I’ve stated that the goal of AIMLong.ca, during the time leading up to our departure, is to keep you up to date on the progress of preparations. So for now… here’s how the hive has been humming!
Day to day
House & Car: The house is still for sale and while there is no firm offer, there is someone who wants it but they will have to sell their own house first & it goes on the market in January. That can cause us some anxiety if we focus on it, but we try simply to stand still, and trust in God’s faithfulness.
We’ve bought a storage shed & have a place to put it. We’ll store some furniture and other items that don’t require heat. Liz has been doing a lot of the packing and sorting but I started a couple of my bookshelves and did a large part of the garage some weeks ago. (There’s waaaayyyyy more yet to do!)
We’re thankful to already have a buyer for our car.
Work: My replacement as Assistant to the Pastor at Mission Point is now onsite. 
Mark Robertson (originally of Hatfield Point but most recently of Miramichi) and I have been working very closely in an attempt to get 8 years worth of stuff out of my mind and into his (poor guy!). I can tell that he is going to do an incredible job and is a credit to the pastoral leadership that has trained him to-date.
Pentecostal Messenger: For those unaware, I’m editor for a 12-page printed publication that goes out to our churches in the region, with a readership of roughly 750. While in France, others will look after logistical details, but I’ll still look after editing and layout of the content. I’ll be putting together the better part of both the January and February issues prior to my departure.
Missionary Lynne Jewett
On Monday we got to spend the afternoon with our friend and missionary to Guatemala, Lynne Jewett. What an inspiration!
She came for lunch and since she is synonymous with kids’ ministry, we wanted to chat with her about:
a) building a church through kids’ ministry &
b) doing all we can to set our own kids up to succeed on the mission field.
She had some GREAT advice! Including preparing them for the effect that distance will have on their friendships… some will undoubtedly fade a bit over time, but the true ones will remain. That’s straight-talk and she is bang on! She also encouraged them to see themselves as missionaries…
Looking ahead
Departure: We’ve tentatively set our departure date as somewhere around January 25-27.
“Wait, what? …no specific date?” ….We’re going to fly stand-by, which means that, yes, we’ll save money on airfare but we’ll fly according to seat availability. (If there are seats available, we’ll seat our seats on the plane, if not… we try again next flight). That may seem stressful to some, but it’s how we traveled the whole time Liz worked for the airline, so we’re used to it.
Final Mailout: We’re on the verge of doing our final mailout prior to departure. It’ll be an oversized postcard for Sunday School & Youth Staff, focusing on “adopting our kids as a “prayer project” and various way to pray for & connect with them / us. Look for the infographic in this Saturday’s post.
Thanks in advance!
It goes without saying that, with all of these things going on… we need your prayer. It all comes at a busy time of year and if I were to focus too much on it, I would be overwhelmed. We take one day at a time and rest in the assurance that, if the Lord tarries, we will be there in just over 5 weeks from now!
The first time that we visited Châtellerault as a family was in 2006. I had been there previously by myself and then with a friend, but in 2006… we went together.
It’s the morning coffee syndrome:
Since hosting a group of young intercessors from Mission Point Church of Saint John, NB last summer, prayer walks and prayer drives have continued each week in and around Châtellerault with amazing results. We’ve had trained Apostolic help move in from other parts of France. We’ve had an increase in church attendance. We’ve made new contacts and have had several new Home Bible Studies. God is impacting these new attendees, and the local church has also been impacted in a very positive way. Please keep the work in Châtellerault in your prayers. Planting this church in the West of provincial France has been no small challenge!
The international work known as the “UPC of Paris Centre” is thriving, with 7 water baptisms since our last newsletter, and new ones receiving the Holy Ghost regularly. Our numbers there are also up with an average attendance of close to 70 people in our worship services. Currently limited to meeting just a few hours together on Sundays, we’re seeking a bigger place to rent that we can have throughout the week. Will you help us pray?
Perhaps it’s only fitting that our final service be in Temperance Vale, NB with our Atlantic District Superintendent and his wife. We drove up on Sunday afternoon, after having attended morning service at Mission Point and had no trouble finding the church, although we’d never been there before.
I was a bit disappointed when I learned that she wouldn’t likely be there that night due to fragility and advancing age, but my spirits soon lifted again when her daughter Ann (also mother of our District Youth President, Bro. Paul Thornton) got up to lead worship. She looks so much like Sis. Priest and sang with just as much gusto!
I wonder what it will feel like when the plane touches down at Charles-de-Gaulle, knowing it’s not for a 2-week stay.
I’d like to give a huge shout-out to Pastor & Sis. Michael Trail of Nashwaak Valley Pentecostal Church… an absolutely BEAUTIFUL church located in Taymouth, NB, a community situated along the picturesque Nashwaak River.
Not only was the building beautiful… the people were as well. They took up an offering for us and through their generosity, we were able to just break the 70% mark in our fundraising. Little by little we are getting there, but we still require the remaining 30% to be committed. Breaking it down, it would mean, for example:
My phone and laptop were working well enough for the most part, but then, in each case, there was an app that I wanted to use and was unable to because I’d so successfully resisted change. What if I did the update and it set off a domino effect, requiring me to update a never ending succession of programs and patterns?
I call it being in the Will of God.
It was the second time that I’d heard Bro. Sagil minister and as I said to a couple… it was like trying to eat a steak with no bone, fat or gristle…. 100% pure meat! Incredible. So appreciative to spend time with such high calibre men.
kids were selling scarves that they’d knitted a while back (they probably sold $200 worth this weekend alone).
Sunday morning we attended one of Saint-Laurent’s daughter works… Église Pentecôtiste Unie de Montréal Est. I’d been there several times but it was a first for Liz and the kids.
Our main task for Monday was to visit Montreal’s Italian Consulate to get the kids’ passports.
Good morning from Montreal!
AIM Long 