All Things New...

“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.