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Croc's vs Escalator

2010-10-24T18:32:00.015-06:00

Well, it all started as we were on our team field trip. We were in the middle of having a nice supper in Chiang Mai, when the kids decided they need to make a visit to the toilet. I reluctantly decided to take them as the closest bathroom was in the Central department store, a little bit of a walk.

On the way to the toilet there was an escalator which Aimee was not too impressed about and which Sam and I attempted to assure her that they are totally safe and harmless to navigate.

So we jumped on. Up, up, up we went and as we exited the top on the 2nd floor Aimee's shoes slide over the safety guard hurray! No problems! "See Aimee, escalators are safe to use!" At that moment Daddy decided to lift her up as he took his final step off the escalator. But to my shock, as my black Croc's slide over the safety strip, the soft rubber got caught and the escalator monster ate half my shoe. I tried to pull it out first with my foot still in it and then with my hands!!!!! But to no avail -the beast had my shoe. Before I knew it security, who wasn't actually asleep had stopped the escalator and a few people quickly flurried around.

Looking at my half eaten Croc's which I had purchased across the border, I wondered what to do with it and the escalator that had just eaten my shoe. They asked us to wait a minute, I over heard in Thai that the escalator tech was coming in 30 min. Standing there with one shoe and the kids busting to get to the toilet I decided to move on, one shoe down, through the shopping centre with the kids and people wondering what I was doing with only one shoe on! Sam said he was embarrassed! I thought to my self that that wasn't supposed to start until Sam was a few years older! But Aimee was busting and wanted the potty!!!! And I was still thinking about how that all just happened!

Returning to the escalator, my half eaten Croc still remained hanging out. As people gathered talking and taking pictures with their cell phones. Then I was ushered away by the Central department store staff, who told me that, they were very, very, very sorry. They took me to the shoe department and said I should chose a new pair of shoes. Any pair I wanted. Surprised, within 5 minutes, I walked out with I brand new pair of "real" Croc's from Central mall instead of my cheap boarder pair. I returned to our group to tell of my bizarre adventure and finish off our meal! Liz wished she had taken the kids to the toilet after that!

New Home

2010-10-14T09:15:00.008-06:00

Greetings from Thailand! Exactly one month ago we moved to a new house. This was a huge answer to prayer, and thank you to all who prayed with us for this. We needed to find not only a house for us, but the other team members who joined us in soon, as well as a location that would have a classroom. God answered our prayers beautifully by leading us to a building which was completed the very week that we needed to move in. It is a townhouse style/Asian shop front with 3 units side by side. We are open for visitors! Sam and Aimee love having the big open area downstairs to play, and we are enjoying the view out our front window of a mountain full of green trees, and the hills in the background. We wake up to the roosters crowing and hear the pigs being slaughtered at the neighboring butcher's house in the wee hours every morning. So far, Samuel has been able to continue attending the same school, even though it is an hour commute each way. He catches a ride with 2 other families and leaves the house at 6:50 am and gets home around 4 p.m., tired but happy.

In moving, we also felt sad to leave our friends and neighbors, and we realized that in one short year, we were able to make some genuine reciprocating friendships, which we have been able to maintain, even after our move, for which we are very grateful.

We'd like to share with you a short story about our move. We moved in the middle of the rainy season and in the middle of a big, big rain storm. Some of our neighbors counseled us not to move on that day, but it was the only day we could move, so we prayed that God would give us a dry day. The evening before our move it poured all night. On the actual morning of our move, the grey clouds threatened to pour, our town was partially flooded and the road out was knee deep in water due to a reservoir that had burst its wall in the mountains. But thankfully, there was not a drop of rain until about 30 min after we had unloaded the truck into our new place! Thank you Jesus! It rained after that for a solid week….

Another very real way in which we have seen God's hand in our move is the location he provided our buildings for us. When we first found this place, we had no idea that this was a Shan neighborhood, this is really significant. We are very much aware of God's invisible hand with us, helping us and making a way for us to walk.

New Team Members

2010-10-14T09:13:00.004-06:00

We are so thrilled to welcome Steve, Maggie, Sarah and Jacki to Thailand, and Jake as well. They have been here for about a month (except for Jacki who has been here for about 2 weeks), and are over the initial stages of setting up house and transport in a new country. They have all delved into language learning and are already able to order their own Thai food!!! Our former language teacher has been willing to commute so that we can continue learning Thai with her, for which we are very grateful.

Bits & Pieces

2010-10-14T09:11:00.008-06:00

In August, we had the joy of spending 2 weeks with "Grandma" (Liz's Mom) who was able to travel all the way to Thailand, from Turkey! It was a great time with lots of good memories of baking cookies, reading stories, playing dolls, and exploring local eateries. We also got to spend a few days with the Turner Valley SBS and DTS outreaches, and were able to show them a bit of this part of the world.

In September, in addition to moving, we celebrated two very special birthdays in our house: Samuel turned 6 and Aimee turned 3.

In October, we had a house warming party for about 40 of our friends and neighbours. Our good friend, Pii Sukam helped to organize and cook all the yummy food! Our very generous landlord made a awesome green curry too for the event. Thank you to all who came and helped out!

Our faithful language teacher, Pii Dtum has been willing to travel up here every week for 3 days in order to help us continue learning Thai language. Even Sam and Aimee get to have an hour of stories with her every Saturday morning, which they love. Thank you Pii Dtum!

Blunder!

2010-06-16T20:33:00.005-06:00

When we came back to Thailand after a month away in Canada, we were really encouraged with our ability to communicate in Thai. That is, until we had the following incident with our neighbour....
We were making arrangements on when to pick her up the next day for an outing to her village. Rob said, "I'll drive the car there."
She looked mortified and confused. Then we realized what he had said. Usually Rob rides the motorbike and the word for riding a motorbike is "kii". With a different tone, that word then means "crap" or actually the ruder version beginning with "sh....". The word for "riding" a motorbike is different than "driving" a car (which is "kap"). So, basically Rob told our neighbour that "he was going to crap the car!".

Good memories and lots of laughs!

