Foreign Food Week

Hello everyone!

Just a quick update today, nothing huge happening here since the announcement of teams. But we did get to go to Missionsfest in Vancouver on Saturday! It was really cool to take a look at all the booths and see all the different ministries that are going on. I also got to attend some seminars, including a really fascinating one about learning the language of the host country. It was really cool to hear first-hand stories about how knowing the local language really communicates a deep sense of love, and also some tips about what is good to know and try when actually learning a foreign language. I was very impressed! It got me very motivated to learn Spanish, although I've got no idea where to start. I'm sure I'll figure something out this week.

Now this week, we're having foreign foods week! Every night for supper, we're having food from a different country. Tonight we started with Egyptian, tomorrow is Mexican, Wednesday is Thai, then the last two days are possibly East-Indian and Peruvian, although we're not sure yet. We're getting lots of practice eating everything on our plates so that we don't offend anyone once we arrive! Especially now that we've got Luke telling us stories about the food he just had in Ethiopia. Good once or twice, but a whole week?

Anyway, that's it for now. You guys probably love not having to read so much, eh? Oh, and remember - you can email me at david.toews@gmail.com anytime you want. I check it pretty much everyday, but not at any specific time. Have fun this week and I'll talk to you again soon!

PERU! PERU!

Hello everyone!

Yes, it's true! I'm going to the city of Lima in Peru for my assignment phase, starting in March. I've got a great team going with me, too!

This is the Peru Team! The girl in the back is our team leader, Sarah. Then the people in line from left to right are: Breanne, Laura, Roxy, Lisa, and me (surprisingly? I hope not so surprisingly)! I think we've got a great team, and I'm excited for what's in store for us in Peru. But we've got a long time yet to get to know each other and to grow as a team.

As you can see, we had some fun taking team pictures! Then right away we went to get vaccinations. *cough* That was fun. *cough* Actually, it turned out pretty good. Nobody had to get more than 2 shots, only a few needed prescriptions, and I didn't need anything! Dr. Kelada-Sedra prepared me well before I left (thanks so much!). In the end, the doctor was a really nice guy and didn't even charge me the consulting fee, since I wasn't getting anything.

We're going to be writing a newsletter later this week, as well as sending out some prayer cards for you guys. Let me know if there's anything else you'd like to know!

Oh, and just in case you're curious....

This is the Japan team! Starting at the left and going clockwise: Darlene, Brianna, Simone, Amber, Amber-Lee, and team leader Joanna. I'm sure they're going to have an awesome time too!

Thanks so much for praying for the team decisions. Just taking some time to think about how things worked out, I'm feeling greatly encouraged! Greg, TREK intern and my mentor out here, went to Peru for the 8 month TREK last year, and so he's been able to share a lot with me about what to expect. He says it's pretty hard to find nuts out there, which will be nice. For me, anyway. And Sarah's a nurse, just in case anything goes wrong. I'm sure she'll be happy to stab me in a few months, anyway! *cough*

Hmmmm, lots of coughing today. I'll try to take it easy during Team Time tonight. Talk to you guys soon!

SWEET! I finally got my internet fixed!

Hello everyone! Yes, it's true! After 2 weeks of frustration, I finally got my connection up and running today! Woooooo! So hopefully communication with you guys will be a lot easier from now on. It turns out that I was using a set IP address instead of one being automatically assigned. Silly buried settings giving me grief....

Whistler was pretty awesome last weekend! The streets were pretty clear, but the snow on the sides of the road was really tall. It wasn’t especially cold there and it actually rained at the bottom of the mountain on Saturday (just a sprinkling), but the skiing was great nonetheless. I wasn’t sure what to do with all the great snow at first, but I got my bearings pretty quickly. Wow, I haven’t gone in far too long – my legs were killing me after 15 minutes! I spent about half my time on Whistler and the other half on Blackcomb and ended up staying about 5 hours. I didn’t get to the top of either mountain, unfortunately. The conditions were pretty great at the bottom and in the middle, but things got really cold and windy as you went up, and the tops were encased in clouds. At the base of the last lift up to the top of Whistler, there was a sign and a flashing light that said that all runs are to be assumed to be expert level in those conditions no matter the posted difficulty. So I bravely ran away. It took me 45 minutes to even get that far on the lifts, and about 35 minutes to ski back down since I went nice and slow for my uncooperative legs!

This is that last lift, the one that looked scary - but here's the proof I made it! That's not empty sky at the top, the mountain went up farther, but that's how close that next layer of clouds was.

These are the Shannon Falls. We stopped to see them on our way to Whistler. That's pretty much all the pictures I took because my camera was getting really wet all weekend and I was worried about shorting something out! Again, you can't see the top due to the clouds. Silly BC weather....

We also spent some time getting connected as a team, doing a photo scavenger hunt in Whistler Village and then sharing our testimonies in the evenings. It’s pretty cool that we all ended up here at TREK even though we all come from such different experiences.

