God Comes Through...Imagine That!

I ask myself sometimes, why do I doubt God? Apparently He does want me to go since yesterday I received my passport with a Cameroon visa stamped inside! PRAISE THE LORD!!!!

So now I have packed (I'm sure I will be re-packing 'cause I don't like the way I packed the first time) and finishing last minute things which need to be done.

I will be flying out of Saskatoon tomorrow night to Calgary. Get a connecting flight from there to Toronto. Then wait 4 hours or so and get another connecting flight to Florida. I should arrive in Florida around 1 p.m. on Sunday.

After meeting up with a few other ppl who are flying in, we will go to the Teen Missions base and start preparing for flying out.

On Tuesday Jan 17th we will be driving back to the airport and flying out to Paris and then get a connecting flight to Douala. Since we will be arriving quite late at night in Douala, we will be staying overnight there and then driving up to Bamenda the next day (a 4 hour drive) to start our work with AIDS orphans.

If I have two prayers to ask that you would consider praying for (if even once). Pray for the kids, that they will be saved if they aren't now and pray for health for me. When I get overtired I get sick very easily. I've taken every precaution to make sure I will stay healthy but God is going to have to get me through this. (I won't get through this either way without Him).

Thanks again to everyone who has helped me get this far. This will be my last blog entry until I get back from Cameroon. I will update you on my trip and also on where James stands for his missions trip.

~Julie~

Spiritual Stretching...hurts!!!!

Ok, so today was a great day of discouragement for me. I was literally in tears while washing dishes and having one wave of horrible thoughts follow by yet another wave.

My visa still hasn't come in. I've checked in with my Visa HQ liaison and she said the embassy secretary has said that it isn't ready but she'll try to have it ready by Wednesday...I fly out on Saturday.

I know this may be God testing my faith or it could be the devil trying to keep me from going. Whatever the case I have some heavy duty praying to do tonight and the rest of this week.

I invite you to pray with me just where you are-- if even just once that #1 Satan's plans will be thwarted and #2 that God's will be done (actually that should probably be #1). I really, really, really want to go to Cameroon because this is like the conclusion of collecting the shoes but I know that whatever God wills...will happen. His plans are never wrong, His timing is always perfect.

James is planning on going to Zimbabwe in March and if my visa doesn't come in, I may be looking to go with him as well. We'll see.

At this point I'm just trying to get through this week without too many grey hairs!

~ Julie ~

The Countdown Begins

Hello to anyone who reads this (besides me),

Well, this is the final countdown till I leave (which is on Saturday, Lord willing). The biggest issue right now is that I still don't have my visa. Lord willing I will get it this week (please pray) as God has lead me this far only to be stopped by a lack of a piece of paper (and my passport which was sent away for the visa). No, God is much bigger and He overcomes may things I may think are big (like pieces of paper).

My part is to have faith, be patient and wait on the Lord for His leading. He will do what He planned before the beginning of time and it will be in His own time...not mine. (Believe me when I say that waiting is a hard one for me...trying to tell a Sanguine to wait is like telling a dog not to pee on a brand new carpet!). But this dog will have to wait and I am learning lots while I wait. Focusing back on the Lord for one thing (it's easy to lose focus when you are planning). Trusting is another.

I'm not a stranger to trusting God; James and I had to really trust God for our daily bread when he was in Bible College and I was pregnant with Rachel. (Like where's the money going to come from now???). That same God who provided for us until James got a job is the same God who can bring in a piece of paper in a week.

I love the Lord...I trust Him. Whether I go or not I will still trust Him. It's His trip, His money, His ministry, all that I am and all that I do belongs to Him. He will do what He will do and I need only pray, watch and wait...

Last Leg and First Steps

Well, we are on the last leg of our journey...the countdown is on before I go to Cameroon. Yes, I said, 'I'. As you may see at the side bar, our support is completely in! Praise God! However, due to some red tape with James' passport, he isn't able to go with me to Cameroon.

We are looking into James going to Zimbabwe in March of 2012. I always knew there was a real possibility that James wouldn't be going with me to Cameroon but I held faith that God would come through. Though he has shut the door on us being together on this trip, I know that God still has purpose in all of this. For some reason we are to go separately. It's been a long time since I've done anything without my husband (actually since before we got married). This will be an eye opener for me as I have never even been outside of North America before (unless you include a vacation to Antigua when I was 7!)

So, the first steps to a new outlook on life are beginning. I don't know what God has in store for myself, my husband or my family; neither for those little ones to whom I will be ministering but I know that anytime I've stepped out in obedience, there's never been a dull moment and God has always sustained!

Thank-you so much to all who have prayed and supported us. Without your efforts and obedience to the Lord, there's no way either James or I would have a hope of going.

God bless you all and have a Great Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!