Another funny thing! We were just given tickets from a friend to a concert, which is real statement of friendship but the funny thing is that is the tickets are called "The Liver Love Songs" sounds romantic!!!!!!! (I think they are intended to say "The River Love Songs") - but since Rob is Lob here, it's all good!

Next steps

2010-06-16T20:04:00.004-06:00

Samuel has just started his second year of school now (Thai school year begins in May). He is happy to be with his friends - and he is learning to write English and Thai script! Aimee is wanting to go to school too - but is learning to go to the potty first! Rob and Liz are back into Thai language classes as well as preparing for a move around August/September to a new city. We are also preparing a week long Seminar in June for the part time students who begin classes this June. Over the next 2 ½ years, they will be studying all the books of the Bible. They are all in full time ministry already and are so eager to understand the Word of God better for themselves and their congregations.

Canada Trip

2010-06-16T19:55:00.003-06:00

In April we had to return to Canada to apply for new visas. We had an excellent trip. While we were ‘home’ we organized a fundraiser. It was a really fun night, with great desserts, and lots of friends. Amazingly, by the end of the weekend, we had raised half our projected budget in gifts and pledges! We were really encouraged by the generosity of our friends towards Bible students they had never met. We also got new 12 month visas, so no more bi-weekly trips over the border!!!

While we were back in Canada, it was so refreshing to see lots of dear friends and family. Liz’s sister, Jenn was able to come out to Alberta for 6 days and the kids loved having Auntie Jennie read stories and play in the snow! Rob was able to go on a couple of hikes and Liz managed to get some shopping done! Samuel had lots of memories flood back from when we lived in Turner Valley and Aimee enjoyed having cupboards and closets to play in.

One Year in Thailand

2010-06-16T19:53:00.002-06:00

Sawadii! Greetings from Thailand! It has been one year now since we arrived in this beautiful country. When we look back over the past 12 months, we are very encouraged to see how we have progressed in learning the Thai language, to see how this has become our home, how our children have adjusted to being here, and to see how we have been able to make friends and find community here. God has been good to us. In addition to studying language and setting up life here from scratch, we have been able to begin a new ministry! Our first project will officially begin in January 2011.

Sacrifices

2010-03-20T09:36:00.005-06:00

Feeling deeply moved tonight by the stories of two other families in our area. One family, who is from another Asian country felt called to move to Thailand and share about the love of God with people here. The catch? She is a single mom with 2 young boys. Her husband died a year and a half ago. She did not let this stop her from living out what she felt God was calling her to do.

The other family (from the same Asian nation) also felt the call of God to come to Thailand. They came. They did not have enough money when they came to even furnish their house... or send their 3 kids to school... or purchase a motorbike.... or pay for language classes. But they came. And they are trusting in God to meet their needs.

Wow. What can I say in light of these precious lives? What they have done seems so huge, so impossible. Too much, really. But then again, do I really believe that Jesus is worth all that? Is he really worth it all? Even in our pain? Yes, of course he is! He is worthy of everything, our very lives. Sometimes that leaves me in awe. Thank you to my friends who make me want to love Jesus with all my life; with everything in me.

Long time between updates

2010-02-28T20:55:00.001-07:00

It has been way too long since our last update. Please forgive us! Moving to a new country, learning a new language and setting up a new ministry has been overwhelming! The last few months feel like they have been a whirlwind of activity and a roller coaster of emotions. At times we have said, “God, we can’t do this!”. But he has responded with two very clear verses for us. One is from I Thess 5:24 “The one who calls you faithful and he will do it” and the other is when Jeremiah was lamenting to the Lord and God’s reply was, “How are you going to run with horses if you can’t even run with men?”.

Learning Thai

2010-02-28T20:52:00.002-07:00

Yes! We are actually learning to say more than just ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’! And incredibly, we are even learning to read and write in Thai script. It is a wonderful feeling to be able to speak with a vendor in the market and have them compliment your language! Of course, our hats go off to our wonderful Thai teacher (Pii Dtum), who has patiently taught us and reviewed with us every day, and repeated answered the question, “What does that word mean again?”. We still have a loooooong way to go though!

Fun, Fun, Fun

2010-02-28T20:13:00.005-07:00

Sam love riding with dad on the bike to school in the mornings. One of the joy's of Thailand!

Kids

2010-02-28T07:38:00.011-07:00

Our update would not be complete without including such an important part of our lives: Samuel and Aimee. They continue to be one of our deepest joys. Samuel has really adapted well to his school. He is a typical 5 year old boy who is learning to write and do math. His favorite subject, however, is “playground”, especially the sandbox, and I am sure that he has brought half the sand home now. Aimee is the joy of all who lay eyes on her. I think I know what it feels like to be the mother of a celebrity. During the Flower Festival in January, I counted 8 cameras belonging to strangers all snapping shots of our little blond haired, blue eyed charmer - all at the same time! Thankfully, the photo-taking is not too common an occurrence, and she doesn’t mind the attention too much, especially if it is accompanied with a little snack or gift!

Frustrations

2010-02-28T07:38:00.010-07:00

Yes, we have had a few of these! One being that we have been without internet for the past month! The most serious frustration however, has been the fact that due to a miscommunication, our visa has expired. So, in early April, we will be going back to Canada to apply for another 1 year visa and to reconnect with friends and family there.

Staff

2010-02-28T07:37:00.009-07:00

We have had 2 more people coming towards the end of the year to join the team for next year (Bible training, capacity building and income generation with Shan people). We are very excited to have both Steve and Maggie as well as Jake to work with. Some of the administrative details for the Shan School of Biblical Studies are coming together which has kept us busy most evenings and weekends. The last week of March, we will be conducting a week long Inductive Bible Study Seminar on the book of Philippians and would love your prayers for that time.

Guests

2010-02-28T07:37:00.008-07:00

Seriously, we have a guest room and it is available if you are in our area! We are happy that it has been well used already with lots of very loved friends (Andrew and Mark; Ashley and Paula: Andrae and Byron; Dan and JoAnna; Scott). Each of you have encouraged us in very special ways - thanks!

Christmas!

