September, 2007 update: Well! It has been quite an eventful year for us. Thank you to everyone who has prayed or called or sent us notes of encouragement. My head was expecting it but my heart was not prepared for the home-going of my mother-in-law on May 21, 2007! She was so much more than a beloved friend to me! She was a vital part of our life as well as our ministry. I will always cherish the times we had together but also the full month I spent alone with her in February 2007 while we prepared her for a life of going to dialysis three times weekly. I praise God I'll get to see her again in Heaven and I'm constantly leaning on His grace to deal with the grief her passing leaves in me.

Now, we are entering another phase of the journey to which the Lord has called us. Deputation! We are actively seeking to minister in missions minded churches. There are only 238 Independent, Fundamental, KJV, Missions-minded churches in ALL of Canada! Lord willing, in 2008 there will be at least 239! We are seeking the Lord's timing and location for planting a church in the Georgian Bay Region of Ontario - if you are reading this update and would like to have us visit your church, please send me an email or a note and I will be happy to contact your pastor. Even better - ask your pastor to have us come!!

January 2007 update: Are you ever confused as to what the Lord really wants of you? I certainly am! God never changes but I believe He moves and molds us to be what He wants us to be (if we will yield) which means we should be prepared for the twists and turns it will take for Him to accomplish His will in spite of us trying to "help". So, our time in Kapuskasing has come to a close and another leg of the journey has begun. I am no longer shocked or worried when life takes on a roller-coaster quality - I just make sure my safety straps are secure (Bible and prayer) and I fervently pray that I will be a good testimony and that I will always give the Lord all the glory for what He is doing in us and through us and in spite of us.

We are so grateful to the Lord for North Country Baptist of Orillia, one of our first supporting churches. We have moved to their area which lowers our travel time to just 3 hours of the border (instead of 11). From this base we will schedule meetings to build our support level to where we can live and minister as we plant a church in the north. We will have the privilege of working with North Country Baptist as they birth a good, fundamental, independent, King James only church in Gravenhurst. We are continuing to homeschool; my husband will be "tent-making" when we don't have meetings scheduled; after about six months with us, my husband's mom is at home in Florida, recuperating from full cardiac failure in the beginning of January. Life is always so eventful!

August, 2005 update: The Lord is so GOOD! The Lord did agree and if you read our prayer letters you will see that we arrived in Kapuskasing on Dec. 9, 2004 after several frustrating days on the road and into -30 degree Celcius temperatures! Even though we are still adjusting to the different ways things are done here in this country, we are excited and encouraged to be here. The Lord is blessing! Check out our prayer letters and our photo album! It has been a busy, busy summer. It has been a very hot summer if you can believe that! We had several days when I thought maybe I had been transported back to Florida! During the summer the days were long - sun up before 5 am and sunset as late as 10:30pm. Now the days are growing shorter, the days are cooler and the nights even a little chilly, the wildflowers are dying and I've seen the first leaves of autumn. There is a bear warning as well as a fire ban. Eight bears have been trapped and relocated because of a lack of berries in the "bush" as a result of less rain than normal during the spring.

Ross and Rachel will be starting school on September 7 and, needless to say, they would rather have endless summer. Both are adjusting well, both are standing up for their beliefs even though it has meant that they sometimes stand with only each other for company. We are still praying for the Lord to give us more faithful, godly families who happen to have kids their age. Pray specifically, right? Another specific prayer I have right now is for the Lord to show us the way to reach the grade 6 to 12 young people. They have what seems like total freedom to roam the town. Such freedom breeds a boredom that is difficult to penetrate. Our normal approach is a little too tame for them. If only the Lord would compel them to accept our invitations to church and to our activities! That's another specific prayer, that the Lord would compel people to come!

November, 2004 update: Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us during deputation - your prayers have been answered! If the Lord agrees, we will leave Sarasota on November 30 to head for our new home in Kapuskasing, Ontario. It's sub-Arctic instead of Arctic but it's still COLD for a very long time.

I am totally committed to the ministry God has laid on Chris' heart. I've been asked what a Florida girl is going to do to survive the Arctic: all I know is God will take me through it all. I've been asked if I feel called to be a missionary or to preach. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever consider being a missionary or a missionary’s wife. I don’t feel called to preach – that’s for the men to do. I do feel called to support my husband 100% in what the Lord has called him to do. I do feel a burden for the same people my husband has a burden for. My heart is yearning to minister to the kids we’ll meet on deputation and beyond. Another burden of mine is to show people that they can serve God right where they are and show them they can have hope no matter what their life was like before they became a Christian.

This is my testimony: I remember my mom dressing my sister and me for Sunday School and then dropping us off. She’d be there to pick us up when church was over. My dad didn’t go to church. When he was too young to read, he attended church - loved church - loved the Lord. He told me about a bad experience he had as a small child and he’s never gone back. (From further conversations, I have come to believe he accepted Christ as a small child.) I accepted Jesus as my savior when I was 6 or 7 years old. My main concern was to NOT go to hell.

When my husband accepted Jesus as his savior, I went forward with him and rededicated my life to Christ. I finally KNEW for certain that I was going to heaven when I died and, more importantly, why. I finally understood that it was what Jesus had done by dying on the cross and coming back to life three days later that made it possible for my soul to live forever in heaven instead of suffering forever in hell. Between the ages of 7 and 27 - I had lived my life doing what I wanted – going where I wanted – basically thinking only of myself and my own pleasure. But it wasn't pleasure I had been experiencing. It was seeking to fill the space inside that only Jesus can fill.

As we grew in the Lord, I realized the empty space was being filled and could do less and less "for me". As a result my main focus is to be filled by the Holy Spirit everyday, to model and nurture that in my children and to bring as many folks with me to Heaven as I can.

I had only one big passion for my life and that was(and is) to grow old with my first and only husband. So, I am very excited about us being Christians together. God has changed us as we have purposed to serve Him. When Chris' dad passed away and he preached the Gospel at the memorial service - I got chills because I understood that he should be a preacher. I was okay with that. Then, during our missions conference while Missionary Gary Forney was preaching and showing his slides; Chris looked over at me and said "Wouldn't you want to go there?", I kind of felt shocked. I jokingly said back, "Couldn't God call you someplace warm?" But even then I knew wherever Chris felt God was sending him - that's is where I'd willingly go. It shames me now but I remember being 15 and telling my mom, "You've had your fun, I'll get around to going to church and stuff, just leave me alone!" But our God is merciful and the God of second (and third and...) chances. I feel in awe that God would still choose to allow me to serve Him.

I also know without Christ in our marriage and family life - neither would be together today. In our travels - I hope to have the opportunity to encourage ladies who may have lost hope for their marriage or family.