Tuesday December 7, 2004
Greetings Friends!
The Christmas season is a time when we celebrate the arrival of our Lord Jesus as a baby 2000 years ago. For Grace and I, we’re also celebrating the anticipation of our next baby. Yes – Grace and I are expecting! The baby is due June 21. We are very excited about this upcoming addition to our family. Life has been pretty exciting these last few months in light of this. Now I have even more to adjust to!
God has been continuing to use us! Grace and I are now both helping out with the Jr. Youth group at the church. We’re also involved in a new church plant – LifeSpring Christian Fellowship. It is quite exciting to be a part of a new ministry to our city.
With International Teams (IT), I’ve been busy in a number of different areas. At the office, I’m the “Special Projects” guy. I’ve been doing graphic design, web site development, and recently replaced some phone lines with internet ones that should save the office $200-400/month. The office Christmas card included here is my latest graphic design work. This role has been an great opportunity to use the gifts God has given me to help this office be more effective & creative in our mandate – helping the church mobilize more people to ministry, and helping those in the field to fulfill their calling.
In my other role with IT, I’m working as volunteer coordinator for our new Refugee Ministry in Kitchener. As it’s such a new program, it’s been a time for all of us on the team to figure out what our roles really entail, and how we can work effectively together. I’m excited to see all the things God will do in the lives of the refugees we serve in the coming year!
As you might imagine, the fact that Grace and I are expecting has had an impact on a number of things. As many of you know, during pregnancy struggles with colds, lack of sleep, etc., can become even more challenging. With morning sickness past, things have gotten better, but there are certainly still challenging days for Grace. Please be praying for her in this.
Another impact has been that Grace will not be able to continue babysitting every afternoon for much longer. This is both good and bad – it frees her up to be more involved in ministry activities when she’s feeling up to it, but also means that we will lose one of our sources of income. This compounds the problem we’re already facing of not having enough coming in to continue meeting our budget. In order to make our minimal budget (minimal day-to-day living costs) for the next year, we’ll need to raise an additional $1200/month.
Thanks so much to those of you who are already a part of our team – those who are praying for us, and those who give monthly and occasionally. It has been such a blessing. If you’re not currently a part of this team, will you pray about what God would have you do? We know that where God has called, He will provide. Please pray that those God has called to be involved would respond to His calling.
Thanks so much for your interest and prayer. May God richly bless you during this Christmas Season.
Steve & Grace
