Just mind The Gap

Is this your year?

2012-02-14T18:09:00.004-04:00

Perhaps this is your summer to volunteer with us at Arrowhead for one of our summer camps? Perhaps you've served with us in the past and are considering returning for one or more weeks again this summer?

It's shaping up to be an amazing summer, and we can't wait to see just what the Lord is going to do among both campers and staff!

There are some changes to the program and schedule this year, and we are offering a brand new staff training weekend. If you are coming to be staff with us this summer, you will need to take part in our more extensive staff training program. This volunteer training will be mandatory for everyone, including former staff - so to try to accommodate everyone we will be offering it in Ontario and Maine as well as at ANBC throughout the month of June.

June 15 - 17 (tentative) - Staff Training weekend at Lisbon Falls Baptist Church, Lisbon Falls, Maine
June 22 - 24 - Staff Training weekend at Gorrie Bible Fellowship in Gorrie, Ontario
June 29 - July 1 - Staff Training weekend at A.N.B.C.

Our summer camps schedule is changing this year as well. Our teen camp is the first week this year and will be followed by three weeks of junior camp. At this point I have not confirmed all of the communities and which week they will be coming. I will announce that as soon as it is confirmed.

July 9-13 • Teen Camp (ages 13-18)

July 16-20 • Junior Camp 1 (ages 8-12)
July 23-27 • Junior Camp 2 (ages 8-12)
July 30-August 3 • Junior Camp 3 (ages 8-12)

A brand new camp that we are trying this year will be our "Lil' Squirts Camp" for children ages 5-7. This camp is just three days and we may have older siblings to come along as well.

August 6-8 • Lil' Squirts Camp (ages 5-7)

The discipleship week is a special week of camp when we will offer more one on one discipleship with campers who have shown an interest in knowing more about God's Word and how to study it further. This will be a small camp with greater opportunities for one on one time.

August 13-16 • Discipleship Week

If you would like to volunteer with us for one or more weeks, or are simply considering joining us, you can download our application form by clicking HERE. We look forward to hearing from each of you.

Our camp video from 2011! Looking forward to another fantastic summer.

introducing: the ANBC advisory team

2012-02-13T12:43:00.016-04:00

It has been exciting and encouraging to see the Lord put together an advisory team for the ministry at Arrowhead. Liz and I have both felt there would be great advantage to have a group of individuals dedicated to the ministry at Arrowhead who would be committed to sharing their expertise and input with us on a regular (and organized) basis. So, working with our field director, we began to make strides toward building a team.

This group of individuals is not a board of directors. As an NCEM ministry, Arrowhead falls under the direction of the NCEM executive who are governed by a board of directors. The ANBC advisory team functions exactly as the name implies, as a committee of advisors. We will meet four times a year (Lord willing) and will discuss various aspects of the ministry here and it's needs. These individuals will provide valuable insights and input, that will assist us in making decisions, they will provide accountability and credibility to the work and be a huge encouragement as we seek to be good stewards of this facility and it's programs.

I am very excited about this committee and look forward to what the Lord is going to do through it! There are six local members who have committed to attending the meetings and will have a more direct involvement. there are also four team members "at large" who, although not committed to attending meetings (who may attend, if opportunity permits), will still offer inputs and insights and respond to meeting minutes and reports.

Our first meeting was scheduled for last Saturday, but due to concerns with travel and weather, I cancelled it. Although disappointing, we will still be able to communicate electronically and we look forward to holding our first meeting in April. As such, this blog entry will serve as a cursory introduction of the team to one another and to all of you.

Please keep each of these men in prayer, as you pray for ANBC. That the Lord would be present in each of their lives, and that God might be honoured and glorified by each of them in their personal lives and as a team of advisors.

Introducing (alphabetically), the Arrowhead Native Bible Center Advisory Team (I stole their pictures from their respective Facebook pages... at risk of their wrath):

John Blois
Wilmot, New Brunswick
Sales Consultant,
CYV Chevrolet Pontiac Buick GMC Ltd.

Len Breen
Queensville, Ontario
Eastern Field Director,
Northern Canada Evangelical Mission

Don Currie
Quispamsis, New Brunswick
High School Teacher,
Hampton High School

Jerald Hayden
Bluevale, Ontario
Retired,
A man of many talents, Jerald has been serving in the summers with ANBC for over a decade.

Roger Hill
Cumberland Bay, New Brunswick
Contractor
Roger is a former manager of ANBC, serving with NCEM at ANBC for over two decades.

Joel Hoyt
Hampton, New Brunswick
Office Manager,
Hampton Bible Camp

Rob McCready
Cumberland Bay, New Brunswick
Trained Security Officer and experienced Businessman,
Rob has served at ANBC extensively and in various capacities for much of his life.

Rev. Raymond Pitcher
Sillikers, New Brunswick
Pastor,
Little Southwest Baptist Church

Joel Welch
Moncton, New Brunswick
Financial Consultant, Division Director,
Investors Group Financial Services Inc.

Phil Welch
Westport, Nova Scotia
Missionary,
Northern Canada Evangelical Mission

spiritual adversity

2012-02-10T22:58:00.004-04:00

"If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’" ~ John 15:18-25

It is a most common teaching these days that turning to Christ is a turning to a life that is miraculously blessed. A life that will return health and healing, financial stability (as long as we tithe regularly), and unprecedented joy. This is not only unbiblical, it teeters precariously on heresy (that is not to say there is no Joy in Christ - for indeed there is). The fact of the matter is that turning to Christ is a rejection of the world and sin; it is an abandonment of self. This situation is not only unpopular by the worlds standards, it is abhorrent to Satan and leads to the World hating us because the World hates Christ. That's the part of a gospel presentation that often gets left out of the sales pitch;

"Follow Christ, He is God; the World will hate you for it." (it is an overlooked truth)

But the Bible is very clear about just what we are to face as Christians, and adversity is part and parcel with our plight as the fallen race of mankind. Certainly we are made new Creatures when we repent and trust in Christ;

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17

But this only means we will respond differently to our adversity, not that the adversity will cease.

"and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved." Matthew 10:22 (read Matthew 10:16-25 for context)

It is quite plain in this passage that it is our plight to suffer for the sake of Christ. We are told in Luke;

"And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." Luke 9:23 (read Luke 9:23-26 for context)

Being a follower of Christ is not supposed to be simple and easy – it is something we must actively choose to do daily, and labour at. Seeking after Christ daily in His word, in fellowship with other believers and in prayer is vital to our Christian walk - and will not only draw us closer to Him, but will equip us to face adversity when we are confronted with it. Adversity has many faces, it is not all blatant persecution, sometimes it is temptation, attitudes, habitual sin, abuse, the enemy of Christ will present adversity in every way possible.

No matter the source of our adversity, it is always an opportunity to learn both, how better to serve Christ, and how to be an example of Christ to the World. Think of this in terms of your own life, as I have been challenged to do the same. Do you face adversity for the sake of the Gospel in your life? Or do you make decisions that will keep you "out of trouble" with the World? There is nothing more important than the gospel, we are all commanded to go and make disciples and teach;

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." ~ Matthew 28:19-20

This is our command, and we must all be doing it to the greatest of our ability, daily. If we are not at odds with the World for what we teach, or how we live, then are we really living and teaching correctly? The World and the Bible are at odds, we've seen that in scripture already, so if the World is comfortable with you then you are either not fulfilling the commands of God or you are not teaching Biblical truth. If we as Christians are not confronted with adversity, what does that say about our testimony for Christ to the World?

I am not suggesting that we go out and stir up trouble - I am suggesting that, Biblically speaking, the Word of God is abhorrent to the World and when we preach it, teach it and live it we will be repelled by the World and the Devil.

There is hope, and there is peace and there is understanding in Christ. Just read over the Beattitudes for a beautiful example of how we should live before Christ, and just how He feels about it!

"And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake." ~ Matthew 5:2-11

Christ came to Earth to redeem those who would follow after Him. He suffered much adversity, persecution, pain and death. He knows better than anyone the hatred of the World.

"If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you." ~ John 15:18

This may all seem very grim and not overly encouraging; your reaction might be "my Jesus would never let me suffer" (to which I assert you may very well serve a different Jesus than the one of Scripture - "For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many." ~ Matthew 24:5). But it is my hope that you will read this and receive it as an edification to Stand for Christ. It is so important that we, as Christians, understand the World as the Bible presents it. It is so important that we worship, pray and study together; and hold one another up through adversity and persecution. That is the only way we will ever be able to make sense of the lies and deceptions of a culture filled with glitter and sparkle. As Christians, we MUST suffer for Christ, if we are not, who are we pleasing? Ourselves or the World?

The time is now to stand for Christ in the face of Spiritual adversity.

the mighty mission group

2012-02-09T22:47:00.003-04:00

Over the past few years we've had the privilege to present our ministry in various churches and in various capacities; sometimes Sunday morning, sometimes Sunday evening; during missions conferences and prayer meetings, youth groups, Christian schools, Sunday schools and Awana. Among all of these great opportunities that we have to share is a very special group of people. This group is known by various names, sometimes called W.M.S. (Womens Missionary Society), sometimes A.M.S. (Atlantic Missionary Society), sometimes W.M.F. (Womens Missionary Fellowship) and sometimes named in honour of a former labourer for the Lord now passed on. And to spite their names, these groups often include both men and women!

These groups are always a great blessing to us in their interest, dedication and value in cross-cultural and home missions. They are warriors in prayer who are committed to encouraging missionaries and holding them up in prayer regularly. It is humbling and encouraging to be able to be with them and share with them the work the Lord has laid on our hearts here at Arrowhead with NCEM.

I decided to share a bit with you about missionary groups, because in the past couple of weeks we have been blessed to be able to share with two different groups in Shediac and Saint John and will be sharing via correspondence with another this week. It is wonderful to know that people are burdened with missions and continue to pray regularly for the work the Lord is doing across our planet.

There is nothing more important than sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Please continue to pray that the Truth of the Gospel would continue to go forth in New Brunswick, in Canada and across the Globe. that more and more Christians would respond to the call to spread the Gospel to their neighbours, practically, but more importantly, verbally. That the message of Jesus Christ would resound aloud and abroad!

If you are not a part of a mission prayer group, please consider joining one (or starting one) at your home church. Begin to pray for pastors and missionaries, and begin to go out and share the gospel in your own community. It's what we're called to, no matter what our "vocation".

operation new books

2012-02-06T19:19:00.003-04:00

Last year we put out a call for park benches for A.N.B.C., this year we are putting out a call for something a little different.

We are building brand new programs for our summer camps and a brand new 3 day staff training program. For these new programs we have some new materials on deck that we need to acquire for both training ministry and for camper ministry. We are hoping for 8 churches or groups that will partner with us in one of the following projects for printed materials for this years summer camp programs:

PROJECT 1
Cultural training manual for staff training • $450
This is a 152 page book that will assist with training our staff. It is a book written by the The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq and will be an invaluable tool in staff training. Usually retailing for $15, I have an opportunity to have 100 copies of the book printed for $4 per book plus shipping.

PROJECT 2
God has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life • $200
This book, written by Ray Comfort will be used as part of our staff training program. The book is an excellent teaching tool that will help ensure that all of our staff are on the same page with respect to evangelism and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. $200 will allow us to purchase 144 copies of the book for our staff training purposes.

PROJECT 3
Junior and Teen Camp Cabin Devotions Book • $250
We have the opportunity to purchase a chronological gospel devotional book. $250 will allow us to purchase 200 full colour copies including shipping.

PROJECT 4
Lil' Squirts camp Devotions book • $500
A is for Adam by Ken Ham from Answers in Genesis, this book would be used in conjunction with cabin devotions for our Lil' Squirts camp (ages 5 - 7). $500 will allow us to have 42 copies shipped to us.

PROJECT 5
The Action Bible • $300
A beautiful full colour hard cover book that presents the major Bible stories of the Old Testament from Creation through to Christ. It is presented in graphic novel format (comic book) and will be an excellent tool for ministering to our teen and junior camps. $300 will allow us to have 18 copies including shipping.

PROJECT 6
The Action Bible • $400
A beautiful full colour hard cover book that presents the major Bible stories of the Old Testament from Creation through to Christ. It is presented in graphic novel format (comic book) and will be an excellent tool for ministering to our teen and junior camps. $400 will allow us to have 24 copies including shipping.

PROJECT 7
The Action Bible • $500
A beautiful full colour hard cover book that presents the major Bible stories of the Old Testament from Creation through to Christ. It is presented in graphic novel format (comic book) and will be an excellent tool for ministering to our teen and junior camps. $500 will allow us to have 30 copies including shipping.

PROJECT 8
The Action Bible • $1000
A beautiful full colour hard cover book that presents the major Bible stories of the Old Testament from Creation through to Christ. It is presented in graphic novel format (comic book) and will be an excellent tool for ministering to our teen and junior camps. $1000 will allow us to have 60 copies including shipping.

Please prayerfully consider joining with us in ministry this summer by assisting us with one of these projects. If your church or group would like to join with us for one of these projects please drop me a line and let me know so we can avoid overlaps. ANBC relies on the financial support of churches and individuals who are sold out for the Gospel and sharing it with Canada's First Nations people. We have been so blessed by financial and prayer support over the years and continue to be excited about sharing the Gospel clearly and completely, through good staff training, good cabin devotions and chapel services as well as discipleship! This year, Lord willing, we are hopeful to have some excellent materials to work with.

Thanks for taking the time to read about some of our projects, I look forward to hearing from you.

mawio'mi: the gathering (ANBC Men's Retreat 2012)

2012-02-05T16:26:00.002-04:00

Well, it's that time of year again. We're currently getting ready for our men's retreat. Arrowhead is hosting our second annual Men’s Gathering conference on March 30, 31 and April 1, 2012. Men ages 18 and up are welcome to join us for a fantastic weekend of fellowship, worship and time in the Word. Throughout the weekend we will be blessed by guest speaker Sean Crowe and we’ll enjoy some electrical engineering with Adam Pearce. The plan is to build some mini robots... so be sure to register early so we can be sure to have enough material for everyone!

We would like to make this event available to as many men as possible. We realize that many of you have responsibilities that may prevent you from coming for the entire retreat, so there are three options available. You can come for the entire event beginning on friday evening and running until Sunday afternoon. If you are a pastor or simply need to be home for Church you can attend for just the Friday and Saturday portions. Or you may choose to come only to our Men’s breakfast on Saturday morning. The choice is yours, but we encourage you to register as early as possible, space is limited.

You can download the registration form and brochure by clicking the following link (or by clicking the banner to the right):
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/24787531/Men%27s%20Retreat%202012.pdf

We're looking forward to a fantastic weekend and hope to see you there!

wonderful full days

2012-02-03T10:40:00.003-04:00

"O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever." Psalm 136:1

As our schedule fills with meetings, ministry updates, doctor's appointments, events and conferences, we are busily preparing for our upcoming programs at the Center. It is so very humbling to see how God arranges the timetable and brings all of the pieces together.

This past weekend I was very much encouraged by a road trip with three men from our home church to NBBI for the "Men for God" retreat. The opportunity for fellowship and time in the word was tremendous.

It had stormed a bit while we were away, and I was faced with a dilemma. A rental of the Center was scheduled for Monday and I did not feel I would be able to plow the driveway; you see, the problem wasn't the snow, but the ice underneath of the snow. We've had a tremendously mild winter this year and a week ago we had quite a thaw. A lot of the snow melted, but it left a nice thick sheet of ice on the ANBC driveway. The powdery snow on top made it impossible to plow. I opted to pack it down instead - which worked perfectly. I began to wonder at that point if I'd have to fire up the tractor at all this winter. But that question was clearly answered yesterday. We finally got a decent amount of Maritime snow. So, with a bit of apprehension at first (as it's been quite some time since I last plowed), I fired up the Massey and enjoyed doing the first plow of 2012.

The rental at the center went well. It was a group of foreign exchange students from China, they rented the center last year as well and seemed to very much enjoy the opportunity to do some outdoor things and camp out in the lodge.

I'm currently reviewing some material for our summer camps and staff training. I'm very excited about the materials that the Lord has been bringing our way. Once everything is in place I will share the various materials with you here.

Please keep us in prayer as we continue to travel for meetings and doctors appointments. The winter isn't over yet!

rentals, repairs and reading

2012-01-23T09:37:00.003-04:00

For those of you who have been asking about Liz and the baby, everything is going well. Liz is feeling great and we are very excited to meet our little girl in a few short months. As time progresses, the more it hits me just what is about to happen. It's both exciting and terrifying (a good kind of terrifying).

It has certainly been a busy start to a great year. It is encouraging to be hearing back from many of those I have contacted about serving with us at ANBC in various ways this year. And it is exciting for us to see who the Lord is bringing to us and the team that he is putting together for the various ministries. God is so Good and Sovereign.

The ANBC advisory committee is beginning to take shape, as well as many of our critical roles for our summer camps and retreats. Liz and I are planning to take teens to one of NBBI's teen retreats, so please be in prayer about that as we approach teens about coming. If you have been thinking about serving at Arrowhead in some capacity please prayerfully consider it, you just never know what the Lord will do.

We had a rental at the Center this past weekend, and we have another one next week which is great for ANBC. It is a great facility and is available, so it's good to have it in use throughout some of the quiet months.

I've had a few unexpected repairs to make in the past week as well. The transformer on the furnace died, and I was forced to replace it - it wasn't a huge expense, but at this time of year in the cold it is vital and was unexpected. As well, on the weekend during our rental I went to the upper dorm to get a cot and discovered that in the big wind we'd had last week one of the thermal sliding windows had blown out and was in smitherines on the floor. So, with the help of a couple of guests we covered the hole with plywood and cleaned up the glass. A new window should be here next week.

I've also begun to make plans for our newly energized staff training program for this coming year. Staff training will be mandatory for all staff this year. It is new and incorporates a great deal of very beneficial information, so even for returning staff it will be important. There is some new material that I am investigating with respect to the staff training, including a book that I am hoping to be able to furnish each staff member with. I'll tell you more about it once I've finally decided on it. I am also investigating a cabin devotion booklet that I am quite excited about. A fellow missionary told me about it last week and I am hopeful that it will suit our purposes. Again, this is just a teaser, I'll fill you in once I've decided on it.

Well, that's a pretty good ol' Monday ramble, have a great week yourself!

John 3:16 and Focus on the Family

2012-01-15T14:26:00.004-04:00

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." ~ John 3:16

I will preface this blog entry for those of you who may have difficulty with my meaning here. I am not criticizing God's Word, in whole or in part - I am criticizing it's misuse and poor contextualization.

As Christians it is our purpose to evangelize (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 12:28-31), and make disciples.

