August - The end of Summer and the beginning of a new year.

Good Afternoon Friends, Family, and Internet Wanderors!

I know that January 1st is the beginning of the new year, but for me it has always felt like August 31/Sept 1 is when the year should start. I know that probably has to do with having spent more of my life in school than out, but at the same time people are returning from vacations, and ministry is starting up as well. So Happy New Year! I hope your summer was amazing!


Thanksgiving
As many of you know in August I turned 30 and while a bit of me was nervous about the milestone, it was a good time of spending the afternoon with family. I often take for granted the love and support of my family and it is good to spend time together and celebrate, especially if there is pie! Thank you to everyone, friends and family alike who took the time to write or call and send me birthday wishes, I very much felt loved this year.

Also as some of you know I used my vacation time in August to do another round of swimming lessons following the ones I took in July. After the July classes I felt more comfortable in the water but still could not do much on my own. So I decided to take the course again, and this time with a friend. Having a friend along and having done this before I learned much more than I had the first time. While I am still nervous around deep water I am improving dramatically in the core skills and now can swim almost indefinitely on my back, still working on getting the breathing right to stay on my front. It is my hope that my friend and I will be able to return to the pool regularly in order to be able to practice what we have learned until we feel ready to take the next level.

Finally this month I was able to re-connect a bit with a friend I had not seen since leaving my previous church. While we were never terribly close we have often shared a sense of camaraderie as we both have wholeheartedly pursued our faith. This month she was an encouragement to me and I hope I was to her. It is my hope that we will continue to be able to encourage each other in our respective ministries.

Prayer

As the new year approaches there are still a few things that need to be sorted out and I would cherish your prayers over.

With the new year comes a new opportunity to invest in the lives of youth. This is my favourite part of the year, but this year we have still yet to find a second female youth leader. Our group has grown from 4 students when I started to having the potential for 15 this year (10-12 expected for sure). I love to see the students growing in their faith and new kids showing up, but in order to keep this up I need more adults who are interested in investing in the lives of students, particularly young women as 10 of that 15 will likely be ladies. Please join me in praying that God will show us where to look and who to find to help these young women grow as beloved children of God.

Similarly this is not just a new school year for the youth, but also for me as I am now in year 3 of 4 for my Masters Degree. This year is unlike the previous years in that a large portion of my work will entail reflection and critical analysis of my work at the church, it is called Supervised Ministry Experience. So with uncertainty comes the need for more prayer. Please join me in praying for this school year, pray that I will use my time well that I will learn what I need to and use that learning to impact others for God's kingdom.

Thank you for your prayers and for your support both financial and prayerful. Without the generosity of people like you I could not serve as I do!