Happy New Year!

I cannot believe how much I have slacked on this blog. If you have checked on here at all since MARCH - then I apologize! Our lives got crazy busy.. even more busy than we thought it could have! This post will be a recap on 2012 from where I left off!

At the end of April last year I (Liz) left my job of three years. It was time for a change. Since I'm young now (and want to eventually be a stay at home mom!) I figured it was time to move around and find something else. God put that restlessness in my heart and I needed to follow that! I went to another job for a few months and soon realized it was also not the right place for me. That turned into 5 months of unemployment. It was a very important season of my life. I had some health issues and needed to re-strengthen my relationship with the Lord.This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

In August we were preparing to drive down to Colorado for eMi New Staff and Intern Orientation. We were super excited to have some time together and make some new memories. We love going on road trips together. It would be a very long drive but we were looking forward to turning it into a vacation. A few days before we were supposed to leave, Calgary got a brutal hail storm. Since we were living in our condo, with no underground parking, I sat inside while I watched the golf ball sized hail pummel into our little car. It was a 2004 Mazda3 Hatchback that we had only had for exactly one year. I was praying that it wasn't actually doing any damage. As soon as it let up Braden and I walked into the parking lot. Immediately we knew it was bad. The entire parking lot was filled with other residents that all had a somber look on their faces. Our little car was absolutely covered in dents. There were dents in the dents! Every inch of the car! Roof, doors, side panels, hood - everything. And our windshield had several cracks. We could NOT believe it. We were supposed to be driving this car several thousand km in only a few days. The very next morning I called our insurance company at 630am and they arranged an appraisal of the damage - 2 days before we were supposed to leave. We pulled into the bay where the company was located and both of the men's jaws dropped. We knew it must be bad. The appraiser stopped adding up the damage when he got to $11,000 worth. He told us on the spot that our vehicle would be written off on insurance and that we would receive a lump sum of the value of the vehicle. We were devastated. It was an incredibly reliable vehicle. We told the man that we were taking the car on a road trip down to Colorado in 2 days. He told us to go ahead and take it anyways and that we would work everything out with insurance when we returned in 2 weeks. That was a huge answer to prayer for us.

We went ahead with our vacation/roadtrip/orientation and it was an incredible 2 weeks. We loved every moment of being with our eMi famliy. It was great to meet more of the staff. Everyone had heard about us and was excited to meet us. No one could believe how young we were. It was really exciting for us to tell our testimony about how we had gotten involved with eMi. It never ceases to amaze us how God calls so many of us so differently to the same ministry. We truly did feel that these people were our extended family. We still talk about our time with them and how much we miss everyone. We can't wait until our next get together. It was a huge affirmation of where God has called us.

We had lived in our condo for 2 years and had very quickly outgrown our tiny 500 sq ft condo. In the fall we spoke with our incredible Realtor and decided it was time to put our condo up for sale. Within ten days we had our first showing on the condo and got our very first offer on it. We were over the moon! The next day we were excited to start looking to put an offer on a home. That same day we found out that our pre-approval amount on a new place was significantly lower than what we were told. We were so confused and frustrated. There were already hardly any properties that fell into our budget. Now cutting that down we thought there was no way we would find a house in the part of Calgary where our jobs and church are.

There were tears. A lot of tears.. We were both so upset. How would we find a home? With our condo conditionally sold we were starting to panic! I stood up to take Mellie out  and as I was walking down the hall to the stairs I very clearly heard God's voice. "Trust in me. I will provide. I will provide you the perfect house within your budget." Immediately my tears stopped and I could not stop praising God. I kept repeating "Thank you, Lord for your peace." I was immediately filled with joy! I wanted to dance! I ran out with Mellie and ran back inside to tell Braden the good news. He knows that I have the gift of discernment - but in such a difficult moment it wasn't easy for him to jump on the bandwagon. I texted our Realtor and told her that we were ready to keep looking.

The very next day, our Realtor called me. She told me that there was a brand new house in a brand new community (only 7 minutes from where we already were. It was important for us to stay close as our whole family is within 10 minutes). The list price of the home was over our budget. She called the list Realtor and explained our situation. She told her that she was not even willing to bring us to look at the house if they would not bring the price down for us. She hardly hesitated and told us they would take the lower offer. That evening we drove out to the house and fell in love. We made an offer. They accepted it. We were conditionally sold on the house!