Yet, so seldom do we take into consideration just what that means, and by what method we might best achieve making disciples of Christ. It is a very common idea that we need do no work, that God's Word can and will do all of the work and we need to simply "get it out there"; that being stewardly in method is a waste of time.

We live in a culture that is absolutely bent on ease and on convenience, ultimately self is the supreme end goal of man (this is commonly known as humanism). Our "fast food culture" can be easily seen in the way many choose to live, to work, to interact, to worship, to pray, and (wait for it) to evangelize. We've allowed the attitudes of our culture to infect our Faith and the way in which we share it - or don't.

Focus on the Family (which is shrouded in controversy itself) produced and aired a new commercial on January 14, 2012 during the Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots NFL Playoff game. The video was almost immediately available on YouTube accompanied by the following message;

"Nothing is more important than sharing the life changing message of Jesus Christ's love. Tell someone you know today."

Aside from the fact that The Gospel is about more than the Love of Christ alone and that John 3:16 teaches only one aspect of the Love of Christ; there is also the issue that Christ's Love also perfectly and completely includes God's wrath and fury (Romans 2:6-11), God's hatred (Psalm 5:5), His jealousy (Exodus 20:4-5), His Justice (Job 34:12), His judgement (1 Corinthians 5:13, Psalm 7:11), indeed ALL of His attributes. The Biblical definition of God's perfect Love is far deeper than the inference drawn from John 3:16 alone. So, for Focus on the Family to present this as the message of God's Love is not a complete picture and misrepresents just what the atoning work of Christ is.

It has long been a tradition for John 3:16 to be painted on faces, chests, and emblazoned on banners during football games. In 1993, Steve Taylor even dedicated a song to "Bannerman", touting the honorable brazenness at thwarting the establishment for the sake of the Gospel. Even very recently Timothy Tebow was seen to have the scripture reference painted on his face. Not to mention the mystecism developing around the fact that he passed for 316 yards against the Steelers, and set an NFL playoff record with 31.6 yards per completion; which only serves to prove out the varied response that can come from this sort of Biblical representation. It is true that the passage (John 3:16) was highly Googled following the game, and perhaps it will cause some people to "reach for a Bible", but what then? And what of all the people who now seem to recognize it as a totem instead of a passage from God's Word?

In kind, this is the offering of Focus on the Family to the cause of the Gospel (ostensibly);

God's Word is precious, and will not return void (Isaiah 55:11). It is inerrant and perfect and we must certainly hold tightly to the ultimate Truths therein. John 3:16 is a fantastic passage of scripture, it is filled with Hope and Promise. It is a piece of God's Word. But it simply does not give the complete picture of the gospel. It is a portion of the frame around a beautiful picture of salvation. Without the contents of the frame you are left with a deep mystery.

Indeed there will be many who will see the video of the cute children reciting the well known passage and be filled with a warm feeling, comforted that they have done their part in standing for Christ in America simply by being a Christian. It is true, that there are those who come to Christ simply by reading His Word, in fact I have some good friends whose testimony of Faith is just so. They had no personal influence in their life, they simply had a Bible and they read it and the Holy Spirit worked in them. I am not suggesting that God's Word has no power - but God's Word out of context, in a single verse, is a different story altogether, and often it paints a picture contrary to God's Word.

My concern here lies in the presentation of the gospel, and the utter inadequacy of simplifying it to the point of making it palatable. John 3:16, all by itself says; God sent Jesus, His Son - and whoever believes in Him will go to heaven forever. As Christians we have a context for all of these phrases. But, break it down for the audience and you have a sheer plethora of possibilities;

Who is God? This will get as varied an answer as the number of times you ask the question. So, we've assumed right off the mark that our audience (whoever it may be) understands God from a purely Biblical perspective. This is as dangerous as it is naive a place to begin from. (Romans 3:11)
Who is the only Begotten Son? We have the same problem here as we did for the last question. We live in a World that is filled with false "christs". (Luke 21:8, Ezekiel 22:28) We are sorely remiss to assume that our audience is understanding Christ as He is.
What about whosoever believeth? Is it enough to simply believe in Christ? Is this the only relationship we must have to be reconciled to Him? What does the Bible teach about "salvation"? In James 2:19 we are told that even the demons believe and tremble; this does not, however, mean that demons qualify to go to heaven.
What about eternal life? So in order to live forever, all I have to do is believe in Jesus? Even if we disregard all of the previous problems that have arisen, we have just presented the gospel as a way for people to save themselves for eternity. We have ensured that their understanding of their relationship with God is strictly for their own benefit. This is prosperity gospel worldview - and it is wrong.

What of Sin? What of Repentence? What of God's Wrath? What of a real and humble relationship with God! John 3:16 is the end of an excellent presentation of the gospel. Yet, in a corrupt world, it is a misleading piece of scripture that can, by itself, potentially do more harm than good. It provides people with enough information and a false confidence to be permanently insulated against ever coming to a real saving knowledge of Jesus Christ in repentance. Pared down, it is cultural syncretism at best. The two most commonly know scripture verses, outside of the Church, are John 3:16 and Matthew 7:1 (though often, not even understood in context of being from scripture), yet both are taken out of context and misunderstood, and used to build worldview. It is sad, and it is a reflection on how we, the Church, present God's Word to the world.

Let's not forget the aspect of this issue, that this commercial by Focus on the Family is so very clearly NOT intended to be evangelism, as is evidenced by the plea for funds at the conclusion of the 40 second clip. This is a commercial intended to elicit an emotional response, while presenting a familiar and comfortable feeling to the viewer. It is a marketing campaign targeted at Christians, thinly veiling itself as evangelism. I would go so far as to suggest that this somewhat sinister approach to fundraising is something that Christ would take great exception to. read Matthew 21:12-13, Mark 11:15-18.

Know God's Word, read it daily, fellowship with other Christians, attend your church regularly, pray as often as possible and be equipped to share the gospel. Know it yourself first, then in all obedience and adequacy, preach the gospel completely and with great clarity. How you present the gospel, taking into consideration those to whom you are speaking, is vital to allow you to be certain that they are hearing what you are striving to convey; attention to method has merit. It's what we're here for. It is time to stop lazy evangelism, poor evangelism and strive to have full, rich lives in Christ.

I highly recommend that you take twelve minutes to hear an excellent and complete presentation of the Gospel, in the video below Paul Washer brings clarity to the Truth, and offers an example of how to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a World that does not want to hear it!

a little input.

2012-01-12T15:33:00.003-04:00

Something that I have been mulling over for the past several months is the possibility of initiating an advisory committee for Arrowhead Native Bible Center. In the past there have been committees, but nothing quite like this has been initiated in the past. There is great value in having the input and support of local Christians who believe in the work NCEM is doing here at Arrowhead Native Bible Center.

I have been working with our field director, Len Breen, with respect to the logistics of an ANBC Advisory Committee, and have begun to approach people with the ministry opportunity. This ministry is for the honour and Glory of God, and if it is to be wholly submitted to Him it must be surrendered to Him in prayer and humility. Please keep all of this in prayer as the team begins to take shape and as people prayerfully consider serving with us in this way. There are many details to work through over the coming months.

With respect to our 2012 schedule, plans for our men's retreat are coming together - a brochure and details should be forthcoming in the next few days! We can look forward to another fantastic opportunity for ministry through this event. Check out some of the fun we had last year:

As winter marches on, I have as yet not had to shovel or plow snow, for which I am grateful. There is call for a storm tonight, but it is supposed to melt again tomorrow with temperatures being well above zero. It has been nice to be able to focus my efforts on things other than snow removal this winter.

the dawn of a new year

2012-01-05T10:19:00.003-04:00

Here we are, in 2012, the year of prophecy, controversy and conspiracy. A year in which we will undoubtedly endure the hand wringing and railing of many who believe the World to end.

But most importantly, this is God's year. A year in which, by God's Grace, we will serve and minister and seek to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who require it, whether they like it or not. A year in which, by God's Grace, we will welcome a new life into our family, to raise up and Love as Christ would have us to. A year in which, by God's Grace, we will endure trials and struggles for His great Glory. A year in which, by God's Grace, we will see Him work in ways we cannot even fathom, through His Holy Spirit.

Liz and I are excited and energized for the New Year, for new programs and a fresh start. Over the next few weeks we will be busy preparing the programs and material for this summers camps. There are some exciting changes happening with respect to our summer camps. We are excited that people will have new opportunities to serve in different ways.

We've already begun to fill some of our critical positions (lifeguard, nurse, speaker, cook, etc.) and are encouraged by the responses we've been receiving. It's very exciting to see who God is going to bring to ANBC this year both as volunteer staff and as campers.

Now is the time of year when we ask everyone to begin praying. Pray for this ministry, that it might be effective and submitted to the Glory of God. That through the various programs and events God would be glorified and His Gospel would go forth clearly and effectively.

Pray for the campers, that God would already be making the way clear for them to come to ANBC and have opportunity to hear the gospel clearly presented. Pray that God would be working in the lives of the campers in such a way that they will be prepared to hear the gospel and understand it, pray that the Lord, in His will, might protect them from the attacks of the devil and preserve them for Himself.

Pray for the incoming volunteer staff, that God would work in the hearts of those that He would have come. Pray that He would provide for the needs of those who must sacrifice to come and serve Him here. Pray that those who will be coming would be focused on their relationship with God, that they would be compelled to their daily time with Him in His Word.

I've become increasingly impressed with the importance of prayer, and my inadequacy in this area. We must hold it all before the Lord, every day!

Stay tuned here for updates and opportunities. Who knows, perhaps the Lord will call you to serve Him with us this summer!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-16T15:21:00.004-04:00

"And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn." ~ Luke 2:7

Merry Christmas!

That's all, just Merry Christmas. However... may our Merry Christmas be rich and deep and filled with Truth. May we each be reminded of the great sacrifice of Christ at this time of year. The anguish of leaving heaven, the anguish of taking a human form and of suffering the indignities of humanity, the anguish of all that it is to be human, and yet remaining fully God.

As we revel this Christmas, as we spend time with family, and eat copious amounts of sweets, overindulging in bountiful feasts, as we succumb to the shiny trinkets under the tree and desperately seek after that warm and cozy Christmastime feeling; may we remember that although Christmas is a wonderful time of year for many reasons we also have great cause for a most sincere pause.

It is appropriate and wonderful for us to celebrate the Birth of Christ - He is our Savior, Redeemer, Sacrifice and Lord! Our salvation in Christ is the greatest reason for celebration. Celebration notwithstanding - we should also allow this time of year catch us up short in our sin; sin that saturates and defiles every aspect of our lives. It is for this very reason that Christ came to us, He was born and died on account of our sin. It would serve us well to remember this truth throughout the year, but certainly we should not forget it at Christmas for the sake of revelry. The birth of our Lord was the beginning of pain and sacrifice for Him.

So, Merry Christmas; and as the world celebrates "the Holidays" (we along with them), may we each be blessed in taking time to celebrate Christmas!

Announcing 2012

2011-12-05T10:04:00.003-04:00

We've already been receiving questions about what the schedule for next years summer camps will look like. We've worked out a schedule and communicated with our leadership about it, and have it here for you today!

There are a few changes to this years schedule and we will be initiating some new staff training in accordance with NCEM's policies. If you have any questions about the schedule or would like to take part in any of the ministries this coming year, don't hesitate to get in touch. We will be contacting former staff and seeking to fill key roles in the New Year - the staff application forms will be available at that time as well. We're looking forward to a fantastic year of ministry at Arrowhead and can't wait to see many of you again, and some of you for the first time!

March 30 - April 1 - Mawiomi: the gathering, ANBC's 2nd annual Men's Retreat

April 22 - 28 - A.N.B.C. Work Week
If you would like to come out and join us for some Spring clean-up or renovations or construction, we have work projects that suit everyones skill level. It's a great week of fellowship and a great opportunity to serve in a very practical way.

June 29 - July 1 - Staff Training at A.N.B.C.
If you are coming to be staff with us this summer, you will need to take part in our more extensive staff training program this year. If you would like to arrange a summer ministry team and feel that you are too far away to come for the weekend, please communicate with me and we can perhaps arrange to come and offer the weekend locally. This staff training will be mandatory for everyone, including former staff.

July 9-13 • Teen Camp (ages 13-18)
July 16-20 • Junior Camp 1 (ages 8-12)
July 23-27 • Junior Camp 2 (ages 8-12)
July 30-August 3 • Junior Camp 3 (ages 8-12)
August 6-8 • Lil' Squirts Camp (ages 5-7)
August 13-16 • Discipleship Week
The communities that will be coming during each week has yet to be determined. I will announce it when I have further details, but please do not let this delay your application as staff, as you may find we have filled all of our staffing needs by the time we have this detail ironed out.

Teen camp will be the first week of camp this year. As it tends to be a high impact week of camp, this will allow us to all come full of energy and ready to engage in the programs. We have added two new programs this year. The "Lil' Squirts" camp is a pilot this year to see how it works out. It will be for younger children, but will allow for those children to bring their older brother or sister as well to help keep them from becoming homesick. The discipleship week at the end of the summer is also a new addition to our programs at ANBC. It is a program that has been piloted by another NCEM camp in the west with success. This week will be for a limited number of staff and campers who have expressed a desire to know more about things of the Lord. With a small group setting, it will involve activities and time in the Word in a more focused environment.

September 21-23 • ANBC's annual Ladies Retreat

November 24 • Christmas Dinner
It is our hope to put on a Christmas Dinner for families in communities that NCEM has been working. It will be available free of charge with a suggested donation of non-perishable food items for the food bank.

If you have any questions about the programs or schedule, please don't hesitate to drop us a line - we'd love to hear from you.

180 Movie and evangelism

2011-11-26T13:49:00.004-04:00

We live in a corrupt world. More specifically, we live in a corrupt culture. In North America the Christian Church is bombarded at every turn by some of the most insidious attacks imaginable. Some, so insidious that, in fact, the church at large often miss them for what they are, and adopt them. Even when these attacks are not missed, many who profess Christ refuse to stand openly and oppose them. We as the Body of Christ have a responsibility to stand in the Gap for the Land, to oppose evil and present the Truth of God's Word at every opportunity - for the sake of those who do not know.

"And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none." ~ Ezekiel 22:30

Yet we waffle, at every turn. To live a Godly life, to live as Christ is to live presenting the truth verbally and holistically. In our actions, our lifestyle, and our convictions.

"For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead." ~ James 2:26

Yet we fail to live out our faith. We fear the world, we fear our peers, we fear... persecution. The real question is 'Are you being persecuted? Why not?

"Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." ~ 2 Timothy 3:12-13

It's time to stand up in spite of ourselves and preach the gospel and uphold the Cross of Christ before a people who do not want to hear it!

Ray Comfort, evangelist, preacher, author and film maker has recently released a movie. It is a 33 minute long documentary, and it is very compelling. It draws an unsettling correlation between the horrors of Nazi Germany and the massively destructive (yet generally accepted) practice of abortion in America. It stands up in the face of "tolerance" and in the face of the ever humanistic call of "MY rights and freedoms" and preaches the gospel. It opposes, with the Truth, the veiled eyes of an entire culture.

It is free to watch and I highly recommend that you do so. It is a graphic film and does contain some graphic content, so if you are under sixteen I would suggest you have a parent watch it first. I've posted it here for your convenience. But the challenge to you is to watch it and then share it publicly - to spite the reaction you may receive from your peers. God's Word, the Gospel, is worth so much more than your "reputation" (whatever that is) or social comfort. Anything done for Christ is not done in vain.

"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." ~ 1 Corinthians 15:58

Big News!

2011-11-17T19:35:00.003-04:00

Liz and I are happy to announce that sometime near the middle of May we are expecting the arrival of a new little Fawcett. We're VERY excited and have been overwhelmed already by all of the kind words and excitement of our friends and family!

Parkside Baptist Church

2011-11-14T11:58:00.004-04:00

Well folks, we've come to the end of our scheduled travel for the fall. It has been a fantastic month and we've had the opportunity to talk to hundreds of people about missions, about NCEM and about our work here at Arrowhead Native Bible Center.

Yesterday we had the pleasure of concluding our fall itinerary at Parkside Baptist Church in Moncton. Chancellor of NBBI, John Hoag, was the keynote speaker and we were blessed by his messages from the Word.

It has truly been a pleasure for the past couple of months to travel and be with many of you in your homes and churches. The opportunities for fellowship and sharing in ministry are a great encouragement to us and we are so very thankful for the opportunities.

As we've traveled we've often had questions about what we do for the 'rest of the year' when there is no camp. For the months following camp, we generally travel and attended conferences, updating people on the ministries and opportunities for prayer. We will spend the remainder of 2011 preparing for the coming years programs and schedule. We will, with the assistance of our senior missionaries and former missionaries, be building a new more comprehensive staff training program. We are excited about this opportunity, and although it will accompany some challenges, we feel it will be of great benefit to the ministry and will allow us to more effectively minister to those who come to our various programs.

The coming year is going to be exciting, and we covet your prayers and support as we seek to serve the Lord with NCEM at Arrowhead. Stay tuned to this blog for updates on the happenings here, on programs and plans, on opportunities to serve and any needs that may arise.

We are so humbled and thankful for your prayers and support for both Arrowhead and ourselves as we've stepped into our new roles with NCEM as the managers of Arrowhead.

Little Southwest Baptist Church

2011-11-10T10:16:00.004-04:00

This past weekend, Liz and I were invited to be a part of the missions conference at Little Southwest Baptist Church in Sillikers, NB (near the Miramichi). LSWBC has been a great supporter of ANBC this past year and it was great to connect with the work team from this past April as well as Stephen & Selena Somers, our guest speakers for the last week of summer camp and all of the folk who have been prayerfully supporting us. Brad Somers, a church planter from the North end of Halifax, was our keynote speaker, his challenges were encouraging and thought provoking. We were so very encouraged to be among a church of people who have such a huge heart for missions. There is a genuine love and understanding for faith missions among the folks at Sillikers - to hear their hearts, and see them put it to action was humbling.

This week, we've enjoyed a couple of 'down days' to recuperate from a busy month of travel and work at the Center. It's been nice to be a part of so many missions conferences and services - but it certainly takes it's toll.

The missions display on the platform.

Stephen Somers was our camp speaker for the second week of teen camp this year. He ministered in music throughout the missions conference.

We'll be winterizing the lodge this week and preparing for the next few months. We are hopeful to hold winter programs next year, but this year we will use our time to build a new staff training program for our summer camps and plan our schedules.

We'll continue to keep you posted here on the blog as we embark on our first year as the managers of ANBC. Stay Tuned!

