Whitby

Saturday found us on the road to Florida by way of Whitby, ON, but not until we returned home to grab our “twinrix” serum. Having had the first inoculation against Hepatitis A and B, we needed to have the serum with us on our trip in order to have the second shot about three weeks after the first one. Twenty minutes down the road toward Whitby we realized that in our haste to get to the International Banquet on time (at which I was to speak) we had left the serum in the refrigerator! Talk about stress! We had to go back. After a quick call to let them know we’d be late, we were on the road once again. All’s well that ends well, however. We made good time, and the banquet was a little late getting started. We arrived in time to get in line for some very delicious food, and had the privilege of sharing our story with a group of very interested and gracious friends. That evening we enjoyed the very generous hospitality of our friends, Myron and Louise Cooper and their daughter Pam. Sunday morning I was greatly privileged to have the honour of preaching the final message in the annual Faith Promise Ministries series, during which the good people at the Whitby Free Methodist Church commit themselves to honour the Lord by supporting various ministries throughout the year. They prayerfully promise that as God supplies the ability they will give a certain amount over and above their regular giving to the missionaries and ministries which their church supports beyond itself. We were greatly honoured to be included among that group of ministries, and wish to thank the entire church, the Faith Promise Ministries Committee, and Grant Sigsworth, who did much to connect us to the committee and to the church. After a very enjoyable meal with the Sigsworths and Pastors Vic and Joan Stonehouse in their home, we started our trek to Florida to participate in the Global Impact Missions Conference at Cornerstone Community Church in St. Petersburg.



All of the churches we’ve visited were not only very welcoming, but also very generous, and we owe them a debt of gratitude for their friendship, for their generosity, and for their prayers. It has been a great blessing to experience the bonds of love and fellowship that we have between brothers and sisters in Christ. And we thank the Lord for the help He has given me to preach, and for the ways that the Spirit has been moving in the hearts of His people.

Cub Cars and I.D. Cards

Back home at Charlemont we had a busy week ahead of us, getting ready to be away for a month. But Wednesday night was a special night on which Christopher and Jonathan finished their Cub Cars in preparation for the Annual Cub Car Rally. Since Jonathan isn’t quite old enough for Cubs, he couldn’t enter his car. And Christopher had to leave his car with his friend, Ben Plank, because we wouldn’t be able to attend the Rally. We heard later that Christopher’s car placed fourth out of 70 cars, and that Ben had a blast being his proxy. Thanks Ben!
The next day we had to drive to Windsor to pick up Steffi’s “Permanent Resident Card.” This was a bit harrowing, since we needed it to travel to Florida. Steffi had applied for her new card back in October, but the government is months behind on getting them issued. The MP’s office helped us out by asking the office in Nova Scotia rush it to Windsor. But, we needed to pick it up in person. The only catch was that the office is only open on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and Friday is the only day you can pick up your card, unless it is urgent. Well, with a major trip scheduled for Saturday, we felt it was urgent for us to go on Thursday. So, we drove all the way to Windsor to find a rather tense waiting room. People ahead of us were running into roadblocks. When it was Steffi’s turn the lady in the booth said, “This isn’t urgent, I can’t give it to you today.” Steffi explained that she had applied months ago and didn’t think it would become urgent, but that the matter was now urgent. That didn’t seem to matter. Apparently they really go by the book, and the rules said we had to come on Friday. But when Steffi said that the MP’s office had rushed it to Windsor, that changed everything. The lady said “let me check on it.” She discovered that even though the computer file was not marked urgent, the envelope said “urgent,” and she gave Steffi her new card with a smile. As for us, we “went on our way rejoicing” that yet another detail had fallen into place, and thankful for both the Lord’s help, and that of the MP’s office.

Shots!

On our way home from Smiths Falls we had an appointment at the Missionary Health Institute in Toronto for checkups and immunizations. So we enjoyed an overnight visit with our good friends, the Sullivans, in Bowmanville, and then continued to Toronto. We were very impressed with the staff at MHI, and their ministry to missionaries. They make it their business to be aware of the various health concerns and risks associated with travel to various parts of the world, and help missionaries be prepared both to go, and to come back. (Believe it or not, “re-entry” can sometimes be very difficult). Well, between the five of us, we received about 17 shots, plus they took blood samples from Mom and Dad. The shots weren’t very pleasant. The boys were very brave, but Sarah cried bitterly, and informed us that she was never going to the doctor again. To brighten the whole experience and distract the children from their sore arms, we took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese for pizza and some fun. That was a big hit. We’ve been asked if we could go back to Chuck E. Cheese sometime, but no one seems eager to go back to the doctor. We’ll have to, though, as there are more shots required. The next day was one of the grumpiest days we’ve ever had at our house. Everyone was feeling tired and out of sorts from the shots. But, we all survived, and we’re praising God for good medical care and for immunizations that will protect us from potentially deadly diseases.

