Grocery Grabber Coupons

We have one last program on the go this Spring at Arrowhead. This program is specifically geared for groups who wish to take a very tactile role in supporting the work at camp this summer. We have four opportunities available for those who wish to be involved in the Grocery Grabber program, and we are very excited to have two churches partnering with us already.

This program is geared for church groups that are interested in sharing together in provision for some of the practical needs of the camp. The group receives a coupon booklet like the one pictured below. Each 'coupon' in the booklet features a necessary item and quantity suggestion, these can range anywhere from toilet paper or paper towel to apple juice and potatoes. Some very practical and necessary needs of the camp. Members of a group who have chosen to take part in this program will have the opportunity to look through the coupon book, and select a 'coupon' that is suitable for them. The coupon is intended to serve as a reminder to pick up that extra item when out grocery shopping.

This is an exciting opportunity for people to share in the ministry, and people seem to be excited about it. If you or your church group would like to know more about getting a coupon book you can contact Marcia Strout at Arrowhead by clicking the link.

Arrowhead Native Bible Center Grocery Grabber Coupon Booklet

Another era...

Well folks, it feels like we've come through another stage of our journey. Yesterday was my last day of work with the BeaverTails outlet at Ski Martock. The season is over and the hill is closed, so once again I am unemployed. I will be exploring some other options as we await the sale of our home. Our schedule is rapidly filling and we are excited about all of what the Lord has in store for us this Spring. We are still busy with deputation and are continuing to work to build our prayer and financial support teams. The Lord continues to meet our needs.

We've had another viewing at our little house, and it seems to have gone well. Our realtor tells us that they may wish to return for another peek. But whatever transpires we're content to wait for the right time.

I will be travelling to New Brunswick this Wednesday, Kevin Strout and I will be attending some camp leadership meetings together. I'll fill you in on those when I return. It certainly will be great to spend some time with Kevin, and I am looking forward to the meetings.

book reports..

I just thought I'd take a couple of minutes and share about a couple of books that Liz and I have been reading. I feel like we have so much to learn, and although at the end of the day a book is just a book and doesn't hold a candle to shared practical experience, never the less I've found some of what I've been reading lately to be very insightful.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
by Patrick Lencioni

Skillfully written. Not only does the author incorporate his entire process of team evaluation into the narrative in a practical and completely readable way, but he does it with attention grabbing flare. I feel, after reading this narrative, that I have a much better understanding of team management and operation.

It's not that this was written for dim witted people or the slow of learning. But the presentation of it as a narrative seems to be a great mechanism to reach those who are perhaps unteachable. There are a lot of people in management who are far less concerned with the team and far too concerned with controlling the team. Often they have no interest in learning, in fact they seem too often to feel that they have nothing to learn.

Kevin, Marcia, Elizabeth and I will all be reading this book and going through some exercises outlined in the book to help build us as a team and give us the tools for effective communication.

Passing the Baton: Church Planting That Empowers
by Tom A. Steffan

Reading this book, it is clear that it is written from vast experience and study. Steffan elaborates on the vital importance of relationship building and working as a learner when involved in long term ministries. Throughout the book, the necessity of planning and focused approach that is both practical and appropriate to the target audience is outlined in great detail.

Although the book is subtitled: "Church Planting that Empowers", it is far from limited to those involved in direct church planting ministries. I would strongly recommend that anyone involved in ministry take the time to read this. There are some wonderful insights and experiential illustrations that we can (and should) all learn from. Steffen touches on a great deal of areas in ministry that can be, and often are, stumbling blocks. The importance of clear and culturally relevant communication is so often overshadowed by our own agendas and cultural self-interest.

This book we were asked to read prior to our first meetings at NCEM headquarters in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan next month. From what I understand, we will be discussing the implications of the methods outlined in Steffan's book and how they can be applied to our ministries here among Canada's First peoples.

Arrowhead is Collecting Canadian Tire Money

It is our goal to collect $500 or more in Canadian Tire Money to purchase beach and water safety equipment for our summer camps at Arrowhead. Things like; life jackets, floaters, canoe paddles, canoe bailers, water ropes, two way radios, dock bumpers and dock hardware.

You can help! By collecting Canadian Tire money & sending it in to us before June 30th. You will be helping to provide the camp with some of the very important supplies listed here. If you or a group of you would like to partner with us in this project I'd be happy to send you along some posters and a box.

Once you’ve collected up all of your Canadian Tire Money,simply place it in an envelope (or box :0) and address it to us at:
Arrowhead Native Bible Center
1659 Cox Point Rd., Cumberland Bay,
New Brunswick E4A 2Z8

Every little bit helps, all those 5¢ add up pretty quickly :0)

learning the Word of God at home

The summer is rapidly approaching, plans are well underway in preparation for the upcoming summer camps at Arrowhead. With this ministry at Arrowhead in mind we have a couple of programs underway that I want to share with you over the course of the next few days. These programs are intended not only to help fill the needs of the camp for ministry this summer, but also to allow people to be directly involved with the ministry in a practical way. It is not our intention to overwhelm you with all of these programs, the three programs that are running have been launched with the intention of giving those who feel led to contribute to the ministry at Arrowhead the opportunity to do so in a way that is most suitable to them.



