ChristmasGift Extrordinaire 2009

The biggest, best and most beautiful gift the Fleming Family received for Christmas this year is: Daniel (our newest grandson).

God was gracious and arranged (and provided) for John and Kim to go to Haiti just prior to Christmas to bring Daniel home. What rejoicing is going on among us!! Art and I can hardly wait to see the little guy, to hold him, play with him, and get to know him.

Soon to leave our present dwelling

Here are a couple pictures of the home we have been "sitting" since mid-October.

Thank you for praying for our housing situation. The first week of January we will need to be out of this home so that it's ready for the return of the people who "really live here." God has already opened up the next door for us. This time, however, there are no open spots on the YWAM base, so we will be "house-sitting" for some local snowbirds. The home is "fully loaded" so we, again, will take very little with us. Even some of the personal things we have here will need to be put back in storage (my recliner, extra bedding, vacuum cleaner, etc.).

Please pray for us--this constant moving from house to house is beginning to wear a bit thin. We are asking God to provide us with a "place of our own." As yet we do not see how that would work out....but we trust our Father's gracious provision. He is good, ALL the time.

Miracles Galore

We got to do something we truly love last week.....visit some grandkids. We made a quick trip over to Great Falls, Montana for Thanksgiving. What fun to play with EMILY and NOAH, and to see how big Christel's tummy is getting with the little one who is due mid-January. What a joy to see the family growing! What a blessing to see them living in a house full of and love and learning the good news of God's message.



When you pray....expect miracles! The Montana YWAM base suffers from a housing shortage (there are more people on staff than the base can house). Well, on Nov. 5th God deposited 12 apartments onto the property. Someone donated a hotel. Sometimes God answers prayer in a really BIG way, and this is one of those times--a God Story, I guess you could call it. See the clip below.

Another HUGE miracle happened this week. This time within the Fleming family. John and Kim received word that the little boy they are adopting from Haiti (Daniel) was cleared to come home to them. They were told to come for him within a week. So they fly out this next Tuesday morning. WOW!!! The family has been praying along with John and Kim for this past year, asking God to release Daniel. Isn't the timing beautiful? I think God wants this little guy HOME for Christmas! There will be more coming on this story....SOON....as soon as the kids get home from Haiti. Please keep them in your prayers.

In Red Deer with Mom and Dad

I have no pictures to post of all the goings-o,n here with Dad in the hospital and Mom and I going back and forth to visit him twice a day. Thank you for your prayers for Dad. The back surgery went well and after 7 days in Foothills Hospital in Calgary Dad was transported (by ambulance) to Red Deer hospital. That has made it much nicer for all of us, and if all goes well, Dad should be able to come home in a week or so. Today both the physio therapist and the occupational therapist put him through a pretty significant workout to begin to get him ready to be independent again. I think he is really looking forward to getting home.

Tonight Tim and Tegan took me out to dinner at a nice restaurant. Yummy!!! Oh, I guess that's something I should try to get a picture of..........Tim & Tegan.

Fun with the Grandkids

Playing in the sun (and shade) at Mill Lake in Abbotsford

Digging a moat at White Rock

Picnicking with Zach, Deanna and Jacinda at White Rock. What fun!!!

Hurray, I'm Certified

It was a month of the most intense studying I think I've ever done. I was so bone-tired for the week following the course that I could hardly drag myself out of bed each day. So, if you are wondering if I'm relieved it's over, I can assure you that I am. Was it worth it? I hope so! God knows the answer to that better than I do because He knows the future and knows when and where I will be able to put this knew knowledge to good use. I have a couple of open invitations already, so I don't doubt that the day is coming when God will have me pull this tool from my bag and use it.

Thank you so much for your prayers for me as I studied TESOL; through them God sustained me, through them I was able to finish victoriously. And once again I want to express my deep gratitude to those of you who gave financially so that this certification could become a reality. May God reward you for your generosity.

