Prayer: Answered! And then some…

 Hello Family in Christ!

When we wrote our last update we had a string of prayer requests, and the Lord has faithfully answered (at least in part) each one!

Passport and Canadian Documents

We have completed step 1 of Dejan’s work permit process, which was to obtain a new U.S. passport for him. We ended up mailing the application to the States, and it arrived a few weeks ago. Now we have to wait for some paperwork to be done through the Calvary Chapel in Calgary so that we can fill and file his application for a work permit with clergy exemption. On their side the paperwork is very technical, so please so keep praying for that!

Our daughter also received her new visa for Canada in late June, so her application was 4 months in processing. We are thankful that the Lord worked all the timing out for that.

New Neighbors

We wrote previously about our next door neighbor situation being quite stressful, and we were waiting and praying eagerly for nice quiet neighbors… and they came! They did not purchase the home but are renting instead; however, they are both nice and quiet! They are a family with mostly older children, but we had some chance when they first came to interact and it was all positive. Thank you so much for taking that request before the Lord!

Church Re-Opening

As you likely remember, we waited for what seemed the longest time to be able to meet as a church face-to-face following our provincial  “after Thanksgiving”/winter holiday lockdown. The doors were closed for us to meet in any way but virtual (save the skeleton crew broadcasting the service from the church building each Sunday/Wednesday). In the end, the Lord blew open the doors, as the local pastor got us back in-person within 5 days, including our men’s and ladies’ Bible studies! We had been hosting those studies only online since we have always met in private homes, which was also not allowed, but over the summer months we had that blessing to meet regularly in the church building face-to-face.

Julie’s Health

Last spring Julie had some surprise health issues which caused her to experience uncontrollable shaking. Neurological (stroke) and heart issues were ruled out, so eventually we chalked it up to compounding stress and inability to access chiropractic care for the pinched nerve in her mid back (which has caused trouble before but not so severely). It seemed the nerve was causing these symptoms. She was able to get emergency chiropractic care at that point and has continued regularly. However a couple weeks ago she saw a substitute doctor for her adjustment, and in bringing that doctor up to speed on her health situation we believe we were given the answer to the source of the problem: a “parasympathetic storm”. It is like a panic attack of that part of the nervous system. When the body is not properly handling signals for normal daily function (rest and digest), it overloads in emergency mode (fight or flight), but as it is the parasympathetic nerves the uncontrollable shaking is the result as the body tries to get back into equilibrium. It was connected to the pinching nerve in her back and sounded to us and Julie’s regular chiropractor that this description was accurate.

As you see God is faithful in answering our collective prayers! 

New Requests

As mentioned, we still seek prayer for our documents for staying in Canada: Dejan’s visa/clergy work permit specifically.

We also ask prayer for wisdom and discretion, as new restrictions were imposed this week in the province. At the moment the church can still meet, albeit with the standard distancing/masking. That is a win. In all other aspects of our personal lives however, it seems we will be limited to accessing groceries and basic retail, as neither of us has participated in the roll-out. Certain businesses, restaurants and other buildings will be carding people for for proof in order to gain entry. Our oldest may also soon not be allowed to attend her dance classes in person without participating. This situation may become mandatory for all Canadian residents (we fall in that category) in the near future, depending on some federal election results. We are greatly troubled by this lack of choice in a matter that is not black-and-white for everyone, so please pray with and for us in this regard.

Last but not least, please keep our family members in prayer: for our children's relationships with each other and with God, for our relationship as a couple and for us all in regards to the people we fellowship with and serve in the church.

We are so thankful you took time to read over this update, and even more-so for your care and prayers for our family. Without that vital support we would be lacking greatly, without question. 

May the Lord bless and keep you close to Him!

Dejan and Julie <><

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Update and prayer requests

 Hello and greetings from us in 2021, another year closer to the return of Christ!

