Summer Happenings
Summer 2018 has come and
gone, but what a great summer it was! This year, with the help of many,
we were able to run three weeks of 5 day basketball camps for
Elementary, Jr. High and High School. God
provided financial support so our new teammates (who hope to join us in
January) could come on a short-term trip as a family to assist us in
putting on the first week of camp! It was great to have extra helping
hands especially with 46 children in attendance! At our Jr. High camp we
had 36 campers and 23 at our High School week! We were incredibly
thankful to have another amazing short-term team from Cedarville
University help us with these 2 weeks! Not only did they run and
organize camp, but once again, they blessed Transformados through their
servant hearts, Bibles and Basketballs for the youth and by raising
extra money for more team uniforms!
All our camps took place from 9am - 12noon every day. During
water-break, we shared the gospel through bible stories, testimonies,
object lessons and devotionals using "The Story" coloured basketball! In
the evenings we had community outreach events in our Transformados
Centre and invited the campers to bring their families to enjoy ice
cream sundaes, crafts, games, snacks and fellowship. Each week ended
with awards night where campers received certificates, basketballs for
good attendance and medals for 1st, 2nd & 3rd place teams.
One of the highlights this year was having many of our older
Transformados youth help out by being leaders for the younger camps.
What a joy it was to see the teens we've been working with for the past 3
years pour into the next generation of Transformados! Having them serve
in this capacity gave us further opportunities to share the gospel
because they were required to attend prayer and devotion time each
morning before camp.
Remember Octavio? We shared his story of how he came to faith in a
previous newsletter. (If you didn't get to read his story check it out
here: "How Basketball Reached a Teenage Atheist.")
It was a huge highlight to have him come back as a leader this summer
and share his testimony with the younger campers! How exciting to see
this young man, who gave his life to Christ last summer during
basketball camp, return and share his story with other Transformados
youth! He spoke about recognizing his need, asking Jesus to be his
Saviour and the difference this decision has made in his life! Seeing
things come full circle was a tremendously beautiful moment for all of
us!
Fall Happenings
Our first home assignment has been busy and
blessed! As we shared in our last newsletter, June marked 5.5 years for
us in Mexico! TEAM (our sending agency) requires that missionaries have
home assignments throughout their years of service. There are specific
objectives and hoops we have to jump through in order to return to
Mexico, so unlike our previous short visits home, this time we have to
be in Canada longer to complete all the necessary requirements.
So far we've been able to gain some practical insight/professional
development into effectively running large scale basketball camps from
our 2 week observation of Clipper Camps at Briercrest College. Our
children had the opportunity to attend the camps which they thoroughly
enjoyed! It was neat to watch them play in the same gym where I
(Karlene) played in College!
We were able to take in a Thiessen family camp-out, enjoyed Thanksgiving
with our families and are re-connecting with friends. We've also shared
exciting updates at our supporting churches about what God is doing
through Transformados! The warm and caring welcomes we continually
receive, every time we visit, are always an encouragement. We are
incredibly blessed to have such an amazing group of individuals and
congregations standing with us in support and prayer!
We've finished the majority of our TEAM interviews, have had extensive
medicals and are waiting on a couple medical referrals. Josiah and
Keyana are attending school which gives Anthony a break from home
schooling and allows them to re-establish former friendships and make
new ones. They both had the opportunity to be part of their Jr. High
Volleyball teams and enjoyed learning a sport they hadn't played before.
The rest and refreshing part of our home stay has been a bit harder to come by
simply because our normal life routines have been disrupted. We don't
really have a place to call our own so change, transition and living in
limbo are exhausting and having the kids in school/sports/youth has
added to the demands on our time. However, we are trying to find ways to
fulfill this home assignment requirement.
Our hope and prayer was to accomplish these objectives in 3 months.
Unfortunately, because we are not yet up to full support and still
waiting for aspects of our medicals to be completed, our return date of
November 4th has now been pushed to sometime in December.
This is not what we wanted because the longer we are away from the field
the harder the transition and adjustment is for our family. Our absence
puts a lot of extra work and stress on our teammates. Our leaving
disrupts not only our children's schooling/activities but also the
relationship building and spiritual mentoring we've been doing with our
Transformados youth. However at this point, we are waiting, praying and
trusting in God's timing and plan.
We
would welcome the opportunity to talk about Transformados with any of
you who are interested to know more. Since we still have time here in
Canada, we would love to share in your church or over a cup of coffee,
about the ways God is using Transformados to bring about life
Transformation in Mexico!!!!
If you would like to partner with us financially:
ONLINE
(This link
will take you directly to our Canadian donation page. Here you can make
one time donations or ongoing contributions. Choose the options you
want, click "Make Payment" and follow instructions.)
