The STEP team is very encouraged by the sacrificial giving of the congregation, especially over the past month. As of June 17th, almost 85% of their budget has been reached!

We praise God for His answers to prayer.

Hearing His Voice

Many of us as evangelicals have heard the term "the call of God" and perhaps have wondered "who, me"? Did I really hear "His Voice"?

It would seem as I look back over my own life that I have heard the "call of God" and it is for this very reason, I find myself going to Bolivia.

From a very young age, I knew that inviting Jesus into my life was a very personal step of my own doing. I couldn't depend on my parents' belief in God and so I simply invited Jesus as my own Saviour. It was God's word that affirmed to me that I am a child of God.

I now could celebrate that I have two birthdays and my destination is Heaven. Now What! Since that time, I have had to take one step at a time – day in and day out living. Ps.119:105 reminds me "Thy work is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path." Walking with God - for He is my Light - has become my own personal mission statement.

Just as we need good nutritious food to grow in a healthy way, we also need spiritual food. For me, it took the form of going to Sunday school, Bible camps and church. As I read my Bible I discovered for myself verses, thoughts and words become real, something to think on and act on. Hymns of the faith would come into my mind, becoming a source of strength and comfort; especially during the years of raising our two boys.

It has been during those darkest experiences of not knowing what to do, that I began to learn the concept of a closer relationship with God; to talk with Him as a friend; trusting as we walked together. It was during these times that I found myself trusting Him more and admitting "I Need Help" day by day and moment by moment.
In all my circumstances of life, the big and little every day situations, God has become the all sufficient one, the "Almighty".

So it is with confidence and His promise to me, that He will never leave me nor forsake me that I step out in obedience. You can be sure that I'll be listening for His voice.

Marylaine Johnson

Nadine's Testimony - Belonging

Have you ever felt you didn’t belong? Or even that you don’t fit in your life? I have. I’ve made so many mistakes in my life, wished for do-overs, Mulligans, second, third and fourth chances; I’ve even wished I could win the lottery so that I could step out of my life and start over. So many times, I’ve felt like I don’t belong. I just wanted to belong to someone who was stronger than I am, to belong so that nothing I do can wreck that relationship.

I became a Christian when I was six, but it wasn’t until I was a teenager that I really met God. I asked Jesus into my heart because I was scared of the consequences of my sin – my disobedience. God was my “get out of jail free” card; He was my Saviour. Camp and youth group were both places I spent time getting to know God, when He started to become my Lord. I still didn’t feel like I belonged, even to God. And then, when I was sixteen, my Dad died. And I suddenly found myself in the category of “someone whose parent has died” – and I didn’t know how to fit there either. During high school, I played volleyball and then basketball, and I was in drama and I made the honour roll…I look back and I realize how fortunate I was, how many gifts God’s given me and skills I’ve learned, and I think how odd it was that I still felt like I didn’t make the grade, how I was inadequate. Or maybe it’s not odd. Even though I was searching, God wasn’t the most important person in my life.

I learned a lot during my twenties and thirties, how to accept myself and my mistakes, how knowing God is the privilege of all of us who chose Him, how God has made no “super Christians” – we get to chose how obedient we are to Him. I attended Bible College, and I’m glad I did. Besides meeting my husband there, I learned so much, not the least of which is that even the people I would think would be the most spiritual are just like everyone else – they need God.

I have discovered that I am an intense person – dramatic, very competitive, opinionated (yes, I have things on which I still need to work) and I don’t need to hide that from God. While I still have a sinful nature and I make mistakes all the time, I want to know God. He’s is more than any relationship I’ve ever experienced, and I want that. God is the answer to the meaning of life, and He doesn't disappoint. It's not just because God is shaping me into a person I never thought I could be, but it's because He's the God we all need. Think about it...where you have a need, God is the answer.

I figured out where I belong. And God's better than I hoped.

Nadine

Amazing Grace

When I think of God's Amazing Grace, I cannot but reflex on what that has meant in my life. God touch my life and changed my direction when I was 18. Since then I have seen Him lead in many way.

This includes:

• Excellent Christian in-laws
• A Christian Wife
• Christian Kids
• A Good life in Saskatchewan
• A excellent Church
• Opportunities to work in Christian Camps
• Several short team mission trips
• The ability to complete many different tasks

So when I look at the future, which includes the Bolivian STEP program, I cannot but see God blessing me and the team. Those blessings will only come because of our prayers and faith and the prayers of those who stand behind us. Thank you all, for all your support and may you enjoy God's Amazing Grace.

Ray J

God Is Good!

As I prepare to leave for Bolivia, God is teaching me a lot about trusting Him. Too often I try to do things on my own strength, God keeps reminding me to lean on Him instead. I was feeling very overwhelmed with the preparations for the dessert auction...I was worried about whether we would have people come and if we would have enough desserts, would I get everything done that I needed to do...etc. Well, when on Wed morning I finally cried out to God saying please help me, in His mercy He brought encouragement in the form of offerings of desserts from people who weren't even from Westhill and some who were. Plus, He brought words of encouragement from other team members. God is good!! Then Thurs evening came and with God's help everything fell into place. People came, we had more desserts than expected and it was an evening of fun and fellowship! God really brought encouragement to me through Ivan's testimony and a reminder that I need to focus on Jesus instead of my frustrations.

I want to take this time to thank everyone who attended the Dessert Auction...you brought encouragement to the team just by showing up. To those who donated desserts and bought desserts, thank-you! A special thanks to those who are taking the time to pray for us, we appreciate it more than I can put into words.