Within that next week we were on an emotional roller coaster. We knew that the condo sale could potentially fall through - there is always that possibility. Sure enough, the sale did fall through. We were told that the house sale would now also fall through since we couldn't buy a house without selling the condo. In our hearts we knew that was our home. We should have let go right at that moment... but we really knew that was our house. We kept praying and asking God that if it was meant to be our home we would sell the condo and the house would still be available to us. A few days later we had another showing on the condo. We received another offer.. we accepted it! The house was still available and we made another offer. Many other things happened that were unbelievable. Every single time we started to doubt, God reminded us that he was in control and that we NEEDED to trust him. We would pray and regain our trust in him and he would take control again. It was the most incredible experience of our lives. Our emotions were SO up and down every single day. But God was there in every moment reminding us that HE is the Lord of all. We had stepped out of the boat with our eMi journey. Why shouldn't we have to step out of the boat with our home purchase? (And every other part of our life!)

I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned. In awe of the one who gave it all. I'll stand, my soul Lord to you surrendered. All I am is yours!

On November 23 we moved into our beautiful new home. It is such a complete blessing from God. 

During the process of selling our home we also found a replacement for our hail damaged car. That is also a blessing from God. 

Our Realtor has been a huge influence in our lives in this season. We have known her family for many years as they used to attend our church. Her husband is a Pastor and she gave us some great insight on how God was molding us through our home buying journey. We loved every moment we spent with her. She and I spent some time together because her assistant told her that she was pregnant and would be leaving on maternity leave at the end of December. I was offered the position. It is ANOTHER answer to prayer! I am in love with my job, my hours, my boss, the location of my office. I've been working there since December 2012 and I am beyond happy!

Braden is still working at his same position doing new home survey work. We have had a lot of eMi fundraising meetings and are excited to share that we are around 45% fundraised. Over the last year there have been times when we have questioned God's timing. We know God has called us to eMi - but yet Braden is not actually IN his new position there. We were confused. We truly believe God has used all of the experiences in the last year to show us that he is in control. He has a plan and is working behind the scenes to sort out all the loose ends. As much as Braden would love to start working in the office at eMi tomorrow - we know that God's timing is the perfect timing. The last few months of fundraising have picked up. We would love to 'forecast' when Braden will be in his new position. But again, God has reminded us that there is no point in that. When it is time, it will all work out. So we are trusting Him and doing all we can to get Braden fully fundraised.

I know that this has been an incredibly long post. If you have made it to the end - congratulations! We will work harder to keep posting more regularly so you don't have to read a novel each time! If you are a supporter of ours - either in prayer or in finance - thank you so much. God has called you here for a purpose and we thank you for listening to his call! We would not be where we are today without your support. If you are not a supporter - please pray about the possibility of joining our support team - again - prayerfully and/or financially. We are looking for people who have prayerfully taken time and have felt God's call to this ministry. The same way we have. 

To God be the Glory, for He is Good. Amen!

Love,

Liz and Braden

Honduras - Part 2

Well - it was time to begin our days of working and surveying! We started the work on Monday morning and we knew that we only had 4 full days. Friday the group would be making the final presentation to Trish and Marlon and their friends. That is a lot of work!

We were super blessed - through prayer, no doubt - to have Zac offer to help us survey. (Zac is a new employee in the Costa Rica office of eMi. We really enjoyed getting to know him!!) Braden and I brought a total station and a GPS unit. That would mean that at least for part of the job we could have 2 teams going. Zac and Jeovanni went out together on the first day and used the total station. SUCH a blessing to have them there - as we wouldn't be able to get the job done without them! Also - I need to mention that it was incredibly hot. (At least for us pastey Canadians who were there with our winter skin!!) And Zac never once complained - this was not the job he signed up for!

Braden setting up the GPS (Omar and Melvin on the right)



Braden and Zac getting geared up for the day! Melvin watching!

I need to insert some info here about Jeovanni. He is 29 and is from Honduras and friends with Trish and Marlon. He used to be a teacher but was laid off a few years ago by the government as they could no longer fund his position. He went to Trish and Marlon and told them that he would be available to help them with whatever they needed in their ministry. They told him that they didn't have enough money to pay him but whenever they had extras they would give them to him. He ate a lot of meals with us and drove us around a lot of the time! He always had a smile on his face and was so eager to help! I was actually really jealous of the people on our team who were able to speak Spanish and have full conversations with him. Him and I did do our best to communicate with each other in what we knew of each others' language. It was fun to teach each other new things! Me trying to explain to him what snow was proved to be a bit difficult!!

