Our Christmas '06 Season

The beginning of December found us packing up and traveling back down to Sturgis, Michigan, where we dove into the busy Holiday season. Our first Christmas get-together was December 16^th, when my Great-Grandpa Carpenter’s descendants gathered to celebrate the birth of Christ.

We also spent Christmas Eve with my dad’s family and Christmas day with my moms. Both days were full of special memories that I am tucking away for years to come. I am so thankful for family that understands the true meaning of why we have Christmas. I find myself more thankful than ever for the gift of Christ. The time flew by as I tried to soak up as many precious memories as possible. Joel undertook a Christmas project which kept him busy as well. We had acquired a picture of his late Grandpa Mohritz in his younger years hunting in Wyoming, so we made copies and Joel made oak frames to put them in for all the grandchildren. They turned out wonderful and it has been a blessing to see the reactions of the family. The day after Christmas we traveled back to Oakland County to spend the remainder of the Holiday season with Joel’s family. Joel’s ten year class reunion was held December 27^th, so we were able to attend that. It was a good night in many ways, a good reminder to us of how much we all need Christ. His mom is in town from Colorado and it has been great to see her. We will spend New Years Day together with Joel’s family. One of the highlights of this Christmas is the joy of watching Abigail experience it all, she has learned what the word “presents” mean, and we hope she is learning about who Christ is as well. God is continuing His work in our lives as he prepares us for the future He has called us to. As we look into the New Year it is very uncertain for us, we don’t know at all what it holds, and though that is true for everyone, we don’t even have the luxury of pretending to have a plan, so we continue to trust that God does have a plan and we will know what it is in His perfect timing. Please continue to pray for us, we need His Truth to penetrate our hearts, and change us so we can be His light to all. May you trust Him for your 2007!

Amanda- For the Sewells!

Ramblings

This morning we woke up to our first real blanket of snow, which in some parts of the country wouldn’t have even counted, but here in Michigan it was enough to be considered ground cover. Since a week ago it was warm enough to go to the zoo and actually get warm walking around, winter arrived suddenly for us.

For Abigail it was her first real look at snow. We bundled up and went outside to make tracks through it. She of course had a blast, and I was struck with the joy of experiencing something totally new through the eyes of a child. When we got back inside she wanted to show her doll the snow out the window. It’s so great to be completely entertained and happy with something so simple. Today my thoughts are simple and maybe even not that organized to a point, but that’s the beauty of a blog we can share whatever is on our hearts, you of course can chose to read it or not!

Even though this is a little past the holiday my thoughts go to thankfulness. We were reminded in our Thanksgiving Eve service what an incredible love God has for us. The message was taken out of Psalm 139, very meaningful for me as I think of our precious baby being knit together in my womb by the very hand of the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe. I am awed, humbled blessed and yes thankful. No matter what comes our way in life God is enough to give us reason for thankfulness, to give us hope, peace and even joy. When we stop and consider who He is and what He desires for us, how can we not be overcome with those things I just mentioned? Words do not fully express what God does in my heart, but today I want to give Him praise for He is so worthy of it and I am often so neglectful in giving it. Lately my only prayer seems to have been “God give me strength to get through the next hour till I can take another nap” so today I’m even thankful for feeling like a semi-normal human being again (as I am pregenant).

Can you Praise God now? I hope so, I hope that with this reminder your heart will sing to its Maker and you will in turn be blessed.

Love,

Amanda

The Aroma of Christ Among the Nations

I stole this title from an article I recently read from a man by the name of John Piper. It challenged me and I would challenge you to read it, it is quite lengthy, but worth it in my humble opinion (The Aroma of Christ Among the Nations). Some of the things that personally challenged me as I read through it were the “Heart Breaking” and “Rejoicing Side” of Missions. Piper exegetes a passage from 2 Corinthians 2:12-17. In that he comes to these conclusions:

The Heart Breaking side of Missions:
...some people smell the sacrificial love of Christ in the life of a missionary and it only smells like death. They hear the gospel and all they hear is death. They look at the cross and all they see is death. They see no life. No hope. No future. No joy. And so they turn away. And if they turn away forever, they die. They are the perishing. The smell of death leads to death. That’s the heart-breaking side of missions. They are people who don’t believe. They don’t see Christ as precious. They don’t see his suffering as a treasure. They don’t smell his death for sinners as the sweetest fragrance in the universe. It’s not a satisfying fragrance. It’s simply the smell of death.

