In Prayer

Erica and I hiking the beautiful coastline

 of the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia

We are in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, tonight and then, after some errands in the morning, on our way to Florenceville, New Brunswick. We want to thank everyone who has been praying for our family during our travels. Everyone is healthily and doing well. Here are a few prayer requests from our friends and colleagues in Kenya:

* Please remember Yattani, William and Michel as they serve with CBM in Kenya’s North Eastern Province where kidnappings and violence against aid workers continues. 

* Join us in praying for the four aid workers, including a Canadian, who were taken hostage and the Kenyan national worker who was killed in this past week’s kidnapping in the Dadaab refugee camps. 

News Link

* Please uphold the pastors and members of the NGO consortium in Garissa as they work to strengthen the welfare of their community amid the current tensions.

We know that our friends and colleagues appreciate your prayers and encouragement!

Farewell Nova Scotia

At the end of a great three weeks in Nova Scotia

We have enjoyed a wonderful time of connecting with friends and supporting churches through Nova Scotia this month. I big word of thanks to our friends John and Heather for sharing your beautiful Harbour House with us and our many guests! It has been such a gift to have a place of our own to return to each night.

We’ve had a few problems uploading photos to our blog over the past two weeks, but hopefully we’ll have it up and running soon so that we can post some of our favourite pictures from our time here. We want to be sure to thank everyone who has hosted and encouraged us over this time, especially our friends at The West Cornwallis United Church pastorate (Thank you Krista for making us a part of the Sunday School picnic and for your support of CBM’s work in Eastleigh); the Kentville Baptist Church especially pastors John, Troy and Devon for your gracious hospitality; The wonderful ladies that we met with from Bethany Memorial Baptist; Billtown; Hall’s Harbour; Pastor Dan & Trish and the folks at Chester United Baptist; Rev. Riley and the Ladies Aid at Mahone Bay Baptist;  Our friends from New Cornwall; Northwest and Bridgewater Baptist Churches; and all the great people that we shared time with at New Minas Baptist Church. We apologize for anyone we might have missed here. 

This weekend, we are excited to be travelling to Florenceville where we will be speaking on Sunday at the Beechwood and Bath Baptist Churches.

Kentville Baptist and beyond!

 Worship at Kentville Baptist

Nova Scotia

On Monday evening, we met with a large gathering of people from Kentville Baptist and other local churches. It was great to meet many members of the youth group who came with great questions about the ministry of CBM in Africa and the challenge of the Church responding to realities of poverty.

 Yvonne Laker and members of the Bethany Memorial Baptist Church

It was so great to have had an opportunity to meet our newest Partners in Mission as Rev. Thelma McLeod and the congregation at Bethany have come along side our family in supporting the ministry that we are leading in Africa. We hope to be able to visit their church on our next trip to Nova Scotia in 2014. We are so thankful for the support and encouragement that we have felt from the churches here!!

Dessert Social

 Miriam Brathwaite wearing her new Solidarity necklace

Pastor John McNally and two of his beautiful children after the service at the dessert social. It is great to see how the Kentville church has grown in its ministry to its community and youth. John and his ministry team are so obviously passionate about loving people!

Youth Pastor Troy Coldwell and his son Alstin

Among the ministries that Troy and other youth groups across Atlantic Canada have participated in is "Tidal Impact” the largest youth mission outreach event in North America. Youth groups partner with host churches in the target area to wash over a community doing good deeds and ministry projects -- from helping to repair homes to running free children’s programs. The next Tidal Impact will be hosted in Halifax and the Annapolis Valley in the summer of 2013.  

"The model for the event is simple – a local church invites a visiting church to partner with them in a week of mission and ministry. The host church provides billet accommodations and some of the meals and the visiting church youth group provides ministry muscle to go along with that of the hosts and together they impact their community. Dynamic worship experiences bring together all the participating churches and there are also opportunities for eating and playing together as the youth make friends from across the country."

