Some doors God opens… Some doors God closes…
Two updates right after one another? What’s going on?
Watch the video version: https://youtu.be/FvUUQe7r7Hg
God opens doors…
Many of you have followed our journey of seeking permanent residence for Cy in Canada 
. This spring she was approved and this summer she entered Canada and officially became a permanent resident! She has since been able to establish residency by getting her Permanent Resident Card, Canadian Drivers License, and Medical Services Card. That’s a lot of cards!
While her passport has expired, she has found a country that welcomes her long term.
God closes doors…
We had plans to return to the United States 
at the end of summer, however, on August 6th we received an email from the U.S. Consulate, communicating that Cy’s visa interview appointment is cancelled. There are no available appointments for at least the next 12 months.
Canadians can enter the U.S. without a visa sticker in their passports, but most other countries need the sticker, which is Cy’s case. An expired passport doesn’t help much either. Without this visa sticker she cannot re-enter the U.S. This door has been shut.
A Macedonian Call
And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. (Acts 16:6-10)
This summer we were intentional about getting to know some locations of YWAM in Canada . We visited:
While we were in Dunham, Quebec, the leadership clearly communicated their desire for help in the area of developing more Bible training within their programs. To paraphrase the general message we heard through our conversations with them: “Come over to [Quebec] and help us.”
The strong invitation for us to continue to End Bible Poverty Now globally from within Canada, coupled with the opportunity to help pioneer a School of Biblical Studies (the same school we pioneered in Thailand) for the French world, was a call that touched our hearts. How could we say no?
Discerning God leadership in our lives
We have always prayed and listened with the ears of our hearts for God’s voice telling us: “This is the way, walk in it.” Sometimes his leading comes through the still, small voice. Other times he leads us through unique circumstances. And the voice of others bring guidance and/or confirmation.
We see God opening a door for a long-term solution for Cy’s passport issue (she could eventually apply for citizenship in Canada). We see God closing the door on the path we had planned to take in return to the U.S. We hear the cry of the church and the Spirit in Quebec (only 1% Christian), saying, “Come… help us.” We hear the voices of leaders, friends and family confirming that this is good. And the still, small voice whispers in our hearts: “This is the way, walk in it.”
What’s changing? And what’s not changing?
CHANGE: Our LOCATION is changing. We’re moving from Kona, Hawaii to Dunham, Quebec.
NO CHANGE: Everything that we’re doing; our MINISTRY. We are able to continue serving the global movement of Ending Bible Poverty Now, just like we shared in our last update. The SourceView Bible, Share Bibles and Start Bibles are still major global projects that we will continue to lead forward from Quebec. And the YWAM community in Dunham is excited to adopt them as well.
So what’s the plan?
At the end of August Rob and Elias will need to return to Kona (they are still allowed in the U.S.) to get our stuff and close everything out there.
Mid-September we plan to move to Quebec and get settled in there
LEARN FRENCH!
Please pray for…
- Peace in our hearts: This is probably one of the most stressful moments of our lives. It’s not just a change of plans, but a drastic change in every sense of the word.
- Wisdom: So many decisions need to be made when one moves from one country to another. We need to make many decisions within a very short period of time (about 1 month).
- Travel/Moving Provision: Most of us have experienced the unexpected-ness of moving and the expenses that come up along the way. We don’t know what lies ahead when moving from a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean to Quebec, Canada. We know our God provides and yet he still invites us to make our requests known to him. If you want to contribute, tax-deductible receipts are available by donating.
What do you think?
Please feel free to contact us (robandcy@gmail.com) if you have any questions or comments. We understand that many people will be as shocked as we are and we want to be able to communicate effectively and with integrity.