Introducing.... Tyler Eric

Today, we took a day trip to Halifax where I met our new nephew, Tyler Eric. He is not due until Feb. 6 (and he will be almost four before we meet him in person) so it was extra special for me to be able to go with my baby sister, Lori to see her new baby. The ultra sound was pretty amazing. We saw everything in 3D; we saw him puckering his lips, opening his eyes and kicking his mommy in the belly. God is so good!

A WHALE of a GOOD TIME

Lois gave us a scenic tour of Deer Island today that brought us all the way to the point where we saw the world's largest natural whirl pool. Tristan and Emma had fun scrambling over the ragged shore line and playing in the community park. To our delight we saw a minki whale just off the shore as we were leaving. (This is a picture of the whale we didn't get to photograph). We watched the minki's arched back surface six times as it passed by us and continued out into the Bay of Fundy.



We will be saying good-bye to the Mitchell's tomorrow morning. After a few days off, we will be back to St. Martins and visiting the Apohaqui Community Church this Sunday.

By the way -- Here is the answer to the mystery photographs from our Sussex Baptist posting: "A" is an Ostridge and "B" is Tristan and Emma milking a camel.

Deer Island

We are here on Deer Island enjoying the company of Dale and Lois Mitchell. Yesterday, we went out on their fishing boat searching for whales and even though we didn't see any we had a wonderful time. We did see tons of seals and eagles! Tonight, we are sharing our story at Lambert's Cove Baptist Church. Thank you, Dale and Lois, for your hospitality and for all the fun we are having!
Hey Tristan! Any whales?
Emma and Tristan both took turns being "Captain"!

Kingston Baptist Church

We had a great evening at the Kingston Baptist Church. Heather Goodwin's original use of Samaritan's Purse shoeboxes (as crazy carpets) certainly added a thrill to the night for our kids.

We were blessed to be able to share with Donna Myers, Muriel Delong, and Greta Gilmore on the eve of their departure for Kenya. They will be serving at the New Life orphanage in Nairobi for three weeks.

Erica sharing with a kindred spirit -- Donna Myers

Sussex Baptist Church

On Sunday, we joined the congregation at the Sussex United Baptist Church for Sunday school and worship. Tristan and Emma were thrilled to see their buddy, Lauren Myers, and to meet many new friends in the Safari themed Sunday school. We shared stories and played a fun game of African Animals. (Can you guess which animals are being made below?)

Thank you all so much for your prayers!

A

B

Our new friend Samson shared with us some cool facts about Giraffes

(Did you know that a baby giraffe may fall as much as twelve feet at the moment of birth?)

"Monkey? You want me to be a monkey!?"

Evangelism Conference 2006

Over the last decade the Algonquin Evangelism Conference has been one of the best ministries to church leaders in our Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches. Well over three hundred pastors and lay leaders took part in this year's conference held in beautiful St. Andrew's by the sea! Together, we joined for worship, fellowship and the inspiring teaching of pastor and author Brian McLaren.

What impressed us most was the humility of Brian as he lived out before our eyes that which he came to share. Every session focused as much on meeting questions from the floor as it did Brian's own prepared messages. There was an incredible spirit of openness, grace and compassion that filled our time together. The HOPE of the gospel of the resurrected Jesus Christ was everywhere!

We were thrilled to discover from Brian that he will be coming to Kenya next year to join a gathering of Church leaders in Eastern Africa. It was a pleasure to learn from this fellow apprentice of Christ!

Burtt's Corner

It was a joy to worship with the people of the Burtt's Corner Baptist Church. Prior to the service, the children and adult Sunday school classes shared in a time of learning about Kenya and the Somali people. Pastor David Wellwood was quite impressed by the Maasai club or "talking stick" and one young man took the chance to try out our Somali pillow. No Somali tea though, but everyone enjoyed coffee and the muffin buffet after the service. Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouragement!