We later found out that he had shared his testimony with two of the girls on our team. When he was 20 he got married and a few years later they had a baby boy. He had many health complications and died at 8 months old on the way to the hospital. Just two years ago his wife passed away as well. Many people in Honduras die of illnesses at a young age since they do not have good health care. Even though all the hurt he has been through in his life, he is still smiling ALL the time! Meeting Jeovanni changed my life. Just to see God working in his life as he is a Servant for him was incredible.

Jeovanni showing off on our site walk!!

Now - back to our work at the site! Braden and I set out with the GPS unit and our new friend Melvin. (On the other days our friend Omar was there with us as well) We needed to have a Honduran with us most of the time since there are some nasty snakes in the area we were in. Melvin walked with us and carried a machete in case we needed to take out any attackers!! Ick. The first day we mostly did GPS stuff. It caused a lot of frustration for Braden since we were in an area with a LOT of trees. So we kept losing the signal.

The first day we had to walk through super tall grass that was almost up to our waists. It was kind of scary not being able to see where we were stepping!

Over the next 3 days Braden worked his butt off. Sometimes I was a rodman for him and other times I helped him by holding his data collector (so he didn't have to keep setting it down and picking it up again!) Slowly, but surely, we got everything done! I have never hiked so much in my whole life. And that is definitely not by 'cup of tea' but it was an amazing experience. I loved getting to see Braden working and using his God given gifts. It was also great to see the beautiful land that this family owns. I enjoyed spending time with Jeovanni and trying to make conversation with him. It was all around a TON of work, but really amazing. Braden would have liked to get a little bit more done, but we got everything finished that absolutely needed to be finished. If it wasn't for your prayers - we would not have gotten that done!

Lots of the time during the day I was distracted by wildlife. Mostly lizzards. And trying to find snakes. But that never paid off! Although, I did catch a lizzard one afternoon. And when his tail broke off I just about cried! Everyone thought it was pretty hilarious though. I was mortified!!!

Over all.. the work on the site was tough.. but super rewarding!!

Stay tuned.. still not done yet!

Honduras - Part 1

We left for the first leg of our trip on the 17th of February. Our flight left for Houston around 5:30 that night so we woke up that morning ready to finish packing and get to the airport! That morning as a gongshow. Braden had arranged a free rental of a GSP unit for us to use while we were surveying. In order for us to get it from the company we had to prove that our insurance company would cover it while it was in our possession - should anything happen to it. Pretty much up until the last possible moment we were worried that we weren't going to get it. And with 63 acres of land to survey we desperately needed it! We took some time to pray about it and it ended up working out. It was satan's attempt to get us frazzled before we left!

Our flight was great that evening and we got to Houston around 10pm. We had arranged for a hotel room that night and our flight from Houston to Tegucigalpa left around 9:30 the next morning. We found our baggage claim area and waited there for awhile - there were no bags coming. We were confused.. and tired! We wanted to get to our hotel and to bed as soon as possible since we would be having a fairly short sleep. We decided to go talk to United Airline's Baggage Claim agents and found out that since our next flight wasn't leaving until the next morning - our bags were already packed on the trolley and ready to be packed onto our plane. We were a bit annoyed by that but did our best to stay calm and not let it get us down! (It actually ended up being nice since we didn't have to lug around our 2 duffel bags, 2 pieces of survey equipment and a giant rolling golf bag full of survey supplies.) Although the next day we were quite eager to get our clothes changed since we had been wearing them for almost a full 24 hours. Yuck! Our baggage fiasco ended up being a blessing as well. The wonderful woman who helped us out with the baggage info asked us where we travelling and we told her all about our trip. She was so excited for us and asked us about the organization so she could google it later on. It was neat to meet a stranger and have her give us her blessing on what we were doing. So amazing how God works in such strange ways!

We had a great sleep and made our way to Tegucigalpa with no glitches. We got off the plane in Honduras and had to wait in a longgg customs line. We were almost the last of our team to arrive (I think everyone arrived within an hour) and as soon we we came out with our bags our trip leader greeted us by name and with a huge hug! We met everyone and instantly felt like we were with family! It was great. Trish, Marlon and Madison (the family who we were staying with and workign for) were there as well and it was great to meet them! From there we went to McDonald's and had lunch and then headed to their home. It was about a two hour drive through the windey mountain roads but very interesting to see the countryside!

