WOW we have a lot of catching up to do….

You know, one would think it'd be pretty easy to just do a quick update any time.. but I have learned to out manoeuvre those silly assumptions of mine to go for the more impractical route. :) 

I have been thinking of you all a lot though and very much wanting to write for you and post pictures, so now I can get a chance to at least tell you this and you can know you weren't forgotten or left out! 

I'll try to do a bit of a re-cap on the goings on of the last…  uh oh… well, the last…. 2 months…. =) and try not to be TOO long winded. :) 

So here I go *deep breath*  ……..*………………………… *well*… well okay, never mind. I can't do it. I simply CAN'T avoid being long winded, so I'll just do a post dedicated to Grand Manan, NB and THEN… go on to tell of the next 2 months after that. After all, how many times do we get to go to an island even smaller than PEI??

(population 2,460) 

~The Adventures of Grand Manan~

April 14-15, 2012

WAIT!!!

 Don't get ahead of the story! There were adventures even BEFORE the Grand Manan adventure! :)

On land we discovered a deserted isle! ….

in which Gabe goes discovering..

it appears upon first inspection, to be merely a little peninsula, not a deserted isle after all… but upon further inspection, and a few pairs of wet feet, we discovered that it indeed becomes an isle quite separated from land in only minutes! 

Fortunately, we did not know this and blithely carried on.

here we cross, unwittingly, the dry sand to the isle.

Gabe discovers a rope! how convenient, AND adventuresome!

after following a little trail that wended its way amidst the most amazingly fragrant, moss-draped conifers, we finally came upon the last outcropping of rocks 

and so stood he on that point

quickly we were alerted to the approaching of our ship, so we went back, and here discovered that the lovely causeway we had crossed over on, what formerly had been dry sand, now had been overtaken by the ocean waters which were rising at an incredibly rapid speed. (inches every wasted moment) WOW we DID feel adventurous!! 

Anticipation

we set off! 

At the high school we set up to do a concert, and Seth tries his hand at a tuba…

ZOWIE I think he's a natural…

While looking up things in my journal, I found the entry I wrote for that weekend, so I think I'll write down an excerpt..

Journal entry:

"… Saturday we had a concert at their school and we found out that a group of ladies had started meeting together to pray twice a week for revival on the island and had been meeting for the last 7 years! They had been inspired by the same revival that inspired us 7 years ago (while we were still working in Massachusetts) - that which took place in the Hebrides (pronounced Heb-er-dees)   of Scotland! So God let us go there… and get to help pray alongside them for at least a little bit that He would pour out His Spirit on the Island. Oh what a blessing! He SO blessed the night, and all of the older generation who left just were so thankful.. some were even misty eyed and broken up by what God did in their hearts. :)  The dear janitor who was working, Jacqueline, probably touched my heart the most. She had shown up so overwhelmed, weighed down and stressed by her day and week, and when she came in.. she immediately felt the peace of God flood her. She said she felt so much real joy in her heart!  We had such sweet fellowship with Pastor Kirk and his wife Jo, Pastor Jasper and Debbie, and a few other very dear people. :) 

Then saturday night began the intense battle, that's only now ending. (Here we caught the severe stomach flu that apparently went around the East Coast.) Tai was up all night losing her dinner, I was up all night feeling yucky, Gabe was up because he was praying for Tai, and Joel was up feeling the same as me. Then morning came and Tai and I couldn't leave the motel for being so sick, she couldn't come for the concert service. Then Joel and I started er, having to call uncle ralph over and over,(before and during the concert) and had chills and couldn't stand… then the concert started…. somehow by God's grace we were there! Standing! But… we couldn't do the dance… Joel really must have been worse off than me, but he kept on praising God so whole-heartedly and really gaining victory. We knew we had to just stand and pray (which at that moment was exceedingly hard to do) and that God would do the rest. Hallelujah!…"

"God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present Help in trouble(!)" ~Psalm 46:1

"But as for me, I will hope continually,and will praise Thee yet more and more(!) My mouth shall tell of Thy righteousness, and of Thy salvation all day long(!)" ~Psalm 71:14-15

This is one of our Grand Manan representatives!  (Jacqueline, who I was telling you about! :) 

                   

AND even though I totally forgot to take a picture when I saw them there, I HAVE to post a pic of the family I met last summer on PEI who were from Grand Manan and said they'd make it if ever we did a concert there! :) And they DID!

