Hello Our Beloved Friends!
It is Thanksgiving weekend in Canada! We are deeply thankful for you! We want to stay connected with you so here are a few updates that may inspire you to whisper a prayer for us. Prayer connects us with God and one another. We know this is true from experience. We carry many of you in our hearts as we pray! Here are some of our stories of God’s goodness.
New Family!
Since our last update in June, we have been blessed with two new family members! Allow me to introduce them.
The first is Julia. She is an exchange student from Brazil and she is living with us until January 2024. Julia is very friendly, likes cooking, “girl time” with Melanie, and gets along great with our boys! Julia has chosen to be very involved in our church life and we were able to take Julia with us on one week of our holidays in Northern Ontario. Please join us in praying for Julia as she continues to grow and navigate her many options of life.
Our second new family member doesn’t have a name yet. Jonathan, David and Melanie were recently having a visit at the Forster’s farm when Jonathan found an abandoned kitten in the barn. It was about 3-4 weeks old and starving. I got texts and phone messages that we had to save this kitten! The boys care very deeply about this kitten! Well, they brought the kitten home. She is well fed now. As I write, she is scampering on my shoulders and lap. Please consider praying for Jonathan who currently wants to be a veterinarian someday. He has a very big heart for animals!
New Adventures
As a family we enjoyed several adventures over the summer months. We enjoyed canoe trips, a visit to New Brunswick, and camping adventures. We have several memorable stories from our holidays. Space is limited but we could share about an encounter with water snakes where one water snake got into our canoe! The family screams broke all sound barriers. Or we could share about me (Phil) breaking my toe coming off a water slide with David. My wife reminded me that I was the only gray haired person on the waterslides. Or again, we could share about us reading C.S. Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” around a campfire. The mixture of a crackling fire, majestic sunsets, and a captivating story allow imaginations to soar in deep and beautiful ways. As we had our boys late in life, pray with us that we may continue to build meaningful memories in the days allotted to us. We sure do love them!
God is also encouraging us with new adventures for our church family too! We celebrated 3 people being baptized in July, had a great VBS, welcomed new church members, are baptizing 6 more people in October, and are engaged in various ministries that serve our wider Fort Erie community. This Fall, we partnered together with our local churches for our children, youth, and young adult ministries, and have seen significant numeric growth in these ministries. I am also pleased to share that Jonathan, David, and Phil raised $4380 dollars for our Matthew House Ride for Refuge bike riding event in September! Together, I think all our Fort Erie riders raised close to $17,000 to assist newcomers and refugees to Canada! Praise God! As we trust and follow Jesus, we want to make a difference. Pray with us that we may be sensitive to God’s voice of compassion as God sends people our way!
Health Updates
Melanie was just recently diagnosed with Vertigo, which causes dizziness and imbalance issues. Please pray with us that God will grant complete healing over Melanie. We love her!
Yesterday, I also had a date-day with my dad as we drove along the Niagara shoreline while enjoying the scenery and sharing time and stories together. Dad was pleased to share that he had good news from his doctor who said his health is good. We thank God for dad’s strength and health is this his 89th year!
As my Canadian friends return to their celebrations of Thanksgiving, we speak life, love and blessings over each and every one of you! We thank God for you! Therefore, from our family and cat to yours, “Happy Thanksgiving!” ❤️❤️❤️🙏🏻
Until we connect again,
Phil, Melanie, Jonathan, David, Julia, and “Kitty”
Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada