Art and Doris

TESOL...

2010-08-01T06:51:00.000-07:00

TESOL....Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
I was invited to staff the TESOL course this year, so this is how I spent much of the summer. Fifteen wonderful students came together from various places around the globe to learn how to teach English to Speakers of Other Languages all over the world. Some of these teachers have already chosen what country they are headed to, or are investigating the possibilities of teaching English overseas or teaching ESL classes in the places where they live.

We celebrated Suzie's birthday with Strawberry Shortcake...yummm!

Two of the TESOL students putting together Lesson Plan ideas.

"Hmm...what vocab should we use?"

"Let's see...there's got to be some usable stuff in here somewhere!"

Today several of the students attended First Baptist in Kalispell to thank them for the use of their church for our "practicum." It was rewarding to hear them express their thanks and appreciation to the pastor and the people there. We have just one week of the course left. Wednesday night will be our final practicum night (it's a party, actually, the TESOL students will be hosting a potluck party for their ESL students). We're all looking forward to it...and hoping all the ESL students are able to come.

HOME at last...

2010-08-01T06:48:00.000-07:00

Sunrise is one of the most beautiful and therapeutic times of the day for me since we moved in to this lovely home on Troutbeck.

Ahh...the old family organ! I love how it looks in this corner. Now, if we can just get the left pump fixed.

Arthur's new "study." I think he's quite happy with this new situation.

The Living Room! Ready and waiting for a visit from you!

The Dining area...hmm...I need to make a menu list...see if I can entice our loved ones and friends to pay us a visit now that we are getting settled into our own place.

Actually, we have been living in this home since mid-May, but at last it has become "ours," meaning we have moved our own belongings in, and have begun to set things up. My, how good it feels! It's like finally coming "home." Did God make us this way, I wonder. To need and to enjoy the sense of HOME? I think He probably did. And I am so very glad!

TESOL in the DTS Missions Tools Track

2010-05-24T07:21:00.001-07:00

These students will be going on "outreach" to India, Nepal, and Thailand. It was an honor to be asked to spend the week presenting language learning principles, lesson ideas, and English learning activities that they will be able to use while they are overseas. They leave in about 3 weeks. It's been a wonderful, very engaging group...a delight to work with! I can't wait to hear the reports of how God used them in various locations and settings to enable others to improve their English speaking skills?

My work station at present...the kitchen table
(in our new home...see my next blog post for more details,
and hopefully, more pictures).
God is so very good to us!!!

Praise God...at last, a home to settle into

2010-05-24T06:55:00.000-07:00

HOME SWEET HOME!

This is the family room. Right now there is furniture in here because it's the landlady's furniture. She has not yet moved to her new home in Idaho so it still feels a bit like we are "house-sitting." The furnishings in this room will be extremely sparse once she moves away.

This is a view of the living room (looking toward the dining area)...very cozy, very comfy. Please consider coming for a visit! We'd love to have you! The house is lovely, and roomy. The bedrooms are very large...you wouldn't feel crunched or squished at all. In truth, a family of four could stay in each room...they're that big.
I'll post more pictures once we move our own things in.

Our landlady (Brenda) is very warm and welcoming...and is staying here at present. She's been as busy as a beaver organizing and packing up boxes, getting ready for her big move. She'll be here until the 3rd week in July. At that time she'll move to southern Idaho and we will move our belongings in. No doubt, it will seem like Christmas, rediscovering things that have been stored away for the past 2+ years. Having our own things around us, not only our household furnishings, but even more so, our pictures of family and friends...WOW!...that will be such an immense delight. I admit, this missionary lifestyle (living out of a suitcase, moving from house to house, etc.) makes me realize how much I long for a season of stability. We'll see how long God allows us to stay put in this place...I'm hoping it will be awhile, quite a while. Like I said, we'll see. We know NOT to hold our own plans and desires too tightly.
He knows best...and His will is perfect.

Whew...feeling a big sense of relief today

2010-04-29T14:58:00.000-07:00

WHEW!!! Done at last! I guess I didn't realize how much the radio series was weighing on me, but when I got home from the radio station today, I literally felt my shoulders drop as I sighed one of those huge cleansing sighs. Besides the fact that the series took far longer than I had anticipated to bring to completion, the tension that came from attempting such a feat (I had never worked on radio before), took it's toll on me. I freely admit: It stretched me significantly.

All in all, the project weighed more heavily on me than I realized...but now that it's done, I feel like I could fly. If it wasn't raining so hard outside, I'd go for a long walk and process my relief amongst God's beautiful creation. I would shout my thanks to Him for all the ways He helped, encouraged and strengthened me to do this thing. I'd remind Him of how much I've needed Him every step of the way, and that I know I can do NOTHING without Him. He is my Strength...He is my Joy...He is the One who empowers me to do things He has called me to do. In this case, He enabled me to speak into the lives of pastor's wives in the regions that receive this broadcast (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Alaska). Praise be to God!

But being that it is presently very cold and rainy, I will restrict my expressions of joy and relief to this blog spot...and I'll spend some time on the keyboard...singing, and giving Him my worship.

Thank you to all of you who have been praying for me as I've worked on this series. And I especially want to say "thank you" to you pastor's wives who were willing to be guests on the show, sharing your thoughts and words of wisdom with other pastor's wives. You've been a huge blessing! Your words are, and will be, over the next several weeks, going out over the air waves providing nourishment to others who are in need of refreshment and encouragement as they serve the Lord and His people.

Friends and Family

2010-04-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

What a joy it's been the past couple months to spend time with Sarah, this lovely Korean woman, and pastor's wife. I help her practice and improve her English speaking ability, and she blesses me with her friendship and with lessons on preparing Korean food. We share what's in our hearts, what we're experiencing, what our challenges are...and we pray together. Each time, I come away encouraged and strengthened. What a tremendous blessing she is to me! I'm so thankful that God has knit our hearts together and helps us figure out how to communicate, even though I'm restricted by my inability to speak Korean, and she is limited in her usage of the English language. But it's like God's word declares: "Nothing is impossible with God." I continue to be amazed at the joy that fills my heart as God divinely appoints my days and hours.

And look at what else God did! He made a way for us to meet our newest grandson, Daniel, adopted from Haiti in December (just a couple weeks before the big earthquake hit Port-au-Prince).

While visiting our son and his family in B.C. we drove into Vancouver to spend some time with a precious uncle. It did my heart good to see him face to face again!

Do you see the resemblance? Haha! Grandpa needs to get out in the sun more, don't you think!? Just after I took this picture I noticed that the camera battery was dead, so that was the end of picture taking for this visit. Thankfully, John got some good shots of us with the kids; I'll have to see if I can get some from him.

PRECIOUS MOMENTS during this trip:

Singing lullabies to the 3 youngest each night at bedtime,
Having our car covered (blanketed, really) in pink blossoms on Sunday morning,
Having Daniel come running and throwing himself into my arms,
Night-time talks with Zach as I "tucked him in" (he even let me sing to him),
Movie night with John & Kim,
Visiting with Kim's parents and discussing majority world poverty and related issues,
Searching for, finding, and playing with snails with Deanna,
Extending Jacinda's hair by braiding in strands of yarn,
Listening to Zach practice his piano lesson,
Having the kids climb unto our laps during "evening devotions,"
Hearing my dear uncle's voice again, and his gentle laugh,
Basking in the friendship and hospitality of 3 sets of friends along the way: in Tacoma, Moses Lake, and Spokane.

Bummer...not going to India after all!

2010-03-25T17:41:00.000-07:00

Sighing with disappointment...we will not be going to India this spring as planned. Things did not work out for the pastor's training school that our friend was organizing over there. But we want you all to know how much we APPRECIATE YOU AND ALL YOUR PRAYERS. We trust God! He knows what's best...both for them, and for us.

Now it's "back to the drawing board," as we ask God for direction on next steps regarding when to go, for how long, and who to take with us. The key in all of our planning is to recognize and surrender to the will of God in all these matters. To hear His voice about what to do, where to go, and when to go. Please continue to pray for us as we minister in the area of strengthening and encouraging pastors and church leaders in rural/village settings, both locally and overseas.

Remember...be FLEXIBLE

2010-03-06T19:04:00.000-08:00

These content creatures found the munching quite tasty in our yard this week.

Last Saturday Art taught on "Relating to the Local Church" in a seminar that took place on the YWAM base.

This young couple, new friends to us but people we pray for weekly, live and serve in Germany. She is German, he is Nigerian. What a blessing to meet them at last and spend time with them this month!