Last week we had our staff retreat at Bigfork, attended the Silver Valley pastor's fellowship meeting at Shoshone Base Camp then took the weekend to run up and visit John & Kim and the kids. What fun! This fall all three will be in school (Zach in 2nd grade, Deanna in 1st and Jacinda two days a week in kindergarten). Daniel is now officially a Fleming but it may take a few months (or more, who knows) before he will be released to join his anxiously awaiting family in Canada.

I'd like to ask you to please pray for my (Doris) Dad (Alfred). He has been in the hospital for the past two weeks with health issues, and on September 15 he is scheduled to undergo a pretty major back surgery to relieve the pain in his hips and legs.

Also, I want to ask for your prayer support as I prepare to speak at a ladies retreat in Portland, Oregon the weekend of September 18-20. Those of you who know me best know that speaking in front of groups is not my strong suite, but I believe God has called me to do it. It's times like this that Jesus comforts me with his words: "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." And so, just as Paul did, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me.

TESOL is almost finished!

Whew! Just one week to go. Yippee!!! This course has stretched me in so many ways and has pointed out to me what areas of my teaching style and ability need to be worked on (namely, grammar). I guess I've been speaking English so long that I don't remember the rules of why we say things and pronounce things the way we do. It's been many years since I've thought about what a preposition is, let alone try to explain to a non-English speaker what prepositions are, or articles, or minimal pairs and phrasal verbs, etc. etc.

The whole thing has been quite a stretch, but the most rewarding part of the whole course has been the practicum. Each evening our class heads into town to teach English to speakers of other languages. We have people from Columbia, Peru, India, Mexico, Russia, etc. taking our classes. It's been such a joy! They are so eager to learn, so excited to improve their English speaking ability.

I've learned several things about myself during this course: 1) I'm not very good at giving a grammar presentation (my grades are lowest in that area); 2) That I don't function too well on 4-5 hours of sleep at night; 3) That I flourish best in an environment of acceptance; 4) That I need words of affirmation to keep from feeling overwhelmed by taunting tasks.

Sorry for my lack of postings to this blog over the past several weeks. I really thought I would have a chance to post a little, even if not a lot. We were warned that this course would be "intense" but little did any of us really know how "all-consuming" it would really be.

Please keep me in your prayers as I finish up my TESOL training. And please let me know if there is anything I can be praying for you about.

A few days ago John (our son) called to let us know that Daniel is now officially a "Fleming." PRAISE GOD!!! Now things move on to the passport and visa stage. Please keep them, and Daniel, and the process in your prayers.

Thanks for praying!

I just want to say "thank you so very much" to all of you who have been praying for our son, John, as he endured another eye surgery this week. Thankfully, the doctors did not have to do a corneal transplant. But rather, he had to have calcium build-up scrapped from the front surface of his left eye. As you can imagine, he experienced severe pain once the anesthesia wore off. But when I spoke with him last night (2nd day after surgery) the pain had backed off quite a bit. We appreciate your care and concern for John, and your faithful prayers on his behalf.

Another answer to prayer this week came in the form of $$$$$$. God has provided (through the generous gifts of friends) for me to do the TESOL training this summer. Amazingly, just this week, $800.00 of the 1020.00 needed has come in the mail. I am blown away at God's goodness. I've heard it said that when He asks you to do something, He provides everything needed to make it happen, and I'm finding that to be very true. I praise God!!! When we were in Myanmar last fall I clearly heard God speak to me about getting the TESOL training (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). Please remember me in prayer as I take this 4-week intensive course. I met our Instructor last evening (a gal from Australia) and it didn't take long to figure out that this course is not for sissies. But, God is my helper, I know that.

A huge highlight for us these days is that a young pastor friend from India (along with his wife and young son) have come to the base for 6 weeks of training. We met this couple on our first trip to India in 2005. He is from Orissa where so much persecution has taken place against Christians this past year. What a blessing to have them here! The things they've witnessed--the people that have been beaten, chopped and murdered, their homes and churches plundered and burned--it's been heart-rending for them. They have such a love for the pastors in the villages and the work of God in that place. We are so thankful for God's protection over them. And so grateful to God for the plans He has for them in ministering to the persecuted church in that region. Next weekend, Lord willing, we plan to take them to Idaho to meet the church people there that have prayed for them.

