June 1st we drove to Fort St. John , BC where Nathan and I had a couple days to spend with our Braun Family, and the rest of Jezreel went and played on a farm, and visited with some good friends.

On the 4th to the 6th we played at the Blueberry Gospel Music Festival, just outside Fort St. John about 45mins. Had some good times getting in touch with our bluegrass roots again.

After the festival we went back to Grande Prairie where we spend the next (almost) two weeks doing two more roofing jobs and getting ready for Kolten and Krista’s BIG day! It’s hard to believe they got engaged over a year ago!

Finally after a long, anticipated wait, witnessed by their loved ones, Kolten and Krista said their wedding vows, and committed themselves to each other in life, love, and marriage!!!! We all celebrated and danced into the night with a beautiful wedding and reception. What a blessing to be gathered together with so many wonderful family and friends to honor MR & MRS KOLTEN VIKE.

Kolten was a very handsome Groom and Krista a gorgeous blushing Bride.

Please remember them in your prayers as they travel this new and wonderful adventure together, I know they would appreciate it.

Well, after we sent off the happy Honeymooners, we went back to “work”! We have been in the recording studio run by Nathaniel Sterr, in Sexsmith, AB since the 22nd and plan to be on our way again by the 29th or 30th.

Recording has gone very well, and we are actually having a lot of fun with this new project, as we have a very talented engineer. The Lord has been present with us! As always.

Please continue to keep the recording in your prayers as it takes a lot of time and effort, and will continue to be a work in progress even after we leave Sexsmith and Nathaniel is left with the job of mixing etc.

Thank you for you continued prayers and support! Your ministry is amazing!

Feel free to check out pics on the website or FaceBook sometime and keep in touch!

Lord Bless you and Keep you,

Shandell for JEZREEL <><

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us..... Eph 3:20

We spent a good chunk of May in Ucluelet/Tofino where we took some time to recuperate a bit, enjoying the breath taking beauty that is rampant on the Island ! As well as we did some more work on the side.

We confirmed here that we would plan to go to Brazil this August for three weeks! Hence the reason we have been doing some roofing and construction, to pay for our tickets and travel expenses. SO, Lord willing, we plan to head to Brazil on August 17th till September 9th. So far the Lord has orchestrated the connections and we are working at getting our P’s and Q’s in order.

I am not too sure what our itinerary looks like while we are there yet but I’m sure we will post one when we know!

On the 19th we left the Island for the Mainland once again and made our way North again for Alberta . This time landing in Fort Saskatchwan, about 45mins outside of Edmonton, where we spent four days with the Fort Sask. Alliance Church. We played for their private school’s chapel service on the morning of the 28th, as well as a family concert that same evening. We took the Saturday to rehearse and rest, and then played for their Sunday morning worship service.

We really enjoyed our time at FSAC, reconnecting with the different ones from the congregation and staff we’d met there last year.

The evening of the 28th we drove to Grande Prairie where we FINALLY got to visit with Kolten and his (then) Fiancé, Krista. We got caught upon some wedding prep and fellowship for a night or two.

Thank you for you continued prayers and support!

Feel free to check out pics on the website or FaceBook sometime and keep in touch!

Lord Bless you and Keep you,

Shandell for JEZREEL <><

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us..... Eph 3:20

April 2nd found us crossing the USA boarder back into Canada , from Belligham , WA into Aldergrove , BC . The crossing went pretty good. But Andrew, our percussionist, got turned away because they said he had “exceeded” his time limit in Canada for the year already. So we had to leave him in Belligham with some friends for the night and travel to Pitt Meadows to get some paper work in order to prove that Andrew was in Jezreel’s care and not sneaking into Canada to work! Thank you Lord, we got our Andrew back the next evening, phew!

The 3rd we played at Grace Community Church in Pitt Meadows for the Easter service. (Always an encouraging and welcoming congregation.)

The three days following Easter we put our noses to the grind stone and endured the rain and mud to complete a roofing job we had booked the prior year in Chilliwack .

On the 9th we played at the “Talking Donkey” Coffee house in Vernon .

On the 10th we set up and played a concert at the Living Waters Church in Salmon Arm, tore down the same night and set up at the Salmon Arm E-Free Church where we did two back to back morning worship services and an evening concert on the 11th.

After the Okanogan we left for Calgary/Airdrie, AB where we played at the NorthEast Bible Chapel on the morning of the 18th, the Salvation Army Rehab in downtown Calgary the evening of the 22nd, and Center Street Church on the morning and evening of the 25th where we had the privilege to open up for and play with the traveling ‘Teen Challenge’ choir!

OK, time for a God-Story!

While we were at the Salvation Army, looking for a place to park, so we could unload our equipment for the concert/ chapel service, my dad was met at the front entrance by a man that my Dad wasn’t familiar with, but the man knew him. Finally he spoke up and said to Dad, “You don’t remember me do you?” Dad tried to explain the many faces we encounter day to day and the man shook his head and smiled. He then explained himself saying, “ my name is Bob and three years ago I was hitch hiking through Salmon Arm when you and your bus picked me up! You took me as far as you could, and before you dropped me off, you gave me a Bible, some cash, and told me to consider Jesus Christ, and since then I found my way to this rehab and have completed the program and have given my life to Christ! I remember you.” Dad was speechless!

What an amazing testimony and encouragement, AND challenge!

Back to our April itinerary….

On the 26th to the 28th we drove from Alberta to Vancouver Island .

Thursday the 29th we did a family concert in Duncan , and then on the 30th we did another community concert in Ucluelet. We tore down that same evening and went to Tofino to play the next morning, on the 30th, at the Tofino Bible Fellowship!

Yes, we were a little drained by this point! But we always manage to find a breath here and there.

Thank you for you continued prayers and support!

Feel free to check out pics on the website or FaceBook sometime and keep in touch!

Lord Bless you and Keep you,

Shandell for JEZREEL <><

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us..... Eph 3:20

“A man’s heart plans his way,
But the LORD directs his steps”. Proverbs 16:9

2010 here we come! Can you believe another year has come and gone already?!
It seems to me like we just celebrated 2009 and now it’s over! I’ll admit the main thing that comes to my mind when I think 2010 is the 2010 Olympics that are going to be hosted in Vancouver, and of course we are not even going to be there! Figures…

You may be wondering where we’ve been the past few months, seeing as I’ve not written a new update since before November.
Well it just so happens that Jezreel went on holidays from about November 8th to December 27th, it was the first time Jezreel had ever taken a real “Break” since Jezreel began almost 8 years ago! It was time! It was so nice to have the break, although it’s always nice to be back together, to come “home” again.
You think we’d be sick of each other by now eh? (never!)
Over the Christmas holidays Mom, Dad, Daiton, and Andrew did some traveling together on the Island, all the way to Prince George, then on to Salmon Arm to be with relatives.
Nathan and I went north to Prespatou/Fort St. John area to be with his family, and Lyndon and Peter also returned home for the time. It was a blessing to be with loved onesJ Anna’s remained home in Ucluelet and will not be returning to Jezreel.
I know, many have said “WHAT!? We thought she was a permanent fixture!” It’s a little crazy to us too, and we’ll miss her just like everyone else who came to know and love her. She is hoping to pursue, Lord willing, Bible school/missions training sometime this year or the next because she feels the Lord has laid on her heart to go into overseas missions. Please pray for her as she adapts to a small town lifestyle once again and as she looks for a consistent job. WE LOVE YOU ANNA RANDALL!!!!!!

But shoe’s are never left unfilled……
Once again we’ve welcomed newbie’s onto the bus!
John Ans, a former Jezreel member, has rejoined us as our sound engineer, and we are so glad to have him back. It’s going to be a big blessing to have the sound run off stage again, rather than Dad trying to master the sound board, guitar, keyboard, vocals and everything else he does, all at once!
Besides John we have brand new blood, Adrienne Postma! She is a talented young lady from Salmon Arm, BC who has joined us as our photographer for the time being.
We have really enjoyed getting to know her so far as she fits in wonderfully! She also rocks at doing laundry (she says she actually LIKES doing it! Suck up…heehee, j/k! )

We crossed the USA border the evening of the December 27th. We had very nice lady crossing guard and everything went very smooth, thank you Jesus!
We made the 3 day trek through Washington, Oregon, and California…might I add, SNOWY, yes snowy, California! We got stuck in a snow blizzard in Yreka!
It was neat, because on our way we had the opportunity to pick up two young hitch hikers, a young couple slowly making their way from Washington to New Jersey.
It was a blessing to have them on the bus with us for almost a whole day…we were able to share what Christ has done for us and why we do what we do in this ministry, as well as just do some singing and fellowshipping together. They both had an understanding of Jesus and Christianity, and said they were on a sort of “Pilgrimage”, doing video interviews along the way with people willing, asking them questions like “If you didn’t have to work, what would you do with your time?” I thought this was interesting, and very appropriate….why not ask ourselves questions like this? It’d be interesting to hear the outcome! But I think we should all have a common answer and focus, that being on the Lord and on His Kingdom! With a new year its seems comes the “new year resolutions!” What are your? I’m lazy and try not to make too many because I feel I often don’t keep them, which only makes me mad at myself! But one thing I am going to try and work at is living more contently in TODAY. Not tomorrow, not next year, but today!
I find I get so caught up in things that I forget to focus on what the Lord would have me do today. Or forget to be content with the way things are….I always seem to want whatever step I think should come next. It’s so exhausting to live this way!
I started this letter with Proverbs 16:9…..”a man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps”. It’s one of my favorite verses, and a theme it seems amongst our crew on the bus. I think we’d all live more “resolutely” if we remembered this better.

Anyways……
We made it to our destination, the Stockton Salvation Army Adult Recovery Center on the 30th, just in time to set up for New Years Eve.
We kicked off the tour at the Stockton A.R.C with the 87+ men who are in the program there, and we were so very very blessed by our time together. We always go to these rehabs thinking we want to bless them but find we leave the blessed ones. They totally poured out on us, giving us thrift store vouchers, food, filling our gas tank….like I said, poured out! It was need to listen to all the different testimonies, and see so many lives touched and changed by the power of our Savior. Psalm 147:1 “Praise the LORD!
For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.”

It’s been somewhat challenging trying to refocus our attentions on music as we are a tad rusty, but the Lord has blessed us with some rehearsal time and we are slowly getting things together again. After Stockton we made our way to Las Vegas, NV where we are currently for the next week or so. We have several booking in this area before we move on to Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and so on. Hopefully I can get back into the swing of things and get on top of these newsletters again and keep you posted on these next stops. Please continue to keep us in your prayers….We believe it your prayers that keep us going half the time! God is so faithful! I love how everyday is a new adventure when you follow Christ. Pray for our diligence, unity, and that we’d be faithful out here…even in the littlest thing.
Luke 16:10 “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much”!

Take care and thanks for taking the time to read!
May the Lord Bless you and strengthen you in this new year, and may we all live Resolute for HIM!

Shandell
for JEZREEL <><

Hey There!
Well, I’m going to give you a sort of condensed update on the past 4 weeks or so.
A lot has been going on as we are now back in Canada after our “whirlwind” USA tour.
See, normally we spend up to six months at a time in the USA, but we squished this tour into about four-ish weeks!

We finished up in Lancaster,( but not until after we were able to lay a roof, fall a tree, face flood-like rains that trapped our bus in inches of mud!) and made our way to Longview, TX. In Longview we enjoyed being reunited for a couple days with some great friends. We were able to enjoy some good fellowship, and played for a morning service at United Fellowship church, and an evening at the Highway 80 Rescue Mission.
We also were able to make it to Southlake, TX for a wonderful evening of fellowship and worship at the Cornerstone Bible church. What an encouraging time!
After we finished in Texas we made the trek to Denver, CO.

We were in Denver for only a week! Which made it sort of tough to get in all the visits and such that we normally get the time for. While in Denver we did a two night event at the Salvation Army Adult Recovery Center. We always love our time here as it is an annual stop, and look forward to, Lord willing, doing a three or four night event next year. Usually these evenings are for evangelistic purposes, we sing together, Dad or someone does the speaking, and we always offer prayer and an altar call…give them a chance to make things right with the Lord. It’s always so cool to witness the response and see the transformations that God can do.
Also in Denver we played at Highland Baptist Church, and did a quick roofing job for a friend.

After Denver we made our way to Lingle/Torrington, Wyoming for a quick two night stay where we did a youth concert for the local youth groups.

After Wyoming we shot right back up to Canada!
We crossed at the Sweet Water border, and praise the Lord! had little difficulty getting across. We made it to Airdrie, AB that night.
We were in Airdrie for about a week, during which we played at the Northeast Bible Church, the Airdrie Koinonia Christian School, and the Airdrie Alliance youth group. Also, Dad left for a couple nights to make a quick drive to Vernon, BC for a funeral of an old friend who passed away of throat cancer a few weeks ago. Dad felt it important to be there to be an encouragement and witness, as the majority of those mourning Ian’s death were non-believers.

We left around Oct. 7th for Salmon Arm, BC. There we played at the Living Waters Community Church both the Saturday night and Sunday morning. It was fun to spend time with some of our friends and family as we all gathered for the weekend to celebrate both Thanksgiving and my Grandma Vike’s 80th birthday.
It was a privilege to celebrate and honor Grandma together as she has been such a faithful, mother, wife, grandmother, aunt, sister, and prayer warrior for so many years.
And she still seems so young and beautiful in her own, precious way. What a blessing she is to all who know her!
We left Salmon Arm for Vancouver Island after the celebration ended.

So we are back in good ole’ Ukee now! Another “home sweet home”.
We’ve already been here about a week ad will be for two more. It’s been a pretty relaxed stay so far, which is not typical for our Island stay!
While here we are slotted to play for and update the local supporting churches, help with a youth group, do a concert/coffee house evening at the Ukee High school, do a Halloween alternative evening, and a few construction jobs. Pretty normal stay really

Nathan has made a trip to Saskatchewan for his Grandpa Wollf’s funeral and will be gone only a couple days, probably be back by time you read this. It is hard to see a loved one pass on, but the family is very confident that Grandpa is with the Lord in Glory as he was a sold out believer, who loved the Lord and raised a large family to do the same. I am thankful Nathan could go and be a part of the celebration in honor of Grandpa’s memory.

NEXT, it’s BREAK TIME!!!!!! By the end of next month we will be disbanding for a little over a month to just rest and renew over the holidays.
I’ll admit I am really looking forward to this time off, but know that we will all be ready to roll again for the New Year.
This year has just flown right by, and seemed a bit busier for Jezreel then time’s past.
But who can complain when the Lord has been so incredibly faithful!
He has so diligently provided for all our needs and held us together as a group.
We have a lot to be grateful for! Everyday should be Thanksgiving day.
Even in situations that have seemed tough, or even in the reality of death we can honestly say “Thanks” cause the good FAR out weighs the bad. God is good all the time!

Thanks so much for your prayers, your support….Especially when we dealt with our border crossing! Please pray that we’ll remain diligent until the break…it’s easy to let your guard down.
Now, our God, we give thanks to you and praise your majestic name! 1 Chron.29:13

Thanks again! Lord Bless!

~Shandell for JEZREEL~

Hello! Here I find myself once again about ready to begin another Jezreel update!
I always get messed up as to where I left off in the last letter and where I should start as there is always so much going on and I’m never really sure what all I should talk about.
Our internet access has been seemingly quite limited this past month…which sometimes is not all bad ;) Anyways…I don’t like going on and on, so I will try to stay to the point and give you an idea of where we’ve been and where we are headed these days.