So this is for you guys! Love you! :)

We spent one more night there to try to re-coup and got to see a last sunset. :) Praise God for what He's doing there- keep praying for the whole Island to meet Jesus!

God bless you all and be encouraged to keep pressing on in your pursuit of righteousness!

Please pray for us as we set out tomorrow morning for a July tour in New England!

In Christ, Miriam

"And after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."

Isn't that so sweet? Never once have I thought of Jesus... singing. I don't know why it has never occurred to me before! Of course! Jesus would have sung continually. :)

He would have sung all during His growing up--at various times while working alongside His father, as He walked along the streets, out on sailing vessels, then in His ministry years He must have sang while walking through fields and at night when His disciples were with Him around a fire... or perhaps while they fell asleep... maybe their minds would be racing as they wondered about what they'd left behind and if those things were being taken care of. After all, they were normal people who had answered God's call on their lives and had left behind everything they knew to follow Jesus. Perhaps they were thinking of what new lifestyle they were entering and what might happen in the future.
 They were scorned a lot by the very teachers and spiritual leaders they had grown up under, they were questioned by those who they used to hang out with, and they were going by faith because many people around them misunderstood them and rejected them.

Then... out of the dimming light of the campfire, there came a welcome sound: that of an incredibly sweet, deep, reassuring voice that rose in a song of confidence in God. At the sound of this voice, all fears and doubts melted away and their minds were at perfect peace. A peace came over them that passed understanding and they knew in their hearts that this was indeed the path that God had called them to walk. Everything in their lives could change, but the voice of Jesus would remain in their hearts and assure and bolster them.

Now, can you imagine how it must have felt in the context that this verse is taken from? 

Can you imagine the moment? Here, 2,000 years ago, sit the twelve disciples with Jesus... 

They've just had the most bittersweet communion together, recounting the first Passover of the Jews (with Jesus Himself telling the story!)  and then listening as He tells them that as of that moment He was sealing a whole new covenant between God and man that would give all people then and now freedom to come to God through Him... becoming Himself the Passover Lamb that would truly take away the sins of the people before God. Then as He tells them of the need... of Him being put to death.. in order to truly be the Sacrifice for our sins...

The disciples are taken aback by all that's just happened.. and their minds are full of all the things Jesus has just spoken to them..and they're trying desperately to take it all in and understand the full meaning.. their hearts are being overcome with grief as they realize that their beloved Teacher and best Friend Who they've just spent the last 3 years in continual fellowship with...  is going to die. They can't grasp the fact that He will rise again.. their hearts are in turmoil and it's all to much to take in!

And then there comes the sweetest sound again.. that of Jesus' deep, loving and reassuring voice, rising in a song of glory to God and complete confidence and trust in His good plans- and this time they join in together, and as they sing all fears and doubts melt away and a peace that passes understanding enters their hearts. Though everything in their lives will change and be thrown into turmoil, Jesus, Who KNEW what was about to happen, started singing...even as He faced His ultimate trial.  


May you be much encouraged as you press on in following Jesus! Just as the disciples 2,000 years ago, let us also follow our Lord- even as there will be trials continually. Let us sing also to God in complete faith and trust in His good plans!  Jesus is calling His people to follow Him so let us "press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward high calling of God in Christ Jesus." 
God bless you each and I'm praying for you! Jesus sacrificed His life for us- can we do anything less for Him Who we love so much? :)


~Your sister in Christ, Miriam


Reference: Matthew 26:30, Philippians 3:14
                    

YAHOO we're going to Montana!

AND it's daytime! :)

Today we are officially at our half-way point of the tour- one month in- and somehow... it seems more like 3 months worth of adventures! :)
But I love how God works- - and we shall see what He has planned
for this next part as we go forth into the U.S. of A.

So this morning we were with the Jost family!

It was so neat how God made a very short time to be filled with such refreshment

and fellowship!

You see, our arrival was a bit delayed, due to unexpected snowy driving from Slave Lake AB (see Google maps on your browser) to their home at the border of Montana

So then we set off!

Once we crossed the border we got to see the Jost's and the Fehr's view from

the other side of the mountain

*See, you can tell 'cause the little pointy mountain is on the right now* :)

WOW! What a "butte"! :)

Golly, these must be the black hills we always read about!

This was such a cool overlook!!

