December update...

As I sit to write this entry, it’s early Saturday morning. Joel has left for town and the girls are still asleep. I’m enjoying the quiet and the crackling of our fire. I can’t believe that the days go by so fast. We have had a great month. Things “feel” like home in many ways, but we have been doing a lot of adjusting this past month. We have battled some “loneliness” “homesickness” and even “frustration” at how things are different. Let me pause and say thank you for all the encouragement we receive from you. It’s a wonderful thing to be part of a bigger family that lets you know you are loved and appreciated.

The “what” we do each day can be difficult to describe. Overall we feel that we are sensing the “beginnings” of being accepted in this new community. It is the little things that seem to happen at just the right moment to encourage us to keep pressing forward. Joel has had various opportunities to meet up and develop relationships with individuals where they are at, through their work/life. Examples of this include visiting a logging site and also spending two days helping someone gather cattle. My days are mostly spent with the girls, I’m so thankful to be able to be full time mom and wife. We spend one day a week (normally Wednesday) still coming together as a team (Sewell’s, Gillaspie’s, and Horsman’s) to fellowship, be in the Word and Prayer, and continue to learn and develop the way will work together. The other scheduled events we have are Community Wellness (every Tuesday evening); which is a family oriented night where different activities are taking place simultaneously (i.e. exercise, crafts, games, etc.) and our Sunday morning service that is an avenue for discipleship and fellowship with other believers in the community. Along with these activities we have various opportunities to join in on community events, for example I will be joining Joel in town today to take part in a celebration that is being held for a recent victory in court concerning land settlements. Another highlight of our month has been a fun evening in Williams Lake with other believers; some who used to live in our community but for the time being are in town.

We are doing well as a family. We have been challenged to use this time to set good habits and grow in areas of our spiritual walk. The girls are doing well; they are such a blessing and so much fun. Well I should go and start getting ready for our day. Thanks for taking time to be a part of our lives.

Amanda (for Abigail, Ruth, and Joel)

PS (for those who are interested) Though this new family picture may not show it, our winter has finally arrived, and right now we have over 12” of snow and temps have dipped as low as -24 (F).

Our First Month...

So much has happened since we last gave you an update. We have been busy with various events and the task of getting settled. I’m going to give a quick report about what we have been doing this last month, but the details will come later in the December issue of our newsletter.

• October 14^th we left after the church service for a five hour trip to Kamloops. We had the privilege to attend a first class seminar on Worldview. It was taught by Worldview Resource Group and was a big encouragement to us. It was also a blessing that our “team” was all able to attend this event together. We spent Monday –Friday in “class” most of the day, and spent our evenings shopping or fellowshipping with fellow missionaries. Shopping in Kamloops meant an opportunity to hit the “big” stores like Wal-mart and Costco. We returned home the 20^th.

• After a few “normal” days we were off again. We spent three days with our on field “team” Steve and Jill Horsman and Don and Kim Gillaspie identifying our strengths, weaknesses, and team vision.This process will continue on a weekly basis as we plan to meet once a week and continue to grow together as a team.This is vital, as much of what is accomplished in this area is done through modeling.

• This past week we attended several events in the community, and Joel was involved in two horse-related demonstration/teaching events.

Most of my time continues to be spent with the girls. They are both doing wonderful. Joel and I are so happy to be here and have life make some kind of sense again. We are anticipating what God is going to accomplish in this place. We are concentrating our efforts on learning, building relationships and more learning. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. I’m even more thankful than ever for technology as I try to stay connected, across the miles, to the people dear to my heart. With a grateful heart for you, Amanda for the Sewells

Wood Harvest

It’s hard to believe we have been here a week, in some ways the time has gone so quickly in other ways it feels as if we have always been here. Tuesday was our first night sleeping in our house. It was wonderful (it’s been 18 months since we’ve been able to call something “our house”). Most of our time this past week was spent unpacking and organizing our things. We were able to get our house livable in time to have the wood cutting team from Bloomingdale Christian Church arrive (keep reading).

