Dear Friends & Family,
Now that we find ourselves in November, with dropping temperatures and barren trees, we appreciate, even more, the beautiful colors of fall that we witnessed. It was the first time for Jason (and Lydia, Amos, Caleb) to experience a fall on the East Coast! In remembrance, we are greeted with a full backyard with piles of leaves to be put in bags and set-out for pick-up. We wonder what type of winter we have in front of us and look forward to the adventure (while most Québecois begrudgingly know what's coming).
For the month of September, Jason had the privilege of preaching his first sermon en français. This took a lot of preparation and energy but it did help, immensely, with him being able to understand French sentence structure and pronunciation. In retrospect, it was a little premature in his language acquisition for preaching an entire sermon (as he had to read for 45 minutes) and before his next opportunity Jason would like to have a higher competency, so that he could be more free to express the Scriptures more effectively to the audience. You can view this sermon through this link. We appreciated, so much, your prayers and encouragement on this day!!
September was also filled with preparing for the two missionary families that began language learning at the beginning of October. It was beautiful seeing how God orchestrated housing and details to bless all parties involved. Much of it required patience and listening to God's will, which is exactly how it should be! We were also able to attend another couple's wedding and it was a joy to support them in the next chapter of their lives. Overall, September was a great month for deepening relationships through excursions, dinner invitations, and events.
From the beginning of October, our home has welcomed many hours of language learning around our new family dining table! Jason continues his French language classes every morning (3 hours), along with another missionary lady from Arkansas. After lunch, Andréa teaches (3 hours) two couples who are headed to Africa for the beginning of January. It is an honor to be a part of global missionary preparation and Andréa really enjoys putting her years of language teaching into practice with those that will be using the language in Gospel-driven ways. Along with the normal weekly meetings, Jason has had the opportunity to attend two conferences and a church-planting banquet. These were encouraging events as he was able to see the Gospel movement that is taking place in Québec. It also helped bring focus and clarity for Jason's vision here, as he is in this time of waiting as he learns the language. The sickness bug hit Jason pretty hard this month but Andréa and Lydia were able to escape, unaffected. This month ended with an all-church fall festival in the country. It was a beautiful day and a great location for the church body to celebrate together being brothers and sisters in Christ.
Again, on the more logistical sides of things, Jason was able to finish all of the paperwork (and gathered evidence) for his Canadian Residency application. Unfortunately, it costs $1200 to apply and so we are waiting to submit this application. For those of you who have been praying for a GI doctor for Andréa, she was just called, on Friday, for the initial appointment with a nurse prior to seeing the GI doctor! This connection came about providentially, as she has been attending BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) classes in Montréal since September (as her health has allowed) and her group leader's husband is actually interning with the main GI doctor at Montréal General Hospital! He was able to put in a special referral for Andréa and it now seems like the steps are unfolding towards seeing a GI doctor! We praise God and also pray that this GI doctor will be open to alternative roads of healing (as we definitely don't have the luxury of switching doctors here). We appreciate your prayers in continuing to pray for healing for Andréa, as her health has continued to decline and has definitely limited her desire/ability to leave home.
Also, we had to get new Canadian numbers and our old phone numbers are no longer in service. So, if you tried texting/calling us towards the end of September until now, we probably didn't get your message. We are officially Canadians, now!
Here are the specific prayer requests for this next month:
Now that we find ourselves in November, with dropping temperatures and barren trees, we appreciate, even more, the beautiful colors of fall that we witnessed. It was the first time for Jason (and Lydia, Amos, Caleb) to experience a fall on the East Coast! In remembrance, we are greeted with a full backyard with piles of leaves to be put in bags and set-out for pick-up. We wonder what type of winter we have in front of us and look forward to the adventure (while most Québecois begrudgingly know what's coming).
