“I will bless the LORD who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. I know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.”—Psalm 16:7-8

During our last month in the Middle East we were blessed to have some really special friends visit us. A sister in Christ we got to know while doing relief work, and one of our friends and his new girlfriend came to spend time with us before we left the region. And lastly, some very dear friends from Canada who had always wanted to visit us finally made it—just before we moved home. 

These visits were such a beautiful gift from the LORD.

We’ve sensed God opening up new opportunities for us upon returning to Canada. We moved into a temporary place for the summer at the end of June, and within that first week, we ran into a family (from where we’ve been living) at a Shoppers Drug Mart.

We heard them speaking their language, so naturally, an introduction was made. They were so excited to meet a Canadian speaking their language! They invited us to their home, exclaiming that they would really enjoy having us. The next week we went over to their place. Oh, the food—what a treat!! We exchanged stories with each other, each sharing our own experiences of life in one another’s country.  

They came to Canada in 2023 and told us of the excitement, challenges, culture shock, loneliness, and ongoing uncertainties.  We also shared our story with them from our years in their country—how God brought us there, our language learning journey, our ministry, and also how we were forced to leave. 

It was a strange feeling to be on the flip side, where these lovely people are welcoming us back to our home country and asking how they can help us settle back here! Hearing about their adventure in coming to Canada reminded us of the interesting journey we’ve been on these last eight years. 

We are so grateful we said yes to Jesus’ invitation to follow Him and be His hands and feet amongst the unreached in the Middle East. We have no regrets and a whole lot that we gained in faith, relationship, and life experience because we chose to trust Him down this very unknown path. 

We personally don’t view our return to Canada any differently. We know it is Jesus leading us back at this time, and we’re trusting Him here in our home country again in a whole new way. 

Just days before we learned that we’d been blacklisted and would be forced to leave, the LORD spoke this verse to us very clearly through another believer: 

“The LORD says, Forget what happened before. Do not think about the past. Look at the new thing I am going to do. It is already happening. Don’t you see it? I will make a road in the desert. I will make rivers in the dry land.”—Isaiah 43:18-19

As we’ve pondered this verse the last two years, we’ve had different ideas of what it could mean for us. However, one way God has really surprised us is by answering a prayer and desire we’d been carrying in our hearts for over a decade. 

Just a few months after sensing that God was leading us back to Canada and making that decision to move again, we found out we are expecting a baby!

We’ve struggled with infertility the entire 17 years we’ve been married, and we slowly grew to accept life without children. We found a way to see the beauty of our lives together even without the ability to expand our family. But God knows that despite our contentment, deep down we kept believing He still might go ahead and answer that prayer one day. We are still in shock and easily brought to tears at the opportunity we get to experience this miracle at this moment of our lives!

So, we ask for your prayers in this final update as we transition home. Pray for the continued health of our baby, pray for the family we met—that their hearts personally encounter the love and grace of Jesus. 

Please pray for the connections we made with those we journeyed with while we lived in the Middle East. We want our relationships to remain strong despite the distance and for them to be continually encouraged in their faith as they continue walking with the Lord wherever they are.