Please God, not Africa!

Here it is! 63.09% In the last few days we have had several new supporters! That's miracle #26.

Nate. He is a lover of motorcycles. In fact, he loves most anything that has a motor and can go fast. Last year, he bought a motor bike. Last night, he sold it. Which is good. It has to go. We can't take it and it's silly to store it for two years in a bin somewhere....not that we didn't have offers from friends willing to babysit it. Here it is: We sold it on Kijiji. I posted the ad, which said: "For Sale This super awesome bike is for sale because we are moving overseas. My wife is making me sell it. Contact us if you're interested (or don't and may be she'll let me keep it...)" We had a lot of responses. And now it's sold ~ which truly is an item of praise to God because we needed it to sell before we left. And he is totally fine with it. I think. :)

We have a lot of big stuff ahead of us. At least it seems big to us. These are our mountains, our prayer requests. 1. Raising Support: things are going well! We have over 50% of our monthly support raised and a portion of our "outfit and passage" raised. 2. Renting our House: we have been sorta working on this. We have a few odd jobs to finish here before we can send out pictures of the place. 3. Selling Stuff: we have a van, a truck, a pop-up trailer, a dirt bike, a utility trailer and some other odd items to sell. Once we know when we're leaving it will be easier to sell the vehicles. 4. Immunizations : we each have four that we have to get. One down, three to go! 5. Learning to Speak French: we are taking some online courses right now...but we have a long way to go to be fluent!! :) 6. Packing, cleaning, sorting, tossing, etc.: There's a lot of stuff we can get rid of here!! And there are several things to purchase as well ~ pray that we purchase wise...

Last Sunday was a beautiful day so we decided to meet our friend, Heather, and see if she could take a few photos of our family to use for our prayer card. Our goal: One good picture. One. That's all we're asking. Trying to get seven people to all look the same way, and look nice is not an easy task. I'll share with you some of the fun photos Heather took. She did a great job considering the task she was given! Photo 1: Dear, sweet, Heather has a wicked sense of humor, and as I was JOKINGLY trying to get on this huge tree log, I forgot that she was ready, camera in hand: Photo #2: Trying to get Teddy to join the fun... Photo #3: Nate had this super-cheesey idea for us to stand in a row, looking all serene and peaceful. It didn't quite come off the way he had envisioned...I think Teddy doesn't want to go to Africa... Photo #4: The one that we are using. Yes, Teddy isn't looking the right direction. Yes, there is a stick in my face. But yes, this is the...

A couple of weeks ago we were in to see our doc about immunizations. Turns out the kids and I each need at least four shots each before we go. While I was leaving the office, our doc's secretary asked me which pharmacy she should send the prescription to. I told her it didn't matter so she picked the one closest to me in Ilderton. I didn't even know we had a pharmacy in Ilderton. Once I got home I had to call my friend to find out where it was even located in Ilderton. I popped into the Ilderton pharmacy and guess who's behind the counter?? A friend from church. A motorcycle buddy of Nate's. I knew he was a pharmacist/genius but I didn't know where he actually worked. He told me that he could get the shots for us, no problem and that he'd even help us save on the dispensing fee. Beautiful!! I love that word "save"! Today, I pop into the pharmacy that I didn't know existed to see the pharmacist that I do know but didn't know where ...

This afternoon I received an email! A good one. A great one! Here's what the first paragraph said: Erin & Nathan, I know you have been working hard on your application and waiting for this e-mail. Congratulations, your application is complete and you are approved for your 2 year AMP ministry in Mango, Togo! Attached is a copy of your approval letter – the original is included in the AMP packet you will receive by postal mail from the US office. Would ya look at that? Another miracle -- and since I haven't posted in a few days, this is actually miracle #24. The last time I posted we were at #18. #19 - a message on my answering machine telling me I could colour in 2 and a half "snake stripes" in support! #20 - an email from a woman holding a hockey tournament that sponsors missions ~ and she wants some of the proceeds of this tournament to sponsor us! #21 - a meeting with a real estate agent/friend who offers to help us rent our house, deal with the legal ja...