel blessed because we now have a home. Up until we purchased our trailer we have always been paying somebody else's mortgage. Now at least we are paying our own.

As for Camp Rustic, we are still developing the plans and it will happen in God's time.

January 2000

2000-01-19T07:29:00.000-08:00

"Without faith it is impossible to please God."
"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
When we were first married, almost twenty years ago, someone told us they believed God was calling us to a walk of faith. Back then walking by faith meant trusting God to open a door for ministry - which He did a few weeks later. As the years went by, the pathway of faith has always been a little steeper than the year before - requiring us to put more and more trust in our Loving Heavenly Father. Each step along the way has reminded me of my school years. The principles learned the year before were the stepping stones by which I could learn new lessons this year.
One of the steepest steps along the path was the year Rhian was born. Earlier that year, while still carrying him, I had lost Andrew, our only son. Now just eight months later, Rhian was hooked up to life support in the neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU). She had been born three months early. I knew I couldn't handle losing another baby but after hearing how the three Hebrew boys chose to follow God even if He never saved them from the fiery furnace, I gave Rhian back to God. God gave her back to us and we brought her home, at slightly over 4 lbs., one week before the anniversary of Andrew's death.
Another steep step came, three and half years ago, when God called us to Niagara Falls. We went on staff at a small church with no guaranteed income. The following year the church amalgamated with another church in the city and we went on staff at another church in the area until God called us back on the road full-time. The last three and a half years have certainly been a growing time for us. There were even times that we felt we were stepping into the Red Sea but you know, when we did the waters always parted.
Now we are just taking another one of those tremendous steps. Immediately after Christmas we packed up our 2000 sq. ft household and moved four hours north into a 480 sq. ft trailer. Quite a change if I do say so.
We are living at the Haven of Rest Christian Campground, about 6 mi. north of Wiarton, Ontario. Friends of ours are running the camp and invited us to come and live here. At first we said a very definite NO, but then the Lord began to work in our hearts and we could see a new area of ministry begin to develop. The Lord placed on Joel's heart the plan for a wilderness camp for which Joel had already written curriculum two years ago. And so We are also looking forward to being a part of our local church assembly in Wiarton. We were able to attend there a couple of weeks ago and met Pastor Bob and Christine Parker, our new pastor. They have already committed themselves to pray for us as we travel and minister. Although in our lifestyle we are not able to attend our church very much, it is always nice to know that someone is praying for you while you are away.
We are still in the midst of settling in. We are running into town every couple of days to get one of the propane tanks filled and still do not have water running into the trailer - so we have to run out to get it. We know that we will be able to get everything done in God's time. Until then we are learning to do without a lot of the comforts that we were used to.
As a result of this faith walk that God has called us to, Joel has written a short story called, Thank You Dad, For the Bike. We hope that it speaks to your heart as it has to ours.
Catch the Vision and Missions Update
In March of last year we began our fundraiser for new equipment. Thanks to your generous support we have already raised $2156.31.
Just before we left home for the summer our old sound system finally gave up the ghost and by the time our first summer booking was over we were able to purchase a new portable system. We love it. It is very quick and easy to set up.
We were also able to purchase a new camera so that we can record our travels and also put together new stories on film and computer. We are working on the Bridge of Life and hope to have it ready this year.
The major items we need to purchase this year are a trailer for carrying all our equipment and a laptop computer. Our computer is not in residence at our place as it takes up a bit too much room. Plus we hope to be travelling out at least 45 weeks and it would be nice to have the computer along.
Our final tally for missions giving was $1542.77. For Watoto Ministries in Uganda we raised $567.02. We were also able to send $975.75 to Johnny Jernigan for use in his Canadian ministries. God has certainly blessed this past year.
Anya's Anecdotes
2000 WOW!
1999 was a busy year for us. Our ministry did many first time things. We flew in a 19-passenger plane, did street ministry and beach ministry. We did puppets and mime just a few feet from the sand and about fifty feet from the water's edge.
It's the start of a new year and almost a new millennium and a lot of change is going on around us. The big change in our lives was a move. We have moved from a 2200 sq. ft home to a fully furnished 40' X 12' trailer. We may not have much room inside but we have 75 acres to run around outside. So lots of room to put space between each other if need be.
Please pray for us as we want to see 2000 kids, teens and adults come to Christ this year.
Charity's Chatter
1999
From the earth to the sky, the North to the SouthA beach and a harbour to a VBS in townFrom the shores of Hawaii to the wild west and back woodsWe taught on Luke 4:18 and the saving of the lost.Now we end the year with the manger and the treeAnd a little lone shepherd who wants to be near.
Can you believe it!?! Another whole year has gone by and for us an exciting one.
This year has been our most exciting and busiest year ever . . . not to mention a year of firsts. We had to fly into one of our bookings (which was a first time for the ministry), we had another male on the YASM team, and we also did some harbour and beach ministry. (Really we did!! We set up our puppet stage about fifty feet from the water!!)
Now our year is over and we have started a new chapter in the book of our lives. But I believe this is going to be the most exciting chapter yet. It begins with a camp and where it ends only God knows.
Rhian's Report
From 1999 to 2000 has gone by fast with lots of fun. I had my first plane ride. We went to Waskaganish, Quebec. I also had my first rollercoaster ride at Canada's Wonderland. Then we moved from a big house in Niagara Falls to our trailer in Wiarton.
I hope to have lots of more adventures in this new year. Please pray for us this year.
Highlights of 1999
Maritime Tour with Charity spending her sixteenth birthday in the same town that her dad celebrated his.
Northern Tour into Moosonee and Moose Factory and travelling the Polar Bear Express
Flying by 19-passenger plane into Waskaganish, Quebec where we also ministered through Cree interpreters.
Street and Beach ministry on the Bruce Peninsula.
Western New York's Wesleyan Boys and Girls Camp at Allegheny State Park.
The Manger and the Tree, our Christmas special that ministered to old and young alike. It was so well received at Christmas time that we have decided to present the same program next Christmas as well.
Goals for 2000
Ministering 45 weeks out of the year with over 200 services.
Reaching 2000 souls for Christ
Build climbing wall for Camp RUSTIC
Prayer Requests
Laptop Computer
Utility Trailer for equipment
Ministry Opportunities
Travelling Safety
Creative planning for new programs and workshops.