The day after we got back from Whistler, we piled into the vans again and we all went caving together! First, we visited a canyon up near Hope that used to have railway tracks going through it, but now exists as this amazingly beautiful walkway through the canyon itself with alternating bridges above the water and tunnels through the cliff face. Then we drove to the other side of Hope to go caving. It wasn’t serious spelunking as we mostly just crawled under and between massive boulders, but it was amazing! We climbed up and down through little passages and came out little openings further up the mountain. It was very wet since the rain was pouring down on us the whole time, but we just put that behind us and had a great time.

Since then we’ve been getting into a lot of sessions about various topics including forgiveness, worship, and “cat and dog” theology. It has been a challenging week, filled with a lot of things that come close to my heart, both in the sessions and outside them. There’s a lot of information and it’s taking a little while for it to all sink in. Very interesting so far though, I can't wait for next week!

Thanks so much for your prayers. I’m settling in well and enjoying the experience. Please continue to pray that the material presented to us will go deep into our hearts where we can hold it ready for the times we’ll need it.

Pray for the leadership team here this week, and that God will speak clear directions for each member of the TREK teams. They will be listening for God’s guidance this Tuesday night to set up the teams, and we will receive the results on Wednesday morning. I’ll let you all know the results as soon as I get them!

Finally and especially, please pray for my brother Steven as he’s going in for his jaw surgery this week. Pray that God will keep him healthy this week so that he can actually have the surgery this time, and that he will heal quickly and properly over the coming months.

I have arrived in Abbotsford!

*Gigantic Post Alert* Make sure you’ve got some substantial time on your hands before you get started! *Gigantic Post Alert*

Hello everyone! My internet doesn't work with the router here, and I'm working to fix it. Thankfully, Joanna here has been kind enough to lend me her laptop so I can update all this stuff. You're the best Joanna!

So, let me fill you in with what’s been happening so far this week. I woke up at 3:30am on Sunday morning to get to the airport by 5am for my 7am flight. The flight was 4 and a half hours long (plus half an hour waiting in line to take off) and pretty cramped since I had a window seat near the front, where the plane is already narrowing. But, it was great to be able to see most of Canada as we passed overhead. I’ll make sure I grab an aisle seat for my shoulders from now on, though. Thankfully the girl next to me was sleeping almost the whole way, so I didn’t have to worry about getting in her way for most of the flight.

John Best, who is the TREK administrator, met me at the airport. He’s a great guy, and he took me out for some lunch, even though it was only 11am for him (it was 2pm for me, and I hadn’t really eaten anything yet). Then we came over here to the MARK centre – I’ll try to include a link at the upper right of the blog. It’s a chalet-style building with a great room in a half-sunken basement, and with 2 floors of rooms above that that all exit onto a porch that surrounds the building. On the very top is a prayer room, which I haven’t checked out yet. It is a very nice place in a residential area near Columbia Bible College (CBC). In fact, we will be having some of our sessions at CBC, as well as Clearbrook MB Church just down the road.

In any case, I was the first TREKer to arrive. I’ve been given a room all to myself, which is handy since it lets me spread right out with all my stuff! Each room has a name, and the name of my room happens to be Peace. I think it has to do with the verse on the wall: “The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,” says the Lord Almighty. “And in this place I will grant peace,” declares the Lord Almighty. (Haggai 2:9)

Each room has a specific name, not just mine. It works out well for Elli, a girl who stays here and helps with all kinds of stuff. She told us with great pleasure and pride that she lives in Solitude! The other TREKers live in Expectancy, Presence, and Comfort. I also want to give a big word of encouragement to our cooks – Gay Best (John’s mother) and SonJa (one of the interns). The food this week has been amazing!

This week we went through a lot of introductory material for TREK, the parent agency MBMS International, and the MARK centre. We also learned some stuff on prayer and journaling, done by Amy (another intern). We’ve had a tour of Abbotsford, attended a student-run worship service at CBC, and went tubing down the mountain in Cypress Provincial Park near Vancouver. The tubing was really fun – we got going pretty fast by the time we reached the bottom of the hill! We went down in groups of various sizes from 1 to 13. The girls slowly got tired of it and went to warm up in the van, but the guys (me, John, and Greg – the third intern) stayed strong and got our money’s worth by going for the full 2 hours!

Today we had our first work duty and thus spent a few hours in the rain cleaning up the gardens around the MARK centre with Steve Klassen. TREK and the MARK centre both owe a lot (if not everything) to Steve for their inception and I thank him very much for both. My winter coat proved to be a wonderful blessing – keeping me warm and, more importantly, keeping me dry! It got a little dirty, but then, so did I. The weather is warm compared to home at the time I left, hovering just above freezing most of the time. But it gets cold fast as you go up in elevation.

We’re heading up to Whistler tomorrow morning for the weekend. I hope to go skiing, but I don’t think anyone else wants to go. The whole issue might be resolved quite quickly if they don’t carry size 14 ski boots, but I plan to check very thoroughly! It sounds like we’re going to have a great time, and I’m getting excited to go.

The last thing I wanted to mention to you is that I have my schedules for the rest of training, and the first specific date I’d like to make you aware of is Jan. 23^rd. On that day, first thing in the morning, we will find out the finalized teams and our destinations! It’s just less than 2 weeks away now, but I’m sure the time will go fast. I expect us to slow down on the big activities after this (2 per week would be pretty crazy), and to settle into a steady rhythm of studying, writing, and working.

