It has been a crazy 3 months since we have posted here.  My apologies for not getting to it sooner.  We arrived in Alberta in mid June after a successful trip back from Mexico.  The twins did very well and we were so thankful for that!  Upon our arrival in Alberta we had to start looking for housing.  It was too hard to do from down in Mexico.  It took some time to find a place, a long time!  We have only been in the place we are renting for about 3 weeks now.  We were blessed to stay with some friends who we served with in Paraguay upon our arrival so God provided for us that way.  It was so good to connect with them again!
Now it turns out that our eldest is attending the same school as their kids and not only that but the eldest child of our teammates in Mexico is also attending there so they all see each other every day!  Our other 2 school aged kids are happy to continue home schooling for now which suits us just fine. 

I have found work with a ministry called GoodSeed based only a half hour drive from our home.  GoodSeed provides tools and training to help bible believers explain the gospel in a way that makes profound sense.  My work involves creating a Spanish website for this ministry and networking in the Spanish speaking communities both here and abroad in order to get the word out!  What a privilege to be able to continue doing missions right here at home!  I am so excited about being able to help get the word out here and Latin America too!  I can see how God has been preparing me for this role.  I have contacts in a few different places in Latin America and they will be helpful to me in getting this life changing message out!

Now we are praying that our supporters will see this as a worthy mission and continue to support us in this new venture.  We are still needing to raise support and as such are still faith based Missionaries.  For that we are so grateful!

To God be the glory! 

Homeward Bound

After much prayer and quite a bit of angst on my part, we have decided that the best thing for our family at this time is to return to Alberta, ending out Foreign Missionary Service.  It is with a heavy heart that we announce this, being over-seas Missionaries has been our dream for so many years now and the only thing the majority of our kids ever remember doing!
The prayer letter link posted below will give you more details on the reasoning etc.  Please click on it and give it a quick read.

However we do not at all feel like we are done being Missionaries.  We believe God is calling us to continue to serve Him going forward.  All the details are not yet worked out so please pray for us.  Pray also that we would find suitable housing and that our transition time will be short (that we would be able to find housing soon!).  Thanks so much, we will continue to post info here as the info becomes available.  Again, the letter below has much more info.  Thanks.

Elliott Prayer Letter 

Humbled at the Vineyards

Last Monday 3 or 4 young men from our church, a fellow missionary and 2 of my kids and I went off to a local vineyard where each week we present a Christian movie and then the gospel message to the Migrant workers there who come from Southern Mexico.  Little did we know, God had something in store for us that we could never have expected.

After the movie which depicted the chat that the strangers on the road to Emaus might have had with Jesus after his resurrection, I presented the message of salvation for the 50 or so Migrant Workers who were there listening.  After I finished speaking, we handed out some tracts, transferred a few audio bibles and handed out a few regular bibles, we were prepared to leave.  That is when an older man came up and asked for a bible.  As we handed it to him he explained how much this bible meant to him.  He said he had been waiting for a bible for 30 years!  I found that hard to believe but even if he had been waiting for 10 years!  Wow.  What a privilege to be able to hand this man a bible!  But that wasn't all that God had in store for us that night.  

A young man came up to me and explained that he was a Christian.  He was from the state of Chiapas which shares a border with Guatemala.  He said that his family in Chiapas was waiting for him to save some of his wages from laboring in the vineyards and send some back to them.  The problem is that he was only able to save 34 pesos a day, the equivalent of about $3 Canadian.  Hardly enough to send back home.  That is when he asked me to pray for him and the tears started to roll down his cheeks.  Then he handed me a folded up piece of paper.  He said that out there at the vineyard he was isolated and didn't have the opportunity to go to church.  He was thankful that we had come and shared the word of God and had encouraged him.  He said his "offering or tithe" was inside the folded piece of paper he had handed me.  I asked if I could open it up and he said yes.  

When I saw what was inside the piece of paper I must admit that all of a sudden I wanted to run away.  I didn't want to be there, didn't want to accept the money, didn't want to be responsible for such a weight.  He had given the Lord (via me) 100 pesos - the equivalent to about $8.50 Canadian or for him, 3 days wages.  All the while his family was waiting for him to send them money.  I wanted to convince him not to give it to me.  I wanted to tell him that he needed it, that his family needed it.  I really didn’t want that money.  I asked him if he was sure that God wanted him to give me this money as a tithe.  He said yes.  I didn’t believe him.  I didn’t want to believe it, more than anything I didn’t want to be responsible for the tithe.  I asked him again if he was sure that he was sure.  Again, without hesitation he said yes.  I felt like God said to me that if He was the one who told this young man to do this, then I had better accept it. 

So I did the only thing I could do, I accepted it and prayed for him.  We wept together as I crouched before him.  I crouched there because I felt less than he.  I felt so humbled by his faith.  He was openly weeping as he handed me 3 days wages, not being able to save a substantial amount to send back to his family, but believing the God of the universe was more than able to meet his need and that of his family. 

As a missionary I am on the receiving end of many blessings, my family and I are the recipients of many dollars from friends and family who by their giving sustain us.  I must say though, of all the hundreds and thousands of dollars we have received over the years, that $8.50 was likely the largest gift I have ever received.  It is not for me or my family, but rather intrusted to me (a stranger to this young Christian) to use as I see fit for the Lord and His purposes.  I am praying about what to do with that amazing gift as it sits on my desk at home. 