Karen

Ivan's Visit

It was wonderful to have Ivan G. from Bolivia meet with the STEP Team on Wednesday evening. When we met with him as a team and then heard him speak the following night at our "Dessert Auction", we gained a greater understanding as to what we will be experiencing when we go to Bolivia. I, as leader, had a chance to talk to Ivan (& Dennis) about some of the practical aspects and was impressed with how well organized they are and how careful they are being to make sure that all the arrangements are taken care of. I believe we are in good hands - that God is caring for us and guiding us, through them. I fully expect this will be a challenging, enjoyable and life-changing experience for all of us!

Pastor Henry Friesen

Dessert Auction - June 14th

O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! (Psalm 34:8)

Gustad, y ved que es bueno Jehová: Dichoso el hombre que confiará en él. (Salmos 34:8)

We tasted in more ways than one last night! Each time I see God work, I am amazed anew. God provides for His children: He provided the volunteers to donate desserts; He provided the guests and members of the church to attend; He provided the generous and open giving; and He provided the gift of fellowship and the beginning of a relationship between the people of Bolivia and the people of our church.

The evening consisted of Spanish singing, Ray's testimony, an update from Dennis Shierman from Canadian Baptist Ministries, Ivan's testimony and a dessert auction, in that order. While the auction was the lighter part of the evening and certainly contained a lot of fun and laughter, the testimonies and update were the highlights of the evening. Ivan showed more pictures of the areas in Bolivia we will visit - and for those who hadn't seen them, it was a great way to increase the anticipation and involvement in this missions trip.

We were blessed by the generosity of those who came - both in support and in financial giving. Bidding started off fast and furious and didn't stop until all the luscious desserts were distributed. The dessert auction was intended to be a fun way to fundraise and we thank all those who made it a laughter-filled and enjoyable evening. To those who wanted to be there but couldn't, thank you for your thoughts and prayers; we will try to keep you updated. And to those who donated desserts, thank you so much for your fabulous desserts!

We appreciate so much the prayer support that we have received. We'd like to add another facet to that support. The team took the opportunity to ask for four prayer partners for each of us who would be committed to praying for us regularly. Those who commit to this take a postcard of the person for whom they pray, and remind themselves to keep us in prayer. We printed only four copies of each person's card. We'd like to be able to contact these prayer partners with our prayer requests as we continue our preparations and as we carry out our trip. Our intention was not to overload the church and and those who have become part of our team and support - or to leave anyone out. If you want to be a prayer partner for one of us, please let us know, and we will make sure to acknowledge your support, and keep in touch with you with our ongoing prayer requests. And if you didn't take a postcard, or committ to praying for one of us, of course it doesn't mean that we don't covet your prayers. We do! It would be a blessing to have to print more cards because we had a demand for more.

Posted by Nadine

Team Meets With Ivan From Bolivia

Hola! Todo lo que respira alabe Jah! Aleluya! (Salmos 150:6) Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! (Psalm 150:6)

Last night, the Short Term Missions Team was privileged to meet Ivan Gutierrez and to reacquaint ourselves with Dennis Shierman from Canadian Baptist Ministries (our CBM coordinator). Ivan flew here from Bolivia yesterday morning, and will be in Regina for almost three days. What a way to get us excited about our trip! We shared our first meal together with Ivan, heard a lot of information from both Ivan and Dennis (pictured above), and asked a lot of questions.

Ivan will be our translator, guide and all-around advisor while we are in Bolivia. We want to be prepared for Bolivia, for the UBB (Bolivian Baptist Union), for the Tarija region where we will spend most of our time - but most of all, we want to be prepared for the churches in which we will be spending our time. Ivan had some pictures of the places in Bolivia we will visit - and some of the Death Trap Road, pictures you might have seen on the internet a couple of years ago...and we won't be going there. He showed us pictures of some of the people we will meet, pastors, church leaders and members, and children. We were able to see pictures of a church which has a work project to which we may be able to contribute some labour. Most of all, his pictures put faces on the people we want to meet, and put real images to our imaginings about our trip.

Tonight is our Dessert Auction, held at the church at 7:00pm. Ivan will give his testimony, there will be updates on our team, and we will be auctioning off some amazing desserts for consumption tonight or for taking home. Once of the desserts was already in the fridge at the church (a cake decorated as a gift), and it is spectacular. You will not want to miss this event! The church website information is on the right, including the address.

The thought crossed my mind, as Ivan and Dennis were speaking last night, Paul didn't have the advance team that we have in preparation for his missions' trips. We are fortunate and very grateful, but the most important thing we need to have is our love of Christ, and a willingness to serve as He leads. That spectacular dessert looks wonderful because of the decorating, but in the end, someone will cut into the cake and want to eat the substance of the cake. Our preparations are like the decorations on the cake - very helpful, but in the end, it's most important what we bring to and for God of ourselves. Of course, that dessert is going to attract a lot of attention; hopefully, our preparations will make the beginning of our relationship all the tastier for our soon-to-be Bolivian friends, and for us.

We will be posting more often, so come back and check for new pictures, updates and prayer requests. I'll update tomorrow with pictures after the auction, so check back. The team would love to hear from you, so please post comments as you can and let us know you are out there. It would be great if we could hear from Bolivia before we even go there!

Posted by Nadine

My Dad is with the Lord

Thanks to all of you who prayed and passed on your concerns. My Dad passed away on Wed. June 6. The funeral was on Monday. I felt it was a glorious day full of memories and celebrating Dad's life and God's presence in it. This may not seem to have much to do with Bolivia, but really it does. My greatest fear in going to Bolivia was that my Dad would die while I was away or that I would have his illness hanging over me during preparations. Now I can rejoice in the fact that He is with the Lord and my mind is clear to see all that God will teach me will I am in Bolivia. God is Good - All the Time

Wayne Rempel