     Last update, we were waiting for new visas, which we applied for in July and still didn't have come November 1st when our old ones expired. They were granted! It is the shortest we have ever received, just 16 months, but we praise God we got them! Lord willing, we will be able to apply for a work permit for Dejan with a clergy exemption that, if granted, may allow us to stay for a longer stretch between renewals, as long as 5-10 years. It is a new application for us, so prayer for thoroughness and no mistakes is appreciated.

Preparations for applying for a Canadian Work Permit

     We will have to renew Dejan's U.S. passport and begin the application process later this spring, as getting the new U.S. passport alone could take up to 5 months. This is because they are taking highest priority cases first. From the time we request an appointment at the U.S. Consulate to the time we receive the new passport book can be weeks and weeks, according to the officer at the consulate in Calgary.  Then the Canadian processing time for the work permit, once we apply, can be up to 6 months. It will be a year of paperwork!

Prayer for a New Visa

     Our more immediate need for prayer is for one of our daughter's visas, which was only granted for 15 weeks due to an expiring passport. We couldn't renew her passport earlier due to Covid, as the consulate was closed. But...by God's grace we got an appointment for her passport in January and it arrived in about 10 days! So we set to work re-applying for a new Canadian visa, which we submitted last week. Please pray that she will be approved in a good time, as she will be part of Dejan's work permit application and will need a current document.

Prayer for Neighbours
     

     We also request prayer for the house beside ours. It is up for sale, and the previous neighbours who rented from a distant owner (living in another province) were very troublesome, both relationally in their household as well as with the law. The owner had them evicted and renovated the house and put it up for sale recently but didn't sound too sure he would really sell. We are asking the Lord to sell the house to people our children can feel safe around and who are literally more quiet. We praise Him for protecting us and our property during the last occupants' short but tumultuous tenancy.

Prayer for our congregation

     Last, we ask prayer for the Lord to open the door for our congregation to be able to meet in-person again. The church we rent from is part of a larger group of churches whose leader has directed all of their congregations to broadcast online only, and we were asked to do the same back in late November. We asked once for an exception and were turned down, but Dejan talked to the parish pastor last week who offered to ask on our behalf again, noting some exceptions had been granted elsewhere. The patient people in our fellowship are eagerly awaiting the green light to meet, since Alberta is the most open province in Canada for churches right now, with meeting allowances of 15% of building fire code capacity. This would mean our whole group could come, as we are not in such great number as to exceed the capacity of the huge space we rent. Please pray for open doors, literally.

Thank you for taking the time to read this update and for your prayers. We greatly depend on, benefit from and are thankful for those prayers! They truly make a difference.

Much love in Christ,

Dejan and Julie <><

8 years

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Wow. Yesterday marked our eighth anniversary for the church plant, Calvary Chapel Edmonton. In some ways it is hard to believe that we have been in Edmonton for eight years, but we certainly have!

We came into Canada at the start of November expecting to find a place to live, unpack, settle in over the winter and begin in the spring. The Lord had other plans! 

The people we stayed with temporarily asked Dejan to start service the second Sunday we were here. All our things were packed and sitting in their garage, but we went ahead and Dejan started with the gospel of John with this couple. (We have since completed the rest of the New Testament on Sundays and have begun again.)

Julie played the guitar and took the six kids, age newborn to 11. We had one Christian children’s book in our car, so we used it to cover the parable of the Sower, stretching it out over the next four weeks. (This led to the discovery of our current children's church curriculum.)

The second week we had another couple join us who were waiting for Calvary Chapel to be established in Edmonton. The husband is now one of our church elders to this day. The following week a family of six and a guest showed up. They are missionaries to Mexico with Calvary Chapel Bible College through whom Dejan was invited to teach apologetics the past two years, and whom our little church supports monthly and with outreach teams. Such great beginnings we did not realize!

