Psalm 127:Luke Ransom Henry Bergen

Well, it has been far too long since you our dear supporters and prayer partners have heard from us! Likely you know at least one of the major life events that has occurred, we of course have become parents to a precious gift of God.

(Left: Luke at 3 weeks, Right: Luke at 3 Months)

His name is Luke Ransom Henry Bergen. In the middle of our lives which we were quietly living naively thinking that we knew what life was like, God saw fit to send us a wriggling sleeping eating screaming example of his grace and mercy.

Born November 24th 2023 weighing 5 lb 15 oz our son Luke came into the world not with a scream but with a little peep, that said he has since proven that he has lungs and knows how to use them. Words cannot express how thankful we are to God and to our families and church family for all the support and love that we are receiving and that Luke is receiving.

We did have to spend 4 days in the NICU due to health issues with Luke's blood sugar here in Prince George, but he made a full recovery and so has Cristyn. We are now settling into family life. I hadn't realized just how many diapers a kid can fill or how messy and goobery our kid would be, but we are learning that even that will be used by God to grow the fruit of the Spirit in us. You never know how much you need to grow in love and charity until you and your wife stare down a smiley baby who has just barfed all down your back! All on 3 hrs of sleep no less!

In 2020 God saw fit to allow Cristyn and I to marry, and so three years later as we began our family, I can't help but rejoice in God's providence that allowed us to find each other in the first place. Our story has its bumps and bruises, and I didn't think I could be more thankful to God when I think of our wedding day, and the ways that we love and lead each other towards God. After all Proverbs 18:22 tells us that “He who finds a wife finds a good thing” but I can't help but think that the Psalmist is more excited about the gift of children in Psalm 127 :

“Behold children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward, like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of ones youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.”

All this to say that in our report to you dear reader, we are so excited to have Luke in our lives, and still so very glad that God has sent Cristyn and I into the mission field of Nukko Lake and UNBC so that we might give a good testimony about the grace and love that God has given to us who were once sinners and are now saints with gospel truth burning in our mouths.

On that front, Cristyn is on maternity leave until November of this year. Even as she is on maternity leave the relationships that she had made with students continue and we are excited that I have been asked to perform the weddings of two couples that met while involved in Inter-Varsity.

We are so excited to celebrate Jeff and Alexis (On the Left) and Joy and Taylor (on the Right). These are couples who take joy in putting Christ in the centre of their relationship

This year has felt like one where the relationships and work that we have done over the last three years are starting to pay off. We are becoming more entrenched both in the Nukko Lake Community and Lakes Community Church (I'm starting to know who's who by their trucks as they pass on the road) and the Prince George church community as a whole.

This Christmas we not only held our traditional Christmas service, but we also invited the community to join us for a Christmas Banquet that we were able to hold at the local Bible camp.

Over 100 people attended, and about 60 of those people were community members who had the opportunity to hear the Gospel from me, the skits that the youth group preformed, and the Christmas carols we sang. We handed out free Christmas hampers and firewood by donation to raise money for the family of a young adult in our church who suffered from a terrible car accident (to those in need it was free) in the community, and got several youth from those families involved in the church youth group where they engage in bible study, play games and have fellowship with youth and mature Christian leaders.

The church's youth group has grown over the last three years from a group of 3-4 reluctant teens to about 15-20 excited youth, our young adults Bible study has stayed steady at around 6-7 young men and women as we open the Bible study every Wednesday night , the Sunday school is starting to be attended regularly by the kids of 4-5 faithfully attending families, the men's prayer breakfast/Bible study group continues strong and is incredibly encouraging to me as the older men in our church meet every Saturday morning to read scripture and pray as we enjoy pancakes and bacon. Women's bible studies continue apace in 2 official ones and a third smaller one. 2 ladies are hoping to get baptized this year, and we are seeing new visitors come to the church every Sunday as our church averages 70 people in attendance on a Sunday morning.

(Here's a quick video of the church and parsonage shot by our friend Dave)

On their own, these numbers are encouraging, but behind them have been not only the three years of ministry that God has granted me thus far to engage in faithfully, but also the many years of Lakes Community Church being a preach the word and love the people church. I am even more encouraged because I am privileged to see how God is working behind the scenes.

The behind-the-scenes include the many hours of coffee at people's houses, the constant prayer for the church and the community to know our saviour Jesus Christ, the tears and hugs with those who are suffering tragedy and the hope to see God strengthen my flock through preaching and teaching. This last Sunday I was blessed to hear from a member of our church, that the words I spoke as part of my Sunday morning message became the words that God used to comfort her later that afternoon when she heard that her brother and his wife had died in a construction accident. These little things are the big things in the kingdom of God, and make every moment meaningful. If I could report anything it would be that God is working here in rural Nukko Lake, and we rejoice to see Him using us as His instruments. We can't predict what He will do next but we are confident that he is working it all for our good and His glory.

(Left: Brad got to do a wedding on Valentine's Day for folks in our community! Right: Our church took part in helping send kids to Nesslake Bible Camp for Free)

Lakes Community Church is part of the missions organization Village Missions. Their mission is close to my heart coming as I do from small town northern BC “We believe that the church is central to keeping a Gospel presence in rural Canada, impacting Christians and unbelievers alike. We exist to glorify Jesus Christ by developing spiritually vital churches in rural North America and to help country churches thrive.” Your financial and prayer partnership in this mission is not only helping cover the bills of the Bergen household, but enabling an entire rural community to have the opportunity to hear the gospel. This along with the 30 Canadian VM churches and the 177 US VM churches means that some of the most forgotten people in North America are receiving hope that comes alone through Jesus Christ.

A quick apology, we said we would give a financial update and with Luke and the holidays we weren't able to take a deeper look at our fundraiser but our plan in the summer is do concentrate on increasing Brad's support for the coming year.

In the meantime:

Two fundraisers are coming up in April.

The first will be on Friday, April 12th. There will be an IVCF update at Fort George Baptist Church. I (Cristyn), won't be attending since I am still on maternity leave but if you are interested in hearing what the students are up to I highly recommend going!

Village Missions will be at Lakes Community Church on April 27th. It will be a mystery dinner!

We don't have the time for either of those evenings but we can guarantee it will be in the evening.

Prayer

• We will be travelling to Brad's brother's wedding on April 15th. Pray for us as we travel by plane. It will be Luke's first time flying.

• Pray for those who heard the Gospel at our Good Friday and our Easter service.

• Pray that Brad would grow and be encouraged in his ability to be organized and he would grow in his teaching.

• Pray for Cristyn as she adjusts to life with Luke and rests on maternity leave.

• Pray for the students as they prepare to go to Spring Camp.

May God bless you and keep you as you continue to bless us through prayer, messages and financial support.

Brad, Cristyn, and Luke

(IVCF recently held a fundraiser to raise funds for Spring Camp. They had over 70 people attend at swing dance at UNBC! We were surprised to see young adults and older folks attend. Cristyn and I went to support the students. It was an encouraging and fun visit. For many it was their first time meeting Luke at the dance.

(Top Left to Right: Jon holding Luke during a visit to Nesslake. Him and his wife Sonja have been faithful members of our community and have been involved in the Bible Camp for years. Brad after this years Easter service talking to people at the door. Mike playing the Bass at our Easter service.

Bottom Left to Right: Brad helping clean out an old ambulance for something exciting coming up with the youth group. Brad reading to Luke his first Easter book. The youth group cleaning out the old ambulance)