A short update - Idaho, the Logos 2 ship, and the island of Jersey -- June 25, 2007
Although this blog has been quiet for the most part on what I've been up to recently, life continues at a hectic pace. Thought I would give you a brief in-between-prayer-letters update here now.
Well, I've certainly been in North America a lot this year. May included a road trip from Chicago to Idaho--a lot of miles--with some key meetings along the way. Why so much time in America? Well, it has a lot to do with the fact that God has chosen to use the States in a major way in world missions. It is still the number-one missionary-sending nation in the world, and it is also a huge source of giving, knowledge, mobilisation and resources. It has also been helpful to me, as a Canadian, to see what healthy, vibrant, God-glorifying North American churches (Pentecostal, Brethren, Interdenominational, etc) can and do look like.
By the way, if you're Canadian don't feel left out. Canada sends more missionaries per capita than our southern neighbour. (We're just 9 times smaller!) Canada also leads the way in inter-church missions conferences (eg, MissionFest). Be patriotic, but give God the credit; and pray for more.
Two weeks ago we came back to England, spent a couple of days here, and then spent five days aboard the Logos 2 ship. Yup, the very ship I was on for 4 1/2 months in early 2004. It was great to be back, but predictably there has been an almost 100% turnover of people since I left. Only one of the 40 people who joined at the same time as me remains.
And for those who know what I'm talking about, the Deal-Bag Room is still there; and it's still called the Deal-Bag Room!
God is using the Logos 2 as much as ever. It is like a bottle full of fireflies, shining for God as it goes from port to port putting on programs and meetings for children, pastors, youth and others; selling low-cost, transformational and educational books to thousands of (sometimes-daily) visitors; and simply being available as a collection of Christians from around the world to be used of God for those unplanned Divine appointments that He so often has in store.
If you are a young person or a young couple looking for a way to serve God in an out-of-the-box way for a couple of years, consider OM ships. Check out the pictures to the right of my blog and visit www.omships.org.
We met the ship in Falmouth, UK and after a couple of days there and a day sailing to the island of Jersey (south of England) left the ship and flew back to England on Friday.
Although I don't get weekly or regular days off in my position, I got this past weekend off to visit my girlfriend Lydia in Leeds (where she lives). I am just on the train back to London now after a really nice time. Of course, I'll be jumping back into the action when I get back to London, and it won't be long before George and I head off to Korea - where George will be speaking to 20,000 young people in a Campus Crusade conference. We will also be visiting the other in-service ship Doulos. Looking forward to it!
And beyond that? Stay tuned for more news, but it looks like I may be finishing my year in Southern Africa (!).
God is good. Thank you for your interest, prayer and support. Let's keep g.o.ing.
1 Sat eve ~N's b'day party 2 Sun 4pm Malkutha Bible mtg 3 Mon (1) 9:30am VT prayer, (2) 8pm ph call (NC in Australia) 5 Wed 1pm lunch (M/KW) - Mississauga 6 Thu (1) 11am mtg (JSh), (2) 1pm funeral (An.; JeNY staying over) 7-8 Fri-Sat w/ boys (~J working Fri and at shower in Oshawa on Sat) 9 Sun (1) Church, (2) poss. lunch (PY/AC) 10 Mon Kids Kapers party (stat. holiday) 10-16 Mon-Sun holiday - Collingwood (GV passed away 14/Apr) 16 Sun baby dedication - Scarborough 21 Fri MVT board mtg 22-24 Sat-Mon Winnipeg ministry trip
MAY