Lord willing, we are still going to India...just not in March, as originally planned. Because my visa (Canadian) took so long to clear the process, we made arrangements to postpone the trip to teach at the Pastor's Training School in Orissa, India. The new dates have been tentatively set for the end of April. The young man organizing this training school for pastors continues to have difficulty raising the money to insure that the school will indeed happen, so we are trusting God with all the details. If he is not able to pull it off (he has 20 pastors ready to come, but is lacking the finances to house and feed them), we may end up putting the trip off until late fall (Oct. or Nov). Please pray that all of us will know the Lord will in this. Opportunities abound, and the need for solid Bible training is so needed, but we want only to do what is in keeping with God's will, and His timing.

NO...this is not the house we are moving into in late May; it's the house
across the street from the one we'll be renting. Lovely view, eh?

About our housing situation: GREAT NEWS! God has opened up to us a house to rent here in Lakeside (not on the YWAM base) that will be a wonderful asset to the ministry we have among pastoral couples. We'll not be able to move into the house for a couple months yet, as we'll be house-sitting for a young couple who is leaving on Tuesday for an outreach in Cambodia. We'll likely move into what we are calling the R.E.S.T house the middle of May, or so. It's a good-sized house with plenty of space to provide a respite, a refueling station to couples who are in need of restoration, encouragement, strengthening, and training (R.E.S.T.).

Thank you so much to all of you who are faithfully holding us up in prayer. You have been a channel for God's blessing and provision.

Speaking of provision...God continues to add financial partners and we are in awe of the ways He speaks to people and encourages them to be involved in the things He has called us to do. In January we felt God asking us to "bite the bullet" and recruit more supporters for the ministry He has called us to. He encouraged us with scriptures such as: "Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you." (from Matthew 7). So we asked...we sent out a letter, asking folks (you) to consider, and pray about, supporting us with finances as well as with your prayers. And I just want to let you know that God (and several of you) have surprised and blessed us to the point of tears. It's almost like God is saying: "See, told you so."

So, if you are one of those who responded to our request...I just want to take this opportunity to say, "Thank you!!!" Your willingness, and your generosity, not only blesses us beyond words, but, please realize, also enables us to encourage and equip pastors and Christian workers around the globe. Yes, that's right...around the globe! India, Nepal, Thailand, Ukraine, as well as the Pacific Northwest of the United States. And now doors are opening in Africa as well.

Last week I had the privilege of teaching some TESOL principles and interactive activities to students in the DTS Missions track. It was one of the highlights of the month for me. The students were incredible communicators, listeners, and participants. They were very engaging, honest and courageous. I know they will have a lot of fun teaching English during their upcoming outreach to Cambodia, Thailand, etc.

I could hardly believe how refueling the experience was for me. I'm learning new things about myself like never before. I remember how much I loved training new staff on all the instruments and visual testing equipment when I worked for Dr. Magwire (optometrist) in Wallace and Kellogg (Idaho). I feel that same love of teaching coming through again when I teach students how to teach English to speakers of other languages. I can definitely see why God spoke to me while we were in Myanmar about putting this skill in my "tool bag."

This is one of the new friends God has given me here in Lakeside.
How I love friendships!
Like the old song says:
"Make new friends, but keep the old.
One is silver and the other is gold"
I couldn't agree more!

Lots in the works...

2010-02-07T09:41:00.000-08:00

These questions came to me the other day:
What in me is keeping me from doing what Jesus did...taking the road less traveled...going through Samaria...going to the fringe people...the Samaritan woman? The Bible says: "he had to go..." Jesus was driven--motivated by the will of the Father--to go by the way that others would not go. What is keeping me from doing the same? How about you?

It looks very likely that we will be going to India in late March. Arthur has been invited to teach on "The Character of God" at a pastor's training school and I will be teaching English to these same pastors, and others. Please keep us in your prayers as we purchase tickets, visas, and make the preparations. We've been praying earnestly about this invitation to go and have asked our supporters to do the same, and it seems the Lord is saying, "Yes, Go!" It's a short trip, just 2 weeks or so.

We hope to top off the trip with a quick stop at John & Kim's in Abbotsford to meet our newest grandson, Daniel, who arrived into the Fleming family just before Christmas (from Haiti).

Additional prayer requests:

that I will complete the radio series soon - it has been delayed, almost abandoned, and is now showing a bit of life again. It has been much harder to pull together than I ever imagined. Hopefully we will be able to finalize it within the next few weeks.
I have been asked to teach TESOL in the DTS Missions Track for a week in early March. Having never done such a thing before, I'm a bit nervous about it. But I must admit, I'm also very excited to have the opportunity to do it. The purpose is to prepare those students going overseas on "outreach" to teach English as an relationship-building and evangelistic tool.
Pray for Art as he prepares to teach young pastors in India.
Art hopes to participate in the "Foundations of Community Development" school that takes place here on the Montana base during the spring months.
Through RSN we have been offering a course on "Preaching." I am slotted to present my sermon in mid-March. Please pray for me as I develop and deliver it to the class.

Here's a picture of Art baby-sitting a bunch of toddlers. We were on "nursery duty" the other night and ended up with 13 little ones in our care. Wow! It was a blast, and the children were so loving and cuddly, but boy, oh boy, were we ever exhausted by the time the evening was over. Again I say, "This is called YOUTH With A Mission for good reason."

Christmas Challenge responders

2010-01-23T14:24:00.000-08:00

Wow! One of our monthly supporters "blew our socks off" with their report of how they took up our Christmas Challenge to "give to a stranger." In fact, this particular couple were so far ahead of our challenge that I couldn't help but pass on to you the particular ways in which they blessed strangers.

Judy reported that her husband had made 2500 little trucks that were given to under-privileged children, 1300 of which went to Operation Christmas Child. She knitted caps for cancer victims, street teens, and underprivileged kids, and also wrist-warmers. She made a helmet liner for an unknown marine headed to the middle-east. All of these were strangers to Jerry and Judy, but not to God. She adds, "what a joy to use the gifts God has given us to serve Him."

I have to admit, I sat stunned in amazement for awhile as I took it all in...such love, such expressions of the mercy and compassion and generosity. What joy filled my heart, both at what they had done, and also at the fact that these people are my friends. How our heavenly Father must smile when He sees His Son reflected in His church!

Steven's Ordination

2010-01-22T04:14:00.001-08:00

With Pastor Bob laying his hand on our son's head, Great Falls Christian Center (located in Great Falls, Montana) ordained Steven as a pastor and a minister of the Gospel.

Words of encouragement and strengthening were spoken to Steven and Christel by the elders and pastoral team.

Pastor Bob commissions Steve in his calling as "pastor."

Beautiful family celebrating Daddy's big day!
(poor little Natalie didn't let on that she couldn't see a thing)

Art got to remind Steve how to tie a tie...that was fun to watch.

What a wonderful day of celebration it was for us all!
Arthur and I were blessed to the very depths of our soul, tears of joy falling down our faces. How I love to see my children walking in their "calling and destiny."

Amazing weekend in Great Falls

2010-01-18T14:49:00.001-08:00

Last weekend we made a trip over to Great Falls to welcome our newest granddaughter, and got to spend some sweet time with Noah and Emily as well.

So much love around Grandpa!

Emily and Noah introduce Grandpa to their new little sister,
Natalie Olivia Fleming.
Natalie arrived on January 6 at 9:25 in the morning. She weighed 6 lb. 6 oz.

Lovely new accommodations

2010-01-04T14:06:00.001-08:00

Once again God's provision exceeds our wildest imagination!

We never cease to be astounded at the marvelous ways of our gracious and loving heavenly Father.

We've been invited to house-sit this lovely Lakeside home for the next few months. It's hard to see well in this picture, but beyond the trees in the background, is Flathead Lake. The view is incredible! Wish you could come for a visit and see for yourself. We are all moved in as of yesterday.

This morning we gave a thorough cleaning to the home we've been house-sitting at the YWAM base the past 3 months. Tomorrow we plan to do a little shopping so we can bless them with a "gift pack" and have it waiting for them when they arrive home in a few days.

Isn't it amazing how God has covered our housing needs over the past 12 months? (This is our 5th dwelling since we came on staff in January 2009.) And now, as we enter our 2nd year on staff at YWAM Montana, God continues to keep a roof over our heads. And not just any old roof, or shanty, or lean-to. No, with God, it's always "over the top"....more than what we asked or imagined. Without a doubt, 2009 was for us a great BIG reminder of God's abundant provision.