We did get the opportunity to attend a community function called Community Wellness. It is held every Tuesday night at the school and is a time of positive fellowship. Various members of the community host different activities; there were guitar lessons, Pilates, a card game, and a craft all happening in different rooms. Joel and I were able to meet so people and just get a feel for how things work. This will be a regular part of our week and time will show what our role will be.

Friday five men arrived around noon, who had just driven 12 hours from Seattle, Washington, and before that had flown from Michigan. They had lunch and immediately went to work. Josh Odell, who we met at FSB, first introduced us to his church family (Bloomingdale Christian Church) and they felt led to be a part of our support team. Then they felt the Lord leading them to come and help us put up wood for winter. Josh, Tod, Bill, Craig, and Randy worked so hard to cut, split, and stack 15 cords of wood at our place and the Horsman’s. The Lord totally blessed their effort, and we had a wonderful time of fellowship throughout their time here. Sunday evening was extra special as we celebrated Thanksgiving (October 8 in Canada) and had a time of reflection. Our first week has been full and we are so thankful for the wonderful people who we are privileged to work along side. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. We are having a little difficulty getting our phone hooked up so that limits our communication (please pray for that if you would).

Home Sweet Home

God has brought us many miles since we last updated our blog. Our trip to the Chilcotin was relaxing and uneventful. We were blessed to spend time with wonderful people along the way who spoiled our family and sent us on our way encouraged for the new chapter in our lives. Much of this time was spent in various places in the very diverse state of Oregon. We stayed with friends in the south eastern, high dessert country (Frenchglen), made a quick stop near Salem to see a college student at Corbin College, spent time at InterAct’s home office (see picture at right) near Portland, and also went to the “beach” to fellowship with a supporting church (Pacific City). We then headed north through Washington, spending our last night in the States near the border. Wednesday the 26^th we entered Canada, receiving our Visitor’s Record without any problems (thanks again for your prayers) and finally arrived in British Columbia. That evening we traveled as far as Cache Creek, spent a night letting it all sink in. The next morning we enjoyed breakfast with some fellow InterAct missionaries and then started the last leg of our journey. We arrived in Chilanko Forks around 4:30 pm (on Thursday) and were welcomed by our team with a celebration dinner (turkey with all the trimmings). It is so exciting to have finally arrived! We are so fortunate to be able to stay with our fellow team members as we get settled into our new home. The last few days we have spent most of our days unpacking our trailer and our boxes, things have gone very smooth thanks to the wonderful help of our team. Our place is starting to look and feel like home. We definitely didn’t arrive too soon, yesterday we awoke to snow. We are so very thankful to have the wood cutting team from Michigan arrive this Friday as winter seems to be just around the corner. This morning we had fellowship with other believers, and tomorrow we plan to go to town to take care of errands (get a drivers license, groceries, and open a checking account). God has blessed us in so many ways, we are so thankful for all the pieces that have come together and allowed us to be here. May God be glorified in all we do, and may He accomplish great things for His name. Our love to all of you,

The Sewell's

And we're off...

We are posting this blog from Elko Nevada. We realize that it’s been awhile since we have updated you all, and the cry for pictures is finally being answered. Since Ruth was born our lives took a different turn than we expected, most of you are already aware of our tale so I will give a short version. On August 5^th we were blessed with the opportunity to share with the wonderful people of Pinedale Bible Church what God has called our family to. They were a huge encouragement to us and the family of God came around us when I (Amanda) ended up back in the hospitable due to a high fever. The next few weeks our lives were a growing period for all of our family as I gained back strength and struggled to keep nursing Ruth. God did amazing things in all of us during this time and we appreciate your prayers. Our schedule was cleared and we spent many days in the house trying to rest. As I finally started feeling normal again we were able to visit a few people in Wyoming and Colorado. Then the fun of packing and wrapping up loose ends began. Once again we were blessed with tremendous help from many people but especially Joel’s mom in packing, which we desperately needed as much of my time is spent with the wonderful task of feeding and caring for a newborn. We left LaGrange, Wyoming Friday the 14^th with our truck and trailer and everything we own.