2 Tue 2:40pm med appt 3 Wed 12:30pm l'ship mtg 4 Thu 2:30pm video mtg (Ppls,JBau) 5 Fri time w/ TW; ~Ch dropoff/pickup (~J working) 6 Sat eve special dinner for Som/Saj 9 Tue 3:30pm video mtg (AA) 10 Wed (1) 8:30am Int'l steering mtg, (2) 12:30pm l'ship mtg 11 Thu 11:30am brunch (JMy) - Newmarket 12 Fri 8pm ~J w/ friend (NaG) 13 Sat SL w/ boys 14 Sun (1) Ppls Church, (2) 4pm neighbourhood Bible mtg 15 Mon (1) 9:30am VT prayer, (2) 1:30pm video med appt, (3) 3:30pm hosting ORU students, (4) 5:30pm dinner w/ JY/L + dessert w/ others 16 Tue (1) 11am mtg (KBr), (2) 7:30pm prayer mtg 17 Wed 12:30pm l'ship mtg 18 Thu SL w/ ~Ch 19 Fri 3:15pm ~Co's b'day party 20 Sat ~Co's b'day 22 Mon SL w/ ~J/C/C, Som/S, MG, Mp+ 23 Tue (1) 11am video mtg (Saj/I), (2) 12:15pm ph call (AA) 24 Wed (1) 9am video mtg (SM+), (2) 12:30pm l'ship mtg 25 Thu 3pm video mtg (JSh)
27 Sat (1) 11am Commencement speaker at R. University, (2) ~3pm+ time w/ V/AR+ 29 Mon (1) 9:30am VT prayer, (2) 3pm mtg DerCh - Mississauga 30 Tue (1) 10am ph call (AA), (2) 5:30pm video mtg (IsTan), (3) 8pm neighbourhood prayer mtg
JUNE 1 Thu (1) 11:30am Zoom mtg (LM), (2) 4pm mtg (VS,KBr) 2 Fri (1) 10:30am ph call (PVDW; SL w/ boys; ~J working) 3 Sat SL w/ boys and MG 5 Mon (1) 9:30am VT prayer mtg, (2) 2pm Europe call, (3) 4pm mtg/walk (YM) 6 Tue 7:30pm worship night 9 Fri ~J's b'day 10 Sat North Bay trip 13 Tue ~J school trip w/ ~Co | (text BD) 14 Thu 11am mtg (DAy) - Unionville 16 Fri (1) 9am video med appt, (2) 15-km run (Prayer Journey "warm-up") 17 Sat Prayer Journey (my own: 50km GTA bike-ride) and GTA after-party 29 ... July 7 Thu-Fri poss. holiday in Arkansas
JULY ... 7 Thu-Fri poss. holiday in Arkansas ~8-17 SA+ in Toronto; P/H Bell likely visiting too 17-21 Mon-Fri Kids Kapers camp 24 Mon 2:45pm med. appt 26 Wed (1) 3pm Zoom mtg (SMa,SB), (2) 7pm ~J speaking at Greenhouse/Zoe - UofT downtown 27 Thu 10am video MVT board mtg 31 Mon 3:05pm med. appt July/Aug CCWM board mtg / AGM
AUGUST 6-12 Sun-Fri Cottage w/ O/DN+ and UB/AC - Windermere; plus Muskoka 19 Sat poss. ~J fam beach day - Brighton area 25-29 Fri-Tue MoveIn staff retreat - southern Ontario
2023+ Sep 21 Thu - MVT board mtg Sep 23 Sat poss. date of GV memorial Sep 24 Sun ~Ch's b'day Sep ~26-28 Poss. time in Lushnjë, Albania Sep 29 - Oct 6 MoveIn Europe Conference+ - Durrës, Albania Oct 21 Sat poss./unlikely date of GV memorial Oct 21-27 Dollar-a-Day week Early Nov Poss. fundraising event - Niagara Nov-Jan Poss. time in India - Goa; Philippines - Manila+; Indonesia - Jakarta/Bali; LA/San Diego
Why so much time in America? Well, it has a lot to do with the fact that God has chosen to use the States in a major way in world missions. It is still the number-one missionary-sending nation in the world, and it is also a huge source of giving, knowledge, mobilisation and resources. It has also been helpful to me, as a Canadian, to see what healthy, vibrant, God-glorifying North American churches (Pentecostal, Brethren, Interdenominational, etc) can and do look like.
Two weeks ago we came back to England, spent a couple of days here, and then spent five days aboard the Logos 2 ship. Yup, the very ship I was on for 4 1/2 months in early 2004. It was great to be back, but predictably there has been an almost 100% turnover of people since I left. Only one of the 40 people who joined at the same time as me remains. 
Although I don't get weekly or regular days off in my position, I got this past weekend off to visit my girlfriend Lydia in Leeds (where she lives). I am just on the train back to London now after a really nice time. Of course, I'll be jumping back into the action when I get back to London, and it won't be long before George and I head off to Korea - where George will be speaking to 20,000 young people in a Campus Crusade conference. We will also be visiting the other in-service ship Doulos. Looking forward to it!
And beyond that? Stay tuned for more news, but it looks like I may be finishing my year in Southern Africa (!). 
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