“I pray that out of His glorious riches he may strengthen
you with power through his Spirit in
your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I
pray that you, being rooted and
established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp
how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this
love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the
fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:16-19
To be honest, I have always loved this prayer of Paul’s, but
this week it became even more so. God has been at work long before we arrived
in Canada. It has been evident in every detail since our arrival.
Last Tuesday afternoon we arrived at our apartment in
Sherbrooke, not having heard any details about who would meet us or if we could
even get in. We were given an address and that was about it. As we pulled up in
front of the apartment a couple came out the doors, greeted us and took us to
sign our lease, then handed us the keys. They had been waiting for us! About
half an hour later, a woman from our language school met us at our apartment
and took us to the school. Once we arrived, we were met by three other
missionary families (who had been studying at the school since January), all headed
to Africa, two of them to the DRC (and one will be living in Lubumbashi). To
say we were blown away, ecstatic and overwhelmed with joy would be an
understatement. We can’t wait to meet
the other families coming in this week to join our class.
Since we enrolled in the language school in June, there were
no on campus apartments available. To find the apartment we have off campus and
to get a 4-month lease is almost unheard of. And, you generally have to bring
in all your appliances and furniture. Gavin and I left all of this in God’s
hands before coming, knowing we couldn’t worry about the details. We knew we
would have to figure out something once we arrived. But, again, God had been
working out all the details. Our landlord brought in an oven and stove,
refrigerator and microwave for us to borrow. While at the language school we
were taken to an old farmhouse FULL of furniture and told we could borrow
almost anything. We have not had to buy any furniture since we arrived. God has
provided it all.
Throughout this week, we have also met two of our neighbors
in our apartment building who are from…the DRC. We can’t wait to talk with them
more.
Through it all, and it is just the beginning, we know that
God has given us strength through His spirit. I know we will never grasp how
wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ is, but if we give Him all
we have, trust in His Word and follow His leading, He will provide. His love
has been overwhelming and amazing! To God be all the glory and praise.
Yesterday the moving company came and a flood of emotions rushed over us as everything left that we own in the world was packed into a 7x7x4 foot crate. It is both liberating and nerve-wrecking to see all of your things fit into such a small space. It is liberating because you know that you have so little worldly possessions to cling to. It is nerve-wrecking because one small disaster on a truck or boat could take it all away. Either way, the Lord hasn't failed us yet. 
Today was a whole new range of emotions. We still are not sure that our children fully understand what is in store for us as we spend the next two weeks on the road, the following four months in language school, and then finally move to Africa. Then again, we probably aren't as well. Here are some reflections on what we will miss the most. 
