Sunday and Monday June 28-29

Sunday afternoon we crashed at the camp. John gave four Bibles to four kids. Later that evening, during night prayers, he told me that they gave them back because they are Catholic. He was disappointed but I told him that several people I offered a Bible to were rather direct about not wanting one. We prayed that the Lord would put someone in front of John that He had prepared to receive God’s Word and they would be very happy to get a Bible.
Sunday evening we sat around the campfire and prepared for the rain moving in tomorrow.
Monday morning Loren and I awoke and toted the kayak to the Pokemouche River. He took off in the rain and wind. I drank left over coffee from yesterday and cooked pancakes in the rain. Misty and the boys slept on into the morning. After washing dishes and Misty getting our tent organized we went to the camp store to charge batteries and wash clothes.
We had washed them the night before and left them because the store was closing. Some of the towels soured so we had to wash them again. All’s well now. They smell better than us.
We all drove to the Inkerman Warf and picked Loren up. We all donned our Frog Togs and braved the elements of wind and cold horizontal rain. Every one played a part in getting him loaded. Afterwards he wanted to take a look at the ocean on the outer banks. The waves were reported as 10 foot. Not a place for a kayak. Later that evening we heard the sad news a kayaker drowned. He decided to stay inside the bays and go up river to Pastor Robert Losier. We went back to the campground and ate grilled cheese sandwiches made with hamburger buns, pb&j sandwiches, pretzels and chips.
Meanwhile it’s still drizzling and blowing but we’re managing. I took Loren to Poulette Bay (Chicken Bay) and boy was it rough there. We passed a porcupine alongside the road. The wind was about 25 knots and the rain was coming at us sideways. We got him on his way and I waited for a moment. He paddled back in and I was wondering if he was calling it quits. Nope, he forgot his watch.
I called Misty and she said it was not raining at the campground. It certainly was raining on me. It’s crazy; as soon as I drove into the camp it started raining. We scrambled around and packed up inside the tents and then loaded the bags on the roof. After the roof, we started smash packing the rest of our stuff inside the car. We broke down the tents and then lashed them to the roof. Soaking wet, we four squeezed into the car and drove to the gate. I was sure to turn in the gate pass card to get my $10.00 loonies back.
We drove from Pokemouche Campground to Tracadie. We parked at a church inside town and called Pator Robert. His wife, Carmen, answered and she gave great directions to their farm home. When we arrived at their home it was still raining. Kobee, John and I went to the barn and watched Robert boil lobsters. They were fresh from the day because it is the next to last day of lobster season and he had been to the wharf and purchased some from a friend. They boil them, cool them off in water, wrap in wax freezer paper and freeze them for the winter. We ate fresh lobster tonight. “MMMMMM jummy!”
Pastor Robert is very interesting. He is a sport fisherman, farmer and he restores old anything. Their house was built by his great grandfather and he has restored it as well as the barn, very nice.
I drove the car down to the Petit’ Tracadie River which is at the back of Robert’s property. After waiting only a few minutes, Loren paddled on in to the dock and we got him loaded, you guessed it, in the rain. Back at the house, we dried out, changed clothes, and ate lobster. What a treat. Kobee lit up. He smiled during the entire meal.
Robert coached us as to how to get to the meat. John only ate potatoes and meat. We topped the meal off with a strong cup of latte coffee and blueberry cake. We finished the evening with a bit more conversation, put the boys to bed with a couple beanie weenie stories, and prayed together.

Sunday Scouts

We made it through the night all tarped over to keep the rain out. Not real high, and definitely not real dry. Kevin cooked breakfast and Misty went to get ready for church. At the bathhouse Misty met Angela. Angela said that she is a den mother for the boy and girl scouts staying there at the campground. After a bit of small talk Angela went back to the campsite.

Misty prayed to try and figure out a way to give all the Scouts a Bible. As Misty was walking out of the bathhouse and Misty met Angela heading back to the bathhouse. Misty stopped her and asked if she could give her a gift of a Bible. Angela was happy to receive the testament.

Misty went on to ask if she could give the rest of the campers in the Scout group a Bible. Angela said they would like it very much.

Misty went to the car and got 12 French PWTs and took them to the Scouts. The scouts sat on the picnic bench and each received a copy of God's Word! The Scoutmaster translated for Misty as she shared the Gospel with them. She showed them the helps in the front and went to the plan of salvation in the back. As she explained, Rene' the scoutmaster, interpreted. Soon after she finished, Angela's parents arrived and we were able to present them with their testament as well. The Scouts lined up and said with sign language, "Merci Beaucoup" which is "Thank you very much" in French. They said word for word it's Sea Beautiful Cut.

We went to a Pentecostal Church that Loren had made contact with. It was a lady pastor and as it turned out her dad is a Gideon in Bathhurst.

We had the opportunity to share about our trip so far. Kevin told about the two young guys that had never heard of Jesus. Kobee told about giving a Bible to two guys early yesterday and one guy yesterday evening. Misty told about the encounter with the scouts.

We met a really nice family by the last name of Friolet. Jean Marc, Annie and three cute little girls. One little girl looks like Gabby Wade. Same hair, same smile.

One of the members showed up at the campground and picked Loren up and took him to buy us chicken for lunch. This is a great blessing and meant alot to us. We pray that the Lord will bless him for taking care of us.

