Hey, it's hailing outside!

Yesterday evening as we finished supper and prepared for church we could hear the rumbling of thunder as flashes of lightning sparked through the sky (sounds like the beginning of a mystery novel!).

All of a sudden our front door and front window blew open and some strong winds began to wreak havoc in our neighborhood. We watched as the noise grew louder as hail began to pummel our house and van parked outside. Our electricity went out and things began to blow around outside and trees began to fall. After a while the storm began to calm down.

We could hear fire trucks racing around and firefighters came to the corner of our house and blocked off our street with caution tape. There were trees down all around our block and even trees on houses. After about thirty minutes the fire and emergency vehicles left and we headed to church. All is fine this morning and we can hear the noise of chainsaws cleaning up the debris. People here seem to be shocked at the violent thunderstorm as we talked with our neighbor. To us, it was just another summer afternoon thunderstorm back home in Florida!!!

Odds-n-Ends

We had a wonderful day in the Lord yesterday! There were a lot of things accomplished and we always seem to have a wonderful fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ!

Here are a few Odds-n-Ends from yesterday:

The teenage boys and I had a wonderful lesson on "Initiative" and our base text was Matthew 5:41. It is wonderful to prepare lessons and have the Lord work on my heart as I hope He is working on the young men.

Kami and the kids sang my favorite song in the AM service, "The Last Blood". As we were practicing singing several songs on our way to church in the morning, they sang this one. I immediately thought they should sing this song today in church. Pastor Roy graciously accepted our offer to sing in the services. They did a wonderful job! My family is such a blessing to me!

The church had a very special Lord's Supper Service. The church brings together all the fixin's for a very nice church lunch. (ie: roasted chicken, meatloaf, home-made soup, cole slaw, fresh veggies, desserts, etc.) We fellowship and eat lunch at the church. Afterwards, we all clean up and then prepare for the Lord's Supper. It is a very solemn time as we reflect upon what the Lord did for us in His sacrifice. As the elements are passed, Pastor Roy reads scripture, prays, and the Lord's supper is taken. Afterwards, Pastor Roy invited the church to stick around and play games and what a wonderful time we had playing the dictionary game and pictionary!!! (the boys won...yea!!!....by the way, Mrs. Roy gave me the secret clue in pictionary....George Mueller...do you know how hard it was to draw George Mueller!....what happened to the easy words like lamp or apple!...we had so much fun laughing and fellowshipping together!)

Lastly, I just wanted to write a praise about our Elisabeth....what a wonderful young lady she is! Right now she is out grocery shopping with Momma (she volunteers to go help Kami do the weeks shopping.) She has been fixing meals, baking, and always does her chores without any coaxing or complaining! She is wanting to learn to embroider. Her along with Kami are going to start by watching some embroidery tutorials on the internet today. We constantly find her taking care of Silas. She changes his diaper without being asked and often will sit down with him to read books.......I must say that most of the time, she is silently finding ways to be a blessing to those around her! We love you Beth!

Old Fashioned River Baptism!

We praise the Lord when someone accepts Christ as their Saviour. We are also very excited when someone takes the next step in their Christian growth by following the Lord in believer's baptism.

Today, Eglise Baptiste de St. Augustin met on the shore of a local river to baptize Mr. Donald Piche'. Even though it was mid-July, the weather was chilly and the water cold! Pastor Roy read the story of Philip baptizing the Eunuch and then Mr. Donald gave a testimony for all to hear right before his public profession of faith in baptism.

After the baptism service, we met together and had a church picnic to celebrate the great day!

Like Mother...Like Daughter

We have noticed that Elisabeth tends to be just like her mother.....tonight Kami cut her finger while trying to chop up some vegetables for dinner. After dinner, Beth was washing the dishes and she came in with blood all over her finger, she had cut her finger while washing a knife. (I accused both of them of trying to get out of work!...some people will do anything to get out of chores!)

The other day I posted a picture of Kami and how she had dumped a container of flour all over the kitchen floor....well, Beth decided it looked like so much fun............................

`e...e'......e.....and ..e with a ^ over it.....

We are studying hard trying to learn French...will there ever be a day when I can truly speak and understand this "foreign" language??? I am 34 years old and can you really teach an old dog new tricks?.....Praise the Lord I am not old!....

Today I started out with prayer and Bible reading. Then we all had breakfast and I had a wonderful egg-white omelet. Then the French lessons started.....I worked on the Rosetta Stone program for about 1 1/2 hours and passed all of my tests with 100%. Then I worked on my review tests from our language tutor for about another 2 hours.