Verse 16: “. . . to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.”

The Rejoicing side of Missions:
Those who are being saved smell the death of Christ as the aroma of life. They see in his death the substitute that they so desperately need before God. The Son of God dying in their place is the fragrance of life. So they don’t turn away. They believe him and receive him and embrace him and treasure him and they live—forever. Smelling Christ as the aroma of life gives life.

These are tough conclusions to come to! But it is my opinion that they are truth! Some may not choose the wonderful reality of Christ, and in that they are eternally condemned, some do, and so in that they recieve a wonderful inheritance. What a serious decision God has given us to make.

As I ponder these thoughts of Piper and of Paul, I think of our (Amanda and I) desire to not only make Christ known in an area of Western Canada, I think also of the life that God wants us to be living right now! For those who don't know, we are going to British Columbia to spread the good news of Christ with First Nations people.

We are trying to build a team to go do that! It's tough though. It feels as though it is a noble thing to do with one's life, (to reach people with the Gospel of Christ). There is a dying and hurting world out there, and sometimes we all (including Amanda and I), get caught up in our little corner of the world and don't think of making Christ known where He is not known. But with life there are so many struggles, and expectations that we face each day. There are the struggles and trials of raising a child in a way that brings glory to God, along with that the struggles of sin and our flesh that we battle, as we learn to live as one. Along with that, the struggles that all people face of finances, keeping a car running, what the next meal is going to be.

I am realizing the balance it takes to make Him known. Piper concludes his article with this thought of Paul:

Who is sufficient for These Things?
He said in 2 Corinthians 1:12 and Romans 1:5 that he carries out this very ministry by the grace of God. He is not sufficient—you and I are not sufficient—in ourselves. No missionary feels sufficient. But 2 Corinthians 3:5 says, “Our sufficiency is from God.”

So the utterly crucial question for many of you, as you have prayed and thought about giving your life, or a substantial part of it, to missions, is: Can I do this? Can I bear this weight of being the aroma of Christ in some new place? By God’s grace, you can.

With all the struggles of everyday life and, it can be done, yes it can but only by the grace of God. May His grace bring you to a place that you realize all you need is in Christ, and to a true understanding of the Cross and the wonderful sacrifice that was done there so that we may truly live.

Thanks for taking the time!!

Beauty in Death

Fall has begun its work here in Michigan the reds, oranges, and yellow are appearing everywhere. To see the bright colors reminds me that out of death comes beauty. As the plant life changes and begins to die the glorious display is revealed. My prayer is that moment by moment I will chose to die to self so the Lord’s beauty can be seen in my life. For only in His power and greatness and love will any act done by me have any meaning in eternity.

Romans 11:36

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.

My only response is AWE! Which prompts me to PRAISE Him, Will You?

I’m writing this today from my parents, we have been in the area for almost three weeks and I’m finally feeling organized. You would think by now that we would be better at adjusting to all the moving around. We have spoken in two churches since arriving in the area and have one more this Sunday. It’s been a blessing to see old faces and meet new ones. We have enjoyed connecting to the people around us. To be totally honest the last few weeks have not been easy, Joel and I have both struggled with discouragement and just plain being overwhelmed. I’m not sure what happened along the way, maybe we finally learned some much needed lesson, or just made the decision to obey…. I can’t tell you for sure, but I can tell you God is FAITHFUL and He was working all along. Today I’m thankful to report a renewed sense of peace and purpose in the task God has set before us. Our marriage is stronger, our family is growing (in the emotional sense not in numbers), and I want to take the time to give God the Glory and to thank you for your prayers!!!!!