Back on the Trail Again

January has been a very full and exciting month in so many ways. We’ve been to some great churches, and connected with so many wonderful people. We wrote in the last post about kicking off the year at Zion. (It was really nice to only have a fifteen minute drive to church). Our next weekend took us to the wonderful people and city of Belleville. Pastor Rodney and Heather Peterson were great hosts, and our children really enjoyed their hospitality (it was obvious they like kids). We also were privileged to reconnect with friends from Wesley Acres, and met some wonderful new friends. Their heart for the Lord was inspiring and encouraging, and we enjoyed a good visit over lunch after the service. The highlight of the trip for the kids was our sledding trips at the hill by the bay in Belleville. They’ve been missing snow and sledding, and the way things are looking, it may have been our only chance this winter!


The next weekend found us travelling all the way to Smith’s Falls, Ontario. It felt odd to be within 2 ¾ hours of Deep River and not “drop in.” But with a major trip looming just one week away, we didn’t have the time. On Sat. night we enjoyed meeting some new friends at the Volunteer Appreciation Banquet the church organized to honour their volunteers. And that evening Children’s Pastor Emily Arbo gave our children a royal welcome with a basket full of toys, sticker books, and snacks, etc. Sunday morning we were blessed by the worship, and joined the congregation in heartfelt prayer for Haiti’s earthquake victims, and for Pastor Angel Valentin, who was in the hospital awaiting surgery for two stents. (He’s recovering nicely). Dean particularly enjoyed meeting people who are close friends of his Uncle Floyd and Aunt Alice Hicks, who lived in Smith’s Falls for many years and are fondly remembered for their friendship, Christian spirit, and untiring efforts to serve the Lord and their church. It was a pleasure to minister to such a friendly and responsive group of believers. And after preaching two services, it was our pleasure to enjoy Chinese Buffet with Associate Pastor Randy Williams and his wife Leah.

Zion Free Methodist Church

We’ve had two wonderful connections with friends from the Zion congregation in the last two weeks. When service was cancelled at Charlemont on Dec. 27, we decided it would be a great opportunity to enjoy worshipping with the Zion FM congregation, which is only about 10 minutes north of where we are living. And, as we were scheduled to speak there on Jan. 3rd, we were privileged to be there two times in a row. It had been about 12 years since we had been there last, and was a good opportunity to reconnect with old acquaintances and Family Camp friends. We feel a special connection to Zion for a number of reasons. We have relatives who have been part of that congregation all their lives. My father (Dean writing) enjoyed connecting with other young people there when he was a young man. And my Uncle Gerald pastored there for many years, so my earliest memories of visiting cousins include trips to the parsonage at Zion. So it was a real honour and privilege to speak there, and our hearts were greatly warmed and encouraged by the generous offering they gave us.

December

December brought a welcome break from travel. Early in the month we went to Trinity Christian Centre in Dresden, which is just up the road. I had filled the pulpit there a couple times about 11 ½ years ago. So it was nice to reconnect with old acquaintances, and share part of our story with them.

Next we had planned to travel to Bracebridge for a Christmas banquet on Friday night, a small men’s gathering Saturday morning, and then preach at Ryde Centennial at Hausey’s Rapids on Sunday. But that part of Ontario got socked with over a metre of snow in the space of three days. So, between their really bad weather (the banquet was even postponed), road closures, and our feeling a bit under the weather, we reluctantly decided not to attempt the trip. Cheryl Cooper reminded us that we should laugh lots, because that’s what God does when He hears our plans!

But staying home for the weekend afforded us an opportunity to attend Charlemont and go Christmas carolling with the Charlemont folks after church. That was a real treat, singing for some of our elderly saints, including a cousin of Dean’s father in her 102nd year, who was on her deathbed. She has since passed on. What a privilege to be part of that, and to bring a bit of blessing and cheer into the lives of others!

The rest of December was filled mostly with writing heartfelt thank you notes, setting up a new database to keep in touch with all our supporters and friends (big job!), the race to get our Christmas Letter out, starting to learn the Chichewa language, and Christmas celebrations. We were privileged to enjoy the Christmas Eve service with the Trinity congregation in Dresden, after which we took a tour of Dresden’s Christmas lights, and then had a bit of Christmas at home.

