Hi everyone! The weather is finally shifting here in the “frigid north,” and we are quickly taking advantage of every sunny day by finding our way outside and soaking up the warmth (“warmth” definitely has developed a new meaning in the past two years … hehe). One of the kids’ favorite movies follows a mama bear and her babies during their first year of life in Alaska. The movie starts with the bears finally emerging from hibernation and they can’t help but immediately start running, tripping over their feet in haste. I’m not saying my kids are the grizzly cubs, but as we run out of the house, tripping and yelling, they do quickly call to mind the little bears finally emerging from their cave (and the mama bear might even outrun them from time to time). David on the other hand is hard at work writing his thesis (moving from one basement study room to another). Occasionally we coax him outside with picnic lunches – but then he’s back to work again. I’ve got to say, I’m constantly impressed by his ability to work and still find time throughout the day to spend time with the rest of us (even if that means working until 11pm after the kids are in bed).
Spring term has officially ended here at Wycliffe, and David and I had the privilege of playing music for the Convocation Chapel service. This had the double benefit of letting us see friends who had returned for convocation from far away, but it was also nice to get a preview of what it will look like for David when he graduates. The end of term has also meant that we no longer have daily chapel services: it’s a wonderful way to start and end our days, but this does mean we can look forward to the Fall term with the boys’ slow but sure transformation into honorary sacristans. At the end of every service they are quick to help with candles, lights, and battery packs for the mics. We’ll see if we can get them fully trained before we leave!
As for me, I’m still working as the organist at a cross-city church on Sunday mornings, and I love it! While it is nice to be an accompanist every week again (I did miss it), it’s the people that make me excited to go to this church each week. The boys spend the morning with David for some Daddy-Son time, while I take Lily with me. This church is solidly community based, with many people walking to church each morning. Honestly, it reminds me of St. Hilda’s in Belize: a small, tightly knit group of people working together to worship God and reach out to their community. In the afternoons we all still attend our main church’s meeting here at Wycliffe, Christ the King. David still serves in an honorary (unpaid) capacity on the pastoral team, and I’ve taken taken over the position as music director, a job which mostly involves scheduling musicians and planning music. My vision is to grow the music team from a handful of soloists alternating each Sunday to a team of musicians (multiple singers and multiple instrumentalists) leading the congregation in worship. I loved being on the worship team in church growing up, but I also never wanted to have any solos. Having more people up front encourages more people to be up front; and that has already started to be true! The music team has more than doubled in the past two weeks, with many people saying they would join as long as they never had to solo. While I’m still adjusting to “managing” people (I’m not the most organized person), it is wonderful seeing how God is building up the music ministry in our church.
Heading into summer means we’re getting close some travel time. David’s parents visited us last month, and we’re heading down to Georgia to see my parents before David leaves for Europe for a short course on Reformation-era paleography. We are so excited to see family! I’m actually going to get to see both sets of siblings during our visit: they’ll both be driving to Georgia. We rarely get to see one another – I haven’t seen my brother and his family in 3 years – so this trip is going to be pretty special. It’s also nice to know we’re going to get out of the city for a little bit. While I love where we live here at Wycliffe, without a car we are always surrounded by buildings and cars. Even with the difficulty of driving for two days with three young kids in the car, it will be nice just to get to see some country.
When we get home we will officially be gearing up to start homeschooling Austin (and to a degree James). I’m actually pretty excited to start more intentional while teaching our kids. They are always asking us to read them books (we check out about thirty books at a time from the library), and they are constantly wanting to learn more. Having been homeschooled myself (and loving it!) I’m excited along with David to build the kids’ curriculum – with God at the center. Sometimes I feel like our active ministry is on pause while David is studying. Yes, we are preparing for next steps – where on the mission field God will call us – and yes we are very involved in our church: but it still looks far different from when we served in Belize.
But then, I look at my kids. God has blessed us with three beautiful children who are learning everyday who He is. We are living in a theological school, we’re attending chapel everyday and Bible studies every week, and we are surrounded by a community of believers who love our kids. This is a season when we can live in one place and spend a lot of time discipling our kids. I’ve got to tell you: it is really fun to see little kids learn about Jesus. David is systematically going through the Bible with kids at bedtime. Sometimes the kids fall asleep during the story, but usually they are fully engaged. There was one night that James interrupted David just to say, “God is Lord! Jesus is God! Jesus is big and strong as Pooh Bear!” And lately the boys have been spending much of their bedtime prayers asking God to heal their scabs from when they fall down. It was really cute to hear them go on and on asking God to heal them, and then wonder why He’s not – since the scab was still there the next day – to then be told that God is healing them because there is a scab – at which point they get really excited and thankful! I love seeing how they are coming to know and relate to God. While having three kids so close together can definitely have its challenges, I’m incredibly thankful for the family God has given us!
As I wrap up, I’d like to ask that you pray for a few things.
Please pray for David as he continues to write his dissertation.
Please pray for wisdom in what to write and clarity to do it efficiently.
Please pray for us as we travel this Summer.
Please pray for safety and that it will be a refreshing time away from the city.
Please pray for wisdom as we begin the process of homeschooling.
Please pray that we will raise up our children in the way they should go.
Please pray that we make the best decisions regarding curriculum and how best to engage with each child individually.
Please pray for wisdom and discernment as we continue to look into where God is calling us to serve next.
Please pray that as we get closer to the school finish line, clarity will be given in which direction to pursue next.
Please continue to pray for more financial support. Living in Toronto as a family of five (5!) is increasingly harder to do financially.
Please pray that we will receive more financial partners as we continue in our Home Educational Assignment.
We continue to praise God that we keep getting offered odd jobs around Wycliffe and church to help supplement our financial needs!
Thank you all for your continued prayers and financial support of our family! And thank you for keeping up with what God is doing here with us in Toronto. As always, we’d love to talk to you more individually if you would like to here more. Please feel free to email us to set up a time for a call!
Blessings,
The Alenskis Family