Home and waiting

We had a good trip home from Guadalajara; I enjoyed a 12 hour drive to Laredo to bring our vehicle out of Mexico, then flew to Calgary. The other 3 Thiessens flew directly. I had to bring the SUV out as it also had a 6 month tourist visa. Coming through the border was easier than going out as I had good advice and overhead aerials of the streets so I was able to find the correct office to get my tourist sticker removed. It was a bit of a close call in getting stranded in line without gas as I was coming out...I had just under a 1/4 tank when I got to the border, but sitting in lines with the vehicle running had me on empty when I got through.
A wonderful place called steppingstone guesthouse gave me a place to sleep and park the vehicle as we return to Canada. I met an excited and amazing man of 69 who is ministering to young people in Mexico. He shared his testimony as I helped him load his van with items he was selling. I was challenged by his zeal for ministry and excitement for God's powerful movement in Mexico.
At 4 am I was off to the airport as my good host gave me a lift so early. When I arrived in Calgary, my phone didn't work, as I had misplaced a phone number I needed, and couldn't use the pay phone to get the number. I was wondering, "What now?" Well I was a reluctant facebook user, but it sure was a good help this time. I found a message waiting for me as to how to get to where I needed to go.
We left Calgary Wednesday, the day of the flooding, without a clue it was coming. When we got to La Crete the next day, we heard what was happening.
The terrible disaster has a small side effect for us... the Mexican consulate is in one of the worst hit areas of downtown. We now don't know how long it will be until we can have our interviews for our visas so that we can return to Mexico. We were scheduled for July 3-4th, but are doubtful they will be able to get in the office this week. We are very empathetic for the many Calgary residents and pray that they will be able to clean up and recover quickly.
But for this reason, we may have to stay in Alberta longer than anticipated and take a short break from Language School. We tried the Vancouver and Saskatchewan consulates, but they are very filled with appointments and advised that we continue with the Calgary consulate. We trust God has a plan in this for us. Pray with us as we wait and ask that He conform us to His will.

Church Visits

We have the privelege of visiting churches to share our burden and excitement for missions. God has placed this in our hearts and we choose to fan the flames. So we have sought to share in churches in an effort to raise prayer and financial support, as well as awareness about TEAM and the need for missions in Mexico. 

This last Sunday we were in Nampa, in a small church that was half the normal size due to a Bible Camp retreat that day. We were blessed by the response of the people, pastor and long time friend of the family. I spoke about discipleship and discipline - may post that separately for those interested in this topic. This is what I feel God is leading me to become involved in when on missions. The great commission commands us to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe all that He has taught us. This is what my command is, and I can hardly wait to get to Mexico to start the next steps.

But at this time we are waiting patiently (well, trying to) for we know that God's timing is perfect, and we are not ready yet. 

Thank-you to Nampa for the encouraging response and helping us to get to Mexico! Thank-you to each person who has helped us get a ?% closer to being able to leave. Thank-you to those who are praying us to Mexico, it is such a blessing to be upheld by your prayers.

Singing His Praises!

"I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High...Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name...Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name."
(Psalm 7:17, Psalm 103:1, Psalm 100:4)

God is good! God is trustworthy! God is Faithful! The words to one of my favorite hymns, have been running through my mind these past two weeks.

"Great is Thy Faithfulness, Great is Thy Faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed your hand has provided. Great is your faithfulness, Lord unto me."

If I had to pick an anthem for our lives at this point in time, this song would win hands down. God has taken our faith and stretched it beyond what I thought possible and at the end of it, He has proven Himself faithful! Why do I doubt? Why do I question? Have I not learned anything from how He has always faithfully provided in the past? I find myself described oh so well in the pages of scripture when I read about the Israelites and how often, when faced with difficult and unknown circumstances, they forgot what God had done for them in the past and gave in to fear, worry, doubt, mistrust and complaining. Why do I lack faith and trust, in the One who has never failed me and who never will? I have some serious 'growing up' to do! And yet, God is so patient with me, just like He was with the Israelites. He continues to prove His faithfulness each and every day and continually calls me to trust, and trust and trust again, never once giving up on me and never once failing to be faithful.

I share this struggle to help you understand why these past two weeks have my heart overflowing with His praises! I am overwhelmed by all that He has done! I want to shout His praise from the rooftop and sing His praises to all the earth!

Answer to prayer # 1: Earlier this summer we had medicals done. Some of Anthony's blood work results concerned the doctor enough to order an ultrasound. This really set us back with questions. Is this God closing the door? If it's something serious, does that mean we won't go to Zambia? Will we go and then come back if he needs treatment? It made packing and planning and buying tickets rather difficult and it felt like we were left hanging and all the while wondering if we should proceed or if we should wait. The doctor's staff went out of their way to find an ultrasound appointment for Anthony before September and on August 10th he traveled to Grande Prairie to have it done. We praise God that the results show that everything is physically normal! The doctor believes that the blood work results might be from the damage caused by the malaria that Anthony had in Zambia and our concerns have been relieved.