June Outings & Activities

What a wonderfully relaxing time we had at Lake Coeur d' Alene. Al and Nicki let us use their lake place for a couple days. Beautiful! Thanks you guys!

Last night we helped serve food (snow cones was our specialty) at VBS Parent's Night at our church here in Lakeside.

This week we hosted one of the speakers for the Summer School of Sports. And guess what? He's from my neck of the woods (Alberta).

A couple weeks ago we had the pleasure of having several Indians, Africans, Canadians, and Americans over for an authentic Indian supper. Yummm!

Here are a couple videos of an afternoon on the lake. Angela, Jack and Will came to enjoy a swim and some paddle boating.

God is amazing!

I have to admit, even after knowing Jesus all these years and seeing Him work in the most incredible ways, I am still often amazed at the things He does, at the ways He pulls things together and moves on our behalf.

In just this past 2 weeks I have seen the awesome hand of God at work in many ways:

• unexpected checks in the mail
• connection with an Indian man whose vision for ministry is the same as ours
• 20 people coming to the altar for prayer and to signify their desire for more of God in their lives
• 3 days of confession, prayer, and crying out to God by leaders of this base (there were business matters discussed and decided on as well, but the whole attitude of our time together was one of vulnerability, humility, confession of sin, and desire for God to have His way more fully in our lives)
• prayer times where I received clear and encouraging words and pictures from the Lord on how to proceed in ministry
• words given to me to speak to others (sometimes words of encouragement, sometimes words of confession, sometimes words that express my need for their help)
• guests that use our spare bedroom (housing here on the base is very tight) and we find an immediate connection - this past week we have had the base leader of Kiev, Ukraine in our home

I don't think our heavenly Father minds that we are amazed, and even surprized by His deeds. After all, we are but dust, and He is mighty; He is powerful; He is limitless; He and His works are far above anything that we can ask or imagine. So why wouldn't we be amazed.

How I long to see God's amazing miraculous touch on John's (eldest son, age 33) eyes. Oh that God would fully restore his vision!

Mother's Day Blessings

Wish I could have had my terrific kids and their families pop in for a visit on Mother's Day, but distance prevents such things. It was so good to hear from them by telephone, receive their gifts, cards and greetings. I don't know if all mothers feel it, but there's a bit of a forlorn feeling to Mother's Day when your children and grandchildren are far away. But at the same time, I rejoice for my daughter and daughters-in-law who are now being treated with special honor and recognition on this special day.

Here are some snapshots of
my beautiful granchildren...

Can you tell which children belong to which of our four kids?

Do you have it figured out yet?

This one belongs in the mix, too.
Grandson "Daniel" (coming to the family soon, we hope)

These next snapshots are not pictures of family-but of new friends we are making here on the Montana YWAM base.

Grace (from India) and Doris

Friends from India, Ukraine, Kenya and S. Korea

International Night

Again this week we had a delightful time celebrating the diversity of the nations and rejoicing together in all that God is doing in the world. In this video you see Gladys (from Kenya) doing some African dancing. Other Africans joined her eventually, but by then my camera chip was full. I wish you could come and experience it for yourself.

Tables were set up throughout the lecture hall with nationals serving foods from India, Nepal, Taiwan, Germany, Canada, Thailand, Africa, The Netherlands, China, Japan, Guatemala, South Korea, New Zealand, Ukraine, and USA. It was delicious. As you may expect, the Indian dishes were our favorites. But the soup served at the Germany table was exceptional, many of us kept going back for more.