That’s really all that’s new with us, we are heading back to Oakland County the end of next week, and we are excited to see and share with all of you in person! For those of you we haven’t connected with lately in Michigan or any where for that matter, give us a call, or send us an email. We truly love to hear how life is going and how we can pray for you! Whatever your situation is today chose to TRUST,

HE IS THE FAITHFUL GOD!

Amanda For The Sewell’s

A Few Days of Down Time

Since arriving back from Alaska on August 18^th we have continued our whirlwind schedule. We have mainly used this time to reconnect with family and attempt to relax a bit. The first week we spent in the Sturgis area, once again getting settled in at Amanda’s parents, visiting friends and even attending Amada’s five year class reunion. The 24^th of August we drove to the Rochester area to visit Joel’s family. After a few days there we went further north to Lewiston, Michigan, where Joel’s dad’s family have cabins on Snyder Lake. This was a great time for us! We were able to go swimming, jet-skiing and best of all see Abigail enjoy her cousins. As well we went to Joel’s counsin’s wedding in Washington Twp. That was a joy to see as they get their lives started together.

Now Labor Day has passed and we are gearing up for the next phase of life for the Sewells. We will be now be focusing our time on building our support team, and establishing a “normal” lifestyle after being on the road for so long. This will still be some what challenging because we are basing out of two areas, Sturgis and Oakland Township (north of Rochester, Michigan). In Oakland we are staying with Joel’s aunt and uncle, and Joel already has a job working for a landscaper. In the Sturgis area (about 3 hours from Oakland) we will with Amanda’s parents, where Joel also has a job. There we will mainly be working to share with churches and individuals that are interested in joining the team of people reaching the Chilcotin.

We are speaking at the following churches:

September 17^th-Sturgis Missionary Church in Sturgis

September 24^th-Locust Grove Mennonite Church in Burr Oak

October 8^th-Wasepi Mennonite Chapel in Wasepi

October 8^th-Faith Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Rochester

Thank you for your interest in our lives and please feel free to contact us, we would love to see you face to face if that is possible. We are thankful for this time to be surrounded by people that care for us, and trust that the Lord will allow us to go to the Chilcotin in His perfect time. Our desire to go serve these people grows daily, please pray for us to be what He wants us to be and where He wants us be at all times.

The Last Frontier

Our time in Alaska is reaching its end. We have had a wonderful experience and as usual time went way to fast. A little review of what we have been up to, since our last post! Sunday, July 30^th we shared at Glacier View Bible Church, located near Victory. We had a problem with our media presentation, but were very encouraged by the message the Pastor gave and people’s interest in our lives. So all in all it was a very good morning. Our second week at Victory we were able to visit more old friends and connect with some new. Joel’s speaking at chapel for the campers went smoothly. We were once again blessed to see the Lord at work in kid’s lives through Joel’s messages and camp in general.

Saturday, August 5^th we left camp just like we arrived, on the bus, and got off in Palmer. We spent the next several days with our friend Dan Lathrop and his family, which was a lot of fun for all of us. And Joel got to help his good friend Marv Den Bleyker stack the logs on his new house. Monday and Tuesday we were able to partake in some of InterAct’s Alaskan Field Conference. Even though we are serving in Canada, this was a great opportunity to meet part of the InterAct family and hear what is new in the life of the mission in general. We were so encouraged by our time at the conference. It reaffirmed that InterAct is an organization that we are excited to be apart of.

Tuesday evening we drove back into Anchorage, and spent Wednesday catching up and getting reorganized. Thursday the 10^th, after Joel went fishing for Salmon (the Silvers were running) we drove down to Homer. We stayed with Ruth Sensenig, a friend from my Alaska Bible Institute days. Joel spent most of his time in Homer catching fish (see Halibut picture), something he didn’t have a lot of time for when he lived in Alaska. I was able to visit friends I had made while attending ABI (Alaska Bible Institute). Saturday evening we drove back up to Anchorage, were we are continuing to meet with friends and reconnect. What a blessing it is to have friends that you may not see for years and yet you can sit down and share life with them and connect in the Lord. We are VERY blessed to have people like that in our lives.