Answer to prayer #2: So, with these positive results in mind, we once again returned to packing and preparation feeling that God had kept the door open and was continuing to confirm the call to Zambia. However, now we faced the unknown of what to do with our house. Our time of departure was nearing and we still did not have buyers or renters for our home. We knew that we could not possibly carry a mortgage and be on missions at the same time. Another unknown. Another reason to wait and trust on God. Then last Thursday, we had a couple come and look at our home and now...........we have renters!!!! Praise God!

Answer to prayer #3: For a time it looked like we would have to travel separately to Zambia due to time restraints and cost. However, this past Friday we received an email saying that our travel agent had found us cheap tickets for September 7th instead of August 26th. This buys us more time to get everything done that we need to here at home, still saves us money, enables us to travel as a family and gets Anthony to Zambia in time to attend most of the initial meetings and workshops with BIC teachers and headmasters!

What amazes me is that these three unknowns all came to a head on the same day last week. It was Tuesday morning, Anthony was gone for his ultrasound and we wouldn't know his results for 3-4 days, our email wasn't working so I couldn't check the replies that I was waiting for and hoping would bring some answers, we didn't have renters, we had no clue about what to do about booking tickets and when I had called MCC Alberta the day before to find out if any donations had come in, I was worried when their response was, "no." I was feeling stressed and worried and my mind was full of questions. I wanted answers to the unknowns, direction in what to do and an end to the waiting. It was then, that a still quite voice inside, urged me to turn to my Bible and thankfully I heeded it because God spoke straight to my heart. I opened my Bible and was blown away by the divinely appointed devotional that awaited me! The scripture read, "I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on him. I have put my hope in his word." Psalm130:5. Let me quote the opening lines written by Charles Stanley.

"Right timing is critical in a believer's walk with the Lord. However, trusting His timing in important decisions, uncertain direction, or pressing needs is extremely difficult when everything within us cries, "Do something!" Because we want action, waiting for God seems so passive. To wait for the Lord means to pause for further instruction while remaining in the present circumstance. It is purposeful, expectant focus on God - a choice to be actively still and quiet in our hearts, listening for His voice and watching for His intervention. The wait is not for events to work out as we want, but rather for God's will to be done."

Oh how well God knows what we need and when we need it! How well He knows our hearts! I sat back after reading this and confessed my doubt, worry and fear, chose to wait and trust and the resulting peace was amazing! By the end of that same week, we had all of the answers listed above and we continue to praise God for His faithfulness! We still have a huge unknown facing us and that is the finances to purchase our tickets. At this present time we do not have enough money to buy our tickets and to pay our remaining bills. We have enough money to do one or the other, but not both. And so we enter another period of waiting and trusting God. We know that He will once again, prove Himself faithful! We have already been incredibly blessed through a dear couple who gave us a $500 donation toward our plane tickets! So we are well on our way and trusting God for another miraculous intervention! Through all of this, we are learning to trust and have faith! We now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are moving in the right direction and that God is affirming His call on our lives and confirming His call to Zambia. How good it is to know that we are walking in His will and following the path He has set before us. We have stepped out in faith and we know that God will continue to be faithful!

I came across a prayer in Colossians 1:9-14 that we would love to have you pray for us as we return to Zambia.

"9 So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, 12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. 13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins."

We appreciate your prayers and support! You are a vital part of God’s Ministry! In Christ and with love, The Thiessens ~ by Karlene

If you would like to support us financially, please make cheques payable to MCC Alberta and enclose a note like the one below.
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Please use the enclosed donation for the support of Anthony and Karlene Thiessen serving with MCC Zambia. Thank-you.
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The address of their office is Mennonite Central Committee Alberta, 210 2946 32 St NE Calgary, Alberta, T1Y 6J7.

Waiting

At this time, as we begin a blog, we are waiting. This is a time that can be frustrating, stressful and worrying. It can also be a time to draw near to God, to develop and grow new skills, to be refined by the Holy Spirit working in us. A couple of verses about waiting that remind us to lay it all before our Lord are: ( NIV, emphasis added)

In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. Psalm 5:3
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Psalm 27:14

What amazing examples and promises. Ask and wait; wait in expectation of how the Lord will answer! Because he will answer, not always when and how we hope, but the answer is coming. Therefore we can be strong and take heart. We can wait knowing that all will happen according to his perfect timing in the best possible way.

So you may be wondering, what are the Thiessens waiting for? We are seeking God's guidance in the possibility of joining in what he is doing overseas by ourselves serving overseas as full-time missionaries. We are currently looking at 3 organizations that we feel we could work with. This is perhaps the hardest part for me, Anthony, as I do like all 3, but really would like God to show us which one we should pursue fully.

We would appreciate your prayers as you think of us!!