Another Temporary Home

By -
Sullivan, IN

It is a rare occasion that we are able to spend a full week in any one spot, but that is exactly the blessing we were given in Sullivan, Indiana by the Wabash Valley Community Church (WVCC). The church has a nice apartment just a few yards away from the parsonage on the church grounds and Molly and I made that home for the time we were there. Our “neighbors”, Pastor John & Bev Moyer were wonderful hosts. Bev, a great cook, made sure we were well fed. John, the master craftsman, showed us some of his hand made furniture around the house. Next time through we’ll have to have a woodworking seminar so Bryan can build some things in Santa Cruz. We had fun playing games like Farkel and watching O’Reilly factor a few nights.

Being able to stay in Sullivan for that full week gave us several chances to connect with the people of WVCC.

1)    Saturday morning breakfast with the Men’s group. Bryan brought the devotional and there was some great discussion.

2)    Sunday Morning:  Bryan & Molly shared with adult Sunday School Class, Bryan preached the message while Molly led the junior kid’s church.

3)    Sunday lunch with Ron and Marianne (former missionaries to Bolivia) now residing in Indiana. Good discussions about exchange rate, weather, ministry, etc.

4)    Sunday afternoon: Much cheering and heckling could be heard from the Moyer living room as John and Bev (Packer fans) rooted against Bryan & Molly (Bears fans). All smack talk was in good fun and we’ll continue to pray that those Packer fans wont get big heads about their victory. Humility is key….

5)    Sunday evening: Bryan led a few choruses with his guitar and then we had an informal time of sharing with some interactive powerpoint games.

6)    Tuesday evening Molly shared with the Women’s group through our favorite interactive game for all age groups..."Pass the Parcel". 

7)    Wednesday evening we sat in on the Bible study and prayer time. Pastor John has been taking the people through the book of Luke and we were in chapter 14. A good lesson on the excuses people give for not attending the “Banquet”. If you get a chance, read it in your devotions this week and you will surely be challenged. 

As I thought back on our week in Sullivan and our "temporary home" I was reminded of the scripture in John chapter 15. 

John 15:19 (New International Version, ©2011)

19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 


I hope you will be challenged and encouraged by this scripture as I was. This world is our "temporary home". That is 2 fold. Temporary in the fact that we have limited time to reach all the people that God is calling us to reach. Also temporary in the fact that we have a hope in glory on the other side of death. Go out this week and make the most of the temporary. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ON THE "FLIP" SIDE

By -
Image
This week I learned more about tortoises than I had anticipated. For instance, the plural of tortoise really is tortoises and not torti like I originally thought. There are some different answers floating around the web as to what the proper name is for a group of tortoises. A group of turtles is called a "bale" and some say this goes for tortoises as well. Other answers were a "herd" or "fleet". My personal favorite was, "a creep" or tortoises, named such for their slow movement. Listed below are some other interesting facts about these reptiles.  The key differences between Tortoises and Turtles Yellow Spotted South American Tortoise You may be wondering, "Why the sudden fascination with tortoises?", and I will tell you. This past week, Molly and I took a few days away from the city for our one year anniversary. It was a good time to get away and reflect on all of God's blessings over the past year. The place we stayed at ha...
Read more

BACK FOR GOOD

By -
This blog was started a little over a year ago as I (Bryan) sat on the couch in Gordon and Niki Elliott's living room in Santa Cruz, Bolivia and started to journal my experiences from my first trip out of the United States. We have certainly come full circle as I am writing this new post from the exact same cushion on the exact same couch in the exact same house in the exact same city. There is one key difference between then and now. I am no longer chronicling a tourist visit, but now posting updates as a career missionary with the plan to live here for a few years rather than just a few weeks.  TOP 5 Initial Adjustments to living in Bolivia 1. HEAT . As Gordon told one of the Bolivian pastors when he commented on how much I was sweating, "Iowa es muy frio" (Iowa is very cold). I am also the only red head I have seen here so far. Red head = fair skin. PTL for sunscreen. 2. LANGUAGE. We will be starting Spanish studies with a tutor in just a few weeks after Easte...
Read more

DONUT CHEESEBURGER?!?!?

By -
Image
I am sure many of you have realized that "The Canny Chronicles" have been few and far between. I apologize for this lack of updates and communication. Molly and I have been adjusting to married life as well as taking care of some medical issues for my mother (Brenda Canny). We would really appreciate your continued prayers in that situation.  Speaking of adjusting to married life...Molly and I are spending our first full day apart since being married 2 1/2 months ago. We did spend a full week living in separate dorms when we counseled at Red Rock Camp in Paynesville, Minnesota (3 weeks into our marriage), but at least then we saw each other throughout the whole day. I am currently typing this post from Oskaloosa at Rev. David and Donna Barner's house while my beautiful wife Molly is in Minneapolis at Duane and Jessie Erickson's house. We have been in my home town of Oskaloosa for a couple weeks and Molly returned to Minneapolis to gather some extra items before we sta...
Read more