Forest Hills Fellowship Baptist

2011-11-01T20:44:00.007-03:00

This past Sunday I had the pleasure of sharing a ministry update and introducing ANBC to the folks at Forest Hills church in Cole Harbour, NS. The pastor, Jonathan MacLeod, and I attended NBBI together - so it was great to reconnect! Some of the congregation were familiar with Arrowhead and our community here in Cumberland Bay. Hopefully we'll see some of them sometime.

I drove down on Saturday hoping to avoid traveling in bad weather - but that didn't help for the drive home on Sunday. I met Tim Long, a pastor and ministry team leader to ANBC from this past summer, for coffee following church. I then hit the highway - and the Lord protected me as I drove. We experienced an abrupt and unusually early snowstorm on Sunday, and although in NS it was just driving rain and wind - by the time I reached NB I was very much looking forward to being at home out of the weather!

It has been a full month of PR, ministry updates and travel, and it's been great to see many supporters and friends and share our ministry with those who are not familiar with ANBC or NCEM. We have two more mission conferences booked and will then be taking a few weeks break from travel. We hope to announce next years schedule before Christmas and will begin staff and speaker recruitment for next years programs!

Today I have been very thankful for the help of three men from my church as we've begun installation of water lines to the "Director's Cabin", "Speakers Cabin" and Office building. I've been on the road so much that it has been difficult to nail down the details of this project - if not for the care and assistance of Matthew, Roger and Rob - we would not be in as good a shape as we are with the project. We will finish installing the water lines tomorrow which will allow for the installation of the water filtration systems at some point this winter.

Matthew getting started on some serious trenching.

Over 600 feet of trench was dug today.

We have very rocky ground, because of the solid bedrock we aren't able to get quite as low as we'd like - so we've used heavier pipe and will cover it all with styrofoam.

This trench will carry water to the directors cabin and then around to the office.

Lisbon Falls Baptist Church 50th anniversary missions conference

2011-10-29T12:19:00.010-03:00

We've just returned form a wonderful week in Lisbon Falls, Maine. We had a wonderful week connecting with friends and many of our staff from this past summer. LFBC did a fantastic job of hosting the conference, there was a full schedule and lots of opportunity to interact with the church at various functions.

We spent the week with some friends from the church, and they spoiled us during our free time! We enjoyed some sites in Maine with them and took some time to do Christmas shopping before we came home.

LFBC has been a church that has been hugely engaged with the ministries at ANBC over the past few years. This past summer we were blessed to have 21 people come to serve for our summer camps. And, just last week we had a couple of men from the church join us for a week of work projects! It was a real pleasure for us to be with them this week and share in fellowship, reports and worship!

The ANBC display.

We were treated to an international dinner and time of testimonies.

We enjoyed services and mission reports every night for the week.

The home meetings on Monday night were a great way to chat with folks, answer any questions they had and get to know people a little better.

The Crafts hosted a mission luncheon in their home on Wednesday morning.

John Alden was at ANBC last summer on our summer staff. We enjoyed reconnecting with people at the mission luncheon.

Our friend Mrs. Chetley.

The Michels hosted us for the week - the certainly spoiled us!

Truro, Hatfield Point and Cumberland Bay

2011-10-21T23:30:00.010-03:00

Our week started out last Sunday with a trip to the People's Church in Truro, Nova Scotia. Liz didn't accompany me on this ministry update trip - she remained behind at the Center to meet the arriving folks for our work week. It was a real pleasure to be at People's church and connect with some old friends. They are hosting their missions month and I was invited to share a ministry update for the Sunday evening service. Because Liz wasn't able to accompany me - I invited Todd Hill, a friend of ours from our church here in Cumberland Bay, to come along for the ride. We picked up Ben Bedecki on the way - it was a great night for a road trip and nice to have an extra few sets of eyes watching for moose.

Monday morning we started bright and early on some work projects. Our friends Rob & Irene joined us along with Paul and Ken from Lisbon Falls. They accomplished a lot of necessary projects; some plumbing, electrical, winterizing, equipment servicing, carpentry, landscaping, tree cutting, to name a few! We very much enjoyed the fellowship and company, working alongside our friends this week.

The boat has been winterized and our tractor has two brand new front tires to get us ready for the winter! We're well prepared and almost finished with our winterizing projects.

On Wednesday night I was invited to give a thirty minute update at Hatfield Point Baptist church. Ken and Paul accompanied me and we enjoyed an evening of fellowship with the folks there and a great opportunity to share our excitement in our ministries with NCEM at ANBC.

Tomorrow morning we'll be hitting the road and heading for Lisbon Falls, Maine to take part in their missions conference - we should be home Thursday next week! Please keep us in prayer as we travel and present Arrowhead's ministry.

Ken putting the finishing touches on some plumbing!

Our lovely new sink in the medic station.

Ken finishing up the install!

Paul made sure we that we're all ready for the winter.

Rob cleaned the moss and leaves from off the roofs of several of our cabins.

Paul cut down a lot of deadwood and wind damage for us.

Rob did some carpentry for us this week - this was one of his projects - a wheel cart for our bows and arrows.

Jacksontown WMS

2011-10-12T10:47:00.004-03:00

Last night we had the privilege of sharing with the ladies at the Jacksontown WMS. It was a beautiful fall day for a drive up the river valley and our return trip was lit by a beautiful full moon. At this time of year we're concerned about moose, but we were fortunate to not see any last night!

We presented a couple of our new videos to the ladies and were able to spend some time answering some of their questions about ANBC, NCEM and missions. It is encouraging to know that these ladies meet regularly to pray for missions, both home and abroad.

Below is our newest promotional video for our summer camps. It is something I put together recently to share as we travel this fall - it gives you a bit of a glimpse into some of our summer camp activities.

It was great to be able to spend some time with our friend Irene VanAsperen (and Gus of course - see below). Rob was on the road, but we are looking forward to fellowship with him next week - he is planning to join us with some other men for a work week at the Center.

Me & Gus!

a week of opportunity!

2011-10-07T17:53:00.015-03:00

While Liz and I were at NCEM's general conference this year, I was approached by Brian Kent about a ministry opportunity this fall. He asked if I would be willing to travel with a group of missionaries for a week as a part of a co-operative to promote cross-cultural missions in New Brunswick.

This "World of Opportunities" tour began for me last Saturday morning, when I had the opportunity to meet the team I would be traveling with. We met in Moncton to discuss our game plan and work on scheduling and program. Our team this year was comprised of; Jessica Dempster and Sarah Barnes, mobilizers for Wycliffe; Merla Gogel, mobilizer with SEND; Brian Seeley, with HCJB Global; Rob Flannigan with OMF; Leah Vanderlaan mobilizer for Avant; and myself representing NCEM.

Each venue that we engaged in was different and as such, we tailored our program to suit the audience. Our first stop was at the Journey Church, a Convention Baptist Church in Moncton. We took part in their youth group events for the evening.

Brian Seeley and myself following our first event.

Jessica Dempster and Leah Vanderlaan enjoying some Chai Tea, as a part of our sample table of world foods.

We had some good opportunities to engage with some of the youth and youth leaders.

On Monday morning we met at Moncton Wesleyan to take part in chapel time and a morning class at Moncton Christian Academy. I took part in this venue by sharing my testimony - at each location we each took part in various ways, sharing responsibilities and opportunities for exposure.

Merla, illustrating co-operation with her Japanese marriage coat.

Following our time at Moncton Christian Academy we met at a local café for another planning meeting.

Monday night we met in the residence at Crandall University. We hosted a pizza event and were able to take part in their weekly Rez Worship. I was especially encouraged to be able to take part in their time of worship together - it was a blessing to be there.

Tuesday morning the team converged on Bethany Bible College, some of us remained there to be introduced during chapel. The others from our team traveled to St. Stephen to interact with students at St. Stephen's University. At Bethany, we made ourselves available for the afternoon in the student lounge, serving international foods and teas. The team reassembled in the evening in a classroom at Bethany for an evening of fellowship over pizza, round table discussion and time of prayer with students. It was a great opportunity to hear from the students and address some of the specific concerns.

Tuesday night the team stayed with us at ANBC.

On Wednesday morning we were at Devon Park Christian School. We took part in three classroom sessions with the high school students and were asked to take the two chapel times for both elementary and high school.

Here Sarah is illustrating the vast array of opportunities in missions and the importance of having Christian people step up to the field to assist in whatever way God has gifted.

Wednesday evening our team of missionaries shared opportunities at Devon Park Baptist Church. Merla and Jessica were a part of the Awana program, Rob and Brian took prayer meeting - Leah, Sarah and I were a part of the Merge youth group.

Thursday morning we were at New Brunswick Bible Institute. We were asked to take part in two classes and the chapel time. The team asked if I would share during the chapel time - so I took the opportunity to share our story of how God called us into ministry! In the evening we held dorm meetings with the respective guys and gals dorms. I think among the fellas there was a consensus that this was an invaluable opportunity to engage with the young men and answer some of their questions about missions, call, cross-culture etc.

Leah and Sarah at the N.B.B.I. chapel.

During our time at N.B.B.I. we had the opportunity to share with small groups in each class.

The classes broke into six small groups and those of us on the team moved around the room for 5 minute sessions with each group.

Although I was uncertain just what to expect this week, and I was skeptical about the value and outcome of such a missions tour. This was such an encouraging and valuable opportunity to engage with students and young people and hopefully inspire them to the call to missions. Our team bonded very quickly and I think we worked well together to our common purpose.

Please pray for the many contacts that were made this week, and that the Lord would work in the hearts of those touched by a call to ministry. Pray also, for each of the missionaries that I had the privilege to meet and work with this week. That their ministries would be fruitful and the Lord would keep them safe in their travels!

Liz and I will continue to travel for the next several months as we work on both our own deputation and promotion for Arrowhead! We look forward to connecting with many of you over the coming months!

World of Opportunities Tour

2011-10-02T13:46:00.002-03:00

This week I will be taking part in a co-operative 'mobilization' tour with several other missionaries from other mission agencies. We will be visiting several churches, Christian schools and Bible Schools over the next four days. Yesterday we met for several hours in Moncton and began to plan our many events.

Tonight we are meeting in Moncton at the Journey Church for a youth event. The focus of each event is to promote missions in general and make each of our individual missions available as options. Making our mission organizations accessible as potential options for short or long term ministry.

Please keep me in prayer as I will be putting in a lot of miles this week.

encounters with Jesus

2011-10-01T17:28:00.009-03:00

What a wonderful weekend it was at our annual Arrowhead Ladies Retreat again this year. Janeice Hill was our guest speaker, Janeice's title for her devotionals was Encounters with Jesus. Through the Scriptures she showed different examples of peoples life changing encounters with Jesus as well as her own experiences. She encouraged each one of us to daily dig into God's Word and really get to know Him and become more like Him every day.

Our special music was by Theresa Hickman who once again blessed us very much with her voice and the messages in the songs she sang.

The ladies enjoyed making ladder lace necklaces Saturday afternoon. They were a bit challenging at the beginning but everyone was very determined and felt great satisfaction in finishing their beautiful necklaces!

We also enjoyed a lovely tea later in the afternoon with delicious sweets and scones. There were lots of laughs and fun and more laughs...I'm told we could be heard from a distance!:o) It's always such a special time to get together with other Christian ladies to encourage one another in Christ.

physical needs update...

2011-09-30T15:53:00.005-03:00

Hello friends, what I'm about to share with you is not something I've done before, since we entered into ministry. And, it is a difficult thing to write about. In 2009 I did write a short blog about some of the needs of a missionary, below is an excerpt from that blog entry.

"Trusting in the Lord completely to provide for our needs is a bit scary, especially as new missionaries. It means that we have to let go of control... and that is no easy thing. Liz and I have entered into a new phase of our lives, one that gives us the opportunity to trust the Lord in ways that we never could before because of ... well, quite frankly our selves. It's an exciting time and we are looking forward to it very much... We've begun to find that Faith missions seems to have become something of a cultural oddity in our society. There is a misunderstanding of just what it means to work as a (missionary) and be supported by those who believe in the work that we are doing with NCEM at Arrowhead. Much in the same way that a pastor/minister relies on the financial support of his congregation, missionaries rely on the financial support of churches and individuals who would like to be a part of the ministry in a practical way. God doesn't call everyone to be career missionaries, praying for and financially supporting a missionary is a way that you can share in the ministry in a very real way."

The reason that I am sharing this with you is because we have been struggling, somewhat, financially of late. This Spring we re-evaluated our personal budget, that is to say, our perceived personal financial needs. We reduced our forecast to $2,875.00 per month. This amount takes into account all of our financial needs, insurance, food, fuel, clothing, taxes, ministry, etc.

Although we have been at about 80% of this new budget for some time, over the course of the past few months we have found that we've had a couple of months well below 50% of our budget. Which brings me to the point of burdening all of you with this. Working in faith missions, trusting in the Lord completely, as I mentioned above... it can be scary, and stretching, and humbling. Liz and I try not ever to make it a point to ask for money, and we are so very grateful for all of those who sacrifice from their own pockets to support us financially as we work at Arrowhead. But, sometimes it is necessary to make our needs known so that people can both pray and, if the Lord leads, contribute financially to the work we are doing here.

A lot of our financial support in the past has relied on one time gifts, for which we are very grateful, but for us to be able to continue on in a stable and functional way, we are praying for individuals and churches who will commit to support us on a regular monthly basis. This is not something to be taken lightly either, if you feel like you want to contribute financially to NCEM for our ministry, I would ask that you pray about it first. And please know that there is no amount too small, monthly gifts of even $5 or $10 go a long way to meeting our needs. We strive to be good stewards of what the Lord allows us to have, and He often multiplies in wonderful ways that which is given.

It is NCEM's policy that if some of their missionaries are below their required income for an extended period of time, they will call them from the field to revisit their deputation. We sincerely hope and pray that it will not come to that for us. We have accepted new roles as the managers of Arrowhead Native Bible Center and there is much to be done over the coming months.

But if you do feel led to join us in ministry financially you can do that in several different ways. For a traditional method of support you can click HERE to download a form that you can print at home and mail in to NCEM. For those more comfortable with internet giving you can follow the link to the right, or visit NCEM's home page by clicking HERE.

We appreciate so much, all those of you who have contributed in the past and who contribute now, financially to our ministry. We thank you for your faithfulness and kindnesses. But there is a form of support that is not only necessary, it is vital - and that is prayer. We invite you to join with us in ministry as often as the Lord brings it to your mind.

The Kindnesses of Others...

2011-09-24T23:52:00.007-03:00

We're always humbled and blessed by the generosity of those who support the ministries of NCEM and Arrowhead Native Bible Center. Here are a few blessings ANBC has received recently.

We are so very grateful to have received a gift of funds to purchase this bike for ANBC. It will certainly be put to good use at the Center!

This quite new upright freezer has been donated to Arrowhead and installed in our pantry. It will certainly make life in the kitchen more convenient.

Some good friends of Arrowhead blessed us with this beautiful door for the ANBC office. If you look closely at the design in the stained glass you will see the design of an Arrow! It is a beautiful addition to our new office building!

We are very grateful to receive this leaf blower... and as it turns out it's also a leaf vacuum... it will make cleaning up the fall foliage a 'breeze'...

Turkeys.

2011-09-18T22:28:00.009-03:00

Some wild turkeys wandering down to ANBC for a visit.
(no - these are not the turkeys we fried for the corn boil...)

It's been another great week in Cumberland Bay. We were visited on Monday by some friends of ours who are missionaries to Ecuador - Dick and Carol-Lynn Grover - they are currently on home assignment and have been traveling in Atlantic Canada visiting churches and friends. It was great to have them with us for the night and have some time to share ministries together.

On Wednesday I met with someone at the camp to talk about the possibility of running water lines and installing sewer to our larger cabins and office. We are in the process of looking into this for the future, we'll keep you posted!

It's been cold here lately, and it's got me thinking about winter a little bit. I called and ordered some furnace oil for ANBC this week. It's always a little tight for ANBC in the fall and winter, but Liz and I will be doing some deputation for the center this year to make people aware of the needs of the Center. It is our hope, Lord willing, to find 100 individuals who will commit to support ANBC in the amount of $20 a month to help with all of it's regular expenses (oil, electricity, insurance, vehicles, internet, telephone etc.).

On Saturday morning I held a yard sale up the road at the home of our new pastor and his wife. We had some items left from the last yard sale and have received some more items to host another one. It was a brisk morning, but there were a few people out and we were able to clear out some more of the items. Some of the donated items will be very helpful at ANBC and we have several boxes of items that we will give to goodwill tomorrow.

While I was doing the yard sale thing, Liz was busy back at the Center preparing for a corn boil. We hosted a corn boil for our local church, Cumberland Bay Baptist Church, on Saturday evening. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and a good chance for us to get to know our new pastor a little bit. There was a good turn out and some great vittles!

Apparently it takes 11 Baptist men to cook a turkey and some corn!

Our friend and neighbour Ron boiled up the corn for us!

And Roger did a couple of his famous turkeys!

Our new pastor and his wife, Andrew and Kayla Ardern!

Tomorrow, Liz and I will be picking up Len & Lorrayne Breen at the Moncton Airport. They are coming down to assist us with preparations for the ladies retreat as well as visiting the Eastern Field missionaries. We always enjoy having them here and are looking forward to seeing them again!

Liz has been busy preparing for the ladies retreat - and there is still room for anyone who would like to come along and join us. There are already a number of groups of ladies planning to attend, so we are excited for a great weekend. For more information about the retreat simply click the link at the top right of this page. This week promises to be quite busy with final preparations - we will be doing the grocery order tomorrow while we're in the city to pick up the Breens.

We appreciate your prayers and continued support as we serve here at Arrowhead. Liz and I are so blessed to be able to minister here with NCEM, and are humbled, that through everything, the Lord has provided for our needs through the faithfulness of you. Our physical needs, financial needs and Spiritual support have been met with the Grace of God - and we are thankful.

ANBC Ladies Retreat

2011-09-08T17:04:00.002-03:00

The ANBC Ladies Retreat, "Encounters with Jesus." is right around the corner (Sept. 23 - 25). We will be hearing from Janeice Hill, who will share with us from the Word for the weekend, while Theresa Hickman will bless us with her ministry in Music. It is promising to be a wonderful weekend and we look forward to seeing many of you there! You can download the brochure by clicking the banner to the right. If you would like more information or to register, please drop us a line.

As the days roll by...

