Answered Prayer: Thank you!!

We just want to praise God and thank all of you who prayed for us concerning our visa renewal. This morning we received our approval letters! We are now able to remain in Canada to serve till November 2020. It is a wonderful Christmas gift to our family. Thank you so much for covering us; it got through so much faster than we anticipated, and we believe it is due to your prayers!!

Thankfulness: Looking Back, Looking Forward

What an amazing blessing it is to have prayer and support in the things we do! We have just recently passed our five year anniversary of living and ministering here in Edmonton, and our hearts are thankful!

At the beginning of November, we officially passed our border crossing anniversary. November 11th marked five years since our first Sunday service. We began in the gospel of John, and now we are nearly finished with Hebrews (having already completed Revelation); nearly through with the entire New Testament! (take a peek back at that time here).

Just this weekend we are passing five years in the home the Lord provided for us to rent. It is officially the longest we have lived in one physical dwelling during our entire relationship and marriage! He has increased our family in age and in size since our move here, and we are thankful for His provision.

God has been so faithful to keep His word through Jesus that "I [Jesus] will build My church..." (Matt. 16:18). We came with a tiny thread of association to one couple who had recently moved here themselves, not knowing anyone else. We were meeting in their house a few weeks, then over to our own home with one other couple. Now, we are a small congregation renting space in a church, with several smaller ministry groups, and have passed just about every milestone a church can pass. We are humbly amazed.

We would like to thank all of you who are praying for us and financially offering support for us to be living and serving the body of Christ here at Calvary Chapel Edmonton. You have made such a huge impact in our lives as a family and also in the lives of our church family here. God will not forget your part in the work here!!

One matter for praise:

We wrote about how hard summer can be, and we asked for specific prayer (see this post), and God answered! We had our best summer yet. The church even grew, especially the children's church! Thank you for taking that cause before the Lord. He is so kind to answer. The church body here is really seeming to gel and be connected with one another, even as different people face various trials and joys. Many are also using their gifts and are quite connected in ministries of prayer, men's/ladies' fellowships, and in other ways.

One matter for prayer:

Our visas expired at the beginning of November. We put our applications in on time, well in advance of the expiry date, actually; but the paperwork for most visas is quite backed up right now. We have entered what is known as "implied status" until we receive a response from Canadian Immigration and Citizenship (the office of government that deals with visas also). Lord willing, we will be granted a renewal, and soon. We are hoping by February to receive our new documents. However, it is literally a tentative situation and not a guaranteed one, so that is why we are seeking your prayers.

As you move through December and all of its potential busyness, we want you to know that we are mindful of you, and that even though we don't see one another, we are thankful to be an extension of the body of Christ where you are, as we all serve Him together in the cause of His kingdom.

Have a blessed Christmas season!
Dejan and Julie

Summer Update

We are so thankful that we have had a great summer so far! The church has fluctuated in numbers, as it usually does due to people going on holidays, but we have actually seen some new people come for the first time and keep coming, including children! This has been an unusual experience for us, but it is also, of course, a wonderful blessing. We are so grateful for your prayers concerning this issue specifically. The Lord has answered!

Secondly, Dejan has started a 6-week Apologetics class that will run through the early part of September. It is running mid-week, and people from the church have invited friends and relatives. The turnout has been pretty good, too. The heart behind the class is to give people a greater foundation in the basic issues that come up when talking to people about Christianity and how to both engage in these conversations effectively and address the specifics (God, Jesus, the Bible, etc).

Last, a group of five is taking their first ever church missions trip to Mexico this week! They are serving at the CCBCE in Ensenada doing construction, orphanage ministry and other projects to help the missionaries there that we support. They are a family from Edmonton who got connected with Calvary Chapel, whom we met in our very first weeks here. Please pray for the team--for safety, health, to be a blessing, and for their journey home, as they are returning Saturday night. We are so thankful that the Lord has opened this opportunity, which we hope will be the first of many.

We hope your summer is a blessing, and that you are finding many occasions to be renewed in your faith, encouraged in your walk with the Lord, and to be a light in your world.

Thanks for holding us in prayer,
Dejan and Julie <><

Summer Prayer

Fun in the Summertime

Summertime in Edmonton is such a beautiful season. The river valley is so green, and after a long winter, people are everywhere outside, riding bicycles, walking, playing, barbecuing and more. Tourists are in the hot spots, enjoying the many amenities the city has to offer.

We love summer here as well. School is out, our childrens' activities lighten up, and we plan fun get-togethers with friends and folks from church. We get to spend a lot of time outside enjoying the sunshine and warm temperatures, and Dejan can often bike to work.

However, we have noticed from our first year that summer is hard in the church. And it's not just in our fellowship; we have heard from others we know that it is city-wide. In summer, the church shrinks. Visibly. Noticeably. Greatly. Why, you ask? Well, it all has to do with two words: location and vacation.

Location, location, location

The real estate slogan about the pricing and relative value of homes is also very applicable to the church. Canada is all in the north; the "true north", they call it. And winter here has a reputation for being long. It typically stretches from about November to April, when things slowly warm to spring and then a nice summer blooms in late June. That is when school ends up here, and that is when people disappear.