September 1999

1999-09-15T07:28:00.000-07:00

WOW! What a summer!
It is hard to believe that our summer tour is over. What a summer it was. We had so many new experiences including flying into one community, street and beach ministry (yes, really) and rock climbing. It is probably easiest to start at the beginning of the summer and tell you what we did.
Our first stop was Mount Zion Camp in Gilmour, Ontario. While we were there we encouraged the kids to live a holy life and not bow to the pressures of the world and their friends to compromise God's standard. We also picked up Sam Martin, alias Professor Hinkle Dinkle, who would travel with us for the summer.
Next stop - Waskaganish, Quebec on the shores of James Bay. We could only reach this northern community via plane. We had an absolutely wonderful time while we were there with many children making a decision to follow Jesus. At 4:00 on the Sunday afternoon, as Joel and I were going for a walk, some children waiting at the church door saw us. "What time do the doors open?" they asked. It would still be another three hours. Then it was time to leave with most of the plane's occupants being speakers for the camp meeting we had just been part of. Of course one of the pilot's instructions would remain with us. "Could everybody please fill up the front seats as the plane is like a canoe. If everybody goes to the back we sink." Then it was time for a break as Anya, Charity, Rhian and Sam all went to youth camp.
As soon as camp was over we were back into the full swing with an Hawaiian VBS in Buffalo, NY. The weather department really went all out while we were there to make sure we had Hawaiian like temperatures for the week. We even set a record for the church sanctuary with 88° F. As we departed Buffalo so did the heat wave.
Our next stop was at a camp in Wiarton, Ontario. While we would be here quite a few things would happen that would affect our ministry and future. Friends of ours, Joe and Edith Sit, had recently moved to a camp and asked us to come for two weeks. While there we would all have some new experiences. On Monday at the Tobermory Harbour, we would have an afternoon and evening presentation of puppets and mime on the street. Tuesday would find us, in Lion's Head at the Seniors Home in the afternoon and on the beach at night, again presenting the gospel through puppets and mime. We almost cancelled the Tuesday evening on the beach because of bad weather and it ended up being the largest crowd that we had of all three outdoor programs. Following this we had three days of Day Camp, left for a wedding and returned for another week of Day Camp. Interspersed with camp activities was rock climbing, snorkelling, exploring caves, and canoeing.
We would return to Wiarton later in the summer and re-shingle the tabernacle roof and insulate one of the cabins. We would also discuss plans for a wilderness camp that would be run by Joel and Darryl, Joe and Edith's son. Eventually the plan is for the wilderness camp to run all summer long and as such we would move to Wiarton and continue travelling from fall to spring from the camp. Please pray that the Lord would continue to direct is in this new venture and that we would be careful to follow His leading and not step ahead.
After Wiarton, we returned to Buffalo for a quick trip, followed by a few days of much needed rest. Then it was off to the Old West in Fort Erie to see How the Lost Were Won. It was here that 'Ruth' thought she might actually learn how to ride something other than the 'quarter' horse at the local mall. So she came in riding on the back of 'Buckie' still afraid that he was a little too tall. Then right after the church barbecue on Sunday we left for Allegany State Park and the Western New York Wesleyan Boys and Girls Camp.
At Allegany we had some phenomenal services with one of the directors telling us that there had been very few services in which he had seen the Lord move in such a magnificent way. While in the state park we also visited Thunder Rocks and while there took some photos to go along with one of our stories. Once I have some time to work on it I hope to have it ready for putting on overheads. After the Wesleyan Camp we had two more stops. One at Glencoe where we also taught 'See How Your Storytelling Can Sparkle'. Then we finished off the summer back where we began - in Gilmour.
Our theme for the summer had been taken from Luke 4:18-19. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." Each section was the basis for a lesson with one of the most effective being the oppressed set free. The program would close with a skit that would help others see that their words really can hurt, and for those who are hurting Jesus really does love them.
In each lesson we had the unique privilege of having Professor Hinkle Dinkle present the object lesson. Although while we were in the Old West, the Professor took a sabbatical from school and went prospecting instead. The Professor was a favourite with all the kids and as soon as they would hear his peculiar voice, they would cheer. It was a great pleasure to have Sam Martin with us for the summer and he will certainly be missed.
While we were in Wiarton, Sam teamed up with Darryl and without much effort brought to life many different characters such as Paw and Junior - who definitely had some interesting lessons to teach us. Now Sam has returned to school and Darryl has joined the YASM team. He came with us for the first time this past weekend and we are looking forward to the many enjoyable characters and qualities he will bring to the team.
As for upcoming events, our California trip has been re-scheduled for next summer. So we are in the midst of booking out our fall locally. In a few weeks we will be hosting the Fall Conference for the New York State Sunday School Association (NYSSSA). Joel is back at the store working for the moment. Anya is 18 today. It is so hard to believe that the little one that you bring home from the hospital will actually grow up and then all of a sudden they are. Charity at 16 will be starting back to her music tomorrow and will probably be looking at doing her first piano exam this year. Rhian is almost 14 and sporting a new up to the minute hair cut.
Update on Catch the Vision and Missions.
I am still working on the summer postings but the Vision fund is around $2000. We have been able to purchase a new portable sound system and a camera. We were given a keyboard. Our next purchase will be a trailer as we no longer have one and it will be needed for any long distance travelling. Our Missions offering for Watoto is at almost $500.
Thank you to everyone who has been a partner with us through your financial giving and your prayers.
With much love, Pastor Joel, Mary, Anya, Charity, Rhian & Darryl