So, what is God saying to you through this story that I was privileged to be a part of?  Do you give to God only from your abundance?  Have you ever given to God what you really needed, believing that He is more than able to provide for your need?  Have you ever given to Him when it didn’t make sense humanly speaking?  Have you ever experienced God like this? 

Let me challenge you with this.  Psalm 34:8 tells us to “taste and see that the Lord is good.”  Do you give God the opportunity to show you how good He tastes?  Or do you shrink back from extending yourself for God because it doesn’t make “good sense”?  For this young Mexican Christian to give me 3 days wages as an offering to the Lord when he obviously needed the money, well that makes no sense.  It makes no sense at all, unless of course the one who makes the offering knows the one to whom he offers the sacrifice.  This young man showed great faith and I believe God will reward him greatly for obeying, even when it didn’t make sense.  That is how we taste and see that the Lord is good! 

Next time you feel God nudging you to do something that doesn’t make sense (related to money or not), don’t shrink back, don’t explain it away as not making sense and thus lean on your own understanding.  Obey God, do it and taste and see that the Lord is good!
We are heading out again tonight (and each Tuesday and Friday) so please pray for this ministry!      

Adoption Story Part 2

Have a look at the 2nd part of the video I did about our adoption story.

Have a look at our latest prayer letter by clicking on the link below

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4943381/prayerletter%2331email.pdf

Sometimes I Just Love it Here!

So the other day I became aware of a rattling under my car as I drove.  Upon a quick investigation I realized there was a fairly large piece of light metal that was loose and rattling around but did not look in danger of falling off.
The next day I had a bit of time, so I ran uptown and took the car to a mechanic.  I told him what I had heard and seen and immediately he told me to pull up over the open pit so he could get underneath the vehicle and have a look.  I wish I had taken a picture of that pit!  My driver side wheels were on solid concrete at the left side of the pit, but as I pulled up over-top of the pit, my passenger side wheels had to line up with a small ramp that spanned the length of the pit, barely wider than my wheels and with hardly any side rails to protect me from falling off of it!  Hope you can picture what I mean.
So I very very slowly crept onto the ramp and proceeded forward all the while keeping a watchful eye on the mechanic who was guiding me forward with hand signals, pointing me left or right as I crept forward.  I have never driven so slow!  Thankfully I reached the point where he signaled me to stop.
I got out of the car and he went down into the maybe 6-7 foot deep pit.  He grabbed a socket and began to work.  After maybe 4 to 5 minutes of tightening and banging around he emerged from the pit and told me that it was a heat deflector near my muffler that had come loose.  He was fairly sure that the noise I had heard was coming from that piece which he had now secured.  Satisfied at his explanation, I asked him what I owed him.  This is the best part of the story and my reason for sharing it with you.  He replied, "just by me a soda pop."
Hardly able to believe what I had heard and thinking that I misunderstood his Spanish I asked him to repeat himself and he said, "Well it was no big deal, just by me a soda pop."
I pulled out a 50 peso bill from my wallet (about $4 dollars) and said, "let me give you 50 pesos at least."  He smiled a big smile and thanked me profusely!
I returned home, having been gone all of about 20 minutes, and only 50 pesos poorer!
Maybe this experience will help to make up for all the times where a "quick errand" took half the day as I waited for someone to show up to a scheduled appointment, or waited in a line-up for some sort!

Always Be Ready

In the last week I have unexpectedly been asked about the hope that I have on 2 different occasions.  I have come to realize that the Mexican people are much more sensitive to spiritual things than folks back home.
I was doing an errand when I was introduced to a friend of a friend.  It seems he was struggling in his life with various family and business issues.  I was introduced as a Pastor, which is a stretch but non-the-less he started to ask me about what I believe.  He kept peppering me with questions about my faith and what I believe and why.  I was able to give some understanding to him about how the Trinity Works and how God can be three in one.  We talked of the Holy of Holies and how when Jesus died and the temple veil was torn in 2 it meant that now all who have the Spirit living in their hearts could now enter the Holy of Holies and commune with God the Father directly, only because of what Jesus did for us.  We talked of John 17:3 which says that the only way to eternal life is to "know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you sent to the earth".  I was able to lay out the gospel message to him.  He even came to the church prayer meeting a few nights later.  After talking to this man for close to an hour he remarked to me, "you know what, I like you, there is a peace about you."  This isn't the first time someone has said that, referring to the Spirit that lives in me whether they knew it or not.
Now I have learned that this man's 30 year old sister got sick and suddenly died just a few days ago.  I am praying that God brings this man to faith in Him through this tragedy and thus once again brings beauty out of ashes.
Then yesterday I had to get a flat tire fixed and the "llantero" (the guy who fixed my tire) and I got talking and once again, I was asked what I am doing here in Mexico etc.  When I tell people I am a Missionary they usually have questions.  The people here are so open to talk about spiritual things!  So once again after laying out the gospel message for about 45mins I had to leave.  I have noticed that my words flow so much better when I am explaining spiritual things than when I am talking about whatever.  I know God is helping me in those moments.  It is nice to fee like God is using me.  It gives me so much purpose in life.
All of this reminds me how I need to be ready always to give a reason for the hope that I profess.       1 Peter 3:15