'Course, we realized just moments further down the road that we actually over looked... the over look... with all the cool stairs... and super amazing view... *sigh*

lol

See this? God thought of it.

As we drove, it became more and more Narnia-like as the snow began to fly and the mountains became more other-worldly... wow.

Unfortunately, I had a rather difficult time capturing just how dramatic everything was... in fact, these just aren't doing the scenes justice at all.

Work with me though, and try to imagine something like those winter scenes in New Zealand. :)

I wish you all could have overheard our awesome conversation in the van as we drove through these mountains in Montana. How amazing it is that each of
the rocks and hills and craggy mountain sides were placed specifically by God and came out of His imagination! And how one could climb up to the top of
any of these mountains and just take in the intricacies of everything in sight: every cave or break in the rocks of the mountains,
every grassy slope, every ripple of water which might be trickling down the side of a cliff face or descending amidst coarsely shaped rocks and grasses.
Then... to turn around and climb down the mountain side
and wander over to a grassy slope and sit down to take in yet more beauty... all the while spending each moment delighting in the Presence of God,
having the coolest and most wonderful conversations with Him. I didn't even know places like this existed in North America... and we haven't even made it
to Yellowstone Park yet! But oh, how much more lovely it will be to do all these things in our eternal home!

I will leave you with this update of our whereabouts :) as we continue, driving into the night along the Idaho highways. Oh wait! We're officially in Wyoming now! Yay! Goodnight and God bless you each!
In Christ, Miriam

Revival P.E.I. 2011 has begun!!

Hallelujah!! Blessed be the name of our Lord Jesus!

Tonight was the first night of prayer for revival (officially :) and I am already blown away... I just have such assurance that God does in fact want to, and will answer our requests. It's an amazing thing, but I just know that He will. :) His heart is so much more for revival than ours and He longs to pour down the rain of righteousness on our land. He desires that we would turn from our wicked ways and repent that times of refreshing would come!

Oh Lord Jesus, come and bring righteousness to our lands.

Tonight was so encouraging for me personally, because as a few of us went out to the fields to pray before the night started, we started to catch a glimpse of what God does want to do for PEI and the rest of the U.S. and Canada... and then throughout the course of the prayer meeting tonight, very nearly every thing we had prayed about while walking was reiterated by others who weren't with us! Such encouragement that God heard and will answer!

So for all those who have been praying and holding on to a hope from the Lord... maybe parents who have been praying earnestly for your sons and daughters to come back to Jesus, or maybe for those holding on to the hope that God will restore righteousness to the land... for all those with seemingly unanswered prayer, remember: God has heard. God will answer and is even now working out all details whether or not you can see them. And the best response is praise. Let us assume the best of God and praise Him with faith that He will do the thing we have asked of Him. Please hold on.

Also, the thing most necessary for us individually, is to be totally clean before God. We really must keep short accounts with Him, where we come back and repent every time we sin against Him... every time we think a wrong thought or say something direspectful to someone, or something hurtful, any time we fall into our regular sins...

True revival comes when we confess our sins openly to God and don't hold anything back from Him.

"Thank You Jesus that You are coming back quickly and that when You come, You will restore justice and truth and You will be vindicated before all men. I just can't wait to see You! Please make me ready no matter what, for when You return... I so want to be able to run into Your arms, not away. Come Lord Jesus."

May the Lord greatly bless all of you and even though you may not be able to get here in person, I praise God that you are here in spirit :) and I just pray that God will revive you also, no matter how far away you are! God bless you!

Sincerely and with love in my dear Jesus, Miriam :)

Oh! And please know that if you specifically want prayer for anything, maybe something that we can lift up to the Lord during our meetings if you can't make it personally, or anything at all, please let me know or send a note through our website and we'll pray!

Praise God!! He has just provided our new trailer!

And these are the guys who helped us! :)

So I want to tell you all the really cool story about this new trailer. :)

We're driving right now from Virginia to Pennsylvania and at a certain point not far from Mechanicsburg, PA (which is where we got our last trailer in the Fall of 2009) Dad suddenly realized that now might be the time to get a new one. So we prayed and figured what we might have to buy it with (you know... shells, beads, cloth... ;) just kidding.. but anyway, we really didn't have enough at all, so we just prayed that God would do something miraculous and went in to see what would happen. :)

Miraculous He did!!