The Way of the Cross

Many of my fondest childhood recollections of spending time with my Dad, or just watching him go about his day, are of him singing, or humming, or creating songs. The lyrics of one of the old hymns he would sing (and of course we sang it often in church as well) goes like this:

I must needs go home by the way of the cross,
There's no other way but this,
I shall ne'er get sight of the Gates of Light,
If the way of the cross I miss.
Chorus: The way of the cross leads home,
The way of the cross leads home,
It is sweet to know as I onward go,
The way of the cross leads home.

"Father, I want to think rightly about the cost of being Your disciple. I want to have the moral muscle to take the path of the cross. I desire a tough and fibrous faith (as Tozer puts it). I do not want to be counted among the delicate, brittle saints who must be fed on a diet of harmless fun in order to keep them interested in Christianity."

A.W.Tozer says: "Our Lord called men to follow Him but He never made the way look easy." Indeed, quite the opposite. Jesus said: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me."

Tozer asks: "When will Christians learn that to love righteousness it is necessary to hate sin? that to accept Christ it is necessary to reject self? that to follow the good way we must flee from evil? that a friend of the world is an enemy of God?"

A Sabbath

"Help me, Father. This pace is more than I can keep up with. Every week's schedule is building momentum; I barely finish with one activity or meeting and it's already time to rush into the next. How do those around me, here on the base, and those on our team, carve out even 15 minutes in their day for you, Lord? I certainly haven't been doing a very good job of it lately. Help me, Lord. Help me order my days and my hours (and my commitments) aright.

I feel I've lost all sense of margin. There is no white space left on my page. Show me, Lord, help me see what's important to You. Help me recognize what's of You in the opportunities that abound. I'm feeling crushed by the pace, exhausted by the spoken and unspoken expectations. Father, I need to hear from You!"

As I retired to bed early last night and pondered the pressure I'm feeling because of the pace, the Lord reminded me, asked me, really: "So, when will you take a Sabbath?" I know it's up to me to guard (and keep) a Sabbath--no one else will do it for me. I decided that in the morning I would tell Arthur that I needed to take today as a Sabbath.

We had been asked a couple weeks ago to lead intercession for the IPHC (Introduction to Primary Health Care) school from 8:00 - 8:45 am, then I was scheduled at 9:00 for blood work in Sommers to get my Cholesterol checked. So now all that is done, Arthur has gone to the office and I will stay home, resting, observing Sabbath, and spending time with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

"I look to You, Lord. I worship You. I find help and strength, comfort and peace in Your presence. Speak to me, that I may know Your perspective on how to use my time and energy according to Your will and calling on my life -- and not according to all the needs and opportunities I see around me. Thank you, Father!"

Hurray it's Spring

Maybe I better not get my hopes up too high, but judging from the weather we've had the past few days, spring has arrived. Yippee!!! The crocuses around the house are blooming and the tulip and daffodil stems seem to grow 2 inches a day. It's lovely!!

Every morning, from our kitchen and dining room windows, we get to witness spectacular sunrises. That side of the house faces the mountain range across the lake and each morning the sky greets the day with an incredible show of every shade of coral, pink, blue, and violet. It' s magnificent! Wish I could capture the beauty of it on the camera to share with all of you. I guess you'll just have to come for a visit, then you, too, can experience the glory of the Montana sunrise.

This week, Lord willing, we will head back to the Silver Valley for 4 days. Thursday we will meet with pastor's, pastor's wives, and other ministry leaders. John and Dianna Pierce will host the group in the building they've recently remodeled to house women who are getting out of jail. Over the course of the weekend we hope to spend time with several of the pastors and their wives throughout the Silver Valley, as well as get in some "family time" with our daughter and grandsons.