How about you? What stories do you have to share about God's goodness and faithfulness during 2009? We'd love to hear what He's been doing in your life....and in your family.....

ChristmasGift Extrordinaire 2009

2009-12-22T14:01:00.000-08:00

The biggest, best and most beautiful gift the Fleming Family received for Christmas this year is: Daniel (our newest grandson).

God was gracious and arranged (and provided) for John and Kim to go to Haiti just prior to Christmas to bring Daniel home. What rejoicing is going on among us!! Art and I can hardly wait to see the little guy, to hold him, play with him, and get to know him.

Soon to leave our present dwelling

2009-12-16T10:04:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple pictures of the home we have been "sitting" since mid-October.

Thank you for praying for our housing situation. The first week of January we will need to be out of this home so that it's ready for the return of the people who "really live here." God has already opened up the next door for us. This time, however, there are no open spots on the YWAM base, so we will be "house-sitting" for some local snowbirds. The home is "fully loaded" so we, again, will take very little with us. Even some of the personal things we have here will need to be put back in storage (my recliner, extra bedding, vacuum cleaner, etc.).

Please pray for us--this constant moving from house to house is beginning to wear a bit thin. We are asking God to provide us with a "place of our own." As yet we do not see how that would work out....but we trust our Father's gracious provision. He is good, ALL the time.

Miracles Galore

2009-12-05T12:10:00.000-08:00

We got to do something we truly love last week.....visit some grandkids. We made a quick trip over to Great Falls, Montana for Thanksgiving. What fun to play with EMILY and NOAH, and to see how big Christel's tummy is getting with the little one who is due mid-January. What a joy to see the family growing! What a blessing to see them living in a house full of and love and learning the good news of God's message.

When you pray....expect miracles! The Montana YWAM base suffers from a housing shortage (there are more people on staff than the base can house). Well, on Nov. 5th God deposited 12 apartments onto the property. Someone donated a hotel. Sometimes God answers prayer in a really BIG way, and this is one of those times--a God Story, I guess you could call it. See the clip below.

Another HUGE miracle happened this week. This time within the Fleming family. John and Kim received word that the little boy they are adopting from Haiti (Daniel) was cleared to come home to them. They were told to come for him within a week. So they fly out this next Tuesday morning. WOW!!! The family has been praying along with John and Kim for this past year, asking God to release Daniel. Isn't the timing beautiful? I think God wants this little guy HOME for Christmas! There will be more coming on this story....SOON....as soon as the kids get home from Haiti. Please keep them in your prayers.

In Red Deer with Mom and Dad

2009-09-23T19:37:00.000-07:00

I have no pictures to post of all the goings-o,n here with Dad in the hospital and Mom and I going back and forth to visit him twice a day. Thank you for your prayers for Dad. The back surgery went well and after 7 days in Foothills Hospital in Calgary Dad was transported (by ambulance) to Red Deer hospital. That has made it much nicer for all of us, and if all goes well, Dad should be able to come home in a week or so. Today both the physio therapist and the occupational therapist put him through a pretty significant workout to begin to get him ready to be independent again. I think he is really looking forward to getting home.

Tonight Tim and Tegan took me out to dinner at a nice restaurant. Yummy!!! Oh, I guess that's something I should try to get a picture of..........Tim & Tegan.

Fun with the Grandkids

2009-09-06T08:50:00.000-07:00

Playing in the sun (and shade) at Mill Lake in Abbotsford

Digging a moat at White Rock

Picnicking with Zach, Deanna and Jacinda at White Rock. What fun!!!

Hurray, I'm Certified

2009-09-05T14:49:00.000-07:00

It was a month of the most intense studying I think I've ever done. I was so bone-tired for the week following the course that I could hardly drag myself out of bed each day. So, if you are wondering if I'm relieved it's over, I can assure you that I am. Was it worth it? I hope so! God knows the answer to that better than I do because He knows the future and knows when and where I will be able to put this knew knowledge to good use. I have a couple of open invitations already, so I don't doubt that the day is coming when God will have me pull this tool from my bag and use it.

Thank you so much for your prayers for me as I studied TESOL; through them God sustained me, through them I was able to finish victoriously. And once again I want to express my deep gratitude to those of you who gave financially so that this certification could become a reality. May God reward you for your generosity.

Last week we had our staff retreat at Bigfork, attended the Silver Valley pastor's fellowship meeting at Shoshone Base Camp then took the weekend to run up and visit John & Kim and the kids. What fun! This fall all three will be in school (Zach in 2nd grade, Deanna in 1st and Jacinda two days a week in kindergarten). Daniel is now officially a Fleming but it may take a few months (or more, who knows) before he will be released to join his anxiously awaiting family in Canada.

I'd like to ask you to please pray for my (Doris) Dad (Alfred). He has been in the hospital for the past two weeks with health issues, and on September 15 he is scheduled to undergo a pretty major back surgery to relieve the pain in his hips and legs.

Also, I want to ask for your prayer support as I prepare to speak at a ladies retreat in Portland, Oregon the weekend of September 18-20. Those of you who know me best know that speaking in front of groups is not my strong suite, but I believe God has called me to do it. It's times like this that Jesus comforts me with his words: "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." And so, just as Paul did, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me.

TESOL is almost finished!

2009-08-16T09:13:00.000-07:00

Whew! Just one week to go. Yippee!!! This course has stretched me in so many ways and has pointed out to me what areas of my teaching style and ability need to be worked on (namely, grammar). I guess I've been speaking English so long that I don't remember the rules of why we say things and pronounce things the way we do. It's been many years since I've thought about what a preposition is, let alone try to explain to a non-English speaker what prepositions are, or articles, or minimal pairs and phrasal verbs, etc. etc.

The whole thing has been quite a stretch, but the most rewarding part of the whole course has been the practicum. Each evening our class heads into town to teach English to speakers of other languages. We have people from Columbia, Peru, India, Mexico, Russia, etc. taking our classes. It's been such a joy! They are so eager to learn, so excited to improve their English speaking ability.

I've learned several things about myself during this course: 1) I'm not very good at giving a grammar presentation (my grades are lowest in that area); 2) That I don't function too well on 4-5 hours of sleep at night; 3) That I flourish best in an environment of acceptance; 4) That I need words of affirmation to keep from feeling overwhelmed by taunting tasks.

Sorry for my lack of postings to this blog over the past several weeks. I really thought I would have a chance to post a little, even if not a lot. We were warned that this course would be "intense" but little did any of us really know how "all-consuming" it would really be.

Please keep me in your prayers as I finish up my TESOL training. And please let me know if there is anything I can be praying for you about.

A few days ago John (our son) called to let us know that Daniel is now officially a "Fleming." PRAISE GOD!!! Now things move on to the passport and visa stage. Please keep them, and Daniel, and the process in your prayers.

Thanks for praying!

2009-07-24T21:07:00.000-07:00

I just want to say "thank you so very much" to all of you who have been praying for our son, John, as he endured another eye surgery this week. Thankfully, the doctors did not have to do a corneal transplant. But rather, he had to have calcium build-up scrapped from the front surface of his left eye. As you can imagine, he experienced severe pain once the anesthesia wore off. But when I spoke with him last night (2nd day after surgery) the pain had backed off quite a bit. We appreciate your care and concern for John, and your faithful prayers on his behalf.

Another answer to prayer this week came in the form of $$$$$$. God has provided (through the generous gifts of friends) for me to do the TESOL training this summer. Amazingly, just this week, $800.00 of the 1020.00 needed has come in the mail. I am blown away at God's goodness. I've heard it said that when He asks you to do something, He provides everything needed to make it happen, and I'm finding that to be very true. I praise God!!! When we were in Myanmar last fall I clearly heard God speak to me about getting the TESOL training (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). Please remember me in prayer as I take this 4-week intensive course. I met our Instructor last evening (a gal from Australia) and it didn't take long to figure out that this course is not for sissies. But, God is my helper, I know that.

A huge highlight for us these days is that a young pastor friend from India (along with his wife and young son) have come to the base for 6 weeks of training. We met this couple on our first trip to India in 2005. He is from Orissa where so much persecution has taken place against Christians this past year. What a blessing to have them here! The things they've witnessed--the people that have been beaten, chopped and murdered, their homes and churches plundered and burned--it's been heart-rending for them. They have such a love for the pastors in the villages and the work of God in that place. We are so thankful for God's protection over them. And so grateful to God for the plans He has for them in ministering to the persecuted church in that region. Next weekend, Lord willing, we plan to take them to Idaho to meet the church people there that have prayed for them.