May 1999

1999-05-31T07:27:00.000-07:00

Getting lost! A blessing? Sometimes.We were having special services at our church and we were armed with a list of five homes to visit and invite to church. The first one was easy to find but on our way to the second one we missed a turn and travelled way out of town before we realised that we were not in the right place. Finally we reached house number two.
It was starting to get late and we wondered if we should just head back to church, but then decided to do at least one more house before stopping. We pulled up to the next house and after visiting the lady on the list Joel invited a lady and a girl on the street to come out. We decided to go to the other two houses since they were near by and by the time we reached the church the lady on the bike, her daughter and another man were already at the church. That night they all accepted the Lord. The man had been on a business call at the third house on our list. Maybe if we had not missed our turn we would have missed the family at the third house.
Perfect timing! God has been doing quite a bit of that lately in our lives as well. A gift that arrived at just the right time; A delay that kept us with friends instead of stuck on a highway where there had been an accident. Little and big things that tell us God cares for us all the time.
So what have we been up to lately? There is so much that I don't know where to start. In April we had a poor month for bookings but God opened two doors at the last minute. May arrived along with our Canadian East Coast Tour. It was a trip into the past that showed us that God is still faithful in the present.
Our first stop was Murray River, PEI. We have been gone from the island for ten years now and the pastor we were ministering with was from our PEI Assembly. Their youth pastor had been one of our young people. We renewed friendships and caught up on all the news. Eight children made commitments for Christ and that was the whole purpose for us being there.
We took a day and did the tourist thing visiting Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia and then our second stop was Woodstock, NB. It was here that Joel turned sixteen while his dad was pastor and while we were there Charity turned sixteen so that in itself was a special event. Saturday morning we enjoyed a Prayer Breakfast. After a great breakfast of ham and eggs we went to the sanctuary and spent the next hour in prayer.
In the afternoon we were able to spend some time visiting with Joel's best friend from highschool. And our hosts for the weekend, not only treated us royally but also brought back many special memories with Joel. The crowning touch for the weekend was the seven children who committed themselves to Christ. Again it's the reason we do what we do.
Everyone is fine. Our family has had a temporary increase - three puppies. They are giving us a lot of pleasure right now as they run and tumble all over the place.
Catch the Vision has been coming along nicely. We have received about $700 in gifts since we began just over two months ago. We have almost reached 5% of our goal. We want to say a special thank you to all of you who have been such a blessing to us.
In a few days we are off to Ontario's North. We will be ministering in two native churches, travelling by road, rail and river before we are done. Then home again for a couple of weeks before summer is here.
* * * * * * * * * *
June 21, 1999
In case you haven't figured it out, we are a little late in sending out this newsletter. Maybe that was because God was still busy teaching us about Perfect Timing!
We were to leave for our Northern Trip, first thing Thursday morning - right after we voted in our provincial elections - but we had a slight problem. Actually the story begins the day before.
We had been invited out to supper on Wednesday and we were right out of gas. We borrowed $10 from one of our daughters so that we could go to our friends for supper, but here we were less than 24 hours away from leaving and we had no money and would soon have no car insurance.
We walked into our friends home and they handed us an envelope. "We keep forgetting to give this to you." they said. It was a cheque for $200 - now we had enough money for gas to get up there. A post-dated cheque for Friday meant we could pay our fare one way to get into Moosonee, and pay our canoe-taxi fare across the river. But we had no money for food or accomodations on the way, and still no insurance.
We had discovered that our car insurance was inadequate and if we were involved in an accident while involved in ministry we could be denied coverage. We also wanted a local insurance agent so we had changed brokers as well. For six weeks our new broker had been trying to get us the correct insurance and no one wanted to insure either a "ministry" or someone who travelled in the States. So we still couldn't leave.
Through the night Joel had been up praying. Joel felt that we were to leave as soon as we were able to and that He would continue to provide. We had experienced in the past that the level of difficulty we had in getting somewhere was directly proportional to the quality of services we had when we finally arrived. So we were expecting great services.
The phone call finally came from our Insurance agent that he had a company who would insure us. We would meet him at his office at 1:30 in the afternoon. What we didn't know though was that he was unhappy with the policy we were getting so he was still trying. Ten minutes before we walked into his office, our former insurance company agreed to give us commercial insurance at the same price as we were paying before. Had we arrived any earlier that would not have happened.
On our way north we stopped at one home and we were given more money and then still later that day, we received a phone call while we were driving that said money was being put into our account the next day. God truly did provide, but we had to put our feet into the water first before the miracle came.
So what happened while we were up north? Between the two churches we saw over 70 children respond to an invitation to accept Christ. We had the opprtunity to give a presentation to about one hundred 4 - 6 year olds at the town community center. The services in which Joel spoke were followed by powerful altar times. So by the time we left, we knew why satan had been trying so hard to keep us from going.
We hope to be returning to the north while the winter roads are still in use. Then not only can we minister in these two communities again but also possibly three other native reserves that we can drive into as well.
So know we are busily getting ready to go for the summer. Last Sunday we had two great services in two churches. Before we leave next week we have three more engagements. We would appreciate your prayers for safe travelling. Also we are planning a US West Coast tour this fall but other than the pastor who has booked us, we really don't know anyone else out there. So please pray that we will be able to make contact with others who will find favour with us and ask us to come as well.
For the summer we will be having a family stay in our home. So if you want to reach us you can call our cell phone at 905-351-4158.
With much love,Joel, Mary, Anya, Charity & Rhian