For the month of September, Jason had the privilege of preaching his first sermon en français. This took a lot of preparation and energy but it did help, immensely, with him being able to understand French sentence structure and pronunciation. In retrospect, it was a little premature in his language acquisition for preaching an entire sermon (as he had to read for 45 minutes) and before his next opportunity Jason would like to have a higher competency, so that he could be more free to express the Scriptures more effectively to the audience. You can view this sermon through this link. We appreciated, so much, your prayers and encouragement on this day!!
September was also filled with preparing for the two missionary families that began language learning at the beginning of October. It was beautiful seeing how God orchestrated housing and details to bless all parties involved. Much of it required patience and listening to God's will, which is exactly how it should be! We were also able to attend another couple's wedding and it was a joy to support them in the next chapter of their lives. Overall, September was a great month for deepening relationships through excursions, dinner invitations, and events.
From the beginning of October, our home has welcomed many hours of language learning around our new family dining table! Jason continues his French language classes every morning (3 hours), along with another missionary lady from Arkansas. After lunch, Andréa teaches (3 hours) two couples who are headed to Africa for the beginning of January. It is an honor to be a part of global missionary preparation and Andréa really enjoys putting her years of language teaching into practice with those that will be using the language in Gospel-driven ways. Along with the normal weekly meetings, Jason has had the opportunity to attend two conferences and a church-planting banquet. These were encouraging events as he was able to see the Gospel movement that is taking place in Québec. It also helped bring focus and clarity for Jason's vision here, as he is in this time of waiting as he learns the language. The sickness bug hit Jason pretty hard this month but Andréa and Lydia were able to escape, unaffected. This month ended with an all-church fall festival in the country. It was a beautiful day and a great location for the church body to celebrate together being brothers and sisters in Christ.
Again, on the more logistical sides of things, Jason was able to finish all of the paperwork (and gathered evidence) for his Canadian Residency application. Unfortunately, it costs $1200 to apply and so we are waiting to submit this application. For those of you who have been praying for a GI doctor for Andréa, she was just called, on Friday, for the initial appointment with a nurse prior to seeing the GI doctor! This connection came about providentially, as she has been attending BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) classes in Montréal since September (as her health has allowed) and her group leader's husband is actually interning with the main GI doctor at Montréal General Hospital! He was able to put in a special referral for Andréa and it now seems like the steps are unfolding towards seeing a GI doctor! We praise God and also pray that this GI doctor will be open to alternative roads of healing (as we definitely don't have the luxury of switching doctors here). We appreciate your prayers in continuing to pray for healing for Andréa, as her health has continued to decline and has definitely limited her desire/ability to leave home.
Also, we had to get new Canadian numbers and our old phone numbers are no longer in service. So, if you tried texting/calling us towards the end of September until now, we probably didn't get your message. We are officially Canadians, now!
Here are the specific prayer requests for this next month:
- Jason's Language Learning - that he doesn't get discouraged and that he will be diligent in speaking only in French with others.
- Andréa's Health - for true healing to take place and an expedited path to see this GI doctor.
- Financial Discernment - as we navigate buying winter tires, other winter preparation supplies, and medical bills.
- Canada Child Benefit - we put in our application for this back in May and still haven't receive our tax-free monthly payment. Please pray that our application will progress faster and we can receive our money to help with finances.
Here
are pictures of Lydia at eight months and nine months! She now has
FOUR teeth and she is becoming brave in standing-up and holding on to
things to move around. She now realizes when we aren't with her and
going through the stage of being scared of loud noises. She enjoys
scrunching her nose and putting her tongue out. Thank you for praying
for her!
We wish all of our American friends and family a very joyful Thanksgiving!! We wish we could celebrate with you but you will be in our prayers. We are ever so grateful for your prayer and support in our lives!
We wish all of our American friends and family a very joyful Thanksgiving!! We wish we could celebrate with you but you will be in our prayers. We are ever so grateful for your prayer and support in our lives!
For His Glory,
Jason, Andréa & Lydia Maul
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