Each entry in this blog is an intentional message.  It may be my heart crying out to express what I have just seen or experienced; it may be God wanting to speak to those who read it to let the reader know they are loved and valued by Him!  Whatever YOUR reason for reading, may you understand that my purpose is to share something meaningful, something worth taking the time to read.

Two huge events have impacted my life since May 1, 2023.

1.  CANDIDATE ORIENTATION & TRAINING - Each year, Walter and I spend 3 weeks with the newest candidates to NCEM, to teach and equip them for serving as missionaries to the Indigenous peoples of Canada.  Connecting with each of the latest recruits energizes us!  We have often met, interviewed and then welcomed them to the mission family through email or Zoom/Facetime. At Candidate O & T, we get to share life with them in close quarters for 3 full weeks!

Walter teaches sessions on NCEM History and Thought, Dependency Issues in Ministry, Spiritual Warfare and Vicarious Trauma.  This year, he added a session on "Suicide Prevention and Intervention."  When one of our guest instructors was sick and had to cancel, Walter stepped in with a couple of sessions last minute and I'm so thankful he has that gift of "winging it!"

I also help with instruction on raising support or "Building Our Support Teams."  Using a booklet I wrote of short articles on fundraising principles and practical tips, as well as other resources by mission agencies, I share how to begin the journey of living by faith for our financial and prayer needs.  Walter coaches the new candidates on how to give one-minute, five-minute and 20-30 minute presentations to churches and groups and even individuals.  The group critiques each others' presentations and we give tips on improving their content and delivery.

Another session I teach is on "Abuse Issues."  When we started out in ministry in the inner city of Regina, I felt very unprepared for the many stories and disclosures of abuse that I heard, and had no skills or tools to help people deal with their trauma and wounds.  Through reading, seminars and workshops, Walter and I both have become equipped to reach out to those who have lived through abuse or are dealing with current life situations that are unsafe and dangerous.  This is a topic near and dear to my heart.  Even some of our candidates have experienced abuse and we take the time to talk to them in private if they need support and help.  The training we give is very introductory and we encourage our new missionaries to further equip themselves if they find their ministries involve a lot of counseling/supporting roles in their communities.

Besides the classroom setting, we hang out with the group of 12-15 candidates, including 6 kids aged 9 and under!  It was fun, exhausting and rewarding to get to know our new staff and their families so intimately. We spent the first two weeks at Big River Bible Camp.  The final week we drove two hours to Pine Ridge Bible Camp and finished our training time there.  The folks expressed how they enjoyed seeing both of our SK camp facilities and meet more of the NCEM staff that way.

2.  CHANGES IN OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM - Unexpectedly, two of Walter's Executive team members have stepped down from their leadership roles.  This all happened during or right after the Candidate O & T, so we jumped right into extra responsibilities!  Walter and I are still processing these changes and are actively pursuing others to step up into becoming part of the leadership of NCEM.  The challenge is that in mission organizations, you don't simply advertise your need and hire from a pool of mission leaders.  Most often, leaders arise from within, and preferably they have been preparing and training for their roles over a period of time. 

We were hired from another mission organization, but had spent our first 10 years of ministry under the NCEM banner.  So we were not entirely strangers to the mission family and were familiar with how NCEM operated and the culture of their organization.  But we find ourselves now praying and wondering:  who will God raise up to fill the vacant spots and where will they come from?

This has been impacting us greatly, coming off three weeks of intense candidate training and then immediately finding more responsibilities on our plates before we could rest and regroup!  

I like to write fiction.  My favourite stories have happy endings.  Even when I blog, I like to tie up loose ends and have a positive moral to the story.  

Not today.  

We are waiting on God.  We are taking this week to rest.  We are praying for God to make a way.