Two Weeks!!!!!
We ran into our front door, avoiding the downpour but needing to bring our luggage in!  It was good to be home after two weeks away and I felt almost teary to hug our kids and receive their Mother's Day gifts.  Although the unpacking of two weeks' worth of luggage and odds and ends was a daunting task, I was so happy to be home again!
Our travels took us to Prince Albert, Lac Vert, Lloydminister, Spruce Grove and Rivers' Edge Retreat Centre near Calgary.  Then back through Saskatoon and to the office in Prince Albert again.  We visited some dear retired NCEM missionaries, and also some former and currently active NCEM staff.  It seems God has blessed us with rich opportunities and we have been well-received.  As we listen to stories and experiences of these missionaries, we are gaining insight and hopefully applying it as wisdom in our role as director.
Then at the retreat centre, we had met with leaders from various native ministries and again, a rich time collecting wisdom from others.  Each leader shared a report on their ministry and how their organization is doing.  From Siberia and Mongolia to regions in South America, these groups were impacting indigenous peoples for Christ over such a broad geographical expanse!  When you get these kind of workers and leaders together, the tales are funny and sometimes tragic, but always enthralling to some of us "younger" ones in leadership.
Two themes that stuck out to us in the mission reports was the focus on discipling and the need for member care.  These are passions of our heart as well.  Disciple-making, with the intentional focus on raising Christian leaders who will form and lead churches.  And those churches may look like house Bible studies or fellowship groups that meet semi-regularly.  And member care, not just when crises hit and missionary families are in dire straits, but as ongoing, preventative care to sustain our staff for the long haul.
We returned to the office in P.A. and of course there is always lots to catch up on...I mail out birthday and anniversary cards to the staff of both our organizations and I write up brief reports on our visits and travel.  I also prepared for the "Ladies Staff Retreat" to be held at Silver Birch Bible Camp near Loon Lake, SK this weekend.  I shared on "Permission to Rest" and led a communion time on Sunday morning, using Psalm 23 as the basis.
A group of 5 ladies including myself, went from P.A. area.  Three other women participated from other areas and we had an intimate time of sharing, fun and a lot of eating at the retreat!  Joni, our HHM missionary from Loon Lake, had the vision for a time of rest for missionary and pastor women.  She planned the majority of the weekend's activities and I organized the meals and two messages.  God really met us.  We want to try it again next year, not on Mother's Day weekend!  And hopefully it won't rain next time - although we did manage some outdoor activities and even a fire, in spite of soggy wood!
Home again...to regroup and rest.  Walter has a few administrative things to tend to for HHM, and I hope we can see "Guardians of the Galaxy 2" tomorrow evening as a family!
Then we prepare for a week-long trip to the Maritimes to visit our NCEM staff in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Thanks for praying for us and for following our journeys across Canada.