Debbie Janelle: Keeping You in the Loop

Our Little Adventure

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 02:32:05 GMT

Christina and I had our first major situation this weekend. The drain pipe for our shower froze.

So we:

-poured boiling hot water down the drain

-called our plumber friend

-'plunged vigorously'

- called Christina's dad

- and put a heater in the crawl space

And then we went to bed...and then to work...And what do you know, when I came home from work today the drain worked great! Maybe we are plumbers after all....

By the way, there are updated pictures of our house in the 'House' album. Enjoy! And come see the real thing soon!

I'm Back!

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 20:49:26 GMT

Not that I was actually gone but after a summer of alternate scheduling it's good to be getting back into routine. Much has happened since last I was on here.

-I've been accepted as a missionary with Canadian Sunday School Mission.

-Two weeks of camp (ages 8-12 and ages 13+) and all the prep before hand.

-A family reunion with close to 90 cousins, aunts and uncles.

-Two weeks of neice and nephew time.

-My brother moved to BC to live and work with my sister and her family.

-Eight day canoe trip in the rugged beauty of North-Western Ontario.

-Weekend CSSM Camp Board Meeting/Retreat.

-Weekend visit with good friend Megaan.

-Started ISCF at the high school.

-Started youth.

All in all it's been a whirlwind of a summer but filled with many blessings. I'm so thankful for the relationships that were created and/or deepened, for the laughs, the deep talks, the reminiscing. I'm also so grateful to God for the energy He has given to carry me through, the creativity and ideas especially with preparing for camp and the doors He has opened for continued ministry in the area.

Looking ahead I'm also excited to see what all will be happening this year. The people He will bring into my life, the opportunities He will place in front of me, the challenges He will carry me through, the rough edges He will sand away.

Changes

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 03:42:37 GMT

It seems to be the season for changes. Two men and their families who have been quite involved in my life are leaving the area. One has already left actually. One has been a coworker in ministry for 3 years. The other has been guiding me through "Theology 101" over the past year and a half. I'm still adjusting to working part time. I just got word this week, albeit through the grapevine, that I have officially been accepted as a missionary with CSSM (Canadian Sunday School Mission). My brother returned home after 8 months in Sweden. Summer is here, which means a shift in schedule from youth, ISCF and chapel to camp prep and mowing lawn. And last, but not least, I know am 'escorted' wherever I go. Meet the latest addition to my life:

Some of these changes are just different. Some have sadness attached. And some come with excitement of what is yet unknown but to come. But I will put it out there, if anyone knows of a man (married, or not) who has a heart for youth ministry, is willing to live on pretty much nothing, loves the Lord and has a mature understanding of God's Word, we've got an opening here!

IT'S A GIRL!

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:31:17 GMT

At 10:41 this morning baby Zaeli Frances made her debut into the White family. She weighed 8 lbs 6 oz and measured 21 1/4 inches. After many weeks of waiting and multiple trips to the hospital, it was a quick delivery, about an hour and forty minutes, so fast her nose is a little flat. Both mom and baby are doing wonderful and planning on being home tomorrow afternoon. Theo, the older brother, was delighed with his little sister at first and then somewhat disinterested. Time will tell how that works out. Pictures will be coming. Praise the Lord for His mercy, care and grace through this process.

Latest and Greatest

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 02:52:50 GMT

So here's the deal. I'm going to be an aunt again! So, my mom, an aunt and I are planning on heading west to BC on Thursday. The little one hasn't joined us yet but we're hoping soon...definitely before we start back on the 26th! The big brother, Theo, is doing great. Just over two, he's counting to 20 in English, 10 in Spanish and has his ABCs down pat. I've missed him and am looking forward to hanging out with him a bit.

Otherwise, heading into spring which means camp prep and Apples of Gold. Apples of Gold is a girls mentoring program that runs for six weeks. My job is to lead the sessions, which are going to cover topics like relationship with God, friendships and purity. I'll try to have a series going here on the topics we'll be talking about from week to week. (Although....my other series only has one post!)

This spring is also bringing a few events that I'll be part of planning. Not sure what all they will include but at least one concert in the area. I enjoy event planning for the most part so I'm looking forward to it.

I'm also reading quite a bit. I'm just about finished Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God, the biography of the author of My Utmost for His Highest, a classic devotional. I find here not only a spiritual hero but a friend. Although incredibly talented and passionate, Oswald went through a period of intense internal struggle, knowing that he was not the man so many people believed him to be. It's not that there is some blatant act of hypocrisy. He just wasn't that good. I can so relate to that. Throughout this book it has been an alternation between being understood and being challenged. A timely read.

That's all folks!

Short Update

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 02:25:26 GMT

I decided to add the "Song for Sunday" feature to my blog to keep myself accountable to actually coming on here and writing but when all that is in my blog is songs for Sunday, I apparently have been neglecting it anyway!

So I thought I would do a little update, let you know what's going on these days in the world of Debbie.

You may have noticed that I've added ISCF to the usual (several months ago). Since October I have been going into the local public highschool to help out with the ISCF program (Inter School Christian Fellowship). It's pretty cool that we're still allowed to do this: go into a public highschool and talk about the Bible, God and Christianity. There are not very many students coming out and in that way it's tough going, but I'm praying that will change.