Within six weeks of our arrival we moved into a townhouse with a large living room, which became the meeting place for the church plant. Dejan was also leading a weekly Bible study at an assisted living facility. Over the following months in our first year the group meeting for fellowship, worship and Bible study in our home grew to about 8. We had our first outreach team come that summer from our home/sending church to do evangelism at the world's largest multi-cultural festival. It was a huge blessing and encouragement.

During that outreach our first year, the Lord opened the door for our fellowship to move into a church building near our home. We began to use their small prayer chapel for Sunday afternoon services and stayed there for about three years. We were blessed to host two baptisms, two of which were for new believers! There were two babies born and dedicated in the fellowship (one to us) during that time, as well as a marriage and the passing of an elderly new believer we were blessed to serve. 

First church baptism

We saw the establishment of a men’s Bible study/equipping group and a ladies’ fellowship over those first few years. There was another outreach team from our home church during FIFA women’s world cup event and some guest pastors from supporting churches which greatly encouraged us. One real highlight we had was a family if six that came for a full month to serve alongside and pray for the church!

Meeting in the downstairs fellowship hall

Dejan with our Church elders

In our fourth year we took a further step of faith, moved downstairs from the prayer chapel in the church building where we were renting and rented the fellowship hall instead. As a result, the Lord grew the church, and we gained three elders and two deacons, as well as sound help, children’s church servants and worship leaders. We also had several more baptisms, both of children and re-dedicated adults. We were meeting monthly for church potluck fellowship as well. The church officially became registered as Calvary Chapel Edmonton, and we had a visit from the overseeing pastor of our missions support organization and his wife, which was a huge blessing. Overall, it was an encouraging season of slow but steady growth.

Teaching with a translator at the Bible College

In our fifth year we sent our first missions team to Mexico, and in the sixth year, Dejan was invited through our missionary friends from Edmonton to Calvary Chapel Bible College Mexico to teach a teo-week, 3-credit Apologetics course. He returned in 2019 to teach it again, this time with another missions team from our fellowship! Our whole family was able to travel with him and encourage these missionaries as well as serve with them and see the work God is doing on the other end of the continent. Amazing.

Home sweet home & our ministry HQ

Last year, the Lord opened the door for our family to stop renting and get into a home with more space for our family at a lower cost, which we felt was a big win. We are further from the church building, but since most of the people in the church commute from all over the Edmonton area it hasn't seemed go be a problem. The area is quieter, an outlying city/suburb, but we were most amazed that the Lord allowed us to buy from another Christian missionary homeschool family. He is so wonderfully gracious in all His works!

A small group for our 1st service back in-person
Aug. 16th, 2020

So here we are at our eighth anniversary week. People have come and gone over the years, some to other cities, provinces or countries. Like most churches, we are weathering the global situation as a church the best we can with the limitations God has allowed. We are broadcasting our services as well as our prayer meeting online, while having a small attendance in-person. Potlucks are on-hold. Our men’s and ladies’ groups have stayed the course. Our children's church has both grown and shrunk due to restrictions. We feel the isolation and yet the community. We have kind of come back to square one in many ways, but we feel more deeply connected to this church body more than ever before. We are seeking to renew our visas in hopes of moving forward with a religious work permit, if the Lord allows. We are so blessed to be here and be allowed to serve in this city in this capacity. God is faithful.

 Gathering outside for food & fellowship mask-free

Please continue to pray for us and for the establishment of Calvary Chapel Edmonton; for the people who call it their church home. Truly the Lord Jesus builds His Church, of which we are a small part. We don't understand how He does it, but we know He is faithful and able to do all He pleases in its construction and sustenance. We rely daily on His grace, and we are so thankful for those of you who come alongside to help in the work of the ministry here by your prayers. Your labor of love will not be forgotten by the Lord.

Thank you for joining us in remembering the goodness of the Lord in our journey here in Edmonton, Canada. We hope it is an encouragement and a blessing to look back and consider what God has done here so far. And we pray He will be pleased to carry on this work and allow us to share in it!

In Him,

Dejan and Julie <><