March 1999

1999-03-26T07:25:00.000-08:00

Zach and Jimmy (not their real names) were sitting in the front row and Zach kept kicking Jimmy. No matter how many times I stepped in, as soon as I stepped away, the kicking resumed. Then a little girl sat in Jimmy's seat and I thought, "Problem solved. Jimmy can sit in her chair and he won't be getting kicked anymore."
Jimmy returned and wanted his seat back. I tried to direct him to the next chair, but he looked up at me and said, " I want to sit by my friend."
I wondered what kind of lives these children came from when kicking was normal between friends. Then when the altar call was given they were there ready to accept Jesus. They came back Sunday morning for Sunday School and church. They didn't know how to sit still or be quiet, but when the altar call was given - they were the first to respond.
God knows their hearts. They are part of a group of kids that is being shown God's love through the local church and they are responding to that love. The kids program they attend is called Kids Rescue Squad. I like that! Rescuing kids from hell is the reason we are doing what we do.
Our midweek Superchurch is going well. The first week was a No Show with stormy weather being the culprit. However the next week we had about 9 kids - most of them unchurched. Then it jumped to 11, 13 and it looks like it has made another jump. We have new kids every week with about 18 kids that attend regularly. (If only they would all come on the same night.) We have been using Power Tool Box® and the kids are learning about the Ten Commandments and how much God wants to protect them. We will be there until the end of April. Please pray with us that God will send people we can train to take our place when we leave.
We have been hearing a lot about Generation X lately, and as we began to research, we discovered that we are not working with Generation X but with the Millennial Generation or the Fourteenth Generation - those born in 1982 and later. Very aware of the world around them, they have trouble finding good role models. Their morals are caught from media waves and cyber space. Millennial Kids are very technically advanced, and even though they are computer smart, many of them are God-illiterate. In spite of all this there is something special and unique about this group. You see, they are the "Fourteenth Generation" - the same generations that gave us Abraham, David and Jesus. So we believe that God has something extra-special for this generation and we are honoured that He has chosen us to be involved with them.
At the same time there is a great challenge in ministering to these Millennial Kids. They are very technically advanced, becoming easily bored by the mediocre and average and we believe that God is calling us to meet the challenge. Bible truths need to be communicated through interactive learning with large, animated, vibrant images. Fresh, anointed music and a clear sound make the difference between enjoyment and tolerance. To do this we need to be on the cutting edge, constantly changing and revamping how we minister to these kids. God has blesses us with the giftings we need to accomplish this but we still need the right tools.
We need:
Video Projection Equipment
Video Camera
Laptop Computer
Portable Sound System
Portable Keyboard
Accessories & Trailer so that all this equipment is used, protected and transported safely.
We believe that God has given us a plan to reach this objective. We are asking for a ONE-TIME gift of $7.00. Seven is the number of God. He took seven days to create the world. We need about $21,000 therefore we need 3000 people to join with us. Together we can make this goal a reality. If you would like to help us reach the goal, please make your gift payable to You Are Special Ministries, and send to 6678 Cropp St., Niagara Falls, ON, Canada, L2E 7B3, and clearly mark it with "Catch the Vision" or "Millennial Kids".
In our fifteen years of ministry, we have never been as busy as we are now. We love it! Everywhere we go we are seeing Millennial Kids come to meet Jesus and discovering that they have the best role model of all to follow. And we just keep getting busier. Lord willing, in May, we head off to Canada's East Coast and will celebrate Charity's 16th birthday in the same community where her Dad celebrated his. In June, we are heading to Ontario's north. Then after a busy summer in Ontario and New York we will be heading to California in October and November. God is so good! All the time!
We have developed a new seminar, "Clown Ministry - More Than Just a Laughing Matter". We have a lot of fun presenting it, including about 5 clown routines. In the process of researching it, we discovered that we do a lot more clowning than we realize. We also put together an expanded version of the seminar in a book form, we are hoping to expand it even more - before it goes into its "second" printing. J
On the subject of books: We are in the process of putting together our first children's book called Shining for Jesus. It contains five stories that we wrote for a Vacation Bible School two years ago. Charity is doing the artwork while the stories are being edited, and we hope to have it ready for distribution in the near future.
I have also begun to sort through and clean up the curriculum we were writing last year. We hope to put it together as a reproducible activity book. It will have activities for primary, middler and junior levels. Some of our material was created as full lessons so we are thinking of putting them together as well.
Now onto the family news: It has been a busy time for us at home as well. We have become very well acquainted with our dentist as all three girls have had teeth removed. At the beginning of this month Anya and Charity were both down for two weeks after having their wisdom teeth taken out. They were among the worse extractions our dentist has ever done. Just as they were recovering from that, they paid a visit to the orthodontist last Monday and all three girls now have braces. So they are still in the stage of learning how to eat, what they can eat and wondering when they can eat without pain.
There have been some very special blessings that have taken place as well. Charity's 16th birthday present arrived at our house about two weeks ago - much to her delight and surprise. She was blessed with an upright grand piano, built in 1919. We had the piano tuner in yesterday. He said it sounds pretty good and seems to be in pretty good condition. Now her piano teacher is able to give her pieces that incorporate the whole key range and dynamics. Charity has also begun to take vocal lessons and so the piano is a blessing for that as well.
Computer software that I have praying about for over a year was GIVEN to us last week, and I have been busy having fun with it ever since. We are looking forward to a great ministry conference in New York with the New York State Sunday School Association in April. I have worked hard at organizing the workshops and the line-up looks really good.
At one of our camps our cottage is known as the youth hangout, well I think that it being transferred to our home. Tonight we have a house full of youth. They are here to watch Ben Hur. So I must close as I need to go out and buy some pop and chips.
We want to thank you for your continued prayers and support. As you can see by our schedule - we are not letting the grass grow under our feet, so your prayers for safety are very important to us. Please also pray for the children we are ministering to - many of them have no church background and are being introduced to Jesus for the first time. Pray that the Spirit will soften their hearts so that they will come to the Father and accept His Son.
With much love,Joel, Mary, Anya, Charity & Rhian

1998

1999-01-21T07:24:00.000-08:00

Let me tell you about nineteen ninety-eight
All things considered I would say it was great.
Hubby and I blessed with many a date
And he even found time to use fish bait.

Royal, our dog, found himself a young mate
And now Sasha and he happily share their big crate.
The fire is blazing so warm in the grate
And not a bit of our lives have we left to fate.

Many times through the year on God did we wait
And we know that His timing is never late
So now as we watch He is opening the gate
And I'm happy to say that our Lord is first rate.