Prayer Points:

1. I need wisdom as I write scripts and make plans to host a radio program with an emphasis on pastor's wives.
2. That we will be attentive to God's direction and divine appointments for this weekend in the Silver Valley.
3. For my health: I've not been feeling the greatest lately. A nurse (neighbor) checked my blood pressure last week and says it's "time to see a doctor." So, I'm trying to get that scheduled, but it hasn't happened yet. If it's a matter of some lifestyle adjustments, please pray that I will have the self-discipline to do what's needed for improved health. (I think it would be very hard to give up salt). My morning coffee would also be hard to say "NO" to. Do I love coffee more than good health? "Help me, Lord. I want to make smart choices. I want to honor You with how I treat this temple."
4. That God will give Arthur a timely and pertinent message to give to the church in Kellogg this coming Sunday. Art was asked to speak, as their new pastor hasn't arrived yet.
   

Resurrection Day

I hope you set aside time to revel in the glory of our risen Lord this Easter season. Praise be to God for His amazing plan and provision! Because of the sacrifice of Jesus, we have life everlasting. I'm in awe of His love for His creation. As the old hymn says:
How marvelous!
How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be,
How marvelous!
How wonderful!
Is my Saviour's love for me!!!!!

Making more space for Jesus

Our new living room.

This picture was taken one day when we went for a walk at the lake nearby (Flathead Lake).

The dining room.

These guys were munching breakfast under the

tree in our new front yard the morning we moved in.

We've been preparing for Easter by participating in Lent. Not in any typical or traditional way, mind you, but just in that we have chosen to "make more space for Jesus" in our lives each day. We meet each Wednesday evening at our house with a small group of participants who have intentionally decided to "lay something down" and "take something up" during the 40 days leading up to Easter.

For me, I decided to lay down watching Law and Order (the original--my favorite TV show), and take up memorizing John 15. In this way I'm making a purposeful choice to make more space for Jesus (and His word) in my day. It's been challenging at times. Sometimes, at the end of the workday all I want to do is kick back and relax with an hour of Law and Order. But then I remember the commitment I have made to the Lord, that during this time I will hide His word in my heart instead of watching another murderer being brought to justice.

It's been an awesome time for me. Seems like since I started doing this, all sorts of roadblocks have sprung up to keep me from meditating and memorizing God's word--things that fill up any free time I may have thought I would get (for me it takes alot of time and repetition to memorize a portion of scripture). But along with the challenges have come unexpected blessings and divine opportunities and appointments that God has arranged for me, things I believe are coming my way simply because I've purposed to "make more space for Jesus." He is giving me new eyes, to see what He is doing and how He wants me to partner with Him in those things. For example, I was asked to host a series of radio programs specifically designed for pastor's wives (especially those who serve in rural churches). To me that is absolutely a "God-thing." You who know me well know that even though I enjoy Christian radio programming, I have never been involved with it in even the slightest way.

Another divine opportunity that came knocking at our door happened yesterday when we were asked to take in a girl who is in the middle of enormous emotional/mental crisis and has had to return to the base (from Africa). She is in need of much prayer and one-on-one ministry, and I am amazed at how God has brought it all about for us to be a part of what He is doing to heal this girl. Please pray for her! She needs the healing touch of Jesus so badly.

Arthur was asked to portray a "father" in a music video a couple weeks ago. One of the young men (in the music department) saw in Arthur what he wanted as he prepared this particular music DVD. I wasn't there when they taped it, so I'm excited to see it when it comes out. It was just another unexpected opportunity to bless and to serve (Art had never met the little boy who played the part of the young son, but now the two of them have a grandfather/grandson relationship). It's cool to see how God connects people!

Oh yeah, I don't want to forget to talk about our new house. We now live in house #23. We have no landline here, but we can be reached on our cell phones, or on Skype (alf0310). We'll be house-sitting here until December, Lord willing. We've had a huge amount of activity going on in our lives these days so it's taking a bit to get re- situated and settled in, but I know I'm going to like it. It's a very cozy, family-friendly home so it feels very good. It seems to be the house on base where everyone wants to "hang-out," so we've had quite a bit of that happening already. Crazy, hey!

