Update Tuesday 23/8/11

Yesterday we were up at 4:00am, out the door at 4:20am and on the phone with AAA at 4:25am to come help us with a flat.  We were heading home from Alabama when we realized we had a nail in our tire.  After putting on the spare we managed to put in an hour of driving before we found a garage that was open.  An hour after finding the garage and a new tire we were on the road again.  Even with the delays we managed to do the whole drive in one day!  I suppose that the delays could have been discouraging, but to be honest, after the week that we had we could not see those delays as anything but mildly annoying.  After the week of blessings that we had just experienced, the tire was nothing but laughable.
Nine days ago we left Hamilton, crossed the border at Windsor and headed south.  We had been invited by a friend's church in Alabama to come and be a part of their Global Impact Celebration, a week long conference to educate their church about and to celebrate mission work around the world.  We drove to Nashville the first day where we totally lucked out with tickets to Vince Gill's 20th anniversary at the Grand Ole Opry.  My wife had seen that Emmylou Harris would be on the bill and so bought some cheap tickets a number of weeks before.  She did not realize that it was an anniversary celebration and how many other great acts would be on the lineup.   We were treated to an amazing show with a sold out crowd. 
The next morning we decided to go to church, and a friend let us know of one that was right by our hotel.  We spent the morning worshiping with The Fellowship at Two Rivers.  We received a really warm welcome from a number of members and even met Matt and Philip, two of the pastors.  We had a great time worshiping with them.
From Nashville we made a bit of a detour and headed to Alpharetta, Georgia where we visited the North American Mission Board.  Liam got to do some voice over work for a video that they are working on, got a video camera to record the upcoming GIC conference from his perspective and we had a good time catching up with friends from NAMB.  From Georgia we were off to Alabama.
We arrived in Alabama the day before the conference was to begin in order to get ourselves organized.  We had been asked to lead the  Children's GIC that ran concurrently to the adult sessions on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings.  It has been a while since I have worked with kids in grades 1-5, but it was a great opportunity and we had a blast.  I am really thankful, however, for the week that I had spent at Ryerson camp earlier in the summer.  I realize how much I learn about caring for and teaching kids when I am with that staff, and how many little practical tips I pick up from the director Cam about group dynamics within children's ministry.  We had an amazing time teaching music, memorizing scripture with full body actions, making crazy crafts and getting to hear from missionaries from Alaska, Uganda, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea!   We also had an opportunity to share some music and a testimony about all that God is doing here in Hamilton at their Sunday services.   There is something about hanging out with missionaries from around the world, hearing about how the church is serving by doing everything from digging fresh water wells, to learning and writing tribal languages that have never been written and teaching villages to read, that is inspiring.  Even more amazing is to hear how God is at work all around the world, doing incredible things in the lives of people globally, things of an eternal nature on a scale that only God could do.  It was a real blessing to be there!
I would be remiss if I did not take the opportunity to thank the people at Parkview Baptist for the opportunity.  I love visiting this church.  They have such amazing hearts.  It starts from the top down as they have an amazing staff.  I love watching Pastor Jim, his love for his people and his love for the Lord.  He is always in the front row for everything, the first with his hand up and voice raised in singing, the first out with an "Amen," the first with a tear in his eye as someone shares about what the Lord is doing, and his excitement is always all over his face.  Scot, their missions pastor offered us the invitation and we have known Scot for a number of years now, when the previous church that he served in became a key partner church for our work in Milton.   His passion for the Lord and for missions is amazing and he has such a genuine interest and concern for those with whom he is serving and partnering.  Our relationship with Scot and the churches in which he serves has been a real encouragement for us over the years.  Casey, who serves with the youth, is a fellow Mac man and becomes my de facto tech helper and he is such a servant.  I got to see him with the youth this week, however, and his passion to see them really grasp what this faith thing is all about and to see them live committed lives to Jesus was amazing.  Steve is the minister of music (among other things), and this week, he and his wife Kaye hosted us in their home.  They were such servants, totally spoiled us (Liam may never be the same) and even in the midst of planning the music (and numerous other details) for six different services, Steve still managed to get up at 5:00am to take Liam and I fishing on Saturday!  From the staff down to the congregation, Parkview has such an amazing spirit and amazing hearts that it made it a real blessing to be there. 
God really showed up this past week.  We witnessed two people from the community come to faith, four or five be called into mission work of some type and over $60,000 given for the purpose of mission work around the world.  I also have to mention the generosity that we experienced.  Upon hearing of our break-din a couple of weeks ago, an the theft of my laptop, they purchased me a new laptop to replace it.  I want to thank them for such generosity.  The amazing thing about Parkview that is such a lesson for me is that they are not a huge church (especially by Southern standards) but they have such huge hearts for the Lord.  God is doing amazing things there and I cannot wait to see all that He has in store in the days to come! 
Well that about sums up our week.  After an inspiring week I am excited to be home and to get to work here in our neighbourhood in Hamilton.  We again thank you for all your prayers and continued support.  After sharing about all that is going on here again this week, I have been reminded about just how important and how instrumental your prayers and support continue to be.  Thank you for praying so faithfully.