As we close a chapter in our lives and finally get to enter the stage we’ve been preparing for, for so long now, we are filled with excitement. We know the road ahead is going to be tougher than anything we can imagine, yet God is always so faithful we chose to trust in Him and His provision for our every need. We are blessed above and beyond just to be called His child, yet He gives so much more. Please rejoice with us as we take the next step.

Our plan now is to take some time as we travel to Chilanko Forks, some time visiting supporters and some time for our family. We will keep you updated on our travels and date of border crossing, our last big hurdle (till we get there). For now we can be reached on our cell phone, and email like usual. And we will be letting you know our new contact information as it changes. Ruth will make sure we get there on time (see picture).

Our family is doing well; I am still not 100% with health, it seems to come and go. Joel is working hard to keep everything together, Abigail is loving being back on the road and all the adventure and Ruth reminds us all about what is truly important every time she flashes one of her “whole face” smiles. Thanks again for caring for our family.

Ruth Elizabeth Sewell

Ruth was born July 27th, 2007. It was a good day, we went down to Cheyenne for a check-up (before we had stopped for free pancakes since it was Frontier Days they serve them in the morning), and when we got to the Doctor's office, he told us we were dilated 7cm, so we rushed over to the hospital, and about 11:15 am Amanda's water broke, then by 1:06 pm (Mountain time) Ruth entered our world. All is well with both Amanda and Ruth (Amanda did lose a little to much blood, but should be just fine). We are blessed to have some grandparents here to watch Abigail. And to have family there for Ruth's birth.

Some of the important information:

• 8 lbs-8oz
• 21" tall

We sure thank you for praying for our family, thanks so much! God answered some real prayers today!

Joel & Amanda

Waiting on God

Waiting is a huge theme in scripture. Seems as though God wants us to wait on him for most everything we do. That can be tough especially when we don’t really hear God speaking in an audible voice to us. He speaks through us in many ways through fellow believers, and mostly through his written Word. That is of big importance for us as we learn to grow, and understand the “voice” of God.

Psalm 27:13-14 have some good thoughts on waiting, they say “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.

We are in a waiting process right now in the Sewell home. We have much ahead and must wait on things to happen. Many of those things we can not control. First is the birth of our 2^nd child. We do not know when that will happen. Amanda is due July 12^th, and we have been waiting for this child to enter the world for almost 9 months now. And so we must wait upon that… That can be rather frustrating, but we realize there is not much we can do to make this baby come early (aside from trotting her on a horse, or going for a drive down a dirt road).

We are back in LaGrange now waiting on that child (look for pictures to come soon). And also waiting on our departure to Canada. We are still a bit short of the final funds we need before we can go, but we are praying and hoping that will be sometime in early September that we can leave. We praise the Lord as our fellow team members have already arrived in BC, and so we are thankful for that, and look forward to joining them soon.

Thanks so much for your prayers for our family.

Week #8 @ MDP

I can’t impress this on you too strongly. God is looking over your shoulder. Christ himself is the Judge, with the final say on everyone, living and dead. He is about to break into the open with his rule, so proclaim the Message with intensity; keep on your watch. Challenge, warn, and urge your people. Don’t ever quit. Just keep it simple. You’re going to find that there will be times when people will have no stomach for solid teaching, but will fill up on spiritual junk food—catchy opinions that tickle their fancy. They’ll turn their backs on truth and chase mirages. But you—keep your eye on what you’re doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God’s servant. II Timothy 4:1-5 The MESSAGE

This was our final week of MDP (here we are with our mentor's, the Farmers). If we summed this week up in one word it would be “team.” Monday we completed our workshop on personality profiles, and spiritual gifts by bringing in the aspect of team roles and discovering where our natural bents work well in a team situation. This was new and helpful information and we got to see it play out in the rest of our week. We formed teams and through various workshops laid out a plan for a church plant. It was so encouraging and exciting to see all the information we had collected over the last two months come together in a practical hands on way. God really showed us (Joel & Amanda), the hearts the trainees have for the places God has called them to. We are so thankful for our time here and the friendships we have formed. God has blessed our family in many many ways. We have been reminded of this once again as we just shared a service with the MDP group celebrating and reviewing our time together and sharing in the Lord’s supper.