In the need of PRAYER, again

Here I am, asking for prayer again. I don't know what's up, but I now have an extremely stiff and painful neck. There are a lot of colds and flu going around so maybe that's it. My hip, back and leg are still giving me pain, as well, so I ask for your continued prayer support. If, as you pray, God gives you a word for me, whether it be a word of knowledge, or wisdom, instruction or whatever, please know that I will receive it with a grateful heart.



I am enjoying the presence of the Holy Spirit as I spend time reading God's word, meditating on it, and asking Him how I can more fully "live out" the faith-walk. The other day God spoke to me about "worship." I was noticing how so many people (yes, even Christians) worship Oprah and Dr. Phil. The question came to me: "How do we know when we are worshipping someone/something?" As I pondered this question, I believe God showed me 3 things:

• We worship when we give them our time - our daily schedule is planned around their show (can't bear of miss an episode, we look forward all day to their appearing).


• We worship by how we honor them with our mouths - we speak highly of their deeds and attributes (praise them to our friends - this week I heard a fellow Christian say: "We need to be more like Oprah."), we respect them and hold them in the highest regard.


• We worship by the attention we give them with our eyes and ears - we faithfully watch their show, we focus upon them, we rush to do our personal chores/housework, etc. during advertisements so we won't miss a single word they say.

We need to get our eyes off these false/worldly saviours and turn our eyes, once again, to the true Saviour, the only Saviour. We need to look to God, to worship and honor the True and Living God (Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace).

Awakened by the sound of hoof prints

I was awakened in the middle of the night by thundering hoof prints that sounded as if they were circling the house. It was 3 a.m. It sounded like a bunch of galloping horses, right outside our bedroom. I knew right away what it was, at least I' m pretty sure--a herd of deer. I'm guessing it's the same bunch that have been meandering in front of our house the past week or two. I thought about getting up to watch them, but realized I would not be able to see anything in the dark. So I just lay there, listening to the group circle the house then take off. I checked for tracks this morning and sure enough, there they were. The snow is about a foot deep because of the recent storms. Several sets of fresh hoof prints on 3 sides of the house. Wish I had gotten up to have a look. Maybe it wasn't deer after all, maybe they were buffalo. After all, this is Montana, right. Ha ha!

Thank you so much for praying for my back, hip and leg this past week. The Lord has answered; the pain has subsided greatly. I still have to take baby steps when I walk outside; full strides get things to hurting right away. I'm sure I resemble a penguin as I'm walking down the sidewalk. It's not very flattering, but it works. I was relieved of my "housekeeping" duties for 4 days, and that helped alot. Please keep us in your prayers. And please let us know how we can pray for you.

Yesterday we had the privilege of speaking and fellowshipping at a church called Swan Chapel. It was about a 45 minute drive from where we live. It took a little longer to get there than would normally be the case, I'm sure, because the the blizzard we had to drive through to get there. The people were incredibly warm and hospitable. If we lived closer, I'd love to be a part of that church gathering on a regular basis. Don't you just love God's people!!! I sure do.

Another Wintery Outburst

As I said in my previous post, just when I thought spring was close enough to touch, winter returned to clobber us with another blast of cold and snow. This is the view from our back door.

While the snow falls, I am busy reapplying to have my passport renewed. This is the second attempt in a month. The Canadian authorities were not pleased with my recent renewal request, I guess, so I am having to do it all over again. I want to get this in the mail today. Hopefully, they will be satisfied with the paperwork this time.

Please pray for me. A few days ago I slipped on an icy patch and wrenched my back somehow. Ever since, I've had terrible pain in my left hip and down that leg. No change of position seems to help, or relieve the pain in any way. I went to the chiropractor a couple days ago, and the freedom from pain lasted exactly 1 hour. Besides being painful, it's frustrating. I had to ask to be excused from my housekeeping duties in Dorm #3 the past few days. That makes me feel bad, because I know someone else will have to do the work for me.