2010-02-28T07:36:00.012-07:00

Yes, I know we are almost in March, but we just have to share about our great Christmas here. We did LOTS of baking and we put together little gift bags for our neighbors with baking and little gifts and a book with Thai people’s stories of how Jesus came into their lives. On Christmas day we had 2 American friends over as well as a Thai family who was so curious to see how we celebrate Christmas, so they just dropped by at 10am and stayed Christmas morning.

Odd Things

2010-02-28T07:35:00.013-07:00

Chinese Herbal Medicine. Strange look, tasted okay but very strong.

Making Friends

2010-02-28T07:35:00.012-07:00

One of the many benefits of learning the language is being able to communicate with Thai people! We think that we live in one of the best neighborhoods in the city of Chiang Rai because all our neighbors are sooo incredibly friendly! (Of course, having two blond children might have something to do with it!). One of our best friends here is a great lady who loves to bring Aimee sticky rice around 7:45 am, just when the kids are going out the door to take Samuel to school! Baa has taken us to every major festival in town and often treats us to bbq pork or fish which we all eat out on her street, on fold up tables and plastic chairs once a week.

Everything you have ever wanted to say but couldn't

2009-11-03T07:59:00.008-07:00

One of the great things about living in Thailand is that anything you ever wanted to say back home but couldn't because of fear of being rude, impolite or nosey is perfectly acceptable here. What you weight?, How much did you pay for that? What contraception do you use? Where are you going? What are you doing? How old are you? All these are all frequent common and used almost daily. Just today I walked between my car and the pharmacy and was asked 3 times "Bai Nay?" (Were are you going?). Liz has been repeatedly asked how much she weighs and as she has hummed and hawed to answer, people have offered guesses amidst a barrage of giggles. Or the time when we just got our new car, and someone called out across the parking lot, "Taw rai?" ("How much?"). At first it feels as if you are being assaulted by nosey people and as a farang (white foreigner) your personal space is being invaded. But you soon become a master of answering and evading saying things you don't want to and you quickly realize that it is the cultural way that friends relate. It is a sign that people like you. Once you get over it it is quite liberating as nothing is sacred, and you are also free to ask, "How much did _____ cost you?". So watch out if you thought we were forward before moving here!

A Surprise Thai Feast

2009-11-03T07:52:00.006-07:00

It all started when we recently sat to eat dinner at a basic local restaurant on Monday night. We sat at our tables, got the menu and proceeded to discuss what we would like to eat. We then ordered in Thai feeling every proud of ourselves, even asking & answering questions about the dishes we chose. It seemed simple enough. We waited and then it started to unfold. First came out 2 dishes of Garlic Chicken for the kids followed by Basil Pork and a Red Thai Curry. Then the food just kept coming: 3 dishes of rice, a fried egg and a fried vegetable dish. At first we thought, "What's with all the food?". Before we said anything and created would bring shame on our waiter we talked, pondered and thought about what went wrong. We looked at all our food and realized that all the food before us was what we had talked about amongst ourselves before ordering. We thought but the waiter obviously either over zealous, or wanting a few more Baht in the till, misunderstood the difference between our discussion and what we wanted. Needless to say we ended up finishing up all the food it truly was a large feast and we felt heavier, poorer & wiser for the next time.

Ministry Update & Seminar

2009-10-11T02:47:00.008-06:00

We have had a few meetings already with our Shan friends who have invited us/YWAM to equip them in Inductive Bible Study. The good news is that they are very, very eager to study the Bible. The surprise news was that they do not just want one group to go through the IBS training, they want two or three groups to go through IBS so that they can establish it in the future training of the church. This is a much bigger undertaking than we originally thought, but we believe it is of the Lord and we are happy to walk down this road to see more and more Shan believers understanding the powerful way God has revealed himself to us through the scriptures.

This will entail another move for our family in roughly a year’s time closer to the border. Once there, we will have a 3 year plan to see our friends confident in teaching the Bible to their own people. This will require a greater number of staff working with us and more logistical details than we originally expected. We are looking forward to seeing how God will provide and direct us.

Another very exciting development was that in the first week of September, we had a week long seminar on Inductive Bible Study through the book of II Timothy. This was a perfect book to study as it was Paul's last letter that he wrote, and in it he instructed his young mentor in how to be a good and faithful servant of Christ. The 8 participants who had travelled a long way to be a part of it were very encouraged in their faith and in their ministries and are looking forward to another seminar in February next year. We had the privilege of having 2 excellent Bible teachers and friends come to teach this time: Andrae and Bryon all the way from Canada and the USA respectively.

Odd Things

2009-10-11T02:26:00.006-06:00

Chinese Herbal Medicine. Strange look, tasted okay but very strong.

Strange Moments

2009-10-11T02:12:00.007-06:00

Language Lessons
Recently during Rob 2 hour language class for 11:00-1:00 he fell asleep momentarily during the lesson. The funny thing about this is that he was the only person in his class and it was during a conversation in which he was speaking that he nodded off!!!!

Gibberish
When we first arrived it was crazy busy trying to set up life in a new country where everything is different and our language is limited. During one of these moments in our first month in Chiang Rai, Rob had been busy getting prices on furniture to set up house. During this day he was feeling particularly stressed and while he was driving a gentlemen phoned back with a price. Rob answered the phone and in a momentary slip went blank as this man tried to communicate in Thaiglish. In moment of insanity Rob replied back in an unidentifiable tongue - he muttered something and man hung up. Rob realizing what had just happened almost died of embarrassment at the thought of what this guy was probably thinking, hoping they don't cross paths again to avoid major embarrassment.

Aimee's Past Hospital Visit

2009-10-11T02:09:00.006-06:00

Our little Aimee was in hospital for almost a week with Rotavirus. The first day was pretty scary, as we did not know what she had and she had very high fever, that kept climbing despite medication. We were very grateful for the excellent medical care we received here and for her complete recovery.

Traveling Friends

2009-10-11T01:21:00.018-06:00

September was a busy month for visitors in the beginning of the month we had some friends from YWAM Turner Valley Andrae & Byron come to run another Inductive Bible Study Seminar for our Shan friends which was really great and formative time for us all in working toward the a full time Inductive Bible study program (SBS) in the future. We also had friends the following weekend for Australia.Two of Robs good friends, Mark and Andrew, came to visit after a building project in Cambodia for a few days, which was a lot of fun, touring, talking, laughing and jesting. The following week end after that we had Ashley & Paula come for a weekend on a pastoral visit form Gateway, which was super encouraging. We felt very blessed, encouraged really appreciated that time with all our friends.

