Benin Bulletin #9
“The Time Is Now”
September 7, 2017
Prayer
Requests
1)
Safety during travel – We will be leaving Fredericton at 11:35am
Atlantic time. Please pray for safety
for ourselves and our luggage. We arrive
in Cotonou, Benin on September 9th at 8:45pm West Africa time.
2)
100% supported! - Praise the Lord
that we were able to reach our financial goal for the year. Thank you to all who gave and continue to
give. We wouldn’t be going without you!
3)
Arrival – Please be in prayer for us that we would “arrive well” in
Benin. There will be many challenges
when we first arrive so we would appreciate your prayers.
4)
Thanks – We want to thank all the churches and individuals we were able
to visit during the month of September.
Thank you for your prayers and financial support. See you next year!
5)
Diane’s hip surgery – Praise the Lord Diane Davidson (Kathleen’s mother)
has been scheduled for hip surgery on September 19th. We have been praying for this for over a year
so it is a big answer to prayer. Pray
that the surgery goes well and Diane would recover quickly.
Introduction
Greetings from beautiful Geary, New
Brunswick! Well, well, well…the time has
finally come. We leave tomorrow morning
for Benin. In some ways, it’s hard to
believe but to be honest, it has been a long wait. Some of your will think that this has become
easy for me (Graham) because I’ve left home so many times before. I’ve also mentioned that Africa has felt like
home to me so this should feel like a trip home. In some ways it does, but in other ways it
doesn’t. I’ve never been to Benin
before. They use a different language
and have a different culture than I’m used to.
In many ways, this is a restart for both Kathleen and myself. For those in their 40’s you can imagine how
it would feel to drop all that you know, leave all the people you know, and
start over in a new country. Aren’t we
supposed to be settled down by 40? In
many ways, it’s exhilarating feeling to start over, but I also know that we are
stepping into the unknown. There is so
much we don’t know about Benin, but praise be to God, he knows all about
it. And He has called Kathleen and I
there and we have answered. So, what
more do we need? Well, to be honest, we
have 6 bags packed so I guess we’re taking that! :-) However,
the point remains. Romans 8:31 comes to
mind: “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Despite the opposition we will face we have
an ace up our sleeve. And he guarantees
a win. So, despite feeling a little
awkward, I have peace about this. No
doubt about it, we’re gonna have some tough times ahead, but I also expect good
times. And I prefer to dwell on that. So, enough sermonizing. Kathleen and I wanted to give a quick update
before we left so here we go.
SIMNow
Article
I recently had the opportunity to write
another article for SIM’s magazine “SIMNow”.
The link to the article can be found at http://simnow.sim.ca/stories/silence. If you’d be interested in the rest of the
magazine or past issues, simply go to http://simnow.sim.ca/.
100%
Supported
It is with great pleasure that Kathleen and
I tell you that we are officially 100% supported for the next year! We picked up a few new supporters recently
that took us over the top. We thank the
Lord for each and every one of you who are helping us get to Benin, and stay in
Benin! We will continue to keep you
posted regarding our financial status as things change in the future.
A
Month in Geary
The month of August really flew by for
us. However, we felt it was a very
fruitful time. We were able to visit 4
churches; Geary Baptist, French Lake United Baptist, Lincoln Baptist and Praise
Christian fellowship. We also visited
with lots of friends and family here in New Brunswick. So, as tough as it is leaving we were
thankful to have the time to visit with many of you. We also want to thank each church that had
us. Thank you for your interest in our
ministry and for your prayer and financial support. And to each individual, thank you as
well. Some of you had us in your homes
and others went out to eat with us. We
are thankful to have you in our lives and we thank you for your love and
friendship. Let’s do it again next
year! :-)
Diane’s
Surgery
For those who know our family well, Diane
Davidson (Kathleen’s Mom) has been struggling with a bad hip for well over a
year. She has been patiently waiting for
a surgery date for about a year and a half.
At the end of August we were all thrilled when a letter arrived for
Diane with a surgery date. She will be
having surgery on September 19th in Fredericton. Please pray for her and the surgeon that all
will go well that day and that she will have a good recovery.
Conclusion
So, with that said I think it really is
time to go. I’m serious, I actually do
have to leave. Kathleen and I are going
out to dinner with her family and they want to leave. However, before I go, I want to just say it
again. Thank you. We appreciate the love and prayers from each
and every one of you. We will miss you
and look forward to seeing you all again next year.
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).