Our family is doing well, gearing up to head back to Wyoming. We plan to leave early Saturday morning and make a few stops along the way. Please keep us in prayer as we travel that we would make it back to LaGrange before the baby is born, and have wisdom in our plans. Thank you for all the interest you’ve shown in our lives. We appreciate your feedback and encouragement. We will continue to keep you updated in the happenings of our lives. Our time here has been so wonderful, and we give Glory to God for allowing us to be here.

Week #7 @ MDP

I was afflicted and about to die from my youth on; I suffer Your terrors; I am overcome. Your burning anger has passed over me; Your terrors have destroyed me. They have surrounded me like water all day long; They have encompassed me altogether. You have removed lover and friend far from me; My acquaintances are in darkness. Psalm 88:15-18

This text describes many Native Youth. What a sobering thought, yet we know how greatly God cares for people who are afflicted. That’s why He has called our family to share His love with First Nation’s (Native American) people. It only takes a quick history lesson to begin to understand why there is so much hurt amongst First Nations people. There are many differences in various tribes of First Nations peoples. Our facilitator this week shared that in his people long before the Europeans came to this land, a prophet spoke of Jesus and the forgiveness of sins he offered. The sad part is instead of hearing the pure gospel message from the bearers of Christianity; Satan used the government and empty ritualistic religion to hide the truth. Many of the First Nation’s people introduction to Christianity was to be ripped away from their families as children and taught how to act like a European, being told that who they were and there culture were heathen and therefore must be changed.

What a far cry from the grace and redemption offered in Christ. It is said that among Canadian First Nation’s only 8% of individuals have been touched by the gospel and that after 50 years of mission work! What an uphill battle to overcome the evil inflicted on aboriginal people in the name of Christ. What can we do to make a difference? Something that was stressed this week and throughout MDP has been the importance of keeping our cups full. How easy it is to get caught up in ministry and forget to fellowship with the Lord. Yet if we are not being filled with the life of Christ how can we give to others? And what is it others need? The truth of the gospel given with the unconditional love of Christ, when we are in Him we can give to those around us.

Let’s look at one more passage of scripture. “And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us” Acts 17:26-27 This text reminds us that God is sovereign. He has not forgotten about First Nation’s peoples. He knows their pain and longs to heal.

Thanks for all the love and support you show our family. We are doing well. The ladies blessed us this week with a surprise baby shower; the time is drawing close to when we can all meet this precious babe (July 12th)! We are so thankful for the time here at MDP, its gone by fast and soon we will be moving on. God is so amazing! Praise to Him for His Great Work!!

Week #6 @ MDP

The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. II Timothy 2:2

This week at MDP we got down to some “nitty and gritty” things with the church. There is almost too much information to put into a blog, so we will give some basics. We spent the first three days talking about the indigenous church. Indigenous is being defined as “having originated in and being produced, growing, living, or occurring naturally in a particular region or environment”. Those are the type of churches that the world needs, equipped with indigenous leaders. If you are a person that goes to church, more than likely, your church is formed on indigenous principals. In which we spent much time in detail talking about. We talked also of other things such as contextualization meaning “the capacity to respond meaningfully to the gospel within the framework of one’s own situation”. This is so very important. All people need to be able to hear the gospel in a way that is relevant to their culture. I’d like to share a quote form a man named Dwight Smith, he says this about the church:

The church exists to glorify God by equipping the saints for the work of the ministry, with the result that every man, woman, and child has the opportunity to hear and understand the gospel and accept or reject Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and that every member becomes actively involved in the completion of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) in foreign lands.

The last two days of the week we spent learning about practical evangelism & discipleship in a native culture. We talked about the II Timothy 2:2 (the verse at the top of this article) principal, and how important that is in the discipleship process. Then we talked about some basic principals for Biblical Church Development as taken from the book of Acts.

It was all wonderful information that we will have to continue to process in the days & months ahead. Especially as we work as a team within the culture we are heading into.

Thanks so much for your prayers, notes of encouragement during this time in our lives. We are so blessed to be here and are thankful for the leadership of MDP, for the quality program that this is.