This place happens to have had a special order for a trailer with extra-spiffiness (namely a long tongue for a large rig to pull with and reinforced metal) and the people who ordered it cancelled... so these guys really wanted that one to be sold. However, us not having enough funds for it, that option was ruled out. So the long and short of it is that the guy gave us an amazing discount on a great trailer, took our um, well-loved trailer *ahem* very well loved.. and then met us outside...having pulled up the nicer, more expensive, special order trailer. He said we could go ahead and take that one and not to worry about it. :)

We were so blown away! And... still are as a matter of fact. =)

So we had a great time with him, grabbed a picture and set out with God's newly provided trailer in tow! Don't worry, we DID remember to switch all of the equipment. ;)

There were so many other details, but I will just have to summarize with this abbreviated version.

God is so good and faithful to His servants. He knew how maxed out we were for space and had provided in amazing timing!

Glory to our loving Father!!!

We have now reached approximately our half way point of this tour and God has blessed it incredibly. Thank you all so much for your prayer support- God is using your faithfulness in upholding us and is ANWERING. So please keep praying! God bless each of you abundantly and may you grow more and more in love with our dear Father!

Your sister in Christ, Miriam

See that door beyond our trailer?

Yep, that right there is a cool door. :)

Pret-ty Spiff :)

And look at all this space!!!

WOW!!

Man, the guys are pretty excited =)

A-and, they even gave Tai and I fancy-shmancy

All Pro West hats! Yipee!

AND they matched our outfits!!

(lol I did have to put the totally classic girl line in there :)

Peace This Christmas

 

Ah! Christmas is in the air everywhere!! Walking through the living area of our home…. I’m overwhelmed by all of the sweet smells and sounds in the air… I immediately feel the warmth from the woodstove as the crackling, burning logs eminate heat, then the smell of the Christmas tree in all of it’s piney-ness, the smell of fudge being made… I know that technically doesn’t have a smell per se, but to a well trained nose one can find it from a good distance away. :) Then… there’s a sweet sound in the midst of this… the sound of my brother playing his guitar and singing worship songs… just inviting God’s sweet Presence into our home… *sigh* it’s just so sweet. This peacefulness doesn’t come terribly often; while there is always a God-given peace in our midst, there’s not often this kind of relaxedness.

Oh how I wish you all could be up here for at least a short time so you could feel this! But… I pray for you all- whoever it is who reads my posts. I know that not all of you have the opportunity of being in a soft environment like this at Christmas, or maybe even not at all! Those of you who are doing the work of God in foreign places, or in busy cities… or those of you who are trapped in a home with all sorts of fighting or abuse… or pain of all kinds… my heart goes out to you. I pray for you… and know.. that God is just a moment away from you. He is there at this moment with you- and yet, if you do not realize it, you cannot feel His abiding Presence and source of strength! But… if you call out to Him right now, if you ask Him to come and be with you- He will. No matter what your circumstance is at this very moment, no matter how sad you feel, or depressed, or distressed, or overwhelmed, please, please know! He will bring to you comfort. He will take you into the shelter of the Most High. He will bring a calm and a peace that is unexplainable except that it’s simply Him.

I say this because… we have been through so much. In fact, there aren’t to many things you could say that we haven’t been through. God has brought us through severe trials all of my life and they haven’t gotten easier! Yet, somehow, He has given us more peace than I’ve ever felt before! I want to offer you hope because I just know that whatever you’re going through, He can overcome the difficulty and give you strength and peace in the midst of it. It’s not the fireplace, or the baking or any of these things that bring peace… We’re in a precarious position (in the world) at all times, and at any moment we can receive terrible news and something that could shatter our worlds. And this has happened many times. Yet God is in the midst of it all and has brought us to the most secure position we could possibly be in- that of holding onto nothing in the world for our peace and comfort, and holding onto Jesus’ hand with both of ours.

So, my dear friend, I want you to know, that even though you may be in a totally different environment from where I am… and what I described, you can experience the same peace. Trust me, for I have not always been in this place. I’ve felt the same thing in the middle of New York City and that proves that God can bring peace anywhere! :)  And those on their own trying to bring the gospel to all different places- be encouraged in the Lord! He will indeed bring you your reward in His due time and your sacrifices do not go unnoticed! He will bless everything you give up to Him.

God bless you! I love you and I know more than anything, that God loves you too; more than you could ever know.  May He wrap you in His arms this Christmas. :)

Merry Christmas!

Your sister in Christ, Miriam