Note from Neil Ostrander

Dear Friends of Steve Van Bruwaene,

I am writing you today on behalf of Steve to inform you of some major changes we're making at International Teams of Canada.  As you know, Steve has been working under the leadership of Craig Bauman who is the director of our Encounter Teams program.  After a series of meetings with Craig, we've made the decision to close down Encounter Teams. 

As you can imagine, this is a difficult decision for us.  However, there are several elements that we counted on to “feed” interns into Encounter Teams that have simply not materialized.  After much consultation we've concluded that we as an organization are just ahead-of-our-time in the development of such a program.  While we may pick up this approach sometime in the future, I need to state unequivocally that we are no longer pursuing interns for Encounter Teams.  We continue to mobilize individual interns with our teams around the world, but the Encounter Teams approach will not be pursued. 

Also, Craig and Steve's leadership is so valuable to us that we are eager to deploy them in areas where they can be more effective and leverage their personal strengths.  So, while it is difficult to let go of a dream, we are confident that God is leading us in these decisions. 

Steve has demonstrated his Godly character and his ministry skills to us and other leaders within IT. During his time in the Philippines he was able to offer practical help while learning some valuable lessons in cross-cultural ministry. Gani Sison, our East Asian director said to me; “Steve is a real hero around here! He has helped us with problems that we’ve been trying to get fixed for months!”

Steve is also heading to Athens to work with our Refugee Team there. I know they will be thrilled to have Steve’s help. I was just there with a team and I was reminded that our Athens Team needs dedicated young men like Steve. I would be excited to see Steve get “grounded” there as we will be sending a number of short-term teams to Athens this next year. Steve would then be available to join some of these teams and help them be more effective in their ministry in Athens.

While the Athens trip is “set” and we have some initial ideas about how Steve can be used in the future, we want to seek the input and advice of leaders from Steve’s home church. I expect the process to unfold during the first part of the New Year.

Can I ask you to join with me in praying for Steve? He is a quality young man with a genuine desire to serve God. He will need our encouragement during this time of transition and re-deployment.

If you have questions about International Teams Canada please do not hesitate to call Craig or me at (519) 669-8844.

Blessings to you,

Neil Ostrander

President & CEO