Dear Daddy,
Just two more sleeps, Mom said, and you are coming home! We miss you and can't wait! You really do need to get back here.
Life without you just isn't the same.
We want to show you how we can bike now!
And it would be great if there was someone to push us on the swings once in awhile.
Besides that, Mom makes us work a lot! We have to vacuum clean the whole house.
Mop the floors.
Empty and fill the dishwasher every day.
And even wash and vacuum the car!
All that hard work can be exhausting sometimes!
Besides that, did you know she bought us dolls??? She said we could both use some big brother practice!
She taught us how to hold the 'babies', feed them bottles, bathe them, change their diapers and dress them!
We think you need to come back and do some boy stuff with us Dad!
Also we would love to have you join us for our walks or drives after dinner.
Canada is very beautiful and there are lots of places to explore and discover!
Fields of dandelions.
Flowing rivers.
Streams where wild flowers bloom against the back drop of blue mountains.
Fields of freshly mown grass.
And blazing sunsets.
Can't wait to see you soon Dad! We miss you!
Love Jayden and Justin
We just want to say a big thank you to all who planned, organized, and donated their time, money, skills, plants, food and garage sale items to make the annual MAF sale such a great success! It was really humbling and at the same time wonderful to see so many people working together to make the event possible!
We also thank God, for we know that "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:17
The Event in Pictures
Setting up the day before.
Lots of donated items to organize.
Justin having fun.
The next morning; lots of eager buyers.
Yummy doughnuts for sale. (Jayden who did not want to spend his hard earned money asked if the sugar cubes were free!)
Delicious cotton candy.
Meeting and greeting.
Lots of donated plants and hanging baskets.
All nicely set up outside.
Esther, the talented sales lady.
Hard at work washing cars.
A little helper.
Mom and Jenny barbecuing.
Sher, helping out at the lunch table.
By the end of the day most of the food, plants and candy were completely sold out. All and all a very enjoyable and successful day!
Please come to the giant Garage Sale, Plant Sale, Bake Sale, Car Wash and BBQ lunch Saturday, May 17, from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Free Reformed Church on 45471 Yale Road West, Chilliwack. Proceeds go to support our work with MAF in Haiti.
The Kruls
By Jason Krul
I want to request prayer for a recent traumatic experience. Yesterday afternoon around 3:00 pm I was called by a dear friend of ours - an elderly missionary from our partner organization Missionary Flights International. He was desperately crying for help over the phone but I couldn't get him to respond to any questions.
I immediately assumed he was having a heart attack so I went along with a pastor and another EMT / PA to provide assistance. I tried calling him several times as we raced across town to his house but he would not answer.
When we pulled up to his place, the front gate was locked so I climbed the barbed wire wall and opened the gate from inside to let the vehicle in. I opened the front door and was immediately taken back by the vast amounts of blood thought out the entire house.
I called out to George and heard him groaning for help in one of the back bedrooms. As I entered the room I fumbled for the light switch but found that there was no electricity. In the dimly lit room I could see George collapsed on the floor almost unrecognizable due to the large amount of blood covering him from head to toe. Without going into the gory details, George was a victim of a home invasion stabbing and I counted 53 stab wounds over his body.
We did the best we could to stabilize him and stop the bleeding but several lacerations to the throat were quite deep and he appeared to have a punctured lung. I called a doctor friend of mine to be ready for us at a nearby hospital and loaded George into a vehicle.
Shortly after arriving at the hospital George passed away. I'm still in shock from this event and wish I could have done more to stabilize him prior to transport, but I know that ultimately God is in control and has a perfect plan. George is now in heaven with his Lord and Saviour, where there is no more tears and no more pain.
1 Thes 4:13-14 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
A Note from Georges's church in the United States.
The Moody Church mourns the passing of George Knoop. George was an integral part of the church who at the age of 73 answered the call of God in his life to become a missionary in Haiti. He was viciously stabbed by a known assailant on May 13th and expired at the Bernard Mevs hospital in Port au Prince around 5:00 pm. Please remember his missionary colleagues, friends, and family as they mourn the death of George. We rejoice knowing that He is now present with the Lord.