(This link will take you directly to our US
donation page. Here you can make one time donations or ongoing
contributions. Choose the option you want, click next step and follow
instructions.)
CALL: TEAM Canada 1-800-295-4160
MAIL:
TEAM - Canada
#372-16 Midlake Blvd SE
Calgary, AB T2X 2X7
Our country code is 2400 & our personal account is #110689.
Thank you for considering this important role.
PRAYER
- Please
pray that Karlene will get a date for the last of her medical referral.
Please pray that the results will be such that TEAM will pass our
medicals.
- Please
pray that God will raise up more financial supporters. TEAM requires us
to be at full support before giving us clearance to return to ministry
in Mexico.
- Pray
that we can return to Mexico as soon as possible. We are excited to get
back! Pray for strength and patience in the waiting and trust in God's
timing.
- Please
continue to pray that we will be given permission to once again use the
basketball court at the Jr. High School. Our teammates are in the
process of submitting documentation, letters and petitions to the
governing authorities asking to be able to use the court again.
- Please
pray for all of the children and youth who attended our 3 weeks of
summer Basketball camps! Pray that God will continue to use what they
saw, heard and learned, to transform their hearts and lives!
- Pray
for our Transformados students, who helped as coaches during camp, that
God will grow the faith of those who have made commitments and that He
will draw those who haven't, to the place where they recognize their
need for Him.
- Pray
for us during our home assignment. Pray for strength and comfort in
this time of uprooting and transitioning, saying goodbyes again,
packing, traveling, trying to find a new normal. Please pray that our
absence won't negatively affect the relationships we've been building or
cause the youth to feel we are abandoning them. Pray for strength for
our teammates as they carry the ministry on their own. Pray that we will
be able to accomplish all that is required, during our home assignment,
in a timely fashion, along with having some time to rest and refresh
before returning to Mexico. Pray for our family, especially our
children. Disruption, change and transition are difficult and the
constant push pull of living between two worlds is a big struggle for
them. Pray for peace as we trust God with the future and all the
unknowns it holds.
- Pray
for our 4 Transformados youth who gave their lives to Christ this past
year. Pray that their spiritual hunger will grow and that their faith
will deepen. Pray for them to be wise and strong in the face of
difficult family situations, temptations, peer pressure and more. The
challenges and distractions they face are many. Pray for us as we try to
effectively mentor, disciple and engage with these young men.
- Please
pray for our 2 youth who are away attending University and Flight
School. Pray that they will find Bible teaching churches to attend and
Christian friends to encourage them in their personal relationships with
Jesus.
- Pray
for the many Transformados youth who have heard the truth but still
haven't realized their need for a Saviour and a personal relationship
with Him.
- Pray
for the family that is coming to join Transformados. Pray for them in
this season of planning and support raising. Pray that God will use this
time to prepare their hearts for all that lies ahead, to ready them to
handle the changes and transitions with His peace and strength.
- Please pray for complete healing for Anthony's knee.
- Please
pray for complete healing for Karlene's hip. She found out from her
physio that the Dr. in Mexico should have ordered a dye MRI to detect
the problem she has. After more tests, the physiotherapist determined
that she does have the problem he suspected and it is taking time and
patience to get it back to its proper function.
- Please
continue to pray for our marriage, our children, our family, our
health, our protection, our energy, our continued language growth and
the relationships we are building. We cannot continue to serve in Mexico
and serve well without your faithful prayers on our behalf. Pray as the
Holy Spirit leads because He knows our needs, our weaknesses, our
struggles and the challenges we face.
PRAISE
...for
the record attendance at our summer basketball camps, for every person
who came and heard the gospel, for safety and protection, energy,
patience and team unity!
...for the older Transformados youth who served as leaders and for the
opportunity to share God's truth with them through morning
devotions/prayer.
...for the opportunity to have our new teammates come and help and for
another amazing short-term team from Cedarville University.
...for the amazing growth we have seen in our basketball clubs. More children and youth means more to reach with God's truth!
...for Octavio's life transformation story and willingness to share his testimony with other Transformados youth.
...that we found someone to care for our pets and live in our home while we are away.
...that we made it safely to Canada for our 1st home assignment.
...that Anthony's knee is healing from his surgery in June. It's slow
going but he has been able to have some good physio care while here in
Canada.
...for God's provision during our home assignment, the warm welcome we
have been given at all our supporting churches, the unique experiences
we've had, the memories we've made and the re-connecting we've been able
to do.
...for our amazing family, friends and supporting churches. We are so
incredibly blessed to have people standing with us in financial support
and prayer!
We want to thank you for your continued support and prayers and trust that you have enjoyed reading our latest update!
Until Our Next Talk'O Together,
The Thiessens :)
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