(e)mergent Voyageurs

Most of you know that I have had the wonderful pleasure of being married to a gorgeous Aussie gal, Kim, for nearly 6 years now. We are excited to be heading to Canberra to visit the family over Christmas, as it has been 5 years since we have been there. A few years ago, I spent some time online looking for people in the Canberra area engaging in the missional conversation, but didn’t come up with anything at the time.

However, since then, my Aussie family have been participating in an exciting new gathering called Basement (because they meet in a basement… no, really!). Technically defined as an “Anglican ministry unit”, they are a passionate and missional group, developing true community in their city. I hope to get a chance the connect with them while in Australia later this year.

You can find their website Here and their Facebook group Here. Check out the following video introduction to Basement (Note that the first woman interviewed is my mother-in-law. Others in the family can be seen too):

For all of you who have been following, giving and praying for Kim’s (my wife) immigration challenges, I have some good news. As of this week, the last of the paperwork we needed to apply for her Permanent Residency arrived from Australia, allowing us to finally send in the application. Thanks to the generosity of so many of you, we were also able to send the payment along with it. Things are tight, but we were able to avoid the debt that seemed inevitable. We will have to wait several months while it sits in a pile for consideration, then go in for an interview. So, at this stage, things are out of our hands. Thanks so much to every one of you have gave so generously and to those who prayed so faithfully. We’ll keep you posted.

Since the launch of the Keep Kim In Canada Campaign, we have been blown away by the amazing generousity and support we have received from so many of you. However, we have also been receiving several emails asking for two thing. First, people want to know more background on the situation and our ministry. And second, people want an update on where we are at with the campaign. Let me try to answer both here.

As most of you know, my wife & I are the founders and Co-Directors of Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Urban Ministries Winnipeg. We were planted here by YWAM Vancouver several years ago, moving our home & ministry into the inner city community of Winnipeg’s West End. Over the last years of pioneering, we have also becoming increasingly involved in regional leadership within the mission, which has been a real blessing.

However, over the last couple of years, our regular financial support has dropped significantly, in large due to unavoidable financial challenges facing our donors. With the increased leadership responsibility within the mission, our expenses also increased, so this loss has hit us quite hard. It was while we were working to overcome this challenge that the Canadian goverment decided that it was time for Kim to apply for Permanent Residency, an expense of around $2000. Of course, when it rain, it pours. During the same week, we were hit with several unexpected expenses (such as two major appliances dying on the same day).

I asked for prayer from several networks, which I received in excess. An unexpected result was the creation of the Keep Kim In Canada Campaign, dedicated to help us raise the needed funds to keep my Aussie wife to get her Permanent Residency. We have been stunned and humbled by the response. In fact, since it started we have reached the half way mark! While we still need to face the other financial challenges and build a broader regular support team, this has come as a life saver for us. Thank you all for your willingness to stand behind us in our calling.

Should any of you want to receive regular updates of our ministry, please feel free to let me know. You can also check out our personal website for more information. Again, thank you so much for all you have done! We are truly blessed.