June Outings & Activities

2009-06-19T15:32:00.000-07:00

What a wonderfully relaxing time we had at Lake Coeur d' Alene. Al and Nicki let us use their lake place for a couple days. Beautiful! Thanks you guys!

Last night we helped serve food (snow cones was our specialty) at VBS Parent's Night at our church here in Lakeside.

This week we hosted one of the speakers for the Summer School of Sports. And guess what? He's from my neck of the woods (Alberta).

A couple weeks ago we had the pleasure of having several Indians, Africans, Canadians, and Americans over for an authentic Indian supper. Yummm!

Here are a couple videos of an afternoon on the lake. Angela, Jack and Will came to enjoy a swim and some paddle boating.

God is amazing!

2009-05-30T14:12:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, even after knowing Jesus all these years and seeing Him work in the most incredible ways, I am still often amazed at the things He does, at the ways He pulls things together and moves on our behalf.

In just this past 2 weeks I have seen the awesome hand of God at work in many ways:

unexpected checks in the mail
connection with an Indian man whose vision for ministry is the same as ours
20 people coming to the altar for prayer and to signify their desire for more of God in their lives
3 days of confession, prayer, and crying out to God by leaders of this base (there were business matters discussed and decided on as well, but the whole attitude of our time together was one of vulnerability, humility, confession of sin, and desire for God to have His way more fully in our lives)
prayer times where I received clear and encouraging words and pictures from the Lord on how to proceed in ministry
words given to me to speak to others (sometimes words of encouragement, sometimes words of confession, sometimes words that express my need for their help)
guests that use our spare bedroom (housing here on the base is very tight) and we find an immediate connection - this past week we have had the base leader of Kiev, Ukraine in our home

I don't think our heavenly Father minds that we are amazed, and even surprized by His deeds. After all, we are but dust, and He is mighty; He is powerful; He is limitless; He and His works are far above anything that we can ask or imagine. So why wouldn't we be amazed.

How I long to see God's amazing miraculous touch on John's (eldest son, age 33) eyes. Oh that God would fully restore his vision!

Mother's Day Blessings

2009-05-11T18:57:00.000-07:00

Wish I could have had my terrific kids and their families pop in for a visit on Mother's Day, but distance prevents such things. It was so good to hear from them by telephone, receive their gifts, cards and greetings. I don't know if all mothers feel it, but there's a bit of a forlorn feeling to Mother's Day when your children and grandchildren are far away. But at the same time, I rejoice for my daughter and daughters-in-law who are now being treated with special honor and recognition on this special day.

Here are some snapshots of
my beautiful granchildren...

Can you tell which children belong to which of our four kids?

Do you have it figured out yet?

This one belongs in the mix, too.
Grandson "Daniel" (coming to the family soon, we hope)

These next snapshots are not pictures of family-but of new friends we are making here on the Montana YWAM base.

Grace (from India) and Doris

Friends from India, Ukraine, Kenya and S. Korea

International Night

2009-05-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

Again this week we had a delightful time celebrating the diversity of the nations and rejoicing together in all that God is doing in the world. In this video you see Gladys (from Kenya) doing some African dancing. Other Africans joined her eventually, but by then my camera chip was full. I wish you could come and experience it for yourself.

Tables were set up throughout the lecture hall with nationals serving foods from India, Nepal, Taiwan, Germany, Canada, Thailand, Africa, The Netherlands, China, Japan, Guatemala, South Korea, New Zealand, Ukraine, and USA. It was delicious. As you may expect, the Indian dishes were our favorites. But the soup served at the Germany table was exceptional, many of us kept going back for more.

The Way of the Cross

2009-05-03T08:37:00.000-07:00

Many of my fondest childhood recollections of spending time with my Dad, or just watching him go about his day, are of him singing, or humming, or creating songs. The lyrics of one of the old hymns he would sing (and of course we sang it often in church as well) goes like this:

I must needs go home by the way of the cross,
There's no other way but this,
I shall ne'er get sight of the Gates of Light,
If the way of the cross I miss.
Chorus: The way of the cross leads home,
The way of the cross leads home,
It is sweet to know as I onward go,
The way of the cross leads home.

"Father, I want to think rightly about the cost of being Your disciple. I want to have the moral muscle to take the path of the cross. I desire a tough and fibrous faith (as Tozer puts it). I do not want to be counted among the delicate, brittle saints who must be fed on a diet of harmless fun in order to keep them interested in Christianity."

A.W.Tozer says: "Our Lord called men to follow Him but He never made the way look easy." Indeed, quite the opposite. Jesus said: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me."

Tozer asks: "When will Christians learn that to love righteousness it is necessary to hate sin? that to accept Christ it is necessary to reject self? that to follow the good way we must flee from evil? that a friend of the world is an enemy of God?"

A Sabbath

2009-05-02T06:01:00.000-07:00

"Help me, Father. This pace is more than I can keep up with. Every week's schedule is building momentum; I barely finish with one activity or meeting and it's already time to rush into the next. How do those around me, here on the base, and those on our team, carve out even 15 minutes in their day for you, Lord? I certainly haven't been doing a very good job of it lately. Help me, Lord. Help me order my days and my hours (and my commitments) aright.

I feel I've lost all sense of margin. There is no white space left on my page. Show me, Lord, help me see what's important to You. Help me recognize what's of You in the opportunities that abound. I'm feeling crushed by the pace, exhausted by the spoken and unspoken expectations. Father, I need to hear from You!"

As I retired to bed early last night and pondered the pressure I'm feeling because of the pace, the Lord reminded me, asked me, really: "So, when will you take a Sabbath?" I know it's up to me to guard (and keep) a Sabbath--no one else will do it for me. I decided that in the morning I would tell Arthur that I needed to take today as a Sabbath.

We had been asked a couple weeks ago to lead intercession for the IPHC (Introduction to Primary Health Care) school from 8:00 - 8:45 am, then I was scheduled at 9:00 for blood work in Sommers to get my Cholesterol checked. So now all that is done, Arthur has gone to the office and I will stay home, resting, observing Sabbath, and spending time with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

"I look to You, Lord. I worship You. I find help and strength, comfort and peace in Your presence. Speak to me, that I may know Your perspective on how to use my time and energy according to Your will and calling on my life -- and not according to all the needs and opportunities I see around me. Thank you, Father!"

Hurray it's Spring

2009-04-20T15:24:00.000-07:00

Maybe I better not get my hopes up too high, but judging from the weather we've had the past few days, spring has arrived. Yippee!!! The crocuses around the house are blooming and the tulip and daffodil stems seem to grow 2 inches a day. It's lovely!!

Every morning, from our kitchen and dining room windows, we get to witness spectacular sunrises. That side of the house faces the mountain range across the lake and each morning the sky greets the day with an incredible show of every shade of coral, pink, blue, and violet. It' s magnificent! Wish I could capture the beauty of it on the camera to share with all of you. I guess you'll just have to come for a visit, then you, too, can experience the glory of the Montana sunrise.

This week, Lord willing, we will head back to the Silver Valley for 4 days. Thursday we will meet with pastor's, pastor's wives, and other ministry leaders. John and Dianna Pierce will host the group in the building they've recently remodeled to house women who are getting out of jail. Over the course of the weekend we hope to spend time with several of the pastors and their wives throughout the Silver Valley, as well as get in some "family time" with our daughter and grandsons.

Prayer Points:

I need wisdom as I write scripts and make plans to host a radio program with an emphasis on pastor's wives.
That we will be attentive to God's direction and divine appointments for this weekend in the Silver Valley.
For my health: I've not been feeling the greatest lately. A nurse (neighbor) checked my blood pressure last week and says it's "time to see a doctor." So, I'm trying to get that scheduled, but it hasn't happened yet. If it's a matter of some lifestyle adjustments, please pray that I will have the self-discipline to do what's needed for improved health. (I think it would be very hard to give up salt). My morning coffee would also be hard to say "NO" to. Do I love coffee more than good health? "Help me, Lord. I want to make smart choices. I want to honor You with how I treat this temple."
That God will give Arthur a timely and pertinent message to give to the church in Kellogg this coming Sunday. Art was asked to speak, as their new pastor hasn't arrived yet.