This past week Arthur and I had the opportunity to present "our vision" for ministry to the others on our Local Church Equipping and Rural Shepherds Network team. Our Vision is rooted in a call to provide nurture and facilitate networking for pastors, pastor's wives and churches in rural areas of the Pacific Northwest, Western Canada and Southeast Asia. I'm trying to figure out if there is a way I can post (or provide a link to) our vision. Even though Arthur and I share the same vision, we each have aspects of the vision that vary somewhat because of the unique giftings God has given to us. These are reflected in the individual pieces of our vision.

The video you see below was taken on our camera at the recent "International Night" that the base celebrated. It's a Thai girl we've come to know, performing a Thai dance. Enjoy!!!

Awesome Day

I could hardly believe it when we woke up to 6 inches of fresh snow this morning. Talk about disheartening! I had gotten so elated yesterday when I discovered the patch of fresh green grass. Now this! We had planned to drive over to the Silver Valley today. The Ministerial Fellowship was having their monthly meeting and we were counting on being a part of it. Plus we had other important appointments with family and friends.

A choice was before me. I could sit and mope all day, feeling sad and frustrated. Or, I could chose to trust God's sovereignty and enter into His agenda for the day. I thank God that I surrendered to His will for me today; I poured my heart into the "Day of Intercession" that the base had scheduled. I can't begin to describe the spiritual high God took me on throughout the morning. He ministered healing to me (my right arm); In the still of the "quiet station" He reminded me of something He wanted me to do; then He spoke through me to bring restoration to several girl's relationship with their Mother. What an awesome day it has been!

Spring Is Close

Hey... Hurray... Yippee!!! I caught my first sighting of green grass today. Yes, this year's new growth. Wow, it made me want to sing and dance. I had tossed my mop heads and rags out onto the sidewalk of Dorm #3 while I swept the entrance runner. (Dorm #3 is my housekeeping responsibility until the end of March). When I went to pick up my dirty rags, I noticed it. Fresh, green, new growth grass.


This winter has felt almost unbearably long, so today's discovery made my day. Earlier in the day I had been blessed when new friends we've become acquainted with here in Montana were sharing their vision for what they believe God is calling them to. Their expressions of faith in God, trust in His provision and promises, etc. made for a spiritually uplifting time. And now this new sign of spring, this sign of hope, well........I'm ecstatic!!!

Missing dear friends!!!

I've been feeling particularly lonely for the dear old friends we've left back in the Silver Valley. I find myself having "blue" days, but when I try to figure out why, all I can come up with is that I'm having a hard time saying good-bye to the Silver Valley and all our friends. (These are my dear Zoe girls).

You may say, "What's the problem? You left Kellogg last May. Why are you just now getting so lonesome for everyone?" I think the reason is this: Up until now it's been go, go, go, with very little opportunity to reflect on my losses. And now that we are turning our attentions to new people, to new avenues of ministry, etc. I think there's a part of me that is resisting change. The other day as we were driving through Kalispell, I felt sad. Part of me didn't want to start all over in a new place. That particular day I had to admit I didn't even want to try to make new friends, or get to know a new geographical region. I just wanted to go home.
(More precious friends from back home)

Thankfully, the comforting presence of the Holy Spirit has come to my rescue. I cried out to the Lord and He heard my prayer. He reminded my of a strategy that would get my eyes off myself. 'Cause that's what it was. I was feeling sorry for myself. I was feeling isolated. I had lost my sense of "belonging," of "being known and valued." The Lord challenged me to reach out to others, even in the midst of feeling like I was invisible to others.

Wow, What a difference it has made! Within a day of submitting to God in this, things started to change. No, I haven't forgotten or abandoned my dear old friends, but God has ignited a desire within my soul to make new friends--to take new people into my heart, to invest in them, to love and accept them.

The two friends you see here, I sorely miss. What a blessing and spiritual boost they were to me. How I miss our times together! But again, I have so much to be thankful for. Lord willing, I will see them both when we visit the Silver Valley this Thursday. Kelly will attempt to "fix" my hair. And, boy, does it need it. And I'll get to spend time with Jamie at the Silver Valley Ministerial Fellowship.