Well, I believe I last wrote from Rainey River, ON. From Rainy River we made our way to Dorian, about a 45 minute drive from Thunder Bay, ON.
We played at the little church there on Sunday, July 26th. We spent the next week at the Dorian Conference center adjacent to the Dorian Bible Camp where we would work the following week. We took the week off to enjoy some much needed relaxation, rehearsals, and Bible study time. We started up at Dorian Bible Camp on August 2nd. The camper’s ages ranged from 9-12 yrs old.  Jezreel did music for the chapels, Dad was the main speaker, Lyndon, Clark, and Andrew were on Program staff, Kolten, Kylan, Mom, and myself were Cabin leaders, and Nathan helped on Kitchen crew. What craziness! The camp was well organized and we enjoyed building relationships with both campers and staff. We had the privilege once again of seeing kids come to the saving Grace of Christ.
The feel was a lot different dealing with younger kids compared to teens.
Clark flew out on the 6th, leaving camp a day early. Originally he was only going to go home for his cousin’s wedding, but decided the Lord was calling him to remain in Airdrie with his family to pursue new and different things. He is greatly missed already, but we trust the Lord has great things in store for him. WE LOVE YOU CLARK!!!
But as the Jezreel cycles usually go, we may have said good bye to one but we gained two more! Anna flew back into Thunder Bay from her family holidays on the 10th, and with her came Daiton and Peter Bird! Our old/new members :) Peter is helping out where Clark used to be on audio visual and photography. We left Thunder Bay immediately following their arrival for Toronto. We arrived in Toronto the following evening.
Paul Vike flew in on the 13th and we joined forces for the weekend to help with a Vietnamese Youth rally. Paul spoke to the youth about the “GO Factor”, challenging the youth to go beyond themselves and to preach Christ. (Matthew 28:19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”.) Jezreel did the music for all the sessions. Kylan flew out with his dad back to Salmon Arm where he will remain as well to pursue the things God calls him to do. So yet another goodbye….We miss Kylan and the way he always kept us laughing, but are excited to see where God will take him next.
LOVE YOU KYLAN!!! Daiton is taking his old position as bass player.
After we packed up at the rally we headed to Cambridge where we set up to play the next morning at the Cedar Creek Community Church. The service at Cedar Creek was a blessing and we enjoyed getting to know some of the congregational members when we were spontaneously billeted out for the night.
From Cambridge we made the long (20 minute!) trek to Freelton where we stayed with Laura Livingstone and her Aunt and Uncle and family. Was a blessing to spend time together and enjoy a few days by their pool as we “endured” 38c.  HOT HOT!
Based from their home we went and worked on a local farm owned by an elderly lady, helping her with yard work, we rehearsed when we got the opportunity, helped at the home we stayed at with some yard projects, helped repaint and touch up an intercity church down town Hamilton, and played Sunday morning at Famborough Baptist Church.
While staying in Freelton we had the opportunity to spend a day at Niagara Falls!
What beauty! Of coarse the falls were a little smaller then the pictures show, but still just another small reminder of our Heavenly Maker’s majesty and ingenuity. The falls demonstrate such a roaring power; the mist it produces drenches you in seconds!
It was a fun day all in all and a new experience.
We left Freelton following the service at Famborough for the big boarder crossing.
We crossed from Niagara into New York State. The crossing was not as smooth as we had hoped it would be. They pulled us aside for about 2-3 hours, trying hard to find any reason to not let us through. But by the Grace of God we made it across by the skin of our teeth! But next time we try to come across might be a different story unless we get some specific paper work in place:s
Once across we made a beeline for Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We arrived in Sioux Falls by the 26th, just in time for Krista Quapp (Kolten’s Fiancé) to fly in that evening.
The same evening we did a back yard acoustic worship time and testimonials with a local youth group
In Sioux Falls we stayed with some good friends of ours and helped them at a place called the Underground Firehouse which duals as a Christian coffee house and a prayer ministry. We enjoyed spending several nights there, helping make drinks, serve food, and just mingling with the people who dropped in. We also got to be a part of a project, making “Life” necklaces, which are necklaces that represent James 1:27
“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
The money made through these necklaces will help fund adoption. It was such a blessing for us to be apart of such a rewarding project!
On the 28th we played at Set Free Ministries which is geared toward ex-addicts, bikers, and those who prefer a non-traditional church-like setting. Nathan taught the Bible study time, AKA Sunday school, Dad gave the message, and Jezreel did the music. It was a lot of fun! Sometimes it’s just nice to get outside the typical church “box” and mind set.
On the 30th we played for the Sunday morning service at The Point is to Serve Church. The Lord’s family is so big and diverse! John Ans drove all the way from Ontario to join us for a while. It was great to have him back for awhile.
The following weekend we headed to the LifeLight music festival. This festival is huge! It has four different stages to cater to different tastes in music, over 120 bands, half of which are well known in the Christian music industry, and about 360 thousand people who attend over the 3 three days. Friday night we just hung out and took in a lot of the bands, Saturday we took shifts volunteering in the main stage kitchen. It was fun to help serve groups like Newsboys, John Reuben, and Remedy Drive their coffee and see how they interact in the “real world”. Heehee.
Sunday night we were the last group to play on the coffee house stage.
The weekend was so busy! lots of walking in order to get from one stage to another,
encouraging hearing the Lord exalted through testimony, scripture and song, and challenging to try and be the one’s who are set apart….trying to minister rather than simply just entertain. BUT, who said Christians never have fun! There was much to be had. Yet by time we pulled out at 1am Monday morning we were ready for some rest.
Kolten and Krista flew out on the 7th, back to Grade Prairie where they will remain in prep for their wedding next summer. They have many adventures ahead of them as they face the grown-up world, and I am sure they would appreciate your prayers!
We miss them already, though it’s only been a few days. WE LOVE YOU TWO!
From LifeLight we began our trek to TEXAS, woohoo! We made it to Lancaster on the 8th, but not without some bus trouble along the way. We seem to have lost a few airbags along the beaten path, which means instead of the bus rolling down the highway all smooth like, we make horrible, body jarring, lip-biting, WHAM, BAM, motions.
We hope to get the airbags replaced soon, as this is not only hazardous to OUR health, but the bus’s as well.
We are currently in Lancaster for another week or so, staying with good friends, the Segovia family! As I type the guys are all outside falling a giant tree in the yard (Lord grant us safety!) and preparing to replace the house roof….which is great, BUT, it is incredibly HOT and muggy outside! Please pray that the Lord will grant us some cool cloud cover over the duration of the week so we don’t get heat exhaustion. Appreciated!
After Lancaster we head to Longview for a few days, then to Colorado. We always look forward to going to our home away from home, meaning Westminster :)
Please keep us as a group in prayer as we have undergone a lot of changes with members. When members change, roles change too. Nathan will be taking over the main drums which will be different. He’s nervous, but we think he’ll do just fine.
We have a lot of ground to cover the next 4 weeks or so, so please pray for journey mercies and unity, and that the good ole’ bus will cooperate. Thanks!

I hope as you read these newsletters you are encouraged by what God is doing, and reminded to pray for us and the different people and ministries we have the opportunity to spend time with. We are continually challenged to find time in the Word of God in order just to prepare for the day. I’m reminded of our newest memory verse,
Philippians 3:12-14 “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me?
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
It is only by God’s grace and mercy, and by being grounded in the Word that we are able to keep trucking ahead…not that we always do it well, hey! We’re human, we mess up!

Lord Bless “YA’LL” (I think I’m getting my Texan accent back already!)

Shandell for Jezreel

I think I’m going to make the July dead line this month, yay!
July has been hopping for us out here on the “road sweet road”.
It’s been full of outreaches, church services, traveling from point to point, bible camp, people coming and going and lots of rain!

Right now we hail from Rainy River Ontario, where we have been staying for the last couple days and will continue to reside till the end of the week. Rainy River is a teeny little town Canadian side of the Minnesota (USA) border. We are working along side a missionary family that works with the Canadian Sunday School Mission. We just finished a week of Teen Camp at Sunny Cove Bible Camp, outside of Fort Frances, ON. I personally have not really worked as a camp counselor…. And what a stretch! I commend those who feel called to such a full time ministry in camp! Working with teens is not easy. Jezreel led the music for the chapels twice a day, Nathan was the official speaker, and most of the crew was in cabins with the kids. I believe there were around 50+ kids between the ages of 10-18yrs old….all types of backgrounds and beliefs!
The week was full of fun, games, music, laughs, tears, and a little rain…
ok, a lot of rain!
And though there were hiccups and lots of physical, mental, and spiritual exertion, the week went rather well. Kids came to know Jesus Christ as their Savior by the end of the week, and some renewed their commitments to the Lord, Praise God!
I had the opportunity to personally pray with some girls, and I was so very encouraged. One thing I’ve come to realize since Nathan and I rejoined Jezreel is I particularly love one on one relationship with people….getting the opportunity to really hear people out and encourage each other in the Faith.
I felt so privileged and overjoyed to have those opportunities…All glory to God!
It was so hard to say good bye to some kids knowing the harsh situations they would be returning to, you almost wanted to wrap them in bubble wrap and take them with you to love them and protect them the way they so badly needed.
Only God can do what we cannot and show Himself strong on their behalf.

Well, I’ve sort of began this update with the most recent highlights, maybe I should give the run down of the rest of the month eh!

Most of the month has been spent between Saskatchewan and Ontario, places in the past we have not spent as much time in. It’s been cool to cover new territory and revisit old ones, especially for Nathan and I who skipped a year and a half.
We spent about a week and a half in the Saskatoon area, staying with Clark’s Grandparents. We played for a Canada day pancake breakfast outreach in the West Portal church parking lot. Same day we ended up spontaneously playing for a Baptist Leadership conference at Ebenezer Baptist church.
Same week we played with Ebenezer for a community outreach BBQ.
It was really neat to see so many different ethnic groups join us in the park, mostly for “free food”, yet they were being reached out to.
We also praised God for a break in the weather as we were getting a lot of rain.
That Sunday we traveled out of town about an hour and a half to the teeny town of Milden, SK. Though the setting was small we were encouraged by the response. The people totally poured out their hospitality! Thank you Milden!
Same Sunday we played in Milden we hurried back to Saskatoon to play at the Salvation Army soup kitchen.

We’ve done a fair amount of traveling lately. And due to the miles put on we have also had a couple minor bus technicalities. Examples; blowing a bus tire on our way to Milden…thank the Lord we were in a town! And our trailer hitch breaking and dragging the trailer just outside of Swift Current. Both were thankfully inexpensive, quick fixes. I don’t bring these things to attention because we want your pity, but to bring to your attention once again how God provides so faithfully!

Now back to Ontario. After Camp we jumped into several bookings, Evangelical Covenant Church in Rainy River, the Border church in Baudette, Minnesota, Off Lake Church, visiting at the Young Star House for Native Youth, some of us have been helping the Mast’s with VBS, volunteering one morning at the new church building, and other random tasks. Needless to say we are a little bit tired! A lot of go go go. This next week several of our people are dispersing for weddings, family reunions, and other such events. SO, the rest of us will get a bit of re-coop time…Lord willing.

Thank you for praying us through….we depend on and covet your prayers so very much! We have so much going on and so much more on the horizon.
Its hard to know which was is up sometimes, if you look down for but a moment it is so easy to lose focus and direction. But we press on not because we “can”, but because with God’s strength we WILL.

Shandell for Jezreel

“But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good”. 2Th 3:13

May and June totally ran itself together it seems! So I’m going to do the two combined this time. Besides, I kind of missed the deadline for May, but Shhhhh, who’s telling right!?

We pretty much began May in the rural community of Big Lake, arriving there on May 1st, where we stayed with one of my Dad’s older brothers, Uncle Mark and His family on their cattle ranch.
On the 2nd  the Jezreel girls attended a Ladies brunch at the community hall, where I was given the opportunity to share my testimony with a group of about 20+ ladies. It was scary for me but it was also a great experience, and I was very encouraged by the results. Growing up I’d always thought it’d be a neat idea to be a speaker for women’s/girl’s groups, so it gave me a chance to catch a glimpse of what it might be like.
Meanwhile on the home front everybody pitched in and helped Uncle Mark and Auntie Paulette hold down a few calves for the annual branding session.
It’s always a riot to watch those who have never done it before scramble with the poor animals and hold on for dear life trying not to get a hoof in the gut! So fun!
On the 3rd  Jezreel played at the Big Lake church for their morning service.
Following the service we all headed back to the ranch for a big ole’ shin dig in celebration of Mark and Paulette’s 25th wedding anniversary. Their daughters had planed a big surprise party in their honor, to which we all enjoyed visiting with a large part of the Vike family and lots of friends.
On the 4th we did a big work bee on the property, hauling and cleaning up a lot of bush and firewood.
On the 5th we headed in to Willy’s Mud Puddle, also known as Williams Lake.
On the 6th we played for the Maranatha Christian School, which was a lot of fun. Probably one of the most enthusiastic school groups we’d ever played for.
It’s sad, but it feels like most youth these days are not into worshiping together through music. You can almost feel the peer pressure and the resistance from the stage most times; the fear to be caught by other’s singing God’s praise…and this is in our CHRISTIAN Schools! But this school setting was a major encouragement. That evening we got together with the Sheepfold church which was a home church group. Dad spoke to them, and again we worshiped together through song. We left the next morning for Prince George, where we stayed with my Grandpa and Grandma Yarama.
On the 7th we set up and did an evening concert at Hartland Baptist church.
On the 10th we played for two morning services, and did an evening concert at Westwood Mennonite Brethren church….Busy day, but also a special day set aside to celebrate our mothers! “Love you Mom!” Dad specifically wrote a song to commemorate Mom’s and he and I sang it as a duet.
On the 12th we were “Alberta bound” as sang by Paul Brandt :)
We ended up camping at Wal-Mart in Edmonton for the next two days and put on some miles in the West Edmonton Mall, literally shopped till we dropped sort of deal….does window shopping count?
On the 14th to the 17th we ended up at Camp Nakamun for the Native Youth Conference where we played for their evening chapel sessions. There were a couple other groups we collaborated with which was interesting yet fun.
We have worked with Native American’s before and its quite a bit different than a typical youth setting for sure….But praise the Lord for about 40-60 youth that came forward during alter call to give their lives to Christ! What victory! We saw genuine repentance for sure, and we were so grateful to be a part of this.
After Camp we headed to Airdrie,AB to stay with some friends there.
In Airdrie we took two days to do another roofing job…one no one fell off of this time! We also played for Airdrie Christian School. Nathan and I ducked out for a couple days to take a little trip to Banff to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary! Was wonderful to get away and spend some time together outside of the group and enjoy the beautiful Canadian Rockies. Don’t get me wrong…we “love” spending everyday and every minute with a bus load of people! Heehee.
On the 24th we played for two separate congregations that share one building,
The Native Bible Fellowship and Northwest Bible Chapel, Nathan and Clark took these two services to share a sermon each. Dad likes to give Nathan and sometimes some of the other young men in the crew chances to share and teach from the Word.
The next day we all ended up going our separate ways…..Mom and Dad on a much needed “VaCay”, Nathan and myself went early to Prespatou/Fort St John to spend time with Nathan’s family, Kolten and Krista to Grande Prairie to spend time with Krista’s family, Anna on a last minute trip to Vancouver Island, and the rest of the boys (and Tinkerbell) stayed in Airdrie with the Hardy family!!!
What a much needed, week off. It was nice to catch up on sleep and visit with family and friends.
We all reunited at Blueberry Bible camp for their annual Gospel music festival, on June 5-7.It was their 10 year anniversary. Way back when Jezreel was starting out, then know as “The Truth”, we played at this festival when we were first starting out.These were the days when stage fright would consume us! I would refuse to make eye contact with the audience, Kolten only knew 3 or 4 different drum beats, and Daiton would cry on stage because he was sooooo nervous! I figure we’ve come a long ways since then? This is also the festival where I first met my wonderful Hubby, oh the sweet sweet memories:)
Jezreel did about three sets over the 3 days, Dad helped with the MCing, and Nathan helped run the sound. Nathan and I were also asked to lead the youth campfire session which went amazing! Funny thing, we had about a month or more to prepare for the camp fire, but we simply couldn’t come up with anything we felt as appropriate. We ended up asking a local group of girls, fondly known as the “Soul Sisters”, to share what God has been doing in their lives. It was so cool to listen to not only this particular group of young girls, but others as well, open up and share their hearts on God, faith, trials, baptism, favorite bible verses, and much more. Youth I never expected to ever hear from spoke out in boldness! We felt so blessed by the time we called ‘er a night, like the youth had taught and challenged us more then we did them! Thank you Lord. We pray that the Lord will continue to stir in their young hearts.
Way to go Soul Sisters, we are so proud of you! Keep it up!
After 3 days of blue grass, and not wanting to hear a twang of country for a long time we headed to Grande Prairie.
We stayed in GP with Krista’s family. While there we did another roofing job, a job that lasted the better part of the week….torch on in the heat!
We also did an intimate back yard concert, and two Sunday morning services at Church of Christ. Amidst the hustle we had a very special event take place.
Kolten asked Krista to marry him!!! But she said no……
Just kidding, of course she said “YES”! So their wedding is set for June 19th of 2010. Two down and one to go for the Vike family! I honestly can hardly believe Kolten is actually old enough to get married; I’m pretty sure last time I checked he was still a hyper active little boy making trouble, and bugging his older sister right? We are excited to have Krista join our family. Kolten and Krista plan to remain and live in Grande Prairie after December to plan and work in preparation of their wedding. We also had a second surprise; Daiton flew in for the week for a surprise visit! Was so nice to see him as he is hugely missed.
We left GP on the 17th for Fort Saskatchewan, AB.
We camped out for three days in the church’s parking lot where they totally poured out on us! It was completely unexpected! They had a menu planed for our entire stay, different congregants bringing us meals around the clock, provided showers, and even a hotel room. We were so encouraged.
We did a Saturday night service and the Sunday morning service as well;
Dad spoke at both services on a father’s love, seeing as it was Fathers day and all. Krista flew home on the 21st to get the ball rolling for the wedding, as well as to get some much needed one on one time with her family ad friends.
Kolten plans to join her in August.
We Left Fort Saskatchewan on the 22nd for Medicine Hat which is where I am currently typing this from. We are just taking a break in the Mall parking lot and I’m trying to keep my priorities straight and get this letter done!
That’s kind of what May and June have looked like this far. We have been super busy for the most part and continue to have a full itinerary as we continue to head East toward Ontario. We are all doing pretty well but ask that you remember us daily in your prayers as our unity, endurance, personal walks, and personal bubbles are challenged on a regular basis. Thank you! God has been so good and has been taking care of us and our needs above and beyond what we could imagine. The tough part is keeping our focus on the positive when some days are some what negative. Another prayer request you could keep in mind is this, we have been realizing the necessity in recording a new CD soon, Lord willing within the next few months. This means a lot of work a head of us.
Thanks again!
Hopefully my next letter will be on July alone, rather than July and August combined! We’ll see though, no promises!
Blessings<><
Shandell