In Pokemouche

In Canada now at Pokemouche Camp ground. Gave PWTS to two guys last night, never go to church, never had or read Bible, never heard the gospel, never heard of Jesus. They each have heard the gospel, they have a Bible and they marked their place in John to begin reading. Pray they will understand and someone will be in their life soon to water the seeds planted. There are many more testaments that have gone out but this was rather surprising in Canada. I am finding this to be more of the norm than the exception. I gave one Bible to Leon on the tip of Miscou Isle, the farthermost point north possible (one of those ends of the earth kind of places) Leon is a believer and was very happy to receive his testament because he said God saved him from his cancer last year. I gave one to Mr. Wilson and he said he was a good Catholic when I asked if he had a personal relationship with Jesus. We got in to a good conversation and he was thankful for his Bible.
Some are not so interested in having a Bible. Mr. Landry was kind enough to allow me and Loren to launch his kayak from a point in his back yard. I offered Mr. Landry a testament and he asked what it was I clarified that it was a Bible. He refused and said, "A Bible? No! I don't believe that stuff!" Pray that Mr. Landry gets another chance because the Lord came to him today and he told him not to stay. Mr. Landry is 82 years old. Time is short.
Kobee got to give Bibles to two guys this morning we met at the campground. He also gave one to Joseph at Pokemouche Campground this evening. There is definitely an English/French language barrier here but technology crosses the boundaries and Kobee is using his DSi to catch the attention of the kids around the camps and then it opens up to him presenting them a Bible. John tried to give one to a little friend that is 6 but he couldn't understand that it was his to keep. Misty gave out several to the manager of the campground, and a family from Ottowa, Canada.

Friday
Today we spent much of our time unpacking and trying to repack the car. This is very challenging. After we were able to get all the supplies and the four of us in the car we moved on.
During packing there were some guys working on a building. They took a break so I took a moment to visit with them. One guy is from Canada near here and he teaches wind surfing. The guy with him is from Tunisia. It is a nation in the north coast of Africa. They both accepted a testament and I told them how the most important decision we could make is to have a personal relationship with Jesus. The guy from Tunisia was quite interested in his Bible. Tunisia is a closed nation to the Gospel. We meet Loren at Wilson Point around 2:oo. He ate a PB/J and then hit the water again. We visited the lighthouse and Kevin at the northernmost point. Kevin gave a Bible to Leon. Leon was happy to receive it. He said that he had cancer in his stomach and the Lord had healed him. His answer was yes that Jesus was in his heart. At this time I am sitting out side a bibliotheque publique; I think that means public library. The boys have gone to find a bathroom. Every time we stop to do something we try to give some Bibles to people. From here we'll try to find a campground and Loren, whichever comes first. On to Shippegan.

Wednesday and Thuresday,
Well Wed. started off a little hard for Kevin. He took his perscribed antibiotics on an empty stomach and 30min. later he was sick. We managed to get a granola bar down him while smelling rubbing alochol ( trick a great nurse I work with tought me). He stay horizontal for a few more minuets and then we went to eat. We had a great breakfast and Kevin was back to normal within the hour. We had seveal hours to wait before we could go to the train station, so we took a chance to walk around Montreal.
Walking around, we ran across the guys from India, or so I thought. They were from Tamil but had lived in Montreal for some time. The were protesting the treatment of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. They said the government was treating them as terrorists and all of them were missing at least one family member. I shared that on a recent trip to India, a Tamil guy was our guide. After some more conversation, I offered them a New Testament. The leader of the protest gladly accepted the Testament and we said we would pray for their family members.
The train ride was great. Well maybe not great. The ride itself was great, the sleeping was a little on the challening side. The set up was two seats, table and two seats. Kevin and Kobee sat on one side and John and Misty rode backwords facing them. We ate left over pizza from lunch for super. John was so excited he was hard to contain.
Kobee presented Yves, our car attendant, a Bible. He was very appreciative but quite busy so he didn’t have time for much talk. Kobee did a great job getting the Word out though.
At the camp ground called Vague Leonard met us. He said they were not open yet but graciously received us. He was so helpful to get us aquainted with the campground and give us suggestions to fight the mosquitos. He brought us firewood and mosquito repelant.
I met Charlie Smith, a neighbor to the campground. Charlie, Leonard and I had a good conversation and I explained how we were going to travel the coastline sharing the gospel. At that, I took out a PWT. Charlie said he already had one and no thanks but Leonard was very happy to have one and asked if it were in French. I told him this one is English but I do have French. He said he would like that so on the way to pick up Loren, I gave him 3 French for him and each of his sons.
I finally found Loren on down 313 at the end of a road. We loaded and headed down the road back to camp. We ate pork chops, and mashed taters and good ole sweet tea.

Day one in the air to get there

The Lord began by answering 3 prayers quickly. Our prayers were to arrive safely in Atlanta on time and make our Montreal connection. Done. Secondly, we prayed for safe travel into Canada and to receive our luggage. Done. And most importantly, regardless of what happened with the first two requests for our convenience, was to have the opportunities to share the gospel with someone.
Kevin sat next to the President of Canada NAPA, the auto parts store, on the flight from Atlanta to Montreal. Seeds were planted. The pwt was not received after two offers but we did our part.
We are at our Hotwire deal hotel, the Hyatt in downtown Montreal. We went out for a bit of supper. Afterwards, we took a stroll around the fountain and dropped our feet in the cool water. The walk around the block from the hotel was rather, shall we say, informational for the boys, especially if they spent time "window shopping".
I tried the head bobble on a group of Indians to try to start a conversation but they didn't bobble back. I'll try again tomorrow as we have most of the day to stroll the city blocks.
After some DQ ice cream we are chillin' in the room.

Preparations

Hellooooo! We are packing. We have checked the weather and it is cold and rainy there. Loren and Nancy and kids have already headed up in their car. Pray for their safe journey and good hotels.
Many have asked us what it will be like, what we will be doing, and where will we be going.
Stand by for news...'cause we don't know.
It's exciting to just GO!