Resurrection Day

2009-04-12T08:26:00.000-07:00

I hope you set aside time to revel in the glory of our risen Lord this Easter season. Praise be to God for His amazing plan and provision! Because of the sacrifice of Jesus, we have life everlasting. I'm in awe of His love for His creation. As the old hymn says:
How marvelous!
How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be,
How marvelous!
How wonderful!
Is my Saviour's love for me!!!!!

Making more space for Jesus

2009-03-18T05:26:00.000-07:00

Our new living room.

This picture was taken one day when we went for a walk at the lake nearby (Flathead Lake).

The dining room.

These guys were munching breakfast under the

tree in our new front yard the morning we moved in.

We've been preparing for Easter by participating in Lent. Not in any typical or traditional way, mind you, but just in that we have chosen to "make more space for Jesus" in our lives each day. We meet each Wednesday evening at our house with a small group of participants who have intentionally decided to "lay something down" and "take something up" during the 40 days leading up to Easter.

For me, I decided to lay down watching Law and Order (the original--my favorite TV show), and take up memorizing John 15. In this way I'm making a purposeful choice to make more space for Jesus (and His word) in my day. It's been challenging at times. Sometimes, at the end of the workday all I want to do is kick back and relax with an hour of Law and Order. But then I remember the commitment I have made to the Lord, that during this time I will hide His word in my heart instead of watching another murderer being brought to justice.

It's been an awesome time for me. Seems like since I started doing this, all sorts of roadblocks have sprung up to keep me from meditating and memorizing God's word--things that fill up any free time I may have thought I would get (for me it takes alot of time and repetition to memorize a portion of scripture). But along with the challenges have come unexpected blessings and divine opportunities and appointments that God has arranged for me, things I believe are coming my way simply because I've purposed to "make more space for Jesus." He is giving me new eyes, to see what He is doing and how He wants me to partner with Him in those things. For example, I was asked to host a series of radio programs specifically designed for pastor's wives (especially those who serve in rural churches). To me that is absolutely a "God-thing." You who know me well know that even though I enjoy Christian radio programming, I have never been involved with it in even the slightest way.

Another divine opportunity that came knocking at our door happened yesterday when we were asked to take in a girl who is in the middle of enormous emotional/mental crisis and has had to return to the base (from Africa). She is in need of much prayer and one-on-one ministry, and I am amazed at how God has brought it all about for us to be a part of what He is doing to heal this girl. Please pray for her! She needs the healing touch of Jesus so badly.

Arthur was asked to portray a "father" in a music video a couple weeks ago. One of the young men (in the music department) saw in Arthur what he wanted as he prepared this particular music DVD. I wasn't there when they taped it, so I'm excited to see it when it comes out. It was just another unexpected opportunity to bless and to serve (Art had never met the little boy who played the part of the young son, but now the two of them have a grandfather/grandson relationship). It's cool to see how God connects people!

Oh yeah, I don't want to forget to talk about our new house. We now live in house #23. We have no landline here, but we can be reached on our cell phones, or on Skype (alf0310). We'll be house-sitting here until December, Lord willing. We've had a huge amount of activity going on in our lives these days so it's taking a bit to get re- situated and settled in, but I know I'm going to like it. It's a very cozy, family-friendly home so it feels very good. It seems to be the house on base where everyone wants to "hang-out," so we've had quite a bit of that happening already. Crazy, hey!

In the need of PRAYER, again

2009-03-11T09:29:00.000-07:00

Here I am, asking for prayer again. I don't know what's up, but I now have an extremely stiff and painful neck. There are a lot of colds and flu going around so maybe that's it. My hip, back and leg are still giving me pain, as well, so I ask for your continued prayer support. If, as you pray, God gives you a word for me, whether it be a word of knowledge, or wisdom, instruction or whatever, please know that I will receive it with a grateful heart.

I am enjoying the presence of the Holy Spirit as I spend time reading God's word, meditating on it, and asking Him how I can more fully "live out" the faith-walk. The other day God spoke to me about "worship." I was noticing how so many people (yes, even Christians) worship Oprah and Dr. Phil. The question came to me: "How do we know when we are worshipping someone/something?" As I pondered this question, I believe God showed me 3 things:

We worship when we give them our time - our daily schedule is planned around their show (can't bear of miss an episode, we look forward all day to their appearing).

We worship by how we honor them with our mouths - we speak highly of their deeds and attributes (praise them to our friends - this week I heard a fellow Christian say: "We need to be more like Oprah."), we respect them and hold them in the highest regard.

We worship by the attention we give them with our eyes and ears - we faithfully watch their show, we focus upon them, we rush to do our personal chores/housework, etc. during advertisements so we won't miss a single word they say.

We need to get our eyes off these false/worldly saviours and turn our eyes, once again, to the true Saviour, the only Saviour. We need to look to God, to worship and honor the True and Living God (Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace).

Awakened by the sound of hoof prints

2009-03-09T09:41:00.000-07:00

I was awakened in the middle of the night by thundering hoof prints that sounded as if they were circling the house. It was 3 a.m. It sounded like a bunch of galloping horses, right outside our bedroom. I knew right away what it was, at least I' m pretty sure--a herd of deer. I'm guessing it's the same bunch that have been meandering in front of our house the past week or two. I thought about getting up to watch them, but realized I would not be able to see anything in the dark. So I just lay there, listening to the group circle the house then take off. I checked for tracks this morning and sure enough, there they were. The snow is about a foot deep because of the recent storms. Several sets of fresh hoof prints on 3 sides of the house. Wish I had gotten up to have a look. Maybe it wasn't deer after all, maybe they were buffalo. After all, this is Montana, right. Ha ha!

Thank you so much for praying for my back, hip and leg this past week. The Lord has answered; the pain has subsided greatly. I still have to take baby steps when I walk outside; full strides get things to hurting right away. I'm sure I resemble a penguin as I'm walking down the sidewalk. It's not very flattering, but it works. I was relieved of my "housekeeping" duties for 4 days, and that helped alot. Please keep us in your prayers. And please let us know how we can pray for you.

Yesterday we had the privilege of speaking and fellowshipping at a church called Swan Chapel. It was about a 45 minute drive from where we live. It took a little longer to get there than would normally be the case, I'm sure, because the the blizzard we had to drive through to get there. The people were incredibly warm and hospitable. If we lived closer, I'd love to be a part of that church gathering on a regular basis. Don't you just love God's people!!! I sure do.

Another Wintery Outburst

2009-03-06T15:50:00.000-08:00

As I said in my previous post, just when I thought spring was close enough to touch, winter returned to clobber us with another blast of cold and snow. This is the view from our back door.

While the snow falls, I am busy reapplying to have my passport renewed. This is the second attempt in a month. The Canadian authorities were not pleased with my recent renewal request, I guess, so I am having to do it all over again. I want to get this in the mail today. Hopefully, they will be satisfied with the paperwork this time.

Please pray for me. A few days ago I slipped on an icy patch and wrenched my back somehow. Ever since, I've had terrible pain in my left hip and down that leg. No change of position seems to help, or relieve the pain in any way. I went to the chiropractor a couple days ago, and the freedom from pain lasted exactly 1 hour. Besides being painful, it's frustrating. I had to ask to be excused from my housekeeping duties in Dorm #3 the past few days. That makes me feel bad, because I know someone else will have to do the work for me.

This past week Arthur and I had the opportunity to present "our vision" for ministry to the others on our Local Church Equipping and Rural Shepherds Network team. Our Vision is rooted in a call to provide nurture and facilitate networking for pastors, pastor's wives and churches in rural areas of the Pacific Northwest, Western Canada and Southeast Asia. I'm trying to figure out if there is a way I can post (or provide a link to) our vision. Even though Arthur and I share the same vision, we each have aspects of the vision that vary somewhat because of the unique giftings God has given to us. These are reflected in the individual pieces of our vision.

The video you see below was taken on our camera at the recent "International Night" that the base celebrated. It's a Thai girl we've come to know, performing a Thai dance. Enjoy!!!

Awesome Day

2009-02-26T14:47:00.000-08:00

I could hardly believe it when we woke up to 6 inches of fresh snow this morning. Talk about disheartening! I had gotten so elated yesterday when I discovered the patch of fresh green grass. Now this! We had planned to drive over to the Silver Valley today. The Ministerial Fellowship was having their monthly meeting and we were counting on being a part of it. Plus we had other important appointments with family and friends.

