Which Way is Up?

Well the Lord has been stretching and blessings us like crazy these past couple weeks.  Sometimes to the point I'm not sure which direction I'm facing anymore. :-)  It started a couple weeks ago when I agreed to preach at our home Church here in Steinbach.  Talk about a huge responsibility, not to mention there is something different when I'm speaking to friends and family rather than strangers.  It did go well in the end as I was able to give a challenge and some encouragement from the fig tree story in Mark 11:12-21.   For those that weren't there and would like to hear it you can find it online under the Audio tab at http://cornerstonebiblechurch.ca/.   During this time of preparations we were also preparing our house for sale and within 3 days of me pounding our For Sale sign in the front yard we have a signed offer to purchase and by the 26th all the conditions should be removed.  This was the timing of God as we were defiantly caught off guard and never really expecting it to happen so fast not to mention how easy it has been so far.  As we had elected to try and sell it on our own first.  And along with the good however comes the scary proposition of now being house-less.   I was reminded today in Psalms 23:1-3 that God will take care of us regardless if we own a house or not.  In fact I in many ways had forgotten this promise as I had lived a lot on my own guidance and strength but as I look to a some what uncertain future it cause me to fall on my knees more and more and place my trust in my Shepherd.  Which is a very good place to be, not always the easiest place but the best.  And through all this and as we prepare for Easter my heart has been ever aching for the lost here and around the world.  Which has kept me moving forward through the down times these past couple months knowing that ahead of us lies great opportunity to be used to help save the lives and souls of those around us.  My carnal mind tends to put the scare into me as I think of what I'm "giving up" but when I consider these things in light of eternity I'm not "giving up" anything of real value but rather investing temporal things into what I trust will give eternal rewards.  I have been struggling quite a bit recently with my carnal mind not wanting to let go of my earthly things.  I'm very thankful for this means of transparency that God can use to show me some of my own faults and short comings.  I can then commit them over to Him to work a change in my heart and mind.

Blessings Greg

Buy & Sell

This week marked the next two small steps of faith towards our journey.  Step one was putting a deposit on a small cargo trailer that should arrive in a few weeks.  This trailer will become our mobile storage shed for the next year and a bit as we move across the country a couple times.  We start with a move to Michigan where we will remain for 12 months and after that we will pack up and move to Idaho for a few months.  And finally we will probably move the remains of our stuff to Alberta where it will be stored as we travel to Indonesia.

The second step and probably bigger one was that we placed some add's for our house on Steinbach Online and Kijiji Winnipeg.  We will give this avenue a try first before we spend money to sell our house.  Lord willing we will be homeless by June.  A strange wish but another step towards our ministry with MAF!

Our planned travel plans before we move to Michigan for the spring and summer are;  May 8-24 Greg will be traveling to Vancouver Island to give an update and to share so more with our friends and family there.  As well during the week he will be helping his uncle on a project.  Early June our whole family will be returning to Alberta to pick up where we left off last fall.  During July 24th-27th we have the privilege of being apart of a missions conference in Waldheim SK.  After which we hope to turn our vehicles east for Michigan with a stop back in Steinbach before the final trek out of the country for the next 16 months.

Bananas, Packing, Riding and Traveling

Here is a hojpoj of pictures from our life as we've known for the past few weeks.

Going bananas might be a good way of describing life at times in our home. But we love it just the same.

Our closet after we emptied, sorted out what was now trash and what was to give away and what we would keep. Why do we keep so much stuff? Don't answer that it was a rhetorical question :)

I forgot to take a before picture of the closet in our office/classroom but this is what the living room looked like after we emptied it. You can't see it in this picture but our kitchen table and counters were covered too.

Our neighbor giving Franklin and Isaac a ride own their new toy. Isaac didn't enjoy the first ride too much but we were able to talk him into a second one which he enjoy a lot more.

This was our weekend home (green roof, the other building was the local Church) as we traveled through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on our way down and way back home. It made a wonderful resting stop on our travels to and from Michigan.