(e)mergent Voyageurs

UPDATE: A few people have contacted me, asking me for more specifics about our financial needs. We need to see a monthly increase of about $300-$500 CDN. We know this is a large chunk, but between multiple donors, it is quite achievable. If you are interested in supporting us, whether it is monthly or with a one time gift, please click here for more info (or use the PayPal option on the sidebar). Any help you can offer, be it finances, prayer or advocacy, we would appreciate it. Thanks all.

As you might have noticed, while I have been trying to have something posted regularly I have not had much of substance of late. The fact is that I haven’t had the strength or the time to put much energy into things. Over the last few years, our missions support has dropped substantially, so I have been trying to make some extra money through writing internet copy. While it has been a big help, it makes for very long days (followed by long evenings) and it simply has not been enough.

Add to that the fact that after 5 years of saving Aeroplan points so that we could go visit Kim’s family in Australia, we found that despite our many points, there were no qualifying flights. We would have to pay full ticket price to go. Since we haven’t been back to Kim’s home in half a decade, it was important for us make it happen. Unfortunately, it more than cleared out our meager savings. And not quitting there, what little we had saved was ear-marked for adopting a child. It has been difficult enough dealing with our unexplained inability to start a family, but now losing the funds we saved (and then some) his felt as though we have been kicked while we are down.

So many people- family, friends and even some of you blog readers- have been so generous to us, so we are not only grateful, but confident that God will provide. However, as you can imagine, it has been extremely discouraging. When our attitudes get worn thin, we sometime wonder at the justice of having to choose between our vocation (which we know we are being obedient in) or having a family (which, at this point, will exact a heavy cost, one way or another). Please pray for us at this time, as we are really tired, disillusioned and uncertain about the future.

Thanks all. We’ll keep you posted.

Previous Post – Missional Leadership with Alan Roxburgh

 

UPDATE:  Kim is home and is recovering.  While only minor day surgery, the impact is pretty heavy, so she will be recovering for some time (bed rest for 3 days, limited physical activity for 2 weeks min.).  She thanks you all for your prayers.  Unfortunately we won’t get any test results from the surgery for at least 6-8 weeks.  Other than that, the dog is… well, he could be worse, so we are pleased at any small blessings.  

The last few days have been a whirlwind, with no end in sight. Last night’s event with Alan Roxburgh was a great success, but for lack of time (which I will explain shortly) I direct you to Brother Maynard’s blog for a review. I will be engaging some of the material in the coming days. Also, Allelon will be making video of the event available at a later date.

In the midst of the busy day yesterday, my wife Kim was having her last interview with immigration Canada. While she is awaiting the official card, after making yet another steep payment, her Permanent Resident status was finally confirmed. Thanks to all who helped out financially and prayed us through this ridiculously long process.

This morning, the dog had a medical emergency. While I will spare you gross details and the stressful story that accompanies, the upside was getting to see our dog run around in little boy underwear for the next few days (as pictured above). All of this the day before Kim goes in for surgery.

It has been two years since our miscarraige and, while all seems to be in order, we have not been able to get pregnant again. It is the single heaviest emotional burden we have been carrying. Tomorrow’s surgery (Thursday) is exploratory day surgery to eliminate the final possible problems. Please pray that all will go well and that we will be able to start a family.

As a result, I won’t be posted much over the next few days as I play caretaker to my wife (and dog). Hope you have a great weekend!

 

Previous Post – Responding To The Critics

Well, after five month- after three months of inner city community living and service, dedicated to missional and spiritual formation; after two months of service and missional community throughout Uganda- our 2007 Discipleship Training School (DTS) comes to a close this week. For those who want to read more about these months, check out the DTS blog here.

As we seek to bring a closure to our time as a community and help process the next stages of our individual and collective journeys, we are facing a few bumps in the road. While I cannot go into detail here, there have been complications that I deeply believe are an attack of the enemy on our group. While the specifics relate to two of the six students, the impact is obviously on the larger group.

Please stand with us in prayer and authority as we seek God’s best through these tough situations. As much as I see the enemy’s hand at work, even more I see the seeds of Kingdom potential. All of your prayers are greatly appreciated.

I have been so blessed and overwhelmed by all the emails, phone calls, comments and visits from friends and family in response to my last post.  While we are still facing many significant challenges and decisions, your encouragement and prayers have had a real impact on the sense of things being overwhelming.  Thank you all so very much.  It is not an easy thing for me to be open with these matters- as several of you who talked to me can attest, I get uncharacteristically tongue-twisted, awkward, etc.  This does not reflect my lack of appreciation.  Far from it.  Again, I am so deeply blessed by your friendship.

I am happy to announce that our plumbing problem is not completely finished and, while the cost has hit us in a tough season, it was much lower than it could have been.  Further, we have had family step in and make sure that this expense will not cripple us.  The two home appliances that have been out of order for the last six months finally received attention today.  The more expensive unit was repaired in a matter of minutes (a sock somehow got sucked into the pump of our washing machine- go figure), and while the second unit might be a write off, it is a far less expensive unit than the other.

The reality is that the circumstances have not been the real problem.  Life is full of these events, which I am more than capable of dealing with, given the support of others and the grace of God.  However, I know that I facing a significant life shift in the next year.  I know this will probably be the most significant shift since setting out of my dreams and plans for my life and into God’s vocation for me.  When faced with the (seeming) inability of make this shift work without creating problems for my wife, the ministry and myself, the stress and frustrating build and build.  It is then that the circumstances pile up.  There are so many people whose lives are far more challenging than mine, so while I wanted to be honest with where I was at, I didn’t want come off as a whiner.

