Stories from DR...

Here’s what I’ve been up to lately…

It was a privilege and a joy to be able to help with the debrief of our DR mission trip last month. This group of 37 staff and students had spent 5 weeks making friends and sharing the gospel with Arab students. I was impressed by their energy and their love for the Arab world. This year the DR mission trip was almost entirely during the time of Ramadan. That meant that our students did a lot of their ministry late at night after the sun went down, when their friends would break their fast (their friends were less interested in meeting during the day due to the heat and the fact that they were fasting). 

Over the course of the debrief I got to meet with students one on one to hear about their experiences. Here are some of the questions I asked and their answers.

How do you think God worked through you to accomplish his kingdom work?

• Planting seeds. I was able to share the gospel with several people and even though they may not have accepted it straight away, they have at least heard it, and I trust that God will work in their hearts if it be his will. - Kiersten, University of Alberta

Tell me about a significant moment of partnering with the Holy Spirit that stands out to you?

• I meet a girl whose name means faith. I don't think it's a coincidence that we met. She was busy with lots of exams and the Holy Spirit prompted me to pray for her everyday. She told me that she was not Muslim because of all the contradictions and injustice that she saw in Islam. She was searching for truth. We talked about the Bible a lot and I was able to give her a Bible. - Bea, McGill University

What lessons from this mission trip are you most excited to continue to apply?

• How to develop relationships and have spiritual conversations with people. Also, how to pray for those who don't know him yet. - Stacy, University of Toronto

Thank you for partnering with me to help make mission trips like this happen. Together God used us to help students (see pictures below) process their experiences and identify how God used them and grew them this summer.

Financial Update:

Earlier this spring I spent a focused time doing ministry partnership development. During this time God began to provide me with the increased monthly support I require. For the next few months I will continue to raise financial support as I get back to my regular work. If you are interested in increasingly your monthly support or would like to introduce me to others interested in learning about my ministry, please let me know -charlotte.martin@p2c.com, 226.791.6703.

More & Better Churches

Update from Ecuador!

Dear praying friends,

Hope you are all well and enjoying the warmer weather months, as we are enjoying slightly cooler temperatures down here in Ecuador.

The months of May and June have been months of beginning things and taking the initiative. School has begun again and we are slowly settling in to a scheduled life again- we haven’t had that since December when we were home in Canada to visit!

Youth began May 11 and we had a rather smaller turnout this year than others, but that was according to plan. We hope to start slow and build momentum as the year goes on, instead of the other way around. We want to know who are core group is and build into them. We have begun doing this by starting small discipleship groups with the youth who were just baptized. Please pray that this would bear fruit in the youth’s lives and strong friendships would be created, both with each other and more importantly with their Savior!

Jessenia’s mom was here for a short visit and we had a lot of fun exploring Ecuador’s rich nature population by going bird-watching. She also had a chance to meet her sponsor child around the time of the girl’s birthday and so that was special all around. It is always a privilege to bear witness to the friendships that can form between sponsors and their children.

Raul has begun teaching computer class again. As there are no computers just yet, he is teaching from a textbook, but we hope to get the computer lab up and running in the near future and the kids are excited!

Thank you for partnering with us in prayer 

Jessenia and Raúl

Youth leaders at our home.

Shirley’s Visit.

Youth who are a part of the discipleship studies.

How you can pray this week...

For the last five weeks the group of staff and students pictured above have been on a mission trip in North Africa. They've been meeting and making friends through doing English presentations set up on university campuses, hanging out at popular student spots and hosting students in their apartments. They've been seeking to have spiritual conversations and share the gospel with interested students. 

As I write you I'm sitting at the airport awaiting my flight to join this mission trip for their debrief. For the next week, I have the privilege of helping them process, celebrate and evaluate what God has done on their trip. Here's how you can join me in praying for this time of debrief:

• Pray for the different components I will be leading -  some prayer times, sharing times, an evaluation time, and an encouragement time.

• I'll also be meeting one on one with a bunch of staff and students to do their "debrief interview." It's simply going over their answers to a series of questions that help them process their time on the mission trip. 

• Lastly, pray that jet leg wouldn't get in the way of jumping right into things. And pray that even though I wasn't on the mission trip that I would have wisdom to know what the team needs to debrief and close the trip well. 

Thanks for partnering with me in prayer. Your prayers mean so much.

Blessings!

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Our happy family together in a room full of pink balloons on May 10.

Thank you so much for your fervent prayers through these last few months. Trevor has been out of the hospital for almost 2 months now after being admitted for a mental health crisis in the beginning of February. Comparing life today to 2 months ago is almost night and day. Through meeting with different doctors and nurses, going to some recovery groups, and the support of our church, the transition home has been quite smooth so far.  Trevor is able to know when he needs rest and how to prepare for a situation that would possibly be stressful for him. Unpredictable situations are especially stressful for him. But we've seen him react well even when unexpected and difficult news comes his way. Some of the big wins that we have seen through this month is Trevor being able to watch Amelia on his own and put her to bed, going to a few weddings, and playing on a recreational beach volleyball team. We have also been able to go to church again as a family.  Each day and each week has continued to help Trevor build us mental and physical strength again. We are very glad to see the improvement that Trevor has had. 

Please continue to pray for:
~ Trevor’s mental health and our wisdom to know the pace in which to try new things
~ Trevor to be patient with himself in the healing journey
~ Trevor to know how to spend his time well
~ Hannah to know how to spend her time and energy well between work and family needs
Praise God for a home nurse who is encouraging and understanding
Praise God for keeping Trevor stable even through hearing difficult news from close friends

---

I, Hannah, am starting a new leg of our adventure.  One of the greatest joys that I have as a minister on university campuses, is walking alongside women and pointing them to Jesus. Just as Jesus did everyday life with his disciples, I enjoy those times of discipleship as well. I decided to transition the campus team in Waterloo so that I can have more of those 'casual' times with those that I am discipling. 
I will be joining the team that serves the University of Waterloo, Wilfred Laurier University and Conestoga College. On top of meeting students on campus, I am excited to have the opportunity to use our home as a place to minster to students. We live quite close to the universities in Waterloo. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." Sometimes it is the day to day living out of Christ that makes the biggest difference in a discipleship relationship.
University of Waterloo is in session in the summer, and I've had the joy of meeting with some of the students. They are a great group of students passionate about seeing people know Jesus. It is a privilege to be able to join this group of Power to Change staff and students serving on the campus.  

Meeting with the University of Waterloo student leaders during their summer semester.

I enjoy now being able to bring Amelia along for ministry events like this women’s breakfast.

Thank you for praying for us as a family and
for our ministry to help students discover Jesus!