A choice was before me. I could sit and mope all day, feeling sad and frustrated. Or, I could chose to trust God's sovereignty and enter into His agenda for the day. I thank God that I surrendered to His will for me today; I poured my heart into the "Day of Intercession" that the base had scheduled. I can't begin to describe the spiritual high God took me on throughout the morning. He ministered healing to me (my right arm); In the still of the "quiet station" He reminded me of something He wanted me to do; then He spoke through me to bring restoration to several girl's relationship with their Mother. What an awesome day it has been!

Spring Is Close

2009-02-25T14:03:00.000-08:00

Hey... Hurray... Yippee!!! I caught my first sighting of green grass today. Yes, this year's new growth. Wow, it made me want to sing and dance. I had tossed my mop heads and rags out onto the sidewalk of Dorm #3 while I swept the entrance runner. (Dorm #3 is my housekeeping responsibility until the end of March). When I went to pick up my dirty rags, I noticed it. Fresh, green, new growth grass.

This winter has felt almost unbearably long, so today's discovery made my day. Earlier in the day I had been blessed when new friends we've become acquainted with here in Montana were sharing their vision for what they believe God is calling them to. Their expressions of faith in God, trust in His provision and promises, etc. made for a spiritually uplifting time. And now this new sign of spring, this sign of hope, well........I'm ecstatic!!!

Missing dear friends!!!

2009-02-21T19:33:00.000-08:00

I've been feeling particularly lonely for the dear old friends we've left back in the Silver Valley. I find myself having "blue" days, but when I try to figure out why, all I can come up with is that I'm having a hard time saying good-bye to the Silver Valley and all our friends. (These are my dear Zoe girls).

You may say, "What's the problem? You left Kellogg last May. Why are you just now getting so lonesome for everyone?" I think the reason is this: Up until now it's been go, go, go, with very little opportunity to reflect on my losses. And now that we are turning our attentions to new people, to new avenues of ministry, etc. I think there's a part of me that is resisting change. The other day as we were driving through Kalispell, I felt sad. Part of me didn't want to start all over in a new place. That particular day I had to admit I didn't even want to try to make new friends, or get to know a new geographical region. I just wanted to go home.
(More precious friends from back home)

Thankfully, the comforting presence of the Holy Spirit has come to my rescue. I cried out to the Lord and He heard my prayer. He reminded my of a strategy that would get my eyes off myself. 'Cause that's what it was. I was feeling sorry for myself. I was feeling isolated. I had lost my sense of "belonging," of "being known and valued." The Lord challenged me to reach out to others, even in the midst of feeling like I was invisible to others.

Wow, What a difference it has made! Within a day of submitting to God in this, things started to change. No, I haven't forgotten or abandoned my dear old friends, but God has ignited a desire within my soul to make new friends--to take new people into my heart, to invest in them, to love and accept them.

The two friends you see here, I sorely miss. What a blessing and spiritual boost they were to me. How I miss our times together! But again, I have so much to be thankful for. Lord willing, I will see them both when we visit the Silver Valley this Thursday. Kelly will attempt to "fix" my hair. And, boy, does it need it. And I'll get to spend time with Jamie at the Silver Valley Ministerial Fellowship.

Like I said, within a day, things started to turn around. As I began reaching out to others: sitting by someone who was sitting alone in the cafeteria, inviting a young mother in for a chat, praying with a gal from another culture who is struggling with the way Americans do things, etc. all of a sudden I experienced the blessing of feeling needed, feeling appreciated, and feeling like I belong.

This whole experience reminds me of the song we used to teach in Pioneer Girl's Club: "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the others is gold."

Christmas with the Grandkids!

2009-02-12T09:07:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone, do you recognize these handsome guys? If you haven't seen Angela in a while, or her family, you may not. This is Will. He just turned 11 last week.
And this is Jackie (Ang's oldest son). I can hardly believe he is 15 now. Grandkids sure have a way of growing up on you, don't they?

Wow, look at this beautiful group of Fleming grandkids: (from oldest to youngest) Zach, Deanna, Jacinda (all belong to John & Kim), then Emily and Noah (belong to Steven and Christel).

The girls are ready to dive in to the goodies, but they wait with graceful patientce for the go-ahead.

This video includes John, Kim, Deanna and Jacinda at the wave pool in Abbotsford. I have a great picture of Zach and Noah, but it's on it's side and I can't get it to stay right side up once I post it here.

Working With YWAM/RSN in Montana

2009-02-08T11:19:00.000-08:00

Arthur and I in last week's staff meeting. The picture below shows you the team we work with here in Montana. Each Wednesday morning we meet together to discuss and strategise. Then on Friday's we dedicate the full morning to intercede for the many pastors, pastor's wives, churches and ministries that God is connecting us with in the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada, as well as in the countries of India, Nepal, Ukraine and Thailand.

The Local Church Equipping and RSN (Rural Shepherds Network) teams

that we are a part of.

The Lord has blessed us with a lovely home to "house-sit" for a couple months. I love it! It's so nice to have some privacy again, after living in a 12x12 dorm room with the restrooms down the hall. Thank you for your prayers. On Friday night we enjoyed having guests over for the first time in 9 months. I've really missed that!! But, Lord willing, now that we have some room again, we can have company, entertain guests, do Bible studies, etc. etc. My secret hope is that our kids and grandkids will be able to find their way to this part of Montana sometime this year.

Am I That Dedicated?

2009-01-17T17:35:00.000-08:00

I am trying to revive our blog. It's harder to keep the postings current than I thought it would be. Once we got into Myanmar (October) and were urged to be very careful about our communications (so as not to put our friends and fellow-workers at risk), the wind went out of my sails and I've had a hard time getting back into the flow of communicating via the blog.

It feels similar to a project I took on a few years back. I decided to write a personal Christmas letter to each of our kids, their spouses, and the grandkids each year. I was building a new family tradition...... Yippee!!! Well, I did alright for a few years. I looked forward with great excitment to writing those letters every Christmas. But then, sure enough, one year I got behind on the project and knew I couldn't get them all done in time. I forged ahead, however, even though I knew some would arrive late that year.

I was disappointed with myself. I had started out with such good intentions. But in the process of that next year I became discouraged concerning the whole idea. My zeal began to wane, putting my start date for the following Christmas even farther behind than before. I tried to encourage myself, saying that if I couldn't get them done for Christmas, it was okay, I would just turn them into New Year's letters. But something happens psychologically, at least for me, when I start slipping on the job, and especially if I get feeling too far behind. I end up telling myself that the letters didn't matter to anyone anyway, so why was I even trying to make it a yearly tradition. I convinced myself that it was okay to bag the idea.

That's kind of how I've felt about this whole blogging thing. I don't like letting people down, even myself. None of the kids have ever asked why the letters stopped, or quizzed me about what happened to their Christmas letter. No one is beating me up about it. Except me. If I could make a long-term committment out of some of the great ideas I've had, I think I'd be amazed at the fruit God would produce in my life.

I'm not sure I want to rekindle the blog if I can't be faithful to keeping it current and interesting. Like I said, it's much harder to keep up with than I thought it would be. Faithful blogging takes dedication and determination. Am I up for that, over the long-haul, I wonder?

2008-12-29T10:08:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone, just wanted to show everyone our new Grandson, Daniel, he is two years old and Kim and John are expecting to bring him home in the next year (or so).

Goodbye to Thailand, Hello to X

2008-10-04T02:28:00.000-07:00

We've already started saying our good-byes to all the dear Christians we've met in Thailand. We were especially blessed to get to know, and spend time with, Pastor Gampon and his wife Miriam (and their 3 beautiful children). And Nong, the gal who runs the coffee shop and has prepared all our meals; it will be so hard to say good-bye to her. She has been so good to us all, serving us far beyond what was expected.

We will be here at City Gate Church for 3 more days. Tomorrow will be our last Sunday with the people here. They are putting on a big party for us in the afternoon. Nong told us about it this afternoon, but we're not supposed to tell the rest of the team because they want it to be a surprise. After church there will be a special Thai potluck (she named the meal, but I can't remember what it's called). Then there will be traditional Thai dancing before we have an afternoon "coffee time" together. The children from the orphanage called "Home of Joy" will also be in church so our team will be doing "Children's Church" again.

Arthur and I are making our final decisions for packing our suitcase for Myanmar: will we get our clothes laundered or do them again in our own bucket; what printed material will we throw away (anything that talks about our upcoming plans and arrangements must be tossed for sure); what gifts do we want to buy yet to take home; etc.