Birthday Month

2009-10-11T01:13:00.023-06:00

September is Birthday month in our family with both Sam & Aimee having birthdays only 2 weeks apart. Sam turned a big 5 this year & Aimee turned a big 2 years old.

Picture of the Month

2009-10-10T22:54:00.024-06:00

Yellow Surprise!
This invokes a whole lot of strange images......... We had quite a bit of a laugh about it but despite the name and the head games, it tasted just fine.

Transition Times

2009-09-07T09:33:00.004-06:00

The transition that we began in January this year is almost over! During this time we have experienced the strong hands of God with us but it has also been extremely emotional moving as a family. We arrived in Thailand on May 29. We had a myriad of decisions to make almost the moment we stepped off the airplane, the biggest one being which city to live in! After much thought and prayer, we have decided to spend this year in Chiang Rai, which is a 3 hour drive north of Chiang Mai and 1 hour from Burma.

Another major factor in our lives has been finding a house! After what seemed like endless searching and waiting (we were given 3 different moving dates!) we are happy to finally be in our own rented house in Thailand! It is a lovely, 3 bedroom blue house within walking distance to a local market. Furnishing our home has been enjoyable and quite a long process - the kitchen originally looked just like a room with a pipe (no faucet) coming out of the wall! In Thailand, houses do not have any closet space either, so we have been finding places to put all our stuff!. Our first house guests were rather unwanted - both Samuel and Aimee received ant bites on our first day here. Since then, we have been on the war path and we believe we are winning the battle!

Please note our new mailing address:
PO Box 78
Bandu Post
Chiang Rai, 57100
Thailand

New Schools

2009-09-07T09:32:00.007-06:00

We are ALL starting new schools! Rob and Liz have begun the awesome task of learning Thai language. From Monday to Friday we each have 2 hours of one-on-one tutoring with a Thai teacher at the YWAM base in Chiang Rai. Rob studies from 11am-1pm and Elizabeth studies from 2-4pm. In addition to our classes, we are doing 2 hours of homework and practice daily. We were told how tiring and a head spinning learning language can be and we are definitly experiencing that. We expect to be studying Thai until around December/January and then we will switch to learning Shan language.

We have also been blessed by great educational options for our children. Samuel has entered a bilingual (English/Thai) Montessori school which he is thriving in. Even Aimee has a little English preschool run by World Vision where she can go once a week in the mornings to play with other children in English and to enjoy a wide variety of toys and excellent staff. We have been really surprised by the good educational options for this stage of our children’s development here in Chiang Rai.

A Blast from the Past

2009-03-23T23:15:00.008-06:00

What a crazy life. I went surfing with some of my mates when we arrived thanks to the organization of Beno. It had been at least 8 years since I had been in the water, enough said. But despite the time past we had lots of fun with perfect clean waves at Cudgen Beach in Northern NSW. The pic below was taken almost 15yrs ago. What a laugh.....

Memories

2009-03-23T23:00:00.014-06:00

We had the opportunity to celebrate Elizabeth's Birthday in Australia. We celebrated with family and then spent the evening dinning at the restaurant in which we celebrated our family's wedding reception almost 8 years ago. In addition to the company, food & beautiful view of Brisbane the night was toped off by the fact that we ended up sitting in the exact spot of our reception when we had previously tied the knot - amazing! The other pic is of us at a picnic spot were I had originally proposed to Elizabeth. A lot of wonderful memories.

More Snapshots Along The Way:

2009-03-23T22:03:00.008-06:00

Samuel and Aimee seem to be thriving under the warm, Australian sun! Aimee has grown at least an inch and she has learned to walk up and down the stairs at Grandpa and Grandma's house. She LOVES Grandpa's dog and wants to go outside to see him, all the time. Samuel loves to feed Grandpa's fish and the birds that fly by for a daily feed. He is enjoying his swimming lessons as well as getting to know lots of new friends.

Snapshots Along the Way:

2009-03-23T22:02:00.003-06:00

We are SO thankful to God! In the beginning of November, we were seriously wondering whether we should make this move. There were four major items that had still not fully come into place (we didn't have enough money for our tickets; we had no where to store our belongings; we had no renters for our house; the details of the organization we would be working with were ambiguous). We are pleased to let you know that God has worked out every one of those details. Wow! What an awesome God!

As we prepared to move, we were so blown away by expressions of love and appreciation for us from our friends in Canada. We had several farewells, letters and cards to take with us and lots of visits with friends. We think that everyone should move away at least once in their life just to be able to feel the appreciation that we felt from people . Or better yet, we should not wait for people to move away before we express to them the impact they have on our lives!

Transition Times

2009-03-23T21:50:00.007-06:00

We are currently in the midst of a major transition in our family life. On Jan 13, we left Canada for Thailand. We had to pack up our house, sort and store our belongings, say many good-byes to dear, dear friends. There are a lot of emotions that one feels at a time like this: excitment at the potential that the future holds; grief over a life that you are leaving behind; apprehention in wondering if you are making the right decision.

In the 'olden days' when people traveled by ship, it would take many months to arrive at their destination. Likewise, we are taking 4 months in our journey from Canada to Thailand, not because we are travelling by ocean liner, but because we are having an extended visit in Australia. It is a long over due visit, and it is so special to be able to spend time with dear family and friends here, as well asreconnect with Gateway Baptist Church. On May 28, we will begin the last leg of our journey when we leave Brisbane for Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Cutting the Christmas Tree

2008-12-16T13:56:00.004-07:00

We braved the cold and went out as a family to cut down a Christmas tree. There was plenty of snow and as you can see it was a lot of fun.

Timeline

2008-12-16T13:47:00.002-07:00

Our timeline is to be in Australia until the end of May. Our two main goals during our stay in Australia are to reconnect and be involved with Gateway Church and to reconnect with Rob's family and friends.

