TOUR: Nov. 10-21

Well here is my second attempt at blogging.  Don't you just love it when all your hard work gets deleted?  ...and it almost always happens when you are almost finished!  Sigh, here we go again...

Well we've had an exciting and full tour over the last 3 weeks.  Sorry I've got a little behind on blogging, but I'll try and pick up where Cayla left off.  :)

Our next stop on our travels was Camrose, AB, where we met up with Jill Hagen, who is under the Artist In Residence program through VTI, and her band (Nathan and Jordan).  Linnea Salte also joined our touring extravaganza, as we continued northward to Peace River, Grimshaw, High Level, and La Crete (Cayla's hometown).  It was really exciting to be able to tour with Jill and Linnea.  They are both very talented people with big hearts for God and for sharing their stories and music.  I've added their web sites, so please check them out!  :)

I think Grimshaw was a highlight for all of us.  We had an amazing time of worship and also got to enjoyed the company of some familiar faces.  Kyle and Alena, two of our team mates from last year, were there to welcome us.  (They are both doing internships through the church there.) 

In High Level we were able to do two programs, one for a youth group and the other for the Christian school.  We were also blessed to be able to get to know some of Cayla's friends who live in the area, and seeing as High Level was the furthest north most of us have ever been, decided to commemorate the moment with a picture!  :)

Up in La Crete we were able to present at Cayla's home church, which was pretty amazing as well.  By then we had already been on the road for a couple weeks, and most of us were pretty tired and drained, but despite our exhaustion God worked through us.  So often I'm so amazed at how He works despite our many weaknesses.  We had a wonderful time with Cayla's family, though it was short, before our long drive back down to Camrose.  We spent just under a week with Jill, Linnea and band, but we made many memories and had many laughs!

From Camrose we (Encore) headed over to Drayton Valley, where we were privileged to share with the Christian school as well as a local youth group.  Then we headed over to Wetaskawin where we shared at a mission focus program and finally to Leduc for a Sunday morning service. 

That's just a "quick" summary of our tour, there are many other stories that could be told, but I'll have to leave that for another time.  In closing I will say that we have been thoroughly blessed throughout our travels, and have seen God use us even when we felt we didn't have anything to offer.  Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Two Weeks Come and Gone...

Wow, it's hard to believe that it's been over two weeks since our last post. A sincere apology to all who are faithfully following our blog - I am not as good at keeping y'all up to date as my teammates are! But I will try my best...

We had the privilege of going to Okotoks Evangelical Free church and presenting our

performance to their youth group on Friday the 29th. Dan and Cheryl - the youth pastor and his

wife - were such blessings to us. They encouraged us greatly in what we were doing, and we helped to fill their house with some happy noise. :) We did our performance Friday evening, and then taught the jr. and sr. high students a bit about missions during Sunday school the following Sunday.

On Tuesday (Nov. 3) we left for Nipawin and on the way we stayed the night at Osler, SK where Carmen hails from. We reached Nipawin on Wednesday, and we shared with the Nipawin Alliance youth in the evening. While there we got to connect with our old friends James & Karina and Rhys & Janelle, former VTIers themselves. As crazy as it sounds, we did not take a picture with them. What can I say - we are a little bit lame. Thursday evening was spent with the Neuanlage youth (and some brave adults). They had a wonderful youth group, and we especially enjoyed the youth pastor's two little boys from Ethiopia. Friday morning we presented to the high school students at Valley Christian Academy in Osler, and then we drove to Nipawin Bible College for their missions conference. The staff, students, and missions reps at the college were so friendly and welcoming, and the Lord spoke to some students through us. We had quite a few people who were interested in doing ministry with VTI, so please pray that God would be guiding the right people to VTI for next year's teams. Sunday evening we were able to present at Carmen's home church in Osler, and then hang out with her College and Career group. On Tuesday we went to Glaslyn where Cara's friend Laura is interning as a youth/children's pastor. We had the privilege of playing with the kids and sharing our performance with them, and God worked it out so that our performance related to last week's Bible story. Our God is so good! Last night (Thursday) we performed with Jill Hagen and Linnea Salte at the Prince of Peace Lutheran church. I'm writing this from our wonderful host's house, so hopefully we get a picture so we can show you! :)

Here's a quick outline of our coming week:

Friday: Youth program at Mile Zero Church in Grimshaw, AB

Saturday: Program at High Level Evangelical Free Church

Sunday: Program at La Crete Christian Fellowship Church (MY CHURCH! WOO HOO!!!)

Monday: Program at High Level Christian Academy

Tuesday: Travel to Edmonton, AB

Wednesday: Programs at Drayton Christian School and Calvary Baptist Church in Drayton Valley

Hopefully that's enough information to keep you updated for a while. May God bless you all as you pray for our ministry, and may you be challenged and grown in your walk with Christ.

Blessings! :)

Cayla