July Happenings...

Greetings friends!

We are now at the 7-week mark before we leave for Brasil.  There is still much to be done in preparation, but we are thankful that God is providing!
In the month of July, I was able to head out to British Columbia for a dear friend's wedding.  Spending 5 days in a valley surrounded by mountains was very good for my soul.  Since Ruth-Ann had been living out there for more than a year, we had much to catch up on.  I am always amazed at the fact that good friends can merely pick up where they left off, which is exactly what we did.  I was honoured to stand up for her at their wedding, and what a lovely day it was, filled with much laughter, tears of joy, and delicious food.  I was sad to leave that tranquil place, unsure of when I'll see my friend next, but I am truly happy and wish this newly married couple all the best!

While I was away, Jake had his 27th birthday.  Old is a word that might come to mind, but this guy just keeps getting younger and younger, keeping me laughing every day!  We have wonderful family and friends who were able to celebrate such a special occasion with him.

My 6-wk teaching stint started on July 9th, and English Training Camp(ETC) is quite the success this year.  I have an awesome co-teacher and wonderful Korean students who I get to spend my days with.  If you'd like to know a little bit more about this, feel free to check out my personal blog.  Since we're writing this 'July' update so late, I only have one more week until my students return back to Toronto.   Yes, it's sad, but we have had very good memories that will last forever.

Jake and I have been keeping busy.  Apart from teaching at ETC and Jake's packaging job, we have been visiting friends and having a lot of quality time on the week-ends.  This has been a huge blessing to us, and we've felt God use this time to unify our marriage.  We spent Canada Day with some close friends, grateful that they let us escape our stuffy apartment to steep in a swimming pool.

Another thing to celebrate last month was that both of our parents had their anniversaries.  Since the beginning of our relationship, we have marveled at the similarities in birthdays and anniversaries for our parents.  So, congratulations, to our wonderful mothers and fathers! May God bless you all with many more years to come!

Next comes a little more of the technical details regarding our trip.  I'll let the headings speak for themselves:

Support Update
We have received about 30% of our support, which is a huge blessing.  We are so grateful to those who are giving financially and prayerfully, since this is definitely not something we can do on our own.  TEAM has given us September 15 as our cut-off date, meaning that if we don't receive all of our funding by then, we will have to postpone the trip.  If you've been thinking about blessing us in this way, please keep this date in mind. There is a tab on the blog itself (up at the top) entitled 'Giving', where you can find instructions on giving either by mail, by phone, or online.  Please contact us if you have any questions about that.

Our Ministry
In missions, things are a little more flexible than they might be otherwise, so some of the following are subject to change.  Our ministry supervisor informed us that we will be raising missions awareness in Brazilian churches.  There is a huge need for Brazilians to be educated missionally, so part of our task will be to lead conversational English classes in churches with a missions emphasis.  This is really great news, since my main focus at Bible college was missions.  We have many resources within our own home library to prepare.  Another great thing is that we know the names of some of the people we'll be working with, and have started to get in contact with them.  One couple in particular is around our age, and they have three little boys.  We are excited that people in our age group are so passionate about God's kingdom, and we're looking forward to getting to know them and catching sight of their vision for the Brazilian church.

Prayer
Please be in prayer with us for the remaining support.  It is hard to be patient and let God be God.  He has certainly been teaching me to trust him for all of our needs!  This week  I will be purchasing extra medical insurance for myself, and hopefully we can finally book our flights.  Please pray that all of this will go smoothly as well.  Another thing that we need prayer for is focus and extra faith.  Teaching has been a great opportunity, but also a great distraction.  After this week, however, I will be out of a job.  If anyone has any ideas for what I can do for about a month, please let me know!


With that being said, thanks for coming on this journey with us.  We'll be in touch!

Love,
Ashleigh and Jake

A Glimpse of Beautiful BC Mountains

Ruth-Ann and I

Mike and Ruth-Ann-Gorgeous couple!

 

Baking Day is a favourite of my students!

Ice Skating is just one of the wonderful activities my students and I have done together

Jake and I got to go to African Lion Safari together last week-end...it was raining, but we were happy :)

June Update

 Hi Everyone!

It's hard to believe we're already half-way through 2012. It seems like the year is going by so fast! Jake and I have been having a busy month, mostly with work, but here are some highlights:

We got to spend Father's Day week-end in Orillia with my family, and went to my aunt and uncle's place for an extended family get-together. We also had dinner with Jake's family the next day, so it was a truly celebratory week-end.