Upon arriving in Thailand, our immediate goals will be to get set up (find a house to rent, get furniture; a vehicle, etc.) and to spend a year learning language and culture. We will be learning basic Thai as well as either Burmese or Shan.
Our second year in Thailand will be dedicated to running an approximately 12 month Bible training for Shan pastors to be trained in inductive Bible study and how to take this training back into their own churches. Our goal in this is to raise up Bible teachers through this process who will reproduce a Bible culture in their context. Obviously, this will take more than 12 months, but that is the time frame we see ourselves doing/facilitating the teaching side of things. After that, we hope to move into a coaching role as they teach.

Thank you for your prayers and interest in our lives and ministry. May you have a meaningful and joyous Christmas season.

Getting Closer

2008-12-16T13:40:00.009-07:00

In less than one month, we will be boarding an airplane and leaving what has been our home for almost 8 years (our entire married life). On Jan 13, 2009 we will be flying to Australia until the end of May, when we will be moving to Northern Thailand. This is a huge change for us, but it is one that has grown on us slowly and we feel that God is leading us to take this step now.

We know this is really happening because in the past 2 weeks we have had 3 farewell parties (one from YWAM; one from our church and one from Liz's friends in Turner Valley). We feel so blessed to be sent off with so many well wishes and prayers from people that have meant so much to us. THANK YOU!!!! Our emotions at this moment are mixed - mostly overwhelmed with all that remains to be done and the hugeness of this move. Also a little bit excited about this next step and the unknown future details that face us....

Last Warm Day this Fall

2008-10-17T09:24:00.003-06:00

Titus Training

2008-10-17T09:10:00.002-06:00

We just got back from completing 3 weeks of Titus Training at the Youth With A Mission Training Center in Montana. Rob actually audited the course so that I (Liz) could fully participate (what a SWEETHEART!). It was pretty intense, and so practical and worthwhile. There was lots of basic teacher training but also practical tips on teaching in an Asian culture and to oral communicators as well as learning styles, personality types, etc. We prepared and presented 5 teachings and got honest feedback on all of them. We also completed almost 2000 pages of reading, and met LOTS of awesome classmates and teachers. We feel so blessed to have been able to have this time of focused training before our move to Thailand. We feel encouraged by the people we met and our time in the Bible. Thank you YWAM Montana!

Samuel was in preschool every morning, which he LOVED. Aimee had a nanny in the mornings, who she also loved. Her nanny had a little 18 month year old girl, and the two of them would just hug, and hug, and hug... too cute!

Samuel's First Day of Preschool

2008-10-17T09:09:00.000-06:00

Aimee's First Birthday

2008-10-17T08:54:00.006-06:00

Precious Ones

2008-09-06T15:41:00.006-06:00

Our two little children are so precious in our eyes. Samuel will be 4 years old on Sept 17 and Aimee will be 1 on Sept 27. I realize how quickly time flies and it makes me want to cherish each day - every hug and every little giggle. It gives me perspective as I realize that even the difficult moments in behaviour and discipline are only here for a season.

Samuel is definitly almost 4. He loves to open the car door himself; is starting to recognise letters and numbers; corrects us when we fail ("Daddy, put your seat belt on!" "Mommy, say 'bottom' not 'bum'!"); adores Daddy's foot massages; and loves to say grace (Thank you God for EVERYfing!). Aimee is a little doll - she sleeps for 12 hours straight at night; usually puts up with her big brother dragging her around the floor; claps; waves; sings; eats and giggles lots.

Fitness Matters

2008-09-06T15:30:00.010-06:00

So, I have finally found a fitness program that works; that is doable (only 15 min a day in the comfort of you own home); enjoyable and reasonably priced! One of the first steps was for me to COMMIT to completing 16 weeks of the program. I actually paused at that point and thought deeply about what I was stepping into. For me, this was the beginning of big changes in how I view my body, in how I work out and what I eat. I cannot say enough about FYM. While it is marketed towards moms, it is completely friendly to all woman and there are many woman on the site who are not mothers.

In some ways, I have noticed some similarities between the successes in my fitness plan with 'success' in the walk of faith. Both are practically doomed if you think you can do it alone - you need a STRONG support network. Both require commitment, because there are plenty of times when you just feel like giving up. Both make you healthier, and a better person in different ways. God wants us to do both! He said that we are to love as 'as we love ourselves' - the implication is that we need to love ourselves well in order to love others well.

Anyways, I am now 18 weeks into it and plan to continue it for a life time!

Recent Highlights

2008-09-01T20:41:00.005-06:00

Canadian Citizenship - July 3, Rob officially became a citizen of Canada - yay! Not to worry though, he still holds Australian citizenship as well!

Certificate in International Community Development - After months of having homework every night and weekend, Rob finished his course and is now better equipped for our work in Northern Thailand.

Jenn's Visit - We were able to go camping with Liz's sister Jenn this summer at Waterton National Park. In just 3 days we had 2 birthdays to celebrate (Rob's and Jenn's)!!!!

Hiking in the Mountains - Summer for us has always meant camping and hiking in the spectacular Rocky Mountains. This year, our biggest hike as a family was the Carthew- Alderson trail. We hiked 21 km over 2 days. Samuel walked 18 of those km all by himself (it helped that he was able to chase Dan & JoAnna's dog the whole way). Pretty amazing!

Trip to Manitoba - In August we drove all the way to Manitoba for the national YWAM staff conference. It was a relaxing time to catch up with lots of friends. Then, we spent a few more days in Winnipeg to visit lots of relatives and close friends. We had such a great time that we wished we lived in 'Friendly Manitoba'!

Final Chapter

2008-09-01T20:40:00.002-06:00

The next four months will be our last as part of Youth With A Mission, Turner Valley. Our entire married life (7 years) has been spent as part of this ministry. However, we sense the Lord is moving us on to work full time with the Shan and other ethnic groups who are fleeing the genocide in Burma. While we were at the YWAM National Staff Conference this summer, we were incredibly encouraged to receive a prayer of commissioning from all the staff across Canada for our move.

Our tentative schedule for the next few months:
Sept/Oct-2008 Attend Titus project training in YWAM Montana to better equip us for teaching the Bible in a cross-cultural context.
Nov/Dec Finalize & finish at YWAM Turner Valley.
Dec/Jan Travel to Australia.
April/May-2009 Move to Northern Thailand.