Thursday, August 17^th, close to eleven p.m. Alaska time, we fly back to Michigan. Please be in prayer that our flight goes smoothly! We are looking forward to connecting with our friends in Michigan. Once again we are thankful for all the CONNECTING we are able to do with fellow believers here in Alaska. It is what makes life rich and full of flavor. If you got time, please let us know how you are doing. Let’s keep each other lifted up in prayer and remember we fight not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12), but against an enemy out to destroy all those who call God their Father, and Jesus their Savoir. Praise the Lord we know the battle is won and may that truth spur us on to run the race harder. Amanda (For the Sewell’s)

North to Alaska

Joel and I realized it’s been a long time since we given an update. I thought I had done one a week ago, but I guess it never left my thoughts and materialized on paper. So it’s time to catch you up!

We left Texas as planned on Sunday July 16^th at about 5:30 PM; we drove straight through to Michigan and arrived somewhere around noon on Monday. It went GREAT, thanks for all your prayers. Abigail pretty much slept for the whole time, with very little cry time. Joel was able to drive the majority of the way, with myself filling in when needed. Monday, Tuesday and most of Wednesday, were spent getting settled at my parents, which will serve as home base till we move to British Columbia. Wednesday evening we connected with some friends and family that won’t be in Michigan when we return. On Thursday morning we got to participate in a Carpenter Cousin’s meeting to pick out some of our Grandparents things, since they have sold their house. About 2:00 PM we left for Chicago to catch our plane. We finally arrived in Alaska about 12:00 AM, Alaska time, (which is 4:00 in morning in Michigan). But again things went GREAT, prayer is powerful, Abigail slept most of the flight and Joel and I were even able to catch some rest.

Friday morning we woke up semi-rested in Alaska!!! The first thing I realized when I stepped outside is that Alaska has its own smell. It is good to be able to visit again. We spent the next two days able to relax a little and even got to see my cousin Karla before she flew back to Michigan (she was in Alaska for the summer). Sunday we were able to present at Sand Lake Baptist Church. Joel was the youth pastor there while he lived in Alaska five years ago. It was good to see old friends and be able to share how the Lord is working on our lives. We hope to have some good contacts from that time as we sure love and appreciate those people.

Monday morning found us on a bus full of campers bound for Victory Bible Camps. We arrived and got settled into a wonderful cabin that we get to stay in for a total of two weeks! Joel is the evening speaker, every night, but other than that we don’t have a set schedule. Joel spends his time studying and he also hangs out with the kids a lot. I have been able to relax, which is so nice. The Lord has been working in kids lives this week and it’s so awesome to get to be a part of that (we’ve been able to see some kids come to know Christ as Savior). We are so excited to be where God has called us to be. There are so many stories we could tell of how the Lord has blessed us in just the last week, but I’m running out of space. Thanks for being a part of our journey. –Amanda (for the 3 of us).

Deep in the Heart of Texas

Well I’m writing this entry from Texas. Since leaving LaGrange we have gone north, west, back east and now we are south. It’s been a lot of fun, and we are blessed so much by everyone’s hospitality and kindness. We have been on the road for almost two months now and only two of those nights were spent in a hotel.

On Wednesday the 5^th of July we left the St. Francis, Kansas area to drive to Whitewater, Kansas (near Newton). We had visited this area 3 years ago on our honeymoon and it was so wonderful to be back. We stayed with Jonathan Wiebe’s family (Joel and Jon became good friends at Victory Bible Camp), but we also knew other people from this area that we met at Frontier and also Victory. Several people expressed interest in joining the support team, which is so encouraging. Sunday after church we had a good Mennonite meal then we headed south to Texas. We arrived in Weatherford about 9:30 at night pretty exhausted, but glad to have made it. We are staying with our friends, Clint and Ashley Weaver (who we met in LaGrange) and their three adorable girls.