Rev. David and Carolyn Wellwood, pastoring in Burtt's Corner, New Brunswick

Friday, October 13th

So after homeschooling, Tristan and Emma kicked off the weekend with a fun afternoon playing in the Autumn leaves with their cousin Nicole. We will miss the beautiful maritime falls once we move to Kenya. Who's up for jumping into a pile of leaves?

On the Road Again!

After a few days rest we are heading out again! On Sunday morning we are speaking at Burtt's Corner United Baptist Church in New Brunswick and then heading to St. Andrews for an Evangelism Conference.

Thank you all so much for your prayers as we have been travelling; we have put a lot of kms on our little car and have been awed by the beauty of the New Brunswick countyside. We were delighted to cross paths with a black bear on our way to St. Martins on Sunday night. God is Good all the time!!

St. Martins

We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving Monday combing the beach in St. Martins. Tristan and Emma had fun being chased by the high surf and looking for sea glass.
We have never seen the water so high in St. Martins! There was no walking out to the caves and even the picnic tables on the beach were under water. This didn't scare Tristan and Emma: they chased the waves, jumped the puddles and skipped a mean rock or two!
Emma filled her container with shells and wanted to take home this piece of sea weed but we convinced her that it was better left at the beach!

Midland

We are back in Midland for the Thanksgiving weekend. Emma is enjoying a sleepover with her best buddy, Lauren Myers. Andrew and I gave our best effort at Settlers of Catan (the best board game ever), but it was the girls night to win as Erica and Kelly schooled us well!

Some people have been asking me about the article written by John Piper concerning the Pope's statements about Islam. The article is found in John Piper's "Taste and See" archive from September 20, 2006. It is titled "How Christians Should Respond to Muslim Outrage at the Popes Regensburg Message About Violence and Reason. Here is the link for anyone interested in reading it, just click on the link and hit "2006", then scroll down the menu till you find the article in September's list.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee/ByDate/

Visiting the Crains

On Tuesday afternoon, Tristan and Emma had the fun of surprising Jackie Crain as she came off the school bus. We wish we had the camera out to capture the image of Emma and Jackie running toward each other and embracing in the drive way -- too cute. Alden and Tracy have purchased a beautiful home just down the road from our old house in Kiersteadville. We had "the tour" and enjoyed an afternoon of chatting over coffee. As you can see, it was hard to pull Jackie and Emma apart when it came time to leave. We will be back in Midland this Sunday for their Thanksgiving worship service.

Young at Heart

It was great to be back in Midland for our last Young at Heart for a while. The room was full of laughter and song as we joined together for a playful time of fellowship. Erica shared about our journey, and how God has been speaking to her through people we've encountered on our travels. We will be praying for this wonderful group -- may you ever stay young at heart!

Crain and the Kennys

We also had a great time with Alden Crain, as we travelled together in Victoria County. It was wonderful to swap stories and experiences as we shared about life and ministry in New Brunswick and Kenya.

On Saturday morning, we shared in a interview with "Dr. Phill" (Jim Rhyno) at the Grand Falls Baptist Church. It was a lot of fun as we explored together challenges of missional ministry both in Kenya and close to home.

Victoria County

The Autumn leaves were in full colour as we traveled along the country roads of Victoria county, New Brunswick, for their 47th annual missions conference. We had a great week thanks to the wonderful hospitality of the folks of the Sission Ridge, Aroostook, Plaster Rock, Grand Falls and Ortonville Baptist Churches who hosted us for special services and fellowship times throughout the five day conference. Here are just a few photos from the week:





























Tristan and Emma made many new friends that we hope to keep in touch with as we travel to Kenya. We had the joy of spending the week with Harvey and Debbie Peters who graciously opened their home to us. Emma especially fell in love with Debbie (above at the Plaster Rock Church). It was very hard to say good-bye to such wonderful people. A very big thanks to Rev. Jim & Ruth-Ann Rhyno and the organizing committee for all your work in planning. We hope to be back again in 2010 to continue the rest of the story!