When October Goes

Worshipping with the York Association

at Brunswick Street Baptist Church.

Travelling from Halls Harbour to Fredericton, gave us time to listen to Stuart McLean's unreleased stories from the Vinyl Cafe. Listening to MacLean's reflections about the sweet melancholy of the season of late Autumn, and the exploits of Dave and Morley, was a beautiful way to experience the drive along the hedges of mostly bare trees. A few days of strong winds have transformed the landscape of these maritime roads from gold to silver, as the last leaves linger. 

As we made our way into Geary, we could smell the wood smoke from chimneys. Unlike Kenya, the days are growing shorter here in Canada. Ava is beginning to notice the dark mornings and early sunsets. She is hoping to catch some snowflakes before returning to Africa later in November. 

Sharing at the Queens Sunbury Association at Geary Baptist Church.

Over the weekend, we met with people representing churches throughout the Queens Sunbury and York Baptist Associations. We are so thankful for the support and interest that we encountered. Every time we speak, we are reminded how the story of God's work in the world is the story of all of us. 

As we leave this area to travel to visit with family on Prince Edward Island, we continue to pray for the life and ministry of these local congregations. Each church is involved with important ministries in their communities and with Canadian Baptists around the world. We pray for continued vitality and joy as they serve their neighbours.

Here are a few pictures from our weekend in the Fredericton area. We will be speaking next on Saturday, November 4th, in Centreville, Nova Scotia.

Suzanne and Rev. Robert Weaver at Geary Baptist Church.

Bob and Judy Bettle our host family in Douglas, New Brunswick.

Rev. Peter Moore of Douglas Baptist leading the gathering in prayer.

Rev. Greg Geldart with Ava discussing the finer details of cartwheels.

Wonderful to connect with Dan and Melody Grove, soon to return to Cameroon.

The UpsideDown

Lost in the giant Canada 150 Corn Maze, New Minas, Nova Scotia.

Having lived without Autumn for the past eleven years, it has been so much fun to experience some Canadian Fall Traditions with Ava. On Wednesday afternoon, we picked apples and got lost in a local corn maze with Tristan. We are so thankful for the warm and colourful month of October that we have enjoyed here in the Maritimes.

The pumpkin people of Kentville certainly add to Ava's anticipation for her first Canadian Halloween.   We are excited to be travelling to Prince Edward Island where she will be trick-or-treating with her many Island cousins. 

Ava following the clues. 

We are pretty sure Dad had the map upside down!

A beautiful Autumn in Nova Scotia.

Grooving our way to the apple orchard, with Ava.

Visiting with Tristan at Acadia

CBM Board Meetings in Mississauga, Ontario

On Thursday, Aaron travelled back to Ontario to participate in the CBM board meetings. It was a good opportunity to share with the leadership of CBM some of the inspiring work that our partner churches are doing often in difficult and uncertain times. We continue to pray for peace in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Kenya. 

Yesterday's re-election in Kenya was an extremely intense day for us being so far away from Emma. Protests and unrest caused the closure of several polling stations, that will be holding a third voting day this coming Saturday. We are praying for peace and calm to prevail, and for God to bring together the broken factions of the country. 

We will be travelling together to New Brunswick on Saturday and speaking at the Geary Baptist that evening. Please see our November schedule below, and feel welcome to join us at a church in your area.

Up Coming Events

October 28 Geary Baptist Church, New Brunswick, 7:00 pm

October 29 Douglas Baptist, New Brunswick, 10:30 am

October 29, York Association Meeting, Brunswick Street Baptist Church, Fredericton, 6:00 pm

November 4 Eastern Valley Association, Centreville Baptist Church, Nova Scotia, 9:00 am

November 5 Bridgewater BaptistChurch, Nova Scotia, 10:45 am

November 5 Lunenburg-Queens Association, Western Shore Baptist Church, Nova Scotia, 3:00 pm

November 8 Acadia Divinity College, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, 11:45 am.

November 11 Middlesex/Lambton/Huron Association MISSIONFEST, Forest Baptist, Ontario, 5:00 pm.

November 12 Forest Baptist Church, Ontario 10:30 am

November 12 West End Baptist Church, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 10:30 am

November 19 Middleton Baptist 10:45 am

November 25 Bethel United Baptist Church, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, 6:00 pm

November 26 Stevens Road Baptist Church, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia 10:00 am

Bright Days in Nova Scotia

Erica, Tristan, and Ava on the shore of Halls Harbour, Nova Scotia.

After ten weeks of travelling in Canada and living out of suitcases, it was wonderful to arrive today in Halls Harbour (our home away from home for the remainder of our time in Canada). Although we will be back on the road later this week, it is so good to have a place to unpack our suitcases and regroup.

Harbour House

Ava enjoying the beautiful pebbled beach

Over the past weekend, we appreciated rich times with the congregations of the Brookfield and New Glasgow Baptist Churches, as well as their local association gathering. It was so good to see how these churches are working together to support local and international missions through projects like their Canadian Foodgrains Bank corn growing initiative.

Aaron with pastor Eric McKinnon, and Frank and Hazel Locke.

Fellowshipping with the Brookfield Baptist Church

New Glasgow, Nova Scotia

Rev. John Dunnett introducing our family and the ministry of CBM

A little bit of Kenya in New Glasgow!

Tonight, the Kentville Baptist Church hosted a great evening missions gathering where we focused on the ministry of the Guardians of Hope in Kenya and Rwanda. We are so thankful for the committed prayer and support for these important ministries that we are finding among the churches that we are visiting.

Erica and Tristan in Halls Harbour

Being back in this part of Nova Scotia has also given us a chance to see Tristan, who is doing very well with his first semester at Acadia. It has been a big change from life in Nairobi, but TK is thriving.

Autumn in Canada

Enjoying the beautiful October colours 

on the road to Truro, Nova Scotia.

After our big weekend in Moncton, we travelled to Saint John where we connected with friends and spoke at gatherings hosted by Lancaster and RiverCross Baptist Churches. We are so thankful to pastors Wayne Murphy, Rob Nylen, and John Knight, who are leading their churches to participate in God's mission in their community and around the world.

We are so impressed with how multi-cultural the Canadian Baptist of Atlantic Canada are becoming. In churches that we have been with from Charlottetown to Saint John have met people who have immigrated from across Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East. In particular, we have been delighted to talk with people who come from some of the communities where we work in Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Erica with Pastor Wayne Murphy and Women's 

Groups in Saint John, New Brunswick

Across Atlantic Canada, women's groups continue to be a vital part of local and global missions. We are so grateful for the members of the Hillcrest and Lancaster women's missionary societies that shared a wonderful afternoon with us in Saint John. These groups are helping their churches and communities to live generously in the compassionate way of Jesus.

Visiting with our friends Andrew and Kelly Myers

We are also thankful for the dear friends that have taken time to connect with us on our great Canadian road trip. Some of these friends have become family to us over our years of ministry. It has been such a gift to have an Autumn in Canada.

Great to see Jessie and Aaron at Hillside Baptist

in Moncton, New Brunswick

Wonderful to see friends in Saint John

This weekend, we are in Truro, Nova Scotia, to speak with the Colchester Pictou Association meeting and with congregations in Brookfield, New Glasgow, and Kentville. We are looking forward to seeing Tristan next week.