We woke up this morning to the realization that one week from today we will be boarding a plane and beginning our journey to the Philippines.  What seemed like a date so far in the distance that it would never arrive has in fact, arrived!  On the evening of July 19th we will be departing for Toronto and then on to Manila, Philippines to begin this new chapter of life and ministry.  We have been taking these last couple of weeks prior to our departure to spend quality time with family and close friends and we have enjoyed every moment.  We have also been spending time reflecting and thanking God for all the individuals & families and churches who have supported us through prayer, encouragement, and through giving financially.  We are only able to depart in one week because of the support we have received from so many people and churches.

This past Sunday evening (July 10th) our sending church, Midland Baptist held a commissioning service for our family.  We could not have asked for a better evening…it was a packed house.  We felt so loved, supported, encouraged and blessed by each person who contributed to the serice and by each individual who attended.

We were blessed to have Dr. Malcolm Card (CBM Board President and former CBM Global Field Staff) as our guest speaker as well as Dr. Bob Berry (former CBM General Secretary and Missionary) who shared a history of Baptist mission work around the world since the late 1800’s.  Rev. Paul Carline (Director of Intercultural Ministries for CABC and former CBM Global Field Staff in Kenya) lead in a prayer of commissioning that was very heartfelt and powerful as representatives from several churches laid hands on us.  Rev. Alden Crain (Midland Baptist Pastor and former CBM Global Field Staff in Kenya) lead the service wonderfully and lead us and those in attendance in a time of commitment and commissioning.

We are especially thankful for the gift that our church family gave us.  It is a two-part painting that was painted by our dear friend and amazingly talented, Kelly Myers.  The two-part painting is of a window in the church building.  One part of the painting will go with us to the Philippines as a reminder of the love and support of our home church.  The other part of the painting will stay at the church to remind people to pray for us and of our partnership in missions.  We absolutely love this gift and look forward to hanging it in a prominent place in our new home.

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation – Mark 16:15

Devote yourselves to prayer being watchful and thankful.  And pray for us, too, that God may open a door… – Colossians 4:23a

Thank you so much for your continued prayers for our family!  The past six months have been full to say the least, but we feel so blessed to be on this journey and have enjoyed getting to know so many wonderful people across the Maritimes.  As hard as saying ‘good-bye’ is, we are growing in our excitement to join our teammates, Duane & Carin Guthrie and Emo & Kathy Yango, and to begin our new work in the Philippines.

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If you are interested in becoming a Partner-in-Mission please contact Barb Keys (bkeys@cbmin.org or call 1-905-821-3533) at Canadian Baptist Ministries. We recently reached 80% of our budget raised which is required to be released to the field but our goal is to reach 100% of our ministry budget raised through monthly financial support.  Any monthly amount will go a long way in helping us reach this goal.  We are only able to follow God’s leading in our lives thanks to the monthly support of generous individuals and churches.   You can also visit their website at www.cbmin.org to give online or for more information.

All donations of $10.00 or more will receive a charitable tax receipt at year end. 

Thank-you!

Michael & Melanie

Kyla, Sean, Carter & Allie