Thanks so much for your continued prayer! Here’s a few things you can be praying about:
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).
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.
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.
What is a Global Mission Church?
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.
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:
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!
Friday December 9, 2005
Greetings friends!
It has been quite a while since our last formal letter. Life has been very full. Those of you who are on email have received a few prayer requests, baby announcements, etc. We apologize for not getting these out to the rest of you.
So, what’s been happening with us? As most of you know, Grace gave birth to our new son, Zane Tavish on June 1, 2005. He’s generally been a happy, healthy baby. Grace has also recovered well in many respects, but is suffering from postpartum depression however, so that has made things rough at times. Praise God for Canada’s parental leave. This has enabled me (Steve) to be at home to help out, with EI picking up the tab. I'm now back at the office part time, and anticipate being back full time sometime in January.
We’ve got a new web site with pictures, a prayer letter archive, info on us and our ministry, etc. Check it out at www.vanbruwaene.ca. We expect to continue adding more content, so come back once in a while!
As I've moved back into life at the office, I've begun work on producing a training video. IT will be using this video for teams and individuals who will be working with children that have come through traumatic experiences, such as refugees. I'm also involved in some new computer projects at the office that IT hopes will improve their web site, (www.iteams.ca) and enhance the way we work together.
Thanks so much for your prayer and financial support over the last year. You have been so much appreciated. You’ve had a hand in mobilizing new people to missions, and bringing the good news of the gospel to people around the world. Please continue to pray for us:
Thanks so much! Have a wonderful Christmas!
Steve & Grace Van Bruwaene