Week #5 @ MDP

This past week has been trails week! For Joel that meant eight nights and nine days away from any civilization, mainly canoeing and camping, and being stretched in different areas. He returns this evening so we will have to wait to hear more from him.

Abigail and I had a little different week, but we had some stretching as well. Our group of 4 moms and 12 children (there is one family with seven) spent the week doing mini-trails. Monday was rock-wall climbing day, (Abigail and I didn’t climb). Wednesday morning we all packed up the needed items and went camping. We had a blast, doing some canoeing, cooking over the fire, and just enjoying the beautiful sounds of loons and the full moon. Abigail was a trooper, her favorite attraction was the dirt and rocks, and of course the marshmallows. All the fresh air tired us out so once we got unpacked on Thursday we pretty much took it easy. Friday we did an obstacle course, and then took time to prepare for the rest of groups return. The biggest challenge of the week was for the moms. We were responsible along with the MDP staff to cook and clean up all the meals. It definitely added a bit of business to our schedule, in fact some of the other activities planed for the week, didn’t get accomplished. We were all sure glad to see our cook return last night. In some ways I think this has been the most tiring of all weeks, but we sure made some great memories and became a closer group.

By the way a little side story, our new friends here at MDP with seven children had to leave us this week, right after we had set up camp. They are from Canoe Lake Reserve (north of here) and got a call that the husband’s father had a heart-attack. He was taken to Saskatoon to the hospital, and the wife and children had to pick up the husband from out of the “Trails” and then travel to be with their family. He is scheduled for a by-pass surgery this wednesday. Please pray that He will come to know the Savior.

Today we are celebrating Abigail’s second birthday, which of course is hard to believe. We are so blessed to be her parents. Thanks to all of you for the love you give to each of us. We appreciate you!

Week #5 @ MDP Pictures

Just a few pictures of Abigail in her favorite attraction!

Week #4 @ MDP

This week has been a little different for us. I (Amanda) missed class on Monday, because Abigail was fighting off the stomach flu. They had a very good discussion on a book we read titled The Whiteman’s Gospel. Tuesday our workshop was on the impact learning a language can have on ministry. We heard a story in which one word in the Native language spoken at the right time opened the door for an opportunity to do a gospel radio program. Joel and I were both challenged by how much could be gained by if we take time to pick up at least some of language of the people we will be living by. I decided that day that of things most needed to be an effective missionary, using your ears and eyes and being an observer is top of the list. We have so much to learn, which is overwhelming and exciting at the same time. Wednesday we did more book discussion on two more of the required readings, The Grieving Indian and Ministering Cross-Culturally. Thursday our family missed a great workshop on Urban Ministry, which is very relevant when dealing with First Nations peoples due to the migration to urban centers from the reserves. Our family went to Prince Albert for a visit to the Doctor and other errands. This pregnancy is still right on track, which we praise the Lord for. Friday the topic of class was how to avoid becoming a rescuer to a people group that has been forced into being a very dependant nation.

The above is what we have been doing in the classroom; one of the other things we have at MDP is Connections. Tuesday evenings the men get together for discussion and fellowship, they have discussed topics like family life on the field, and what being a “successful” missionary looks like. This past week Joel was able to visit with one of his teacher's from Frontier School of the Bible. His name is Warren Cheek, he is the general director of UIM International. The women’s Connection’s is on Thursday and we shared about life for MKs (Missionary Kid’s), abuse and God’s healing touch, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. These have been good times for both of us as we are able to "hash out" difficult situations in missions with experienced missionaries.

Abigail has also been learning a lot during her class as well, new songs, bible stories, and even bible verses. She really enjoys her time with Miss Hannah, Miss Tammy and her friend Samuel.

This coming week will be a change of pace for us. Joel and the rest of trainees, minus the other moms, left for Wilderness Trails on Friday, they will be gone for 8 days into northern Saskatchewan. You can be praying for safety and good learning experiences along the way. Abigail and I along with the other children, mothers, and staff will have a fun-filled challenging week as well.

Thanks to all of you who send us love, we appreciate you so much. We are so thankful to have this opportunity to learn and grow here at MDP. May God be Glorified by all of us!