It is amazing how many sounds you can get from one little letter "e" in French. Pastor Roy calls French a "rich" language when trying to teach me all of the accent marks and sounds when conjugating verbs....let me translate that word "rich"....it means complicated and full of exceptions to rules!!! `e sounds like "eh"......e' sounds like "aye".......just plain e makes an "er" sound unless followed by a double consonant.....e at the end of the word doesn't make a sound and sometimes doesn't make a sound in the middle of a word as well. Then there is an e with a ^ over it....I really don't know what sound that is supposed to make.

We are on lunch break right now and then I am going to take the kids to swim in the river out in the woods here in our neighborhood. Then I will come back home and study some more French...I look forward to the day that I can speak, talk, preach, and even dream in French!!! And more importantly, I look forward to when I can lead my first French soul to Christ!!! Yes, studying French is worth all of the work and effort!

Introducing "PBJ Pizza"!!!

The other night as we were gathered around our dining room table, I came up with a topic of conversation, "If you could invent your very own pizza, what would it be?"

We all came up with our own versions of our pizza's. Most sounded pretty good, although Josh's Chicken Tenders with Honey Mustard Pizza seems a bit overboard! We all decided to try making everyone's pizza in the near future and voted to try Brenna's and also mine first.

Here it is....My Peanut Butter and Jelly Pizza (with fresh strawberries and home-made crust!) If you would like the recipe, please feel free to contact me!!!

Brenna's was a Triple Decker Pizza (each layer has a seperate crust, sauce, and cheese)

A Great Day In The Lord!

We had a wonderful day at church today. We enjoyed this evening's message so much, it was about overcoming temptations. We again are so thankful that the messages are being interpreted for us. Our family just loves preaching!

I have just finished reading a biography on George Mueller. What a great man of God! When I read about his faith and prayer life, I realized that I am not much of a Christian!!! His life of faith puts us to shame.

I want what he had! Since he had the same God that I have, I am capable of the great faith he lived. It is up to us to live this life of faith....If you have never read the biography of George Mueller, I challenge you to read about his great faith and the faithfulness of our great God!!!

Be Careful What You Ask For !!!

When we stopped in to gas up our van the other day, I went in to pay and as usual the attendant said something in French. My usual answer is, "I don't speak French." There were two attendents and they each looked at each other and one said in broken English, "You don't speak French?"

I then decided to use my "limited" French to tell them I am studying French (J'etudie le francais). One of the young men said, "3.86" and the other looked at me and said, "No, it is 14 million." I was so confused, so I looked at them and asked what they were talking about...One attendent got excited and said, "The lotto, it is 14 million!". We then proceded to make sense of our conversation and we all began to laugh. They barely spoke English and I don't speak French and in the mix-up they thought I was asking about the lotto and was trying to buy a ticket. We laughed some more and I gave them a French Gospel Tract. As we left, they were standing at the counter, reading the Gospel. When I got back to the van, Kami asked what all the laughing was about to which I replied, "I think I almost bought a lottery ticket!"

The Continuation of Missionary Mysteries....Case Solved!!!

In the continuation of the Mystery of the Missing Jewel, we bring you back to the scene of the crime. Kami's diamond was found stolen (okay, missing) from her wedding ring on Tuesday morning. Chief Detective Patrick was brought in to handle the case. We dusted the crime scene (okay, we swept the whole house) looking for the clues to the missing diamond but to no avail. Kami was in shock and broken by the loss.



The main question was to figure out when the diamond may have fallen out of her ring. I opened my Top-Secret Detective Laptop and began to scour pictures from our camping trip looking for a picture of Kami's left hand. I finally found a picture of her holding Silas from last Friday. I zoomed in on her left hand and.....the diamond was still there!!!

The case then turned to the van, maybe it fell out traveling back. We sent in our team of detective apprentices to inspect the van, but again nothing. The case was getting cold. Then we received an anonymous phone call giving us a lead (okay, my mother called and told us to check Kami's purse or the diaper bag).

Then last night at church, we prayed that Kami would find her diamond. When we woke up this morning, my mind was brought back to the purse. I took Kami's purse and sat down at the laboratory desk (our kitchen table). I began to scour through ten pens and pencils, various shopping lists from weeks gone by, little girls earrings and who knows what else (I think her purse is a crime scene in itself)!!! Then there it was!!! The long lost diamond was dropped by the thief into her purse (okay, there was no thief...it just fell out). Kami woke up to me asking her to marry me all over again as I presented her the diamond (yes, I am Mr. Romantic)! We praise the Lord for His answered prayers and for my mother who provided us the tip that led us to crack the case!

An afternoon in Old Quebec...

This morning Pastor Roy and his family called and invited us to come along on a trip to Old Quebec. There is a week long festival going on in Quebec with street performers and vendors all around town.