~Julie~

Pies Flew at the Alliance Church

On Saturday October 15^th, we held our fundraiser, Let the Pie Fly, at the Alliance Church. We would like to thank all our volunteers who helped make that day possible. We’d also like to give a special thanks to Riverbend Co-op in Outlook for donating the hamburger patties and buns for the b.b.q. Finally, we’d like to thank the Alliance Church for the use of their building.

Three goofy girls displaying the sign which was posted out front

Teen Missions display for AIDS Orphans

Sophie and Cara wait patiently for kids to come get their faces painted

The event started around noon with the hamburger b.b.q. and face painting. After everyone was finished lunch, the main event commenced. Our featured guests were Mr. Mc Janet, Pastor Ryan, Mayor Bob Stephenson, Larry Peterman and Pastor Darryl Olsen. They very graciously covered themselves in garbage bags and received many pies in their faces (and head) which contained whipped cream and some rather runny pudding. Afterwards we showed a DVD which highlighted the needs of A.I.D.S/H.I.V. orphans in Africa. 

Dave gives 'Peace' and cooks burgers with James

At the end of the event we raised about $1,900 which has enabled Julie to definitely go to Cameroon, Africa mid January (which is quite amazing!). As it stands we still need around $2,400 for James to go on the missions trip as well.

Principle Mr. Mc Janet gets 'pied'...

...and emerges smiling!

Pastor Ryan's new makeover- courtesy of Amy!

Distinguished panel of pie volunteers.
(left to right) Principle Mr. Mc Janet, Pastor Ryan, Pastor Darryl Olsen,
Mayor Bob Stephenson and Larry Peterman

Even James got hit ~Thanks Dave! :)

We want to thank everyone who has put so much prayer, time and financial support into helping us go on missions. This has always been a community effort from the first shoe which was put in the wheelbarrow from the Barefoot Rally till now.

There is tentatively one more fundraiser planned for sometime in November which will be a breakfast.

Carwash Fundraiser a Success!

Well, it's been 2 months since the car wash fundraiser in August but it seems like yesterday when we had it! (Where has the time gone?!)

Dave, James, Julie and all the girls working hard

We had a real good time that Saturday washing cars and it was perfect weather too! (Not too hot and it didn't rain!) We started at 8:30 a.m. and worked till 6 p.m. with only a couple 15 minute breaks in between. We washed about 33 cars and raised almost $1000!

James taking bugs off the bumper

Julie creating a streak-free windshield

We are very thankful for all the people who showed up and trusted us to wash their cars but also the unexpected help from some in our church and community including
Dave C., Alex and his girls, Ralph supplied pizza and pop for lunch (thanks so much, it hit the spot!), as well as our girls Rachel, Cara and Petra- you girls are troopers!
(Thanks Rach for taking so many pictures!)

Cara and Petra waiting for more cars

Our next fundraiser entitled Let the Pie Fly is scheduled for Saturday October 15th at the Alliance Church starting at noon. We hope to have a great turnout since our main attraction will be to put a pie in the face of some notable people in the town including Mayor Bob and the Highschool principle Mr. McJanet. I'm hoping James might volunteer his face too but I haven't asked him yet (tee-hee)! We'll also be having a hamburger b.b.q. and face painting! Afterwards we'll be showing a video featuring Teen Missions helping AIDS orphans in Africa.

Come on out! We look forward to seeing you!

Emmaus Road is Online!

Hello All,

Well, we have finally gotten our blog up and running like we were planning. We wanted to introduce all of you first to why we created this blog and hope you will join us on our journey as we raise support for missions and our experiences along the way.

It wasn't an easy decision to go on missions. What started as a simple community event, snowballed into something that only God could come up with! For those who are just joining our journey I'll give a brief history.

Back in April of this year James and a couple of pastors had approached the ministerial
(a collective group of churches in the town of Outlook) about doing some type of ministry which would involve the community of Outlook. Long story short, Teen Missions came on board and the Barefoot Rally was launched in May.

The Rally covered most of the town; around 50 people went out with wheelbarrows collecting shoes for AIDS orphans in Africa who don't have any shoes and without which, cannot attend school or even die.

The Rally was a huge success with over 1,000 pairs of shoes collected and around $900.00 raised for the transportation of the shoes to Africa!

Well, shortly after the Rally, we were moved by God (through Dave and Shirley Charron) to go to Africa to actually hand out the shoes collected throughout the community! What floors us, is that a pair of shoes which we bought my daughters a year ago from Walmart will be taken over to Africa and we will physically put them on the feet of a little one who needs them so desperately!

So here we find ourselves, raising support (and many other arrangements) for us to go out on missions! There is a Teen Missions Foot Washing Team scheduled to go to Cameroon, Africa from January 15th-February 1st 2012 which we will, Lord willing, be a part of. Here's the kicker...we'll need to raise approximately $8,000 dollars by December for the both of us to go. That is just one of many things which needs to be done before we go (passports, immunizations, etc).

So, we are calling all who are lead to help us through prayer and financial aid.

If you would be willing to help, please feel free to e-mail us at simpsonemmausroad@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading and take care!

J&J