Week #3 @ MDP

"Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

Colossians 3:12-14

Do you know the number one reason that missionaries leave the “mission field” today? It is not because of finances, nor is it lack of ability to reach the people you’re working with; it is because of interpersonal relationships. Not being able to get along with other believers that you’re working with on the field. Missionaries are just like anybody else; they have real struggles, and struggle with pride and selfishness just like anybody else.

Some of the things we talked about this week were: Loving Listening, Drawing People Out, Helping Others Solve Problems, Confronting, Receiving Confrontation, Building Personal Trust, Living in Community, Managing our Conflicts, Helping Others Manage Conflicts, Helping Others Grieve well, Managing Stress, Maintaining Margin, The Battle for Moral Purity, and Being an Encourager. These topics took about a week to cover and we were blessed by our instructors who so humbly shared their experiences and facilitated our times together.

We both felt it was so practical as we are heading to work with a team in the Chilcotin, and how badly we do not want to be one of the statistics in missions. We know this information will provide lots of knowledge in the many years to come.

We were also blessed to have our Native Ministry director and his wife here with us as we went through the week; they went through it as well. It was wonderful as we could talk about the future when we get to BC, and some of how it will be once we get there.

Week #2 @ MDP

We have settled into a nice routine here in Timber Bay. It’s so exciting to have the opportunity to learn about and discuss so many relevant topics. We feel so honored that the Lord has called us to cross-cultural missions.

Monday and Tuesday we discussed the painful issues of abuse and suicide. Though statically these issues are greater among Native peoples than mainstream society, we were reminded that there are no boundaries to where these problems are found. The answer for complete healing is found only in Christ. We discussed practical ways to lead people to healing, and how communities can work together in finding solutions which make a difference. The first step is often being there to listen to individuals tell their story of pain, and responding in love. Though emotionally draining, this time in class brought us even closer as a group as we dealt with the heart.

The rest of the week our sessions focused on cross-cultural communication (one day the guys split wood for the camp). It was fascinating to learn about different communication styles, for example, direct and indirect.

We also learned the power of culture, illustrated best by the following story:

One evening a Native man stopped by to see a missionary, the two men sat in the kitchen in silence for a few minutes, drinking coffee. Then a conversation was started and they discussed things like the weather, fishing, livestock etc. After about 25 minutes the Native man asked the missionary if he could give his family a ride into town to the hospital. The man’s son had swallowed some poison.

At first glance many of us from the “western” mindset would not understand this story. The conclusion is this, certainly the Native man in the story loved his son greatly, but his culture, his very way of thinking, told him that the more important a request is the more you “beat around the bush” in asking. (For a biblical example of this see how Esther approached King Xerxes, Esther 5 and 6). Culture is powerful thing, we can try to understand it and allow it to work for the good of the message of Christ, or we can fight against it. The more we are willing to learn and observe, the more understanding we will have. This could be overwhelming if it wasn’t for the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit guiding us and giving us words to say. There is so much more we discussed, and I’d love to share it all, but hopefully this gives you a taste of what we are learning, and how important it is to learn.

Thank you for your continued interest and prayer on our behalf; we are blessed by how the Lord has brought us all together to bring Him Glory.

Week #1 @ MDP

"For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. " Romans 1:21, 24-25

This passage sadly is the way of life for many people in the world today, especially the Native American people of Canada.
We just finished with our first week of MDP (Ministry Development Program) in northern Saskatchewan. One of the questions that we were challenged with at the beginning of our week was “What transformation will take place?” That was asked of us by our directors as we look to the next 8 weeks of studying and listening to the topics that we will cover while here at MDP (more to come in our June newsletter).

This week we spent Monday learning about our unique personality traits and spiritual gifts. It was a wonderful reminder for us both as we were challenged with the thought that God has us here right now on this earth for a reason. And God has made all of His people the way they are to accomplish His purposes here on the earth (that means you & me). After that we spent the next 4 days (Tuesday-Friday) talking about Cultural Spiritism & the Bible. Many Native people have “exchanged the truth of God for a lie”. And so we spent the week talking about that and the way(s) God has given us to combat those lies. We concluded that truth will always prevail, and as our world turns towards relativism, God’s truth will always stand firm.