We are booked into the Panda Hotel our first night in Rangoon. Online it looks and sounds very luxurious (remember we are "tourists"). After that we cannot say as yet where we will be. One thing I do know, if we have never yet learned how to be flexible, God is certainly setting up the opportunity to learn it now. It will truly be a life of "giving no thought for tomorrow, for tomorrow has enough trouble of its own."

I'm not sure when we will get another opportunity to blog, so let me remind you of our love, of our on-going prayers for all our beloved family and friends, and of the love God has for you. You matter greatly to His kingdom and His eternal purposes. Keep walking in the light. Walk in every bit of light that you have. Remember, God is always at work. Look around, listen to Him speak, and see where you can fit into what He is doing.

May God's grace and peace be with you,
Art & Doris

SO MANY MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES!!

2008-09-28T06:51:00.000-07:00

We are amazed at the wide variety of opportunities are open to our team to minister and serve with our host church here as well as other Christian workers here. The pastor caught a bad cold (I think we passed ours on to him), so he asked to preach again today. I helped in children's church.

This past week I (Doris) was able to do two full days of baking for the Coffee House that the church has recently opened. The pastor's wife normally does all the baking for it, but she was swamped with other obligations, mainly because the church was hosting a two-day pastor's seminar. I introduced cinnomon rolls and they seemed to go over well . A young man on our outreach team recently introduced "cheesecake," that was a very big hit.

Part of our team spent two days this week visiting outlying villages where an incredible revival is taking place, especially among the youth. The Lord stretched our team big time when they had to eat bamboo larvae, mud fish, etc. and sleep on bamboo floors. But they said all the discomfort was worth it, just to see the children worship God, repent, and receive visions from God. Arthur and I were with Pastor Gampon in another city at revival meetings. We truly enjoyed the meetings (praising and dancing and worshiping until midnight each night). God is definitely on the move in Thailand! It's amazing to see faith rising up in the Christians as they see and hear about all God is doing all over the country. Healings and miracles are happening in many places.

This coming week we had planned to work with an orphanage here in Chiang Mai but now it isn't working out to spend the week with the children. Please pray that we will know what He is directing us to do. Each week we've worked helping university students speak/learn English, visited the sick and dying in the children's wards of the hospital, worked on the church (rebuilding restrooms, painting, weeding, cleaning, etc.). On Thursday we will be making a "border run" to get our visa's squared away for the next leg of our outreach phase. Please keep us in prayer that day. It will be a long day of travelling across the border and back. Oh Oh gotta go!! Explain later!

Sorry for the lack of information!!

2008-09-21T02:52:00.000-07:00

We truly thought we would have more opportunities to post to this blog, but between the bad connections, loss of power, and our busy ministry responsibilities, we have had very little time/ability to spend blogging. We are sorry about that. Hopefully, you have gotten the emails we sent out along the way.

Today Arthur preached here at the City Gate Church at the request of Pastor Gampon. It was a wonderful service and the people were really blessed, especially, I think, the English speakers that live here (missionaries, YWAMers, etc). I'm amazed at how many non-Thais are connected with this church and it's various ministries.

Pastor Gampon has asked us to join him as he travels to hear an Indian pastor speak the next couple of days in a town about 4-5 hours south of Chiang Mai. We are excited to go along. The preaching will be done in English (Indian English), and Pastor Gampon will be the Thai translater. The rest of our team will visit two villages about an hours drive from here and minister there for 2 days.

The weather here is HOT and with the humitity at 94%, sometimes the heat feels unbearable. Please hold us up in your prayers. We are thankful that every once in a while we are able to be in a spot that has air-conditioning. Our group will be going to a market tonight to buy supplies for ministry in the villages and even though Arthur and I will not be going to the villages, we are going shopping with them--just to get into a air-conditioned store.

We send you all our love and remind you that you are in our prayers. The Lord has blessed us in marvelous ways; with answers to prayer, with healing from ailments that have come upon us, with words to speak of His goodness and greatness, with revelation of how to pray for people when we cannot understand their request (but God gives us understanding and discernment in how to pray and how to bless them).

Please drop us a comment. We'd love to hear how things are going at home. May God bless and keep you, until we connect again. Blessed be the Name of the Lord!!!

With our love,
Art & Doris

Commissioned to GO!!!

2008-08-26T20:35:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's amazing! In just 38 hours we will be in the air, flying to Bangkok, Thailand. And from there, traveling by train to our first outreach destination, Chang Mai (in northern Thailand). The base leaders prayed for us the other night and commissioned us (in the name of Jesus) to "GO and make disicples". We received many words of encouragement and support.

We are sorry we have not been able to load the video of us walking the high wire; we need help with this blogging business. But be sure to take another look at the August 17th posting. We've added some snapshots of our week on the ropes course.

Thank you so much for keeping us in your prayers. We especially ask for increased prayer covering throughout September and October while we are overseas, ministering in nations whose languages we do not know and whose governments are not always appreciative of "westerners."

We send our love to you all. May you be blessed during the autumn season. We hope to continue to communicate via email and this blog while we visit Thailand and Myanmar, but we cannot promise that all our postings will get to you. Please keep in touch if you can, we (especially Doris) will need the reassurance that all is well at home.

With love we sign off for now,

Art & Doris

The Ropes Course

2008-08-17T09:18:00.000-07:00

Good Morning! Well we promised in our newsletter to have a video of us walking the high wire on the campus ropes course but we are having trouble getting it to down load. We hope to succeed soon so in the mean time you will have to just take our word for it. Doris was amazing!

Here are a few snapshots.

Half way there

2008-07-21T15:12:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody. It has been a while since we posted an update, and we're sorry for that. It seems like we have many things that are vying for our time and we find it hard to keep up with the blog. Since we last posted we have had three weeks of school. They call this "lecture phase" but it really involves much more than that. There is lecture time, but along with the lecture there is often significant time allowed for responding and ministry to the application points of the lecture. We also have extended worship time (1 hour) three times a week, we have prayer/intercession twice a week. The class is divided into small groups and each small group meets twice a week. Plus, we have "one on one" times with a staff member once a week--all in order to process what we are learning. Last week we went to the Salem Art Festival and mingled, looking for opportunities to share our faith. That was a stretch for many of us, since cold evangelism is not something any of us are used to, and none of us are really comfortable with.

Each week introduces a new area of teaching. We have had: Hearing God; Kingdom Dynamics; A Lifestyle of Repentance; Plumbline; and Relationships. This week we are talking about "God". Sometimes it is easy to just assume that we know all we need to know about God, but in reality God is so big and awesome that there is really no such thing as knowing Him as well as He wants to be known. We have been challenged already that the real issue is letting God know us. Ever since the fall of man we have been hiding from God whose greatest desire is to be known in all of his goodness, but we hide. One of the highlights of the time here for both of us is a growing awareness of God the Redeemer, the one who can take every area of our life (or any one's life) and redeem it. His passion is to restore our lives, to work in every circumstance, past, present and future, to bring healing. Hallelujah!

If you recieved our newsletter you know that we are headed to Thailand for our "outreach" and we are praying that God will open a way for us to spend some time in Burma (Myanmar) as well. We will be working in the northern part of Thailand out of a city called Chang Mai. This is near the Burmese border so even if we cannot get into Burma we will be working with refugees and immigrants from Burma.

One news note is that William P. Young, author of "The Shack", is speaking on campus today and tomorrow. He is not speaking in our school but we will get to hear him Tuesday evening. If you have not heard of the his book, you need to check it out. The Shack is a novel that will awaken all kinds of things in your heart and mind. We have read it a couple of times and each time it challenges our minds and touches the depths of our hearts.

Getting down to Business with God

2008-06-21T12:48:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

Well, we've just finished two weeks at YWAM Salem. The first week was filled with all sorts of activities geared to helping us get to know one another, both staff and fellow-students. Then this past week we buckled down to learning about "Hearing the Voice of God." I was amazed at the various ways God chose to speak to me (Doris) personally. And the others in our class can testify the same--God was speaking to each of us, specifially what we needed to hear. We were encouraged to ask Him specific questions, and I for one, was amazed at His answers.

We do a lot of journaling, small group and one-on-one processing of the material we are studying each week. Another activity we are all involved in is AOS (acts of service); better known by some as work duty. Arthur is on the supper clean-up crew. By the time he is done each evening he looks like one tired dog, but I'll let him tell you more on that, if he wants to. My duty is in the area of hospitality. My job is two-fold: preparing, setting up and cleaning up for the mid-morning snack break for the CDTS students and staff, then also in the afternoons I bake, make up beds and rooms and welcome packs for guests who are staying overnight on campus. This past week I did gobs of baking. Next week I expect to do more bed-making, laundry etc. because all the guest beds on the base will be filled because of a wedding that is taking place here next Saturday.

