The "DRIVE" to the finish ...

WOW.

So much is happening now that Marcel has his visa, we move out of our London home THIS WEEKEND and in just over a month, leave for Angola. Yes--we'll be gone the first week of October if everything goes as planned!

And while we pack, ship, organize, purge, say goodbyes, and get excited for hellos, we want to invite you into one final campaign for an item we will most definitely need to purchase in Angola:

A MINISTRY VEHICLE.

This is a vehicle that we as a family will use to actively participate in the work of MAF in Lubango and around Angola. This is a vehicle that will keep us safe travelling to and from the airport/hangar each day, the school, and around town. This vehicle will be a blessing and a lifeline to our family.

The vehicle we are looking to purchase is already being used by another missionary family in Lubango. As they leave the field in December, we have offered to purchase their Toyota Hilux pick-up truck as they are offering it to us at an extraordinary price. We are very excited by this arrangement, as it not only gives us the comfort of knowing the history of our vehicle, but they have equipped this vehicle with many extra safety features for a family with children to travel in the less-than-ideal conditions we may run into in Angola (eg. extra fuel tanks, extra battery, etc. for long, very rural travel).

Unfortunately, a good, used vehicle with high safety standards does not come cheap in Angola ... and the options to import a used car or buy "an old junker" are limited, pricey, or just plain dangerous.

So, with all that being said, we are looking for your help to raise the $38,000 USD we need to purchase the vehicle. We KNOW this is a steep cost by North American standards, but after a lot of discussion, discernment, and prayer, we feel that purchasing a BETTER vehicle NOW will save us from having to fundraise again in a few years, save us from costly vehicle repairs, and potentially save our lives. We want to be able to view this vehicle as a blessing to bless others.

If this is something you feel you can contribute to, pray about it. We want you to feel at peace about it. We appreciate any help we can get to make this big purchase! And if you are led to give, you can make an online, in-person, or mail in donation, the same way you would with any donation for our ministry, but with one little addendum: please put the code "V95C" in a note or on the memo line of your cheque, as this directs it towards our ministry vehicle fund. Without this code, or a note specifying it goes towards the vehicle, we cannot use it towards that fund. You can give online here: https://mafc.org/missionarypages/boers/

A real road near Lubango! (This is a nice road ... by the way ... many are not this nice.)

Musings from a shed ... from the desk (iPad) of Marcel

Aug 13, 2015

I am at WIRED 2015 right now, currently locked in the canoe equipment shed, and it's probably the first time in a while where I actually can't do anything but just wait. This time, the waiting means for a group of 60 jr highs to find a key to unlock this shed so I can get out. Yes, I am literally locked in here with a bag of chips, chocolate covered coffee beans, a bottle of water, and my iPad. As Dave sets off fireworks, I figured this was good time to write a few simple notes. 

1. Camp is exhausting, but in the best way possible. It's fun, tiring, and when you sleep, you sleep reeeeeal good. When you mix that with the notice that September will be a month of travelling to Washington - Munich - France - Toronto - Windhoek - Angola, you are going to feel overwhelmed. 

2. When you're overwhelmed, it's okay to vent, cry, and whatever else you have do. You will also be able to count on your friends to help you through. I realize through this process, I will be overwhelmed many times. Jesus is faithful and will not leave me to fend for myself.

3. The word of God is true and living (as Pastor Travis has been speaking on this week. Romans 8:18 hit me this week - "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." No matter how hard this week, the next two months, next 4 years, will be, it will always be worth it when compared to the glory of Christ.

I can't wait to see what the next little while brings, and the experiences that will come with it. I know that there is a lot to give up, but a whole lot more to gain. For now, I don't even mind how long it takes for those kids to find that key to get me out of this shed. This solitary confinement (if I can call it that) has been worth it.

Prayer Update: Moving, health, and vehicle

Hi All!

This is just a quick little update, especially for those of you that keep us in your prayers!