Happy Father’s Day

 Celebrating Father’s Day

in Hall’s Harbour

After a busy weekend of travel and speaking, we enjoyed a quiet Father’s Day evening with our friends the Waddell family at Harbour House in Hall’s Harbour. Here are a few photos from time together!

Family Campfire 

We had fun roasting hotdogs, marshmallows, singing songs, 

lighting sparklers and celebrating our dads!

Sean lightening it up!

Emma and Kyla at the campfire

Carter and Sean in the four-seater outhouse

 Allie and Ava picking flowers along the beach

Sunset at the Bay

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!!

Middleton, Nova Scotia

Worship at Middleton Baptist Church

Nova Scotia

This past Sunday, we joined our friends at Middleton Baptist Church in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia to share about the ministry of CBM in Africa.  We were blessed by the warmth and hospitality of the great people of this church! We want to share a BIG THANK YOU to the Muriel Bent WMS for all of the work they put into organizing this gathering. Also a special word of appreciate to Bonnie and Albert at the Just Drop Inn for helping us out in a pinch!!

 Our kids playing an intense game of “ninja” with Tamara

Tristan in an arm wrestling battle with Doug Armstrong

Danny and Aaron after the service

Sundown

Sundowners at Hall’s Harbour

Watching the sun sink into the Bay of Fundy

This evening, we had a great potluck dinner and bonfire with the the short term mission team from New Minas Baptist Church and their families. We had a great time catching up and sharing stories.

Coral and Heather around the beach bonfire with the kids

Judy and Steve

Joanne and Judy at Harbour House

Erica and Coral

Wolfville Baptist

 Rev. Ron Baxter opening the evening gathering 

at Wolfville Baptist Church, Nova Scotia

On Wednesday evening, Aaron and Emma visited a gathering hosted by the Wolfville Baptist Church. It was a great time of connecting with many friends and faculty from our Acadia days. We especially appreciated Dr. Allison and Gene Trites' hospitality as they hosted a pre-service dinner at their home for us and the mission committee.

During the service, Aaron shared about the Integral Mission of Canadian Baptist Ministries in Africa. We are so grateful for the support and encouragement of our Partner in Mission Church like Wolfville Baptist, who are committed to the the ministry of CBM.

Enjoying the social time after the service

Emma at our display table

Gene Trites and Emma after the gathering

Aaron and Ron in the Wolfville sanctuary 

Emma with members of the church mission committee 

Harbour House

We are enjoying a great week visiting with friends and partners in mission here in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia. On Tuesday afternoon, we had a great time with our friends David and Luwanna Fagan and their two girls. It has been a blessing to have a place of our own to entertain friends, rather than having to criss cross the province. (Thank you John and Heather!!!!)

We are also appreciating the nearby boardwalk and lobster pound, where the kids have been excited to watch a lobster moult its shell. The other evening, Erica, Tristan and Ava ran into our friends Harry Gardner, Greg Jones and the eminent Rene Padilla who is visiting Nova Scotia to teach on Integral Mission at Acadia Divinity College.

Luwanna and Serena at Harbour House

David working his magic on Naomi

(Literally, pulling coins from her ears,... 

and bubble gum, sea shells, drift wood....)

Halls Harbour

Halls Harbour, Nova Scotia

 Heather and Erica

While in Nova Scotia, we have the great privilege of staying at "Harbour House” a beautiful getaway home owned by our friend Heather and her husband John. Built in 1835, the outbuildings and house stay on the scenic cliffs of this rocky harbour on the spectacular Bay of Fundy. We deeply appreciate Heather and John’s generosity, as our family enjoys living near the water for the next few weeks!

Ava, ready to explore the harbour and the rugged coast line

Daddy and Emma touring the oldest buildings in the community

Low Tide in Halls Harbour

The dramatic tides force many local lobster fisherman to anchor, timing their arrival and the off-loading of their catch with the tide

Tristan, Ava and Heather’s son Ben off to explore the caves

Looking for crystals in the caves

heading back

Mommy and girls on a beach walk