2011-09-07T15:24:00.011-03:00

Well, as you have likely guessed, Liz and I have returned home safe and sound from the NCEM General Conference in Pinawa, Manitoba. What a wonderful conference it was. Liz and I were both very blessed by the opportunity to be a part of the conference, the fellowship, fun, the meetings and seminars, it was all a refreshing opportunity to spend time with our mission family. So, to those of you who made it possible, we tank you very much for your kindnesses.

Liz and I returned home just in time to beat 'Irene' to the punch. Although the effects of the hurricane were not as dramatic as suspected, there were over 58,000 NB Power customers without power after the winds came. In our part of Cumberland Bay (as though it is a big enough geographical location to have regions of it's own) the power was out for two days. This put us behind the gun a little bit with respect to getting back into the routine after conference. So, once again, I must apologize for not posting this update earlier than this. Praise the Lord that there were no major problems at ANBC as a result of the hurricane. In fact there wasn't even enough wind to knock over the plastic lawn chairs that I had neglected to bring in. There is some small debris to clean up, but all in all, we were spared.

Liz and I are currently in NS visiting with her parents for the long weekend. It had been my intention to return to Cumberland Bay today, but it seems the Lord has other plans. Our van went in to the Ford dealer yesterday for a recall, and everything with respect to that is fine. But Lizs' brother, while doing an oil change, did discover that we have a very severely leaking rad hose... so I'll be here for an extra day or two while that is getting repaired! We are very thankful for Jonathan's willingness to share his skills with us in this way!

Liz is busily getting ready for the Ladies retreat. It is sneaking up on us quickly, but the Lord has provided for all of the various aspects of the retreat that were lacking. Stay tuned for details in the next day or two about registration.

Plans are coming together for the Mission tour in October. I have been asked to represent NCEM on a week long PR tour of New Brunswick with members of several other missions. I will be traveling with representatives from Wycliff, SEND, OMF, Avant and HCJB and visiting Crandall, Bethany Bible College, N.B.B.I., St. Stephen's University, Devon Park Christian School and some other venues yet to be determined. It will be a busy week, but I am looking forward to the opportunity to share about the ministries of NCEM and Arrowhead.

I will be meeting with an excavation company this week at Arrowhead to discuss the logistics of running water and sewer to our three large cabins and the shop. Lord willing, we will be receiving funding this fall to complete this project. This will significantly improve these buildings and give us greater freedom with respect to their use. We will be closely looking at our water system and water quality at the same time and are looking forward to having a healthy and robust water system that conforms to all health and safety standards.

The work on the new office building is almost complete, with a little bit of flashing and soffit, it will be complete and up to date. We are hopeful, over the next couple of years, to bring all of the buildings on the property up to a level of regular maintenance. Our tuck shop is the building with the most need of attention and we will be focusing on it this fall during our work week in October. If you are available and would like to come and serve with us for the week, or for a portion of the week in October, we would be most blessed.

Here are a few more pics from our time at the NCEM General Conference.

We were blessed by worship times led by various individuals and groups made up of NCEM missionaries.

It was most excellent to reconnect with old friends! (we miss you Jan!)

It was great to fellowship with our mission family!

Near the end of the week the MK's did a presentation for us from what they had been learning in the childrens program.

I was very blessed to connect with the other NCEM camp managers during the conference. I'm on the left, in the middle is Lucas Gabrielson, manager of Pine Ridge Bible Camp, on the right is Jason Boucher, manager of Big River Bible Camp and NCEM camp co-ordinator.

This was NCEM's 65th anniversary and General Conference. Pat Elford, Barb Heal and Ardys Winger (not pictured) worked very hard to make this the wonderful conference that it was! We very much appreciate all of their hard work.

Staff devotions.

We flew home with Mark and Ruth-Anna Dana, NCEM missionaries working in Quebec. It was a lot of fun and a great chance to connect with them a little bit.

Pinawa, Manitoba

2011-08-24T01:55:00.008-03:00

We've arrived safe and sound in Manitoba and are very much enjoying the conference. There are lots of meetings, but lots of opportunity for fellowship and visiting as well. Our keynote speaker, Brian Catalucci, from Answers in Genesis, is excellent and we've very much been enjoying his lectures. We've had an opportunity for a training session and will be having our general business meeting tomorrow. Here are a few shots from our day!

On our flight out to Winnipeg.

Prayer time with our mission family on Tuesday morning.

Keynote speaker Brian Catalucci from Answers in Genesis.

Music at chapel.

The dining facilities and meals at Wilderness Edge have been amazing!

NCEM's 65th Anniversary General Conference

2011-08-21T19:19:00.002-03:00

Hey everyone. We're just getting ourselves packed up to head out to NCEM's general conference. The conference is being held at Wilderness Edge Retreat and Conference Center, in Pinawa, Manitoba.

We will be hearing from special guest speaker Brian Catalucci, from Answers in Genesis. Most of the NCEM membership will be in attendance, so it promises to be a wonderful week filled with fellowship and time in the word. Please keep us in prayer as we travel, we will be returning on Friday, Aug 26. Watch for pictures and updates while we're away!

Alas... Camp is over!

2011-08-14T13:59:00.025-03:00

Well, we've come to the end of summer camps for 2011 - and a wonderful summer it was. It was a summer fraught with great challenges and great blessings... God is indeed Good! For those of you who have checked in periodically over the summer, only to find that I had not made any updates with respect to our camps - I heartily apologize for leaving you in the lurch. However, any of you who frequent Facebook have likely found regular updates on the Arrowhead Page. Well, although this will not make amends, you will find a good selection of pictures and a video or two in this post.

Throughout the summer we were blessed by all of the volunteers who traveled from far and near to come and minister with us in various ways. We had a huge turnout of staff from our home church, Cumberland Bay Baptist, this summer. It was a great encouragement to be able to serve along side of our friends and church family!

Arrowhead underwent some changes this summer as well. Kevin and Marcia Strout have been the acting managers of Arrowhead Native Bible Center for 4 years. During camp, Kevin communicated to Len and I that He and Marcia had been feeling called into another area of ministry for some time. This calling led them to step down from leadership at arrowhead midway through the camping season. The executive approached Liz and I and asked if we would pray about stepping up to fill this position. We have done that and have accepted the role of managers of Arrowhead Native Bible Center. It is sad to see the Strout's move on, but we are sure the Lord will use them in whatever ministry they move into.

The remaining weeks of camp were challenging, but the Lord provided in wonderful ways. We saw the Lord move in the lives of both campers and staff, and we have been so very thankful for His sovereignty in all things.

Over the course of the summer I posted very short little video clips of happenings during camp. Below are a couple of examples of "Camp Moments"... to see them all, you can find them posted on Arrowhead's Facebook Page.

Gary Countway Brought the Gospel everyday during our third week of camp!

♫♪ I'm Singin' in the Rain ♪♫

The Amazing Race challenges were a fun part of Teen Camps!

Here are a few photos from the summer for you to enjoy - if you would like to see more, you can view the entire album on Facebook.

Lizs' Amazing Race Team "Team Xtreme" proudly displaying their cake!

How clean ARE those tables after lunch?

We're #1

It was a real blessing to have Stephen Somers and his family with us for the last week of camp!

There were lots of rainy days this summer... a great time for some board games!

Ben Lawson and his children spent several weeks with us this summer... they were all a huge help and great encouragement!

Week four staff picture!

Another thing rainy days are good for! MUD!

Thumbs up!

Dale Gamage & Bob Morissette came from Maine and ran a martial arts program for our first week of teen camp. As always it was a huge success!

Gotta love that beach!

A lazy afternoon paddle.

Mimacry is the highest form of flattery...

Ben Bedecki facilitated a fishing activity during our first week of chilren's camp. The kids loved it.

We had some learning to do with the new boat - but it worked great once we did.

And, never to be forgotten, the very important dish crew!

Now that camp is over Liz and I have been resting up, we have felt quite worn out after camp but are now feeling quite ready to get back to work. We will be preparing this week to go out to Pinawa Manitoba for the NCEM general conference. This conference is something that happens every two years and all NCEM missionaries are expected to attend. It will give us an opportunity to go over some mission business as well as have some wonderful fellowship with fellow missionaries from across the country - many of whom we would otherwise not have opportunity to meet.

Our fall schedule is posted to the right of this page, as we continue to travel to complete our deputation and do PR work for Arrowhead. We'd love to see you if we're going to be in your area (or if you're going to be in ours... do drop in!)

We thank you for your continued prayers and support, we will keep you updated as we begin to settle into our new roles here at Arrowhead.

2011 Summer Camps: Week 1

2011-07-10T14:25:00.012-03:00

Well - it was a full week at Arrowhead. We had campers from Millbrook and Saint Mary's, and although we didn't have a lot of staff, we were able to fill all the necessary positions and had a great week of camp. It certainly wasn't without it's challenges, but the Lord provided and there were some wonderful opportunities for ministry and discipleship. We were blessed to have Micah Hiltz with us as chapel speaker. He brought the gospel of Jesus Christ in a chronological way using John R. Cross' "The Lamb" material. It was an excellent week and the gospel was clearly presented.

It's Sunday afternoon now, and we're getting ready to meet the next group of incoming staff. Keep us in prayer this week, that the Lord would bring the campers that He would have for us, and that our hearts and minds would be unified in Him and our focus would be on serving to the greatest of our ability.

The following pictures were all taken by Micah Hiltz, I thought I'd share a few of the shots from the week.

Bonfire time!

A few words from our "camp nurse"

Game time.

Tuck's always a blast!

Our special guest speaker this week, Micah Hiltz!

Sploosh!

A nice sunny afternoon paddle!

A refreshing dip in the lake!

Water balloon volleyball is always a hit!

Camp is Upon Us!

2011-07-02T21:41:00.009-03:00

Hello friends, I am indeed sorry for having neglected you for the past couple of weeks. Liz and I have been really very busy with a lot of camp prep! Much has happened since my last post. When I last posted we were just returning from our grocery grabber trip to Nova Scotia. On that trip we picked up Ben, one of our Bible School students who will be working with us for the whole summer. The next day Ben and I went to Moncton to meet Isaac at the airport. He is another NBBI student who will be working at Arrowhead for the summer.

Isaac and Ben have been with us for the two weeks preceding our summer camps. Their help has been huge and their servants hearts and positive attitudes have been a great encouragement!

On Monday we were joined by a missions team from Illinois who had come to Fredericton on a missions trip. They came to ANBC for the day to assist us with some work projects. Their assistance was very welcome!

It's always great to have help from people interested in this ministry. These folks did in one day what it would have taken me two weeks to do!

Ben and Isaac worked with me throughout the week doing MANY projects that I had hoped to accomplish before camp. Everything from organizing our office library and sheet music to hauling brush, mowing, weeding, campus repairs and landscaping! It was a full week to be sure. That Saturday we all piled in the camp truck and went to Sussex to meet Ethan. We then spent the day running some last minute camp errands!

Our good friends Dan & Gwen brought Ethan up to Canada with them, we met them in Sussex.

On Sunday our friend Ben Lawson arrived with his kids to spend the week in a cabin at ANBC. All three of them have been a huge help to us in preparing for camp. Ben's daughter has been helping Liz in the kitchen and craft cabin, while Ben and his son have been hard at work with us as we've continued to work away at some pretty major projects. This week the fellas leveled some property that was in need of landscaping; we spent a long day designing and building paths for the boys cabins. We cleaned up and painted the tuck shop. With Ben's help we brought an old ice cream freezer back to life. It's been another great week. I've had to spend some time in the office with the books and planning some games for our teen camps. Meanwhile, Liz has cleaned the big main lodge and kitchen and organized all of the cleaning and storage closets.

Our brand new paths for the boys cabins.

The team that made the paths happen!

Ben in our freshly renovated Tuck Shop!

Well, it's Saturday night and if it aint done now - it aint needin' done. We're all excited to meet the rest of the incoming staff tomorrow as they arrive. It's always great to see the Lord work through the weeks of camp.

Please keep us in prayer as we seek to share the gospel over the next five weeks. Pray for our staff, for endurance, patience and wisdom as we strive to work together in harmony and with a single mind. Pray for the incoming campers - that the Lord would provide for these kids to come to camp and that they might see Christ in our staff and hear the gospel clearly in the cabins and chapel times. Pray for safety as we engage in games, swimming and activities. Pray for health for our campers AND staff - personally, I have been struggling with hives again this summer and would appreciate your prayer for relief from them. Summer camp is a special opportunity to build relationships and begin to plant the seeds of the gospel - your prayers are a vital part of these opportunities!

I hope to post one, perhaps two blog updates per week during camp. Keep checking back to hear what's happening this summer at Arrowhead. You can also follow ANBC on Facebook by clicking HERE.

grocery grabber.

2011-06-20T19:02:00.001-03:00

Yard Sale...

2011-06-11T18:04:00.003-03:00

Today we hosted a flea market of sorts at Arrowhead - we were hopeful that we'd have a good turnout to spite the fact that we are a bit off the beaten path! It wasn't a bust and we had a great day! Rob and Irene VanAsperen came down to join Liz and I and Marcia as we held our sale in the big field. There were several items of Arrowhead's that we felt would be better in different hands than sitting at our property collecting dust. Arrowhead raised over $300 for our dock project.

Irene baked some beautiful baked goods and had them for sale (our fridge is now sufficiently stocked with goodies - yay!). Liz had the BBQ going and we sold hot dogs and pop. It was a fun day, a productive day and a beautiful sunny day and we were able to get rid of some superfluous things from our move.

We were excited when a couple of carloads of friends from Riverglade Baptist Church pulled in. They checked out the yard sale and were able to have a tour of ANBC and see all of the work that has been accomplished this Spring!

A great day to spend with friends.

Liz and I will be traveling to Nova Scotia today to collect the generous gifts of several churches who have taken part in the Grocery Grabber program. We'll make a little video blog of our journey and take you along with us! It should be a fun week.

Plans for camp are coming along, Staffing is all coming together very nicely - we should be well staffed this year. The Lord has certainly been humbling us as He's provided for us in this area of camp. We are now working to communicate closely with the band leadership and recreation departments to ensure that all of the kids that want to come to camp get here! Please keep this item in prayer over the next few weeks.

On the Road

2011-06-03T11:23:00.004-03:00

This past weekend, both Kevin and Marcia, Liz and I were on the road. The Strouts were asked to give an Arrowhead update at Devon park Baptist Church in Fredericton. This past Sunday was their camp Sunday and church members brought in cereal and kitchen items for the various camps represented. This week Rob Burns, pastor of families brought the generous gifts to us here at ANBC.

Gifts like these are such a wonderful blessing to the ministries at Arrowhead.

While the Strouts were at Devon Park, Liz and I visited Nasonworth Baptist Church, just north of Fredericton for their camp Sunday. It was so encouraging to be able to share and then to fellowship with the directors of some of the other Bible camps in our area. Dennis MacQuarrie and his family were representing Sandy Cove Bible Camp, a CSSM ministry. And Steve Alward was representing Greenhill Lake Bible Camp. It's during these brief opportunites for our paths to cross that we can share ideas and burdens with one another! The church held a pot luck following the service and we very much enjoyed fellowship with everyone.

This week we've been busily preparing for the summer; connecting with our staff and campers, doing maintenance and Spring clean-up. We are expecting two NBBI students to join us in just a couple of weeks. They will assist with a lot of the physical jobs that need to be done before everyone else arrives.

It's a busy time, please keep us in prayer as we seek to accomplish everything so that the summer camps may be as effective as possible for the Glory of God!

99 Balloons!

2011-05-26T11:15:00.005-03:00

I want to share a video that a friend of mine posted on Facebook today. It is a sad video, but I highly recommend you watch it... don't be overwhelmed by the story and miss the point though.

A lot of people ask me "Why do bad things happen to good people" and there are 2 answers to that question... firstly (in short) that there are no good people (Romans 3:10, Matthew 19:17). But more importantly, bad things are allowed to happen to bring glory to God. This video is an excellent illustration of this.

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him" ~John Piper

Just thought you might appreciate the encouragement... if we are walking with the Lord and allow Him to carry us through the valleys, He will be glorified in us and we will be sustained in Him!

99 Balloons from Igniter Media on Vimeo.

mawio'mi: the gathering 2011

2011-05-25T13:09:00.009-03:00

We had a fantastic weekend at Arrowhead with the men for the men's retreat! It was a blessing to have men from around the Maritimes come for a weekend of fellowship, fun and worship! Kirk Hubick, a missionary with Open Air Campaigners came to share with us in four sessions over the course of the weekend. Kirk brought the gospel in a clear and comprehensive way that gave us all cause for pause as we considered our own relationship with the Lord.

Keep Kirk in prayer as he continues to go and labour for the Lord on the streets of our cities and campuses... and consider perhaps joining him!

We were also blessed to have Paul Patterson and Ewen MacKillop come and minister to us in music.

David Goodfellow came to facilitate our 'spud gun' workshop - it was a blast!

And what would a men's retreat be like without lots of grand vittles! The ladies in the kitchen spoiled us for sure!

Here's a video of our spud gun antics! Good times had by all!

Animism and Chronological Bible

2011-05-25T09:20:00.003-03:00

This is a great little article on the CMI website pertaining to Animism and the challenges of sharing the Gospel. Just thought I'd share it with you all. I highly recommend giving it a read!

Just click HERE to give it a look.

shuttering...

2011-05-17T22:50:00.005-03:00

Last week Kevin and I traveled to Lisbon Falls Maine and had a wonderful meeting with the team from Lisbon Falls Baptist Church that will be coming to minister together at Arrowhead this summer. We are always encouraged by the enthusiasm of the team and look forward to having each of them come this summer.

This week has been busy as we prepare for "the Gathering", Arrowhead's first Men's retreat. Yesterday Liz began preparing the menu and cleaning up. I did some painting in the office. Today while Liz cleaned the main lodge, Roger, Rob and I installed the new shutters in the kitchen and dish palace (due to the recent renovations, the dish pit is now far too nice to be called a pit - so at Lorrayne's encouragement we've decided that it shall henceforth be known as the dish palace). The new shutters will help with noise reduction in the kitchen area.

This afternoon Liz and I put a couple of more coats of paint in the office. Martin Bear and another gentleman are coming tomorrow to install the new flooring in the office - so we're hopeful to have all the painting done before they arrive. I'll post some pictures of the office renovations once we have all of the furniture back in!

Please keep the men's retreat in prayer. It is our first year doing a retreat for men in this way. We are hopeful for good numbers of men and opportunities for ministry.

A new shutter and a new counter for the dish palace.

Roger making some adjustments to the big window shutter!

Holding... holding... holding...

The new shutters look pretty snazzy and should help with kitchen noise reduction.

