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|  March Newsletter
...spring is coming!
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| Dear , | We know that many of you are still deep in winter's grasp, but despite the fact that we've had snow flurries several times over the past week and frosty mornings, it's becoming obvious that spring is on its way! Snowdrops and crocuses are blooming, buds are swelling on the tips of branches, and when the sun comes out, it is suddenly very warm. We're beginning to anticipate once again being able to enjoy the outdoors without chilly drizzle!
That's a good picture of how we're feeling here at Community of Hope. We have been in winter, but we are seeing signs of new life and growth, and it's very exciting! We are seeing people take baby steps to trust God in new ways. We are seeing people moving out of the comfortable to show love and finding the blessing that comes. People are asking hard questions and looking to God's word for the answers.
Possibilities for new relationships are all around us; we invited 5 neighbors over for a game night, and three families came (a fourth came over the next afternoon asking about the time for the game night because they'd lost the paper!) It was such a good time just getting to know them better - we've decided it's something we'd like to do once a month and just invite a few neighbors at a time. But much as we enjoy getting to know them, we want them to come to know Jesus. Pray for us for much wisdom as we seek to live out our faith in a way that elicits questions and for how to bring Christ into a world that is often very antagonistic to Him.
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| Prayer Request | District Conference
Easter Outreach
Lyndan and the Edwards Family
Discipling the New Believers Growth Groups Being Faithful Funding the New Vision New Leaders
Chris Carlisle/Walla Walla
Grasslands Church
Jeremy Norton Getting to Know Neighbors
Finishing Home Organization
Ministry Leaders Personal & Spiritual Health New Depth for Church New Church Planters |
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Vancouver Winter
| Well, as normal, we got very little snow. But in early January, our Jr. High and Sr. High had a great time at Camp Clear Lake on Mt. Rainier with other kids from our District for SnoCamp! It was a good time as always, and mostly injury free - except for Philip who fell hard on his back and head, then proceeded to play football later that afternoon and have several guys land on his head. No serious injuries, but two months later, he's still a bit sore!
We've continued to have good attendance for our Men and Women of Hope monthly gatherings, the men following the study that was published to go with the movie "Courageous", and the women going through the Titus 2 injunctions. These have proved to be good times of challenge and fellowship, and it's been fun to have our teens mixing with adults and learning with them.
Philip decided to take a break from cold rain and headed to California at the end of January for the annual Southwest Focus retreat and had a great time with brothers from churches in that area.
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Surprises
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 Back in the fall, a young church planter in the Philippines e-mailed Philip and
several others in GB Canada, curious about what we were doing, and wondering about the possibilities of coming to work with us. Talk about something out of the blue! Well, as the months have progressed, much correspondence has been exchanged, and multiple Skype sessions. When we told him we really didn't have funds to provide for him; he responded that he and his young family were willing to sell their land there to pay their way to come and work with us. We were careful to follow-up the references that he gave and get reports from missionaries in the Philippines to verify that he has had effective ministry with young people there, and has been a part of planting several churches. Having received excellent reports on him and his family.
We presented this to the elders here at Community of Hope and prayed for much wisdom. After prayer and time to consider, we have decided to extend an invitation for them to come and serve with us at Community of Hope. We are now waiting on decision from the Canadian consulate in the Philippines to see if they will be allowed to come. Please pray for Jerome, Cherryl, and Jabez as they wait for a decision. Pray for wisdom for all of us as there will certainly be adjustments on both sides if they receive permission to come. We are excited by the possibilities and can see how this could be a tremendous blessing to our body, but if it is not something God wants, then we are asking Him to be clear. Pray that we could be a great team and mutually use our gifts to grow the Kingdom together.
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Celebrations
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 This birthday was a big one for Beth - the big 4-0! Now, she's not been bothered at all by turning 40; 39 is such an odd number! But she was a bit apprehensive about what might be done because she was turning 40. Well, Philip proved that he is a very observant, considerate husband and pulled off a delightful surprise - an absolutely lovely dinner with another couple of whom the wife was also turning 40 in February! The guys had colluded for 6 weeks to plan it, and neither of the girls had figured it out (nor did kids spill the beans!). Beth's also begun working regularly part-time with a friend who is a caterer, and is enjoying the challenge. It's a bit of an adjustment for all of us, but we're learning to flex, and she's learning to do more in less time. She's also been very happy that a course of laser treatment has successfully treated chronic tendonitis in her hands.