Just before Christmas we were browsing on our new Christian Bookstore. While talking with the salesperson, she mentioned a children's camp she had attended last summer where she came away changed. Imagine our joy and delight to discover we had been at that camp. It was actually quite a memorable camp for us as well - besides the fact that our mostly female family was lodged in a boy's cabin.
We spoke three times in the less than 24 hours we were there. On the Saturday evening and Sunday morning we spoke to the younger children. We saw over 20 children including one Muslim accept Christ. On Saturday night, Joel spoke to the junior youth out by the campfire. Three responded to the invitation, two of the boys being Muslim. God is reaching across religious and cultural backgrounds and it is exciting to be part of it.
We have received several invitations to minister in India should we be blessed to visit there. In spite of or maybe because of the turmoil going on there we know that God is doing great things. We were given a new story this year involving a rich young Indian man.
The young man's life was full of drugs and women and they were the means by which he made his living. One day he felt ill and visited a doctor. The doctor gave him three months to live.
He left the doctor's office and made his way to a Hindu temple. He stood inside and looked at all the idols and said, "Surely there must be a God who hears and answers prayer."
Immediately Jesus stood before him and said, "I am the God and I have come to save you and heal you."
Instantly the man was saved and healed. As a result of his testimony over 100 village churches have been birthed.
It is truly amazing what God is doing!
Now on to our family. I am so glad that God is in control and knows the end from the beginning. We had made plans to go to the West Coast this spring, but our plans were slow in coming together. As it turns out our daughters are expected to be recuperating from mouth surgery and braces in February and March. We discovered that not one but three daughters need braces. We are just waiting for the surgery date for teeth pulling from our dentist. We would certainly appreciate your prayers for them as Charity and Anya will not only be having out their wisdom teeth but 4 others as well. So, we expect to be going to California in October.
Anya is keeping well. In October of last year she passed her driving test. That sure makes things easier around here, since I don't have to be the only chauffeur now. She has been going to school for instrumental music and will be doing her final theory and playing exam within the next week.
Charity takes vocal music at school and she too will be finishing up within the next few days. Her piano was also coming along very well until a few weeks ago. She entered grade 2 in November but due to a skiing mishap just after the new year, she broke her thumb. It is in a splint now and we hope that lessons can resume next week.
Rhian's birthday saw her officially enter the teenage years as she turned thirteen. Although still very petite she is turning into a very nice young woman. She really enjoys being part of Junior Youth on Friday nights. She attends Junior Youth at the church that The Chapel amalgamated with, so she knew several of the kids.
We are definitely on the busier side this year. It is barely the third week of the year and we have already completed two of our four January bookings. Plus we will be busy every Wednesday night at The Pentecostal Tabernacle in Port Colborne, Ontario until the end of April. They have asked us to come in and run their mid-week children's program. There are only 2 or 3 children in the congregation. Last week (13th) was the first week for this new outreach and due to the weather we had the great attendance of 0. Last night we had 11. We were thrilled. At least three of them had no church affiliation. At the end of the evening all of them stood to say they wanted to follow the one true God. PTL
January is only the start of what is starting to look like a busy year for us. We are thrilled. It looks like February, March and April are not too far from home. April will be in Hamburg, NY at the New York State Sunday School Association . Dick Gruber from Bloomington, Minnesota will be the keynote speaker. Lord willing, we will be heading to the Canadian East Coast in May and June. Our summer is still sketchy but we have a lot of pencil scratchings - just waiting for confirmation. Then with the end of summer, Lord willing, we expect to be heading to the West Coast - American and Canadian. You can find our schedule on our website and if we are near you - we would love to see you.
In the meantime, we keep updating our website. We have made a major renovation since October. You can now receive our newsletter by mail (the regular way), read it on our site or now by email. Just sign up at the top of this page. We also have a history page now, including photos. The story page has been revamped and we now have a selection of stories for everyone and for Christian Educators. Our two newest additions are Graeme's Job for children and Jewels for Keeping for the children's pastor - although I think that it is a story that everyone can enjoy. Either Joel or I have written all the stories on the story page.

