Archived News: May/June 2006
Family News:
The longer we are here, we sense so strongly God’s moving in our lives
personally and in the ministry we have come to do. As a family, our time
here has united us and stretched us. Our children are learning so much
each day. Their relationship with God is growing too!
We thank you so much for your continued prayers for health and safety of our family. We feel them surrounding us and we thank you! Keep them covering us!
These months, January to May have been very challenging for us as a family to balance everything. At least it has been for Michelle, maintaining consistency in homeschooling, home routines and time for ministry with various visitors and teams. Yet, God has enabled us to keep focused and not too overwhelmed! We enjoy sharing in hospitality and sharing our mission work here with others as they catch the vision and compassion for others. It has been a time of blessing for us.
Here’s what has been new in our family:
One of the best
kept secrets between Canada and Tobago has been this visit from Greg and
Betty, Laura, Jessica and Naomi Zetner. Jessica and Naomi are Danica’s best
friends and their family are dear friends of ours. We kept it a secret
from Danica and Craig and what a surprise it was! When they arrived it
was priceless! Unfortunately, Tim and Michelle had the flu for the first
few days, then Danica was sick for 3-4 days. But we managed well and enjoyed
a fantastic time.
The highlight for their girls was visiting the Jesus Cares Family Cottage.
We visited one Friday afternoon after school and then the Zetner family
provided a Pizza Supper on Saturday night. The kids loved it! Then, with
a donation from Laura’s teacher, the children all bought groceries for the
home on Monday!
Greg had a thermometer craze, checking the temperature very frequently - as it hardly changed from 26-32 C range! They sure found it hot here! He enjoyed making fresh orange juice each day!
The children enjoyed a very special friendship time together and it was a
real encouragement to us to be able to have our friends here as a family.
Thank you for blessing us in such a special way! Danica and Craig have
always said, ‘Mommy, why do your friends come and mine don’t?’…. Well, they
got blessed with having one of their best friends share in their life here!
Rainbow Cup Triathlon; May 20th, 2006:
Danica and Craig competed
once again in the Rainbow Cup Kids of Steel Triathlon. It was a 100m swim,
5km bike ride and 1km run. Feel free to check out
their
website.
Craig’s time was 28 min and 1 sec. He came in 6th. Danica was recovering
from the flu and unfortunately did not finish as she became to over heated.
She came in second in the swim and completed the biking. She made a valiant
effort though and we are so proud of them both!
We enjoyed a great day at the beach watching all the races.
A Canadian won the Adult Olympic Triathlon title!
Homeschool Year Wraps Up: Danica and Craig have had a fantastic homeschool year. They are great students! It was a struggle some days to stay focused and disciplined but we persevered and attitudes improved so we enjoyed a good year.
We plan to wrap things up June 16th. I will post their progress reports next time.
We love you and may you be truly blessed in your lives as you serve Christ!
Tim and Michelle
Ministry News:
We thank you so much for your prayers for our friends Kevin and Sue Prins, Directors of Youth With a Mission Base in Trinidad. They are doing better, still in some pain, recovering from their injuries and are home now. Pray them and their children as they heal physically and emotionally from this attack.
We have had a challenging Jan to May, yet we sense God leading us each day. Thanks for all your support and prayers as we minister here.
Baby Dedication, April 23rd:
Tim and Michelle were honored to be God Parents to Nathan Holder, born in
February 2006 to Sheldon and Christine and brother Micah. Sheldon is a youth
pastor at a local church here and our families have become good friends. It
was an honor to stand with them in prayer for their new little one and agree
to pray and support their family.
Unfortunately, our computer crashed after this event with a virus and all our files were deleted including the photos from this event. It has been a struggle getting the computer back on track. We have recovered some files but have lost some. So if you have e-mailed us in this time and haven’t heard from us back, your e-mail could have been lost.
PEI Team Mission April 26- May 4th, 2006: Also see the Photo Gallery
We were blessed to have a team of 7 from Charlottetown Community Church
with us for a week mission. Their week got off to a shaky start when the
Crown Point Tobago airport shut down because they had no radio frequencies!
They spent the night at a hotel in Trinidad and arrived very tired to Tobago
the next day.
Their mission here was to assist our church, Plymouth Pentecostal with a
building project, serve at Scarborough Evangelical Church, work with the
orphanage, and connect with families here to share Christ. The first day
or two seemed to be slow going in getting organized and their work projects
underway, but the week was very full and rewarding for them as they served
and learned to cope with the heat, to be flexible and to be stretched in
sharing their faith.
Pastor Brian, Justin, Neil, Brad, Dan, Julie and Karen did a fantastic job as they labored here in acts of service and in building relationships.
In their time here, they:
They were a wonderful blessing to us as a family and personally, to the
two churches, the children’s home, and the family’s they spent time with.
