Life is too good to miss
- Sep 4, 2017
- 4 min read
Wherever you are, be all there.
Live to the hilt every situation you
believe to be the will of God.
-Jim Elliot
Back to the blog after weeks of silence. It isn't that the month of August was particularly boring, or too full to find time to write, it's just that I haven't taken the time. So here we go with a quick resume of Therisod life in Août !
We started the month with a send-off for our team as they headed out on outreach for two weeks. David and I prepared an afternoon of team-building activities for their first official day of outreach, with the purpose of helping them learn principles of teamwork and developing unity amongst the team members. All ages (3 thru mid-30s) were involved, and during the post-outreach debrief, multiple team members said it was one of their favorite days of the outreach !
Once the team left on their ministry trek across Canada, David and I got to work painting, reorganizing, and arranging the King's Kids office. Our office, located on the bottom level of a nearby church, had turned into more of a storage space that was not easy to work in and was therefore seldom used as an office. Our idea was to surprise the team by creating some order and turning it into a space that was welcoming and would be more conducive to our work. We are happy with the work we were able to do, and we received positive feedback from our teammates !
During our "office makeover," we encountered an unfortunate event: as we were finishing the last coat of paint, David began to feel pain in his back. He eventually had to stop, letting me finish the room while he rested. The pain became progressively worse throughout the afternoon and evening, to the point where he was unable to stand even to go to the bathroom. We managed to get him into the car around 10:30pm and make our way to the emergency room, where he spent the night under morphine and muscle relaxants. The morning after, David seemed to be doing better and was sent home with various prescription pain medications.
David spent Monday in bed, and by Tuesday had already improved considerably. Wednesday I went to work at Provision Compassion (the food bank), leaving David to rest at home. I returned that afternoon to find that he had fallen twice during the day, had eaten nothing because he couldn't stand up to prepare food, and was in worse condition than Sunday evening ! Back to the hospital we went, this time for four hours and a higher dose of morphine. The next few days, David took it very easy and continued with his prescription meds, ice, and rest.
THANK YOU to those who prayed for David, because by Sunday morning he was feeling well enough to lead worship at our church, and by the next week he was able to spend 25 hours in the car on our way to Minnesota ! God brought quick healing to his back, and I know that it was in answer to the prayers of many.
Other:
David and I continue with our work at Provision Compassion two full days per week. We are creating relationships with the volunteers and staff there, as well as with the people of the community that we get to talk and pray with every week !
We have now been asked to lead worship once per month at our church, which is a joy and privilege for us and a great opportunity to serve the body of Christ ! For date night, we were able to go watch a master's series tennis match at the Roger's Cup in Montreal. An incredible opportunity for David, an avid tennis fan, and for me, the wife of an avid fan who is also learning to enjoy the sport. :-)
We spent two weeks on vacation in the U.S., visiting friends in North Dakota (home of Elise's alma mater, UND), and the Boyum family in Minnesota. It was a much appreciated time of rest and refreshment before the school year begins and ministry picks up once again !
Now back in Joliette, we spent our first weekend at a staff retreat with the goals of building unity, revisiting the vision of the ministry, and creating a plan for the year to come. As it is still in process, I will write more on that later, but it is an exciting time for us all as the Lord places his vision for Quebec in our hearts !
Elise is in her 32nd week of pregnancy...only eight more to go!
Prayer requests:
Unity and clarity within our team as we vision-cast and plan.
Protection and health for our baby and Elise in the last two months of pregnancy.
Protection against discouragement and frustration that may arise in this time of change and redirection.
Inspiration for David as he prepares to give a message at La Petite Cuillère, the restaurant ministry where we sing once per month. He will be sharing September 17th and wants to be Spirit-led in his words.
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