Monday, February 27, 2006
Pray for Stephanie
The following item just came in from one of our ministry partners (Stephanie's dad) and is passed on for prayer:
Stephanie was in a serious car accident late Friday night. She and two girl friends were returning home after going out to celebrate her 19th birthday. Stephanie was a back seat passenger, sitting behind the driver. The weather was near-blizzard conditions. The car hit an icy or snowy patch and went out of control. As it spun, the car was broadsided by a transport truck. The left rear door and quarter panel took the brunt of the collision. Stephanie suffered a lot of internal injuries. Many of her ribs are broken (I think 18 in all). Her lungs collapsed but the paramedics were able to get them reflated before any apparent collateral damage occurred. She has two cracked vertebrae, a fractured pelvis and damage to her liver, right kidney and right ureter. Horrific as it was, the situation could have been worse. There is no apparent head or spinal damage and her motor functions appear to be normal. There is a better than 50/50 chance at this point that the other injuries will mend without medical intervention, i.e. no surgery is planned at this point. She is in a lot of pain but the nurses are helping her cope with that.
Thanks for your prayers on her behalf as well as for her parents and siblings at home! GG
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Prayer for Our Pastor
Back in 1998, our pastor, Don Mills, faced a battle with cancer and came through. His courage and how our congregation supported him with prayer and care was truly amazing. The church has continued to grow and, in 2003, invited me to lead it through Outreach Canada's Vision Renewal process. Expanding our facilities was one of the outcomes planned as a result. On January 22, 2006, a $3 million dollar expansion received congregational approval.
I was just a few days later that the return of our pastor's cancer was diagnosed. Once again, Don has stated, "I will not give up." Last Wednesday night, 150 people gathered for an evening of prayer on his behalf. Those weekly meetings for prayer will continue despite the dire medical prognosis.
Would you join us in praying for Don at this time? For more info, check the church web-site at www.wilmotcentremc.ca. GG
Saturday, February 11, 2006
"Key Contributor" Notebook Challenge
With all the travel involved in missionary work, they have to be portable. Notebook computers have become an essential piece of equipment! This year, two team members, Alison Johnson (needing her first) and I (replacement for a five year old unit) are raising the needed funds through the "Key Contributor" Notebook Challenge!
How does it work? Sponsor a "key" on a new notebook for 3 years for $100.00. So far, here is a list of those who responded to the challenge along with the letter, they have chosen:
B - Suzanne and Ken Brocklebank
D - Nelson and Ruth Wilsher
E - Max Hamel and Rebecca Gibson
J - Daniel and Julie Venhuizen
K - Doug and Katie Holst
21 letter to go! Wanna respond to the "notebook challenge"? A Canadian or US tax receipt is available. Donations can be made by a cheque made payable to "Outreach Canada" and marked "KC Notebook Challenge" or by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discovery accepted.) Call us at 519-576-1659 or e-mail to ggibson@outreach.ca. GG
Thursday, February 09, 2006
This Week On the West Coast
It's been awhile since my last posting. In fact, this is the first one of 2006. January was full of activity other than blogging!
Anyway, this first entry of the year is being made from Tsawwassen (I hope I spelled it right) in British Columbia. I've been here for meetings with the Church Planting Canada national executive as well as team conferences with my Outreach Canada colleagues.
Today was a beautiful, sunny, warm day in the lower mainland. It's nice to be out of the Ontario cold for a short time!
After one more day of meetings here, it's back to Toronto on a Friday night flight. I'm looking forward to an weekend at home. I hope the welcome will be warm even though the weather isn't. Maybe I shouldn't have rubbed it in during my phone calls from here about the weather ... GG
Anyway, this first entry of the year is being made from Tsawwassen (I hope I spelled it right) in British Columbia. I've been here for meetings with the Church Planting Canada national executive as well as team conferences with my Outreach Canada colleagues.
Today was a beautiful, sunny, warm day in the lower mainland. It's nice to be out of the Ontario cold for a short time!
After one more day of meetings here, it's back to Toronto on a Friday night flight. I'm looking forward to an weekend at home. I hope the welcome will be warm even though the weather isn't. Maybe I shouldn't have rubbed it in during my phone calls from here about the weather ... GG