Executive Meetings

2011-05-09T23:49:00.003-03:00

Last week we spent cleaning up from the work week and preparing for some of the NCEM executive to come and join us at Arrowhead for some meetings. On Tuesday evening we were joined by NCEM general Director, Albert Heal and InFocus team members Alan and Esther Giesbrecht. We met with them for two days to discuss future programs and evaluate the best possible ways in which we can institute new programs at ANBC.

The days were productive and led to some valuable discussion. We are looking forward to what the Lord has in store for us as we labour here at Arrowhead Native Bible Center and seek how most effectively to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Canada's First Nations people.

This week coming, Kevin and I will be traveling to the United States to meet with a ministry team from Lisbon Falls Baptist Church. The team will be coming in two different groups during our summer camps this year. Meeting with them will be a valuable opportunity for us to meet new team members and reconnect with those who have been to ANBC in the past. Please pray for safety as we go and that the meeting will be a wonderful encouragement and time of preparation for service.

Work Week • Day 6

2011-04-30T22:12:00.010-03:00

Today was the culmination of an amazing week at Arrowhead! It has been such a blessing and encouragement to be a part of the things happening here. The fellowship and co-labouring with such servant hearted people! We praise the Lord for everything that was accomplished.

The ministry team from Riverglade Baptist Church.

The ministry team from Cumberland Bay Baptist Church.

The ministry team from Little Southwest Baptist Church.

Six church teams represented by nearly fifty people... all at ANBC today to serve with us in practical ways.

Some of the men from Little Southwest assembled our brand new park benches!

It's so exciting to see everything happening and all of the vehicles in the yard.

The verse on the bulkhead is a beautiful addition to the dining room at ANBC.

Work Week • Day 5

2011-04-29T23:08:00.006-03:00

Another huge day! We started at 8am with breakfast - it is now 11:30pm and there are still people working to complete their jobs! It's hard to get them to stop working!!

A few of the NCEM'ers!

Our rejuvenated dish pit.

The upper dormatory is looking pretty amazing!

...and our Park bench ends have arrived!

Work Week • Day 4

2011-04-29T00:02:00.010-03:00

Yet another productive day of our work week 2011! Today the Newmarket team completed the new siding on the office - it looks amazing! I can't even begin to try to express how much of a blessing it is to have all of these people come and share with us in ministry! The amount of work accomplished by the Peterborough team in the past two days is staggering! Praise the Lord!

Whether on a mission team or dropping in to lend a hand, as everyone works together on completing the projects on the lists the fellowship has been fabulous.

The mission team from Peterborough Free Methodist Church.

Martin & Sue Bear arrived tonight, they have come to share with us in ministry for a couple of days!

Be cool & Have a Great Time!

With Liz, Lorrayne, Irene and Venus in the kitchen we've been spoiled with great meals and baking!

The amount of mud and sanding to be done was daunting to say the least, but the team has torn through it like pros!

Lots of paint! The upper dorm is going to look and feel like a whole new place!

Todd working on trimming out the windows upstairs!

Work Week • Day 3

2011-04-27T23:31:00.008-03:00

Today, the rest of the team from Peterborough, Ontario arrived in the church van! They left Ontario yesterday at about 6pm and drove through the night, arriving at ANBC at noontime today. After a brief lunch they dove right into the work and made remarkable advances in the upper dormatory porject. They are completing the crack filling and will be painting and installing flooring! The ANBC property was hopping today!

Mervin has been fixing a hydraulic leak on the tractor, the Newmarket team has been busily finishing up the siding on the office and we painted the main lodge dining area! It certainly feels like Extreme Makeover: Arrowhead Edition!

Jim completed some fabulous doors for our games cupboard!

Myke, from peterborough is a professional videographer and has come along to help us with a promo video!

Jim working on building a storage area in the upper stairwells.

Rob has been our 'go to' guy for all of our many handyman projects.

Mike and Luke working on the sanding in the upper dormatory hallway!

Work Week • Day 2

2011-04-26T23:57:00.006-03:00

Today it rained. But it didn't dampen our spirits! The work continued on the office building and lots of other projects were started and scratched off the to do list.

Len and Clare keeping on to spite the rain!

Carroll and Jim built new doors for the games cupboard in the lodge!

Rob, doing a fantastic job of staining one of the boys cabins!

Our good friend Ben came all the way from Akulevik, Quebec and stopped in to help us with some of our work projects!

Myke and Pastor Eyre arrived tonight from Peterborough, Ontario. The rest of their team will arrive tomorrow morning to join them in some ambitious work projects in the main lodge.

Work Week • Day 1

2011-04-25T22:49:00.005-03:00

Today we got underway with the teams that have arrived already. The men from Newmarket began siding the office - it's starting to look amazing!

Rob and Irene VanAsperen arrived from Jacksontown Baptist Church. The ladies in the W.M.S. there collected grocery items for the camp as well as nearly $50 in Canadian Tire money! We are so thankful for the initiative of caring groups who share with us in ministry in this way. Rob and Irene will be with us until Friday helping with the many projects slated to be finished up this week!

Rob, Irene and Gus presenting us with Canadian Tire Money from Jacksontown Baptist Church

Liz, mom and Venus cleaned out all of the cabins today!

The office starting to take shape!

the first team has arrived!

2011-04-24T23:09:00.003-03:00

This Easter Sunday our big work week begins. This evening, our first team has arrived from Grace Church in Newmarket, Ontario. The fellas are settling into one of the cabins and we'll be having a stroll in the morning to inspect the work to be done. They will be doing most of their work on the office building, beginning with the siding! We're certainly excited to have them serving with us in this way. It's going to be a fun week to be sure!

Mervin, Clare and Jim from Grace Church in Newmarket, Ontario (Left to Right)

Gettin' Ready for a Big Week!

2011-04-22T19:31:00.005-03:00

This past week Len and Lorrayne Breen arrived from Ontario to be with us for a few busy weeks. Liz and I have been enjoying having them work along side us as we prepare for the work teams that will be descending on Arrowhead this coming week! The first team arrives on Sunday evening. I'll introduce you to them as they arrive!

Len and I spent a couple of days finishing up with burning the brush from last fall. We're all ready to start a new pile of this years deadfall! Yesterday we went to Minto and picked up some countertop at the Eastland Kitchens factory. One of the work teams will be installing cabinets and countertop in the dishpit - this will help with space, organization and cleanliness! Today we spent in demolition mode as we took all of the old aluminum siding off of the office building. A team will install brand new vinyl siding beginning on Monday.

Liz and Lorrayne have been working hard at Spring cleaning the lodge and opening up the cabins. Our work teams will have to stay in the cabins for the week - one of the jobs to be done is flooring, paint and trim in the upper lodge dormatory which means no one can stay up there! There are lots of jobs to do, and there will be lots of willing hands here to do them. It's going to be an exciting week! Watch for updates!

Len getting a start on the siding.

Need stuff taken apart... we're your guys!

The bare office building awaiting it's fresh siding! (We didn't have a tall enough ladder to reach the gable ends, we're going to borrow one on Monday)

Little Southwest Baptist Church

2011-04-17T23:39:00.002-03:00

Well my friends, I must apologize for my brief blog absence of late. It has been a busy time and I haven't allowed myself to take time to update all of you on what's been happening here at Arrowhead!

It has been year end, and as the book keeper for Arrowhead Native Bible Center I've had a few extra tasks for my part. I know that out at headquarters the finance department has been, and will continue to be busy as they prepare all of the books from various departments for the auditor. Keep them in prayer as they labour in good stewardship of that which the Lord has seen fit to bless us with.

This Spring has come with a lot of deadfall on the property of ANBC. I've been busy collecting and burning brush this past week. Throughout the week I've had the very welcome assistance of some folks from our church. It's certainly a blessing to be able to enjoy the outdoors this time of year!

Liz and Marcia, Kevin and I have all been busy rounding up materials, supplies and equipment for our work week coming up at Arrowhead. We have teams coming from several different churches, some as far away as Ontario, for the week of April 25th to 30th. These teams are coming ready to work, and will be helping us with MANY projects at the center. I will give you regular updates during our work week and share pictures of all of the work that we are hoping to have done. We are very excited and blessed by the sacrificial work that the work teams will do! We are certainly praying for good weather on April 30th when the largest number of people will be at ANBC to assist us with jobs!

Today we traveled to Sillikers, NB with the Strouts to share with the folks at Little Southwest Baptist Church about the ministries at Arrowhead Native Bible Center. What an encouragement it was to be among the folks there. Their enthusiasm for the ministry and concern for First Nations ministry is a blessing to us. I was so excited when we walked in and were greeted by a large sign and sign up sheet for a work day at ANBC on April 30th. There were already 16 people signed up to come along.

It's going to be a great week as we welcome Len and Lorrayne Breen, our field directors, who will be arriving from Ontario on Tuesday. They will be here for three weeks as we enjoy the work week and prepare for some meetings with NCEM executive in early May. Please keep them in prayer as they travel tomorrow and Wednesday!

blessings!

2011-04-01T15:05:00.003-03:00

Several weeks ago as Liz and I arrived at an appointment in a neighboring community we were dismayed, although not surprised, that our car sputtered to it's end. We had been hoping it would last us for several more months, but it breathed it's last that day and has since been reconciled to it's fate as a pancake.

We were at a bit of a loss as to just what we would do for transportation, but the Lord certainly had it all well planned out. And before that day was over ,our need was provided for. Some wonderfully kind folks who were aware of our need felt led to provide for it in a most generous way! They called us that evening and told us they would be giving us their 2000 Ford Windstar. I picked it up last weekend and we have been driving it for the week - it works beautifully!

We are so thankful for this kindness of friends and for their giving spirit in this amazing provision.

A very snowy April 1st!

J2N

2011-03-30T18:45:00.007-03:00

This past weekend Kevin and I met Phil and Gracie Welch in Halifax at Mount Saint Vincent University for Jesus to the Nations (J2N). This conference exists as Atlantic Canada's Mission Fest and we were pleased to represent NCEM and Arrowhead. We had many opportunities to talk to people about NCEM and the work happening here in the East. Several young people expressed interest in coming to serve at Arrowhead for the summer camps and we had a couple of serious inquiries about serving with NCEM.

Kevin and I left on Friday morning and arrived at Mount Saint Vincent for the opening at 6pm. Saturday was a full day as we manned the NCEM table. We were able to connect with pastors from our area who are burdened for our neighbors, Canada's First Nations people. Pray that these opportunities will grow and blossom into wonderful ministries.

Now that we're back, our travel will subside for a while as we prepare for the upcoming work week at the end of April. We are expecting several teams from near and far to come to Arrowhead and help us with some important projects! If you're going to be in the area and would like to drop in a helping hand, just let us know! We'd love to have you! We will be burning some brush on April 30th and can use all the help we can get.

AMPED Camp Night

2011-03-23T15:13:00.005-03:00

Last Saturday night, Kevin and I were invited to Devon Park Baptist Church in Fredericton for their monthly youth rally. The theme of the night was Summer Camp Ministry, and we were pleased to share about the ministry at Arrowhead with potential campers and staff. We shared the evening with five other Bible camps and very much enjoyed reconnecting with some other Bible camp directors from the area.

This coming Friday, Kevin and I are on the road again. This time we're heading to Halifax for Missions Fest. "Jesus to the Nations" is the Atlantic Canadian Missions Conference and we have been asked to represent NCEM at this year's conference. Kevin and I will be there with Phil & Gracie Welch from Friday until Sunday afternoon. If you're in the area drop in and say hi.

The Great International Bottle Drop!

2011-03-16T19:19:00.003-03:00

Attention churches, Sunday schools, Youth Groups & Friends! We have a challenge for you! We have a need at Arrowhead and there is something YOU can do to help us out!

The water level at our lakefront fluctuates a lot during the course of the year. As such, our current floating dock and boat propeller have taken beatings. Practically we need a longer dock that will reach out into deeper water. We have been given an estimate by a ...local metal fabricator to build a 120 foot movable dock with a pressure treated deck for $6,000.

You can read a little more about it and see a picture by clicking HERE:

*********

Our challenge to you is this! For the month of April, 2011 collect and save as many bottles and redeemable recyclables as you can and cash them in on behalf of Arrowhead Native Bible Center. This will work in most provinces and states (except Ontario - where you can collect the aluminum and cash in by the pound).

It is our challenge to everyone to collect enough recyclables to help us pay for a new dock. At 5¢ refund for most bottles we need to collect 120,000 bottles.

Invite your friends to join the challenge! The more the merrier... feel free to join us on our Facebook page!

*********

In Canada you can send your gift of proceeds to:
Northern Canada Evangelical Mission
P.O. Box 3030
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
S6V 7V4

In the United States:
Northern Canada Evangelical Mission
P.O. Box 50806
Billings, MT
59105-0806

(remember to indicate it's for the Arrowhead Bottle Drive!)

mawio'mi: the gathering

2011-03-15T16:25:00.001-03:00

Arrowhead Native Bible Center is hosting our first Men’s Gathering conference on May 20 - 22, 2011. Men ages 16 and up are welcome to join us for a fantastic weekend of fellowship, worship and time in the Word. Throughout the weekend we will be blessed by guest speaker Kirk Hubick and special music with Paul Patterson. We will also be having a special seminar facilitated by David Goodfellow on how to build a potato cannon (which... will certainly be accompanied by some competition)!

We would like to make this event available to as many men as possible, and we realize that many of you have responsibilities that may prevent you from coming for the entire retreat, there are three options available. You can come for the entire event beginning on Friday evening and running until Sunday afternoon. If you are a pastor or simply need to be home for Church you can attend for just the Friday and Saturday portions. Or you may choose to come only to our Men’s breakfast on Saturday morning. The choice is yours, but we encourage you to register as early as possible, space is limited.

You can download a registration form for this event by clicking the banner to the right or by clicking this link:

http://ncem.ca//images/stories/pdf/camp_arrowhead_mens_retreat_may_2011.pdf

Space is limited, so be sure to register early!

" I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way.
O when wilt thou come unto me?

I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes:

I hate the work of them that turn aside;
it shall not cleave to me."

~Psalm 101: 2-3

Back in Prince Albert

2011-03-07T09:03:00.005-04:00

Well, for Kevin, Venus and I, the journey didn't end with the Church Planting Seminars. We loaded up the mission van in Lac La Biche on Friday afternoon after the last session with Dr. Tom Steffen. We traveled with a van load of missionaries to Prince Albert where we have been staying with Albert and Barb Heal. We have enjoyed the hospitality of several NCEM families as we've had the opportunity to be at Headquarters. It has been enjoyable as we've had fellowship with NCEM families in their homes each evening.

We spent the day Saturday resting, and did make a foray down the road to get a coffee fix. Saturday night, Albert Heal, NCEM General Director, took us to a Prince Albert Raiders hockey game.

Sunday we worshiped at First Baptist Church in Prince Albert. They have quite an active church and a seriously high tech website. You can view the service we attended by clicking HERE.

Monday and Tuesday we've been in camp meetings at head office. It has been absolutely wonderful to spend time with other camp administrators and work through some issues that we all face. NCEM has several camping ministries across the country and we all face challenges and opportunities that we have been able to share the last couple of days. It has been a great encouragement to us to be here for the meetings.

We fly back home tomorrow from Saskatoon. We will arrive in Cumberland Bay close to midnight. It has been a great trip, but it will certainly be nice to be home with our wives!

Church Planting Seminars

2011-03-03T13:45:00.000-04:00

snow, snow and more snow

2011-03-02T14:11:00.006-04:00

While I'm away out West with Kevin, Liz has been holding down the fort at home. These are a few shots she took yesterday of the snow at the Center.

worship, witchcraft and worldview

2011-03-01T12:04:00.003-04:00

On Sunday morning we worshipped with the Native Fellowship church in Hobema. Attending, was a lady who had been struggling with witchcraft and wicca. She come through it by the strength of the Lord. She shared her testimony with us and publicly renounced the practice of these things. The missionary pastor prayed and shared this passage from Acts with us:

"And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver." ~Acts 19:19

As a public symbol, we went out of the church and witnessed as she and the pastor burned the books of witchcraft that she had in her home. It was a very special opportunity to see the Lord working in her life as we were able to celebrate with her, a new life in Christ!

Yesterday was our first day of seminars with Dr. Tom Steffen, author of "Passing the Baton". He is working with us through a series of seminars dealing with the five stage church planting strategy. It has been quite interesting so far, and I've found that the discussions have clearly tied together all of the Worldview training seminars that we've been a part of to this point. And as always it's a pleasure to hear from Mike Matthews and share with everyone here in fellowship.

Kevin and I are staying in the men's dorm at the Bible School and today we acquired a new roommate. Jonathan Yeo drove in from Fort Liard, NWT, to take part in the seminars, so we've been having a great time catching up with him.

Watch for a video blog at some point this week. I've been asked to take a few shots of happenings at these sessions for the NCEM Facebook page, so I'll post them here as well in the form of a vlog for anyone who is interested in seeing where we are and what we're up to.

travel woes

2011-02-28T12:45:00.002-04:00

Traveling in Canada in February is challenging and always has the potential for surprises.

As I mentioned in my post on Saturday, our early Saturday morning flight was canceled due to the blizzard New Brunswick received overnight Friday. Liz came down with a flu and was not feeling very much like traveling, so when they cancelled our flights it gave us the opportunity to get her tickets refunded. We were able to reschedule the rest of our flights (Kevin, Venus and myself) for Saturday night, to depart Moncton at 8:40pm. The biggest setback to this being the camp truck. It seems, based on the symptoms, that the alternator needs either a good smack in the head or replacement. As we won't be able to get it looked at until a weekday, we had to scramble to find a way to the airport. Venus will not be returning with us so we had thought her car wouldn't be an option. But as time and options ran out we decided to talk to her about it and made arrangements to use her car. Kevin and I will return the car to Fredericton when we get back next Wednesday.

I had planned to sleep in on Saturday to prepare for our long travel into the night Saturday night, but woke up at 8am. So I got up and got busy with the tractor, blowing the 18 plus inches of snow out of the driveways so we could be mobile later in the day. I had no sooner finished the plowing and was closing up the shop when the garage door slipped off it's pully and wouldn't close. Roger came to the rescue and with his help we had the door fixed in five minutes flat. Crisis averted!

Kevin, Venus and I caught our flight in Moncton at 8:40, our flight was only about ten minutes late leaving. It was, however quite a bit longer than our typical flight time from Moncton to Toronto. Instead of the usual hour and forty five minutes it was much closer to two and a half. Which left us less than ten minutes to make our connection in Toronto. But our connecting flight was delayed by an hour, so we had time for a leasurely supper at the deli near our gate. We boarded our Edmonton flight at 12:30am (ATL), but it was short a few passengers from a connecting flight and their luggage was already on the plane. They never showed, so we had to wait while their luggage was removed. In the meantime, our aircraft developed a healthy snow and ice buildup as it was storming in Toronto. So we had another half hour wait as we went through central de-icing. We arrived in Edmonton at 6:30am (ATL) and were very kindly met by Tom and Donna Cnosson who ferried us to their home. We arrived there at about 7:30am (ATL) and were able to have about three hours of sleep before we rose for church.