This week has been a lot of fun for the whole family! Joel has been getting up with Clint at 5:30 am to be the heat and they have been able to ride and rope almost enough to satisfy the hunger, Abigail is enjoying the company of other children and I have gotten to swim, relax and have girl talk. Once again it has been nice to be in one place for a longer period of time. Our plan is to leave for Michigan Sunday the 16^th late afternoon and go the whole 18 hours to my folk’s house. We will just be in the Sturgis area for a few days and then Friday the 21^st we catch our plane to Alaska. Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us during our travels. Though traveling has its stresses we have had a great time and feel so blessed to be able to interact with all the wonderful people we met along the way. The team that will enable us to go to the Chilcotin has started to come together and that is exciting to see God do. Thanks again for your interest in our lives. -Amanda (We had to include a picture of Joel & Clint roping).

Greetings from Kansas

Today is the 4^th of July; I can’t believe how fast the summer is going. Our travels have gone well. It’s definitely hotter the further south we get! Since leaving Miles City, Montana on Tuesday the 28^th, we have seen a lot of people. Our first stop was Busby, Montana the home of Reuben and Diana Busenitz (Jen Boyd’s parents). We had a great time of fellowship that was enjoyable and also challenged us to keep our eyes on eternity. Friday the 30^th we drove down to LaGrange with a few stops to say “hi” to friends along the way. We stayed the weekend at our friends Dave and Wendy Stiegelmeier, who are heading into their senior year at Frontier School of the Bible (where Joel went to school). Saturday the 1^st of July was spent taking care of business, we had a months worth of mail to read! Sunday, we were able update our home church about our last 6 weeks and then we headed for Kansas to visit Jake and Joy Stroh, friends we knew from Frontier. It’s great spending time with old friends and it’s fun to see Abigail play with kids her own age. We are having fun celebrating the holiday, yesterday spent the afternoon on the lake in a boat so we are all a little red. Wednesday we will drive to the Whitewater, Kansas “area” to see Jonathan Wiebe and the rest of that clan. We are fortunate to see how God is blessing our journeys. We send regular prayer updates, and if you are interested in receiving them, send an e-mail to us at: joel.sewell@interactministries.org

Meet Us In Montana

My apologies to those who check this often, we have been out of touch with internet access or way to busy to write. Since we haven’t written in two weeks, I will try to give you a quick update of what we have been up to. After visiting some friends in Yelm, Washington (near Seattle) we left Tuesday, June 13^th for Montana. It was our longest day yet this trip. It was a fourteen hour trip, with lots of different scenery. At about 10:30 P.M. we arrived at Bridger and Jen Boyd’s in Wilsall, Montana. We were able to stay there for the next week. They are friends we know from Frontier and have an adorable one month old boy. We were able to visit them and Bridger’s parents who manage a beautiful ranch. It was a great time of fellowship and it was so nice to be in one spot for a while. Sunday the 18^th we shared briefly in Shields Valley Bible Church in Clyde Park, Montana. Tuesday the 20^th we drove to Cody for some family time with Brad & April Ruckert (Amanda’s sister). We also had a chance to reconnect with some old friends that have a heart for Native ministry. Thursday the 22^nd found us back on the road and headed east for Miles City, Montana. Pat and Lori Linger graciously allowed us to come stay with them and share at the Ismay Community Church, where Pat is the Pastor. Their son Ty is a friend of Joel’s and they both graduated from Frontier this year. Ismay is a small community east of Miles City and they have a wonderful community church. They meet at 8:30 AM to beat the heat. The church building is around 90 years old and it is in beautiful shape, there is something special about those old country churches. The people were very welcoming and encouraging. One of the perks of this time in our lives is meeting so many great Christian people in all areas of the county. Praise the Lord!!! We are so thankful for the way He is blessing us in so many ways. I wish you all could experience this journey with us, it’s amazing. Thanks for keeping in touch with us.