It was a life changing experience for many team members. It was great to have
Justin, Julie and Pastor Brian back here again and they renewed many
connections they already had here.
As they served God in this mission outreach, God used them to be bring hope and encouragement to those they served.
Thank you to you all for your sacrifice and support of the work here.
Lifeforce Team returns to Canada May 11th, 2006: Also see Spotlight - Team 2006
The Lifeforce Team’s mission in Trinidad finished well with a few
cancellations and changes but with new opportunities that came. They had an
opportunity to share in a Muslim school which was very interesting for them.
They helped Covenant House of Praise, in Diego Martin with some painting and
with some outreaches.
The team returned to Tobago a few days early on May 1st. In their last 10 days in Tobago, each team member pursued various ministry opportunities as they felt God lead them, which was a unique experience. They applied their creative talents and natural giftings to be obedient to what God wanted them to do. They attended the island wide Jesus Rally, which is a caravan around the island declaring God’s praises and a large prayer/worship gathering.
We shared in a debriefing time with them and it was good to be together again before they left spending time together having some fun and good talks.
It was a great mission and to all the team … We honor you for working hard,
applying yourselves. You are all great! Thanks Ashley, Nathan, Jane, Julie,
Cam, Aaron, and Arielle for taking time to share with teens in this country!
It was a pleasure working with you!
Please check out the Lifeforce Spotlight for more photos and stories of their time here!
Zetner Family Visit:
One of the best kept secrets between Canada
and Tobago has been this visit from Greg and Betty, Laura, Jessica and Naomi
Zetner. Jessica and Naomi are Danica’s best friends and their family are dear
friends of ours. We kept it a secret from Danica and Craig and what a surprise
it was! When they arrived it was priceless! Unfortunately, Tim and Michelle
had the flu for the first few days, then Danica was sick for 3-4 days. But we
managed well and enjoyed a fantastic time.
The highlight for their girls was visiting the Jesus Cares Family Cottage.
We visited one Friday afternoon after school and then the Zetner family
provided a Pizza Supper on Saturday night. The kids loved it! Then, with a
donation from Laura’s teacher, the children all bought groceries for the home
on Monday!
Greg shared at our morning Religious Instruction Class and Betty and the
girls came along. Betty shared in her clowning ministry at our Sunday school.
The children loved it! They were able to really partake in our ministry here
as well to enjoy the island! Greg got to be a part of our youth leader network
ministry as well. They loved the beach and the rainforest!
Tobago Youth Leaders Network - Island Wide Meeting, May 22nd:
As youth leaders met this month, the meeting was mostly led by local
leaders. Oswald George shared a very good illustration and talk on unity
and working together. It was very thought provoking as leaders examined how
to make the effort to connect with other youth groups on a regular basis and
not just see their own church or circle of friends, but to see a much larger
view. Shinelle led in a game and Michelle led in a prayer time.
It was great to have Greg Zetner, with us to meet everyone and partake.
Betty kept all the kids for us. We had over 23 leaders in attendance and
it was an excellent time of sharing and encouragement.Please continue to pray
for these leaders as they persevere to lead and
impact on this generation of youth in Tobago.
June
This month, we have tried to have some rest and get caught up on thing that fall behind when we are so busy with teams. Tim has regular meetings with the steering committee of the leaders network as well as the Plymouth Youth group leadership team. We continue to focus on building up leaders and fostering relationships.
Our Religious Instruction Classes at Pentecostal Light and Life school ended this month. We shared one final week with them treating them to some of Michelle’s homemade brownies. This was a good experience teaching in the school each week. Very humbling, challenging and heart breaking. Please pray for these students that they continue to grow in God!
June 9, 2006 Tim spoke at Buccoo Jesus Life Worship Centre Youth Group.
UPCOMING EVENTS: Check out our Calendar!
June 12-27th - Tim’s Mom is visiting with us. This is a special time for us to spend time together.
July 1st – Canada Day Picnic. We are advertising to have a picnic at a local beach for all Canadians on the island to celebrate! It will be interesting who comes as we only k now 1 or 2 other Canadians!
July 8th - Tobago Youth Leaders Oasis Day Retreat. Sponsored by Atlantic Missions, this day will focus on training, worship, prayer and connecting with each other. It will be a time for personal refreshing.
July 14-15th Roxborough Revival Centre Youth Conference
July 19th and 24th - Tobago Youth Network Meetings. Scarborough and Roxborough
July 30th - Tim Speaks at Buccoo Jesus Life Worship Centre.
We praise God for where He has placed us. We are very fulfilled in ministry here, and stretched at the same time. We have had a busy Jan to May and are hoping to have a breather now and catch our breath!
Please remember to keep us in prayer – for our health and safety!
God Bless,
Tim and Michelle