Let me start by saying I’m no expert on marriage. I have however been married for almost 8 years now and during that time God has taught me some important lessons that I feel called to share.
When you first meet and fall in love you may feel that the other person is perfect for you. You imagine getting married and dream about living happily ever after together. I think for many of us those feelings start to change once we are married for awhile. You soon find out that person doesn’t truly make you happy or do everything you imagined a perfect spouse would do. And you know what? You are totally right.
True satisfaction, acceptance, and joy can only be found in God, not in your spouse.
Psalm 90:14 tells us, O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Isaiah 58:11 says, And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
And in Psalm 16:11 it is written, Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
God created man and woman for companionship and to help each other as they journeyed through life together; not so they could find full satisfaction in each other.
Genesis 2:18 says, And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 tells us, Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
If we look for full satisfaction in our spouse we will undoubtedly be disappointed. Our spouse can never be in the place of God. If we put him or her in that place we make them an idol and set our marriage up for failure.
God teaches us clearly in His Word that we are to love Him above all.
Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
One way we show our love for God is by obeying Him.
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
We are to love others in the way God loves us.
John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
If we don’t love others we don’t know God.
1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
God’s love is unconditional. Paul gives a description of this kind of love in 1 Corinthians 13. This passage tells us that love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, never haughty or selfish or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong. It is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out. It tells us that this love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things. This kind of love does not give up.
If we could just remember to look for true satisfaction in God alone, be a companion and help meet to our spouse, and love our spouse the way God loves us, what a difference that would make in our marriages!
So we made it to the 'Great White North'! :) Actually that really is a misconception! Although parts of Canada can get very cold, the Fraser Valley where we're from has relatively mild temperatures year round.
It's spring here and the grass is green, the trees and flowers are blossoming and we get an almost daily mix of sunshine and showers.
The day after we arrived Jason's sister got married.
It was a beautiful day and we were thankful we could be part of it!
I got the two boys all dressed up, but even though I took at least a dozen pictures it seemed I could never get them both to sit still at once so this is the best photo I have!
The family picture wasn't much better, but oh well.
Although Jason's time in Canada was very short, only four days, he did manage to go snowboarding one morning. The pictures he took of the views were phenomenal!
Yup, there is still snow on the mountains!
Five days after we arrived Jayden started school; the same school his Dad attended when he was growing up.
He was very excited and so far it's been going well.
In the morning we wait by the road and when Justin sees the bus coming he gets very excited. I think he can't wait till he can go to school too, but I'm in no rush for him to grow up.
The first morning Jayden was picked up I even choked back tears. Although he's almost completed two years of school, he's never been on a school bus before, and it just seemed like another milestone had come and gone. My oldest son is getting so grown up and independent!
The suite in the tri-plex we call home is fully furnished, spacious and very comfortable. We are very thankful and love living here!
What a great view from our back balcony!
After school, if the weather is nice, we sometimes go out and explore our neighborhood.
There are lots of open fields nearby, flowering trees and bushes, beautiful mountains and wildlife.
After 6 years of concrete city living, I've really learned to appreciate the beauty of God's creation.
As we explore we admire the apple blossoms.
And the boys have fun watching the dandelion seeds take off on the breeze.
Taking a break, we sit on the bridge and watch fish dart back and forth in the gently flowing water.
Another afternoon I put the boys to work scrubbing the back patio furniture and deck.
Then Opa and Oma brought dinner and we enjoyed it outside.
We also spent an afternoon exploring a nearby tulip field.
It was beautiful!
The tulips came in all kinds of colours, shapes and sizes.
The snow capped mountains in the background made the scene just that much more striking.
This Canadian province is not called 'Beautiful British Columbia' for nothing!
The boys also enjoy visits to the public library.
And spending time with family and friends.
The only sad/bad thing that has happened is that our little 2 year old fell and broke his elbow this past weekend. :(
Thankfully he's seemed to have adjusted quite well to the full arm cast and isn't in pain any longer.
Now just 19 more days till Jason joins us again, God willing, and 22 more days till I'm due! Yes, I'm counting! :)