God is so Faithful!

2008-09-01T20:39:00.001-06:00

Recently we needed a money to attend the YWAM National staff conference. We prayed for a specific amount and trusted that if God wanted us to go as a family He would provide without us needing to go into debt. Unexpectedly we received a cheque for the exact amount in the mail! We are continually encouraged by the reality of faith in God. Thank you Jesus!

The Drift Factor

2008-09-01T20:37:00.002-06:00

“Unless you are active in your faith, you will drift. Just like a boat needs to fight against the current, or else it will slowly drift from where it wants to be”
- paraphrased from Charles Stanley

This has become so evident to us in these past few months. On a recent trip to Winnipeg, we visited with some friends from Bethlehem Aboriginal Fellowship, where we worked 5 years ago. Our hearts were warmed to see how some of our friends have continued to grow in following the Lord (getting baptized and giving up addictions), while others who had so many opportunities have fallen away and are no longer in fellowship. We realize that the path away from the Lord begins so subtly at first - it requires no effort to drift. Conversely, it seems that at times it requires great effort to follow the Lord.

This summer we have been encouraged by some of our brothers and sisters who have paid a great price to ‘hide God’s word in their hearts”. Nine people completed the School of Biblical Studies at the end of June. These people have paid thousands of dollars; invested about 10-12 hours a day of study for 9 months; limited their amount of free time and pursuit of entertainment in order to discover how God has revealed himself through Scripture. Some of those graduating were formally our students in the Discipleship Training School and we hope to see some of them in SE Asia working with us in the near future.

Happy 8th Birthday?!

2008-04-18T14:05:00.002-06:00

Yes, this year was a TRUE birthday for Elizabeth, since the calendar included a February 29th. It was made even more special by the fact that all her immediate family were together for the first time in 18 months to celebrate. Now that's special!/Users/Lumkes/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Originals/2008/Elizabeth's Birthday Week/Elizabeth's Birthday Week 091.jpg

Little Jems

2008-04-18T13:59:00.002-06:00

Of course, the most precious part of our lives at the moment is the gift of being involved in our children growing up.

Aimee is almost 7 months old now. She is almost sitting up by herself; is sleeping through the night; dazzling us with her brilliant smiles and dances (yes, she dances); chewing everything in sight and trying to figure out how to swallow.

Samuel is 3 and a half and alternates between being a baby bear; a big brother duck; a baby fish; a big brother lion; a baby rabbit.... I think you get the picture. He sees the number "1" all over the place as well as the number "8" (which he claims is the letter "B"). He talks all the time but will be quite if you tell him a story (please!).

Shades of Development

2008-04-18T13:52:00.006-06:00

As the cliche goes, "you should be careful what you pray for, because you might just get it!" Well, at the begining of this year, Rob prayed that he would be able to do some building. He is naturaly gifted in this area and has not had many opportunities in the recent past to build. It turns out that this has been a major part of his work in the past few months!

Firstly, he worked on the renovation of the commercial kitchen at our Youth With A Mission Training Center. Now, he has been developing an office space for our Training Center as well. He has been tearing down old walls, and build new ones; he replaced a structural beam; laid new floor, put in a new drop ceiling, new drywall etc. So, the new office area is looking sweet and almost ready to move into.

Also, Rob has been taking a part time on-line course in International Community Developement through Mount Royal College in Calgary. The theory and the concepts will be very useful to us when we move to Thailand and work among refugees and displaced peoples from Burma. This course has been an amazing opportunity to see how much our world-view really affects how we live, especially when looking at development.

The form and freedom we have experienced in the developed world has really come out of a Christian world-view. No other world-view including secular humanism could have produced what we have in terms of our social services and freedoms. It is also disturbing how people have disconnected what they believe from what they actually do, or even worse, deny how belief is connected to their actions. What we believe is what we do, and what we do talks about what we actually believe. This is why Christians with a biblical world-view have so much to offer in the area of development.

Future Plans

2008-04-18T13:44:00.003-06:00

At the moment we are pleased to report that Rob has sat his Canadian citizenship test and any day now, he could be called to get sworn in as a Canadian! This was one of our major goals before moving overseas to Thailand. Our next steps include finalising what organization we will be working with over there; deciding what to do about our house in Canada; taking a few courses that will benefit our ministry in Thailand to refugees and displaced peoples from Burma; and spending time with family and friends in Canada and Australia.

So, we have a lot of decisions to make and many things still need to come together before our big move. However we feel confident that this is the direction we are being led in and trust God to work out all the necessary details that go along with an international move.

Someone asked us recently if we want to move to Thailand. My response was not that we particularly want to move, but we feel a burden to - we have to. Actually, our life here feels pretty cozy and comfortable, but if we do not take this step we will always regret it, we will always wonder what would have been. So, we continue to head in the direction that we feel passionate (most days) about.

Grandpa & Grandma

2008-04-18T11:45:00.006-06:00

Grandpa and Grandma Phillips have been in Turner Valley with us in between speaking engagements since the end of February. It has been absolutely wonderful for all of us to connect again. Samuel has loved having them around and is convinced that Grandma exists purely to play and read to him. One of his favorite requests to Grandma is "tell me a story about when Mummy and Auntie Jenny were little girls". His understanding of family dynamics seems to be pretty clear by his statement that, "Mommy, when I become a Daddy and get married, then YOU will be a grandma!".

Our Amazing Bible

2008-04-18T11:32:00.003-06:00

I (Liz) will be teaching a whole day seminar at our Millarville Community Church on April 26. It is one of my favorite lectures, because we look at many reasons for how do we know the Bible to be true (reliable and inerrant) as well as where did the Bible come from (which in itself is a very historically reliable process). Not only is the Bible rooted in actual history; backed up by thousands of manuscripts which are available for study and comparison; took place in real geographical locations; and held together by a unifying perspective on God and the meaning of life; endorsed through hundreds of prophecies that have been accurately fulfilled; it continues to speak and have life-transforming power today for countless millions of people in every culture and from every strata of society around the world.