The Pacific Coast in Oregon

What an amazing week! Monday we drove ten hours from Chilanko Forks to Bellingham, Washington were we stayed with Stan and Ginny Gillespie. Tuesday after a great breakfast we headed down to Boring, Oregon, with a short stop at the Warner’s in Yelm, Washington. It was great to be back at InterAct’s home office, Joel and I both felt like we were seeing family. We had various written and oral tests Wednesday and Thursday that we did as a part of our final interview process. Friday morning we got packed up and headed towards the Pacific Coast. We stayed that night in Tillamook, Oregon at a hotel for some family time. Saturday we drove down the coast to Pacific City where we were scheduled to speak on Sunday. Joel’s friend from Frontier (Zach Canady) dad is the pastor at Pacific Coast Bible Church, and they invited us to come share our ministry. Sunday morning we shared in their Sunday School hour. It went great; the people were so welcoming and encouraging. The couple we stayed with this weekend have an interest in missions and were very hospitable (as well they had an awesome view of the Pacific Coast from their house). We have much to be thankful for and are pumped up for the next leg of our journey. God is taking care of every detail in amazing ways. We are heading to Wilsall, Montana next to be with friends and share at Shields Valley Bible Church.

The Britany Gathering

I have been wanting to share about our awesome weekend since Sunday night, but haven't made the time to do so. I was doing some reading in Psalms today and came across the old familiar verse Psalm 37:4, "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart" I know this verse is often misunderstood, but it reminded me of some of my old "dreams" that are now coming true in some ways in my life. As a child I always wanted to live hours from any major city, I also had a fascination with Native culture. This last week I got to experience both, which is just a preview of what our future will hold. Friday evening we drove about two hours south-west of Steve and Jill Horsman’s (Chilanko Forks) to a place called Henry's Crossing. We arrived about ten an night, and were supposed to meet up with a group coming in on horses. I'll spare you all the details, but with a little bit of adventure we finally had the horses taken care of and tents up for everyone by about three in the morning. That evening is a story in itself and not really the point of this blog. So anyway the next morning, we did sleep in, the fun begins. First we learned why the Chilcotin people even had this gathering together. Basically this gathering started about fourteen years ago and was done in protest of a certain lumber company and how they were logging the land. The place that we had gathered was called the Britany triangle (hence the name Britany gathering). They are still battling all the details in court and every year they get together to celebrate and remember. We got to see some parts of the Chilcotin culture first hand like singing and dancing (see picture). We also got to taste some traditional foods like moose jerky and ban cook (fry bread) but done on a stick over the fire. Moose jerky is great for teething babies. The best part of all was when Saturday night we stayed up around the camp fire and hung out with some new friends (who are Chilcotin). We had a blast just talking and laughing and enjoying the outdoor night. Sunday was a long day because we had to break down camp and take everything back home, but it was worth the weekend of new experiences. We were so thankful for this opportunity and it has given us a new sense of urgency to raise support and come back to the Chilcotin to share Christ.

A Little Bit About Our Week

Well it's Friday the day we were scheduled to leave Chilanko Forks, but we our still here and plan to go camping for the weekend. The new plan is to leave Monday early in the morning and drive all day to Bellingham, Washington. Staying the weekend will give us a good opportunity to meet more people and see the culture firsthand. More about that latter. For now I want to catch you up on our week. Monday and Tuesday slowed down a little, we were able to really relax, (which was nice). Wednesday we had a few projects to help out Steve and Jill. Thursday got busy as we started getting ready for our weekend, and today was too! Tonight we are going out camping (we get the camper b/c we have Abigail) and coming back Sunday morning. We will be at a First Nations gathering which will be a neat experience. Some of the highlights of the week are:

• We met quite a few non-native people in the community.
• We had a great talk with Steve and Jill giving us more insight and information.
  
• Abigail took her first steps on Monday and has been walking a little more everyday, Yeah!

Today is Abigail's birthday and she is going to have birthday cake while camping. Thanks for reading!!

Our First Look at the Chilcotin Region

It’s Sunday May 28, 2006, and we are staying at Steve and Jill Horsman’s at the Redstone Reserve. We left Cody, Wyoming at 5:30 A.M Thursday. We drove about four hours to see Bridger, Jen and Clancy Boyd in Wilsall, Montana. We visited, had lunch and we’re back on the road again by 2:30. We drove till 9:00 P.M. and got a hotel in Spokane WA. Friday morning we decided to try to make it all the way to Chilanko Forks in one day. We had a long but good day. Abigail did a great job in the car, sleeping most of the time. We drove through a lot of mountains and had rain on and off all day. We did hit a couple patches of hail, and saw one car go off the road in front of us, but the Lord protected us. We finally arrived about 8:30 Friday evening. The last couple of days have been giving us a little taste of what life is like for the missionaries who work with First Nation people. We have a lot of processing to do with all the information we are gathering during this time. Praise the Lord today for His Goodness!

