Living in St. Marys

In 2006 Jack and I had a number of changes that took place in our lives. Sometimes you are not sure just what the Lord has in mind for you. Our changes ranged from being finished with the work at the church in Guelph, trying to determine where the Lord wanted us to minister, selling our house, storing our furniture, major surgery for me in the middle of this, and then living at a friend's house while waiting for direction. It was quite a year with many struggles, doubts, and thankfully some victories with the Lord.
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After the surgery Jack bought me a CD by Damaris Carbaugh. I do love her music because it never fails to minister to my heart. One song on it was Jeremiah 29:11. I didn't even know this verse had been put to music. "For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope." A number of nights I would listen to that song as I was trying to go to sleep. It was a great comfort to me.

It took several months before we knew what and where we were to live and minister. The Lord is so good. He led us step by step. He has us so safe in His hands, even though we think we are just barely hanging on. After looking in several small towns, He directed us to St. Marys, Ontario. It is about 15 minutes southwest of Stratford and about 30 minutes north of London.

St. Marys is around 6,000 people and is a beautiful town on the Thames River. All these names do make you think you are in England instead of Ontario. I'm going to include pictures of St. Marys so you can see a little of what it looks like. We purchased a semi-detached house (we used to call them duplexes) only 2 years old. St. Marys is called Stonetown because of the limestone quarry located here. A number of the buildings are made of limestone. Included in the pictures is the waterfalls that goes through the middle of the town, a walking bridge over the river, the town hall, our library, the water tower, the location of the past grist mill and the downtown area.

There are so many things that the Lord worked out for us. His plans truly are for our good and blessing. I keep thinking how years ago I told the Lord I wanted only to live for Him. Sometimes we don't realize exactly what that involves. He has to strip away so many things in our lives before that takes place. Some things are easy to give up, some it takes a while for you to let go, and then there are the painful things that seem to be ripped out of your very heart.

We are working with two churches now. One is in Exeter and one in Stratford. The Lord has given us many new friends and a new ministry. He has met our financial needs in many different ways. One unforeseen way the Lord has met this financial need is in Jack doing some work on the farm of several men of the churches we attend. He grew up working on his grandfather's farm (which he loved). He has gotten to drive some John Deere tractors, etc. He also has developed some good relationships with men in the churches because of this.

The main reason I wanted to write this blog was to post some pictures of St. Marys. The Lord gives us much more than we could ask or think. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we never had fears about the future. I've found that the one thing in my life that I just can't do without is my time with Him and my studying of His Word. His Word keeps me focused on Him, trusting Him and praising Him.