After church we headed for KBI in Lac La Biche. Our trip from Edmonton up wasn't without it's adventure. There was quite a snowstorm in the Edmonton area and the roads were quite slick. We saw fourteen cars off the road in a short stretch. But thankfully, the weather cleared as we drove north. We arrived here at 5:30pm, just in time for dinner.

It was a long journey, and we are certainly weary, but it has been nice to reconnect with friends from across the country. I'm looking forward to a great week here in Alberta.

Spinning our wheels...

2011-02-25T20:07:00.002-04:00

NCEM is hosting a week of meetings in Lac La Biche at KBI for missionaries from across the country. Kevin, Venus, Liz and I were scheduled to fly out of Moncton tomorrow morning at 7:25am. As of this morning that flight was canceled. We rescheduled our flight for tomorrow night at 8:40 to arrive in Edmonton at 1:00am local time.

This afternoon it began to snow, but suppertime we had about a foot of snow down. And the blizzard is scheduled to start about midnight. We still have our power for now! But to complicate things, the alternator seems to have quit in the ANBC truck, so we are now stranded without transport to the airport. In the morning I will need to plow and we will try to find a drive to the airport in time to catch our flight... there certainly seem to have been a lot of obstacles to this journey.

Please keep us in prayer as we try to get ourselves to the West for these meetings. We are scheduled for several days of camp meetings at headquarters as well, which will be quite valuable, providing we get there.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

2011-02-24T16:37:00.003-04:00

This is a short video I put together using a few audio bites from various sermons by preacher and evangelist Paul Washer. The truth is, that coming to Christ is not about simply keeping ourselves out of Hell. It's about seeking after righteousness, it's about falling on our faces before a terrible and awesome and Holy God (Nehimiah 9:32) and repenting for the vile sins in us and continuing to seek after Him in ALL things. Without Christ we are damned.

In All Things, Christ!

Rolling to a Halt.

2011-02-22T14:07:00.004-04:00

Yesterday as we pulled out of the yard we had no idea that our little car would never be returning. As we drove to an appointment in a neighboring community the car made some strange noises. Little did we know but, although the gauges never fluttered the engine had run out of coolant and just as we pulled into the parking lot of our destination the car breathed it's last, and coughed out one small little puff of smoke. Unfortunately, because of the age and condition of the car, it is not worth attempting a resurrection. It will be going to a junk yard tomorrow. I salvaged the tires and battery and will get as much as I can for them on Kijiji.

Since we are going to be out West for a couple of weeks beginning this weekend we won't be looking for a replacement vehicle until we return. Please keep this in prayer, that we might be able to find a suitable vehicle within our means.

Extra Extra!

2011-02-22T09:33:00.002-04:00

Our local Newspaper, The Grand Lake Mirror, recently interviewed Kevin and I for an article about Arrowhead. We felt it would be a great way to let the community know that we're here, and what we do. We've often been surprised by how many local people we encounter that have never heard of us. Below is the article as it appeared in the paper (click the image to enlarge it).

obese.

2011-02-21T14:21:00.003-04:00

I am obese. I take no pride in it, but as of today, my body mass index is high and I am considered obese. I had a scare three months ago with respect to my blood pressure and my doctor put me on a strict diet. Since then I have lost some weight and have begun to feel much better, my goal is yet distant, but achievable. What has taken place in my life is a change of lifestyle, not just in what I eat, but how and why. Initially this change in lifestyle was borne out of a fear for my health, but as the months have come and gone, I've begun to think seriously about the greater ramifications of my health with respect to my spiritual life.

It is sinful to smoke. I've "known" this my entire life. I've often heard Christians expound on the evils of cigarettes and cigars. I've even, at one time, heard it asked if someone could really be a Christian and smoke tobacco? Inevitably the following passage is quoted:

"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own," ~ I Corinthians 6:19

The idea here is not that the act of smoking is a sin, but that the sin is in the willful destruction of the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Our body is a valuable and delicate gift.

"Every act of fornication, adultery, or any other sin is committed by the believer in the sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, where God dwells." ~ John MacArthur

Our bodies are surrendered to Christ when we accept and serve Him at the cross. The Holy Spirit indwells us and we become living sacrifices to Him. Our bodies are not our own, we are to be stewards of them as we seek to serve God with the time we have on Earth.

"Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food"—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body." I Corinthians 6:13

It is widely accepted that smoking is very damaging to the human body. And, I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone who would contradict the idea that the damage to the body by the smoking of cigarettes is sinful.

Is it sinful to be obese? This is where walls go up, and in favour of polite interaction and not offending a brother we begin to make excuses. The time has come that we must get beyond our pride and have conversations with one another that are true and compelling. Certainly there must be love, but ultimately there should be truth. As Western Christians, we have become far too comfortable with telling lies to each other (and ourselves) for the sake of propriety. It's time for some hard truth! If you find yourself offended by the content of this article, please choose to instead be challenged and edified.

It is true that we are to be good stewards of all we are given in this life, including our physical selves. Yet, somehow we have become very comfortable living lives that are very much in tune with the world instead of with Christ. We have adopted humanism into every aspect of our lives, right down to our diet.

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:1-2

This new diet prevents me from having an overabundant quantity of sodium. Salt, harmless enough in moderate quantities. The average adult requires only about 1500mg (1.5 grams) of sodium a day to meet dietary needs. So, for the past three months I've been striving to live within that daily guideline. And I've made some startling discoveries. Salt is in almost everything, if it didn't grow on it's own and go directly into a pot on your stove it likely has some amount of salt in it. The biggest culprits of salt are pre-packaged foods, even store bought bread has unhealthy levels of sodium. As we've discovered this, we've found ourselves requiring a lot more time for preparing food in our home. Unable to use pre-prepared foods we've had to purchase more raw materials and prepare every meal from scratch. This got me to thinking about just why there is so much of a drive towards prepared foods in the supermarket. There's a lot, and there's more every week. ("The Paradox of Choice" by Barry Schwartz outlines the insanity of excess in Western Society. I highly recommend giving it a read)

We live in a society driven to be busy, there is so much to do now, that we have had to cut corners just to keep up. The first place those corners have been cut (and continue to be cut) is with our eating. The whole shift in living has been very slow, beginning with sliced, store bought bread, progressing to TV dinners & microwaves and now the veritable smorgasbord of packaged foods. Not to forget the extreme excess of so called snack foods, most people have made chips and soda pop a staple of their diet instead of an exception (I have been included in this group). But all of this talk about food, convenience and excess begs the question, why? What has caused this drive to busy lifestyles and fast foods? Why is there no longer someone at home, able to prepare healthy meals. What has driven us from our homes and into the rank upon rank of restaurants? (no longer is 'eating out' a special event, but a weekly, even daily activity).

As a Western culture, our expectations of lifestyle have dramatically changed over the course of the twentieth century. What I mean is that, the financial requirements to maintain the lifestyle of the status quo is far beyond that of a hundred years ago. Inflation aside, the average family requires a much greater consumers income to achieve their desired lifestyle. The cost of living requires two incomes or more just to "live comfortably". At least this is what we've led ourselves to believe. Cell phones, satellite TV, land line, internet, movies, that shiny new car (or two), a lovely home and cottage, lavish vacations, electronics, clothes, the list is quite literally limitless. We rack up debt and max out credit cards to put fuel in our SUV's and put big screen TV's in our living rooms (hey, without a TV what would you point all your furniture at anyway?) All of these things have come to be understood as necessities. But are they really. We spend our lives striving to have and maintain a lifestyle full of these things. Most often both husband and wife will work to try to attain this level of 'comfort' (which means a second car of course by necessity). And why not, this is what the world has come to expect as normal, and hey, you should make the most of your life... (and making the most of your life must mean having this opulent lifestyle!) We've even taught our children to hold the same level of materialism by showering them with mountains of junk at every possible opportunity. Every holiday that has been commercialized within our culture is now associated with gift giving - more stuff. Now these same couples have to pay for day care, and someone else is raising the children while they work to help achieve the ideal lifestyle, as expected by our culture. Everyone gets home far too late to prepare a wholesome meal and voila packaged foods. But then everyone must rush out to their various clubs, classes, teams and programs. A part of the ideal lifestyle is taking advantage of every opportunity available to us and providing those opportunities for our children. That is after all the American dream that we have a DUTY to make the most of - certainly our children deserve it! Don't they?

Our culture is socially obese, and the church has blindly followed suit. We have become mired down in a cesspool of secular humanism, materialism – social, physical and spiritual obesity.

I'm not trying to simply lay blame on materialism and secular humanism for the state of our health. The point is that our own selfish ambitions have resulted in our collective poor health. We eat poorly because we have an insidious desire to live the lifestyles of the world. "Live in the world and not of the world." We've lost sight of what this phrase really means. I've heard it used to twist truth and to present false teaching, it is often misrepresented. Romans 12:1-2, admonishing us to not be conformed to this world, but to discern what is the will of God, is talking about how we live. Throughout scripture we are taught what is expected of family, what are the responsibilities of parents and grandparents, what is expected of children. Yet, for some reason, we have allowed the world to dictate how we live and what we strive for. We've allowed ourselves to be deceived into living in the world and of the world. It's not talking about what music we listen to, whether or not we grace the doors of a theater, whether or not technology is okay or whether or not we drink wine. It's talking about our attitudes and hearts. Our goals. Is it our desire to work hard so we can have the next class of car, a bigger house, nice toys for our kids? Or, is it our desire to seek and serve God in all things. This is where we find the destructive power of the prosperity gospel (which isn't gospel), it has allowed the lifestyle of the world to dictate it's spiritual condition. And it is wrong. The social obesity of our culture is being greedily translated into spiritual obesity by many churches.

"I don’t know what you feel about the prosperity gospel; the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel. But I’ll tell you what I feel about it; hatred. It is not the gospel. It is being exported from this country to Africa and Asia. Selling a bill of goods to the poorest of the poor, Believe this message, your pigs won’t die. Your wife won’t have miscarriages. You’ll have rings on your fingers and coats on your back. That’s coming out of America! The people that ought to be given our money and our time and our lives, instead selling them a bunch of crap called “gospel.” ~ John Piper

Our lives are to be a living sacrifice, which may mean we will not live the twenty-first century idea of a comfortable life, complete with all the trappings. It may mean no cell phone, it may mean only one car, it may mean no internet or cable TV. It should mean we are willing to raise families ourselves, as directed in scripture and be content with whatever the Lord sees fit to provide. We need an attitude change in our churches and it needs to begin with ME. We must come to terms with our own Spiritual condition before the Lord and determine just where our affections lie. It may be high time we made some sacrifices and had a parent at home, preparing healthy food and helping establish a Godly lifestyle within the family.

There are a lot of Fat Christians. I am one of them. I don't think the sin is in the over indulgence of food alone (although gluttony, excess and avarice are clearly sinful (2 Peter 1:5-7, 2 Timothy 3:1-9). The sin begins far deeper than that, it begins in our hearts and our relationship to the world. But it's an excellent place to begin coming to terms with it. We are meant to care for our bodies, yet while we slobber over our Big Macs we condemn those who are damaging their bodies by smoking. It's hypocrisy and the world sees it! We commit the same sin as the smoker every time we eat a burger dripping with cholesterol, fat and sodium. We commit the same sin as the smoker every time we gobble down a chemical laced TV dinner. We commit the same sin as the smoker every time we have a pot luck at the church hall and eat ourselves to discomfort. We commit the same sin as the smoker every time we polish off a box of chocolates. We commit the same sin as the smoker every time we polish of our fourth "large double double" of the day.

"In all things moderation", is often misquoted as having come from scripture. It is in fact attributed to Aristotle. However, Paul shares the same idea in this passage.

"Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable." 1 Corinthians 9:25

Moderation is healthy and wholesome and not very well practiced in our society. Excess is rapidly becoming the norm, it is encouraged, serving only to contribute to the state of our lifestyles.

"All things are lawful," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful," but not all things build up." 1 Corinthians 10:23

It may seem that it is harmless to eat this food, it is after all food and we must eat (the fact is, that most of this 'food' is more damaging than it is food) . But consider it in context of the big picture. Is it honouring to God or is it simply contributing to a lifestyle that leaves God out of the picture. Our own pleasure and comfort must be secondary to a lifestyle not of this world. A lifestyle that serves to bring glory to God at all costs.

So, I will continue to diet. No longer simply to stave off death and improve my blood pressure. I must shed the social obesity of the world and prevent it from making me spiritually and physically obese.

"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

I challenge every Gospel preaching, Bible believing church to take a good hard look at itself. If our congregation is physically and socially obese, it is a symptom of our spiritual health! It's time for a church diet. We must shed our obese lifestyles and seek to live a life apart from the mad materialism of this world, be content in Christ and good stewards of our short time on earth, if for nothing else but to honor God with our testimonies and our bodies.

Follow Christ. Live healthy lives.

New Brunswick Bible Institute Teen Retreat

2011-02-21T12:42:00.004-04:00

I had the opportunity to take some teens up to N.B.B.I. for the teen retreat this past weekend. Several youth from our home church are faithful staff at A.N.B.C., so I arranged to go as their leader for the weekend. The Lord worked it out so I was able to take along a young fellow who had been to camp this past summer as well.

The weekend started out with lots of adventure. School had been canceled, so we left early, and as it turned out it was for the best! On our way we noticed a smell coming from the truck. It turned out the truck had a brake engaged that didn't want to let go. We found a garage and they were able to get us back on the road in a few hours. We arrived at N.B.B.I. just in time for registration.

New Brunswick Bible Institute always puts on a fantastic youth retreat. The students and staff put a lot of work into making the weekend a lot of fun for the kids as well as offering a clear presentation of the gospel. The guest speaker, Wayne Heikkinen, spoke from Philippians in four sessions over the course of the weekend. It was a real pleasure to hear him challenge the teens from churched families as well as those who might not know Christ. N.B.B.I. has posted the four messages on their website, and you can listen to them by clicking on the links below.

2011/02/18 – Is Christ Your Life? by Wayne Heikkinen
2011/02/19 – Be Not Conformed to this World by Wayne Heikkinen
2011/02/19 – Christ Our Goal by Wayne Heikkinen
2011/02/20 – Christ Our Life by Wayne Heikkinen

I had the opportunity to connect and reconnect with some pastors and missionaries who had brought teens to the retreat. It was an encouraging weekend as we had great conversation and fellowship. And, of course, it's always fun to spend a night or two in the dorm.

ANBC's Students and retreaters!

After dropping all of the kids back off at their homes I returned home last night ready for some sleep. I pray that the weekend impacted our kids and got them to thinking more seriously about things of the Lord and just what it means to have a relationship with Him every day.

This week, Liz and I will be preparing, along with Kevin, to travel out to Lac La Bische, Alberta for a week of training with Tom Steffan and Mike Matthews. The focus will be the Five Stage Church Planting Strategy. After the meetings are over we will be traveling to Prince Albert to meet with the executive and other NCEM camp administrators for a couple of days of camp meetings. The trip will be twelve days and we will be covering a lot of ground. We covet your prayers for safety as we go, and that we will be able to make the most of our time.

Stewardship.

2011-02-15T14:14:00.004-04:00

Last week Liz and Marcia took the St. John's Ambulance First Aid course in Fredericton on Monday and Tuesday. Kevin and I took the same course, with a different instructor, on Thursday and Friday. Prior to having taken the course, we felt strongly that it would be beneficial for at least the four of us to have this training. After taking the course, it is abundantly obvious that it was worth both the time and expense. Although the course is short, some of the skills and knowledge that we gained over the two days are invaluable for anyone to have. By all taking the course, we share the burden of safety. The pressure that would be on only a single individual having First Aid would be significant. A fifteen acre property, hosting as many as a hundred individuals per week is no small thing and a lot of ground to cover in an emergency. So, we've shared the burden, and we feel, improved the safety of all those on the property.

Year end is drawing near. It is time for the bookkeepers to show for all of their work throughout the year. N.C.E.M.'s C.F.O., Roan Elford, has been encouraging all of us to work to the very best of our abilities for the Glory of God. For the past couple of years he has been impressing upon us the importance of working to the greatest of our capability, and not simply to do just enough. With our bookkeeping practices, we want to strive to be above reproach and better organized than is required by law. The way in which we work and carry ourselves professionally is seen by the world at large and is a direct reflection on, not only the ministry, but our testimonies as well! This month all N.C.E.M. bookkeepers will carefully examine their books and documents to ensure that everything is correct and in order. All of this will be done prior to year end. Is it required by law that we do this? No, but that is entirely beside the point. The point is that we will strive, together, to ensure that our bookkeeping practices are accurate and organized. This is not done simply to please the auditor or the government, it is done to bring Glory to God in our labours! It is good stewardship.

We try to carry these principles into all aspects of the administration of Arrowhead. We seek out appropriate training opportunities. We strive to be more organized than required and operate at as high a level as possible. As with our desire to maintain the buildings and property, good enough is not sufficient. And by the wonderful generosity of individuals with their time and finances, we are able to operate this wonderful facility. We are excited to see it grow to it's full potential for the Glory and Honor of God!

By way of announcement, Liz and I received a notification that we have graduated to Junior Membership with N.C.E.M. This means that we have met the criteria of Junior membership by completing our P.A.T.H. training and our regular monthly support has reached 80%. For this we praise the Lord. We look forward, Lord willing, to many years of ministry wish to thank each of you for your continued prayer and support.

a little first aid.

2011-02-07T12:19:00.004-04:00

Today and tomorrow Liz and Marcia are taking the St. John's Ambulance first aid training in Fredericton. Kevin and I will be taking it on Thursday and Friday. It is important that we all have at least some basics in first aid as we run events and programs here at A.N.B.C. for people of all ages. There are a couple of other courses that we will need to take as well before summer hits. I will need to have the boat safety course in order to operate the new boat. Kevin and I are also hoping to be able to take the food handling course this Spring. All of these courses are important for the various aspects of the ministry here at Arrowhead.

We've been having a snowy winter to be sure! On Saturday I spent several hours shoveling the two feet of snow off the roof of our home. Talk about a good workout! It's a good thing I did shovel the roof, Saturday night we got a foot of very wet heavy snow. I've been getting lots of experience operating the tractor and blowing the snow out of the roads at the center. It is actually quite relaxing... shoveling the snow of the roof... not so relaxing.