Lydia's spring band concert was last week, and it was thoroughly enjoyable. It's her second year playing the alto sax, and she's doing quite well. Her high school's music teacher is great, and the level of skill demonstrated by all the bands and the choir is testimony to her. Next year, Lydia is hoping to join the Jazz band. She is also really enjoying her Japanese language class to the point that she signed up for it again next year.  Ana turned 12 at the beginning of March, and celebrated with several friends at an indoor playground with laser tag and other fun things. French Immersion is continuing to go well; she's starting to bring home French books and translate them for us; she especially enjoyed 4 days of skiing that were part of the phys ed program. She is also doing very well in piano lessons, and is hoping to be taller than mom by the time she starts 7th grade - only about an inch to go! Alissa is working very hard and even tackling the dreaded spelling. She is learning to be careful, and is seeing her diligence pay off. She was part of an elementary honors choir put together by the music teacher from Lydia's school. It was pretty incredible to see what the teacher was able, in four hour-long practices, to draw from a group of young students who had never before sung together. Alissa really wants to take fencing in the spring - she's certainly feisty enough, but mom and dad haven't made any decisions on that yet! Elijah has made significant strides in his speech and conceptual language abilities over the past two months - we are very much enjoying being able to have conversations with him and hear him express himself. We finally have appointments for a full speech assessment, but are now fairly confident that he is within normal ranges with a few trouble spots. It's really hard to believe that Josiah turns 3 in mid March! Since both the boys are pretty much potty trained, and mostly self-sufficient, it's hitting home that we really don't have any more babies. He is still Elijah's shadow, and all we have to do to get him to try something is to get Elijah to do it first. Thomas the Tank engine is still a big favorite, and our play room floor regularly becomes a train yard. If you want to see pictures of the family please check out our photo gallery on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/media/albums/?id=504471232
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CoH Coming Events
|  We are very much looking forward to our (mostly) annual church road trip to District Conference, this year held at the Sunnyside GBC in Sunnyside, WA! About 35 are going from our church for March 16 - 18. It's always a great time to get to know brothers and sisters there, and it's been fun to watch our young people get to know each other over the years through Summer and Sno camps; we've got as many kids going as adults!
 We're also getting excited about our 3rd annual Easter Egg hunt in the theater! We've had a terrific response each of the past 2 years, and are encouraging people to invite friends and neighbors. While mass marketing might get people in the door for this kind of event, those more likely to stay for the service are those personally invited by family and friends. Also, this year, we have something a little different; out of the blue (sound familiar?), someone called Philip and asked if we could use several hundred Punjabi Bibles. Well, you don't say no to something like that! We have had very good attendance to the Egg Hunt from Punjabi people in the area; they don't tend to stay for the service, but we would love for them to leave this year with a Bible in their language.
Please pray for the message series leading into and around Easter. Several months ago, Philip became convinced that the messages surrounding Easter need to be very much focused on the Cross. Please pray - it may indeed be a stumbling block, but Jesus said that if He was lifted up, He would draw all men to Himself. We have seen significant opposition other times when we have sought to show the truth of Christ (remember when the computer crashed at the pivotal point in the Christmas Program two years ago?), and we don't expect this time to be any different.
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 Refresh - you know - refresh - the little button that we click on our web browser when the page is not loading. Refresh - that is our theme this year. As you know the past year has been winter for us. Many big and difficult challenges in loosing: office space, staff, people, programs and resources. As a church we have felt the cold winds blow and the Gardner do some serious pruning. But as winter has settled in and spring starts to come we see the buds coming up and new shoots growing and we recognize our need to refresh. The screen of Community of Hope needs to refresh. Refresh our connection to our community, our commitment to bring Christ into our neighbourhoods, schools and work places. Refresh our visibility in our community and create a greater awareness of our presence in our busy city that we live in. Refresh our outreach and communication of the gospel, but taking advantage of key times in the year when people in our community are more willing to listen. But we can't push this refresh button alone. We need your help. We are asking you our supporters to help us refresh. To be a part of the refresh that needs to happen here at Community of Hope. We have put together a needs list of those things and projects that we need help in refreshing. Would you consider taking on one of the projects in this list? Would you consider asking your church or missions committee to consider taking on one of these projects to help us refresh? When we think about a webpage that is stuck and needs to be refreshed we realize that it is only a click away from being refreshed, could you help us click away at this list and watch as we refresh CoH? Click here for CoH Refresh List Document
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We look forward to spring and what God (the Gardner) is doing at CoH. This summer we are praying for many to come and help us is here we refresh and connect with our community. GCA 2012 here is Surrey is on and your help is needed. Check out the video on the left or check out our website www.canadianadventure.org to join us this summer! (August 5-11)
Many of you have been praying for Lyndan Edwards. Thank you - He has come out of surgery and responding well. He will be observed at the hospital for 3 days and then they will assess if he can go home. But we are very thankful that the surgery appears to be a success. You can keep posted on Cheryl's facebook site here:http://www.facebook.com/cheryl.a.edwards
I was just in a bible study yesterday where God is fully at work. It is an older couple and the man is now realizing that He needs to give His life fully to Christ. That believing in Jesus means real change and He is ready. Pray for George as he finishes the bible study with me over the next few weeks.
These are the things we do everything else for, making fully committed followers of Jesus. That is why Beth and I moved away from our families and gave whatever we can give - to see the souls of men in relationship with the Living God!
Join us as we refresh this year,
Philip, Beth, Lydia, Anastasia, Alissa, Elijah, and Josiah Bryant
You can support us by sending a gift to:
GBCanada USA, P.O. Box 836, Charlotte Hall, MD 20622 |
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