Christmas morning brought a nasty surprise. Neither the church nor the parsonage had any water! We figured we’d be fine “camping” without water for awhile, and decided not to let it ruin our Christmas. But “Babcock Christmas” was scheduled for the next day at the church’s fellowship hall. So we reluctantly called Bill Cornish, who left his family Christmas to see if he could fix the water. Now, you need to understand that our water comes from a well that is up the road on the side of a field. The pump is in a small pump house out there, and the wind was driving a cold horizontal rain right through our clothes. After many attempts over three different visits, and the pump not keeping its prime, Bill decided that the help of an expert was in order. Babcock Christmas was moved to another location, Church was cancelled on the 27th due to lack of water, and our water was finally restored on the 28th. I told Bill that he deserved to be sainted. We also need to thank Dave Huey, who came over on Boxing Day to lend a hand, and on two other occasions. (For our American Friends, “Boxing Day” is the British and Canadian name of the official holiday on Dec. 26). We had a good laugh, though, joking that this was a “dry run” for Malawi, where we’ll need to get used to interruptions in water supply and power outages being a regular occurrence. (Nevertheless, we were very happy to have running water again!). And, just in case you’re wondering, the system needed a foot valve at the bottom of a pipe way down in the well, which is why the pump was losing its prime.

And Christmas was wonderful – both our own family Christmas, and Babcock Christmas with our relatives. We weren’t able to travel to see Dean’s parents for a number of reasons, but are hoping for a visit later this year.

As 2009 has drawn to a close, we want to thank everyone who has shared our journey in any way. You have helped to make 2009 an outstanding year in our lives!

November

Well, it has been way too long since we updated our blog. It seems that there’s always something going on. But that’s a good thing, too.

To catch up we need to go way back to November. It started, of course, with getting settled in our new home, which is more of a challenge than it might seem, because everything takes too long until you get things organized. A simple office task had to begin with finding the envelopes, or setting up the computer, etc. Not surprisingly, the kitchen was the first part of the house to get set up. And we were very blessed by the full pantry that was stocked for us by the good folks at Charlemont. A few convenient meals came in real handy.

We’ve had a bit of adjusting to do regarding surroundings and physical landscape, coming from Deep River, which is a community nestled in the trees, with a beautiful view of the Laurentian Mountains across the Ottawa River, to wide open fields in Southwestern Ontario. When Jonathan woke up on our first morning here he looked out the back window at a farmer’s field. His first words were, “This is a highly unusual backyard!” The boys thought we had moved to the prairies, and have missed having woods to make a fort in, and nearby neighbours. But they’ve enjoyed some activities with a local Cub Scouts group, where they’ve reconnected with some friends from Family Camp. And we’re all enjoying living closer to part of Dean’s family. And the wide open fields give us a beautiful view of the sunset.

Our first speaking engagement after moving south and west, was back east. Pine Grove Free Methodist Church at Seeley’s Bay (north of Kingston), was very welcoming and supportive. We’ve already heard from them that they plan to sponsor us as a church, which is very good news. It was also nice to finally meet the congregation (and some old acquaintances), after having enjoyed the friendship and leadership of Pastor Jack Bradley for so many years. On our way there we had the privilege of staying with our good friends, Sean, Susan, and Rebecca Sullivan (Michael was away at University). They recently moved from Deep River to Bowmanville. At a time of such transition, it was nice to enjoy the hospitality of old friends.

We’ve been continually amazed at how well God has taken care of us. One of our “needs” right now is Internet. We have a lot of correspondence that needs to happen right now, for everything from setting up speaking engagements to getting questions answered re: preparations for Malawi, what to bring, etc., plus blogging, and just staying in touch. So, imagine how blessed we felt when the Charlemont church told us we could use the church’s WiFi, which can also be accessed from the parsonage right next door. The church gave us the password, and Dean was even allowed to use Pastor Paul’s computer or the church’s laptop so that Steffi’s laptop is free for a myriad of other uses (it’s amazing what a homeschool mom can find on the internet!). Suffice it to say that this has been very helpful to us.

It was two weeks into November when we finally got to attend at Charlemont to personally say thank you to the whole congregation for welcoming us into their parsonage. And it was great to reconnect with people that we hadn’t seen for several years.

Once the moving dust settled, it was time to begin catching up on office work that had been neglected. Sending thank you notes that we’d been forced to set aside became top priority, along with filling the calendar with more speaking opportunities. We owe a big thank you to churches who have invited us to speak – some in the future, and some on short notice.
Two such churches were Vennachar and Mississippi. Less than three weeks after receiving their invitation, we found ourselves travelling to cottage country and enjoying the fellowship of these two delightful rural churches. Our whole family enjoyed seeing pine trees again, we all made many new friends, and felt very blessed by the generosity of God’s people. To cap off a wonderful weekend, the boys were very excited to see snow when we woke up on Monday morning. So, before pulling out of Vennachar, we took a little walk in the snow and collected some Christmas greens. And then, on our way home, we all enjoyed seeing the cute, weird, and wonderful collection of animals at the Peterborough Zoo. It was a nice way to end November.