Thanks so much for your prayers for us as we are here. Please continue to pray for Amanda, we went to the doctor this week (here is Saskatchewan) and all seemed to be well with her. We praise God for the health Amanda has had while pregnant!

More Travels

April has almost disappeared from the calendar, and we want to share a little bit about our month. We spent most of it in Alaska, visiting friends, updating people on what God is doing in our lives and attending a wonderful wedding of some special friends (Dan & Brie Lathrop). We are so grateful for the opportunity to once again visit this majestic state and for the hospitality we were shown by dear friends. (Thanks so much). We arrived back in Wyoming on the 17^th; our flying went very smooth, which was a huge blessing. We have seen our Doctor here in Cheyenne and got all caught up with the needed tests etc. Having the ultrasound was a special time for our family and we got some wonderful pictures of our baby’s face. Everything looks good, so we are thankful to hear that! Last weekend, the 21^st and 22^nd, we had the chance to travel to Newcastle, WY and present the path God has chosen for our family to a special group of believers at Gateway Fellowship. We were greatly encouraged by this church and their interest in missions. The rest of this last week we have been planning and packing for our trip to Saskatchewan for MDP, and saying more goodbyes to our friends who will soon be graduating from Frontier and moving on. This has been a very brief glimpse of our month, and in some ways it feels like a chapter of our lives is coming to a close and a new one will begin at MDP. We are looking forward to eight weeks in one place and all the learning we get to do. Please continue to pray for us, thanks so much for all the ways you are encouraging and supporting us. We will be giving updates on life and MDP so check back more often for new reading!! We do have contact information for our time in Canada, our address till the 23^rd of June will be:

Joel and Amanda Sewell
MDP
General Delivery
Timber Bay, SK S0J 2T0
Canada

Moving

March 15^th at 8:00 AM our family driving a very large moving truck and pulling our car left Sturgis, Michigan and headed west. Three weeks before this we had no clear idea of how we were moving our stuff. The Lord provided for Dawn (Joel’s mother) to move some of her things she had been storing in Michigan to her new home in Colorado. This worked out very well because we were able to drive her items out and use space on the truck (90% of the truck is her "stuff") for the rest of our things as well. We had a wonderful trip! Abigail really enjoyed the “big truck” and sitting right in the middle where both of her parents could be helpful. It was a special time in which our family just enjoyed being together and the excitement of moving. We made it as far as Lincoln, Nebraska our first day, and after a restful night got back on the road. We arrived about 5:30 PM on Saturday in LaGrange Wyoming. That evening we unloaded our boxes from the truck, and we able to attend our church on Sunday morning and connect with friends. Sunday evening we drove down to Colorado and Monday we were able to help unload the truck with Dawn. All the details of this trip went very well and again we thank all of you who helped in packing, moving, and loading. We are grateful to have so many willing hands available to help. Since arriving in Wyoming we have attempted to get settled (the Lord has provided a furnished home that we can stay in, just our family-yeah!) and enjoy lots of time with dear friends in the area. Joel and I spent time this past week in Colorado Springs focusing in on our marriage, while Abigail stayed with her Uncle Brad and Aunt April in Cody, Wyoming. We have been refreshed in many ways and very thankful for the Lord’s continued grace and working on our lives. Due to a late Wyoming storm we are a day late in retrieving our daughter and flying out to Alaska a day latter than planned, so we have had a little bit of adventure on our hands as well!

I keep thinking about something I wrote in January. As I sat and pondered all the details and confusion of the coming months I remember getting overwhelmed and having no choice but to give all that to the Lord, and I want to pause right now and give Him the Glory. He has orchestrated every detail in a way that works out perfectly. (Not always the easiest or most fun in our mind, yet hindsight shows us it was the best) As we look ahead to the next few months I see more busyness and moving around and lots of unknown details. And yes, we are tired; we’d be lying to say otherwise. But we rest in this: We can trust the Lord to be our strength and to work out the unknown details. He is faithful and we rejoice in Him.

