Lessons learned and more waiting

We learned two valuable lessons recently:

1. Never wash passports
2. If you do happen to wash them, declare them damaged and get new ones immediately

When we were in Utah last summer, I accidently washed our passports.  We didn't really think too much of this, dried them out and other than being slightly wrinkled, they seemed to be in good shape.  When we crossed the border back into Canada, the customs official looked at the passports, asked what happened and laughed about it, never telling us that we needed to replace them.
Fast forward to February when we went down to the passport office to renew Julia's passport, and found out that because they were damaged we would not be able to travel on them.  We had to fill out a report describing how they ended up damaged and then pay to have the documents signed by a commissioner of oaths and then apply for brand new passports. 

During the time that we were waiting for our passports to arrive, we were also waiting on a letter from our church, which we need in order for us to obtain our visas once we are in Davao and thankfully we were able to get that late last week and our passports arrived in the mail at the same time.  We were hoping to have booked our flights by now, and we went to see a travel agent this past weekend, but because we are moving to the Philippines and not just going for a vacation, it's a little more complicated with booking the tickets then we first thought.    

Please continue to pray for all of the various details to be worked out before we move.

Kerri

Overwhelmed

Well as I'm sure most of you know, it is official - we will be moving to Davao City this summer and I will begin my classes on August 1st.  We are planning to leave on July 5th which will get us into Davao on July7th - very long travel days, but I guess that's what happens  when you move across the world!

We haven't booked our tickets yet but we are going to in the next few days, and right now I'm really having a hard time with that; I guess I realize that once we commit to booking the tickets that means there's no turning back, we're really going.  Of course I know we're really going, but to actually purchase the tickets makes it even more real.  In fact right now the thought of booking tickets makes me want to throw up!  Nice picture I know, but hey this is a move across the world, not just a two week vacation, it's huge!  Right now I'm feeling very overwhelmed with all the details that moving to a new country brings - there's so much to think about and I'm sure we haven't even thought about all of it. 

Anyway, that's all for now, just wanted to give you all a heads up as to where we're at.  So for those of you who have moved across an ocean, if you have any advice to give us, we would gladly take it!

Kerri

Our God is Amazing!

I was challenged just over a week ago by a comment a friend made.  He was telling Kerri and I of how he has learned to pray very specifically for things he has needed, and even for things he has not needed but simply wanted.  He explained how, since God is like a father to us, that He wants to show His love towards us in very tangible, even extravagant ways.  He commented how if we would like to see specific answers to prayer, we should be specific in our prayers.

That night I spent some time praying and decided to be very specific.  I told God how excited I was feeling about moving to the Philippines, but that I was nervous about the finances we needed.  We have been trying to raise the necessary money for a couple months now, and while we have seen some definite progress, we still had a long way to go.  I then asked God a very specific thing; I asked Him to provide us with half the needed amount to be in our account by the end of March, so that we could commit to the school for this year.  The specific amount which I asked for was $30 000.

I am not sure what I was expecting.  I have seen God answer prayers before in my own life.  I have heard stories of how He works miracles in many different situations.  I have not often seen such an enormous request answered in my own life, perhaps because I have never asked for such a huge thing.  I'm not sure whether I really believed that God would answer that prayer.

Over the next week God showed His faithfulness.  In a span of one week we have received over $21 000 in cash donations, and had a commitment for monthly support totaling $9000 over the 30 months we will be in the Philippines!  We now have almost $30 000 in the bank, plus over $15 000 in monthly support when we go.  God has shown His faithfulness by not only answering my specific prayer, but by doing so almost immediately!

We still have a ways to go before we have raised the total amount we will need, but we are well on our way.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us so far, either through donations or through prayer.  We appreciate it so much.  Simply saying thank you doesn't seem like enough to express our gratitude, but we mean it from the bottom of our hearts.

Benefit Concert

Here are the details for our upcoming Benefit Concert:

When: Saturday, January 29 at 7:00 PM
Where: Rockyview Alliance Church
            6927 Rundlehorn Drive NE

This concert is being hosted in order to raise money to help us to move to the Philippines.

This evening will showcase the talents of several of our musician friends and will also have a presentation about the missions organization we are going to be partnering with and our plans for our time in the Philippines and in the future.

Tickets will be sold at the door on the evening of the concert.  The suggested minimum donation is $10 per person.

If you wish to let us know if you will attend please email us at skoishi78@gmail.com, or simply show up!

Please feel free to invite friends and family who may be interested in attending.

Hope to see you there!

Yet another Christmas Blessing

Wow, when it rains it pours!  This evening we went to my parents' house for supper along with my sister and her three kids.  My brother-in-law was going to join us but I was told he was tied up at a work meeting and he wouldn't be there until after supper.  My parents just got home on Sunday from visiting my brother and sister-in-law and niece in California, so it was really nice to see them again. 

A little while into supper, my brother-in-law, Lukas showed up, but right after saying hello, he went back outside.  I didn't even notice anything, until the doorbell rang and when I looked into the porch, he was gone.  I assumed that he had run back outside simply to ring the doorbell to bug everyone, so I didn't think anything of it.  The doorbell continued ringing and then the door opened and in walked my brother, sister-in-law and niece from California.  I was stunned!  What an amazing Christmas surprise.  It turns out that this was a Christmas present from Nicole and Lukas so that our entire family could be together again before Steve and the kids and I leave for the Philippines.

This will definitely be a wonderful Christmas to remember!

Merry Christmas,

Kerri

Our wonderful Christmas surprise

God's Amazing Blessings

This weekend has been an amazing time of experiencing God's blessings for our family in very tangible ways.  On Saturday we were given 50lbs of beef which had been donated by a local cattle rancher; on Sunday we were given an unexpected donation towards us moving to the Philippines; and this morning we had the Cochrane fire department show up unexpectedly and deliver presents for our whole family along with the largest Christmas food hamper we have ever seen.  I didn't know if I should laugh or cry when the fire department came, so I laughed at first and then spent a good amount of time this afternoon crying tears of joy.  Along with the presents for us, there was an additional present that came with a note saying that it was a gift for us to bless another family with.  We chose to give it to some wonderful friends and when their children saw it they wanted to open it right away.  It was a model train set  and it turns out that it was the exact one that the son had seen in a store a few months earlier and was wanting to buy.  What an amazing blessing for their family, and the credit can only go to God.

We have no idea where these Christmas gifts and food came from or why our family was the recipient of them, but I don't think we really want to know - it's simply a wonderful reminder of how much God loves us and blesses us even when we least expect it.  All I can say is thank you God.

Below are some pictures from this morning!

Blessings,

Kerri

Receiving the presents and food from the Cochrane Fire Department

Thank you to the Cochrane Fire Department for delivering the gifts!

Monthly Donations

I've had a few people express interest in setting up a monthly ongoing donation.  I have set up a new button on our blog to enable you to do so should you choose.  Just enter the amount you would like to donate in the box and click on the "Automatic Billing" button.  Again, all donations are done through PayPal, so the transactions are secure and you can choose several methods for billing.

Thank you in advance for your support!