You Can Make A Difference...
The first program that I want to tell you about directly impacts our continued, post-camp ministry with the campers and will act as a tool for follow-up and discipleship. Snap Shots is a youth devotional book that is published quarterly. It is our hope to be able to send these devotionals to the campers along with camp updates throughout the year - maintaining contact and building stronger relationships. The cost of these devotion books is not significant, approximately $2 each, however it is our hope to hand out 100 devotionals this year. Every contribution is important and will directly impact our campers. This is an opportunity to provide them with a way to learn God's Word at home. If you would like to contribute to this ministry at Arrowhead simply contact NCEM directly and specify that you would like to contribute financially to the devotional project at Arrowhead or you can eMail Kevin and Marcia directly by clicking on the link.

Full House

It has been a busy few days, as Liz and I have been very blessed by visits from friends and family. On Friday night we enjoyed a meal with Lizs' Aunt, Uncle and cousin as well as her parents. The DeNuke's stayed for the weekend to have a visit with us. Lord willing, we soon will be in Cumberland Bay and unfortunately won't be as close for them to visit, it is nice to be able to take advantage of it while we can. They were here until Sunday and were able to meet our friends Alan, Esther and Harmony Giesbrecht as they arrived for a visit on Sunday. Carl, Alan and Harmony came out to the ski hill for a BeaverTail and were able to visit a bit before the DeNuke's had to return to the farm.

We were so pleased to be able to have the Giesbrecht's with us for a couple of days. It was a great opportunity to get to know them a bit better and they were very encouraging to us in our very early stages of ministry and deputation. While they were with us they did a preliminary questionnaire with us before we go out to Prince Albert for meetings in April. As a part of that training we've been asked to read Pass the Baton by Steffan, I'll fill you in on that once I've finished reading it. There are quite a lot of exciting books that I've been learning about and I think I'll be reading for years to come just to scratch the surface.

Our new friends and colleagues with Northern Canada Evangelical Mission
(LtoR) Alan, Harmony and Esther Giesbrecht

Rising Above

Well, our schedule is rapidly filling up and we are looking forward to some wonderful things in the coming months. Kevin called me a couple of weeks ago and asked if I would be interested in going with him to an upcoming conference. He had been asked if we would go and attend as intercessory prayer partners. We have signed up and Lord willing will be attending the Rising Above annual national conference in Fredericton, NB; June 10-13.

Rising Above is a Christian organization who's mandate is "To address and raise awareness of the harmful effects of abuse among aboriginal people by providing biblical teaching, counseling and resource tools to equip First Nations people to bring God’s healing to our land." Rising Above is: "Initiated and governed by First Nations people, Rising Above is a Christian based registered charitable organization, offering hope and healing from a biblical perspective. Through teaching, counseling, music, support groups and resources, Rising Above seeks to; Educate concerning abuse issues, Empower the abused to “rise above” the hold the past has had on their lives, and Equip caregivers with tools to help those suffering from abuse.

It promises to be a challenging and perhaps difficult few days, but we are prayerful that the Lord will do mighty things. Please keep us in prayer as we prepare to go and as we seek to support others in prayer.

I've posted the promotional video from the Rising Above website below for you to view if you are interested in knowing a bit more about what Rising Above stands for.

rain, snow and retreats...

Hi Friends,

It has been a messy weekend in Nova Scotia. We've enjoyed snow, freezing rain and rain - it has certainly made for changing of plans all around. Elizabeth and I had been scheduled to share with a WMS group in Shediac, NB today, but after chatting with them have postponed that meeting until June - we should have less difficulty with weather at that point.

There was a teen retreat at New Brunswick Bible Institute this past weekend, and all reports are that it was a great success. Carroll Hill, an NCEM colleague of ours in Oromocto, took 3 teens from Oromocto as well as a small group from Fredericton. Our friends James and Ben were both able to attend, and Lizs' brother Jonathan took a van load from Habitation Baptist as well. From what I've heard it was a great weekend - both Ben and James are looking forward to applying and attending N.B.B.I. in the fall.

Please keep in prayer our Eastern Field Directors, Alan & Esther Giesbrecht along with their daughter Harmony. They will be touring the eastern provinces over the next three weeks, visiting and encouraging the missionaries in this region. There will be a lot of road miles and some additional flying as they travel from here to Happy Valley / Goose Bay. we are looking forward to visiting with them, they will be with us from Sunday, March 8th until Tuesday, March 10th. They will be going through some preliminary training materials with us as we prepare to go to our In Focus Training in Prince Albert beginning on April 20th.