Wow...it's been a while!
We sent out an emailed news update at the start of the year to try to keep up with people that way, thinking it could be a quarterly thing. And then, of course, the world went into a tailspin.
So the good old blog seems the best way to get some news out at present!
The Necessary "Hassle" of Missions: Visas
This year our visas for Canada expire in November. We have lived here for almost 8 years now--wow! Our hope was to see if we were eligible for something like permanent residence so we could avoid the bi- or tri-annual renewal process on our visitor visas. Dejan has a work-permit exemption for clergy on his visa and Julie has an "open" work permit that has allowed her to teach Kindermusik and Bradley Method childbirth classes as the family schedule allows. We have re-applied for our visas twice since coming in 2012 and both attempts were successful.
We learned from an immigration lawyer in June that we do not qualify for Canadian residence permits, so we have re-applied the last week of July for our visitor visas. We are asking prayer for God's favor in this visa renewal, as the lawyer indicated that denial of our applications will only be a matter of time; maybe not this time, but eventually. It was unsettling news, but we know that God can move the hearts of those in authority, despite what the "norm" may be.
One bright hope we have is to get Dejan a work permit. Originally we were informed by the lawyer that he should ask the church in Calgary to apply for a special assessment required by law for Canadian employers seeking to employ non-Canadians. It is "very difficult" to get approved. This was discouraging. However, upon filling out our visa applications, Julie noticed an exemption field on the application for this assessment. After further investigation in the immigration law, we believe Dejan may be eligible to apply for a work permit as clergy through an exemption. We cannot apply at this time because his passport expires in 2022 and the U.S. Consulates are not accepting passport renewals yet due to the pandemic. As soon as that becomes an option, we hope to pursue it immediately.
Church Planting in the Pandemic
We have been blessed by the LORD over the past 5 months by His sustaining grace in our church fellowship. Alberta started to shut down for the pandemic in mid-March, and at first we were still able to meet, since we are a small church and our gathering numbers were below the limit. After a couple weeks, no gatherings over 15 people were permitted, and since our family alone is 7 people, the church presence shrank considerably. We ended up sending Dejan to service alone so more people could be present and had our children's church just like in the beginning: in our house, with very minimal trappings. It was kind of nostalgic.
Both the men's and ladies' Bible studies met virtually throughout the spring and early summer, which was a blessing because for both groups, new faces joined. Some previously had schedule conflicts, some were in the age group not recommended to gather, and others were just new to the church, using the downtime to check into a new fellowship. This was an unexpected side-effect of being closed!
We have now resumed in-person Bible studies as they are hosted in private homes, but we are still unable to gather as a congregation. The church we are renting space from is not yet open for an undisclosed reason, so we are broadcasting via our church Facebook page for Sunday and Wednesday services and prayer. The biggest "missing piece" is our children's church, as we have not been able to have anyone besides our own family, nor will we for the foreseeable future. Our Sunday services are staffed by elders, the sound person, pastor and worship leader. It looks and feels so bare, but we are blessed to live in the era of technology which is keeping us virtually connected.
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| Ladies' fellowship is back! |
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| Church, minimalist/pandemic style |
Throughout the strictest part of the public health restrictions, Dejan met with regional Calvary Chapel pastors bi-weekly online, which was a great time of encouragement. All the pastors were able to connect more or less face-to-face and share how they personally and their congregations were adapting to the challenges. It was a real blessing. Those meetings have ceased as restrictions relaxed at the start of summer, but perhaps they will resume in fall or winter if they are not able to gather in-person for their yearly pastors and leaders retreat.
Family
Our children have been pretty resilient overall. They had to flex immediately at the beginning, as the girls' ballet performance, AWANA car race and closing ceremony, and their brother's birthday party were all cancelled within a week. It was especially disappointing for our oldest, as she was to graduate from AWANA. Eventually, we did a drive-by pick up for our AWANA awards so there was closure. And their dance classes were hosted online, which helped keep them involved in some physical activity as well as a bit of routine.
Our biggest blessing by far has been that we were already homeschooling, as it proved a key stabilizing factor for our family. They even finished school 2 weeks early due to a cancelled family trip and other canceled activities! Our school devotions in March were about trusting Jesus in the storm, and in April the focus was that, when life changes/is scary/hard/sad, God is good. A true anchor. Being all together, all the time, has put our children to the test in their relationships, but we are glad to see many sweet interactions between them, even with the extra squabbling.
Health
Health-wise we have been pretty well. The one exception has been for Julie. In 2016 she developed a pinched nerve in her upper mid-back that causes little to no perceptible pain. It does cause worrisome symptoms when it is pinched, however, mimicking heart and brain issues. Once we learned about this, we started addressing it with regular physiotherapy/chiropractic care, and Julie has been fine. However, when those offices closed in March because they were considered non-essential services, Julie went 6 weeks without treatment.
In late April she experienced an incident of severe shaking and other symptoms, and we were advised by a health nurse to call in EMS which further resulted in Julie driving herself to the ER. The ER doctor gave her an IV suspecting dehydration and ran a thyroid test, and she came home. The test was negative, but she had another event of shaking a couple days later. Thankfully, she was able to contact her physio care provider and qualified for "emergency" treatment under Alberta health guidelines and only had one further "shake-down" since. We suspect this was part physical, part spiritual and appreciate all who prayed with us and through this time and continue to pray.
Marriage
In June we celebrated 15 years of marriage. Thankfully, things were open enough here that we were able to go out alone together and have a sitter in! Our marriage has been marked by ministry from the start, and we've been so very blessed to serve the LORD in Hungary, then Serbia, the U.S. and now here in Canada. We have learned to make our home in our relationship and in service rather than a location, but now more than ever we are looking forward to being in our heavenly country. We are so thankful to be serving side by side here in the church.
Major Prayer Requests
- approval of our visitor visas; ability to renew Dejan's passport and apply for a work permit
- continued stability in Julie's health and healthcare
- for the church fellowship to remain encouraged and knit together as we are still unable to gather for worship
- opening of our host church so we can resume meeting
Other Prayer Needs
- spiritual stamina, physical strength
- that all we do would be by the power of the Holy Spirit
- our children and their relationships with each other, with the Lord and with us
- our personal devotion to Jesus and each other to increase and remain strong
Thanks for reading through our update and for praying for our requests. We know everyone is dealing with an ever-evolving situation in your own lives. We truly are grateful for your love and support, as we press on here in the ministry.
Much love in Jesus,
Dejan and Julie <><
