Had someone been walking along the Saint John waterfront, they may have heard nothing at all, they might have heard a faint, far-off, yet indistinguishable sound, or then again they might have heard a 12 year-old boy, as his car crested the Harbour Bridge, yell from his open window…. “Goodbyyyyyyyyee Saint John!”
Those very words were shouted on Friday morning at roughly 8:40am as we drove out of the city where I was born, where our kids were all born and where Liz had made her home for the previous 19 years… the trip had begun. Weeks of saying goodbye had come to an end and we began the long road to Montreal.
Saying Goodbye
Below are some VIPs (very important people); some are from church, some are business connections or service providers and others have been friends for a long time. It’s impossible to post pictures of each of you and in some cases, when we got together to say goodbye, we forgot to get a photo, but each of you are important to us. You are a gift from God to us. You have contributed to who we are.
Final notes:
- Departure: Friday we drove Saint John – Montreal, but today we leave Montreal for France. It’s a big day and we are so excited.
- Finances: Two days before our departure, we received a call from someone who made a $200/month PIM commitment for the first year of our stay. What an encouragement that is… bringing our total commitment to date up to 83% or just over $99,000 of the $120,000 required for a full 2-year stay.
- Car: the car is now sold and a pastor friend of ours now has an awesome second car!
- House: Incredible news… the night before our departure from Saint John we had an initial offer on our house. The negotiating process ran it’s course and as of yesterday morning, we have accepted an offer on it. THAT is IN-CREDIBLE timing. We thank the Lord for another open door!
- Luggage: We ended up not being able to stuff everything into suitcases as we hoped to so we shipped 3 totes and 2 suitcases via Air Canada Cargo. There was a 110kg limit before you moved to another fee-structure and, without even trying, our total came to 109kg! PHEW! …again, the hand of the Lord. As you can see… the car was FILLED with the remaining suitcases (and the picture was taken BEFORE the guitar went in!).
Prayer Request
The next time I write to you, I will be writing from France… how exciting is that!?
Please pray that things go smoothly at customs upon our arrival in France. It will not be a problem to bring in any of the suitcases that traveled with us, but pray that there are no hiccups at cargo (no extra import fees, duty, etc.).
Thank you for your support, God bless you as you gather to worship Him today!!
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. 
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.
So what’s the connection with Timo’s Great 4 Days?
This weekend is our 7th in a row to be out on the open road… and there are a few more to go! We’re racking up kilometers on our 2007 Ford Freestyle and changing the oil more frequently, but there are a number of benefits that outweigh any cost.
Although pastors frequently see each other at conferences, the contact is often “in passing.” Less frequent are the opportunities to sit across the table from each other, as families, often in the home.
As a kid, I often went on drives with my grandfather. A plastic-wrapped roll of peppermints was on the dash of the 1978 Chevy Suburban and we’d find a country road to follow. Sometimes he’d be headed rabbit or partridge hunting and sometimes it’d just be for the drive… but he always had his eyes open for bottles or cans that could be traded in at the local bottle exchange (that’s how he paid for my first 5-speed bike).
We’re thrilled to take part in Missions Conference at Capital Community Church in Fredericton, NB with Rev. Raymond Woodward and Rev. Jack Leaman. These men were leaders in the Saint John church when we came into Pentecost in the mid 1990’s and both have been important influences in our life and growth. We’re honoured to be with them and with Rev. Bruce Howell, General Director of Global Missions for the UPCI.
I then talk about my kids who will experience much change as they 
When you find them looking out their window… ask them how they can impact the place where they are living, right now.
Something happened. Conviction swept in and many people gave offerings larger than $5,000…without the promise of a trinket. One person was selling a business for $150,000.00 and that money has already been received by Global Missions.
Liz brought back a globe for each of the Kids. They weren’t in that service, but we want them to be connected to that same spirit… to see themselves as Global.
AIM Long 