Brockville, ON (December 14)

Our first stop on the list of churches to visit is Brockville in Ontario Canada. This journey is about 9 hours from our current home in Allendale, Mi. It just so happened that our friend was getting ordained in a church in Vermont the same weekend, so what's a few more hours to see them?! I was so nervous to travel with Elijah, but the Lord was gracious to us and he traveled well! (It helped to have some friends give us gifts of toys, books and DVDs like praise baby and baby Einstein to pass the time...seriously lifesavers!) We traveled to Vermont (about 14 hours of driving + 2 extra because of snow) and had a good time seeing our friend and his family. We got there Friday dec 13, just a few hours before the service. It was so cool to see him ordained! We were given a place to stay for the night in a fancy cabin owned by someone in the church. We were so greatful for that opportunity!

On Saturday Dec 13, we headed off to Brockville which was about a 4 hour journey from Vermont. We got to the border and were stopped. Apparently being jobless and entering another country (especially a country that has free healthcare) is cause for concern. We waited for what seemed like forever, but was in reality only 2-2.5 hours. They wouldn't let me go to the bathroom or change Elijah's diaper!! Finally at the end they let me. But when it came to feeding him I didn't even bother asking, I just did it because that would be insane if they had told me I couldn't give him a bottle!! (Can you sense my frustration ;) haha). At any rate, we finally made it past the borders rude interrogation (though I can understand it didn't look well). We met up with the elders in the church and they were excited to have us there.

Sunday came and we traveled about 30 minutes to church from the house we were staying at. This was James' first time preaching back to back. The first service was at 10am and then next was at about 11:45. It was difficult, but both services went well.  We were able to have lunch with the congregation after, which was nice to get to know some people. After the services, the elders said that
they would like to forego the pulpit supply and extend a call granted that the congregational vote went well. They did a vote the following day and voted to extend a call. We have since received the call and are awaiting for what the Lord has in store. We are prayerfully considering the option and are excited to see where the Lord leads. Please keep us in your prayers as we see if this is the Lords leading!