Kami and the kids got lunch together for us to take for a picnic and I studied my French lessons this morning. We left around 11:45 and went to the park along the St. Lawrence River and had a wonderful picnic lunch and fellowship. We watched the sailboats zig-zagging along the river and enjoyed the sun with great temperatures in the 60's. Mrs. Roy's brother is in town for a visit and we had a wonderful time of fellowship as well. The kids played for a while and then we packed up lunch and went into Old Quebec. I believe this is the only walled city left in North America. It is really neat to visit. You can visit the old castle and military citadel. There are old canons around and all of the little shops are neat to visit as well. We walked around the city and stopped to watch a couple of street performers as they did their tricks and stunts. There was one older gentleman that was washing his hands in the restroom at the same time I was. We both turned around to grab some paper towels but there were none. The air dryer didn't work as well. So we both looked at each other and waved our hands in the air and laughed. As we walked down the hallway to exit the building he would wave his hands and laugh and I would do the same. We just made hand signals to communicate and we would laugh some more. I thought he was French and didn't speak English.....He thought the same thing about me. When he saw his wife he began to laugh and told her the story in perfect English...there was my chance to talk to one of our "home" folks from America and we missed it !!!

We had a great time today and now we are getting ready for church this evening.

Looking Good On The Outside...Empty On The Inside

Tonight we went out on "distribution" (passing out Reformer's Unanimous info, church info, and the Gospel of John and Romans). We put this packet of information and the Gospel on doors and mailboxes in neighborhoods.

The neighborhood that we have been canvassing in, is a very nice neighborhood with beautiful homes and fancy cars. As I approached a home with a Porsche in the driveway, I got to thinking about how nice these homes were and how most of these people have everything the world has to offer. I started to wonder if any of these homeowners would even read the information we were putting on their doors.

Then the Lord reminded me that even though these houses were well manicured and beautiful on the outside, without Him, the inside would be empty and hopeless. There would be mothers, fathers, children who are ready to give up on life with no where to turn and in need of our precious Lord and Saviour.......It may be that someone tonight has found the answer, the only answer...Jesus said, " I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me."

Case of the Missing Jewel????

Josh and I have loved reading the old Hardy Boys Mystery books and the old Rick Brant Mystery books as well. Now we have a real mystery case that involves missing jewels!!!

This morning after breakfast and our family Bible Study (Psalm 37-How to respond to Hurt...thanks Pastor Roy for this excellent message, we are reviewing it as a family and really breaking down the passages and points!), Kami began to panic. She was holding her ring finger with grief stricken eyes......I might have some hidden talent in writing mystery books!

She had noticed that her diamond in her wedding ring was gone...vanished....stolen!!! (okay, maybe it just fell out....) We scoured the house, swept the floors but to no avail...it was gone. Maybe the racoon from camp this past week is sporting a new diamond around the camp.
The mystery is yet to be solved...will we find it???....will Kami ever be reunited with the diamond she has had for the past 15 years???....stay tuned to the exciting adventures of "Mysteries of Missionaries"!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dr.'s Appointment & Camping !!!

This past Thursday, we drove to Jackman, Maine for 2 doctors appointments. One was for Silas and the other for me. Since the drive was over 2 hours and 20 minutes and we were wanting to have a family camping trip, we decided to combine the two! We drove from Quebec City on Thursday and had our appointments and then headed into the woods for some fun and adventure. We have posted some pictures as follows. However, they are not in order according to our trip but show the wonderful time that we had! Silas taking a much needed nap in our tent...he had three shots at the Dr.'s !!!

On one of our hikes, Josh went to step on this stick...it wasn't a stick!!!

This was part of the 5 mile drive through the woods to get to our campsite!!!

It was neat to see moose crossing signs as we drove along...we did get to see a momma moose and her baby feeding on the shores of the lake we camped at.

Here is the lake that we camped on...we even rented a small boat and took the family fishing for 4 hours. We caught bunches of perch, chub and one breem!

As soon as we arrived, we began to set up our campsite.....it didn't take us long because we hurried as the mosquitos and black flies began to attack us !!!.....our first goal was to get the tent set up and start a fire to try to "smoke out" the bugs!

Notice the two guys setting up the tent in the above picture and these two girls celebrating as if they did all of the work!!

Josh did a great job at chopping all of the firewood that we used for the 2 days of camping, and we sure went through the firewood keeping the bugs at bay.....

Kami was worried there wouldn't be a bathroom while camping.........an old fashioned out-house in the middle of the woods complete with spiders and cobwebs!!! The girls had a hard time getting past all of the "ickiness" and cobwebs of our out-house especially in the middle of the night!!!

Here we are on one of our hikes...there were many trails that meandered around the woods.

One of the trails led to this spot along the river called "Rock Rapids".

Some more hiking, I think Silas and I stayed back at camp for this hike .... one of us needed a nap!