Thanks for all the love you’ve shown to our family, we appreciate you!

What We’ve Been Doing

Greetings from Wyoming! For all you faithful blog readers, sorry for the long space between new postings; since we last left a message our lives have accelerated to an even faster, hectic rate.

February began in a whirlwind. We had lots of wonderful opportunities to share in home meetings and we were also soaking up time with friends and family in Michigan because we knew our time there was coming to an end. We were truly blessed to have so many precious moments with the people who have laid the foundation of our lives. Thanks again to those of you that took time to be with us and opened your homes so we could share about what God is doing in our lives.

March looked much the same way as February only more intense as the time grew closer to leave for Wyoming. We also spoke in two churches, which included to quick trip to Ohio, and a Sunday morning west of Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was a blessing to meet new faces and see new excitement for what God in both of these gatherings of believers. The other time taker was packing, and organizing our things so we could move smoothly. Since we are moving into Canada our things need to be labeled well and itemized to help the border crossing happen with ease, we also want to take all our things the first time so we don’t have to pay tax latter.

From all these moments we have many stories we would love to share with you but for the sake of eyes we will highlight a few:

At the beginning of March we were able to meet with fellow InterAct missionaries Dale and Carol Smith, (see picture) for a long breakfast. Dale fills the position of Canada’s Native Ministries Director (which means he’s our boss) and we also have the privileged of being mentored by this couple.

We have also managed to have a couple check ups for the baby, that have shown everything is going well and right on schedule. We are all growing more excited as the time draws closer.

This was busy time for us, yet the Lord provided strength, and health, and rich fellowship. We are so thankful to all of you who made it special and grateful to the Lord for all His provision. May He get the Glory!!!

What is in store for the future?

Lots of things have been happening in our lives since the 1^st of the year. We praise God that we are currently around 66% for our support level, and so that has been an encouragement to us. After spraining his lower back, Joel has found healing, which makes getting around much better.

We were also able to meet with our team that we will be working with in Canada. We spent about 4 days in January with them, getting to know each other better. The missionaries that are in Canada came down to the states and we were able to go to Wisconsin and stayed with another couple who are raising a support team to go to BC as well. What a wonderful time as God is truly pulling together a team to reach indigenous people in Canada. Abigail also got to where a piece of cheese on her head for the first time.

Many people have asked about the future what is in store, so we would like to post somewhat of a schedule of the next few months, this is a tentative schedule (God could change it at anytime)… Please also see our web-site for dates on speaking engagements when we will share about our ministry. www.sewellsonline.com/schedule

• February 1^st-13^th~We will be in southeast Michigan (Sturgis Area).
• February 14^th-March 2^nd~We will be in Oakland County area in Michigan.
• March 5^th- March 18^th/19^th (Approximately)~We will be in southeast Michigan packing all of our stuff to move back to LaGrange, Wyoming.
  
• March 19^th-March 31^st~We will be in Wyoming & Colorado.
  
• April 1^st-April 17^th~We will be in Alaska for the wedding of Joel’s good friend Dan Lathrop.
  
• April 17^th-April 25^th~We will be back in Lagrange, Wyoming.
  
• April 29^th-June 23^rd~We will be at MDP in Timber Bay, Saskatchewan. http://www.imcomissions.net
  
• June 23^rd-?~We will be traveling back to LaGrange, Wyoming.
  
• July 12^th (Approximately)~Amanda’s tentative due date for our 2^nd child!!!

Sometime after that we hope to get to Canada. We have to be “released” from the home office in Boring, Oregon, providing that we are at 100% of our monthly support level.

Some things to be praying about:

• That God would be given glory through this time of change in our lives!
• We will find a way to get all of our stuff from Southeast Michigan to LaGrange.
• That MDP will be a good time of learning and that we will be moldable to the adjustments that we need to make in our lives.
• For Abigail in all the transitions she makes, all the “hi’s & “bye’s”, we hope that she will still be able to attach herself to people.
• That God would continue to raise up a support team as we go to minister to indigenous people of Canada.

Thanks so much!, again we ask you to let us know how we can pray for you!!!