One interesting archaeological tidbit that I came across recently confirms one of the Old Testament miracle stories. Concerning the walls of Jericho:
“…there remains no doubt: the walls fell outwards so completely that the attackers would be able to clamber up and over their ruins into the city. Why so unusual? Because the walls of cities do not fall outwards, they fall inwards….The walls were made to fall outward.”
Statement prepared by Garstang (an archaeologist) during the excavation of Jericho
(source: Josh McDowell "The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict" p.95).

In fact, they had to prepare this statement because this was so unusual - no city walls had ever fallen outward so completely before.

Over and over again, God graciously gives us "proofs" for our 21st century, critical minds that His word is trustworthy, and therefore, so is He.

Song of Solomon

2008-04-18T11:20:00.003-06:00

I (Liz) had the opportunity to teach in the School of Biblical Studies on the Biblical book of Song of Songs (which means the very best of all songs) also known as the Song of Solomon on April 11. It is a sensual collection of 8 songs or poems about a couple's life together. It is amazing and beautiful that God values marriage so highly to include a book about love in the Scriptures.

One touching scene that has stuck with me from the book is right after the couple have a misunderstanding (he comes to her, looking forward to being with her and she turns him away due to selfishness in 5:1-6:1), they obviously make up and are enjoying each other again in 6:2,3. But what stood out to me was that he right away begins another song extolling her beauty (6:4-10) and not ONCE does he say that she was selfish; or that she had rejected him; or that he was hurt by what she did to him. Instead, he says that she is flawless (6:9) and the only one in his eyes (6:9). In fact, he notices new attributes about her that he had not previously mentioned in his poems about her beauty!

Wow! I think there are some big lessons there for marriages. That is a picture of true forgiveness - it frees him (and her) to be themselves and continue in their enjoyment of all the good things they see in each other. So be it!

Little Smiler

2008-01-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

Aimee has turned into such a little smiler and giggler. Her latest talent is singing. This morning she woke up at 4 am and "sang" for about 10 minutes!

Christmas Morning

2008-01-08T11:37:00.001-07:00

Meditating on Christmas

2008-01-01T21:51:00.001-07:00

Maybe it was the fact that this was our first Christmas in Canada in four years. Maybe it was the realization that this may be our last Christmas in Canada for many years. For whatever reason, this Christmas season has found us doing a lot of reflecting.We did not want to go through the motions - tree; stockings; gifts; etc just for the sake of it - just because that’s what everyone does at this time of year. One word that we have incorporated into our family recently is “intentional”. If we are going to do the “Christmas thing” then lets be intentional. Let’s intentionally pass on our values to our children. Let’s be intentional about reflecting the good news of the gospel - God with us.
Instead of talking of Santa, we read the story of Saint Nicolas and hung up our stockings. On Christmas morning, we gave Samuel the opportunity to chose who to give a gift to, since God gave us the ultimate gift in his son, Jesus (Samuel chose to give $100 to kids in Burma). And we watched the Nativity movie before we opened our gifts. This was the pleasant side of Christmas. The Christmas story also has a lot of heartache. Mary was profoundly misunderstood by all around her. Herod murdered all the baby boys in around Bethlehem in his search for the Christ.
Part of our Christmas reflections found us facing the potential cost of our coming move to the Thailand. However, Jesus never promised that following the King who was born in a barn would be comfortable or safe.

Recent Highlights

2008-01-01T21:50:00.000-07:00

On September 27, 2007 our beautiful, perfect little girl was born. Aimee Ruth Lumkes has brought us so much joy already. She is a content, smiley, giggly little baby and her big brother is starting to become very proud of her.
In addition to being involved in YWAM Turner Valley’s leadership Team. Rob has been a busy builder this Fall and Winter. He finished a massive renovation of our main kitchen and then moved on to building our new office area as our office is moving into our main building. Rob has had fun tearing things down and rebuilding walls. Watch our blog spot for updates and photos.

Upcoming Events

2008-01-01T21:45:00.003-07:00

In January we will be at a 4 day Church Conference. April includes a trip to Northern Thailand to teach IBS. Rob will begin a part time course on international community development by extension in Jan. Elizabeth will teach Song of Songs. And hopefully by next Christmas, Rob will have his Canadian citizenship in hand and we will be on our way to moving overseas.

Rob's Kitchen Reno's Finished

2007-11-21T14:28:00.000-07:00

So here is the gorgeous, sparkling new kitchen at our Youth With A Mission Training Center. Rob spent a lot of hours renovating our commercial kitchen, along with several other people. Great job guys!

2007-11-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

Mommy & Aimee

2007-11-20T15:44:00.000-07:00

Life with Aimee

2007-10-15T13:37:00.000-06:00

So, as you can see by the delay in getting this post up on our blog, life is pretty busy at the moment! Having 2 little ones is a lot of fun but also a lot of work. I'm very, very blessed right now to have my Mom with us - she has been a gem, taking care of all the cooking, cleaning, laundry and helping with Samuel and Aimee as well. She's made sure that I have lots of naps and has done all the entertaining for all the visitors who have come by our house in the past couple of weeks. I don't know what I'll do when she leaves! I'll really miss her and her help around here.

Samuel loves his little sister, although it has taken 2 weeks to get used to the idea of being a big brother. He has really tender moments with her (hugs and kisses) and really rough moments too (where she is rudely awakened from her sleep by some flying toy landing on her face).

As for Aimee, she is a very content baby. She just sleeps and eats and pretty much only cries if she doesn't get her milk fast enough.

Rob and I are so grateful to God for our little girl. We really thought we were having a girl, but didn't know for sure. She's enriched our lives already - and we've only just met her!

Perfect

2007-10-15T12:28:00.000-06:00

Samuel and Aimee

2007-10-15T11:43:00.000-06:00

It's a little Girl

2007-09-28T17:30:00.000-06:00

We are proud to announce the addition of another member to our growing family. Aimee Ruth Lumkes arrived on Thursday the 27th of September @ 10:08 pm. She is 7 lbs even and has blond hair. Elizabeth is fine and had another great labour. It lasted 7.5 hours for us from start to finish. The nursing staff at High River let us leave for home at midday today and we are settling in. Aimee is great she let us sleep after 2pm for four hours before Rob raced of at 6am to get Samuel and Grandma (Liz Mum)who is staying with us for a month. The wonder of life which God has given us is truly amazing. We will update you more later bye for now........