Summer Newsletter 1998

1998-08-08T07:21:00.000-07:00

August 8, 1998

Have you ever wondered why Jesus was so ticked when the disciples pushed away the children that wanted to come to Him? I have been thinking a lot about that lately.
I can just imagine these children all running full tilt straight for Jesus. Then one of the disciples looks up and thinks, "What are these kids doing here? Don't their parents know that Jesus has better things to do with His time - more important people to see." And reaches out his hand in a shooing motion. "Get away! Get away! Jesus is too busy for you."
Then Jesus looks up, stands up and says "Hold it! Hold it right there." He reaches out to the closest child and pulls him forward. And the child that in his hurt already has dirty streaks forming from the tears that are running down his face, suddenly has the joyous sparkle return to his eyes as he realises Jesus wants him. Then I can just see Jesus kneel down on the ground, eyeball to eyeball and wiping away those dirty streaks, smiling and talking all the while.
The mothers are there looking on, smiling. They know about how much a kind word and a gentle touch means to their children. Others though, are standing around wondering why all the fuss about the children, especially when there are all these IMPORTANT people around.
So what was it Jesus was thinking when he saw these children being pushed away. I wonder if maybe He knew that if those children were not allowed to come to him when they were young, they would have no desire to come to Him when they were teenagers, or adults. And isn't that where we are finding ourselves today.
Many of today's generation of North American children have never entered the inside of a church. By the time they are entering school, there are some who have never heard the Name of Jesus, except in profanity. As children they were never taken to Jesus and now as teenagers and adults they have no time for Him either. Statistics tell us that the generation that is presently growing up will be the most violent to ever exist.
So what are we doing about it?
It comes back to the children. We need to reach a child while they are young. The Catholic Church has a saying that contains a tremendous amount of truth. "Give us a child until they are seven years of age and we will have him for life." I can almost hear Jesus saying, "Bring a child to Me and let him really experience My love and he will never leave."
One of the difficulties we have always had with itinerant ministry is the lack of role modelling that is lived before the children. When you are with them all the time, they know whether or not you really live what you teach. This is one of the best ways to reach and teach a child, because when they know you love them, they want to model you. This has been one of the reasons why we have been trying to settle in one place. We wanted the children we worked with to see that serving Jesus was a wonderful life. We still believe that modelling is the best way to teach and reach children, but this year God has rearranged our thinking on it.
Mimosa was a ten-year-old Hindu girl who spent twenty minutes in the presence of Amy Carmichael. During this time she was always accompanied by her Hindu father who had no intention of changing his ways - nor of allowing Mimosa to change either. Mimosa left that encounter knowing two things:
There is a God.
God loves me.
Mimosa had no education. She could not read. She had never seen, nor heard of a Bible. Yet from that day she refused to follow after the Hindu gods. She preferred to be beaten than participate in idol worship.
Mimosa's parents married her to a man who was lazy, and who had lied about his wealth. She discovered that he had no money and that he was in tremendous debt. The culture in which she lived believed that it was what you had that was important - not what you owed. Yet she refused to live this way. She worked hard to pay off her husband's debt.
Mimosa knew no Christian. She never entered the door of a church. For over twenty years she followed God without even knowing His Name. And all this after spending only twenty minutes in the presence of a godly woman.
If God could do this, then He could use us to influence not only the lives of children in a weekend, but the rest of the church as well. We believe that God has dropped into our hearts a new program called Ignite the Fire. It is a weekend packed full of evangelism, outreach and teacher training, and prayer.
So we are excited about what God is doing in our lives. Joel was praying in the wee hours of Saturday, May 30 about where our family was going. He felt that God was directing us to go back on the road full time. Normally on a Saturday morning Joel would go off to work without seeing the girls until lunch time, as they would be using their day off to do exciting things, like sleep. This particular morning they were all up. So he felt it was a good opportunity to share with them where he felt God was directing us. Immediately they responded with an excited "YES!"
Later that night, just as we were preparing to go to bed, I came across something interesting in the book I was reading about William Carey. On May 30, 1792, he was preaching a sermon from Isaiah 52:2,3.
Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwelling; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited.
When I read this to Joel he became very animated as it was confirmation of how he felt the Lord was directing us.
We knew we still had a major problem though if we were going to be travelling full-time. Our little car that had been fine for our family when we bought it five years ago was now too small for three teens in the back seat. It had served us well, only now I wasn't sure whether it would take more faith to believe that God would provide for a new vehicle or that He would make sure this one arrived at our destination. In exactly one week we had our answer. Our 5 passenger car grew up and became a 7 passenger extended mini-van. We are still amazed at the goodness of God every time we enter that vehicle. And another amazing thing is the air-conditioning works.
We are still surprised how much difference that makes. On these long trips when it has been sweltering outside, we have been relaxed and comfortable. Instead of arriving somewhere exhausted and windblown, we are arriving ready to go.
We are going to be home schooling again. The three girls are thrilled. High schooling does have me a little bit nervous though. There are a lot of new options now, one of them being computer teaching with the curriculum on CD-Rom. Anya will be going into her third year of high school (grade 11), Charity her second (grade 10) and Rhian will be entering grade six.
With the computer schooling and extended travelling we are anticipating the need for a laptop within the next few months. Pray with us that God will provide not only the funds but also the right computer.
We are also seeking guidance for our accommodations. We are anticipating that we will need a motor home, using the van as our equipment trailer. We are making plans to be on the West Coast of the US and Canada, including a mission trip into Alaska, in February - April 1999, and really feel that having our own place would benefit everyone.
In case you haven't figured it out already, we are thrilled with the new direction in our lives. For the past several years we had been trying to settle down while the girls made it through high school. Yet every spring the travel bug would hit us. We would see those planes flying overhead and wonder where it could be taking us. We would take a one hour trip and feel it had been much too short. Wendy's and McDonald's even seemd to be calling to us, "Eat here! Eat here!" Instead of visions of sugarplums, we would see the waves rolling in while we sat in the ferry line-up, thinking "This is the life!"
I can pass on Wendy's and McDonald's, but look out ferry line-ups, 'cause here we come.

From Sea to Sea ~ 1991 - 1996

1996-08-01T08:12:00.000-07:00

Through pastoral changes we became interim pastors in PEI. At this time we knew God was directing us back to Ontario. We moved back and within two weeks we had located and settled into our new home. Joel had found a job with a Christian boss who knew the importance of our children's ministry. He would allow Joel whatever time off he needed to go out and minister.

Our first summer back on the road we would find ourselves at camps and DVBS's (Daily Vacation Bible School). One of these would be the beginning of a lasting relationship with people that God would use in the future. We actually stayed in the home of a family of five who were away on holidays. The next year when we came back we would meet these people and they would number among our closest friends. As this church advanced so did we. Our first DVBS with them was spent in their old church. By the next summer when DVBS time rolled around they would have been in their new church less than a month. And by the next year they would join with the church that had bought their old building and have joint DVBS. At this first joint year we would discover the importance of not just using Christianese. One young boy responded to the altar call of "asking Jesus into his heart". He looked up at me and asked, "Will I get a stomach-ache?"
"Why, are you not feeling well?" I asked.
"No, when Jesus comes into my heart, will I get a stomach-ache?"
We assured him that accepting Jesus would not give him a stomach-ache.

While we had been in PEI our van had become unusable and we had been able to make an even trade of our trailer for a car with low mileage. Now that we were travelling again we were praying for a motorhome. God was certainly proving His faithfulness for in May of 1991 we were given a converted bus and a motorhome. Because the motorhome was more suited to our needs, we returned the bus. We would use the motorhome for two seasons. One of our first bookings in our new 'home' would be in Northern Ontario. We would spend a full month at the camp and go through a full year of programs in the fifty or so services that we held. Anya had her first babysitting job while we there.

In the autumn we were able to enjoy the fall colours as we travelled to the East Coast. We were also able to enjoy many of the worlds amazing wonders. We were enjoying unseasonably warm weather when we there and we would find ourselves catching the edge of a hurricane.

One of our classic stories is about forgiveness at the first Thanksgiving. One of our great joys is when children and adults respond and accept God's forgiveness for themselves or choose to forgive someone that has hurt them. Then of course at the end of a crusade there is the necessity of packing up everything so that we can move on. From the earliest days, we have made this a family affair. Everyone is able to do their part.