My brother came for a week-end at the end of May, and it was nice to spend some time with him; we were happy to show him some of our favourite spots in Cambridge.

  Jake's company has planned a couple of fun activities for the summer, and last week-end was Canoeing on the Grand. It was only an 1 ½ trip, and included a BBQ at the end. We enjoyed the beautiful weather, the serene and picturesque view from the river, and spending time with some friends.

 In our spare time we've been visiting with friends, going for walks by the river, and eating delicious foods. We've discovered Monday nights at the Symposium Cafe, where they have a burger special: they're only $3.75 each! It makes for a cheap but delicious date night.

I was able to get up to Orillia again this week to celebrate the graduations of both my youngest brother and youngest sister.  It was wonderful to catch up with family and friends alike.

I finished my job at Golden Triangle Taxi last Saturday, and my last shift consisted of four hours of the bar rush. It was uneventful, but I am looking forward to my upcoming teaching position in a couple of weeks. Jake's Timothy group, which is mentorship training for young men, met for the last time on Sunday. He has enjoyed being a part of that, and will now have to wait until September to meet with them again.

We have many things to be thankful to the Lord for:

-Some funds for our missions trip to Brasil have started to come in!

-We know more information regarding the trip. We will be teaching ESL to the Brazilians at the training centre, as well as interacting with them in informal situations.

-Since finishing my job at Golden Triangle, Jake and I now have the same schedule (Read: I'm not working in the afternoons anymore when Jake is at home) We have more time to pray for our trip, and focus on details and planning.

-God has been growing us and teaching us continually, especially in patience and waiting upon Him

We also ask for continued prayer for:

-my upcoming teaching job: I will be teaching ESL to Korean students from July 9-Aug. 17. Aside from lesson planning, please be in prayer with me for any students involved who do not know Christ.

-provision of more funds

-continually improving communication between ourselves and our ministry contacts

-prep for our trip (VISAS, flight, etc)

-trip to BC: I will be going from July 2-8 for a very dear friend's wedding. Please pray for travel safety as well as blessing upon my friend and her fiance.

-unity between Jake and I

-upcoming youth retreat in September: Jake will be the main speaker for a friend's youth group retreat. Please pray as he prepares for this.

Love,

Ashleigh and Jake

May Update

Dear Family and Friends,
As many people have been spending time in the tropical south, we have been preparing for a trip of our own. On October 1st 2012 we will be boarding a plane for a 3 month term of service in the vibrant country of Brazil.


Over the years, God has been growing in both of us a passion for global missions. We are very excited to follow the next chapter in God's leading by stepping out in faith and getting our first taste of overseas ministry together as a couple.


We have been accepted by TEAM (The Evangelical Alliance Mission), a Bible-based missions organization committed to planting and equipping churches around the world. For our trip they have connected us with a seminary in Anapolis, Goias, which specializes in training Brazilian nationals who are committed to serving God in missions. Although many details are still subject to change, we have been asked by our representatives to be prepared to serve by teaching English, mentoring, and discipleship, as well as other practical and administrative responsibilities as needed. In addition, we will be taking some very intentional time to learn from more experienced missionaries, as well as the national mission students and church leaders, about how we may best prepare for long-term ministry. We're aware that there will be challenges and adjustments along the way, but our desire is to be obedient to Christ and do the work He's calling us to do in faith and expectation that His kingdom will be advanced through us.

As friends and family, we need a couple of things from you.

First, we need prayer, and lots of it. Right from the start we have been facing challenges, even with the application process itself, but we know that God has had a purpose and a plan behind everything and that in spite of what we may perceive as delays and setbacks, his timing is always best. Prayer is the only thing that will allow us to serve faithfully and effectively for the advance of his kingdom and the spread of the gospel. For this reason, your prayer is essential for us, not only leading up to the trip, but especially during our three months away. Please consider how you can come alongside us in this way.


Second, we will also need financial support. The total cost of the trip is $9200, which includes everything from flights to our room and board. We need to have this amount by September 15, 2012 in order to leave by October 1^st. As believers, we are confident that God provides for our every need, and we pray that the right people will be encouraged to partner with us as we seek to be follow God's leading.


We are looking forward to what God holds in store, and please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Love,
Jake and Ashleigh