Dear Family & Friends,
We enjoyed a wonderful summer and this Fall has been beautiful! Over the summer months our kids were busy camp directing (Haley), camp counselling (Jordan & Chase) and attending camp (Ashton). Brian was busy prepping for and co-directing RE-VIEW East, and Alicia and Tanner got a lot of quality time in :)
We now have two post-secondary students - Jordan graduated from high school in June and is now doing a one-year Christian Studies certificate at our local Bible college, while Haley is at the University of Guelph again. Chase (grade 11) is back to playing football at his high school, Ashton (grade 4) started hockey for the first time (a big deal for a very sports-loving kid!), and Tanner goes to grade 1 for three afternoons a week. He has a wonderful Educational Assistant who stays with him the entire time.
Grateful for:
-
DEBRIEFING 101 - A great tendency within the global missions
movement is to only talk about the stuff that's easy to digest and
sounds successful. That's very understandable, and some things are very
personal. But it is important that missionaries process the hard parts
too - taking ownership where necessary, forgiving where necessary,
acknowledging pain and hardship and giving space for healing...to name
just a few of the reasons for intentional debriefing.
In October, MORE hosted DEBRIEFING 101, a workshop designed to equip member care workers (and others too) to assist missionaries in sharing and considering their experiences, if even to simply rightly acknowledge God's profound goodness through it all. But also, it's important that we intentionally give the Lord an opportunity to speak life into every dark corner of our hearts. It's certainly not unusual for God to work mightily in the most unexpected ways, and our hearts are always safe made vulnerable before Him. -
Tanner Update: We are grateful for some key
people/professionals who keep cheering Tanner (and all of us) on and who
are genuinely hopeful for him. Along with his biomedical treatment,
functional neurology program, and speech therapy, we have now started
physiotherapy, in hopes of strengthening his core and increasing use of
his left arm (which he keeps curled up all the time). It is a lot. But
Tanner understands substantially more than ever and some new
motor skills have recently emerged, which is encouraging. There are so
many things worth praying for, but in particular, please pray for
development with his swallowing/eating and also wisdom in how to address
his left arm.
- Ashton Update: We haven't talked a lot about Ashton's autism diagnosis, largely because his symptoms have been significantly milder than Tanner's. But we have spent a lot of time helping Ashton as well, and he also did speech therapy, spent a year in a functional neurology program, etc. We want to acknowledge and give much thanks for the Lord's great work in his life. Ashton's struggles have substantially decreased and his school removed his IEP this year, as he was deemed to no longer need accommodations academically. It has been humbling and even breathtaking to watch his development, almost from afar. Because although we have been very hands-on, it still feels like something that has happened outside of all of our efforts. And while Ashton still needs to catch up in some areas (motor skills being the biggest area), he is highly motivated, and his amazing progress reminds us that THE LORD IS ABLE.
-
NEW OUTREACH CANADA Website! Outreach Canada has redesigned
and improved their website. Please check it out! The MORE Network is
one of ten ministries that comprise Outreach Canada. We encourage you
to explore the various ministries as there are many resources that may
be relevant to you, your church, and/or the missionaries you know.
- Outreach Canada Ministries
- MORE Network specifically for the MORE Network.
Praying for:
- TRAUMA SEMINAR - It's common for cross-cultural workers to experience
trauma of some kind - whether it be acute, chronic, or secondary. And
that trauma often creates a negative response in our brains, bodies, and
hearts. As the Body of Christ, it's important that we assist each
other in fully recovering and growing from those painful situations. In January, MORE will host a workshop on Trauma Care. This will be
designed specifically to equip member care workers to care for
missionaries - helping them understand what they are experiencing and
also how to move through it towards full health. It will be an
opportunity for member care workers to network and connect with each
other as well, so that various organizations can help each other.
-
RE-VIEW WEST - Once again, Brian will travel next week to Calgary,
Alberta to direct RE-VIEW West. He will work alongside several
facilitators who have partnered with the MORE Network to debrief singles, couples,
and families. Please pray that this week will be deeply refreshing
and encouraging for all who attend.
"RE-VIEW was a very safe place to talk about our pain/disappointment and experience God breathe His love and healing into those places. Highly recommend!!!”
- RE-VIEW participant
Thank you for your faithful prayers, support, and giving to this ministry. Your involvement makes a difference!
May the name of Jesus be magnified!!