           For Jezreel

APRIL….Happy Belated Easter!
Had to say that since this is the holiday that comes to my mind when I think of April.
But Forget the little bunny, My Lord is Risen and Alive and well!

Our March ended and began on Vancouver Island, Ucluelet to be exact.
It rained a lot! Typical west coast, liquid sunshine anyone?
We were supposed to do a couple of roofing jobs but had to cancel due to the weather.
We kept busy in spite of the cancelations though, of course.
We were able to have some time to have some good rehearsals and prepare for the big community concert we annually do in Ucluelet at the high school there.

We did the Wednesday night youth group almost every Wednesday night.
Nathan, Dad, Clark and Daiton all took turns speaking. Was fun to spend that time with their youth.

We did the community concert on the 3rd and had about 200 people in attendance!
It went really good, as we always look forward to this specific event, never knowing how many will come from the community outside of the local churches. The seeds are planted! We had some of the local youth open up for us, and a couple “special guests” get up and do special numbers with us, namely Erin Hazel, previous Jezreelite, and Melissa Livingstone…..future Jezreelite?

On the 4th Mom, Dad and Kolten went to Nanaimo to pick up Krista Quapp, Kolten’s girlfriend, unknown to Kolten! Great fun surprising him and we all looked very forward to getting to know her more as some of us had never even met her…myself being one of them, and being the big sis and all I hadn’t had the opportunity to “assess” and let’s just say this, I thoroughly “approve”:)
Krista is currently on the road with us now and will be indefinitely. (wink wink*)
She has been a big help with running our merch table, set up, and slowly we’ve been getting her on stage, teaching her harmonies. Not to mention her first time roofing jobs!

On the 5th we played at Tofino Bible Fellowship for their morning service, doing both the music and the preaching.
After the service we spent the entire day preparing for the home school graduation party, which Nathan, myself and the rest of our crew hosted. There was close to 40 of us in total, and did we ever have a blast! I love to plan and organize, and it was a great opportunity for me to play:) We had a “Masquerade” theme, and we all partied till about 1am the next morning. And the best part was, we all remember it! The joys of having a party with (mostly) christian friends, minus the alcohol. It was a good experience and testimony for some to see you can still have good, CLEAN fun…without the hangover!

We also spent a lot of time working on Doris Livingstone’s house, doing renovations and touch ups on the exterior.
The boys still managed to get a good amount of surfing in on their free time.
Even I braved the cold, crashing waves once, suited up in a nice (tight!) wet suit.

On the 9th we left Ukee for Camp Qwanoes/Kaleo’ Bible school, outside of Nanaimo.
But we only made it just out side of Port Alberni before we ended up creeping to the side of the highway. Break down! Something we are not strangers to at this point.
But a gentleman pulled over to assist us, and was able to help us with mechanic contacts, and cell phone use. It turned out it was mainly just a fuel filter of sorts that needed replacing and we were on our way within a couple short hours. (Sorry, I don’t know much about auto parts! (“What kind of bus is it?”….. “Um, a big one!?”)
We made it to the camp the next morning to set up and relax before we did a big concert for their Bible school students and several youth groups combined.

The next morning we caught the ferry and made our way off the Island to Pemberton.
Now, Pemberton holds some significance to us. When I was in elementary school, we lived there, and Dad was on top of his game there. Most of you who know his story will understand that this is when he was very heavily into his drug addictions. The police pretty much gave him the options of leaving town or facing prison time, so we left when I was in about grade 2. We pretty much avoided Pemberton after that and most of the people who knew us and Dad’s history there.
But Dad had gotten a phone call a few months prior to this visit about an old buddy of his. This friend used to party hard with Dad and was a close friend for many years, but due to their different life styles and Dad’s new Faith, they slowly lost contact.
But now this friend of his, Ian, is dying of a harsh cancer of the throat, still trapped in his addictions and still an unbeliever, with little time left.
So I guess you could say this visit to Pemberton was somewhat of a reconciliation trip.
Ian came to the concert we did there and Dad pretty much pleaded from the stage for Ian to give his life to the Lord, and was able to spend some time in prayer with him.
We are hoping the seeds were planted deep and continue to pray for Ian.
We know that hears were definitely moved just by our family’s testimony.
We hope to make Pemberton an annual stop now.

After Pemberton we made our way to Salmon Arm, after a few days in Chilliwack for Easter dinner…yum yum! (and 10lbs later!)

In Salmon Arm we played several places such as King’s Christian School for their Friday chapel, Living waters Church for a concert, and Sunday morning at the E-free for back to back morning services. Was also a blessing to spend time with some family and friends that reside in the area.
But amongst the business we had a scare….Dad went to help a friend who does local roof contracts make an assessment, atop a roof that was very steep and about 22 feet off the ground. As he made his way up the roof, the rope he was using to secure himself gave way, and Dad made his way back off the roof, backwards I might add, free falling!
The home owner and his friend rushed to Dad, who was lying breathlessly in the dirt and snow, the home owner cursing and cussing, and Dad’s friend began to pray.
Dad felt he was ok so they picked him and drove him to emergency.
Long story short, the Doc said he was a miracle….No broken bones, just large, painful bruises, a couple scrapes and a bit tongue! THANK YOU JESUS!!!!
We couldn’t believe it!!! But we were of course incredibly thankful. It was a scary experience, but Dad still insisted on playing for all the events, even though he needed assistance walking and it hurt him to move! But you can’t keep a good man down…and anyone who knows my Dad knows that making him sit still is next to impossible right!
BUT, the doctor did call back a couple days later with concerns. It seems because of the bruising and swelling they didn’t catch everything, cause it turned out Dad does have a collapsed vertebrae in his spine. But the doctors weren’t overly concerned, and said he could either have it operated on, or just try and “rest” and let it do its thing. But it does add about 10-20 years to his back and he is still having some difficulties with his mobility, and still needs painkillers. You prayers are appreciated as he continues to recover:)

 We made it to Clearwater on the 22nd where we promptly began another roofing job, built a sun deck, and did some landscaping, and this time we didn’t get rained out!
And yes, even Dad made it atop the roof…he hates being left out.
We played at the Clearwater Baptist Sunday morning, and Krista joined us on stage for the first time….with little rehearsal too. She was a real trooper.
And we also helped with some firewood at Clearwater Bible Camp where we stayed/staying. We have also had Caleb Clendening come to join us short term for the next month or so. He is an incredibly talented pianist. Only problem is he’s already been nailed with a flu bug that seems to have started making its nasty rounds. Anna’s been nailed with it too. So please pray we don’t all catch it!
We are actually just Clearwater tomorrow!

Next stop, the big city of Big Lake…where we get to enjoy some ranch life for a couple days and even get to be apart of branding some poor, little , unsuspecting calves.
Should be fun….and a tad smelly:)

Thanks for your prayers! And thanks for reading! A bit lengthy this one is…hope you make it through the whole thing! Blessings:)

Shandell
For JEZREEL <><

Happy almost April!
Well, by the time I had actually sent out the February newsletter it was time to send out the March update….Oh yeah, I’m on top of things these days! The way I see it I could either send them late or you can just guess what we’ve been up to, but I don’t want your imagination to run TOO wild now, so here is the March update :)

We began our March adventures in Westminster, (Denver) CO. We played for our USA sending church, Highland Baptist Church, for their two morning services. Singing full force, or should I say trying to sing, at 8 am in the morning….not always my favorite! But they were blessed services, and we always love mingling with our church family there.

We packed up rather quickly after the second service to be on our way to Torrington, WY.
But alas, after a great morning, the enemy tried to throw a kink in the day. BUT! There is never a kink too big that can thwart our Lord’s plans. You all know we live in and drive a million ton bus (a little exaggeration maybe).
Well, driving down the highway on our merry little way a tiny little truck decides he is going to cut in front of our big rig and then proceeds to step on his brakes. Not so smart, as a rig like ours doesn’t stop on moments notice…Meanwhile inside the bus Nathan, MY dear Hubby Nathan, is grabbing something off the dash. But when the little truck decided to slow waaaaaay down, Dad had no choice but to step hard on his breaks in order to prevent a collision. And Nathan, just turning to walk to the back of the bus after retrieving his item off the dash had no warning. “WHAM!” Into the windshield Nathan went. “CRACK!” Went the glass. And off drove the oblivious little truck.

Of course we all panicked, thinking Nathan hit his face, but THANK YOU JESUS, God has given him quick reflexes and he managed to protect his head and walked away with only a few bumps, bruises and scrapes to his elbows and shin. Nathan’s biggest worry the whole time was the large windshield that now needs replacing! We marveled at God’s protection in holding the window in place, cause realistically the window should have shattered under the weight, which would have made the situation a lot more horrific then it was. And thank the Lord since then He has already provided a new windshield! And it ended up being a lot more inexpensive then we thought.

Lessons learned:
#1 Never EVER slow down or break too quickly in front of a larger vehicle or you may end up as a hood ornament.
#2 When moving around inside the bus while its driving down the road, HOLD ON!
Or wear a helmet.

We arrived in Torrington that evening and were able to have the next two days off, just helped around our friend’s farm a little.

We also celebrated Anna and Andrew’s happy birthday’s while there.

On Wednesday March 4th, we set up at North Hills Baptist Church in Lingle, WY where we played for their Youth that evening. Nathan spoke to the youth and challenged them. You can listen to his talk on our website in the form of a podcast, it’s titled “Skittles”.

March 5th we set up in Faith Baptist Church, Guernsey, WY, 20 minutes from Lingle, where we played again for youth.

March 6th we tore down and drove to Douglas, about an hour from Guernsey. We played in Douglas at the First Baptist Church for both their morning services and then hung out with their grade 4 and 5 Sunday school classes, PIZZA PARTY!!! The kids enjoyed taking turns touring the bus. That evening we did a family concert.
We decided to tear down and be on our way that evening due to an incoming snow storm that could get in our way.

We drove, or rather Dad drove, the next two days on our way to Snohomish, WA. On our way we ended up having to drive through a couple snowy mountain passes anyways. The first big pass in Montana we ended up spinning out and getting stuck on a big hill due to the snow and ice, and not to mention our bald tires.

The boys had to haul our chains out, chains that wouldn’t stay ON the tires. With the Lord’s help we started moving slowly, but by the time we got going Dad couldn’t stop so the boys had to run along side and try and hop back on board on the go! Some of the boys even had to jump into the trailer. It was actually pretty funny to watch….apparently we are not very sympathetic to each other on the bus….but it was really funny to watch them run alongside the bus Forest Gump style….”Stop! WAIT! *huff huff ”

We eventually made it safely to Snohomish on the 10th.
We set up on the 11th at Midnight Cry church, which is a congregation of mainly Bikers.
We did an evening concert for them on the of the 12th.

After the Midnight Cry concert we packed up and drove to the Bellingham,WA. 
We stayed the night with a family that Jezreel met last year when stranded on the side of the road in front of their Auto Shop. They allowed us to work on our bus this trip as well. Not only did they open up their work space and home to us, but they also blessed as with brand new tires for the bus!!! This is a huge blessing to us and provision, and a major burden lifted! They also did an oil change for us. THANK YOU RC and FAMILY!!!!

We played at Grace Baptist Church, did an evening concert. The turn-out was small but there was a group of Awana kids that came and pretty much sang over our PA system! It was refreshing to hear their loud, slightly off key voices, so full of joy, singing without reserve. I was reminded again why we are asked to have Faith like a little child.

After the concert we once again packed up and drove for the US/Canadian border, which was less than an hour away. Aldergrove border crossing…going home! Thank you so much for your prayers!
The crossing went pretty smooth. The first stop we made when we got across was……Yup, you guessed it! Tim Hortons!

We set up at Grace Community Church in Pitt Meadows where we played the next morning for their morning service. It was wonderful to visit with local friends and even some family.

We caught the Horseshoe Bay ferry around supper time.

We arrived safely in Tofino at my Aunt and Uncle’s around midnight. We arrived with the full intentions of getting full swing into some roofing jobs and rehearsals and such, but it wouldn’t stop raining all week long! So basically the week was a write off, besides some rehearsal and down time… which is not all bad.

Nathan also had the opportunity to speak to the Ukee and Tofino youth that attend a Wednesday night Bible study together.

Saturday we headed to our other “home” in Ucluelet where we moved in with OUR Livingstone Girls :)
Sunday morning we played at Grace Bible Church. The service went really good, and Doris and Melissa Livingstone both got up and did special numbers with us, as well as Dad spoke and challenged the congregation with “Chatoyance”…curious as to what this means? Listen to the sermon! It’s also a podcast on our website.

After the service we all proceeded to the beach in the rain where Melissa Livingstone was baptized! What a testimony Melissa! Rick Clendining and Dad preformed the baptism.

We will be on the Island for a little over 2 more weeks. We love our time on the Island. Rain and all! And the boys love to hit the surf!

We are praying for more of a break in the weather so we can get on with more of our responsibilities.
Please pray with us! As well as for the big community concert we will be doing at the high school on April 3rd. Again, for further praise and prayer requests please check out Clark’s prayer report on our website. www.jezreelmusic.com/pages/pray.htm

Well, that’s this months summary for now. And I’m semi-on time! Yay!
Lord Bless!