 Our Team!

That night we had a team meeting and got to hear Trish and Marlon's story. As soon as they began to speak I felt their passion and could sense God speaking through them. It was really an amazing experience. I don't think that I have ever met such inspirational people. To give you a small piece of history on them - Trish is from Louisiana and Marlon is from Honduras. Trish was a nurse and went to Honduras to do some mission work there. She soon felt God's calling to not only continue to work in Honduras, but to move her life there permanently. She followed God's calling and soon fell in love with Marlon. Marlon had felt called to ministry as well - and soon realized it was full time ministry God desired for him. They wanted to start up a missionary base and started hosting missionaries out of their home. Then, God placed on their heart that they needed to start praying for a piece of land. After 5 years, they purchased the area where they would house the ministry, "Valley of the Blessings." Within a year they had fully paid of the land. They found out about eMi and that's where we came in! Trish and Marlon explained that they knew it was God's plan for this ministry to come to be. They explained to us that they don't have the funds yet for the project (which will consist of their home, missionary housing, a pastor vocational training centre, prayer gazebo, etc) but that they know God will provide. With such a huge project you would think that they would be stressed out or scared about when God will provide the funds. But they aren't worried at all. It was so inspirational. They also said that maybe it won't be for another 5, 10 or 50 years until the money is provided. Or maybe not even in their lifetime. But that they know God will provide in his time. They are the sweetest couple, with the most beautiful daugther, and I am so happy to have met them. They call us their family now and I know we will stay in touch with them.

 Marlon, Trish and Madison

On Sunday we went to church which was amazing. Many of the songs we recognized for our own church so it was fun to worship in English while everyone else was worshiping in Spanish. Did I mention that I know almost NO Spanish whatsoever? Yeah. That was frustrating!

Some of the church kids!

That afternoon the whole team drove out to the site (about 20 minutes from their home) so we could walk the perimeter and get a feel for the area. I thought it was going to be a piece of cake - but with the heat and the climate I was absolutely exhausted after just a few minutes. It took over 2 hours to walk the entire perimeter. It was great to see the site though. Getting back to the start I could tell Braden was quite discouraged. We knew in our heads that 63 acres was a LOT! But after walking it and seeing all the trees, hills, rocks, steepness - he was really worried that we were in over our heads. How could we possibly survey all of that land!? But we knew that God called us to this project and he would sustain our work there. We began praying and asked the team to pray for that aspect of the project as well. I also sent some texts to our families asking them to please pray that God would allow us to get the work done. Thank you for your prayers in that area!!

 Walking the site tour!

That night as I was doing my devotional I was overwhelmed with God's grace and goodness. God had gotten us safely to this beautiful country with these beautiful people. We were healthy, we were safe and we could feel God's protection over us. I couldn't believe that I was in Honduras. It was the most amazing feeling and at that moment I was so in love with my God and how he had provided for us!

After the site tour!

Upcoming Honduras Posts

Hi Friends!

Thanks for hanging in there and waiting for our posts! There will be many to come now! I will be writing about our Honduras trip in sections. There is a lot we want to say and I don't want one big long post.. so please be patient with me as I write about our time there! We are so excited to share this amazing experience with you!

thank you lord!

We are back safe and sound from our amazing trip to Honduras. I had intended to write a lot more before we left but things got a bit hectic!

One week before we were supposed to leave I found out that I had shingles. My initial thought was - oh my goodness.. I'm not going to Honduras anymore. I was crushed. After some time to think about it and pray I realized that it was a direct attack from satan. To give a bit of background, I need to explain a past experience. When I was in grade 10 I went on a mission trip to Tijuana, Mexico with our Church youth group. The entire trip was a horrible experience for me. All of my flights got messed up, my belongings were stolen and it was just an overall mess to me. When I got home I was quite shaken up from that and swore up and down to everyone I knew that I would NEVER go on another mission trip. I knew the entire situation was an attack from satan but I wasn't mature enough in my faith to realize that my attitude about it was letting him win! 

When Braden began the process of coming on staff with eMi he was told that part of the process would include me going on an eMi trip with him. When he told me this I was actually pretty calm about it. I knew that this was God's calling for our life and so I was alright with it. And actually became excited about it fairly quickly!