Samuel Turns Three

2007-09-19T15:05:00.000-06:00

Hard to belive, but on Monday, our little Samuel turned 3 years old! He had a great day, complete with a little party with about 7 of his friends, lots of party food (including brigadeiros - eh isso mesmo gente), "Happy Birthday" phone calls from Toronto,Turkey AND Australia and presents. What more could a little boy want? Thanks to everybody who made his day extra special (especially Lisa who spent a couple of hours with me decorating the "Thomas and Gordon" trains).

2007-09-07T15:50:00.000-06:00

Rob's latest project

2007-09-04T15:48:00.000-06:00

A while ago, the food safety inspector said that the YWAM Training Center's kitchen needed it's floor replaced. So, our whole kitchen is getting a face lift. Rob has picked up the project and along with Steve's generous help (on his vacation time!) has been tiling a lot of wall space.

Of course, Samuel wanted to help out too! Here he is 'helping' Amanda to sand the legs of the stainless benches so they can be repainted.

False Alarm

2007-09-01T07:32:00.001-06:00

Yesterday all day I kind of wondered if I was going into labour. Finally, at supper time I knew for sure I was having real contractions and they were very close togehter (but didn't feel intense). We quickly asked JoAnna to come and babysit Samuel and then rushed off for the 45 min drive to the High River hospital. Since Samuel was born in only 5 hours, we didn't want to take any chances! But on the way there, the contractions pretty much stopped. We spent about 2 hours at the hospital and are actually glad that our new little baby didn't arrive last night, as he or she is only 36 weeks old (full term babies are 40 weeks old).

We'll keep you posted though for when the real deal happens!

Spring DTS

2007-08-31T13:50:00.000-06:00

From March—Aug we had 11 great students and 7 staff in our Spring Discipleship School. Students came from Canada, South Africa, South Korea and Finland for 3 months of class and 2 months of outreach.

One thing that was really different for us this DTS was that Liz took a more active role in leading the school. Rob took care of Samuel most mornings so Liz was able to participate and be involved with classes. Samuel enjoyed his extra time with Daddy and Liz was blessed to be in class again.

Another unique aspect of this DTS for us was that this was the last DTS that we will be leading. Our 4 year commitment to DTS and to YWAM Turner Valley is now finished. While we are not heading off anywhere else, we do feel that this is a new season for us in our lives and we look forward to God's direction for us this fall and new year. We think that we will be moving to northern Thailand in the next 12-18 months (after Rob gets his Canadian citizenship). While there, we plan to learn the language for 12 months and then see what doors God has opened up for us over there.

Outreach to Fort McMurray

2007-08-30T15:00:00.000-06:00

The DTS had a 2 week Canadian outreach in Fort McMurray (Canada’s big booming oil patch). It was a great experience to be able to do some practical ministry and evangelism in our own back yard of Alberta. We did lots of outreach to street people and helped out in a local soup kitchen. Being in Fort Mc was interesting in itself - there is so much wealth there and yet so many people are on the street or cannot afford housing. We met a lot of people who live on the street even though they hold a job because they have no where to live or they are unable to afford housing.

It was especially rewarding to be in Fort Mc, because four of our DTS staff (Nathan & April Welsh and Matt & Steph Miniely) will be starting a YWAM ministry location there early in 2008. By us taking the DTS there for an outreach, we were contributing to their long-term vision for their city. Bless you guys!

DTS Overseas outreach

2007-08-30T13:00:00.000-06:00

Unfortunatly, this DTS our family was not able to go on the overseas part of outreach. One reason for this was that Liz was over 7 months pregant and most airlines do not allow you to travel at that point. The other reason was that the details for Rob to be able to join the team in Mali did not work out.

However, this DTS had some of the most encouraging outreach experiences of any DTS that we have led. The DTS split into 2 groups: one group went to Northern Thailand, the other group went to Timbucktu, Mali. Both teams were trained in conducting eye glass clinics (through Samaritan's Purse and the Lions Club). They each took 700 pairs of glasses with them and were able to test and fit hundreds of people with eyeglasses. For many who live in remote areas this was the first time they had been able to see clearly in years. Seeing people break into huge smiles as they could suddenly see the world around them was very rewarding. It was also a wonderful vehicle to further the ministry of the long term workers we partner with overseas. Several villages became willing to allowing missionaries to visit. Many other sick people were prayed for and one man reportedly received hearing in Thailand and another woman who was not expected to live through the night in Mali, not only survived through the night but was 100% recovered from her severe malaria.

Here is an excerpt from Nathan and Bethany's newsletter (YWAM missionaries among the Shan):

A team from YWAM Turner Valley came from Canada to minister
among Shan people in Thailand. We had the opportunity to host them for almost a week and took them to the school in our target school. They taught English and did eye clinics where they checked prescriptions and gave out about 250 pairs of glasses over 3 days! It was really exciting to be able to help villagers in this way, including teachers, students, and elderly villagers. One man in particular came and as we checked his vision, realized that he was nearly legally blind. As we put the instrument to his eye to check his prescription, we could see his smile get bigger and bigger as we got closer to his prescription strength. We knew we had the right prescription when he began to laugh, and realized it was probably the first time he had ever seen this clearly. After we fitted him with a pair of glasses, he had the biggest smile we’d ever seen! There were many other individual stories like this. There were a few people with cataracts and glaucoma who we couldn’t help with glasses, so we would pray for these people. After seeing this, the village chief approached Nathan, who was afraid the Buddhist chief would say we weren’t allowed to pray for people. Instead, he asked for us to lay hands on him and pray for him!!! He said that he didn’t need glasses, but he had unrest in his spirit. After we finished praying, Paulo our Karen staff had the opportunity to share the gospel with the chief, who is also Karen, in his heart language. The chief then asked for a Bible. He hasn’t made a decision for Christ yet, but this was a big step!

"Tell [...] what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me".
-Jesus (Luke 7:22-23)