Lately, I've been thinking about looking into getting a quad. A four-wheeler would certainly be useful to me here for getting around the property. Not sure how that'll work out, but you never know, the right deal may just present itself!

There is lots of planning happening for the upcoming events at A.N.B.C., the Men's Retreat is shaping up nicely. And Kevin tells me the need for speakers and staff for camp are beginning to fill up. We will be sending out applications with the Arrowhead Prayer Magazine, 'The Quiver'... so watch for them and get them back to us asap. It's going to be an awesome year!

Operation Park Bench: Complete!

2011-02-02T17:04:00.002-04:00

Praise the Lord! Operation Park Bench has been a success. I wrote a blog last November detailing a specific need at Arrowhead for some new, durable outdoor seating at the Center. This need has been met with overwhelming support. Arrowhead has had four churches contact us and let us know they will be donating funds for the benches. This Spring we will be ordering the materials for 9 new benches to be placed on the grounds at Arrowhead.
A great big thank you from all of us at Arrowhead to all those of you who so generously contributed to this project. The ministry is certainly blessed by your kindness.

Noah & Moses...

2011-01-28T13:33:00.003-04:00

This morning I got up early and headed down to the camp to finish plowing away the remainder of the snow we got yesterday. As I strolled past the ANBC lodge I could hear the fire alarm ringing... I quickly went into the lodge to inspect. Upon opening the front door I was greeted by a significant sulfur odour, which accompanied by the blatting alarm was a bit more than my senses were prepared for. I went to the alarm panel and disengaged the bells, and that's when I heard it.... Running water, hmm, no, perhaps gushing water. In either event there was water everywhere. I inspected quickly to find the source and found that a pipe had broken in the boys bathroom under a sink. I shut off the water supply and continued my inspection.

Water had clearly been flowing for several hours and had seeped downstairs into the chapel and nurses station. I called Kevin and he brought his shop vac and an extra dehumidifier and we started mopping. Roger came from next door with a great big shop vac and another dehumidifier and a squeegee. Liz worked upstairs cleaning out the cupboards and floors while Kevin and I worked in the basement. We have most of the water cleaned up, but now for drying it out. Unfortunately we didn't have enough oil to run the furnace at full capacity to dry out the building, but A.N.B.C. has been given almost half a tank by some very kind individuals.

We covet your prayers as we clean up the mess. There has been some loss and damage that will need replacing or repair. We lost most of the ceiling tiles in the nurses station and almost all of our medical supplies have been ruined. We will certainly be in need of new medical supplies before we have another event at the Center. I have a list of necessary items if anyone would like to know our specific needs.

Thanks to the Lord that it was not any worse.

a touch of breeze...

2011-01-27T12:18:00.001-04:00

Good Ol' Maritime Weather

2011-01-25T16:40:00.003-04:00

It's been a cold few days. Yesterday the temperature was down to -37 with the wind (-34.6F). We've been keeping indoors, out of the cold this week and finishing up some of the collateral material for the coming year. I had the chance to operate the tractor with the snow blower on Saturday. It was my first real opportunity to give it a try by myself. Kevin gave me some instruction last week, so having only done it once before I was a bit apprehensive. But it went well, and I'm getting more comfortable driving the tractor with the blower on. It's almost relaxing (if a bit hard on the neck).

The camp truck doesn't seem to like the cold weather and sprung an oil leak. We'll have it in the shop this week for a check up. Hopefully it's nothing serious.

Plans are moving ahead for the Men's Retreat in May. We're hoping for a good turnout, and a wonderful weekend together. So mark May 13 to 15 on your calendar and plan to come... it will be a blessing to us, and Lord willing, a blessing to you as well. I'll post the details once everything is confirmed.

A Snowy Winters day at A.N.B.C.

2011-01-19T11:45:00.004-04:00

It's that time of year when we need to revisit all of our printed material and get prepared for the coming months. Over the past couple of weeks I've been working on our application forms, the 'Quiver' and will be preparing for the Men's retreat, summer camps and other programs that will be offered throughout the coming months. if you want to make sure you get a copy of 'the Arrowhead Quiver', just drop me an eMail with your mailing address and I'll see that you do!

This year, I will be acting as the personnel coordinator to help alleviate some of the work load from Kevin. I will receive staff applications and communicate with applicants regarding completing all of the details. Once complete I will pass the application on to Kevin who will check references and conduct interviews. teaming up this way should help to streamline the incoming staff.

Lord willing, we will be having five weeks of camp this summer, three children's camps and two teen camps. we are excited and optimistic to see what the Lord is going to do at ANBC this coming year.

I have been working away at filing in the new office. We recently had a four drawer lateral filing cabinet donated, and I have been working to organize all of the camper and staff paperwork from years past. Another couple of days and it should be all done. It has been a bit of a process, but it is necessary for us to have well organized, easily referenced records.

I thought I'd snap a few shots of camp in the snow, so I took my camera to the office today so I could share some shots with you.

The renovations at the office are coming along nicely. The sofas were recently donated, and add a nice touch to the office. A little more 'mud' and some paint and we'll be well on our way to completion.

The Pathetic Age of Might.

2011-01-17T09:41:00.005-04:00

We live in a mighty time. A time of tolerance and enlightenment, a time when live and let live are the mantra of heretics abroad. A time when the World is changing at a pace far more rapidly than any of us are prepared to even begin to fathom. A time when the fool is suffered and folly is praised as wisdom. A time when ultimate truth is scoffed, and pluralism of truths is a comforting mantra to cling to.

Our church is disappearing, but not for the reasons we would like to believe (clearly the world has become so carnal that there is no possible hope – which seems to justify dwindling numbers on Sunday).

We live in a confused time. A time when the term fundamental has come to be associated with extremist factions that are bent on making everyone think like themselves. Often to the point of ending their own lives as well as those of others, simply to further their cause. A time when the church is confused about it's purpose and being relevant to the post modern individual has given rise to liberal, Christless gatherings of tolerance and open conversation. A time when "old fashioned Christianity" is the coloquial term for the stale legalism of the 20th century. A time when rich, Christian living has been replaced with bitter malcontent and petty quarreling over the ordinances of the church and the piety of following specific rules laid out by leadership of ages past. A time when the ultimate truth of Scripture has been all but forgotten, by both the hyper liberal and the hyper conservative.

We live in a selfish time. A time when we talk of Christianity in terms of what it can do for us, instead of what it really means to have a personal relationship with Christ. Oh, we say the right words, but it ends there. We tell people they can have a relationship with Christ, and proceed to hamper that whole idea by giving them a fresh, crisp copy of the Christianese dictionary and a playbook of do's and don'ts for our particular brand of Bible thumpering. Or, conversely, we give them nothing. Our entire focus is simply on having them in Church and hoping somehow that is enough – it's not very considerate to burden people with the idea that they may be bound for a Christless eternity in Hell.

Like the Roman church of the dark ages we prevent the truth of the gospel from permeating the hearts of those who would believe - if only they could actually know the truth of scripture, and not a stained transliteration of our own making. Unlike the church in the dark ages, we haven't issued an edict preventing the reading of scripture. We haven't hidden the Bible, or even prevented it from being translated into the tongue of the common man (mostly at least). In fact the Bible is more widely available now than it has ever been. What we have done is far worse. In our own pride and selfish ambition we have stolen the truth of scripture from the world. We have done so through our furtive liberalism and overly tolerant attitude. We have done so through our deeply pride saturated legalism which demands the strict adherence to church policies not found in scripture. We have done so through our bitter hypocrisy and self indulgence, we have made the Bible irrelavent to most (both within and beyond the doors of the church). WE, the Christian Church, have denied Christ in the worst possible way.

The message, the whole point of it all, the meaning of life, has been lost and all but forgotten. I can smell you now, boiling because you (certainly) know the meaning of life... why it's Jesus of course. Just as in Sunday School, when we teach our children that the correct answer to every question is Jesus. We've lost all sight of the real truth of that. What does it mean to know Christ? How have we been presenting Christ in our lives? As critical, petulant children who feel overly entitled to our own whims in a world that is going to Hell.

"sooner or later you're going to realize just as I did that there's a difference between knowing the path and walking the path." ~ Morpheus

The problem with the modern (and Post Modern) church, the poison, the secret hand tool of satan... us. We, the Christians of the 21st century, are going to be the downfall of Christendom in our almighty Americas.

We have boiled down the entire Christian lifestyle to only one hour on Sunday mornings, and even that we have turned into a joke. Laced with entertaining tidbits and clever attempts to make comfortable those in attendance. Our goal now is numbers, our message prosperity. Most churches preach some form of the prosperity gospel. No you say – never – not us? Just look at how you present the gospel, or how you pray. The only time we acknowledge that God has answered prayer is if the outcome is favorable. That, my friend, is prosperity gospel worldview. The truth is that God is good and Holy and Awesome in even our deepest pain. We preach from our pulpits and soap boxes that "becoming" a Christian (as though it is an act of our own that saves us) will transfer people into a fabulous life of roses and chocolate cherries. Nowhere in scripture does becoming a follower of Christ promise you a better life. Yet most of us promote this lie and live it in our own lives and prayers. When did you last thank God for your suffering or for your pain? If we could manipulate God with our prayers and behavior why would Christ even need have died?

We go to church on Sunday mornings with the expectation of receiving some blessing to get us through the week. The church building has become a weekly Mecca for Christians instead of being the house of God it is intended to be. We go to church with no desire to be a part of the church body beyond that one hour we are there (to the minute, don't you dare have the audacity to stray beyond noon).

"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today are Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle, that is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." ~ Brennan Manning

We, the Christian Church, are meant to play a role in our communities, we are meant to reflect the glory of God to the world. Instead of doing this we have opted to quietly fiddle away our time as the landscapes of our countries change. We get angry about decisions that impact our social rights, and yet we've played no part in our communities beyond a dull roar whenever we feel slighted. We are meant to be serving our fellow man, living lives of sacrifice for the honor and glory of God. This is not social gospel, this is Christian Living.

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." ~ YouTube

We have forgotten what it means to seek the Lord in all things, to be disciples of Him and live lives of discernment, honoring and glorifying Him in all we are. Instead we have been distracted by any of the plethora of insidious entrapments and snares set out by the enemy. The beast has infiltrated the church and is tearing it apart from the inside. Meanwhile, we sleep. We sleep and we grow fat on our meals of misplaced sincerity.

It is time for the church wake up, get off it's lazy posterior and begin to fulfill it's role as God has intention. It is time to stop sitting in the back pew. It's time to mature out of legalism and stop trying to do the work of the Holy Spirit. Bring every issue of the day to the Lord and seek Him in all things. There is not good cause to following the 'rules' just because it's what we've always done. We MUST come before the Lord – and bare our souls. It's time to reject liberalism, cease simply spending days filling pews and entertaining people, it's time to stop ushering people into Hell with a Bible in their hands.

If you are seeking to be truly inspired at Church on Sunday morning, then you NEED to prepare your heart from Monday to Saturday. Seek Him in prayer, fervently. Seek Him in His Word, diligently. Church is not simply "the place you go to get spiritually recharged"... it is the place you go to fall on your face before a Holy God! We must prepare for Sunday as diligently as we expect of our pastors.

It's time to know the physical and spiritual needs of our world. It's time to serve. "And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, "If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." Mark 9:35

It's time to reflect the Love of God. "Jesus answered, "The most important is, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." Mark 12:29-31

It's time to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. "And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20. The Bible offers a rival story for the World. It IS contrary to the World's philosophies and "wisdom". It is time to be a part of God's story, shed our pride and align our own view of the world with HIM. He doesn't need us to preserve His Word. He doesn't need us to protect His Name. He doesn't need us to convict others. He desires for us serve Him fully with our whole lives.

It's time to take a good hard look at ourselves (not the guy in the next pew or the guy down the street).

It is time to wake up. It is time for revival.

Docks!

2011-01-10T09:37:00.002-04:00

Above is a photo of a dock, it sits next to the lake just up the road from Arrowhead. A new dock system is something that we've discussed for the past couple of summers, the current dock has a couple of challenges. Primarily that the foam floats are simply that, bare foam that is eroding rather quickly. This past summer we didn't have sufficient floats for both the floating dock and the raft that the kids swim to. The other issue we have been experiencing with the dock has to do with the level of the water in the lake. There can be, and are, dramatic changes in the level of the water throughout the course of the year. This past summer the lake was very low and we were struggling to dock the boat.

A new dock, like the one above, would be approx. 120 feet long. This would get us far enough from shore to ensure sufficient depth of water. As you can see in the picture, the dock has wheels and stabilizing posts. This would allow us to easily position the dock with the tractor and maintain a stable platform for the boat to dock at.

There is a gentleman in our community who fabricates such docks, he has told us that for about $6,000 he could make us such a dock. This would include all of the steelwork and pressure treated decking.

It would certainly be an ambitious project for a church to take on, but a very practical and needed item for Arrowhead.

It's another New Year!

2011-01-05T14:10:00.003-04:00

Greetings everyone, we are back in the saddle. We had a lovely Christmas holiday with Lizs' family in Nova Scotia, and enjoyed the opportunity to spend some time visiting with family and friends. The power was out here in Cumberland Bay for 28 hours while we were away, which made us a little nervous about our water pipes. Thankfully we have some wonderful neighbours and Roger Hill came to inspect for us when the power finally did come back on - no frozen pipes. Praise the Lord.

We returned on Sunday and unpacked, the next morning we awoke to no power once again, and no phone service, and no internet service. It was a little unnerving to realize we had no method of communicating with the outside world. We are still without telephone service, and as this is the fifth time since we moved here, we have decided we will do away with the land line entirely. We found a comparable cellular plan and will now use a cell phone as our home phone.

Today I've begun to get caught up on paperwork in the office and will begin working on Arrowhead's prayer letter 'The Quiver'. If you are not on our mailing list and would like to receive a copy of this in the mail, just drop me an eMail with your mailing address and I'll see that one is sent to you once they are published.

This week we will begin to plan for the summers camps and other programs that will happen throughout this year. Stay tuned for details. I do know we hope, Lord willing, to have 5 weeks of camp this year. Please keep us, incoming staff and future campers in your prayers as events approach.

Liz and I are still actively working on our deputation, and hope to have opportunity to share some more throughout this winter and Spring. Likewise Arrowhead is in need of financial support as well.

It is certainly promising to be a busy year, but we are well rested and prepared. With our P.A.T.H. training out of the way we will have adequate time to prepare for all of the ministries scheduled and unscheduled.

We trust you all had a wonderful Christmas, and New Year celebrations. Remember to Seek the Lord in all things in 2011.

Christmas.

2010-12-09T12:58:00.005-04:00

It is sought after by everyone. It is a quest that begins every year after Thanksgiving and burdens us until new years. We all muddle through the month of December desperately seeking that feeling, those sweet sentiments of Christmas past. We have food and drink, enjoy concerts, music and film, read books and burn incense, hang ornaments and play games. All done tenderly as we seek to recreate magical moments from our past. Sharing the magic of leaving cookies and milk for Santa Claus, the excitement and anticipation of gifts on Christmas morning, the satisfaction of the turkey dinner and the languid peace of falling asleep in front of the fire afterward. All of these things are pieces of the ritual of Christmas that our society has created, gradually, through the decades.

Some speak in hushed, reverent tones of the meaning of Christmas, as though they are talking of the meaning of life. Most often these discussions conclude with talk of family and love, peace, sharing and giving (all noble, to be sure). Occasionally people will declare with conviction that Christmas is about Christ and the baby Jesus coming to earth. Although, sadly, this is often an afterthought whispered by people too embarrassed to declare openly their love for Christ, lest their celebration of Christmas interfere with those simply celebrating 'The Holidays'.

We have been lulled into a sentimental mush of humanistic self indulgence, and I fear it is more damaging than simple misdirection. The traditions of our culture have taken over the formerly Christian celebration of our salvation in Jesus Christ. As we have moved through time we have slowly adopted humanistic, religious and animistic traditions into our own Christmas celebrations.

We begin the indoctrination with the young, telling our children that if they behave that Santa Claus will bring them presents on Christmas day. This introduction to animism is subtle but is always clearly understood by a child. They are given control over the spirit of Saint Nicholas by their actions, and they believe it. We encourage them to write letters to Santa, some children pray to him, and we cinch the deception by having them leave cookies and milk for the spirit and ensure that it is gone by morning, confirming his existence in their minds.

This fall, as I did some Christmas shopping, I strolled through an antique shop that offered a large variety of Buddah and Ganesha statues. As I continued to visit other shops, many offered relics, small idols, icons and religious trinkets. It gave me pause as I thought how strange that a society striving so hard to be independent of religion would provide a thriving marketplace for such items. Then I began to notice the number of Saint Nicholas statues that were to be found as well. I began to wonder just how comfortable we are with having graven images of spirits in our homes.

It may very well be that you've already dismissed this article as being hyper conservative legalistic tripe. It is the farthest thing from my mind to stick a pin in the spirit of Christmas. Heaven forbid that we think critically about why Christmas is the way it is and why we do the things we do. I want to draw attention to the misguided affection for Christmas that exists. I've heard a lot of people say that Christmas has become 'so commercial' and that all of the commercialism is destroying Christmas. I would contend that it is not the commercialism that is the problem with Christmas, but that it is a symptom of far deeper problems. The Spirit of Christmas is a sacred thing in our society, as exemplified by the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, anyone who cannot 'get into the spirit' is a humbug. Sidelong glances are cast, whispers of antisocial are heard at water coolers with some conviction and a certain amount of self righteousness. It is unacceptable to contravene the current social traditions of Christmas (parades, trees, gifts and all).

If we cast aside the animism of Santa Claus, and the obvious pitfalls of lying to our children and look more directly at just what it is we love about Christmas, perhaps you will follow my point.

We have trained ourselves to revel in avarice, gluttony, self indulgence, pride and selfishness. The quest for the perfect Christmas is about us, it's about feeling good and happy, for many it's about filling the lonely hole within. We deceive ourselves and say that it's all about family, yet most often we fight with family as we get in each others way while seeking yet another perfect moment. Some spend a great deal of time and money to aid charities at Christmas, earning themselves the right to enjoy Christmas, neglecting the great need throughout the year. Many of us even wander into church in an attempt to contribute to our Christmas experience, forgetting entirely that we should be there in abandon to ourselves to honour the God of Heaven. Even in the giving of gifts, aside from the excitement of receiving piles of shiny trinkets, the wonderful feelings of goodness in giving to others, can (and often is) as much about cozy warm narcissism as it is about simple giving. This is pride.