Shandell
For JEZREEL <><

G’Day!
That time of month again…time to but my vocabulary to test and see if I have any creative juices flowing! I know I certainly don’t “love” sitting down to read something that is just plain old boring or reading something that is a chore to behold with my eyes. So I’ll do my best! I feel as if I may be up to the challenge this month :)
I don’t want to simply entertain you though…I want to share with you what the Lord is doing in the lives of Jezreel at present.

February. (that is an odd word if you sound it out phonetically isn’t it?!) You know what February means right…its MEANS winter is almost over and Spring time is neigh! WOOT! I personally prefer the sunshine and flowers over snow and cold.

Jezreel has been anchored in Westminster/Denver for the entire month, and then some. We always enjoy our time here, yet it’s had a different feel due to our busy busy schedule. Woofda! Feels like we’ve been on the go quite steadily, and by the looks of things the rest of our calendar for 2009 looks no different. But this is OK. Mom is doing a very good as Administrator. Speaking of Administrations….did you know this is a Spiritual gift? We got February off to a great start! Friends of ours,(and maybe yours!) the Clendinings, Rick-the Dad, Barb-the Mom, and Caleb-the Baby (well teenager actually),  came all the way from Ucluelet, BC to teach us a week long course on Spiritual gifts. We had a wonderful time together and learned so much. And were able to learn a bit more of what it means to operate as the body of Christ. Learned that the fruit of the Spirit is what we ARE as believers, and Spiritual gifts are what we DO as believers. Rick is most definitely in the Teacher category, and is a very talented one at that. We also had some wonderful fellowship time and ministry opportunities together. Thank you Clendinings!

We have been spending most of our weekends out of town. Many trips into the beautiful mountains. To places such as Idaho Springs, which we annually look forward to, to the First Baptist Church there, to Colorado Springs at the Pine Creek Community Church, to Monument at the Lighthouse Christian Fellowship, and even a couple trips for our boys to Winter Park for some snowboarding/skiing. Thank the Lord for no injuries…just soreness, to which I have no sympathy…that’s the price you pay for playing hard boys! The guys always love basking in creation and hitting a few jumps while they are at it.

We also have stayed in the vicinity of course. We have played at the Belleview Christian School for a morning chapel, at the Livingstone Community Church in Brighton, the Denver Rescue Mission, the Crosswalk bookstore/coffee shop, and the Salvation Army Adult Recovery Center where we also saw re-dedications and brand new commitments to Christ! Praise the Lord! Dad also generally gets the opportunity to give the sermons/messages in these settings. Each place was a different kind of blessing and encouragement. And always contain different types of challenges. But challenges are good…keep reminding us of just who we are and just how Great our Lord Jesus is.

We have also had opportunities to reconnect with friends, old and new. Always wonderful to get together and sometimes give each other little “love-shoves” in the right direction. PROVERBS 27:17 says, ‘As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.’(NIV) This also goes as a part of being in the body of Christ.

Besides bookings, and people, there has been a lot of work to do on buses and trailers and a couple roofing jobs to keep us busy. Feels like the list is never ending! Thankfully Dad has a large crew of boys this time to assist him. Without them Dad’s list would truly be never ending. Also had some good rehearsal time in there.

But in between tasks we’ve been challenged by a not-so-friendly cold virus that just won’t ‘bug off ‘(pun intended). Seems like almost everyday since we got here some ones been down with this bug. This especially has been a challenge to our vocalist. Lord willing it is almost through with running its course!

I think Nathan and I are getting a little better acquainted with our roles here in Jezreel. I have been taking care of a lot more of the computer type of admin…helping on the home front rather than the roofing jobs and such. And Nathan is currently preparing a course on Revelations to teach our crew. As well as building his relationships with the other guys and helping with the bus maintenance etc.

We have had some other visitors’ join us short term while in Denver. Lyndon’s parents, Steve and Donna Froese, have come for a total of about 10 days to spend some much needed time with their boy and ourselves.
Joe Peyton, former Jezreelite, flew in from Georgia for a visit also.

We were able to do our big annual photo shoot down town Denver, thanks to our good friend Tom. Lots of fun as we’ve lots of character to spread around! Hopefully we’ll get some of those pictures up soon too.

We will end our time in Denver and begin March at Highland Baptist Church on March 1st.Then we will be on our way to Wyoming for about 4-5 days before we end up back in Canada! YAY! Most of us are looking forward to going “home”.

So that about sums up February! Will get on March soon….I find easier to send out these monthly updates when the month is actually over. That way I don’t miss anything :)

Take care and thanks for your prayers! Please see Clark’s specific prayer update on our website to know how you can pray for us. www.jezreelmusic.com/page/pray.htm

Thank you! Lord Bless!

Shandell
For Jezreel <><

Beginning of a new year!!! January 2009….  Happy New Year by the way!

We especially are excited about this New Year as it is always nice to start afresh and look ahead expectantly to what the Lord is going to do. Like the Martins once sang,

"God is gunna do what He's gunna do, He's always up to something new!

And you never know just who He's gunna use.

So when He calls your name my friend, find your place and jump right in!"

I'm not quoting musical lyrics as if they were Scripture, guess I just have my Mother's knack for having "a song for everything"!

Well, as most of you know, Nathan and myself are back full time with Jezreel. We flew into Denver, CO on Jan 2nd. We have been asked many times how long we plan to be here, and the answer is, Indefinite. We only know this is where the Lord has led us  for the time being… For good or until God says otherwise. :) We are content with our decision, as we always continued to feel apart of Jezreel even when we were not technically with them. Nathan is taking on a role of leadership, as Dad's right hand man, and a kind of Pastor/mentor within the group. Especially as we seem to be "blessed in abundance" at the moment with young men! My job will be to resume my role as singer/synth player, as well as write the Jezreel newsletters (obviously!), and be Support Staff where needed.

The group once again has shifted with members. Nathan and I  returning. As well as John Ans has returned home to Ontario, where he hopes to pursue different types of ministry and his love for music some more. He will be missed! But we are not one man down. On Jan. 9th Kylan Vike, ( YAY FAMILY!) flew in from Salmon Arm, BC. He is serving on the floor at the moment…meaning with sound and visual and anything else that needs to be done. He already has been a big blessing to us and we are pleased to have him. Eventually we hope to have him on stage, contributing his wonderful vocal and guitar talents. All in the Lord's timing.  

Jezreel arrived in Las Vegas, NV on Jan. 5th. Parked the bus at  friends, John and Deb Steffy. For the next week or so they spent a lot of time rehearsing in Steffy's garage, where they allowed us to set up. From the 9th to the11th Jezreel spent time with Renaissance Baptist Church, Pastor Riemer, his family and others from their congregation.

Jezreel helped them settle into their new church building by doing a prayer walk over the community, handing out flyers to the neighborhood to make the community aware of the church and welcome them to attend, they teamed up with a team from Renaissance to hand out food and clothing to the homeless, as well as played for their Sunday morning service.

During this week the decision was also made that I would fly out of Denver to Vegas on the 13th. Nathan remained in Denver to prepare for the arrival of the team. Though it was SUPER hard to be apart for almost two weeks, we saw the benefit in my getting somewhat caught up on the musical end of things. As well as Nathan spending time building relationships while he had the opportunity.

On the 14th we played at the Green Valley Calvary Chapel, for their Wednesday night Bible study. We did the worship time and then Dad spoke to the youth group. A few other events we took part of while in Vegas were playing for the Rushing Wind Church, Saturday night service, Dad again spoke the message.

Same night we set up at the Lighthouse Church, where we played Sunday morning. The Lighthouse was gracious in allowing us to remain set up in their sanctuary for a couple days for some much needed rehearsal time…MUCH needed on my part especially…Little Mrs.Rusty! As well as Kolten is working on resuming his role as drummer now that  John Ans is gone.

The Lord has been blessing us with new songs and music and we are excited to hear them come together. And even more excited to share them with you!!!

On the 21st  we played for the Salvation Army Adult Recovery Center. We are a little Bias to the A.R.C's as we love to share testimony, especially Dad, and  Christ's hope with the  men and women in these centers. Love to share with them the hope, future and value they can find in Jesus Christ if they only let Him be their main source of influence, of freedom, of redemption.

On the 24th, our last booking in Las Vegas, we played with several other groups, including a Break-Dance crew, at an event called "Flip the Night". Basically it was a night of celebration as believers and prayer over the city. Probably one of the most impacting things about it all was the huge, and I mean HUGE, windows that lay spread across the front of the room, right behind the stage where all the musicians stood. The view from these windows was almost the entire city of Las Vegas, including the famous "Strip"…the heart of the city. The view was breath taking!

But the crazy part was this, these spectacular lights concealed some of the most well known deceit and pain in all of the USA and Canada. It was 1 John 2:16 ("For all that is in the world––the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life––is not of the Father but is of the world.") in panoramic view. It was almost ironic. But more than anything, heart breaking. How we must break our Lord's heart even more in how we use these  vices to fill in the void only He can fill. Challenges us all the more to continue in the Faith and proclaim Christ's saving Grace.

We left Vegas around 10-11pm that same night and arrived in Denver by 11:30pm the next day. Lots of driving and little sleep on Dad's part! Although he claims to enjoy the drive/ :) So we are now in Denver, our home away from home!

We've had the better part of the week off from music so far, but the guys have been working away on the bus compressor, tearing out the reno's we made to our old trailer in order to prepare it for sale. Among other administrative and mechanical tasks we've kept busy!

Please continue to pray for us as we trek forward!

• For unity in the group, for the newer members as we are caught up to pace.
• For the sale of the Trailer. For the bookings coming up in the next week.
• A matter of utmost importance is that we pray especially for those who have come to Christ through this ministry, that they would be continually mentored and looked after by their shepherds whom they have been turned over to.

The requests are endless!!!! But so are the Praises!!!

Thank the Lord for His sustenance and grace. And for His constant provision.

Lord Bless you as you begin this year!!! 

In Him;

             Shandell

                       for  Jezreel <>

We’re back in the US now and busy as ever. The past few months have gone by fast, seems it always goes that way. Most of the month of December was spent in Mexico!
Our trip to Mexico started off late at night with a three hour flight from LA to Mexico City. Arriving around 5 am, we were exhausted; tired and jetlagged. We settled down on the floor for a good nights sleep only to get kicked off by a non-English speaking security guard. Most of the night was spent in a corner of the airport, out of sight of the airport staff. This started off our thirty hour layover in Mexico city. Oddly enough, the airport was freezing cold, which caught most of us off guard, and the one sweater we had brought wasn’t enough. It was fun though, living in the airport for a day, struggling with an unknown language. 
We arrived in Manzanillo December 10 and were met by Keith and Nicole who picked us up at the airport. We were pleasantly surprised to step off the plane into blessed warm weather. Our trip from Manzanillo to Colima was fun, getting to see such a difference in terrain; the ocean, banana, and coconut trees, and Spanish billboards. We made a pit stop at a little fruit stand on the side of the road and got some delicious bananas, pineapples, watermelon, and an interesting fruit which we can’t remember the name of. We finally arrived at our destination, the orphanage, and were blessed to find a beautiful home and adorable children ranging in ages from 18 months to 6 years old. Our accommodations at the orphanage were wonderful, roomy, and very clean; not what we expected.
Our time at the orphanage was busy as we played with the kids (the kids are each so adorable and special in their own way, you can’t help but want to take em’ all home!), did a ton of laundry (both ours, but mostly theirs), washing windows, mopping floors, raking and blowing away leaves, landscaping, various outside projects (building a compost box, mowing lawns, etc), sorting and washing toys, baking, cooking, cleaning, etc. We were blessed as well to get some much needed rest and downtime, which gave us the opportunity to write a couple new songs, do lots of Biblical studies, and sleep.
It was saddening to hear some of the stories and backgrounds of the kids who were there, and at the same time encouraging to know that they are so loved and taken care of by the workers and that the love of Christ is shown to them. They are also taken care of very well by people from the community who provide them with good clothes, toys, food, and at Christmas, many fiestas (parties). Other than the fact that they aren’t taken care of by their own parents, it is like they have a family as each kid looks out for one another and it’s almost like a big sleepover party.
The two weekends we were there we had the blessed opportunity to attend an all Spanish speaking church. Though we weren’t able to understand most of what they said, we enjoyed the passion, love and excitement they had for Christ. We also got to experience things like exotic bugs, iguanas, geckos and their funny and animated kissing sounds. The guys were always looking for hidden iguanas in the trees, and one day caught one that fell thirty feet out of a tree. Most everyone took a turn holding it and getting their picture taken with him (it did very well for its first photo shoot).
After the first week, Nathan and Shandell flew down from Canada to join alongside and help us with the many tasks around the house. Nathan assisted our landscaping efforts with his hedge trimming skills, while Shandell helped momma bake a million cookies. Along with baking cookies, the girls helped make 20 gingerbread houses (that ended up looking more like Flintstone shacks) for the kids to decorate. 
The Jezreel team was blessed again with the kindness of someone lending us a 15 seater van to use for the last week we were there. We had also been praying for accommodations to be able to spend our few last days on the beach, after the kids left on December 23 to spend Christmas in the homes of some of the families from the church, and again the Lord provided. Our accommodations were a house on the beach in Tecoman. Our beach house had nothing but a fridge, a stove, three beds, and lots of creepy crawlers. There were two rooms, one with two beds, and the other with one. Each bed had a bottom sheet and a pillow. The house was bare, and when we say bare, we mean it! There were no towels, no blankets, nothing to cook with, no toilet paper, no windows, just openings, ya get the picture? :)
For Christmas we were able to bless the orphanage, kids and staff, with a dessert luncheon, tumbling mats, and some other blessings with money that was generously donated to be able to do that.
We quickly learned it would be better to sleep outside than inside with the bugs, mice, and geckos. All the mattresses were moved outside, and the boys all slept squished onto the mattresses and others in the two hammocks, and the remainder of us in the van. We did go out and buy a few essentials to get by, toilet paper, a pot, and some food etc. We also purchased a few blankets and towels which we all shared to keep warm at night. Even though it seemed like we didn’t have much, it was the best Christmas, and most Christ centered by far. We loved it! We had “just add water” pancakes for breakfast, the best spaghetti ever with fried burger patties and a can of tomato sauce for Christmas dinner, with marshmallows for dessert. It was wonderful to sit around the fire and share our hearts with each other and what God is doing in our lives.
We arrived back in LA on December 28 just past midnight, it was so cold! Our bus was freezing, and the battery was out of commission (Welcome Home). Our time in Mexico went so fast that it hardly seemed like we were even there. We definitely look forward to going back as we know the Lord worked mightily in each one of our lives.
On December 29 we left LA and arrived in Stockton, California on the 30th. We spent the next six days with the men at the Salvation Army ARC. We were again all so blessed to spend New Year’s Eve with them, and be a part of what God was doing in their lives. Throughout the week, we were able to help out by doing several Chapel services, cleaning, taking down Christmas decorations, cooking, serving, working in the warehouse and offices. It was wonderful to get to know the men and their hearts as they shared with us their life stories. It was like a miny revival, as they put it. We are also very excited for the opportunity to go back. We went in to be a blessing, but left being even more blessed.
We pray that you all had a wonderful, blessed Christmas and New Year’s. We thank-you so much and appreciate your prayer support. Without it we wouldn’t be able to do what we do. We look forward to seeing you and thank-you in advance for your support in the upcoming year.

Dear friends and family,

This Halloween season we have played three Harvest Festivals, two in Tucson and one in Phoenix. One of the Harvest Festivals was at a new church called Flowing Wells, and we were able to do the Sunday morning service as well. It's always a blessing to make new connections.

November, so far, has been full of sunshine and God's blessings. We stayed in Tucson and worked with the Salvation Army after school program and at the Tucson ARC, which are always Jezreel highlights. We also played at Teen Challenge and at a church just outside the city. This church was definitely a God thing, a divine appointment, because Norm met the pastor at none other than Starbucks (his office), and the next day we were scheduled to play there on the weekend. They blessed us so much and we were able to encourage those who came.