The Journey Begins

It’s hard to believe we’ve been moved out for a week. Our original plan to be moved out of our house in LaGrange by Tuesday the 16^th didn’t quite work out. So we spent one last night in our house without pj’s or sheets on our bed and finished up and left on Wednesday. We got all our boxes and some furniture in our trailer which is parked with our truck in La Grange, in a empty quonset hut the Lord provided. The rest of our furniture is stored in a pole barn also provided by the Lord. He is so AMAZING!! Since leaving LaGrange on the 17^th we spent several days with the Chamberlain family. They are good friends of ours that live on a ranch near Douglas, Wyoming. It was so refreshing to be able to relax after all the stress of packing etc. Saturday the 20^th we headed up to Cody to visit my sister and her husband, Brad and April. Again it’s been nice to be able to connect with family and relax. The Lord provided work for Joel for a couple of days, which is a huge blessing. We are so encouraged to see how the Lord has taken care of us. We are so thankful to Him for His Grace on our lives. It becomes more apparent every day that without Him we are nothing. When I sit and reflex the way He works and who He is, I’m awestruck!!! May I encourage you today to believe His Word. Whatever situation your in, He is trustworthy! The next step in our plan is to head to British Columbia and spend about a week in the Chilanko Forks area. It’s exciting to get a chance to see firsthand what it’s like there. We plan to leave Cody early tomorrow morning and tackle the 20 some hour drive. We do have a little detour in Montana we need to make to see the Clancy Wade Boyd, born last week to our friends Bridger and Jen. We hope to make it to the Horsman’s by Friday. We will keep you updated along the way!!

Psalm 27: 1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Graduation

We've been experiencing some changes in our household lately. We have been blessed in so many ways here are a few:

• A good friend of Joel's is going to watch his guns while we are raising support.
• A friend from school took some stuff to Michigan for us since we can not haul it in our little car.
• We have most of our house packed and have had help from Joel's Mom and Grandma.
• JOEL GRADUATED FROM SCHOOL! DEBT FREE! (that was one of our biggest goals with going to Bible school, not incurring any debt).
• We wanted to enter ministry debt free and we will! Praise be to God!!!
• We sent out our first letter (not to Michigan people yet, we are waiting till we get closer to being in Michigan if you were wondering).

Thanks so much for your prayers! We have started to hear some response from people who are wanting to support our ministry (both through prayer & financially), and we praise God for that!!!

Home Church

We shared yesterday in our home sending church (Hawk Springs Community Bible Church) here in Wyoming. We had the whole service, it went really well, and we made some more good contacts with people who are interested in this ministry. The church had an annual meeting after our presentation and voted to support us as well. We have a long road ahead for building up this team, but are excited about having good quality people who are interested in this ministry we are heading towards in the Chilcotin.

Please also see our schedule it is on the ministry page on our web-site. If you interested, let us know, we'd love to stop by and see you!

Our First Appointment

We shared our ministry last night at LaGrange Bible Church here in Wyoming. Things went well! We got to talk with alot of people about missions. It was a real encouragement to our hearts! We are hoping to share more in other churches, please if you know of any churches or people who would be interested in our ministry let us know! We would love the opportunity to contact them!

Our First Supporter...

We are praising God for our first committed support. We have not really began to really start building this team for going to British Columbia, but a church has already said that they are willing to support us. We thank God so much! I think now of the words of Hudson Taylor, former missionary to China. He said, "God's work, done in God's way, will never lack God's supply." We praise God for this encouragement!

Joel, Amanda, & Abigail Sewell 

Welcome

This is something we are trying out to keep people informed of what is going on with our Ministry, and as well the support raising process. If you have not already, please check out our web-site, it is www.sewellsonline.com It has some information on there as well. Thanks!!