It is these attitudes that have created the commercialism of Christmas, not the other way around. The marketing machines capitalize on the worst of our attitudes at Christmas and serve to inflate our naturally materialistic tendencies. Within the Christian Church we have been trying to celebrate Christmas the same way the rest of the world celebrates 'The Holidays'. It is confusing.

The vast majority of Westerners, (those of us residing in the oh so very advanced North America) will dive into debt through this season. Honestly this is just a ridiculous testament to our culture and I'm not going to address it beyond the fact that it contributes to having the opposite affect of what is promised in the adverts. Buyers remorse, anxiety, and the February blahs are dangling on strings from your credit card.

It is entirely possible to have a wonderful nostalgic Christmas with family, friends, food and gifts and yet bring honour and glory to God throughout the season. The only way this can ever happen is if we are diligent about seeking Christ in everything this Christmas (as we should in all things). Abandon humanism, defy commercialism, reject materialism, dismiss the distractions and celebrate the sacrifice of Christ by talking to someone about a changed life in Jesus Christ. (what a gift!)

It is often overlooked that the suffering of Christ began when he came to this defiled planet as a baby. He left the perfection of heaven and arrived to the plight of a human body. If you think about the birth of Christ as a suffering sacrifice, it will give you a new perspective of Christmas (as you open your new iPod touch on Christmas morning).

I'm not a humbug. I love Christmas. But think.

It has not been my intention, with this article, to suggest that you do or do not have a Christmas Tree, or a Santa Claus, or exchange gifts. I simply want to express the importance of examining closely our hearts in Christmas and allow ourselves to enjoy Christmas in Christ.

Eastern Field Christmas

2010-12-08T13:27:00.007-04:00

This past week we've had Len and Lorrayne Breen with us and enjoyed spending time with them. On Friday all of the NCEM missionaries migrated to Arrowhead for a meeting and a time of fellowship and a wonderful Christmas Dinner. It's always a good time together.

Our meeting detailed some of NCEM's plans for future and ongoing ministry here in Atlantic Canada. We're all very excited about where things are going and just what the Lord is going to do here among Canada's First Peoples. NCEM is actively seeking applications from individuals who have a heart for ministry among the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet people here. We would love to have some couples come and join us in ministry here in Atlantic Canada!

Our ministry family!

Oh! Christmas Tree!

A fabulous time of fellowship and food!

Today a friend of mine sent me a link to a movie trailer. The movie is called 3rd World Canada, and after watching the trailer I am very interested in seeing the entire film. It deals with the issues of poverty, suffering, suicide and child welfare among Canada's First peoples. These are all real issues faced by many of Canada's First Nation communities, often overlooked and forgotten about as we enjoy many of the social benefits not readily available to all Canadians. The film follows the struggles of a family and community in Northern Ontario. Below is the trailer as offered by the film maker.

Christmas is coming...

2010-11-29T18:23:00.003-04:00

It was a beautiful chilly day today at Arrowhead. We have lots of snow to cover the ground and make the tree boughs hang. This afternoon we met the Strouts in the main lodge and decorated our lovely 9 foot Christmas tree together. It was a nice day for a little festive music and decorating. Our house is starting to get into the season too.

Yesterday, I took the N.B.B.I. guys up to the highway to meet their ride back to the school. We enjoyed having them with us for a few days. There were many board games played and lots of good discussion. I'm sure they're keeping the school on it's toes.

Liz and I will be meeting our field directors at the airport tomorrow night at 11:30, they will be with us at Arrowhead until next week. On Friday we will welcome all of the Eastern field missionaries at Arrowhead. We will be having some meetings and a bit of a Christmas get together. Please keep the missionaries in prayer as they travel.

some lovely vacation...

2010-11-24T12:08:00.003-04:00

You haven't heard from us in a little over a week. Well, we have a good excuse. Some very kind friends of ours in the States offered us the use of their condo in New Hampshire for a week. It has been a great long time since Liz and I have had any time to ourselves for vacation, so this was a very welcome rest after a busy couple of years. It was a great week and we very much enjoyed the time to relax.

Today Carroll and Cathy Hill stopped in on their way to the Miramichi and we shared in prayer with them for the ministries here in the East. It was nice to catch up with them.

This week we're settling back into routine. And as we do, we'll be having several N.B.B.I. students staying with us for their Thanksgiving break. It will be fun to spend a few days with some of our staff from last summer... it's either gonna make us feel like teenagers... or old folks.

Next week we're looking forward to having our field directors with us for several days. It's always an encouragement to have Len & Lorrayne with us, and we'll be having our Eastern Field Christmas gathering as well, so it promises to be a great week!

an opportunity to serve...

2010-11-12T08:25:00.002-04:00

In this weeks vLog entry I wanted to share another project we hope to accomplish in 2011. If you have a team that would like to help out with the project in the video, please feel free to contact us for details!

ANBC Summer Video: 2010

2010-11-11T22:22:00.001-04:00

We had a fantastic Summer. Why not join us next year?!

Jacksontown

2010-11-11T10:46:00.001-04:00

On Tuesday Liz and I struck out for Woodstock to meet with a Women's Mission Society from Jacksontown Baptist Church. They have shown a great interest in the Ministry of Arrowhead and had asked us to come and share a little bit with the group about Arrowhead and what is happening here. We enjoyed very much a lovely meal with our hostess and fellowship with the ladies. There were eight ladies at the meeting and let me just say, what a mighty group of mission minded women. The things they accomplish for the Lord in their community and around the world is fantastic and was humbling to share in. Liz and I were both very encouraged and blessed, not only by their enthusiasm, but their hearts for mission and love of the Lord were such an encouragement.

We enjoyed the opportunity to talk about ANBC at length and share with them. The meeting, including fellowship was 3 hours long and we were on our way home at about 10:30pm. We had taken with us the camp truck, which unfortunately was having a hard night and it decided to share that with Liz and I. We had just about reached Fredericton and the truck overheated. I had fortunately stashed a jug of rad fluid behind the seat so we sat and waited for the truck to cool so I could add the rad fluid. As we waited a good Samaritan from Quebec stopped. He had driven past and was quite a distance up the highway, but stopped and backed up all the way to where we were to see if we needed assistance. He helped me add the rad fluid and followed us to the Irving Big Stop near Oromocto. I put in a couple of jugs of water and we got home fine. The truck is now at the shop and in need of a new radiator.

To spite our little truck adventure, Liz and I had a wonderful evening.

friends & fellowship

2010-11-09T11:57:00.002-04:00

It was a wonderful weekend. I had the opportunity to travel to Nova Scotia to share Arrowhead updates with folks in Windsor and Halifax. Unfortunately Liz was feeling quite under the weather and wasn't able to accompany me. She very much missed reconnecting with friends.

I traveled on Saturday morning to Windsor, and enjoyed an afternoon with friends there. Windsor Baptist church planned a pot luck and allowed me a generous opportunity to share and have some question and answers about Arrowhead and the ministry this past year. It was a truly wonderful opportunity to be with friends and fellow believers there. Sunday morning I was given then opportunity to share the children's story and take part in Scripture reading. I was really very blessed to be able to worship at our home church in Windsor.

Sunday afternoon I spent visiting with friends and then made my way in to Halifax for the evening service at Sheffield Baptist Church. While I was there, I was presented with Canadian Tire money and pennies for Arrowhead. Once again it was a real blessing to me to be able to worship and fellowship with friends. I found the weekend to be a wonderful encouragement and time of refreshing for me.

This afternoon we're heading to Woodstock to share about the ministry at Arrowhead with a WMS group at Jacksontown Baptist Church.

odd jobs...

2010-11-04T13:27:00.005-03:00

We've been having some inquiries about possible projects for work teams this coming Spring. I thought perhaps the best way to share some of our needs in this area would be to post them in vLog updates. This vLog update is about a large project we have in the upper main lodge.

Crack filling, sanding, painting, trim work and flooring.

The stairwell.

Trim for the windows and doors.

bobbing for apples.

2010-11-03T09:32:00.003-03:00

As we wind down from the past months excitement and hunker down for winter, Liz and I continue to travel and share about this ministry the Lord has called us to. We very much enjoy spending time with friends as we continue our deputation and are encouraged by their enthusiasm for the ministry.

This past Sunday we had the pleasure of sharing with the folks at River Glade Baptist church. Their excitement for Arrowhead has been a tremendous blessing to us over the past year. After we shared with them last Winter, they set about raising funds for ANBC by collecting pennies and recyclables. This past Sunday we were presented with a cheque for $500 for the camp. The amount of time and work that went into collecting those funds was tremendous, a ministry of love to be sure. At the outset of this labour of love, Pastor Smith made a promise that he'd submit to a camp style activity if they reached their goal. So, after the service he and I bobbed for apples in buckets of Jello and water... good fun!!

It's begun to get chilly 'round these parts, winter is coming! We've finally succumbed to turning on the heat for good. I spent the day yesterday cleaning up in the new office. I'm eager to have it all done, so it was nice to put things together a bit yesterday. I do need to find another lateral filing cabinet and about 200 legal hang files to continue the filing project I've been working on. We're in need of flooring for the office as well, which will certainly bring it to life. As the office is currently unheated we are hopeful to acquire an electric fireplace as a heat source to make it a more comfortable workspace. It can get a bit chilly in there 'cooking the books'.

This coming weekend we are off to Windsor and Halifax in Nova Scotia to visit some churches and share updates form the past months! It will be nice to see friends and reconnect.

Operation Park Bench

2010-11-01T11:54:00.001-03:00

I just wanted to take the opportunity to share a need we have at Arrowhead Native Bible Center. We are working to bring alive the property and grounds at Arrowhead. We have a beautiful facility and wish to be good stewards of the property and buildings. As we develop new programs and have higher volumes of people and events at Arrowhead we will have greater need for sustainable and durable equipment.

One such need that we've identified at the property is with our outdoor seating. We currently have eight wooden church pews throughout the property that are being used as park benches. It is our desire to replace these eight seats with ten park benches. These park benches feature concrete legs and pressure treated 2 x 4 cross pieces. We are expecting each bench to cost approximately $350 for materials and shipping, they will be assembled on site.

We are seeking ten church groups to partner with us for Operation Park Bench. If you feel this is a project that your Church family, Sunday School or Missions Committee would like to share with us by adopting a park bench to sponsor please drop me a line. We hope to acquire the benches in time to have them for next summers children's camps.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support for Arrowhead as we seek to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to Eastern Canada's First Nations People.

SeaDoo Speedster.

2010-10-24T17:40:00.003-03:00

NCEM has a program that runs up to four times annually. The MinuteMan program is a partnership with individuals who believe strongly in the ministries of NCEM, and a way to contribute financially to any number of ministry opportunities throughout the mission. Occasionally NCEM makes some of the needs at Arrowhead known through this program, making people aware of some of the needs we may have. Recently we received funds through this program to fill the need we have for a new boat at Arrowhead. We decided to wait until the fall and get the best possible deal we could on a new boat.

An opportunity arose to acquire a SeaDoo Speedster, and after some research and a test drive we decided this would be the best one for ANBC. Kevin and I went yesterday to pick it up. It has been winterized and is all ready for next Summer! It's going to be a great fit for us for a number of reasons, one being it's ability to operate in shallow water. We've had difficulty with the water level of the lake, and this boat should help with that. And because it's a jet boat and has no propellers it will be safer for camp time.

We're very excited about the new boat, and very grateful to all who contributed through the MinuteMan program.

The Annual Arrowhead Shopping Trip.

2010-10-23T11:18:00.002-03:00

Every year generous folks donate their Canadian Tire money to Arrowhead. We save it up all year long and then go on a shopping trip in the Spring and purchase much needed items for ANBC. This video is our way of showing the Canadian tire money being put to use. Keep us in mind when you're wondering what to do with your CT money... we're collecting again for next year!

Right on the Dot.

2010-10-22T17:37:00.008-03:00

A week ago today Marcia and I were doing the last minute things that needed to get done before the ladies retreat began. This was the 3rd Arrowhead ladies retreat that I have been to, and from what I've been hearing, one of the most special and amazing retreats yet. And I have to agree, God truly blessed us with such an encouraging and inspirational weekend. One of the inspirations was our special speaker, Pam Izon. She is currently battling her 3rd brain tumor and has already won the battle with several other forms of cancer. Her positive outlook comes from the hope she has in her Saviour, Jesus Christ. Her future is uncertain, but as she says, 'either way I win'. Pam's daughter-in-law. Tammy, accompanied her to NB from Maine and she also shared her experience and impact that Pam's illness has had on her and the rest of the family. Again the message of hope we can all have in Jesus Christ and how He is our strength was evident.

Our theme for the weekend was 'Right on the Dot'...God's timing is perfect. Even when things may happen far from when we think they should happen, God knows best and has a perfect plan. As Psalm 37:7 says, 'Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.

Janeice Hill gave her testimony Saturday night which was very encouraging. She reminded us of the importance of reading God's Word daily and really cultivating our relationship with Him. Psalm 119:103 says, 'How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth'! We should have a hunger for the Word of God!

Another inspirational part of our weekend was the music! Theresa Hickman provided our special music and was a real blessing to everyone. She is a very talented woman with a beautiful voice with which she sang worshipful and meaningful songs. We even had a hour long, on the spot sing along in which we sang favorite hymns and choruses after our meeting Sat night. Theresa accompanied the sing along on the camps old, very out of tune piano...what an amazing pianist she is! She made that piano sound beautiful!

The weekend went way too fast, it really is a wonderful time to come together as ladies and hear from other women how God has been working in their lives and to encourage one another. And of course we had lots of laughs and lots of food, that goes without saying!

I feel that I have not adequetley described what a wonderful weekend it was and how much we were all blessed by Pam Izon. She really is an amazing woman and despite the fact that we were unsure if she was even going to be well enough to come as speaker, it was obvious that God meant for her to be here for that weekend and that she was used and continues to be used by God to minister to others.

Please keep Pam in your prayers as she continues to fight her battle with cancer.

Megan & Alex with their fall bouquets!

Theresa Hickman our guest singer blessed us with her gift of music!

Janeice Hill shared with us her tesitmony.

We were truly blessed and encouraged by Pam Izon.

We had a great turn out and a wonderful time together.

We had fun learning how to put together a fall bouquet with Carolyn Thurber!

The Masters Brush.

2010-10-18T18:22:00.006-03:00

Just thought I'd share a few shots of the fall colours at ANBC.

fall colours.

2010-10-17T23:11:00.003-03:00

It was a pleasure for me to be invited to Central Wickham Baptist Church today to share the ministry of Arrowhead with the folks there. I never cease to be blessed by the excitement and enthusiasm of people when they realize that there is a ministry such as Arrowhead in their back yard. It was an encouragement to reconnect with some old friends as well.

It was a beautiful day for a drive through the countryside. The leaves are stunning, I'll try to snap some shots this week to share.

The ladies retreat concluded today, and from all reports it sounds like it was a real blessing to all. Liz and Marcia worked hard to organize and prepare the weekend conference. Liz will give you a full report here shortly. Phil Welch and I tried to stay out of the way as much as possible and found ourselves put to good use in the dish pit.

WMS, Visitation and a Work Team

2010-10-13T14:17:00.007-03:00

As I sit here and reflect on the events of the past year, I can't help but recognize just how very full a year it has indeed been. The Lord has upheld us through each challenge and given us strength as we've wearied. He's provided for our needs and allowed us to follow Him down all of the paths ministry has taken us. It has been a challenging year, and it has been a blessed year. As we find moments of rest this fall, it seems as though years have passed since we first moved here last September. We look forward to what the Lord has in store for us at Arrowhead Native Bible Center in the coming years.

Last week we had the wonderful privilege of having the Shediac Baptist WMS group for the day to visit at Arrowhead. It is always such an encouragement to have folks come visit who are enthusiastic about the ministry and potential at ANBC. We enjoyed the opportunity to share with them about the ministries here and give them a tour of the facility. NCEM missionary, Venus Coté shared her testimony and we were all blessed by the majesty of our Lord in His provision for each of us who seek after Him.

That evening, after the WMS group left, three of our staff and a teen camper from this past summer arrived to spend the night. The next day, joined by two more young guys who had been staff and Kevin & I, all eight of us set off for Burnt Church to spend some time with some of the teens who had been to teen camp this year. It was a great day, we had the opportunity to meet some of the guys parents and connect with them. We spent the day at the park and had a feed with the fellas at the Dixie Lee! All of the guys expressed interest in spending more time with us, and we are hopeful to have more opportunities to minister to them.

Last Sunday we were blessed to be joined at Arrowhead by two men from Lisbon Falls, Maine. The two gentlemen came to serve with us for the week. Not only did they accomplish a remarkable amount of work while they were here, the came armed with some wonderful tools, that they left as a gift to Arrowhead! We can't begin to thank them adequately for their servants hearts and willingness to share their gifts and talents with us. It was a real blessing to have Ken Hodgkins and Paul Marstell with us!

This week the ladies are preparing for the upcoming ladies retreat this weekend. It sounds like it is going to be a great weekend, and there is a large turnout expected, possibly the largest to date!

Ken working on skirting for the new office building.

While we had supervision, Kevin and I insulated the floor of the new office building.

a fall full of fun...

2010-09-25T12:38:00.003-03:00

We've continued to keep busy through the month of September. After the Eastern Field conference was over we had a family reunion held at the Center. This wasn't a lot of work for us, but we had to have the buildings open and cleaned for the group.

Last week Liz and I had the privilege of visiting the Missions Group at Calvary Baptist Church in Miramichi. We gave an update on camp and training with the Strouts. It is always so encouraging to be among people with a heart for missions and a burden for souls.

On Saturday we traveled to Hermon, Maine with our colleagues Kevin & Marcia for a missions conference. What a huge encouragement it was to be there. Not only to be blessed by the folks there, but also to hear from the other missionaries serving in other parts of the world. Kevin's parent's graciously offered to watch their children while they were away, allowing them to travel with us for the weekend. It was a great opportunity for the four of us to spend some time together and recharge a bit after the busy year. We all enjoyed ourselves very much.

We are now beginning to prepare for a work team that will be coming from Lisbon Falls, Maine on October 4th. They will be with us for the week and are coming to help us complete some projects that have been under way. Anyone that would like to come and join the crew for the week are more than welcome, we've got jobs for everyone!

We've been having some trouble with our car lately, the transmission is shot. But the Lord has provided, I was able to buy another car of the same make and model. This means we will be able to use our tires and parts from the old car if and when the new one needs them. Lord willing we will be mobile again for a while.

We recently sent out our prayer letter, if you have not received it and would like to, we would be more than happy to add you to our mailing list. Just drop us an eMail and we'll send one out to you.