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It is close to the end of January and we have whiplashed winter between -38c to +3c in the span of the last 5 weeks. Some days, we have received blankets of snow resulting in driving through blizzards down country roads and asking the help of our neighbours to get our tiny Elantra unstuck from our driveway.
I think the term whiplash is also a good way to describe our month, for good and bad reasons.
First, starting in December, we had our annual Christmas Hampers and drive-thru.
We were able to help seven families this year with our Christmas Hamper! Our hampers are always such a great and unique opportunity to meet new people in the community. Pastor Brad had a great time travelling through snowy backroads in a four-wheel drive.
Due to Covid Restrictions in the North, we were unable to celebrate with a Christmas service. Thankfully, we already had plans underway for a Drive-thru Nativity for the community. We had around 60 cars come through our drive-thru. Following the shepherds, Roman soldiers and cattle, many found their way to our little manger set up. We were able to hand out hundreds of homemade cinnamon buns, gospel tracks and give a Merry Christmas with frosted toes in -28 weather.
We were exhausted but full of praise for another year of God's faithfulness in serving the community. We had a quiet Christmas and Cristyn made a duck with a cherry glaze for our meal. It was delicious! And with our bellies full, we had a week of rest before heading into the New Year.
And, here we are a month later and much has happened since then.
I suppose we will start at the beginning of the month.
On January 4th, we went back into ministry. Cristyn was gearing up to go into another season of fundraising. However, we were met with a pleasant surprise. Over the holidays, she had received a large donation which put her monthly support right at 80%! She was hoping to be on campus by February but the Lord provided and she was able to go onto campus that week!
That week, she meet with the InterVarsity leadership students and began her ministry. Cristyn was able to walk on campus for the first time since starting with IVCF and already has met new students both Chrisitan and non-Christan. (Cristyn's note: I already got skunked by a student at crib shoutout to Jillian Wilson for teaching me but alas, I couldn't keep up with the quick wit of the biology students).
We are blown away by God's provision and faithfulness. Thank you for your prayers for her ministry.
Our next whiplash came in the form of sickness in the Bergen home. We are thankful it was not the same level of sickness as it was in September. However, Brad did get a cold that was potentially the Omnicron variant. To be cautious, he self-isolated downstairs
. It made a bit of a challenge to navigate the week but we did have some fun sending Olive down with provisions like a rescue dog.
Our next whiplash was a good one.
That same week, while Cristyn was leading our young adults Bible study, we received word that the vaccine passport on churches had been lifted.
This was a massive answer to prayer!
Not only were we able to go back to church but we are now able to start up Bible Studies with the church and IVCF students!
It left us in a bit of a scramble for Sunday morning as they announced it on Thursday but on January 23rd we were able to come together and worship again.
And our last whiplash is one we would like to invite you to pray over.
There are two milestones that are important for a pastor, their first wedding and their first funeral.
During that Sunday, we received word one of our church members had passed away. It was difficult news to hear as we had built a relationship with her over the last year and a half. That week, Brad and I visited her in hospice and prayed with her. It is difficult to express the mixture of emotions we have had this week. We are thankful that during our visit, she talked about how Jesus had given her peace about passing on, and we are thankful she is with Him now.
Ways to Pray for us this Month
-> Pray for Brad as he plans and prepares a sermon for his first funeral
-> Pray for us as we work through rearranging our schedules in the New Year
-> Pray for Cristyn as she works with her leadership students and starts Bible Studies on Campus.
-> Pray for our church that our leadership would have wisdom on what areas to target to get back on track
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