In just this short time we've already come to love our staff and fellow students. Each one has such a unique story and already made such a wonderful impact on our lives. We still don't know where (to what country) our class will go on "outreach." We have been praying and on Tuesday morning will again spend the morning in intercession, seeking God's will for us.

2008-06-09T18:58:00.000-07:00

We have finally arrived! Pretty impressive, eh! Arrived really only means that we are now in Salem, OR and today was the first day of our CDTS. We already have homework and we already got the afternoon off. Wow.

The Salem YWAM Base is on 35 beautiful acres SE of Salem. It is a gorgeous time of year with all the Rhody's in full bloom and everything green and growing. This beauty comes at a price, rain almost every day and my (Art's) allergies are in high gear.

We have been traveling since May 5 and it is good to settle down for awhile. We have a beautiful room and it's much larger than we expected, Praise God! (see pic) We do share a bathroom with a couple who has a 2 year old but it seems to be going well. We eat with all the others on base in cafeteria. It is definitely food designed to keep the young people, who are the majority here, happy.

An update on our travels. We covered around 2500 miles starting with a trip to Alberta, Canada going as far north as a little town called Boyle where Doris' brother and his wife have a small business. We visited family and friends from 35 years ago. Doris was able to enjoy Mother's Day with her mother for the first time in 20+ years. It was a great time. We then were able to spend a few days with our middle son, Steven and our newest grandchild, Noah. who was only two weeks old at the time. That was awesome! We returned to Kellogg for a couple of days to repack for School. Brian Larsen, a fellow CDTS student, brought a couple of boxes for us because our car was stuffed. I (Art) had the privilege of preaching at Lakeview Missionary Church in Moses Lake, the church I grew up in. We enjoyed a great potluck there that was put on because my dad and mom made the trip over from Pinehurst to be with us in Moses Lake, their first visit back in 4+ years. We journeyed on to Seattle where we spent the evening with my sister, Patty, and Dave and Sharon Passey. He was the pastor who married us 36 years ago, June 17. We took a quick trip up to Abbotsford, B.C. to see our oldest son and his family (We were able to see all four of our children and all 7 of our grandchildren in the last month, really cool!). We then made the final leg of our journey traveling to Tacoma, then Eatonville and on to Battleground visiting friends and enjoying their hospitality before arriving in Salem on June 8. A busy and enjoyable month.

Whew! That's Over! Now What?

2008-04-11T16:51:00.000-07:00

The "moving sale" was a lot of work, but it really paid off. God blessed our efforts more than we could have imagined. Thank you to any and all of you who helped us out: with setting up, with pricing, with manning the cash table, with buying stuff, with loading stuff into people's vehicles, etc. Because of all your help the "clean up" was very simple. We are profoundly grateful.

Now that we have parted with all the "extras" we had been holding onto, we can get busy packing our belongings into boxes, preparing them for storage. That's where they will sit until we return from our training in Salem, Oregon in mid-December.

May 4th will be our last Sunday at the United Church of Kellogg. They will be "commissioning" us, sending us out, with quite a bit of fanfare, I learned today. We'd like to invite you to come and be a part of that big day. The Sunday morning service will have a special time of prayer and "commissioning." The church is also planning an evening supper and party, starting at 5:30pm. We'd love to have you join us on this special day.

Our plans for May are to go to Alberta and visit Doris' family, and some friends from Bible College. Then, on our way to Oregon we'll swing down through Great Falls, Montana to welcome the newest member of the family. (Steven and Christel are expecting their second baby in May).

Classes begin for us in Salem on June 9th. It feels so strange to read the list of items they recommend students bring with them. It seems so short. How in the world do you narrow your belongings down to 18 items each when we've gotten so used to being surrounded by "the comforts and conveniences" we've grown accustomed to? With God's help, is all I can figure.

Yippee!! We're In!

2008-03-12T09:15:00.001-07:00

We've received our "acceptance" packet to CDTS at the Salem, Oregon YWAM base. School begins June 9, 2008. So we've been fine-tuning our schedule for the next few months.

Lord willing, things will go somewhat like this: We will have a "moving sale" the first weekend in May. May 4th is scheduled to be Arthur's last Sunday in the pulpit of the church here in Kellogg. Then, that following week we will get our things into storage and head up to Alberta, where we hope to be at Mom and Dad's in Red Deer by Mother's Day. I'm very excited about that!

Arthur and I are spending much time in prayer and conversation, seeking God, and clarifying in our own hearts and minds this new direction. This is truly a new and awesome journey for us; we've not been down this road before. True, we've been in Christian ministry for many years, but always in the context of "pastoring." This new direction is that of being "missionaries." And WOW, it's stretching us, stretching our trust in our Heavenly Father and His provision, stretching our view of ourselves and who He has called us to be in these present times.

We love God, and we live to partner with Him and fit into His purposes, so the whole thing is exciting beyond words. But I have to admit to a bit of "shaking in my boots" as well. Please pray for us. We want to be, and do, all God has in mind for us.

Regarding the mountain of "stuff" that I've been sorting through: well, I feel like I'm making decent headway. I wish so badly that all the kids could come and look through things and take anything that has meaning to them. Yesterday I came across boxes of school papers, letters and cards the kids had given me years ago (throughout their growing-up years). What a precious (and emotional) time I had with all that stuff. And now I need to get back at it. All around me here in the study are piles of boxes, stacks of photos, and literally hundreds of books and notebooks yet to go through.

2008-02-25T09:29:00.000-08:00

One of the mountains facing us these days is the vast amount of "stuff" we have accumulated over the past 35 years. It must be dealt with! And if we understand God's voice clearly, He is saying it's time to downsize our household. Our daughter got me (Doris) started; she's young (32) and motivated and supplied the push I needed to get this daunting project underway. So, today I head for the basement--to sort through boxes and boxes of old papers and magazines, paint, and canning supplies galore (in my younger days I would can dozens of jars of fruits, vegetables, jams, jellies, etc. in any given year). Those days have long been over and it's time to pass this stuff on to a younger woman. Hopefully, there's still someone out there who enjoys providing for her family in this way. Arthur left this morning to a attend a pastor's prayer retreat the next few days, so I hope to buckle down and make some honest-to-goodness progress while he's away. My plan, Lord willing, is to have a yard sale the first weekend of May, using the proceeds to help fund our schooling in Salem. If you have knowledge on how to price antiques and other old things, I'd love to hear from you.

Another Step

2008-02-24T20:39:00.000-08:00

Well we've made progress. Our CDTS applications are all sent off and we now awaiting acceptance into the CDTS school in Salem, Oregon. We just sent out our first letter to friends, family and church family telling about the beginnings of this new adventure. The name of our blog has its roots in our early days in the Silver Valley of North Idaho. We called the ministry The Solid Rock. We still have a strong desire to see a church planted in Wallace but if that or any of our plans come to fruition it will be because we are standing on the "Solid Rock".

We spend some time this past week at a board retreat for Rural Shepherds Network the ministry be believe God is leading us to be a part of when we complete our CDTS. You can check them out online at ruralshepherdsnetork.org.

I (Art) am leaving in the morning for a pastor's prayer retreat near Oldtown, Idaho. I am looking forward to what God will do there. If you read this before Feb. 27 please use it as a reminder to pray for God's anointing in our lives.

It Has Begun

2008-01-21T19:55:00.000-08:00

Monday, Jan. 21
Two weeks ago Doris and I made a decision to follow the desire of our heart to get more involved in missions and to pursue a ministry of networking and nurturing pastors, churches and people here and abroad. Our first step has been to research Crossroads Discipleship Training Schools. These are schools that introduce people who a "little" older to the values of Youth With A Mission. We believe Youth With A Mission (YWAM) is going to be the primary mission agency we will be working with so we must do one these schools. We looked into many schools online and narrowed our search to five, Salem, OR, Lebanon, PA,, Pune, India, Babaio, Philipines and Fiji. I was really hoping for Fiji but evidently God has other plans as they never responded to ur inquiries. We both have come to feel that Salem, Oregon is the place for us. We have been feeling this for a few days and then tonight, I recieved an email from a acquaintance whom we had consulted who reccomended Salem without knowing that was the way we were leaning. Thank you Jesus. Well this is the start of new adventure, A Solid Rock Adventure, an adventure with Jesus our Solid Rock.