Moving: We are currently looking up the best ways to move some of our stuff over to Africa, and also, we are moving out of our London house at the end of August! We are excited to move in with Kelly's parents, and for Erie to take over our house with some housemates! We may be trying to get rid of things (either for sale or for free--eg. books, some furniture, etc.) and we are also open to suggestions if anyone has ever moved overseas before ... what to bring, what not to bring!

Departure: We still have no definite departure date, though that will likely be determined in the next week or two. Please pray that God will work out all of the details!

Ethan: Please pray for Ethan's health. He is a happy, healthy, and strong baby (weighing in already at 18 lbs!!!!), but some regular blood work revealed some concerns regarding his ability to fight off infections. For now, it is just something to be monitored, but please pray that this will not pose problems to moving overseas, and that God will keep him in good health!

Vehicle: Thank you to those who have already donated to our ministry vehicle fund ... we haven't even started a campaign yet! Wow! After a lot of thought, prayer, and discussion, Marcel and I determined that we would like to invest in a good ministry vehicle--one that is reliable and safe for the conditions that we may encounter in Angola. Our hope is that by purchasing a good ministry vehicle NOW, we won't have to buy another one for many years. Though MAF uses airplanes for much of the work done in Angola, a vehicle is necessary for our family to commute around the city/country, to and from work, and participate in various opportunities to minister with those around us. We are currently looking to purchase the vehicle from another missionary family coming out of the field in Angola. If you would like to donate towards our ministry vehicle fund, please make sure to indicate V95C with your donation. You can donate here, by the way: https://mafc.org/missionarypages/boers/

Thank you so much to all of those who have been praying for us continuously! We are so so grateful for the prayer ... and how God works through it!

Visa Approval!

God is so good! A week and a half ago, we received the news we have been waiting many months for: Marcel's visa has been approved!

What does this mean?

• We will likely be moving in the early fall ... possibly as early as September! 
• We now can apply for Kelly and Ethan's visas, which should take considerably less time.
• The rest you can watch in our latest edition of "Breakfast with the Boers"!

But before you do, can we just share a moment with you?

When we say God is so good, we don't just mean it in a trivial way. I feel like we throw that expression around a lot, "God is good ... He did this and that for me ..." as though God is only good when he does something for us. But He is good, all the time, and sometimes in ways that we wouldn't chose, or we don't like, or that seem totally out of whack with our timing. And waiting for this visa is one of those scenarios. I was not very happy about waiting. Ask me if I thought God was good, and I would say, "Of course!" because in my head I knew that. But in my heart ... I was not feeling it.

But that is the good, and HARD, truth about the God of the Bible. He doesn't ebb and flow like our emotions. He isn't good solely based off of our actions. He isn't good based off of our human standards. He is good in all things, because He is the source of all things good, He is truth, and He is love. His goodness provides us with what we need, when we need it, not according to our plans, but according to His. 

The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. The LORD preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. (Psalm 145:15-20 ESV)

Thanks so much for your love and prayers while we waited (and continue to wait!) ... stay tuned! And now... here's Breakfast with the Boers!

Eight positive things about living in limbo ...

No new news on a departure date. So in the spirit of "looking on the bright side", I've compiled a list of the positive aspects of living life in limbo.

1. You save a lot of money. Like ... a lot. Why buy new winter clothes when we're moving someplace warm? Old vehicle died? Well, we'll make due with just one car. Oh, and that cast iron pan? Yeah ... something about "cast iron" screams ... heavy suitcase. Living in limbo has saved us a lot of money and forced us to live more simply. It's been a blessing in disguise! We've learned the art of borrowing, making due without, and buying second hand!

2. And on that note ... we've learned the art of purging and selling. Kijiji is our best friend. When you know you're moving eventually, you assess what you need and what you don't.

3. You don't take things for granted. Like a perfect, sunny day doing something classically "Canadian". Or visits from best friends. Or time with family. Because every time could be the "last time".

