Dirt, Bugs, and Other Gross Stuff

My days are quite full with both Aris and Zane. Aris is three now (hard to believe) and Zane is ten months old. Aris can count to thirteen reliably (higher than that the numbers get mixed up). And she can spell both her name and her favorite thing — her sucky.

Today Aris pooped in her potty (a big achievement), and so she got to go to the candy store to get a reward. She wanted chocolate-covered grasshoppers, but they were all out, so instead she got flavored larvae (worms). Yes, she is strange.

Zane also enjoys putting weird and wonderful things in his mouth. This week alone, I have fished out a snail shell, magnets, stones and wiped away lots of dirt.

We are all enjoying the wonderful weather and most of Zane's enjoyment and exploration seems to be orally. Zane is now crawling and pulling himself up so he is in to everything.

Aris is learning what Zane can't eat. However she is not above helping her brother with his explorations. I was hanging out laundry when I noticed that Aris was feeding her brother dirt. :)

Life is never ever dull around here. :)

The Bottom Line

A debate has been going on in Missions circles for years regarding finances and support raising.  How much information should you share?  Should you ever ask anyone for money?

In the past, I’ve been more conservative in my approach, but am beginning to recognize that my supporters do need to know where we’re at, and those God has called to support us need to know our needs.  Hopefully this brief info will help.

Praise God, our needs have been met so far.  God is good.  As a result of the parental leave I took last year, we have a surplus in our ministry account.  Unfortunately, on a monthly basis, we have about $1000 more going out than coming in.  As a result, at current rates we’ll run out of money next April.  On top of this, we really should be saving for car replacement, retirement, life insurance, etc., and will need to upgrade to a larger living space.

The bottom line — we need $1000 more per month by April of next year, and more than that in order to meet our other needs long-term.

Would you pray about how you might be a part of God’s provision?  Thanks so much if you already are.  Feel free to contact me if you want to know more.

Prayer Items

Thanks so much for your continued prayer!  Here’s a few things you can be praying about:

• Wisdom in projects I’m working on, that God would be glorified in them


• Continued healing for Grace


• Financial provision for our family and ministry


• Wisdom in raising Aris and Zane


• That God would use us in other areas of ministry — youth group, ministry to single moms, working with our church

 

How is Grace doing?

Much better.

I still have bad days, but on the whole the combination of lots of prayer, medication and counseling has worked wonders. The warmer weather has helped immensely as well. I love springtime.

Recently God has been doing a lot of work in my life, both in terms of making me resolve hurts from the past and also in dealing with significant heart issues.

Several weeks ago, during communion God confronted me with an issue I didn't even know I had. I realized that I tend to be cynical and jaded and expect God to disappoint me. After the initial surprise, I confessed and asked God to help me to have the heart of a child, to expect Him to come through.

The next day, a co-worker told of us of a house to rent in Elmira. After initially dismissing the idea, we prayed about it, and sensed God telling us to check it out. The house was perfect. It was exactly what we were looking for, and had all the characteristics of my dream house. However, it was much more than we could afford. God had to come through in a big way for us to get this house.

Well, God decided that this wasn't the house for us and we didn't get the money. That was extremely hard for me. I cried a lot. I felt so abandoned by God. I felt set up by God, that He made me let down my guard only to hurt me. I spent a week trying to figure out what was going on, and feeling extremely hurt by God.

Yesterday, a fellow missionary was sharing in my mom's group. She shared how there were times when she felt so lonely and so abandoned by God, but when she looks back now, she sees how his timing was perfect. And as she shared, I heard God saying "See, I haven't abandoned you. Wait and be patient".

I have no clue as to what God is doing, but I am once again confident that He is in control and has good plans for my life (Jer. 29:11).

How does Steve fit in?

International Teams Canada’s vision is to help the church be all they can be.  My role is to help International Teams Canada be all they can be.

I do this within my area of expertise — graphic design, video production, software & systems development.  By developing training and promotional resources, we can more effectively help the church.  By developing back-office software systems, I can help our office staff to be more effective in their individual ministries.

And as we all become more effective, Jesus Christ is made known to more people, and more lives are transformed by His power!

We also hope to work more closely with our own church as they become more strategic in their mission involvement.

IT Canada’s Vision

To be a catalytic force in the establishment of 100 multiplying Global Mission Churches in Canada by 2016

At IT Canada, we love the local church. It’s the body of Christ, and his bride. And at IT we’re committed to the church “owning” the Great Commission.

It’s not just a matter of getting more missionaries. IT Canada wants to see more Canadian churches discovering and living out their own unique vision for global mission. When the church catches a vision, the strategy follows... teams, interns, career missionaries, global partnerships.

God has a great plan for each church, and we want to help churches discover and live out that great plan.

If becoming a Global Mission Church is a compelling vision for your future, then join us on the journey.

What is a Global Mission Church?

A GMC is a Canadian church that is:

1. Strategic in its mission initiative


2. Mobilizing multiple teams, interns, career missionaries and mission consultants


3. Adopting a global mission and “owning” the ministry. Along with local initiatives that mirror global connections, and strong financial backing for both these initiatives


4. Multiplying itself, through networks. It is empowered and, training other churches in global mission.

If you’d like to talk with us more about this, we’d love to hear from you! You can call at 519-669-8844 x225 or email Mika.Takamaki@iteams.org.

Moving?

No, we’re not moving yet, but we want to. There’s lots of reasons for this — rising gas prices, a growing family, tight living conditions. We would love to move to Elmira. This would enable me to walk to work, and give Grace greater access to the car.

But there’s a big challenge. The place we’re in currently has been a real blessing — we’re living in a friend’s basement, and the rent we’ve been paying has been really low. The challenge is that with really tight finances, we currently can’t afford much.

Please pray for us about this:

• That God would give us wisdom in where we should go, and


• That those God has called to help with this financially would respond.

What has Steve been up to?

People have been asking me what I’ve been doing lately. And rightfully so. My ministry is to develop resources that help IT Canada be more effective in its Mission. I’ve been busy!

I’ve done the design work for a faster, more useful web site that will hopefully be launched in the next month or so when all the content is ready for it.

I’ve also launched a Blogging system that we’ve begun to use. The vision is to provide a place where our staff, missionaries and short term teams can write about what’s been happening in their lives and ministries. It is not only a great way for them to keep their supporters up to date, but a way for the larger community (including you!) to read about what God is doing around the world. You can check it out at blogs.iteams.ca. As we get more missionaries on it, it will have even more exciting stuff to read!

I have also been hard at work on a training video — “Creating hope for Children in Crisis”. I’ve got a first draft of it done. It will be a valuable resource for teams going to work with children who’ve had hard lives.

I recently set up a “video conference” system using Skype and webcams that enables us to virtually bring in great trainers/presenters from around the world for free!

I’m now working on an email/calendar/contacts/… system. When complete, it will enable us to collaborate more closely with each other in the office, other staff around the world, and church mission consultants across Canada.

What an exciting thing it’s been to be a part of God’s work around the world. And by your involvement in my ministry, you are a part of this team too!