Moose Tracks....boy were they big!

We had a wonderful time camping and made some great family memories. I was able to relive some childhood memories from when I went camping with my parents as well. Apart from the bugs, snakes, racoons (that invaded our camp at night and stole food), and 47 degree temperatures at night (we were freezing!), I believe that we are ready to go again......although Kami says she needs a bit more time to recover!

Finish This Phrase...Don't cry over spilled...????

Well, for Kami, it's "Flour".......This morning, Kami was about to make our family some homemade banana muffins!!! Then we heard her scream "no!" as she knocked the flour container off of the kitchen table.......What a mess!!! I sure am glad it was her and not me!!!

Happy Anniversary!!!

Happy Anniversary Kami...15 Years!!!

The past 15 years has been amazing being married to the most amazing lady!!!

I am looking forward to the next 15 years and 15 after that and 15 after that!!!

Our 15th Anniversary

Posted by Kami
Today we celebrated our 15th Anniversary. I woke up to Patrick telling me "Happy Anniversary" (then, "Silas is awake, he's hungry") :)
On Tuesday I found a letter addressed to me in the mailbox. When I opened it I was excited to find an invitation to dinner from Patrick on our Anniversary.
Tonight, Patrick sent me and Silas out to do some shopping and told me to be back in an hour.
When I returned, Beth came out to the van to get Silas and Patrick got in the van. He said he was taking me to dinner! So, we drove around the block for 5 minutes and arrived at this nice place for dinner (our house) The head waiter (Joshua) greeted us at the door and showed us to our private dining spot (the living room).
There was a sign to welcome us to The Crystal Parrot. This is the restaurant we ate at on our honeymoon. The table was set beautiful with fruit, flowers and candle light. Instrumental music was playing int the background.

The head waiter came in and gave us our menus. Patrick had printed out gorgeous menus with drink choices, appetizer, entree, and dessert. I ordered the coke with Strawberry! MMMM!

After Brenna...I mean the waitress, brought our drinks, the second waitress brought us the appetizer. It was Croquilles St. Jacques. It was so delicious! This is how the menu described it...Scallops and Shrimp in a mushroom sauce topped with fresh cheese and crowned with a border of whipped potatoes. I loved it!

Then our main course was brought out..FreshSnapped Green Beans sauteed in garlic and butter, Authentic Oriental Fried Rice, and Fresh Baked Croissants, Succulent pieces of Salmon Fillets in a rich creamy sauce, wrapped in a golden Puffed Pastry, and Tender pieces of Lamb on wooden skewers, prepared with olive oil, herbs, and fresh lemon. Wow! It was Amazing!!!

During Dinner, Brenna provided us with some live entertainment on her violin.

Then was brought out dessert... Tarte Carre'e and Creme' Caramel.

It was such a nice evening. Joshua, Elisabeth and Brenna were so sweet and worked so hard cooking and preparing and serving us. They even did the dishes!!! Patrick worked so hard and did all the shopping for the meal. He even made conversation cards wrapped in ribbon. It had sweet questions and we talked and talked about the last 15 years. Soon we both had tears streaming down our faces. We're so thankful we're still in love and love being together. God let me marry my best friend and I'm so thankful for him. We talked about all the memories good, sad, and funny. We also talked about goals we have for the next 15.

Thank you Joshua, Beth and Brenna for making our evening so sweet and memorable. You 3 really worked hard!

Thank you Patrick, for being my best friend and being so attentive to my needs. You are still romantic and plan sweet things for me. I love to be with you! Thanks, Honey!

Happy Independence Day....Canada!!!

Today was Canada's Independence Day....I set out this morning on my way to Bureau En Gros (It's the Canadian Staples office supply), and when I arrived in the parking lot, nothing. My hope was to buy printer ink, envelopes, and mailing labels (to finish my prayer letters) but all of the stores were closed. I tried Wal-Mart on the way home but they to were closed. So, today was spent washing the van with the kids and enjoying Canada's independence.

When leaving for Church tonight, our neighbor asked, "Are you going to Church tonight, even on Canda Day?" I responded yes and a Bible verse popped into my head as we were leaving...."For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God." To him it was foolish, to me it is powerful!!! Church tonight was great. Missionary John Gibson did a great job presenting their ministry on reaching Jews in New York City. What a great ministry. I did not realize that outside of Israel, America has the highest population of Jews in the world. He emphasized that we ought to be thankful to Jews because it was they who gave us the Bible we believe in and also the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Well, tomorrow I will try again to get the office supplies that I need. This is the second Independence Celebration in two weeks. Last Wednesday, Quebec celebrated it's version of Independence Day...everything was closed on that day as well....although I do not know what Quebec is independent from.