We left Tucson mid-month and drove to Phoenix to once again stay with dear friends. We played at the Phoenix ARC and the Coffee Cove. We have especially been able to encourage those at the house we're staying at in these tough economic times. God knows and promises to take care of His children, even through the tough times.

In other news, there are many changes in the group comings and goings that we want to let you know about. First of all, what we are all very excited about, is that Nathan and Shandell are rejoining the ministry in January. Through a series of events, God has brought them to the place where they are ready to come back into the ministry. Nathan will be focusing on teaching, working on curriculum to teach the members of the ministry. Shandell will, of course, be singing and songwriting. The wonderful thing is that they already know where they fit in this ministry so they can just come in and begin using their gifts. Kolten has also decided to continue with Jezreel after Christmas. Everyone is so excited about what God is doing in the group.

In other news, Jonathan Peyton chose to return home near the beginning of November because he felt he was needed more at home with his family. We were sorry to see him go, but happy that he is following God's direction and where he's supposed to be. Kenton also went home, planning for short term, because his mother's house burnt down on Halloween night. He felt he needed to go home to be a support for her. After a few days that led to a few weeks, he felt that Sarah should return to Canada as well. There were lots of factors that led to that decision, and while it's a bittersweet one, God has confirmed His hand in that decision. They will be working to save up to hopefully attend Peace River Bible Institute in Fall 2009, which is very exciting for them.

So there's lots of comings and goings, but God has His hand in all of it, which is all that really matters in the end anyway.

We are all really looking forward to Mexico, to spending time serving, away from all the instruments and have a refreshing break. It's going to be busy and probably a hard time on our hearts at the orphanage, but we really hope to be a blessing there.

All this to say that it may be a little while before we get another newsletter out. It is going to be busy, but hopefully it won't be too long before we can sit down and let you all know how Mexico went and the things God did.

Some prayer and praise items are:

• For Nathan and Shandell as they sort, give away and store their stuff, etc etc in anticipation of coming in January.
• For Nathan as he prepares courses to teach the group when he joins.
• For Rick, Barb and Caleb as they make plans to fly to Denver in February to teach Jezreel a course on Spiritual Gifts.
• Praise the bus is running well, thus far!
• Praise for the unity in the group.
• Praise that Norma (part of Jezreel's accountability team) was able to fly to Tucson for a weekend.
  

As always, we thank each and every one of you for your part in this ministry, and pray that God richly blesses you for all that you do for us. Every encouragement, dollar and prayer blesses us in many more ways than we can express. So thank you!

Blessings and prayers,

Jezreel

PS -- for those who are following our Bible Memory program, we're taking from now until January to review all the verses we have already. We'll keep you up to date once we get new verses if you're interested.

Hello faithful family and friends,

We last left you in Longview , Texas .  We finished our time there playing at the mega church, Mobberly Baptist, for the youth group called Elevation.  It was a wonderful time of worshipping with the youth, and making connections for next year.

We then moved on to Lancaster, where we were privileged to help out at the Convoy of Hope, a day-long time of reaching out to the community by providing hot dogs, groceries, a job fair, health screening and prayer.  We played early in the morning on the outdoor stage and were able to encourage a lot of the volunteers mostly. 

Kolten arrived as a surprise one night, making us a large 13!  He will be travelling with us until December when we go to Mexico , and is planning to rejoin the group after Christmas.

We played at the White Rhino coffee house and got involved with the United Church .  We played there a few times throughout our time in Lancaster .

Unfortunately the flu bug hit the bus, and Anna, Nathan and Sarah were out for a time.  It made it interesting when Sunday morning came and Nathan and Anna weren't able to get up!  Some men from the church prayed for the group and those who were sick, and, by the grace of God, no one else came down with the bug.  A real miracle!

Andrew flew out to attend his sister's wedding and was gone for three weeks.

From there, we headed into Dallas and even got to stop at the Grapevine Mills mall, a huge outlet mall with lots of neat stuff for great prices.

James and Andrea (Clark 's parents) surprised him by flying the family down to meet us for his 18th  birthday and spend some time with us.

We were in South Lake for the weekend, ministering at the Cornerstone Bible Church and were billeted out to different homes, which was a blessing to get out of the bus.

Marlynn flew out of Dallas to go and visit Shandell for a couple days.  We missed her but made it through without too much confusion!

The bus badly needs new tires, so Norm phoned several places in Dallas and got a quote for 3 new tires, which would cost about $1800.  When we got there, the owner asked about our ministry, then took Norm out into his used tire yard and they found three tires that will work great.  We drove away after only paying $400 for the new tires – praise God!

We drove to Silver City , New Mexico , which is the desert!  The nights were very cold and the days very hot, so many of us caught colds that we are still recovering from (especially Norm, who actually had to get some antibiotics for his).  We had some neat opportunities talking to the locals at the coffee shop, and some of us even played a few songs on their open mic night. 

Once again we played a concert in the parking lot of our friends and minister to the community that way.  Norm even got his picture in the paper from a photographer who was there.  We were also able to encourage a couple churches and be blessed with food, a warehouse to stay in and even a hike in the desert!

Almost everyone, as we left New Mexico and moved to Tucson , Arizona , is stuffed up, coughing and having a terrible time singing.  It was such a blessing to park at our usual RV site, the Prince of Tucson, and have a few days to relax and tan by the pool!  We picked up Andrew and Marlynn from their adventures and were back to 13 again.  We have gotten involved with the Salvation Army after school program and have had very busy Sundays, mostly playing two different places every week.  We have done three Harvest festivals and the Tucson ARC.

Thank you so much for all your prayers and encouragement of us!  We would not be able to carry on without you behind us.  God is blessing us so much through each and every one of you.  We look forward to keeping you updated … till next month!

P.S.
For any of you who are wanting to do the Bible memory program with Jezreel, we have been studying and memorizing Exodus 20:1-17

Please contact us when you get a chance as we love to hear from you!

Much love and prayers,

Jezreel

Hello to our faithful Jezreel partners,

Here we are again – boy, we go for months on end without any newsletters, and now you get two in two weeks!  We are going to try to post a new newsletter at the beginning of each month, Lord willing.  Our last newsletter was very surface, hence the reason we are sending another one out so soon.  We just wanted to update you with a few more details of God’s wonderful works.

The end of August brought us to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to be with some very near and dear friends of ours.  We were able to work alongside them in their ministry, called the Underground Firehouse.  We were able to minister to people who are in need of fellowship, who are down on their luck, as well as those who just need a safe place to hang-out and pray. It was here that the Lord answered our prayers for a  cargo trailer, the Lord blessed us with it as a gift! Thank you Lord and thank you to those who gave, may the Lord bless you in wonderful and amazing ways!  It was while in South Dakota that four of our guys decided to have a head-shaving party, just for fun?!?!  So now we have four guys with new “do’s.”  Never a dull moment in Jezreel – you never know what’s next!

It was wonderful to spend time in Ste Genevieve with another band (Travis Lee band) and their family, whom we met three years ago (through a bus breakdown – go figure!).  It was wonderful to minister in their Christian school and church.  We had a blessed time.

One of our highlights in September was working, ministering to and growing to love a young lady (who at this time is a single mom) and her four children.  It was a blessing to be able to go and paint her floor, repair her bathroom flooring, fix her vehicle and build a tree fort for her children.  We went to be blessing, but we all came away feeling so much more blessed.  We felt blessed to know that God used Jezreel to come from Canada to Kentucky to meet and help this lady and her children to re-establish their faith in God.  God is good.

Then we were off to Georgia!  We met up once again with some wonderful friends –we had good food, good fellowship and man, did we keep busy!  We arrived on a Monday afternoon and played Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at places such as recovery centers, Atlanta Union Mission, youth groups and churches.  Again, we were very blessed.

Now we are in Longview, Texas!  We are, as always, visiting with very dear friends and keeping busy.  While being here, over the past week, we’ve had some surprising, wonderful blessings!  One day, as Marlynn went outside and Tinkerbell went after Marlynn and Norm went after Tinkerbell, who ran in front of a truck.  As Norm apologized to the driver, they talked for a few minutes about what we do.  The man left, but returned 15 minutes later to ask if we were having electrical issues with our bus.  When Norm said “yes,” he handed him a cheque for $500 and said God told him to give us that money to deal with our wiring issues (the only way he [a stranger] could have known was through God).  A few days later, after a concert in the evening, a guy walked up to Jonathan outside the bus and said God told him to give away $100 to someone, but it didn’t work out for the person he intended, so he said he knew why – it was supposed to be for us!

While in Texas, we have played at places such as the rescue mission, a biker church and other church events and have helped do some work projects.  As always, God always takes care of our every need.  As a group, as we said in our last newsletter, there have been five new members who have joined as of the end of August to mid-September.  As a team, Norm has been leading us through the book of Hosea so we actually understand what our name, “Jezreel,” means.  We continue to do our bible memory program as well.  If anyone would be interested in memorizing some Scripture with us, our recent verses have been: Romans 7:19-20; Romans 6:1-6; Hosea 2:21-23; Hosea 4:6 and Philippians 4:8-9.  We thank you so much for your support is no many ways.  We know that without your prayers, we wouldn’t be moving forward as we are.  The unity in the bus has been wonderful and God-blessed (there’s no way we could have 12 people in that bus without Him!).  Though there has been much warfare in some areas where we have been playing, we’ve been able to push through, pray and come out the other side victorious, not victims.  Thank you Lord!  Please feel free to email back as we love to hear from you, our supporters. 

Take care; Lord bless!
Jezreel

We even get time for a little snoozing here and there . . .

Hello faithful family and friends of Jezreel,

OKAY, I'll start by saying "We're SO sorry!" that we haven't written in such a long time.  Much has happened over the past several months; the group has gone through many changes, some have gone and some have come.  Through it all, God has been very faithful.  To update you on who the group consists of, I'll give you a quick review. 

People who have left Jezreel are Laura Livingstone, who is headed to Capernwray Bible School in England this month, Erin Hazel who is back home in Logan Lake and working a couple different jobs; Jacob Smolders who is now at Peace River Bible Institute; Kolten Vike who is trying his hand in the work force; Tia VanRompey who was with us for a couple months on a mission trip, and is back in Alberta; and Peter Bird who also travelled with us over the summer, and is now back on Vancouver Island and finishing grade 12.

People who have joined Jezreel since our last newsletter are:
Kenton & Sarah Rowe who are from Fort St John, BC, a young married couple who will be doing bus mechanics and vocals; Nathan Clendining, from Vancouver Island, who is doing sound; Jonathan Peyton, from Atlanta, Georgia, who has returned and is doing guitar and vocals; Clark Hardy, who is from Calgary, Alberta and does all our photography and videography;  John Ans, from Ontario, who is doing drums; and Lyndon Froese, from Williams Lake, BC, who is on lead guitar.  So, there you have it, our new group consists of 12 Jezreelites.  The bus is plug full. You can read more on the new people in the Band section of our website at www.jezreelmusic.com/pages/band.htm.  And even see what they look like!

Much has happened since our last newsletter, too much to go into detail, but we want you to know that God has been doing wonderful and amazing things continually as we venture out in faith and continue to serve Him.  We've seen people rededicate their lives and give their lives to Christ for the first time.  It's so exciting to be a part of God's plan to help further His kingdom.
Our summer schedule was packed from graduations (Daiton, Clark, Jacob & Lyndon all graduated together with Anchor Academy's graduation weekend), summer camps, churches, work projects  and community outreaches.  The Lord has blessed us with many new friends and reacquainted us with many old friends.  Our travels took us from BC through to Ontario.  God has opened many new doors for ministry opportunities.  From Ontario we crossed into the USA – thank you for your prayers as the border crossing was amazingly smooth (like butter on a hot knife).  Thank you Lord.  So far in the US we've done bookings in places such as Minneapolis, where we did a Chinese International Outreach as well as a church; South Dakota where we did service at the Lifelight Music Festival, played at a church and worked at the Firehouse Underground coffee house as well as were blessed to be able to visit with friends we hadn't seen in a while.  While in South Dakota, God blessed Jezreel with a cargo trailer which was a huge answer to prayer.  We were able to do a Celebrate Recovery in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.  Then we were off to Ste Genevive, Missouri, and did bookings at places such as a Christian school, a church and a youth outreach.  After this, we headed to Elizabethtown, Kentucky.  We were blessed to be able to play at some churches and soup kitchens, as well as do some work projects for a very special lady and her children.  This brings us to where we are at this point, which is Georgia!  Sorry there's not a lot of details, but we are hoping from this point to be able to send monthly newsletters out with much more detail.  Sarah Rowe is blessing us with her talents of newsletter writing – praise the Lord!  We so appreciate all your support through prayer, friendship, encouragement and financial.  We ask that you continue to pray for us as we travel to Texas next week.  As I'm sure you know, hurricane Ike has hit some of the areas we will be traveling to.  The unity in the bus has been wonderful and Lord-blessed – we know it's the Lord!!  And as you've probably noticed, we are overrun by boys now.  There are 9 guys and 3 girls.  Pray for the girls!  The Lord has been giving many new, wonderful songs to Norm & Daiton over the past few weeks, so we are learning lots of new songs.  Maybe these are the new songs for the next CD.  Thank you again so much and please feel free to keep in touch as we'd love to hear from you! 

Love & prayers,
Jezreel

Hi Everybody, This past month has been full of changes. Laura who previously wrote the updates is no longer traveling with us. She left at the end of March for home to work and be with her family until this fall where she is hoping to attend a Bible College. So now Anna and Erin (myself) get the privilege to share with you what God is doing in this ministry.

Our first stop was in Big Lake where Anna and Daiton had the opportunity to share their testimonies. After Daiton had spoke, he sang a song that he had written called "Away from Love". God blessed Daiton with that song and Praise the Lord Daiton turned around and blessed others with it. The hearts of many were touched during that service. Shortly after we travelled to Williams Lake where Lyndon Froese (our newest member) played with us for the first time. Prior to Lyndon joining the group both Jezreel and the Froese family prayed about the chance for him to travel and be a part of the ministry. This past time God opened the doors, placed a peace in everyones hearts and Lyndon started a new chapter in his life. He is now the new lead guitarist and is catching on to the swing of things quickly.

The next morning the opportunity arose for us to play at a Christian school. Now our first instinct was Christian school ...passionate youth and desiring hearts, GREAT! God showed us differently. He opened our eyes to see that not everyone there were believers, that some had fallen away and some still strong. It was an encouraging night not only for the students but the team as well. After the service some of team took time to pray with students, spent time fellowshipping and uplifting those in need.

We headed down the road to Prince George where we had a weekend full of Praise and Worship at the Heartland Baptist Church, as well as a spontaneous youth group Friday night. In the midst of everything that was going on, a few of the members became sick. Anna being a vocalist was unable to sing which left Norm and the boys to fill in those parts. Kolten was unable to attend church that Sunday, due to the flu. Then came Norm who caught it as well but was still able to push out some vocals to get through the weekend. In spite of it all God was able to use that weekend for His glory, for when we are weak He is strong. There was a real anointing because what we had heard on stage was the opposite of what the congregation heard. It just goes to show us that, the people aren't touched because of our human talents but from what God does through us. Matthew 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

Nathan and Shandells...WE FINALLY MADE IT!!! It was an amazing week reuniting with them. It was incredible to see how God was not only using them in numerous ministry opportunities, but how He is opening doors all the time. Through them we were able to receive new bookings, and were able to play at their church. The service that Sunday was so encouraging having Nathan and Shandell once again singing and playing with us. The church received us whole heartedly with encouraging coments from the leadership,and poured out on us, God always provides. Immediately after the service, our bus broke down...shocked? Us either, we recognized right away that it was spiritual warfare. But God turned what was meant for evil to a blessing, for His glory. Through it a couple from the church provided exactly what we needed to fix the bus. They opened up their shop where the bus stayed heated and protected at night. But the blessing didn't stop there. The entire time we were in Ft. St. John many families provided meals, food, showers, and great hospitality. We were truly blessed. The morning before we left Norm received a phone call from the owner of the shop. It was a God call, he met us at the gas station and provided the finances to fill up the bus. PRAISE GOD! A few days before that, Norm kept contemplating when he should fill the bus up, but kept putting it off. We now realize why. Our time in Ft. St. John was both renewing and refining allowing us to move forward to our next destination filled, enabling us to pour out the blessings that others poured out on us.

