Here, There and Everywhere

BENIN:

What a whirlwind! It’s been 36 days since I’ve been home from Benin and it’s still hard to believe it!

So much has happened which makes it feel like I never left Canada – yet my experiences in Benin are so real to me and I know that I am a different person than I was 6 months ago. How can that be? It must be because of amazing experiences that I have had which have shaped my thinking and my lifestyle.

Here we are sporting our traditional Beninese outfits!
We wore them to church our last Sunday there and people just loved it!

I can’t describe how hard it was to leave Benin – saying goodbye to friends I’d made; friends who had been my life for the last 5 months, friends who I had made despite a language barrier, friends who I know I will not see for a long time. As exciting as it is to know that we worked ourselves out of a job in Benin and to know that DRIME Benin is in very capable hands, ready to be lead by a local leadership team – it was still hard to leave.

Our last time with the DRIME Benin team!
They gave us each a gift - a traditional Beninese outfit!

Our last few weeks in Benin were very full but we were able to accomplish everything that needed to be done. We had a mini leadership retreat with our leaders on the last weekend – and it was wonderful. We did some planning and goal setting for the upcoming DRIME year and also treated our leaders to an afternoon of swimming at one of the local hotel pools—so fun!
We have heard such encouraging things from DRIME Benin since we returned to Canada. Thirty-eight people gave their lives to the Lord in the first two weeks after we left! The leaders have continued to meet once a week and the team has continued to have practice and do ministry once a week as well. DRIME Benin has an Advisory Council which has been confirmed and solidified and has met once already since we left. The DRIME Benin Advisory Council is made up of 8 people who give guidance and advice to our leaders when needed. The Advisory Council members consist of Pastors, business men, members of other Christian organizations and church elders.

Our last meeting with our beloved leaders! Abby painted them a little goodbye gift!

In a nut shell – Benin was AWESOME!!! I saw God work in incredible ways and grew through the many experiences and challenges. One of the many highlights for me was seeing how much our leaders have grown over the 5 months that we were there. Watching them grow in their relationship with God, develop in their leadership abilities and grow in their self-confidence was an absolute thrill for me.

ONTARIO:

When I left Benin on July 12th I flew right into Ontario because my brother was getting married three days later. The wedding was beautiful and enabled me to see a lot of friends and family all at once! My time in Ontario was filled with spending time with family and friends, unpacking and repacking, helping with wedding preparations and camping with my family! Time went by quickly and soon I found myself boarding another plane on August 4th – which took me back to Langley.

My family!

Me, my little brother and my new sister-in-law!!!

BRITISH COLUMBIA:

I thought my time in Ontario flew by quickly – but the last two weeks here in BC have simply disappeared! I have been spending my time catching up with friends and working on many different tasks—I have been wrapping up details from my 5 months in Benin as well as preparing for what is coming next – because soon [August 23rd] I will be boarding another plane [or perhaps driving my car] for San Diego, California!

SAN DIEGO:

As you may recall, last fall I went down to San Diego with Jennie Wiley to help start a DRIME Base. Jennie is currently in Paraguay planting another DRIME Base which leaves the San Diego Base without a leader for this next year. So, DRIME has asked me to be the team leader for DRIME San Diego for the school year [8-9 months]! While I am there I will be finding and training a local leadership team – [just like I did in Benin] so that when I leave next spring they are ready to lead on their own!

I am very excited about this opportunity! I loved my time in San Diego last fall so I am excited to go back and re-connect with people. I am also very excited because I am blessed with the opportunity to keep doing what I love! If you haven’t noticed – I have absolutely LOVED the process of establishing a DRIME Base in Benin and that is essentially what I will be doing again in San Diego!

PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Finances: Please pray that the remaining monthly support I need will come in. I am in need of $2,000 more in monthly support, and these finances will help me as I live and lead in California.

• Transportation: When I am in San Diego I will need a vehicle to get around. I was planning on driving my car down but it has been having some transmission problems. Please pray for the finances and wisdom to deal with this situation.

• DRIME San Diego: Pray for me as the first month and a half I am in San Diego I will be busy promoting the ministry and recruiting for the team. Pray for people to be interested in joining and for opportunities to share at different churches and schools.

• DRIME Benin: Pray for our four leaders as they lead the ministry on their own and for the team as they continue to minister each Sunday.

• Healthy Transitions: Please pray for me as I have been experiencing so many opposing emotions: I am sad to have left Benin, but happy to see friends and family and excited to go to San Diego. Pray that the lessons I have learned in Benin will stay with me and my life here will look different because of it.

• Strength: Please pray that God would give me his strength and perseverance each and every day as there is always much to do and not much time to do it in.

Thank you so much for your support and prayers! This work could not be done without your help, and I am so blessed to have such a fabulous team of people supporting me.

Looking forward to updating you about what God is doing in San Diego!