NCEM General Conference 2017

This year marked the return of the NCEM General conference at Wilderness Edge Conference Center in Pinawa, Manitoba. We took the opportunity to visit our friends at Faith Bible Church of Winnipeg on our way through to Pinawa.

It is always a pleasure to connect with our mission family; to be able to do that with everyone at once is a nice opportunity. We enjoyed connecting with old friends and getting acquainted with new ones.

Ivy and Willow met this friendly RCMP officer. 

Jason Boucher, Lucas Gabrielson and I (photobomb: Tim Whatley)

Albert and Barb Heal... lovebirds.

We all had opportunities to give reports to the mission family about our ministry centers. Here is Mark Dana reporting on Kwaya Kotage.

Ruth was pleased to be the short one in this photo. 

Our dear friend Jan Sassmannshausen.

A little vacation on the way.

Well, we're home. After over 116 hours behind the wheel; and nearly 8900 kms on the road. We had the privilege to enjoy our NCEM general conference in MB; visit with friends, family, supporters and churches and take some time vacationing on the return trip! Now, to rest up from vacation.

The 5 day, NCEM general conference at Wilderness Edge Resort was a special blessing. Not only was it a refreshing time but it was wonderful to be able to spend time in fellowship with our fellow labourers from across the country. We are thankful that our mission takes the time and effort to organize such a conference and make it available to us. This is something that we will look forward to every three years as we serve with NCEM.

There were a lot of great opportunities to enjoy special events during the conference.

It is always fantastic to come together in worship as a family.

We were always well fed during the conference.

For some reason I caught several pictures of Carl eating... Carl Sonnichsen and his wife Laura, serve the Lord faithfully in Goose Bay, Labrador.

The conference ended on Friday at noon and we headed out from Pinawa. We took the opportunity on our return trip to take a little over a weeks vacation together as a family and visit friends and family in Ontario - as well as a chance to be in a couple of Arrowheads supporting churches. It would have been nice to be able to connect with everyone, unfortunately we weren't able to get everywhere. But we very much enjoyed our time together and found our vacation to be refreshing and relaxing - just like a good vacation should be. We had a lot of fun traveling back as far as Sudbury with NCEM missionaries Len & Lorrayne Breen and Harvey & Evelyn Everett. It was great to be able to fellowship along the road. 

In Sudbury we were able to get together with the Gingerich family. We took our mission training together and have stayed in touch since then. Seeing them made us wish that we lived closer!

 We spent a few days in Newmarket and had the opportunity to visit with friends and family.

 We took some time to visit the town where I spent some of my early teen years.

As a family we were able to go and see Niagara Falls, Ivy loved the misty boat ride!

It was great to be able to spend a couple of days in Ottawa with Liz's Cousin and her husband, Cheryl & Dave Van reenan.

On the road home we stopped off in Old Quebec for a night. It was beautiful; a great way to finish up our vacation.

It truly was a blessing to both be able to attend conference and take some vacation time as well. It has been some time since we've had an extended vacation together and we valued it very much. It was a great way to recharge after the challenges of the summer and prepare ourselves for a fall and winter of ministry.

Summer Camps 2014

The gang at the beach during the Cape Breton Camp Out.

It has been a big summer, and I must apologize for not posting regular updates throughout. After our power outage week, we spent a lot of time playing catch-up; so I thought I'd give an overview of the entire summer in one post here.

Some of our team serving during the week of Day Camps!

This year we once again offered a week of day camps in communities. These day camps included, face painting, bouncy castle, a BBQ, puppets, music, games and a sketch board Gospel presentation by Kirk Hubick. These events were well received and gave us great opportunity to connect with campers and moms & dads as well. Lord willing we will plan to do two full weeks of day camps next year!

Gathering time in the dining hall during the power outage.

