July 09

Dear Friends,

New everything! Good thing Kim and I have never been too bothered by change.

New Ministry: June 15 we began our new positions in Heritage Park Alliance Church; Kim as Administrative Assistant for Adult Ministries and me as Pastor of Connecting Ministries. Our joyful task is to connect people to Jesus and to one another. We will do this through intentional hospitality and various events. We will also work in the area of strengthening marriages. At HPAC we have a ton of new people coming each month and we want to reach them for Christ and see them in a process of discipleship.

New Home: We are getting settled and are really enjoying our garden. In fact, our entire back yard is garden and deck. You are welcome to come and sip some tea with us! Enjoy the flowers and the quiet of our neighbourhood with us. We have met so many of our neighbours. We believe God has placed us where we can impact them with the grace of God.

Hermanos Nuevos: One of the special treats has been meeting numerous Spanish speaking people. We have gathered one group in our home already and will have another gathering in August. The folks want to share testimonies and to reach out to their other Spanish speaking friends. We are hearing accents from all over the Latin American world. Pray for us to get back up to speed and to progress in Spanish. I would love to get back to Mexico for a month of intensive study.

New Possibilities: Kim and I just returned from a week of conference with a mission organization. Our hearts were blessed and challenged by the richness of sharing life together and of feeding on the Word. We are considering a ministry of member care with this organization. Pray with us for God’s final green light on this opportunity.

New Family Member: Yes, the Lidstone family is going to grow. This time it will be the gift of a grandchild for Kim and me. Daniel and Grace are expecting a little girl in December. Just knowing how handsome our son is, and how beautiful our daughter-in-law is, I am already making the claim that there has never been a baby girl so sweet and so cute as our granddaughter will be. Has anyone else ever said anything like that?

New City: We are getting to know our way around Windsor and LaSalle. Actually, we live in LaSalle. As you know, we have a 19 foot Bayliner and we are really enjoying being 10 minutes from the beautiful turquoise water of the Detroit River. We have discovered quiet bays and isolated beaches, and we have just begun.

Hmmm, New Jeep. No, we are not rich. But our old Jeep is getting a number of ailments. It is a 1996 and has 260,000 MILES on it. After giving up on finding a newer car, the Lord seemed to plant a Jeep Liberty right in front of my eyes. We felt it would be good stewardship to buy it and stop pouring money into the old one. So at the moment we have both. Two black Jeeps! Same colour interiors too. Nice to have air conditioning again.

Well, that is about it. We have just begun, which is what you do at the beginning. But we need God’s grace and strength to carry on. Please pray for us as we adjust, learn, wait, serve, submit, rest and build ministry. Coming into a church of 1,100 people is not easy. We are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of names. Pray that God will help us connect with those who really need to be connected. We must rely on the Holy Spirit to guide us and to give us wisdom.

Our heart for missions remains intact and we thank God for leading us to a church that will give us time for this passion. Pray for us to know the best way to use this opportunity. Our heart for Mexico and Latin America has not diminished.

Thanks for your friendship and prayers. Thanks as well to those who stand behind our missionary efforts financially. You have blessed us and given us a whole new dimension to our ministry. We are so grateful to all of you for your part in our lives.

Let us know how you are doing. We love to hear from you.

With our love,

Gary and Kim