So - when I came down with Shingles and realized it was an attack from satan, I wasn't going to let him win this time. I immediately told Braden my attitude about the situation and he was excited that I felt that way! (Shingles is quite a miserable thing to get.. and I do not handle misery very well!!) I started praying, told all my family to start praying, called our Pastor and asked him to start praying. That next week I was completely exhausted and tried to sleep as much as I could to allow my body to fight off the sickness. And by the Friday that we left I was as good as new. It was such an amazing feeling to defeat satan like that. He thought he could get me that way - and a few years ago I would have though he could as well.

I am so grateful for every step of the process leading up to the trip. Satan fighting against me made me realize how much God wanted me to be on the trip. And that gave me an amazing feeling and reminder of knowing I was following the right path.

Our trip was life changing. We met people that we will be friends with forever and who have impacted our life in a way that will stay with us forever. I can't wait to write more details on here for you all and share some photos. Thank you so much for all of your prayers leading up to the trip and while we were away. 

I also need to tell you all that yesterday Braden found out how much we fundraised for our trip. We raised exactly $46 more than what we needed. What an amazing God we have! God could have easily given us a couple hundred dollars more than what we needed. But we believe this was God's way of showing us that he would provide exactly what was required. Thank you again for your prayers and support in that regard!

We love you all!

Love Liz

2 Weeks.

2 weeks from tonight Braden and I will be on a plane to Houston.. and 2 weeks from tomorrow morning we will be on our way to Honduras. It is absolutely surreal that it is so close and really going to happen! We are very excited to see how God will show us the country of Honduras and what he will open our eyes to.


We have a lot to do before we leave. We just received our packing list so we will be busy this weekend trying to gather everything we need. Next weekend will be busy as it is Braden's birthday on the 9th so we will have some birthday celebrations!


We are trying not to be stressed out about finances as our trip quickly approaches. We have asked God that if it is in his will, the trip would be fully covered by the money that comes in as donations. Money is one of the most stressful things I think humans have to deal with - so we are learning to try to rely fully on God and not on ourselves! We have been called on this trip by God, and so we know that God will provide as he desires.


The Bible so clearly says how we need to act in times like this:


"So don't worry about these things, saying, 'What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?' These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today." Matthew 6:31-34 (NLT)


I feel like God is speaking to me directly saying, "So don't worry about these things, my children. You are saying, will the money come in? Will we be supported and will this work out? I have called you to this trip and you will touch many lives. Trust in me."


God is such a good God. And I am so grateful that God has called us to something so amazing!


If you are reading this, I would ask you to pray for a few things specifically today:
-That Braden and I would have peace about this trip and the finances
-That God would protect us from Satan who is definitely trying to break us down right now
-That we would have open hearts to what God is preparing us for
-That everyone involved with our trip would have travelling mercies and safety while in Honduras


Lead me to the cross, where your love poured out. Bring me to my knees, Lord I lay me down. Rid me of myself, I belong to you. Oh lead me! Lead me to the cross!

New Adventure

As you may or may not have heard, Braden has accepted a full-time position with Engineering Ministries International (eMI). We are so excited for this new adventure that God is directing us to! Here is a bit of background on this choice..

Braden went on a trip to Haiti back in June of 2011 with eMI. He took geomatics engineering at the U of C but always knew he would never have a 'conventional' job. Braden began researching different things he could go do with his engineering degree and came across eMI. He signed up for the trip to Haiti only a few weeks before the trip.

God opened his eyes to some amazing things in Haiti and began to pull his heart in a new direction. (I will have Braden post all about his trip so you can hear more about his work there and what God showed him!)

Upon returning and after many meetings with Greg at eMI and a lot of prayer and time together, Braden decided to accept his new position with eMI.

It will be a few months (probably around summer) until Braden is actually working with eMI. The next VERY exciting step for us is a trip to Hondruas. Yes - you read that right. We - not just Braden - are travelling to Danli, Honduras on February 17th. We will be there for around 1 week. There I will help Braden to survey 63 acres of land for a new missionary base. We desperately need your prayers as we prepare for this trip. We are asking specifically that you would pray that the funds would come in for this trip. Also help to ease the anxiety and stress we are trying to fight (through God's grace!) as we realize this is just a short 3 weeks away!

The verse that is sticking close with us through this process is the one written at the top of this page. Psalms 127:1-2. It is only through God's grace that we can do anything - including taking this leap of faith into a journey that is a bit 'unknown.' If we weren't doing this for him, it would be meaningless. But this entire process is for God. And we are following him wholeheartedly!

We can't wait to share this journey with you!

Love,
Braden & Liz