Our Teen Camp was quite eventful; although the after affects of the hurricane turned out to be relatively minor, New Brunswick suffered mass power outages that in some cases lasted for weeks. At Arrowhead we were without power for 128 hours. This made for some interesting changes to our approach to the week - but our volunteers felt they were up to the task, so we proceeded with the camp. A generator arrived with one of our volunteer teams from Ontario - and although it had not been in service for about 10 years, Jerald Hayden was able to keep it running long enough for us to save our 6 freezers and one fridge full of food for the summer. Thanks to the kind gifts of a couple of donors we were able to afford a new generator as well, so now ANBC is equipped with two generators going forward. Initially we had a bucket crew hauling water from the lake for washing dishes and flushing toilets - but when it became evident that the outage would last indefinitely we ordered in porta-potties. We saw the Lord work and we heard the Gospel preached by Kirk Hubick; our efforts were more than worth the while!

Junior Camp #1 saw campers come from a number of different communities. It was encouraging to make inroads into some communities that we have not had at ANBC for some years. Although this week saw a number of trips to the hospital - the Lord offered His protection and there was no one seriously injured. It's amazing to me to see how God uses what appears to be bad for His own glory. This seemed to be a theme this year as He taught us to rely on Him in everything. Micah Hiltz was with us this week and once again it was awesome to hear the Gospel clearly and fully declared for the young people.

This year we changed our approach to the Cape Breton Camp Out; our intent was to engage in a family camping experience for our campers. With a mindset of doing those things that we would do with our own families were we to go tenting in Cape Breton. It was a rousing success - we saw amazing opportunities in spending time with the kids and genuine relationships sprout as we enjoyed our time together in Cape Breton. The trip included whale watching, a visit to the Fortress of Louisbourg, hiking, tenting, BBQ, swimming and of course smores. Kevin Strout and I (Grant) shared the devotional times - he shared from the Word in the morning and I shared for evening devotions. We were very pleased to hear the kids asking excellent questions and really wrestling with just what it means to repent and believe!

We had planned a Junior Camp #2, but unfortunately due to a lack of committed volunteer staff we were forced to cancel the week and revamp some of our scheduling. It can be discouraging to think about it in human terms as a failure - but it certainly does not fall outside of God's Sovereignty and He knows exactly why and with what purpose He saw fit for it to be this way. This week break gave Liz and I a couple of days to recuperate and prepare for the next week.

Tie dye this year fro crafts... was a big hit... if a little messy...

This last week of camp was our smallest, but by no means any less important. Andrew Ardern came and shared the Gospel chronologically with the campers through the week. We saw a large staff emerge (somewhat unexpectedly) and once again hear the young people engaged in confronting the issues of repentance and faith in their own lives.

Although we did not have a lifeguard this summer, I didn't hear one single complaint from camper or staff about not swimming. The attitude and focus of our team was contagious and the atmosphere at camp was excellent throughout the summer. I am truly thankful for the wonderful teams that arose each week for the sake of the Gospel and for the honor of the Lord. It is humbling and exciting to see and hear such dedication to Gospel clarity.

We are looking forward to an interesting fall - you can pray for us as we drive to Pinawa, Manitoba at the end of this month for the NCEM General Conference. This conference occurs every three years and it is a requirement of the mission that the entire mission body be in attendance. We're looking forward to seeing everyone, but are not sure what the 40 hour journey will be like for Ivy.

This September will also bring our annual ladies retreat, we are excited to have Carol Keuhner joining us for the weekend and look forward to her messages "So that Christ may be exalted!" We encourage you to join us for this excellent weekend of fellowship and time in God's Word. 

We will also be hosting a charity fundraiser banquet at ANBC in September - more information on this will follow very soon. But with Fawcett baby #2 on the way it has become necessary for us to re-evaluate our living situation. In order to accommodate another bedroom and give us some space for storage, a home office and guest room - we are looking at a small building project this fall. We will need to complete it before the snow flies in order to be ready for Ivy's baby sister.

We thank you all for your ongoing prayer and financial support as we seek to serve the Lord at ANBC - we are excited to see where the Lord is taking the ministry of NCEM in Atlantic Canada and are so pleased to have you be a part of it with us.

You can look at a fantastic library of pictures from this summers camps by visiting our Facebook Page, simply click HERE.

As the days roll by...

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

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

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!