I'm also starting to look for a part time job. Looking for something that will be flexible so I can keep doing all of the other things that I'm doing ministry wise. I've missed the interaction with non-Christian/non-churched people so I'm hoping to find a job that will include a lot of interaction with people. If you have any grand ideas I would love to hear them.

Another change is that regular meetings with small group have ended. It's sad to see this go but God accomplished what He wanted to through the two years this was going on.

So that's a basic overview of some changes that have been going on. A lot of things are still the same, like GIFT and youth. And who knows what will happen yet throughout the year. Maybe another trip to Africa...

Riding and Gliding '06

Tue, 29 Aug 2006 05:06:30 GMT

Ah, it's good to be clean again, to sleep on a mattress that won't deflate and to let my muscles rest. What a great week! Weather wise we couldn't have asked for better! The Lord is good and always gives what is best for weather (a topic I wrote a bit about some weeks ago) and to our delight, He gave us amazing weather all week. Not only sun but a tail wind almost every day!

As always there were several highlights from this fantastic week: belting out praise and worship songs with Rachel (and any fellow paddlers) as we paddled, watching Mark cause forced regurgitation of a toad in a snake, tent discussions with my awesome girls, hot chocolate mixed with coffee on a cold night, challenging messages, reading from Psalm 119 while watching the sunset over the lake, being taken aside by an older woman in the faith for a word of correction and morning staff meetings. Amid all these great things, though, I think the greatest highlight was hearing people share their testiomonies/stories around the fire at night. Because I have known most of the campers for a few years, I can see how they have grown over the last year and more. The testimonies that stick out to me are not so much the ones where they shared how the messages that week had challenged them to deal with some issue they had let creep in, or to rededicate their lives, as good as those were. The testimonies that really encouraged me were those where there has been steady growth, where there is evidence that camp and canoe trip is not just a high but a continuing on. It's like my cousin Andrew said at the beginning of his testimony. He was talking about what is a testimony and came to the conclusion that it is something that is lived out, not just spoken. And I saw several testimonies lived out this past week in the lives of the campers. I saw leadership and I saw servanthood. I'm looking forward to what's going to be showing next year.

Hectic

Sun, 25 Jun 2006 00:26:46 GMT

My nephew has arrived! And it's obvious. He's definitely a well behaved kid, just very energetic. A barrel of laughs. One of his new tradmarks is that when you ask him "Theo, where's the gun show?" he'll point to his muscles. He is also becoming quite the hockey player (his dad taught him that). Funny kid I'll tell ya.

So having a little busy body in the house has kept this place on it's toes. Hard to get anything done besides coffeeing with my sister and mom and aunts and watching Veggietales. But I'm hoping to start painting the backdrop for camp on Monday.

The time is ticking down. Camp is a mere two weeks away. I scared myself just writing that. Lots to do yet! Your prayers are appreciated!

Home Sweet Home

Thu, 25 May 2006 01:13:21 GMT

I have arrived back in the cold wild north! I had an amazing trip! Apart from the lack of variety in food I would have loved to have stayed longer. The life there is so simple. So enjoyable.

Probably the greatest blessing in going was meeting so many brothers and sisters. Even though we have different colour skin and in a lot of cases a language barrier, our hearts are connected in Christ. It makes me very excited for the day when we will all meet before our Maker worshipping Him together in the same language and knowing each other. Truly beautiful people.

I'm still not rested up so I'm making this short. Over the next few days I will share a few stories of my time in Burundi.

In the mean time, bwanna asifewe (praise the Lord).

The Latest

Sat, 13 May 2006 15:47:31 GMT

I now understand what people mean when they say that you do not understand what it is like in third world countries unless you are there. I wish I brought a video camera but even that could not fully capture what this country is like. It would not capture the smells, which to be honest, are more bad than good. And I will say what nearly everyone says who has gone on a missions trip: you should go! It is definitely a perspective changer.

We are so spoiled in the Western world! To give you an idea, one of our team members from Uganda has an old pair of glasses that do not fit him well. One of the Canadian team members asked how much it would cost to go to an eye doctor and get a good pair of glasses that would fit well. It works out to about $8 US. Yeah. Their concept of expensive is...unbelievable. Actually, almost everything here is unbelievable. I could spend hours telling stories, which I'm sure I will do when I get home.

