So... it's almost April!

It's been a while. I haven't had the gumption to compose a blog for some time. In fact, Liz and I were so very exhausted from last years activities, that we went into complete station keeping mode for January and February. We ran the book shop, maintained the financial books, maintained the buildings, hosted a couple of rentals and kept up with correspondence - but otherwise we intentionally tried to engage in rest. It was good, but it certainly highlighted the necessity for us to have a healthy balanced schedule - and Lord willing to find another couple who will come and serve with us here on a full time basis.

That is, in fact, our biggest prayer request right now. That another couple would consider coming and joining us in the roles of maintenance and kitchen management. We have some very exciting ideas for the growth of the ministry here at Arrowhead, I think the Lord is going to use this place mightily. We are eager to meet the couple that the Lord calls to join us!

Our year is shaping up nicely for 2016. We have an ambitious schedule for our summer camps, and I am very much enjoying connecting with church teams that we can support in ministering here at Arrowhead this summer. We are strongly encouraging teams to come and serve together, and have some fantastic opportunities for the team to take ownership of the ministry here.

I will be traveling to Gorrie, Ontario to facilitate volunteer training with the team from there in May. If you're from Ontario and would like to consider joining us this summer - you would be more than welcome to join us for that weekend.

Our computer suffered a catastrophic hard drive failure in February. It has set us back a little bit as far as preparing materials and correspondence. I think the greatest loss was our most current database. I have a database on back up - but it is over a year old - so we may have lost some of our addresses. If you would like to be sure that you are on the mailing list to receive our prayer letters or the Arrowhead Quiver - you can eMail your snail mail address to us at fawcetts@maritimers.ca

I hope to post regular blog updates from this point on - I would like to commit to one a week. We'll see what I can muster. Stay tuned.

Circle Summit 2015

The Circle Summit was held at Arrowhead last week. The purpose of which was to examine together the Great Commission as it relates to the local church and Cross Cultural ministry. We heard from seven speakers and had two excellent discussion panels. It was a fantastic conference and we had a nice turnout. For those who were unable to be with us, the conference has been recorded and DVD's will be available (stay tuned for links to watch the sessions online as well).

At Arrowhead it is our hearts desire to see the Gospel of Jesus Christ clearly and fully proclaimed to the First Nations people of Atlantic Canada. In the book of Matthew the great commission was given to the local church, as Christians we have a burning desire to see the gospel communicated and to see people come to repentance and faith in the God of all creation. There are so many things that can complicate the effective communication of God’s Truth, that it is not only worth our while; but an exercise in obedience to examine just how we can ensure that when we proclaim the gospel, that it is being understood clearly.

I really believe that the Circle Summit achieved our goal and gave us an opportunity to examine just what is involved in obeying the great commission in a cross cultural setting, and doing so in a way that is as glorifying to God as it is effective.

These missionary ladies served everyone in the kitchen for the conference.

Fellowship is always a fantastic part of conferences at ANBC.

Berea came all the way from Nova Scotia to serve in the kitchen.

These First Nations believers took part in a very helpful discussion panel, if you missed it you'll want to be sure to get the video.

Sean Crowe addressed us about the parachurch and how it can be obedient to the local church and the great commission.

NCEM missionary Phil Welch shared with us his passion for the Gospel and the need for it to be effectively communicated in Atlantic Canada.

Most of our speakers took part in a discussion panel on Saturday morning for the conclusion of the conference.

Wood Point Baptist Church

It was a tremendous blessing to be able to be with the congregation at Wood Point, New Brunswick for their morning worship and evening service. I was pleased to be able to share for the morning Sunday School and look a little more closely at just why Cross Cultural communication is so very important. The morning service allowed me the opportunity to open the Word and to introduce the ministries of NCEM at Arrowhead a little more specifically. As Baptists are known for, we enjoyed an impressive spread for a pot luck supper in the evening and I was given the opportunity to share the story of how the Lord brought us to Arrowhead to serve Him.

Pastor Danny Jack and I attended Bible school together, and I am excited for he and his family as they embark on a new chapter of their lives. They plan to leave and engage in itinerant full time evangelistic ministry. You can be in prayer for them as they seek the Lord's leading.

It was a beautiful crisp Fall Sunday at Wood Point.

ANBC Fall Work Week 2015

We are always blessed by the ministry of those who would come to serve the Lord at Arrowhead by using their God given abilities and talents to benefit the Bible Center. This Fall we were blessed, once again, in fellowship and hands on labour by the folks at Lisbon Falls Baptist Church.

It was with fond memories of our dear friend Ken Hodgkins that we worked alongside one another this year, without him. He was missed, and we reminisced about his love for the Lord and serving Him.

The gang was here for a week and we accomplished some much need projects at the mission house.

They built a much needed deck on the back of the new addition, that will now allow us to use the back door. Here we are transporting the framing from the shop to it's location at the mission house.

For a year the front deck on the mission house has sat askew and about six inches too high; unfortunately, due to the challenges we faced with the addition we ran out of time to put it back into place properly. We are now very happy to have it repaired and in place.

Pastor Jones peering into the hole for the dryer vent, it needed replaced, and we clamoured in under the house to replace it.

Mom and Valerie worked on a 22 foot long curtain for the chapel, to serve especially for the upcoming Circle Summit.

Here are the lads working at building the framework for the mission house deck.

Moving that framing into place was it's own challenge!

Fall Corn Boil Fundraiser

On Saturday, we held our second annual Corn Boil and Pie Auction! It was a blast, we had a great turn out and people had a lot of fun bidding (and over bidding) on pies. The purpose of this particular fundraiser was to aid in raising funds for a new playground and water park. It is our hope, Lord willing, to see something installed next year to serve for our summer camp programs!

There was a great turn out, estimated between 70 and 80 guests to the Center.

Our friend Rob McCready served as our auctioneer for the evening. Pies were flying out the door, some for as much as $85!

It was a lot of fun to have Liz's brother and his family with us for the weekend, the kids helped a lot with getting ready for the event!

Kejimkujik Camp Out 2015

Due to the success of our Cape Breton camp out in 2014, and the very clear value in the trips, we decided to add a second week to our itinerary. The camp out to Kejimkujik National Park was a huge success. Suzanne Matheson and I took two LIT's (leaders in training) and six teenagers camping in lower Nova Scotia at Kijimkujik Nation Park and Historic Site. It was wonderful to be able to have a private tour of the Mi'kmaq petroglyphs and spend some time paddling on the lake. Of course we took some time at a local theme park for fun too. Relationships were forged, fun was had, Gospel was taught!

We enjoyed a picnic at Fort Anne in Annapolis Royal.

This is the First Nations dedication monument commemorating the petroglyphs.

 Our tour guide showing the kids the petroglyphs in the stone.

Phil & Gracie Welch were so kind to have all of us into their home for a wonderful spaghetti meal before our whale watching excursion.

What can ya say... roller coasters are awesome!

Cape Breton Camp Out 2015

This year Venus Coté and I had the privilege of taking 2 LIT's (leaders in training) and four teenagers on a camp out to Cape Breton. It was a fantastic camp, during which we truly enjoyed getting to know these young people. Our philosophy during these camps is "family camping", so we spent a lot of time together enjoying the camping experience and some wonderful things Cape Breton has to offer.

These camp out programs are such a valuable part of our overall ministry program here at Arrowhead.

A visit to the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site, we enjoyed a guided tour.

Observing some of our mighty God's creation we spent an afternoon whale watching.

An afternoon at a magnificent salt water beach, we spent some time swimming in the ocean.

Our time around the camp fire was both valuable and an important part of our trip.