Your continued prayer and support are appreciated.  As you pray, please remember my wife, as she is the heart and muscle behind our ministry, plus the main support for me.  I am continuously humbled by her ability to extend love and grace to me during this time.  Because of her- and people like you- I truly feel a deep (if distant) sense of hope for the future.

Again, thank you so much.

For those of you who read my blog regularly will know that I have been having a… challenging year (if you haven’t been following, see Immigration Crisis, Dark Night Of The Soul and Cry For Fatherhood).  This month, with the holiday season upon us, the Discipleship Training School approaching in January and my second book in the works, it doesn’t take much to get me down these days.

Then Friday afternoon our plumbing backed up.  Thinking that it only a plug, it turned out to be a collapsed pipe under the house.  Over the weekend and into today, plumbers opened up the floor, repaired the break, removed the dinner fork- yes, dinner fork and no, not ours- and finally got things moving (no pun intended).  We still are waiting to hear the cost (though it was a relatively easy fix).

I know it is not the end of the world, but the stress of the repairs, the reality of our financial instability (including our struggling financial support), my sense of vocational angst, Kim’s immigration challenges, our inability to start a family, our shrinking number of staff, etc. all came crashing down on me at once.  It has left me empty, frustrated and very tired.  Thankfully, our Christmas holidays begin at the end of the week, and though we will have to work over the holidays, it will be a good time of family, friends and, of course, food.

I am deeply grateful for the people who came around me during this time.  My wife, Kim, who has had to go through all of this as well, has been a rock.  I love her dearly.  My family have been a source of wisdom and encouragement.  My many friends have there with prayer and support- the crew at the Resonate.ca Yahoo Group, Doug for stopping by to chat and pray, Dana who cared enough to hunt down my number to call (and listen to my sleep deprived mumblings) and everyone else.  Thank you all.

The fact is that things are going to have to change.  Once the DTS is complete in June, Kim & I will spend some serious time of prayer, reflection and decision making.  Please keep us in prayer this week and in the coming months.  Specifically:

-Pray for peace and rest of both spirit and body
-Pray that our financial support will strengthen
-Pray for direction, clarity and freedom to pursue God’s next phase

Thank you all!

Over the last year, through my foray into the world of blogging, a few blogs and bloggers have become especially important, not only from what I have learned from them, but from the friendship that has emerged out of our exchanges. One such person in John Frye, author of “Jesus the Pastor” and blogger at “Jesus The Radical Pastor”. For those who frequent his blog, you will know him to be a deeply committed pastor, missionary and follower of Jesus. However, you might also have noticed that his blog has disappeared.

John asked me to inform you that he has stepped away from his blog for an undetermined amount of time. As a non-resident missionary mentor to young Ukrainian leaders, John has to spend more time raising support and seeking employment. Ideally, John would like to be bi-vocational, that is, keeping his Ukraine ministry active with Church Planters Training International and also working in Grand Rapids, MI (USA) where he lives. Pray for John and his wife, Julie, as they navigate these vital decisions.

When it rains it pours. That’s what people say when things seem to go wrong all at once. I’ve said it to others a few times myself. However, we are currently in such a time in our lives and would really like your prayer.

As many of you know, my wife (Kim) is Australian and has been serving with YWAM here for several years. In the process of renewing her visa, we recently received a call from Immigration Canada suggesting that they are considering NOT renewing the visa, as they feel Kim should apply for Permanent Residency. We have an interview with them on Feb. 28th to find out.

The trouble is that they could very well make Kim leave the country to apply from Australia. Needless to say, this would be terrible. One of the reasons we have not applied for her status earlier is that it requires a significant amount of money to do so. Needless to say, we dealing with a great deal of stress right now.

Our first hope is that they grant us the visa that will allow us to pursue Permanent Residency while Kim remains in Canada. However, even we this is the case, we face the challenge of raising the finances (nearly $2000 in the end) and dealing with the limitations of the process that will strongly impact Kim’s ministry leadership (i.e. travel limitations, etc.).

As if that weren’t enough, we came home to find that the YWAM Mission House furnace, which we just spent $500 to repair a month ago is dead again. Sure, it isn’t a huge deal, but in times like this, every little challenge gets blown out of proportion.

That is why we really need your prayers during the next few days, weeks and months. God has always been faithful in His provision. Stand with us as we seek Him for the peace and wisdom to deal with each day.

Peace,
Jamie Arpin-Ricci
www.arpin-ricci.blog.com

For everyone who has been praying for my Dad & the family, thank you so much. He came through the surgery perfectly and has been recovering at a remarkable pace (in fact, record rate, from what the docs and nurses told us).

I am also pleased to let you know that, while we are still waiting on the diagnosis, they are 99.9% sure it is not cancer. They didn’t have to remove as much of the growths as they thought, as it appears to be a forth of fungal infection, which will be treated with antibiotics. The leading theory is that it is blastomycosis, though it could also be other infections, including tuberculosis which may have stayed dormant in his lungs for more than 30 years. His arthritis med are immune suppressants, reactivating the infection (for anyone on Methotrexate, be aware of this). I will let you know when I know more.

Again, thanks for your continued prayer.

Peace,
Jamie

Over the last few months, my father (Don Ricci) has been dealing with a persistant lung cough. X-rays revealed two masses in his right lung. Tomorrow (Friday, July 29th) at 10:30am here in Winnipeg, he will go in for surgery to have them removed. While he is in surgery, they will test the growths for cancer. If it is positive, they will have to remove the whole lung on the spot.

Please keep my father and the family in prayers. Thanks a lot.

Peace,
Jamie Arpin-Ricci