It was in 1992 that we felt God laying on our heart the need to train others to do the same type of ministry that we do. We talked with a young couple fresh out of Bible College and after praying about it felt that they were the couple to travel with. So Pastor Shawn and Aunt Stephanie joined the team.

Shawn had a very unique gift in storytelling. At the first place they joined us in, he was asked to be the counselor to the most memorable kids any camp could have. Every night at bedtime he would encourage them to get into their bunks quickly and then he would begin to weave a story. Every night there would be a different adventure. The characters in the nightly tale would have names and personalities remarkably like the boys in their beds. The story would continue until finally every young adventurer was fast asleep. Shawn's first attempt at public storytelling fell on Canada Day. He told the story of 'Tommy, the Biplane". Everyone sat enthralled as the adventure of this WWI leftover became a hero of WWII. How long had these spell bound listeners sat? Not 5 minutes, not even 15 minutes but 55 minutes without a sound. His cabin of boys wanted to hear it again that night - and the next week the kids all wanted to hear it again.

Aunt Stephanie brought a dimension to the ministry that had been missing up until this time. She was extremely talented in music. With Stephanie on board we began having special music as part of the program. She made sure everyone stayed on key and kept in time. This took a lot of the burden off of Joel as up until this time he had done all the music himself.

Shawn and Stephanie were very involved in every aspect of the ministry from music and storytelling to puppets and clowning. As Douly came out in his "Army Clothes" Stephanie helped him learn that rubber boots, paper plates and Shield soap was not the armour that God wants us to wear every day. (Ephesians 6)

As was God's plan, Shawn and Stephanie moved on and now are involved in children's and youth ministry in Sudbury, Ontario.

One of our favourite places to be is in the north. We would finish out the year in Ontario's north both with tragedy and triumph. While ministering in Fort Francis one of the pastor's sons was killed in a snowmobile accident. The pastor chose for the crusade to keep on going in spite of his personal heartache. For the remainder of our stay we would hold them up in prayer, answer the door and the phone and weep with them. From Fort Francis we would travel on to Sioux Lookout.

For months Sioux Lookout had been praying for this crusade. We entered a church that was ready to receive a harvest of children. The sanctuary was decorated with 300 helium filled balloons. During the next few days we would see over 300 children enter the doors of the church with many of them accepting Jesus for the first time.

Our theme for 1993 was From Sea to Sea in '93 and From Coast to Coast With the Holy Ghost and that is exactly what we did. Beginning in March we travelled to British Columbia and spent about two months on our beautiful West Coast. Our newsletter for that trip began. . . "Our trip to British Columbia reminded us of the three R's - Rain, Roads and Repairs." It was one of BC's wettest springs so much so that the newspaper was making fun of it. We travelled the Fraser Canyon five times and I think we knew where just about every Tim Horton's in BC was located. And we were stranded on the road five times with major vehicle repairs. We had more problems mechanically with that trip than we had ever had in all the previous years put together. But in spite of all the problems, we met wonderful people, had great services and people were saved . . . and that made it all worth it.

In May, the girls swam in the Pacific Ocean and in August they swam in the Atlantic. We truly did travel from Sea to Sea spreading the good news of Jesus. We had a wonderfully busy year and when we returned home in the fall we felt God directing us to eroll the girls in our local public school. It was a small school with only about 180 students and the principal was a Christian. Joel and Mary became part of the PTA and worked closely with the school over the next two years. With the events that were to come it would create stability for the girls that would be missing at home.

As was often an occurence in our home during the winter, Joel would find employment so that we could pay the bills. The fall of 1993 was no exception. As a matter of fact, with all the breakdowns in BC it was even more of a neccesity. So the job hunt was on. It would be February before Joel would actually be employed. As with many occasions before, Joel was employed with a Christian who recognized the value of YASM and opportunity was freely given to minister when the opportunity presented itself.

March 1, 1994 began as any other normal working day. It was also Ladies Bible Study at the church around the corner. As Mary was leaving Bible Study, she felt impressed to invite Beth and Bonnie, sisters, over for lunch. Three times she attempted to leave without doing so but finally asked them over. They were delighted. They had barely walked in the door when the phone rang. It was the hospital - Joel had been injured at work. All Mary knew at that time was that he was alive - no other details had been given.

While at work that morning, Joel had been splitting wood with an hydraulic log splitter. A log had slipped crushing Joel's left hand between it and the ram. Beth accompanied Mary to the hospital while Bonnie stayed at home to be there when the girls arrived home from school. Now Mary understood the urgency she felt about inviting them over for lunch. Beth and Bonnie had been God's provision in her time of need.

Following surgery, Joel's hand would take a full year to recover from the accident. Repeated attempts to save Joel's index finger were made but in December 1994 his index finger was amputated. During this time ministry was very restricted as tri-weekly trips to the hospital meant we had to stay close to home. We were still able to do some summer ministry though on board the Starship Ecclesia.

As December and the time for surgery would roll around, Joel determined that he would not let this accident interfere with his ability to play guitar. So with the hand still in bandages, he began teaching himself a new way to play the C chord.

A few months later our senior pastor and Christian Education pastor resigned. The church wanted to be careful in its selection of a new pastor and since the CE position could not be filled until the senior postion was filled, the church asked Joel if he would be interim CE Director until that time. He agreed knowing that when his position came to an end so our time in Sarnia would come to an end. We had felt the nudges from the Holy Spirit letting us know that we were getting ready for a change.

Our new senior pastor arrived in April, the new CE guy arrived in May. We knew it was time for us to leave but where were we to go?

Friends of ours, Noral and Michelle Woodburn, had pioneered a new church in Niagara Falls and in May 1996 asked us to come on board with them. After spending time in prayer, we felt that God was directing us to Niagara Falls. So we rented the biggest U-Haul we could, packed up all of our belongings into it and moved to the beautiful city of Niagara Falls.

The Early Years ~ 1985 - 1990

1991-01-21T08:07:00.000-08:00

Joel was sitting in the rocking chair with our two eldest daughters sitting on his lap. They couldn't have been more than five and three at the time. He had a picture of Joseph in his multi-coloured coat. With only a picture and his voice, Anya and Charity sat entranced for over half an hour as he wove the story of the young boy and his story that changed the course of a nation. The story was over but the girls clamoured for more.