4. People make more of an effort to see you ... just in case this is the last time. But since the whole process has been taking longer than we originally thought it would, we've been able to see people for the last time again, and again, and a little bit more!

5. You learn patience. So it's not fun learning patience, but you learn it. And patience is a good thing. Yup.

6. We've had more time to learn Portuguese with our awesome tutor in the comfort of our home. Which means we'll be more prepared when we do have to use it!

7. More time in Canada = more time for Ethan to hang out with our family. And I don't think any of the grandparents are complaining about that!

8. And finally ... we've learned to trust in God and lean on Him more day by day. We know that He sees all and nothing is outside of His control. We've felt the encouragement of people praying for us. We've praised Him for His good works and brought our honest, heartfelt petitions to Him. He's given us a son and time to enjoy as a family in Canada. And even though we don't know when everything will come into order (and this can be very frustrating for us) ... visas WILL arrive and we'll head overseas one day soon. We know that He hears our prayers and will work things out for His glory!

Heroic Rats and Prayer Requests

I can't make this up--it's just too outrageous. But in Angola, rats are doing life-saving humanitarian work.

Rats you say?!

Yep, rats. HeroRats. I read a cool article a few days ago about Gambian pouched rats that are trained to detect land mines--and their life-saving work in countries like Angola is an awesome example of innovation in the the humanitarian world. They are trained to detect land mines by scent, and they are able to work up to 20x faster in detecting mines than a human with a metal detector could! How cool is that? GO RATS GO!!!

Check out this article with a little video for more information about the Hero Rats in Angola--it's serious cool: The Giant Rats That Save Lives

Prayer Requests

Please continue to pray for our visa process. This has become so heavy on my heart as of late. Right now, it's the final step in a process that began way back in 2009 when we first talked to MAF at the Urbana Missions Conference. From there, we began orientation in November 2013, finished our fundraising in February, and look forward to moving as soon as we can get our visas! So will you pray for the process to happen soon? My heart longs to be in Angola--to start life there after living the last few years in limbo.

Please also keep MAF in your prayers as they work in Nepal, and the MAF staff in South Sudan particularly in your prayers, as the security situation there is rapidly deteriorating.

Brief Snipits of Life

Currently, I am sitting in the kitchen listening to Ethan breathe heavily while asleep in his little vibrating chair. The radio is playing, the coffee is brewing, and the sun is shining ... life is good. The perfect time to write a brief little update on our blog.

God's timing ...
We are still waiting on our visas, but one blessing that has come out of waiting is that we get to enjoy more summer here in Canada, and hopefully, witness a wedding, a birth, and several big moves for some of our friends. Please continue to pray for our visa approvals!

Renters ...
We are looking for renters to take loving care of our house in early fall! No, we don't know out departure date, but if we aren't gone by then, we are sure we'll be able to find a temporary home with some family! Keep your ears open if you know of anyone looking for a lovely, 3-bedroom condo!

Ethan ...
Look at this guy! At one month, he's getting so big (fitting very nicely in his three month clothing at over 12 lbs)! He's smiling more, grunting more, and looking more and more like his dad! This pic doesn't accurately show his little double chin forming, but it's there!

MAF in Nepal ...
MAF does not normally have ongoing operations in Nepal, but after the earthquake, the MAF Disaster Response team has moved to Nepal to help with relief operations there. They have secured the use of two helicopters, providing much needed subsidized flights to some of the most isolated regions. Check out this video and the updates from the MAF US and MAF UK webpages.

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Praise the Lord ...
Psalm 150 came alive to me this morning, specifically verse 6: "Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord! Praise the Lord!" Having a newborn makes it hard to find time for devotions in the morning, but how lovely at the most quiet times of the night to sing God's praises and find time for prayer. There is no better way to tackle late nights, early mornings, difficult circumstances or incredible days then to praise God first for who He is and the good things He has done. It is rarely easy for one reason or another, but it is so life-giving.