Vacation Nation

Canadian university students start going a bit earlier, as their school lets out in April; they mostly return home until their next term. But Canadians in general take advantage of the warmer temperatures and relative freedom of the short 8-week summer season, and they go on holidays. Lots of them. Little jaunts here and little visits there, as well as extended holidays. And why not? When real summer is just 2 months, of course people should enjoy it!

Church Population

This generates a couple of interesting scenarios. First, our usual church population fluctuates and dwindles dramatically. Some Sundays it can be half of what we see during the rest of the year. On summer holiday weekends, it has not been uncommon to have only a handful of people.

Secondly, we get guests. Some people are visiting Edmonton to see family or for holiday. They usually go to a Calvary Chapel elsewhere and are always glad to come to a familiar church setting while away from home. Most of our guests, though, are people coming for the first time. The weather seems to make it easier for people coming from various parts of the city to venture to a new place, either by car or by bus.

Because of this combination, when guests come, they get a picture of the church that we have found makes most visitors stay visitors. It has been a rare experience for us to have visitors return and stay long term when they come first in the summer. Some years we have outreach teams (some of our favourite visitors). This year, it's just us.

Our Prayer

Some churches with multiple services switch to one service in the summer. Incredibly, some churches in Edmonton close church all together over the summer months. We keep plodding on. We are here week in and week out, just like the rest of the year.

Planting and growing season is not the time for a farmer to take a vacation. As church planters, what we need is endurance and to remain encouraged in the Lord and His faithfulness. Summer is a bit like a marathon for us. We love the weather, but spiritually, we are always amped for September when the people come back. So as you experience your summer, maybe even as you travel to check out a new church while on your own vacation, pray for us. We greatly need and appreciate it.

Prayer Requests

Lord willing we are taking a trip to our home church this coming week (April 25-May 4) in order to connect with the body of Christ there.  It has been almost four years since we were really there to give a personal update or see people face-to-face (aside from a brief, unplanned visit last fall for a family emergency). Everything has been by video or from outreach teams coming up and bearing news on their return.

We would love prayer for this time in many ways, if you wouldn't mind covering us (and spreading the word to others who would pray along with us):

1. safety in travel - though it is nearly May, we had heavy, wet snowfall Saturday and Sunday here and even on clear roads we would seek the Lord's protection. Our travel days are 4/25-26, 5/4-5 and 5/6.

2. rest and health - travelling with little people is tough all around, esp. on a long trip with interrupted routine in sleep and play, as well as for us as we care for them; that we won't run down and get sick and then pass that on.

3. our family relationships - we will be spending several days in a confined space (read: car) as a family, and we desire peace and joy over stress and strife, of course, particularly between the children, but also towards their parents. :)

4. for the church - it is always a mixed set of emotions leaving. We have been gone less than one handful of Sundays as a couple, and it is always a concern that things will go smoothly for those who are serving, setting up and ministering in key roles in our absence.

5. refreshing - the primary purpose of our visit is to re-establish connection with our home church and to update in-person what is happening here. This could potentially become very busy, and we desire wisdom in planning our time with people, as it seems that we will be so short on time, even in the full week we are planning to be there.
We have had quite a stretch of events here as well, and it would be a blessing to have some times of rest. We will be jumping right back into things on our return, with a ladies conference May 6 and regular service Sunday, May 7.

If you are in the Pocatello area, we are looking forward to seeing you soon! Lord willing we will be at all main services both Wednesdays and the Sunday. To contact us, we are reachable by Dejan's phone, at no charge, as any calls will go through just like they are local to the U.S.

Thanks so much for praying for us!

So Many Opportunities

The life of a church family sees its members through so many seasons of life.

We are now coming to the point of making a full circle of experiences with our brothers and sisters here. There have been births, deaths, outreaches, a wedding, a separation, a reconciliation, baby dedications, two marriages, baptisms, a conversion, several graduations, a funeral, visa denials, visa acceptances, our first married couples event, and two babies on the way this year to couples in the fellowship.

We are so blessed to be able to share these pivotal times in the lives of our church family!

Not only that, but we have a new opportunity. This year, we are blessed for the first time to have a Good Friday evening service and an Easter sunrise service at the church building! We are blessed and excited at this opportunity, as many more people are usually open to coming to the church building than to a private home. Lord willing, we will be able to carry on doing this, and Lord willing, begin to have Christmas Eve services there as well.

Four and a half years ago, when we moved to Edmonton, we had no clue what awaited us here, because we knew no one, had only one couple acquaintance by email, and we were starting from almost nothing. Looking at how the Lord has been at work is truly encouraging to our hearts. He is good!

An Anniversary of Sorts

This past weekend we passed a milestone/anniversary of sorts. From February 17-22, 2010, we traveled to Edmonton for the first time to check things out. Our trip covered five days, and we drove all over the city exploring. We also went to Calgary to the Calvary Chapel there and met with one of the pastors, which led to a great connection with that church. From that time, they helped so much with our planning and getting into Canada and to Edmonton in late 2012. It is amazing to think that it has been more than 7 years since we started on this journey to come plant a church in Edmonton. God has done great things!

Feb. 20, 2010