“Questions”
May 6, 2017
Prayer
Requests
1)
French School – Continue to pray for me (Graham) as I continue my French
studies. I just started the Advanced
program on May 1st and will finish my studies at the end of
July. Pray for Kathleen as she begins
some self-study into the French vocabulary used in nursing.
2)
Our relationship – Kathleen and I are nearing our 1 year wedding
anniversary (May 21st). It’s
been a great journey thus far but we would appreciate your prayers as we learn
how to better serve each other as husband and wife.
3)
Preparation for Benin – We are hoping to leave for Benin somewhere
around the end of August or the beginning of September. We don’t have flights booked yet so we don’t
have exact dates. There are a number of
things that need to be organized between the time we finish school until the
time we leave. Pray that everything will
come together and we will be able to leave in our desired timeframe.
Introduction
Greetings everyone from a very spring-like
Sherbrooke, Quebec! It appears that winter
is now officially over but there are some days it’s hard to tell. The days have been wet, windy and cool
recently but we have hope that summer is just around the corner. I’m not too upset about it being cooler since
I’m sure things will be plenty hot once we arrive in Benin. Speaking of Benin, perhaps some of you have
been wondering about our most recent plans.
It’s been a number of months since Kathleen and I have updated you so we
thought now would be a good time. We
often get questions from friends about how things are going so I’m gonna try to
answer the ones we get asked most often.
How
Are Things Going At French School?
In January both Kathleen and I started new
programs at the French School. I began
the 2nd level class called “Intermediate” while Kathleen began the
fourth and most difficult course called “Integration”. Each of us struggled through in our own ways
but both of us ended up with great marks once the semester ended at the end of
April. At the beginning of May, I began
the third level course called Advanced and Kathleen has now began focusing on
the French vocabulary for the nursing profession. Kathleen is also meeting with French speaking
people during the week to keep her French current. Actually, just last night we had the
privilege of being invited to a French speaking couples home for supper. I was very nervous about how well I would do
with all the French that would be spoken, but to be honest it was much easier
than I thought. I guess that means this old
boy can still learn new tricks! Please
pray for Kathleen and I as we continue our language study until the end of
July.
 |
| Graham with his French reading partner Andy |
What’s
Happening After School?
Good question. The short answer is that we will be getting
ourselves ready to leave for Benin. As I
mentioned in our prayer requests the earliest date we are hoping to leave will
be the end of August. If we feel we won’t
be ready by then we will likely leave sometime at the beginning of
September. Once school ends at the end
of July we will pack our things and head back to New Brunswick. From there we will begin packing and doing
last minute things to prepare to leave for Benin. We also want to say good-bye well especially
since this is Kathleen’s first time being away from home for an extended
period. She’ll need some time to prepare
mentally to leave so we’re going to give ourselves a few weeks for that. Also, French School has been difficult and
tiring both mentally and physically so we are hoping to have a bit of a holiday
before heading overseas. I spoke with a
seasoned missionary last week about our plans to take some time before heading
to Benin and his comment was, “Benin will still be there in September.” As obvious a statement as that sounds I
thought it held great wisdom. So, for
those of you in New Brunswick, we hope to have a chance to say good-bye to you
before we leave. Please pray for us as
we prepare to leave for Benin later this year.
What
Else Have You Been Doing?
In January, I had the opportunity to
finally play with the worship team at our local church here in Sherbrooke,
Axe21. I played the “cajon” which is a
box shaped drum from Peru (feel free to Google it if you don’t know what it is)
and had a blast being able to lead God’s people in a foreign language. That’s the good news, the bad news is I haven’t
had an opportunity to play again. As
disappointing as that sounds, I believe the Lord saw what was happening and
opened another door up for me to be involved in worship. The music director here at the school
approached me and asked me if I would be interested in being on the worship
team for our weekly chapels. I agreed
and so I’ve been playing about twice a month with the Parole De Vie band on
Wednesday morning in chapel. It’s been
really great to be involved in worship again.
When I was living in Botswana I was playing with my church worship team
almost every week. Since I left Botswana
I had only been involved a hand full of times.
It’s great to once again be involved in something I’ve loved doing for
such a long time.
Kathleen has continued to be involved in the
Children’s ministry at Axe21 which has been great. We were both attending a local ministry here
in Sherbrooke among unreached university students called “Maison Impact” but
since the school year has ended they are no longer having weekly
gatherings. It was awesome to be
involved with such a great ministry and we pray that the ministry of Maison
Impact will continue to grow and develop and that there will be lots of
university student reached with the gospel.
 |
| Our last week at Maison Impact |
We’ve also had some opportunities to
relax. We had a week long “Reading Break”
at the end of February so we took the opportunity to travel to New Brunswick to
spend time with Kathleen’s parents and visit friends. In April, Kathleen’s parents returned the
favour and met us in Quebec City for Easter break. It’s nice to have family relatively close by
here in Quebec.
 |
| Walking the streets of Quebec City |
Did
I Hear Your Dad Is Getting Remarried?
You heard correctly! During the Christmas holidays, while Kathleen
and I were in Alberta, Dad popped the question and she said yes! Her name is Juanita Bennet and the funny
thing is I’ve actually known her a lot longer than Dad has. Juanita is the mother (and mother-in-law) to
some great friends of mine Greg and Shannon Thornhill whom I’ve known for
almost 20 years now. Well, once the
wedding is over, Shannon will become my step-sister and Greg will become my
step-brother-in law. I think that’s how
it works anyway. Needless to say, I’m
thrilled! Anyway, I should get back to
the happy couple. They attend the same
church and I believe they first met at a church prayer meeting. More reasons to go to prayer meetings
people! The wedding will occur on May 20th
(2 weeks away) so Kathleen and I will be travelling to Alberta for the May long
weekend. Sadly, it will probably be the
last visit to Alberta for us until we head to Benin. However, after a year in Benin we do hope to
do a large trip through both Alberta and BC so there is something we can all
look forward to next year.
 |
| Dad & Juanita on the day of their engagement |
How
Is Your Financial Support?
Our support level is currently at about 91%
of our needs which is great. However,
that does mean we have a 9% shortfall each month. What that adds up to is about $400/month
short. We have had a few people express
interest in supporting us so we are trusting that the Lord will provide. However, if you have ever expressed an
interest in supporting us financially we could really use your help. Kathleen and I also want to take this time to
acknowledge all the people, both past and present, who have supported us during
our time here in Quebec, my time in Botswana, and for those who are helping get
us both get to Benin. Your support means
so much to us and we are grateful for every dollar. We also want to thank each person who is
praying for us. Some of you we have
never met and others of you we have known since we were babies. Thank you for your interest in not just our
ministries but our very lives. There are
many times when I feel that life could/would be going a lot differently if people
weren’t praying for us. Thank you for
each prayer you pray, whether its daily or just when we come to your mind. All of it makes a difference.
Conclusion
Well, I think that about wraps things up for
now. Thanks again to all of you that
take the time to read these updates, pray for us, keep in contact with us, and
support us financially. It means so much
to us. Have a great summer everyone!
Blessings,
Graham & Kathleen <><
SIM Contact Info:
SIM Canada
10 Huntingdale Blvd.
Scarborough, Ontario
M1W 2S5
Canada
Tel: 1-800-294-6918
E-mail: info@sim.ca
(Our missionary number is 024460)
The opinions expressed in this letter are our
own opinions. They are not necessarily the opinions or views of Serving
In Mission (SIM).