We made a stop in Ness Lake where we played for their youth on Friday night. God opened the doors for new bookings that are now scheduled in our route across Canada.

Throughout the month many churches had opened up their doors to allow us some time for practicing as the Oklahoma event was coming up quickly. We put in about 30 hours of practicing for the event, then realized that God had a different plan for the weekend. A little thing we'd like to call Sweet and Bitter!

Sweet: God provided transportation from Pitt Meadows to Seattle. As well as a perfect border crossing.
Bitter: After entering the states we realized that Norms guitar had been left back in Canada, along with the power cord for his foot peddle.
Sweet: We flew out the next morning and arrived safely in Denver, home sweet home!
Bitter: We woke up the next morning and it had snowed!
Sweet: We were on the road bright and early as we had an 11 hour drive ahead of us. Just like the good ol' days!
Bitter: Now we all truly know the meaning of "Numb Bum" as we experienced it that trip.
Sweet: Having 5 boys entertain you by sticking their heads out the window and letting the wind flap their cheeks while making weird sounds...they're great multi taskers!
Bitter: Hot flashes..."quick unroll the window!" and umm....for lack of words smells....
Sweet: Oh the undeniable blessing of having a bus! And the fact that we still all love each other.
Bitter: Being an older van, having the roof and other parts make incredibly loud annoying noises, we were all pretty much deaf after that
Sweet: We were able to borrow the van, God giving us travelling mercies and the great fellowship with one another.

Oklahoma = Humility! Where do we start. The moment we arrived at the University we were welcomed with open arms. But it didn't stop there, we were blessed with 3 Hotel rooms for the time we were staying there, all our meals provided for, and much more. We were able to set up the equipment (that we had) with amazing sound engineers that allowed us to practice and have a long sound check. God knew what we needed. The students were very friendly as we spent our meal times with them, (I have never eaten such good cafeteria food). We played for the first service on Friday night. It was a little rough around the edges but even with the frustrations, irritations and lack of sleep each one of us were humbled in different ways. So the theme that God used in us this weekend was humility. In spite of our short comings, we were able to enter into worship with the students. We realized as a team that we needed to give it all to God. That this weekend wasn't about us, or how well we can play our instruments but how we use the gifts that God has given us to glorify His name, to give all the honor and praise to Him who deserves it.

Josh McDowell was the guest speaker for the weekend. The team was able to pray with him before the service on Friday,and had the chance to get to know him. The second night we felt went better as a team. As we had let go of everything and just let God take command. He did, He showed Himself strong on our behalf. There was smoke (dry ice) on stage which made it harder for the vocals to sing. The only time that we could get anything out was when God opened up our lungs on stage. We praise God for our time in Oklahoma, it challenged us individually and as a team. God allowed us many new connections.

Well Kolten is now gone, he left today after working on the old bus for several hours. He is planning on staying in Lingle, Wyoming for a month working on a ranch. Then he will be returning to Canada where he is planning on getting a full time job, as well as he is praying about Bible School in the fall. He ended his 6 year travels strong,with the blessings and peace from everyone. He was a huge part of the ministry and we will miss him terribly, but we know that he is in God's will and the Lord has big plans for him.

Thank you all for your prayers they get us through. Please continue to pray for health within the group, safe travels as we head back to Canada April 9th (especially the border crossing). We love you all lots. God Bless.

Sincerely on behalf of Jezreel,

Erin

Jeremiah 33:3 "Call to me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you do not know."

Aldergrove, BC, Canada

What a month!!  Many adventures, challenges, and blessings all mixed together.   After leaving Colorado at the end of January, we headed straight for Wyoming.  Winds were strong and Norm had his hands full keeping the bus on the road, but thankfully roads were clear and we got there safely.

Our first booking was at Faith Baptist Church in Guernsey WY for a Friday night youth group.  Even though the event wasn't advertised, we had more youth show up that evening than any other time we've played there!!

After Guernsey, we drove to Douglas WY for our first ever booking at Faith Baptist Church.  We played for both of their morning services, plus a family concert that evening.  It turned out to be such a huge blessing.  The people there embraced and blessed us so much, and we are so thankful for new 'Divine Appointments'. 

But, due to weather, we actually had to start driving right after the concert!  The winds were only going to get worse throughout the night.  Within the first 2 hours, we saw two overturned semi trucks and one flipped trailer.  We kept praying that God would change the direction of the wind so that it would stop blowing sideways at us.  We got to a small town and were about to stop there because it was too dangerous to drive when we noticed that the wind was actually blowing in the direction we were about to travel!!  So for another couple hours, the wind actually pushed us on our way!  God is so good to us.  

After a one day stop in a small town in Montana (Reed Point), we were back on our way, trying to beat snowstorms over mountain passes on our way (see Traveling Pics).  As a result, we got into Oregon a couple days early and were able to spend our mornings in bible studies, memory work, and practising.  We had and were going through a lot of spiritual attack during that time.  Satan was planting frustration and confusion among the group and in others involved with us.  It was a very stretching time, yet we knew God was working in each one to refine the group as a whole.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. 1 Thess 5:16-21

Our time in Washington has also been different than usual, with less bookings than normal.  Yet God has been preparing us for future ministry by allowing us the time to study His word and spend time fellowshiping and resting. 

Our highlights were the Sundays we played, the first being Gerald and Tanny Jackson's Servanthood Ministries, Life Changes Ministry, and Midnight Cry church. 

We also spent a week mixing our CD!  Each evening Norm would bring two of us with him into the studio, so we could each lend an ear and help out with the sound.  God really blessed us with being able to do this.

You all have read the short update I sent out several days ago.  Our stay in Bellingham WA was SO blessed!!  We stayed at the Coty's (the man called "RC" and his family who owned the autoshop) for three nights, and had a wonderful time fellowshiping with them.  On Wednesday night we played at their church (Grace Baptist) for a family concert.  It was a wonderful night of fellowship, new friendships, and new bookings!

Thursday morning we woke up and sensed that we had done what God had wanted us to do in Bellingham.  We felt the release to leave the States.  After some scrambling around, Jocelynn Coty decided to drive us and all our equipment across the border to Aldergrove, BC in the GBC's bus.  She did not have her CDL (Airbrake's ticket), so it was a drive of faith!  And the 21st was the day God wanted us to cross; The border guard did not ask about her CDL (or even look at her license), didn't check our passports, and didn't even ask to see anyone in the back!  God slipped us right through, as Norm says, "Like butter on a hot knife."  So, here we are, back in Canada.

Our legal papers for the bus are still sitting at the Canada/USA border until Monday at the earliest.  Pray that they would go through and that Norm would be able to get our bus into Canada.  Continue to pray for finances as well.  Please lift up the group as there are even more adjustments being made.  This is my last update for the ministry and I am now done my bookings with the group.  Erin is away doing missions in Mexico for the next two weeks, and Kolten (drummer) will be leaving the ministry at the end of March.  He will be going to bible school in the fall (Lord willing), so please pray for him as God takes him to a new chapter of life.  Pray for continued health, safe travels, unity, and passion for spreading the gospel.  We know that you do lift us up and thank God for you all.

To Him be the glory. 
Laura for Jezreel

Hello from Jezreel!

Currently we are in Bellingham (I think!), about 10 or 15 miles from the US/Canada border.   Here's what's happened in the last 24 hours.  Last night after a church service, we packed up and headed straight for the border.  Like usual, after passing through the first customs gate, we all had to get out for secondary security.  We had no issues until they realized Norm didn't "officially" own our bus!  Although the border guards were friendly, legally they could not let us into Canada because the bus wasn't in our name.  So last night we were turned back at about 12:30 AM.  We parked the bus for the night, having no idea what would take place today, but trusting God and knowing we weren't quite done in the States yet.
In the morning Norm and Marlynn were constantly on the phone, figuring out how we were to transfer ownership, then how to ship the papers to us, and also having to wait a couple days for the bus to be "imported" into Canada --all this technical stuff that boils down to this: we have a few days of waiting ahead of us!  Also, it looks like tax on our bus is going to be over $12,000 (pray for finances). 
A few hours ago, we were parked --randomly i.e. God had it planned-- on the side of the road while Norm phoned people.  The boys had gone across the street to an autoshop to look for a bus part.  The owner came out with the boys and asked Norm if we were a band ("Yes, Christian ministry.." etc).  Norm went back in to get the part and we found out this man was a Christian.  He and his family are now hosting us in their house for supper, showers --whatever we need!  Our bus is plugged into the autoshop.  So God is more than providing for our needs and we've made some new connections (and friends)!  But please please pray that the papers would get here speedily and that customs would process our papers quickly (within in a couple days).  And pray for whatever it is God has prepared for us here --for bookings, or for people He wants us to minister to.  Always an adventure :o)
We love you all and so desire your prayers.   
Laura for Jezreel

Here we are, January 2008. Another year by the grace of God. We have many changes going on right now --two new members. Jacob Smolders (17), from Ucluelet, BC, joined the ministry on January 3. He will be our main rhythm guitarist. We also have a new member from Parker, Colorado: Andrew Flieder (22), and he will be moving into lead drums. Also, I will be stepping out of Jezreel after we enter Canada at the end of February. I'm going to miss this ministry and my Jezreel family, but we're all excited for what God has in store for me in the future.

      January has been a jam-packed month. Besides regular ministry, we've also been preparing our old bus and trailer to sell here in Denver. Please pray that we finish up the selling-preparations before we leave Colorado (and that the old bus will sell!). We spent a week in early January in Wyoming: Guernsey, Torrington, and Lingle. In Guernsey we played at Faith Baptist Church for the morning service, and were very blessed by the people there. We travelled to Torrington and spent a week there helping a family move into their house, while also playing for youth group and Sunday services at Northhills Baptist Church in Lingle. The youth group was great. Lingle is a town of just over 500 people, and there were at least 40 youth that night! We also had the amazing privilege of leading two teenage girls to Christ. Please pray for them as they begin their walk with Jesus. On Sunday morning we played the worship for both services. The sermon was based out of Romans 12:1-2, a passage we are all familiar with.

     "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

     The pastor spoke about how we need to give God everything --our bodies as a living sacrifice; our very lives. He used the illustration of a check signed to God. But we leave the amount blank and let God decide what He requires of us. I know I was challenged because so often I decide how much I want to give God or how much I want to poor out. But the idea is to let God stretch us beyond our human ability so that He can show Himself strong on our behalf.

      After Wyoming, we drove back here to Denver, where we will be until this Friday. We played at Highland Baptist for their morning services and both of them were such a blessing from God. Also, we played for the first time at Set Free Church in Denver, and that too was an annointed service. We were able to minister in the heart of Denver, and to see what God is doing through the servants of Set Free. You can pray for this ministry, which deals with drug and alchohol rehabilitation, as well as discipleship and regular church services.

 

Some prayer requests:
-Erin, who's lung infection from late summer never left. It has gotten especially bad this last week and a half.
-Jake and Andrew: that they would adjust to life on a bus and find their individual roles in the ministry.
-That our old bus and trailer would sell
-Safe travels into Wyoming, Oregon, and Washington
-The new dynamics and adjustments that will be happening in the next couple months.

We love and appreciate you all! Thank-you again for your prayers.

Laura for Jezreel <><

Merry CHRISTmas from Jezreel

As we reflect over this year….

And all that has gone on, we can only stand amazed at the awesome workings of God. He has blessed us exceedingly with Divine Appointments, wonderful friends, and ongoing provision as we travelled across North America. As you all know, our daughter Shandell was married to Nathan Braun on May 19. They now live in Ft. St. John, British Columbia and are living a life of ministry up there. They are very missed, but we are so excited for them.

We began work on our new cd ....

Immediately after entering the USA.  Although our recording time was very condensed (only 10 days), it was an anointed time for us.  God supplied for our needs and we were able to get all the recording done in time.

From Washington to Colorado, we went through a series of breakdowns: seven in twenty-four hours to be exact. After arriving in Colorado and realizing our old bus simply wouldn’t make it through another 3 months of ministry, we asked God to either supply us with a new bus or show us if we needed to do something else. As you can see, He still wanted us on the road!!

Our time in both the USA + Canada was….

Very rewarding. We were able to take part in bringing others to Christ, like in Tucson, Arizona, where an altar call brought 70 men forward.

In Canada, where Christianity is being pushed out of the public schools, Jezreel was able to do a concert inside a highschool band room.

In Las Vegas, “Sin City,” Jezreel encouraged and ministered to 40 or more youth on Monday nights. The ministry had put a youth bible study into motion the year before, and upon our return we found that God had indeed increased our labors.

We want to thank you ....

For you ongoing support. As we enter into a season of giving, we cannot help but think of all of you. You are the backbone of this ministry, with your prayers, support, encouragement, and love. You give to us and we give to others. Thank-you for being a part of God’s plan and for taking part in this ministry. As the celebration of Christ’s birth draws near, we bring to remembrance the true meaning of this season: Christ came into the world to save sinners. Jezreel exists to spread that truth. As the ministry continues on in the New Year, we hope and pray that God will bless you as you have blessed us.

"The LORD bless you and keep you;The LORD make His face shine upon you; And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace." Numbers 6:24-26

LOVE FROM JEZREEL.

JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON. WISE MEN STILL SEEK HIM.

     Another month has flown by, and the ministry has been encouraged and challenged in many ways.  My last email update was sent out while we were still in Tucson, Arizona, doing work with the Salvation Army.  We left there feeling very encouraged and uplifted.  After Tucson, we headed to Phoenix for a couple days.  We had a Friday night off while in Phoenix, so we headed to a Christian Bookstore to see if there were any Christian events that night that we could go to.  It turns out that there was a worship service taking place that evening in the church that owned the bookstore (A large Calvary Chapel church), so we decided to attend that!  It was wonderful for the band to worship as part of the congregation for a change!  Afterwards, Norm got to talking with one of the worship leaders, as well as one of the youth pastors, and we got a booking for Sunday morning in the college-age church service.  It was definitely a divine appointment.  They really embraced us and were so encouraged by our testimony.  Once again we were in awe of God's sovereign appointing.  We'll be going back next year!  That day, after the Sunday service, Norm spoke with us and challenged the band to get back into the Word of God. We had been having some struggles over the past few days, and we knew it was because we hadn't been spending much time in our bibles.  It's amazing how quickly we become drained and weary if we're not drawing on God for our strength.  I have definitely learned that this past month and have been challenged more than ever to pull strength from God, because in my weakness He is strong. 
Right after the Calvary Chapel service, we took a little detour and went up to see the Grand Canyon.  It was such a blessing to see God's incredible handiwork!!  We spent a few of the morning hours touring the shops and taking a hike down the cliff (we only got halfway down and turned around).  We were in the bus, about an hour’s drive away from the Grand Canyon, when Marlynn hopped out of her bed and said to Norm that we should go to Silvercity, New Mexico.   We had no bookings there, but we had several days that were free and there were people there who wanted to see us.  Norm decided, "Why not," so we drove the 240 miles out of the way and stopped in Silvercity.  Another divine appointment! The band was SO blessed there.  A Christian family there owns a retail and silk-screening/embroidery store, and they gave abundantly to us of what God had blessed them with.  They supplied us with more Jezreel t-shirts, hats, stickers, and business cards that WE got to help design!!  All of our meals were taken care of by different families, and we were able to minister at the Rescue Mission as well as an outdoor concert right outside of MorningStar (the clothing store).  We left there feeling so encouraged by God's provision and abundant blessing. 
After New Mexico, Texas! We played in 3 different cities in Texas.  We were in Southlake first, and played at Cornerstone Bible Church.  We were able to do a worship workshop with their music team and then play together as a 15-piece band on Sunday morning!  They were very encouraged by our music, and we by their love of God's word. 
After Southlake, we drove to Lancaster for a few days.  We spent our American Thanksgiving there with a wonderful family the band had met the year before behind a WalMart parking lot.  While we were there Norm spent some time talking with us about stepping it up as a ministry once again.  He wants our administration to be more effective so that we can use the time we have as effectively as possible, so he has asked each person in the ministry to focus on one area of "off-stage" ministry.  We'd appreciate your prayers as each member takes on new responsibilities.
Finally, we spent a week in Longview.  We played at United Fellowship, which is a church we have made many dear friends at over the last 4 years.  We were able to minister one-on-one with several hurting people, as well as play at the Rescue Mission and Church in the Wind.  Our time at the Hiway 80 Rescue Mission was very blessed.  God used the band to present the gospel to over 100 unbelievers, and we knew He was doing powerful things in the hearts of the people there.  On Friday evening, we did our last booking in Longview at Church in the Wind.  Right before we were to leave for Church in the Wind, our bus wouldn't start!  After a couple hours of trying to pinpoint the problem, we left for Church in the Wind without our bus and without our equipment!  We used theirs.  They graciously provided us with all the equipment we needed and fed us supper.  We were very blessed by their enthusiasm and love.   
The next morning the men were back at it, trying to find out why our bus wouldn't start.  Our battery was completely dead, so we had no energy to start up the engine.  After 8 hours of work, we finally managed to get the bus going again.  A HUGE thank-you to everyone who helped us with that fix!  You were such a blessing. 
After a grueling 14-hour drive to Denver, Norm flew out last Monday afternoon to Washington, where he has spent the last 4 days mixing our new CD.  He is back now, but is exhausted.  Please pray for ENERGY for the band, as we are all recovering from being sick.  Pray that we will continue strong for these two weeks of ministry before Christmas.  We love and appreciate you all. Thanks for praying :o)

Laura for Jezreel <>< 

A big hello to everyone!!