Thanks very much for all your prayers that travelling here would go well, and that I would make a smooth transition. Please keep praying for me as I’m sure various needs will pop up often. I’ll be writing a little newsletter soon, which I’ll be sending to you along with a prayer card to help remind you of me! Thank you all so much for supporting me while I grow in my faith.

Notes:
My mailing address here at TREK is:
David Toews – TREK
302-32025 George Ferguson Way
Abbotsford, BC
V2T 2K7

I will get my mailing address for while I’m on assignment in a few weeks.

Also, feel free to donate if you have not done so yet. All our funds go into a pot, which is split up as needed. So, any funds you choose to donate will be helping other members of TREK. My parents have donation sheets with all the information you need if you choose to give. Thanks!

Merry Christmas!

Hello everyone, and I hope you're having a great Christmas holiday!


Personally, I'm doing quite well. I finished my last day of doing the PowerPoint at church (until I get back, of course) on Sunday, so now I'm mostly working on my testimony for this coming Sunday. If you'd like to hear it and join the church and my family in prayer for me, I'd love for you to come on out this Sunday, Dec. 30th. Niagara Christian Assembly meets at 10:30am in Niagara District Secondary School. I hope to see you there!


I've got a few items of news over the past week concerning TREK. First of all, I was assured a while ago that the MARK centre would be made a nut-free facility for the duration of my stay. This was confirmed again this week in an email to all the participants not to bring anything that contains nuts when we arrive on Jan. 6th. Thank you for your prayers in this area, and please continue to uphold my health while I'm gone.


Secondly, I've got some information on exactly what will be happening in the two host countries. This is directly from the TREK website:
The Peru team will be teaching English and working with missionaries Otto and Lydia Funk. They are working in Lima and have hosted a TREK team before. The Japan team will be living in Toyota (actual name of city). They will be participating in kids ministry, ESL, and living close to the church.
This is encouraging, and while I'm not sure that kids ministry is right for me, I will do my best if it is required. Please continue to pray that God will send me where I will learn what He thinks is important, and not what I think is important or comfortable.


Thirdly, I've received a list of who will be participating along with short biographies of a few sentences each. There will be 12 of us altogether, 6 going to each location. Now, I'm not one who likes to be the center of attention, but I seem to find myself in a position that I'll stand out for 3 specific reasons. One, because of my allergies and food-related needs. Two, because I'll be the oldest one there. And three, because I'll be the only male.

This last situation seems to be a bit of a shock for the TREK staff as well. They are going to step up recruitment of young men in the future, but for this particular trip it seems that I'll be hanging around with the male staff members more than I would be otherwise. Hanging out with the leaders could be greatly to my benefit if I decide to do more missions down the road, so I'm partly glad for this turn of events. But I am somewhat disappointed that I won't have another guy to form that peer-level, buddy, partner in crime sort of relationship. So please keep me in your prayers in this situation as well. That I will be able to form good relationships with the leaders, my team, and with all the people at TREK so that we can be effective in our labours.

Hope to see you Sunday!

P.S. Please note that you do NOT need a Google account to write comments for my messages. You can use your Google account (or another account on the list) if you wish, or you can choose the nickname option to leave a name of your choosing. You can also leave an anonymous message if you want to be sneaky.

Support Letter

Hello family and friends!

I'm excited to let you know that I have been accepted into the TREK program with MBMS International! I will be involved with the Winter 2008 semester, travelling to either Japan or Peru. I will be gone for a total of 6 months from Jan. 6th until June 30th. Of that time, I will spend 8 weeks training in Abbotsford, BC, followed by 15 weeks on assignment in the host country, and finally 2 more weeks in Abbotsford for debriefing. I will find out my final destination approximately 2 weeks after my arrival in Abbotsford on Jan. 6th (around Jan. 20th).

God has blessed me financially in that I am completely covered at this time! Any donations I receive that are greater than what I need will be used within TREK. So, if you would like to donate to TREK, I have forms that you can fill out and send with your donation to make sure you get a tax receipt for your generosity.

In light of this, the support I am most eager to secure from you in this letter is prayer support. I am nervous about my allergies as well as the difficulties of adjusting to a foreign culture. I am fully expecting this experience to be uncomfortable in the extreme, but I also think that I will learn far more than I would in a comfortable situation. Specific prayer requests that I have at the moment are:
- that I will be effective in the duties I am given both in training and on assignment.
- that I will be able to coordinate with the cooks both in Abbotsford and the assignment country so that I may remain healthy.
- and, last but not least, that my relationship with Jesus will deepen, and that I will learn to depend on Him for all my needs.

If you would like to see what I'm up to, you can email me at david.toews@gmail.com anytime. However, most of my updates will not be mass-emails to you, but posts at http://davidtoews.blogspot.com/ which is my new blog. I am able to post messages and pictures, and you are able to comment back to me. If you want to find out more about TREK or MBMS International, you can check out their website at http://www.mbmsi.org/visit/trek.

Thank you very much for your prayers and support.
David Toews