While there were definitely days over the past 2 years that we questioned God’s plans for us, the reasons we were ‘stuck’ here and wondered why the process had to take so long, we always came back to God and His goodness.  We know that ultimately, God’s timing is perfect – even when He doesn’t offer us understanding as to why He does what He does.

While the wait these 2 years has been long for us at times, we would love to share with you some of ways we have been blessed during our time here in Canada:

1.  We got to be home to spend time with dad before he passed away.  We also were able to grieve with family after dad left us.

2.  We connected with many friends and family (many of whom didn’t really know Richard that well since everyone only met him at the wedding!).  This was wonderful for us – to really spend some quality time with people we love.  We also made some great new friends while in Canada as well!

3.  We had a beautiful baby boy!

4.  We were blessed beyond all blessings to be in a country that offered such incredible FREE health care for Elijah when he was born prematurely at 33 weeks.  Truly a blessing.

5.  We are blessed to have been able to keep working for our organization via email and Skype. As a result, we coordinated several teams to volunteer in Delhi, India on behalf of YWAM Ireland and YWAM Hawaii. The Indian ministries and the teams were all blessed through those experiences.

6.  Heather and Elijah both have legal standing in India as ‘Persons of Indian Origin’ (PIO).  This basically means that we can live, work, study in India without needing a visa.  Horray for no more visa issues in India!

7.  Richard has his Canadian permanent residency!  Yahoo!

Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for tracking with us these past 838 days while we’ve waited for the PR to come through.  We were always touched when people asked us about the immigration process because it meant that people were still thinking of us, praying for us and hoping for a positive result.

To close, I thought I’d post a couple of photos for you.  The first is a photo of us the first time Richard was legally allowed into Canada (for our wedding and he almost didn’t make it due to visa problems!).  Praise God for getting him here then!  The second is our first Christmas in Canada after I (Heather) had to leave India due to visa problems.  This photo was in December 2009.  Little did we know then that we would be here so long.  And finally, a photo from TODAY – the day the PR came through!

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We’ve been here since Sunday morning and its been just fabulous on many fronts. First and foremost, it was wonderful to see family at the airport to greet us and meet Elijah for the first time. His grandparents are just in love with him and it shows in the photo below!

The team is also doing great – they have jumped into Indian style living and are just going with the flow. They’ve learned pretty quickly that Indians don’t plan anything in advance, how to bargain for auto rickshaws/clothing/basically anything you want and how to order a pizza for delivery (quite an adventure if you’ve never done it before!). I introduced them to the street children we used to work with in their local community centre and they’ve all become fast friends. Now, whenever the team heads over to the community centre for meals/internet/odds and ends, they are bombarded by children who want to play, be tossed around, picked up and hugged. Its lovely to see the team engaging with them so much. Its clear both the children and the team are benefitting from their new friendships.

For myself, its been wonderful to see the children again after 2 years away. The last time we were here, we had to leave India quite suddenly due to the visa issues I faced.  While its sad to see that they are still begging for a living instead of being in school and playing like children should be doing, its a huge blessing to be back and reconnecting with them all. A few of the children are in Catalyst’s Diversion House for girls rescued from slums so I am really looking forward to seeing them later on this trip and seeing their progress after a year of counselling, education and home care. I expect to see big changes in them!

Tomorrow the team is going on a scavenger hunt around Delhi to help them get acquainted with the city and its various people groups and religions. It will be a huge eye opener for many of them and I’m anxious to hear everything they learn tomorrow.

I’ll update again soon on what’s going on and their progress here in Delhi. Please remember to keep them in your prayers! Thanks!

I’ve been meeting regularly with the India outreach leaders, Peter and Holly. They are fabulous and are definitely going to lead a great outreach for their team! The team of 11 (including Peter and Holly) are all wonderful and its cool to see people so excited to head to Delhi to serve there. This whole week has been dedicated to outreach prep so its been the best week for me to be here. The team has been working on dramas, talks, powerpoint presentations, and more.

I’ve had a chance each meeting to answer questions and do some training on topics such as cross-cultural communications, public speaking in another culture, and basic Hindi language lessons. Its always exciting to share about India with people who are heading there!

We all leave for Delhi on Saturday and so we’d appreciate your prayers for the following:

1. That we all have safe travels and no problems with visas at the border.

2. For Elijah’s health. He’s developed a head cold today and I’d really love to see him healed of that before we get on another plane on Saturday and head into Delhi (recently ranked the worst air in the world!).

3. For my mom’s health. She’s been a star helping me so much with Elijah so I can be with the team as much as possible but she’s been fighting off a cold and we could use prayers for healing for her as well!

4. Please pray for the team as they finish their preparations for outreach! Only 2 more days! Its going to be great!

Thanks so much! I’ll update again once in Delhi. Looking forward to seeing the kids again, working with the team there, reconnecting with old friends and of course seeing family!

Some great news – all the India outreach team have their visas! YAY! Please continue to pray, however, for their finances. They need to see some more money come in right away to cover all the team’s expenses while on outreach. Thanks!

I’ll be posting regular updates while away so be sure to stay tuned to our website for stories and pictures of the trip! Our first week is in Ireland training the outreach team, followed by 3 weeks in India. Can’t wait!

Now all we need is that PR for Richard! Thanks again for your prayers!