Every time I sit down to write up this newsletter, I will stare at the screen for a couple minutes and reflect over all the Divine appointments, individual stories, and crazy adventures. I just don't know where to start!

As you all know, we now have a new bus. "Incue". We call it our "God-bus" because it is so perfectly suited to what we need and so beyond what we ever expected. He is so good to us. We left Denver a few days after my last update and headed on the way to Las Vegas. As you know, we experienced a couple of breakdowns. The causes of the breakdowns were always minor things, but each time we found God had a purpose for us in the town we broke down in. We met several specific men and women that God had us minister to in these breakdowns. I definitely learned to trust God in those circumstances. Even when it was hard and hot and you felt stranded, God came through every time and encouraged us in the end with His divine providence.

Vegas was an eye-opener for me especially because it was my first time there. The city is in the middle of a desert valley and our entrance into it was nothing spectacular. As you move into the city center, the billboards, advertisements, and buildings get more and more sketchy. It was weird to see such filth being publically displayed and more than that, celebrated. The place where we stayed in Las Vegas (John and Debb's) was open to youth every night. Any of the kids who wanted somewhere to go could come over and hang out. On Monday nights there was also bible study. We spent a good deal of time just being with the youth and talking with them. We also played at several churches throughout Vegas. In Vegas the theme that God was teaching me (and has been this whole month) is to wait on Him. The flesh isn't good at waiting, and I really had to learn patience and resting in God's timing for things. He has a lot to teach us if we are willing to be taught.

Ps. 37:7a "Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.."
Is 64:8 "But now, O LORD,
You are our Father;
We are the clay, and You our potter;
And all we are the work of Your hand.

We drove to Los Angeles on Wed. the 17th of Oct. We spent the first night in a WalMart parking lot, and then the next morning headed to Santa Monica, where we parked the bus for the day. I was able to sink my toes into some sand and splash some salty ocean water on my face, which I loved! We spent the day at the pier and walking up and down the promenade. We were all together as a group when we walked by a man name John who had a cardboard sign asking for money. All up and down the promenade there are people begging, but this one man stood out to Norm. He stopped to talk with him, then after a couple minutes called us all over. This man had something wrong with the joints in his hands and elbows and was unable to work. He was raising money to get back to Korea so he could have them operated on. And, he was also a Christian! Our group gathered around him and prayed for him, then each of us gave him some money. Later on that night, a man had seen Norm give someone else money and had followed our group 2 blocks down to the food court to tell Norm he was impressed with what Norm did.
This man's name is Ahmad and he is a Muslim by birth. Norm was able to share Christ with him. He spent over an hour with us and we took him to see our bus. Pray for Ahmad. He is not far from Christ.

While in LA, we played at Immanuel Baptist, a black church in the midst of LA. We definitely stuck out, being eight white people in a group. On Saturday night, we went to the mall for supper and walked back through the sketchy area of town (which we didn't know until after). Aside from constant staring nothing eventful happened. On the way home, we were about 5 minutes from the church when we heard a series of gunshots. By the time we were back at the church, police were eveywhere and there was a helicopter circling with a searchlight. The murder had been within a block of us. God was definitely protecting us there.

We are now in Tuscon, AZ, and have been doing work here with the Salvation Army. The highlight by far was our evening at the Salvation Army Adult Recovery Center (ARC). God was so present in our evening chapel there. The room was packed with men who know they're sinful, and love God with every fiber of their being because of what He's saved them from. It's an awesome thing to see grown men weeping and yelling "I am free" at the top of their lungs. They have a childlike faith, absolute adoration of God, and genuine humility. An altar call brought more than 3/4 of the men forward, so that they filled the front of the building and lay kneeling all down the center isle. It's impossible to explain the feeling of watching God work that night, but I know I was challenged not to live in the "Christian box", and also to encourage other Christians to seek passionately after God. We are helping out here at the Salvation Army with an after school program for kids, and that starts in 15 minutes, so that is all I am able to share about this time. Thank-you again for your prayers and support. We love you all.

Laura for Jezreel.

Answered Prayer!

Thank-you all for your prayers.  First of all, we are safe and sound in Las Vegas!  I'll continue on from yesterday.  After losing those 4 or so gallons of oil trying to get up the mountian, we crawled back to the auto parts store for the second (or was it third?) time that day.  This time we knew where the problem was, so Norm and the boys got under the bus to retrieve the part (a tube that transports tranmission oil I believe).  They took it into Napa, but the part wasn't available.  Norm was getting frustrated because the part we needed really isn't hard to locate and the job itself should have been super easy compared to problems we've had in the past.  The people at the auto parts store were unhelpful and unfriendly, as was everyone else we had talked to up to that point (we got the impression from the environment of the town that it was an empty, dark place).  Norm came out with some metal rings that were supposed to temporarily hold closed the hole in the tube.  We bought $200 worth of oil and loaded it into the tank. Because it was almost supper time, we wanted to stop at the Conoco we had been earlier.   We pulled in and then noticed that ALL of the oil we had just put into the bus had made a steady line of black down the highway.  All of it was gone.  It seemed like we just couldn't get out of this town!  We knew that the same place we had stopped at to fuel up at 10 that morning was also where we would be staying the night.  At that point we were all very discouraged and wondering why we were there.

Conoco gave us a deal on showers ($21 for all 9 of us instead of $8 each) and Norm started calling every person in the yellow pages who did repairs around Green River.  Finally, he got through to a man who owned a truck repair business that travelled up and down the highway.  But get this.  The man had JUST been at Conoco and had seen us working.  He had the exact part we needed back at his workshop and was 40 miles away, but agreed to come back for Norm, as long as Norm would hitchike back.  We spent some time in prayer, asking God to do His will in all that would happen that night, and thanking Him for His blessings even though it hadn't been the greatest day to say the least.  Norm left and we walked across the street to Subway for supper.  We got to talking with several women who worked there and told them that we were a ministry band.  One of them bought two of our CD's and they played it in the back of the gas station/subway while they were working.  At the same time, Norm was sharing his testimony with the auto repair guy (Dean) on the trip to Dean's shop (1 hour away).  Norm was able to challenge Dean to consider Christ and also gave him one of our cd's.  Dean ended up charging us $150 for what should have been a $500 repair.  Norm firmly believes that God had us in Green River to minister to Dean, so please pray for this man and his family.  We left early this morning and had no troubles the rest of the trip, but do continue to keep us in your prayers, as Las Vegas is a very dark city.  
In His Grace, Laura for Jezreel

---

October 3, 2007 8 pm MT:

Hey everyone.  I have only 10 minutes on the computer so I will have to be quick.  We are currently stuck at a truck stop in Utah.  Yesterday we left Wesminster CO to travel to Las Vegas and have had ongoing spiritual warefare ever since (it happens every time we head to Vegas).  We have had problems with our oil tubes and stuff. Below is what I wrote on the laptop earlier today.  (Even more has gone on since then, but more later). Norm is 60 miles away right now, hopefully getting the part we need.  I will explain more when I have the time.  Please pray for us and that we would trust God with all thats going on.  Thanks again.

2:00pm Tuesday, October 3, somewhere in Utah (Green River, UT)

Right now we are in the heat of spiritual warfare.  Yesterday we were just 20 minutes into our trek to Las Vegas when we had to pull over on the side of the road.  We had a problem with the bus but because everything is brand new to us, we had no idea what that problem was.  We had left our bus user manual behind in Westminster, so we had Laurie Warrick drive it out for us.  Some wires were melting, which was causing some of our lights to short out and for the oil buzzer to go off.  Problem fixed, we were back on our way.  Today, we pulled in at a truck stop to refuel and discovered our oil was leaking badly.  We spent 3 hours at the truck stop trying to find out what the problem was, but the only thing we could do was buy some more oil.  Within 10 minutes we saw the oil leaking badly on the road.  By the time we had reached the top of a long incline, we had burned or lost over 3 gallons of oil and the engine was smoking.  Daiton was able to pinpoint the problem (you can get to the engine at the back of the bus) while we were driving, so we pulled over again to take a look.  Now we are going back DOWN the mountain to the place where we had bought our oil.     We have used 5 gallons of oil in 14 miles.  Last night several of us slept badly and to top it off, Nathan, who is with us for short-term missions, is throwing up in the bathroom.  Every year we experience heavy spiritual warfare before going to Las Vegas. In Christ, Laura for Jezreel.

September 26, 2007

Wow, where to begin?!!  If I had the time and energy, I could probably write a 10-paragraph blog on all the awesome things God has done in this last month.  My last blog was sent out two days before we crossed the border into the US.  The morning of our crossing we prayed on the way to the border (and while waiting 2 hours in the border-crossing line).  Praise God! we had one of the smoothest Jezreel crossings ever --no suspicions, nothing, which was a confirmation that God wants us here in the states these next several months.  Well, what do ya know, at about 9 or 10 THAT NIGHT, the bus had it's first breakdown (well actually, we ran out of gas because the gauge wasn't working properly).  Over the course of this month, I have definitely learned about the provision of God.  A friendly policewoman parked her car behind us on the road so we wouldn't get hit, and a tow truck arrived fairly quickly and towed us to a gas station just up the road.  When the driver found out we were a non-profit ministry, he only charged us for the call!  We filled up our tank, then had to prime the diesel, which took a good hour, but we were back on the road and arrived at a truck stop late that night.  The next morning we set up our equipment on the deck of a semi at that truck stop and the afternoon was spent ministering with two biker ministries.  Midnight Cry and Aggressive Ministries evangelized to the truckers at truck stops and had asked us to be a part of it.  Afterwards, we packed up and headed to Kent, where we played the next morning at the Aggressive Ministries Church.  We managed to get our bus parked right in front of the church, which was a blessing because after church on Sunday, we discovered our starter was broken and we could no longer start the bus!!  Once again God provided for everything we needed.  Someone who attended Aggressive Ministries church had an account at an autoparts store.  We got a huge discount on the bus starter.  Several of the men helped us out with repairs, a married couple provided us with a car for the next two weeks, and another couple from the church provided housing all throughout the recording.  Tuesday morning our bus was fixed and ready to go.  We headed over to Bonnie Lake WA, where we parked the bus for the next 10 days of recording.  

The recording went amazingly well.  Those of us who had never even seen a recording studio didn't know what to expect, but God totally provided us with the grace to record an entire CD in 10 days!  Nothing about recording was easy, but all of us had approached it with the desire to have no pride or confidence in ourselves, and God definitely blessed us and our time there (not to say that there weren't discouraging and humbling moments, but all in all it was a blessed time:o).  We praise the Lord for Steve and Charretta, who owned Lifesounds Studio.  During our free time in the mornings, we did more bus work.  All the bearing seals on all the tires had to be replaced TWICE while in Bonnie Lake.  The first time they didn't work and there was oil leaking everywhere.  The second time it seemed to be doing it's job.  We stayed a couple nights at a friends' house in Black Diamond, Washington, while we ministered at another biker church (Midnight Cry).  The morning we were to leave for Colorado (24 driving hours away), Norm dropped off Nathan and Shandell at the airport (4:00am), then waited at a parts store for a new seal (one was leaking again).  He arrived back at the bus at 6:30, only to find the seal he had bought was the wrong size!  So we did the best we could with the old one, and started our trek for Colorado a little behind schedule.  Day 1 was HOT and we had no air conditioning in the bus, but thankfully the bus didn't overheat (although it kept threatening to :o).  That evening we pulled into a gas station in Idaho, but while filling up discovered some more problems with the engine.  This time it only took about a half an hour to "fix" the problem (more like make-do).  That night we pulled into a truck stop in Montanna.  The next morning Norm got up early to start the bus.  It started, but after a couple minutes it quit (due to an air block) and Norm had to go get new parts down the road.  This time it took 6 hours to get back on the road, but the next day and half went fairly smoothly and we got to Westminster, Colorado on time for the Spiritual Renewal weekend.  Highland Baptist, Jezreel's American home church, was hosting a 3-day renewal for their congregation.  The theme verse was 2 Chron 7:14
"If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins, and heal their land."   
Even though Jezreel was hosting the music for the weekend, we were all very excited for what God was going to do in us.  After two weeks of pouring out into the CD, ministry, and bus problems, we were all so exhausted.  That weekend helped us to focus again on God and allow Him to be our sustenance.  I was reminded once again of my need for a Savior..daily!  Every day I need God to purify me and give me the strength to continue doing His will.  I also leaned a lot about prayer and my need for it.  On one particular day there were a couple hours set aside for prayer.  There were different stations to focus on different kinds of prayer.  One was a missions area, with maps and missionaries laid out for you to pray for.  Another was a place with scripture references you could look up in your bible and then repeat in prayer to God.  Another was a sticky-note board, where you posted your requests for others to pray for, and the fourth was a place where you could quietly wait on God to speak to your heart.  We also went throught the ACTS prayer:  Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.  Physically, the weekend was exhausting, but spiritually God filled me and refreshed to overflowing.

Ever since arriving in Colorado --no, ever since this summer-- we have been praying about a new bus.  The one we have now is an '84 I believe, has over 1.2 million miles on it, no insulation, no air conditioning, and is just plain old worn out.  After having so many breakdowns on the way here, we felt either God was going to provide us with a new bus or He was going to do something with the old bus.  Norm and Marlynn started looking online at buses for sale.  We found one called  Dreamer that looked like it would do perfectly.  We needed lots of sleeping space, but also enough equipment space, overall "liveability", and a new engine that we would not have to repair every time we stopped somewhere.  What Norm and Marlynn found particularly exciting was the name of the bus.  Ever since the beginning of this ministry, Norm has been called a 'dreamer' because, as Shandell always said, "Dad, you dream big."  Jezreel started out with an old van and a utility trailer, and God has provided for all Jezreel's needs since the beginning.  As the ministry progresses and grows, God continues to match and go far beyond our needs.  Well the story of this new bus is one of those times where God's answer isn't "Yes" but "STAND BACK AND WATCH THIS!"  

