Today I went to the park with some of my friends and did our best to have a hot dog supper. Unfortunately, we forgot a few things along the way... like... How are we going to start a fire? Or how are we going to drink anything if there are no cups and there are some kids here who are sick? Also, there was a miscommunication and neither Karina, nor I brought any hot dogs... we both brought the buns instead. All these things happened at once. And I realized that I had lost my wallet shortly before leaving town, and then I realized that I had to swing by to visit a lady fresh out of surgery and pick up her daughter for the BBQ with my siblings. The wierd thing is that it all worked out in spite of me freaking out.
My wallet was found this evening, YAY GOD! Whoo! (thanks Karina for grabbing it), the girl got picked up my other friends who were coming, and I didn't even know if she had been invited because I couldn't get through on the phone line, and then two of the groups who came brought hotdogs, so there was plenty, Tim found some cups at the lodge, and he had a hatchet to chop with... as well as he went and got wood. Hannah's folks had all the piro stuff in the car by which we could make fires. I had the only pop bottle, which we filled up and Tim put out the fire with it. Nathan's crew brought hot dog sticks, and the Letts brought marshmellows. It was perfect.
Everything worked out exactly right... even after that this evening. I got to hang out with my friends from youth from way back and they treated me to ice cream when I didn't have the money, and then I ran into another old friend who I hadn't seen since he went to Toronto, and we had a good talk. So good in fact that he said, 'Hey, aren't those your friends leaving?'. I turned around to find all of their seats empty. There was like 12 of them. I didn't even hear them go! But then I look up, and facing out of the DQ, are all my friends, lined up and staring at me... all of them...
lol.
I turned to my friend and said, 'Well, it's a good thing I love attention...' ^_^
Yeah, it was all good. THen I hung out with Luke for a bit. I haven't been able to do that in a long long time. And then Karina showed up and she was happy. It was a good evening.
God is good. It's too bad I have to leave so soon... Dave Huston, thanks so much for the sigh....
*SIGH*
Yeah... so below is a current 'letter' per se as of the date this was published. Have a great night. Enjoy your summer! :D
Zdrastvutye! (That's hello in Russian) Thank you for reading this blog. For those who may be wondering, 'Where has that James guy gone?'. I've been serving with Venture Teams International (VTI) for the last year. VTI is an organization that trains young people in the arts (drama, music, illusion, preaching and chalk art) in order to reach some of the world with the good news of Jesus Christ. I had the priviledge to go to 2 locations in Russia, England and Wales, as well as Germany and the state of Montana. In Russia, one of my highlights was going into a school in Northern Siberia. There was a psychologist there who would have preferred to have all the kids addicted to hard drugs then for them to hear the name of Jesus. Hearing things like that opened my eyes again to the need for Jesus' name to be spread around the world. Many of the Church in Russia are 1st generation Christians. Most of them in fact where told about Christ through their Grandmothers. Most of the Pastors we spoke with had been addicted to drugs and alcohol, they had seen their families torn apart. But when they got to the end of their rope, they joined up with a Christian drug rehab center. These places changed their lives, and now they have their families back...the divorced were reunited...the 'chained' set free...
It was like watching the book of Acts unfold. Simply incredible.
This year has helped me realize that I have a passion to see people discipled and trained to be ready to live for Christ wherever they are. As such, I have signed up for the ENCORE team for this coming year. I'd be training others with what I've learned this year and attending missions conferences and Bible Schools to raise awareness for the need of Christ around the world. This year I need to raise about $9000 by the end of the year or about $550 a month. If you feel you would like to be involved in supporting me financially or through prayer, please let me know so that I can send you my prayer letters that are sent out a few times each year. Specifically, it's hard to trust God to provide everything you need. For instance, I was told I had to raise $16 000 by the end of this last year. God has been faithful in providing thus far, but I am still $3000 behind. In any case, it has been an incredible year of seeing God at work. And I know He is faithful in whatever happens.
Please pray that God will give me the discernment I need to be sensitive to how I can be Jesus’ hands and feet to those around me. Also please pray for my family as I know they miss me and I them. This will be another trying year, but I am looking forward to the adventures and misadventures He will bring. I wish I could thank each of you individually and spend hours telling you all the highlights of this year. From Kransnoyarsk to London, from Wales to Great Falls in Montana, God has been working. Thank you all so very, very much for everything. May God give you His Grace and Peace as you continue to run the ever changing race of life. And may you give God praise that he never changes no matter how the winds of time may blow. Yet He is so vast that God will never become any less mysterious, or less adventurous. May you discover the adventure to satisfy your soul forever. Jesus.
Grace and Peace
James Witherow