We had always recognized that God had given Joel a special gift in communicating. Now we knew that He was directing us to use that gift to declare His love to children.

It was 1986, we had just resigned as pastors of a small rural church in southern Ontario. We were going to experience life on the road with our three young daughters. It was a scary time but it was also very exciting because we knew God was in it.

There were two things we were certain of

We wanted the name of the ministry to represent our purpose and not glorify ourselves.
We knew that children everywhere were hurting; many of them were more accustomed to having a slap than a hug. Yet there was Someone who loved them more than we possibly could. Jesus had a message for each of these challenging, wonderful young people. When he reached out to the little children on the hills of Israel, He gave them this message then and He still gives it today. "My children, you are special. I love you." And so, You Are Special Ministries was born.

We wanted our daughters to always view the ministry as something we did together - not just what Mom and Dad did. Anya and Charity were only five and three when we began and they would help us sing songs and do some puppet songs. Throughout the years they have developed into much more able assistants. Rhian was not quite one when we began. She was our miracle baby and so it would be many years before she would be able to take an active part but when she finally began to walk she would give hugs to everybody.
1987

The following April 1 found us moving to a new home. On March 30 we were three hours from home giving teacher training when a freak snowstorm blew in and stranded us overnight. The next morning treacherous conditions made driving an experience. So it was late afternoon before we arrived home to start packing up the house we had to vacate by midnight. Thank God for good friends with strong sons.

1988

Over the next couple of years we would find ourselves ministering in Eastern and Central Canada and New England. At one camp over 150 children made decisions for Christ. One of these children was from a home in which not one sibling would have the same father. She arrived at camp bringing with her unexpected and unwanted guests - a head full of lice. Her hair was washed and cut and we complimented her on her new appearance. It was the last night of camp. This girl was coming straight to him. He knew the rule - keep your head away. She was going to sit down right beside him and plop her head on his shoulder. If Joel let her, he might receive her friends. If he pulled away, what message would she receive? Sure enough, she sat down beside him and plonked her head on his shoulder. Joel gave her a hug, it would have been wrong to turn away. Jesus loved her too, and no, Joel did not receive any unwelcome friends.

From there we found our way into Northern Ontario where one of our team members was put on trial for tardiness. Loving Open Caring Kind Enthusiastic Tickle (LOCKET to her friends) was on trial for constantly showing up late at chapel services. I am not sure that it did much good though. She seemed a little bit slow in the understanding.

We loved the north and found many of our most enjoyable experiences took place up there. One of our favourite spots was Pickle Lake. It was just about as far north as you could actually drive in Ontario. It was also where another memorable LOCKET event took place. LOCKET had a teddy bear that would love to come to church with her. During one particular service she and Bear were having a conversation just outside the door - naturally being picked up by the mike she was wearing. LOCKET was informing Bear that he was not allowed to come to church because bears were just simply not allowed in church. The camp caretaker was slightly flabbergasted and not sure what was happening because just about two hours earlier there had been a REAL bear not 50 feet away from the chapel doors.

The following year we would be back. One of the favourite activities of the kids would be cabin clean up. Yeah, right! Well there was an incentive that the kids couldn't resist - the cleanest cabin over the week had the privilege of throwing Pastor Joel in the lake.

So now that he was clean and since we didn't have to rush away, Joel went with Ian Winters, the camp director, to take some of the campers home again. The flight would take them into one of Canada's dry (alcohol free) Indian reserves, and even though they were coming from a Christian camp all of the passengers were completely searched when they landed at their destination.

During the trip Joel counted about twenty forest fires sparked by the thunderstorms that we had been having. We were interested to discover that unless the fire is near people that no attempt would be made to stop it. In the far north the fire would clear out the dead brush and the heat would cause pinecones to pop and spread new seed.

In the autumn of 1988, we would have our first BIG tour. We would be travelling to the East Coast of Canada for three weeks. We had been praying for a trailer and the day before we were to leave God provided it. What a hectic last day that was. We were finally ready to leave, only to find ourselves broken down on the 401 at midnight in a pouring rainstorm. It would be almost suppertime before we resumed our journey.

By the time we arrived on the coast, we had travelled a thousand miles, narrowly missed having an accident, had a total of ten hours of sleep in three nights and had ten minutes in which to set up before our first program. Following the program we had $3.65 to our name and had only a bag of chips to eat since a breakfast of corn flakes at 6:00 that morning.

We found a variety store and bought a can of mushroom soup and a loaf of bread. Supper had never tasted so good! We all slept well that night, and in the morning drove off to our next booking. On the way out east we had discovered a few things about trailering. One of these was the need to have trailer brakes. So we stopped off at a trailer dealer and made arrangements to have them installed. It was going to cost us $125 and we now had less than $1. We met our next hosts and they wanted us to stay inside their beautiful home instead of in the trailer. We took the trailer back out to the dealer so that they could also check out the furnace as well. We later discovered it never worked because of a bird's nest that had been built inside.

Sunday morning arrived. We had an open session in Sunday School and we were sitting in the main sanctuary waiting for church to start. We would be teaching Children's Church during the sermon. A lady approached us. She handed us an envelope and said, "This is for you." We had never seen her before and if we were to see her again we would not recognize her. We opened up the envelope and inside was $200. It was enough to pay for the repairs and work on the trailer. God had provided right on time.

We would minister in several other locations and finally end up in PEI. We arrived at our location at 3:00 in the morning - too late to call up the pastor. We did not have directions to the church. We had no way of knowing where to go, so we prayed. As we drove up the street we decided to turn the corner. A few blocks later we saw the church. We were lost but God wasn't. He had directed our steps and took us right up to the doors.

While we were there the church invited us to come on staff as children's pastor and resident evangelist. We felt that this was where God was directing us and accepted. We moved into the parsonage on January 1, 1989. While there we would travel in the Maritimes and across Canada to Saskatchewan. We would stay in PEI until 1990 when God directed us back to Ontario and back on the road full-time.