After seeing Dreamer, we began to pray specifically for this bus, and that if God wanted us to have it, He would provide the finances.  We prayed for specific confirmation such as the loan going through and the support of our ministry team, as well as other things.  You all received our request for prayer, so thank-you all in petitioning the Lord with us.  Within a few days, things began coming together, and there were so many things confirming that God was providing us with a new bus, so we decided to make the call to the owner of the company this morning.  It turns out the man is a Christian and was very excited about the idea of a ministry team getting one of his buses.  But instead of Dreamer, he wanted us to get the exact same bus, only with a better interior and BRAND NEW engine (as in 0 miles!).  Although it costed $36,500 more, he was able to make some calls and bring the price down to $112,500, which is $6,500 cheaper than Dreamer!  On top of that, he is giving us a one year warrenty on it as part of the deal.  This kind of deal is unheard of.....unless you have the God of the universe running the operation!  I share all that has happened this last month (both good and bad) because I want you to be encouraged and to know what an AWESOME God we serve.  
The deal has been secured.  Norm and Daiton are now in Nashville  after flying out this morning.  They will be driving the bus back here over the next couple days.  Please pray for safety on the road.  Also, pray for the finances of this bus .  Pray for God to direct you if you feel Him impressing upon you to contribute financially.  We don't have all we need in our pockets, but we're trusting God to provide.   Pray for us as we head down to Las Vegas on Monday.  Ministry there is hard.  Other prayer requests are at:   http://www.jezreelmusic.com/pages/pray.htm. Read an update on the special bus prayer request.

Thanks again for your ongoing prayers, support, love, and encouragement.  To God be the glory,

Laura for Jezreel

---

September 1, 2007

Hey there,

Well....we're sitting just outside of Seattle, WA.We are already on week two of the CD recording project! Time is flying....which is a good thing, cause it means the project is going well ! Its alot of work, but God has been granting us favor in the studio. Steve and Charretta Terry have graciously opened up their home to us and their talents once again...as they did last year. The project is going, what seems, a lot quicker then it did last year.Thank You Lord! Please pray we'll be done by our dead line, Monday September 10th.Thanks!

I'm not sure how many are aware yet, but as of the 10th not only will the recording be done, but so will Nathan and I. God has led us out of Jezreel, so after this last project toegther Nathan and I will be flying back to Canada, Fort St. John, BC to be exact, and Jezreel will continue south.

Nathan and I will be making our home in Fort St. John BC. We have found a place to live as well as God has already provided us with jobs. Something I have never done before. I'm a bit nervous of all these changes and transitions, as is Nathan, but we are going to trust God has He has led and will continue to lead. Your prayers on our behalf will be VERY appreciated. Pray God'll show us what kind of ministry He'd have us invovled with now. We wish to remain a part of Jezreel, just in a different way :) This WILL be one of my last emails on behalf of Jezreel, but Laura Livingstone, our Violinist and vocalist, will be taking over this department for me.

Jezreel will be continuing on as strong as ever. God has been showing us as a group, once AGAIN that we need to rely on Him and whatever direction He decides to take us. After the recording Jezreel will be going straight to Denver,CO to help with a retreat weekend. Music and preaching. After that they will be continuing on a similar route as last years.

Well, I guess thats about some of the most recent "news" I can come up with! But I guess this is goodbye (on Jezreel's part....not me personally...I'm still here and willing to be in touch!)

Lord Bless Ya'll <><

Shandell

Prayer Requests:                                                                                           

*The CD project                                                                                             

*The bus, its feeling "sick" AGAIN                                                                                  

*Jezreel, travels and unity                                                                                             

*Nathan and I, adapting to "normal life" :)

My name is Laura Livingstone, and, due to the fact that Shandell and Nathan Braun are moving on to Fort St. John BC, I have been asked to take over the blog updates! I am the newest member to Jezreel, but have been close friends with them for 10 years. You may also have heard about my dad, Mark Livingstone, passing away in March of this year. It is my desire that I am able to both encourage and challenge you in your walk with Christ through the stories of Jezreel.

Hello ...and goodbye, because Friday morning, August 24th, Jezreel is leaving for the States, where we will be touring for the next 6 months. The first thing we'll be doing in the States is heading into Washington to play at three biker outreaches!! Afterwards, we head to an area just outside of Seattle, where we will be recording a CD! Although we're looking forward to the finished result, the next few weeks are going to be crazy. Apparently most bands take 3 or so months to record. We're doing it in 10 days! ACK. Oh, and we've had very little practice time... But as a band we know that practiced or not, we come up short and need God to do the work through us.

This past week in Pitt Meadows was a challenge. We had a roofing job for the first 3 days and a timeline to finish it --in 30+ degree weather. We worked 10-hour days and managed to finish almost on time! The rest of the week was spent practicing and volunteering for Grace Community Church, helping them with their new church building. On Sunday that is also where we played. Norm had asked me to give my testimony during the service because he knew many people in the congregation had lost loved ones. At first I was reluctant, but agreed anyway. Hands down, sharing about my dad that day was the hardest it's ever been, but praise God He was able to do an awesome thing through it. Many people, in tears, spoke with me afterwards. One man lost his father to suicide, his wife in an accident, and finally his daughter 7 years ago. Somehow, God was able to use my simple words and tears to encourage this man who has nothing. I was so humbled, not only by the fact that God is so, so good to me, but that somehow he is able to use seemingly meaningless words to accomplish His will.

As we adjust to one less vocalist (Shandell and Nathan Braun are moving to Ft. St. John), and especially because we are preparing for the CD, the spiritual attack has heightened. Often in the middle of practice we have to stop and pray again for God to help us focus and to protect us. That is definitely a huge prayer request! A couple others:

• Erin (pianist/vocalist), who is still recovering from a lung infection
• The recording. It's going to be hard, and we need God to provide strength, encouragement, perseverance, patience...
• For Shandell and Nathan, as they find work and housing, and adjust to a different way of living. (Also for the band --we miss them!)

Thank you all so much for your support and prayers.

In Christ,

Laura

Hey! I’m thinking I’ve been a naughty girl… seeing as my last update was written in MARCH! Oops…. Life has definitely been a little upside down. But in many GOOD ways this time!

Instead of saving “the best for last”… (Hey, I’m allowed to be bias…I’m the editor here!) Nathan and I were wed May 19, 2007 at 5:19pm in Salmon Arm, BC. FINALLY! Yahoo! I have now been Mrs. Nathan Braun for over an entire month already, and loving it. We thoroughly enjoyed a month long honeymoon/”sabbatical” touring some of Vancouver Island. We are now officially back with Jezreel, doing our best to resume our old roles, such as official newsletter writer/typer, as well as new ones as we help out in the leadership aspect.

We, as in Jezreel, are currently in Ucluelet. We will be spending the majority of our summer on Vancouver Island, touring to different parts such as Victoria area, Campbell River, Tofino, Port Hardy and other places, doing Camps, churches, community outreaches, and a few construction jobs as well. (No, we cannot seem to lay aside the “tent-building” aspect of the ministry) I’ll give you a run down on where Jezreel’s been the past month and what they’ve been doing there……

Trying my best to keep things in order. (not like I was there, heehee) When Nathan and I left on our happy little travels, so did the rest of the crew for a 4 day House boating trip on the Shuswap Lake with some on Jezreel’s accountability team, Like the rest of the Livingstone family and the Hardy family and Jottie Peyton also joined them. It was an amazing time of refreshment, fellowship and healing for them all.

After house boating, they returned to Salmon Arm to try and finish a roofing job we had started before the wedding rush. Due to rain, that didn’t happen.

May 27- they played in Enderby, a Sunday morning service. Due to honeymoon’s and more weddings the group was down to only my mom, dad, Kolten, Daiton, Jonathan and Joe and Erin on stage.

After the service they packed up to travel to Vancouver where they were due at the airport by 11 PMto pick up Kassandra Anderson. A young girl from Lingle,WY. Whom we’ve become rather attached to; She is with us at the present till the 5th of July on a short term mission trip. She sings and is being trained in the ways of a traveling music (construction) ministry….and enduring us! Especially Kolten……

May 31 Kolten graduated at the BC Homeschoolers Convention in Surrey, along with Laura Livingstone. Jezreel also played at the convention on the mornings of the 1-2 of June. Tore down that afternoon, and set up again in Pitt Meadows for the Pitt Meadows Day parade and outreach. They played the next morning at Grace Community church. Kassandra joined them on stage.

Once again that evening they returned to Salmon Arm to complete the roof, rain OR shine! July 10th they played another service at Pitt Meadows, Grace Community church. This time the group was down Jonathan and Joe and Erin. Anna rejoined after a break away at home and being apart of another wedding party. Joe and Jonathan Peyton have returned home to Georgia for a break, and Jonathan plans to rejoin the group in late August.

The group arrived in Tofino June 12. June 17 they played Sunday morning at Grace Church in Ucluelet, as well as an evening ministry presentation. Norm’s been working mid-week on trailer renovations. Yesterday he started a sun deck renovation also.

PRAISE REQUESTS!

• ALL the different renovations going on
• June 29…we are doing a community outreach at the local Ukee highschool
• Travels around the Island, for open hearts and doors and opportunities
• A sound engineer, it’s once again become a need in the group
• Sarah Bloomfield, who is now returned home to pursue Bible college this Fall
• Laura Livingstone, who is now traveling with Jezreel as a vocalist and violinist
• Norm, as our leader and wearer of many hats
• For sunshine! For the construction that is underway
• Nathan and I, as a newly wed couple adapting to ministry life AND married life
• For the possibility of starting a restoration center
• Nathan, he wiped out skateboarding and injured his elbow
• Daiton and I, we take our drivers test on June 29th

Thanks! There are probably many more, but that’s about what comes to mind at the moment. May the Lord Bless you!

And I’ll get back to the “Monthly” newsletter thing again, sound better?

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 1 Peter 1:6-7

For Jezreel, Shandell <><

Thought it was about time I wrote or "typed" a March newsletter. Yes, I'll admit, I've been procrastinating!!! Anyways. So much has happened this month, a lot of seemingly hopeless situations have come our way. A lot seemed to have happened all at once. The phrase "when it rains, it pours" ring any bells??? I'm just SO thankful that Jesus Christ is the one who really Reigns.

Last I left you with updates of Sarah Bloomfield flown home with a busted collar bone, an ill-running chunk of metal (Translation = Bus!), a (still) messed up trailer axle, and us on our way to Torrington WY to start a home building project. Well, we made it to Torrington safely, but not without a fight. About 5 or so miles out of Torrington our mini van (which was in a little fender bender only a couple days prior) decided that it would have a tantrum on us also. Thankfully we were so close to our destination that we were able to tow our van the rest of the way to our friends place with one of their trucks. Frustrated? Yes, very! Hopeless? Never. Let me explain why... Jesus promised us a number of times that this life is temporary, and so are our material possessions. They are corruptible. Not going to last forever. We know the passage well:

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matt 6:19-21

or

Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. Luke 12:15

And although these trials are frustrating, it doesn't end there!!! God IS good! Again, let me explain... Our trailer now has a brand new axle on it, bought and paid for! Our mini van is in the shop as I type getting a new engine put in it, as well as a new panel on the front, drivers side (replacing the section that was damaged in the fender bender), again, bought and paid for, AND the bus IS running.we drove it to our last appointment Tuesday night!!! Not to forget that at our Tuesday night booking, (which was for the Youth Challenge program, a youth program alternative for Jail) 90% unbelievers. By the end of the evening there were at least 2 Salvations!!!! Praise the Lord!!!! See how good and faithful God is?!

He gives..and takes away..which brings me to some sad news. Our dear friend, Mark Livingstone, Jezreel webmaster, and accountability partner, went home to be with Christ on March 5, 2007 when he was suddenly killed in an industrial accident. He left behind a beautiful wife, Doris and three wonderful teenage daughters, Laura, Kari and Melissa. Tragic..Yes, he will be terribly missed by so many. But he left us with an amazing legacy as he was a firm follower of Jesus Christ. One worth imitating! He stood for the truth. He shared his Faith openly. His death shook up a lot of people, including the unbelievers who knew him. BUT there are so many victories through this already! We cannot explain why God chooses to do some of the things He does, nor do we need to try. Mark's life is celebrated by his loved ones. His death reminded us all of how fragile we are. Made us evaluate our lives. Reflect on God's faithfulness. What ARE we living for? And WHY? These are questions we need to ask and answer truthfully. I know when Christ decides my time here is finished I want to be found ready and faithful. Pure.

How about you?

We are so thankful for the Livingstone family! My parents both flew out for the funeral immediately following the accident, and the rest of us pressed on here in Wyoming, where God wanted us. Dad returned after a week, and Mom remained in Ucluelet to support Doris and the girls. Mom reports to us daily of God's grace to their family and they are adapting very well, keeping their focus fixed on Christ.. They are testimonies to all of us of what God's grace and strength can do; We will reunite with Mom when we return to Canada in about two more weeks.

The building project is going well here in Wyoming! No one has been seriously injured and the weather as been pretty good about cooperating. (It pays to have a personal relationship with the "Weather Man"!) Please continue to pray though. We have done a couple bookings while here, but we are mostly focusing on the house right now. Everyone is doing well, maybe fighting the "sniffles" a bit and we are a little tired, but otherwise we are great. Blessed.

I know I'm beginning to get a bit antsy about returning to Canada. After all, only 58 days till Nathan and I get married! Yahoo! Wedding plans are coming along beautifully. Yet it can all become a bit overwhelming when we start to really look hard at the To-Do-List. Continue to pray for that end of things too.

The new guys, Joe and Jonathan Peyton are doing great. But have been rushed into their new roles a bit fast, so continue to lift them up as they learn, grow and catch up to the rest of the crew. There are new pictures posted of the guys on the website if you wanna check them out.

I think this is long enough for March. Thank you for your prayers and support ya'll! We feel them daily. And thank you for your encouragement and emails. I appreciate them! Lord Bless and I'll keep you posted on April! (IN April) Until then, as Mark Livingstone's favorite Bible verses say in Proverbs 3:5-6:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

For Christ,
In Christ,
And Because of Christ;

Shandell for Jezreel <><

Howdy!

Nathan and I made a quick trip up into Canada for his brother's wedding then back down to meet up with Jezreel. Our time home was great and his brother’s wedding was beautiful! A week was just NOT long enough to get all the visiting in we wanted with his family and friends! But we will be thankful for what we got! The snow was crazy too. Nathan was in his little heaven and spent as much time outdoors as he could:) The flights were all delayed due to weather etc. Upon FINALLY arriving in Atlanta, we immediately hopped in our mini van to drive several hours to meet up with the others who had gone ahead in the bus. We made it to Saint Louis by 2 am only to continue our drive to Denver CO. Made it to Denver by supper time. The next day we set up at Highland Baptist where we played both Sunday morning services and Sunday school. YES, we were/are a little worn out.

Sunday night we loaded up to head to the mountains where we were gifted two days of snowboarding! The conditions were awesome for the most part, and it was great to have the getaway, BUT on our first run of the first day, Sarah somehow had an accident which sent her to the hospital with a broken collar bone! SO PLEASE PRAY for her (quick!)  recovery as she is in a lot of pain and laid up for the next 6 or more weeks. The plan is for her to fly out of Denver, back to Alberta on the 4th of March, where her family is for the next couple months. We hope to reunite with her when we return to Canada.

We continue tomorrow to Torrington, WY. where we plan to stay till end of March or beginning of April, helping friends build a house! BUSY! Please pray for us and good weather (no snow!) on this project.

A couple of other changes in Jezreel – two new guys, Jonathan and Joe Peyton – Jottie’s two younger brothers. For now their roles are running the sound system and roadies. AND, Chris Cook will be remaining in Denver.

THANK YOU:) Lord Bless Ya'll. And I'll be in touch, Lord willing, soon.

Shandell For Jezreel <><