Like I said, within a day, things started to turn around. As I began reaching out to others: sitting by someone who was sitting alone in the cafeteria, inviting a young mother in for a chat, praying with a gal from another culture who is struggling with the way Americans do things, etc. all of a sudden I experienced the blessing of feeling needed, feeling appreciated, and feeling like I belong.

This whole experience reminds me of the song we used to teach in Pioneer Girl's Club: "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the others is gold."

Christmas with the Grandkids!

Hey Everyone, do you recognize these handsome guys? If you haven't seen Angela in a while, or her family, you may not. This is Will. He just turned 11 last week.
And this is Jackie (Ang's oldest son). I can hardly believe he is 15 now. Grandkids sure have a way of growing up on you, don't they?

Wow, look at this beautiful group of Fleming grandkids: (from oldest to youngest) Zach, Deanna, Jacinda (all belong to John & Kim), then Emily and Noah (belong to Steven and Christel).

The girls are ready to dive in to the goodies, but they wait with graceful patientce for the go-ahead.

This video includes John, Kim, Deanna and Jacinda at the wave pool in Abbotsford. I have a great picture of Zach and Noah, but it's on it's side and I can't get it to stay right side up once I post it here.

Working With YWAM/RSN in Montana

Arthur and I in last week's staff meeting. The picture below shows you the team we work with here in Montana. Each Wednesday morning we meet together to discuss and strategise. Then on Friday's we dedicate the full morning to intercede for the many pastors, pastor's wives, churches and ministries that God is connecting us with in the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada, as well as in the countries of India, Nepal, Ukraine and Thailand.

The Local Church Equipping and RSN (Rural Shepherds Network) teams

that we are a part of.

The Lord has blessed us with a lovely home to "house-sit" for a couple months. I love it! It's so nice to have some privacy again, after living in a 12x12 dorm room with the restrooms down the hall. Thank you for your prayers. On Friday night we enjoyed having guests over for the first time in 9 months. I've really missed that!! But, Lord willing, now that we have some room again, we can have company, entertain guests, do Bible studies, etc. etc. My secret hope is that our kids and grandkids will be able to find their way to this part of Montana sometime this year.

Am I That Dedicated?

I am trying to revive our blog. It's harder to keep the postings current than I thought it would be. Once we got into Myanmar (October) and were urged to be very careful about our communications (so as not to put our friends and fellow-workers at risk), the wind went out of my sails and I've had a hard time getting back into the flow of communicating via the blog.

It feels similar to a project I took on a few years back. I decided to write a personal Christmas letter to each of our kids, their spouses, and the grandkids each year. I was building a new family tradition...... Yippee!!! Well, I did alright for a few years. I looked forward with great excitment to writing those letters every Christmas. But then, sure enough, one year I got behind on the project and knew I couldn't get them all done in time. I forged ahead, however, even though I knew some would arrive late that year.

I was disappointed with myself. I had started out with such good intentions. But in the process of that next year I became discouraged concerning the whole idea. My zeal began to wane, putting my start date for the following Christmas even farther behind than before. I tried to encourage myself, saying that if I couldn't get them done for Christmas, it was okay, I would just turn them into New Year's letters. But something happens psychologically, at least for me, when I start slipping on the job, and especially if I get feeling too far behind. I end up telling myself that the letters didn't matter to anyone anyway, so why was I even trying to make it a yearly tradition. I convinced myself that it was okay to bag the idea.

That's kind of how I've felt about this whole blogging thing. I don't like letting people down, even myself. None of the kids have ever asked why the letters stopped, or quizzed me about what happened to their Christmas letter. No one is beating me up about it. Except me. If I could make a long-term committment out of some of the great ideas I've had, I think I'd be amazed at the fruit God would produce in my life.

I'm not sure I want to rekindle the blog if I can't be faithful to keeping it current and interesting. Like I said, it's much harder to keep up with than I thought it would be. Faithful blogging takes dedication and determination. Am I up for that, over the long-haul, I wonder?