Right now I'm in an internet cafe. That is one thing that is really interesting about Bujumbura. It's such a case of contradictions. There is extreme poverty and yet many people have a cell phone. Also, I have given out my e-mail address to dozens of people. It seems everyone has an e-mail address no matter where they live, although they may not have a computer. There are also some people here who look like they belong in North America. And yet in other ways, they have no clue! There was definitely shock value when I took out one of my contacts! And then when the Fuhrer's took out their dentures it just got better! :D

On the spiritual side, it has been amazing so far. On our campaign, over 2000 people have prayed the sinners prayer at this point. I don't have the exact number. How many of those 2000+ were sincere and will continue to grow, I don't know. There have been people who refuse us (although they are few), there have been those who go through the process just to do it, and there are the jewels who sit listening intently and eagerly. When we leave these ones thank us for the news we have brought them. (In case you are confused as to what I am doing, we are doing door to door evangelism 6 days a week)

Yesterday I had the privilege of 'preaching' in a church here. What a wonderful group of believers! The singing was rousing. All they had for instruments was a plastic water container and a stick. A girl used it as a drum. But excellent drumming and singing! Oh, and they had some sort of rainmaker, shaker thing. This church has quite the story. About 8 years ago they were kicked out of the catholic church because they were praying on other days than Sunday. Now the Catholic priest wants to kill the pastor. But they are full of joy and their church is not big enough to hold all the people who come.

There is much more I could share. I have not mentioned the children! They flock to me because of my white skin. As we walk through the streets children and adults alike cry out 'muzungu!', which is their word for white people. I smile at them and then they start laughing. Or they enjoy touching my skin and hair. They are absolutely adorable! Today I was holding a little boy while my co-worker was speaking to the people and he fell asleep on my lap! I've also had a baby pee on me. They don't really have diapers here. So that was an experience.

I will end this with a plea for prayer. Here are some things to pray for:

~ continued health. Quite a few of our team members are struggling with pain in their knees. There have been other health problems which have been making the work harder, as we do a lot of walking. Pray that the work would not be hindered.

~ the volunteers from churches. Each day we work with a local person. Later these people will return to the people who prayed the prayer to accept Christ with a Bible and lessons to disciple them. Pray for them as they become leaders. They are not very well trained and this work will go on only by the grace of God.

~ Those we have spoken to. Pray for understanding and growth.

There are many things that prayer could be helpful for but those are some main things. Thank you for your prayers. Bwanna Asifewe (Praise the Lord)

Adventure Uganda

Sun, 30 Apr 2006 03:05:31 GMT

I decided that if I didn't hear from Compassion by Friday I would consider the trip to Uganda to meet my sponsor child a closed door. Friday I got the reply that said I can come. I called the travel agent to see if it's possible to change my flight and what the extra charge would be. It's not possible. At least not on this end. There is a slim possibility that it could be changed while in Africa but would be very costly. So it looks like Adventure Uganda is a no go, unless God decides to show up in a huge way.

Up 'Til Now

Wed, 26 Apr 2006 18:47:29 GMT

For those of you who are wondering, I'm offering you now a brief update on how things are going, specifically with plans for my trip to Africa. It's hard to believe that I leave a week from tomorrow. From when I was first considering this trip I asked that God would be glorified, not only while I was in Burundi, but also in the process of getting there and back. So far, I believe He has. To date I have all my immunizations (except for the anti-malaria pills I'll take while I'm there) and just last week received my passport back with my visa. I am especially thankful to those who have shown their support through financial gifts. Although my ticket was paid for with the invitation, the immunizations have been quite expensive. When I went to get my shots done at the Health Unit the nurse laughingly said that I have one of the fullest immunization cards she's ever seen, and that was without two that I added after that! I'm not sure how it's healthy to put so much stuff into your body...

That's a note of praise as well! I have not reacted to any of the immunizations I've received thus far. Pray that I won't react to the Malarone tablets I need to take while I'm there. Several people have had side-effects to anti-malaria pills. I just heard a story this week of a girl who didn't sleep all night because she thought the other girl in her tent wanted to kill her. She was on anti-malaria pills and they made her a little wonky!

Another item for prayer is my travels. I havn't added up my flying time hours, but last I checked my layover hours are 17 and a half on the way there and 18 and a half on the way back, for a total of 36 hours sitting in airports! From my experience, airports and airplanes are some of the best places to share about the hope I have in Jesus Christ. Pray for opportunities to share His love during the many traveling hours.

I have not heard back from Compassion about whether or not visiting my girl in Uganda is feasible. I need to confirm my flights within the next few days so if I do not hear from them soon that door is going to close. For that visit to be possible is going to take nothing short of the hand of God.

Thank you for all your prayers now and also while I'll be gone. I covet your prayers, I need your prayers. Pray that God would be made more famous for my going. To Him be the glory.

Website Updates

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 20:52:53 GMT

Besides the fact that I have seriously been neglecting this site, I am unable to upload pictures, and have been for a while, on to here. When I can, I will update them. Thanks for your patience!

Unexpected Opportunity

Sun, 05 Mar 2006 01:17:56 GMT

I find the way GOD works fascinating. Over the past few months my heart has been stirred towards missions, particularily short term missions trips. I knew that GOD was stirring my heart for a reason and that at some point it would come to light what His plan was.

I didn't expect it to be so soon.

Less than a week ago I receieved an invitation to join a couple from my church on a two-three week trip to Burundi, Africa to do evangelism with the churches there this May. What an unexpected opportunity. So, now I'm going forward step by step as GOD opens doors. Because Burundi is so close to Uganda, I'm also hoping to meet my sponsor child, Lydia. To be honest, it's going to take a miracle for me to get to Africa between getting my passport, visa(s) and shots so I would much appreciate your prayers.

To GOD be the glory.