Friday, 21 September 2012
Still Looking for Housing
Thanks to all of you who have been praying about our housing situation. Please keep praying as we still do not have another place to move into, and we need to be out of our current place in 2.5 weeks! I'm getting a little anxious; definitely teaching me about trusting God. Again. ;)
Wednesday, 22 August 2012
Thanks!
A huge thanks to all of you whom have been following, praying, supporting and loving us through this whole journey to BFA. We are totally here because of you and we'd love to share a video message from all of those whom others have prayed and supported them here as well. Click the link below to see a special message from the new staff of BFA for 2012.
http://vimeo.com/47933997
Have a great day from the Yau's :)
http://vimeo.com/47933997
Have a great day from the Yau's :)
Monday, 13 August 2012
We've Arrived
So after two months of sleeping in different people's homes, hotels, college dorm rooms and on the airplane, we have arrived in Germany. However, we are not in our final destination home yet, but will be in one week, Lord willing. Thank you to all of you who have prayed and financially supported us to get here to embark on a new ministry with the Lord.
Our boys are doing quite well and have adjusted to the time zone changes well and this morning we started German language and culture training with our fellow new colleagues. There are some new families that are moving into the area so our boys are finding and making new friends, but it will take some adjustment. Anna and I have been able to reconnect with old friends which was very comforting to see that there are still so many people from our time here before that are still around. The Lord is a great God and continues to provide many servants/harvesters to the various ministry sites around the world that it continues to astound me and strengthen my faith as well.
We have done an amazing amount of the paperwork that involves moving to a new country and in record time I believe. Within 2 days of getting here we have registered in the town we live in, we have received, insured and registered the car that we bought from some great friends whom are on home assignment this year. It's amazing to see the Lord provide and encourage us with the wonderful people who are here to help us with settling in.
Please continue to pray for our boys and also for us as we adjust to the new culture and surroundings and that we would remain humble. I say humble because it can be very easy for us to say that we have been here before and we don't need to know all the basic stuff, but at the same time we are new and there has been change. Pray that our spirits would be teachable and moldable.
Auf Wiedersehn :)
Our boys are doing quite well and have adjusted to the time zone changes well and this morning we started German language and culture training with our fellow new colleagues. There are some new families that are moving into the area so our boys are finding and making new friends, but it will take some adjustment. Anna and I have been able to reconnect with old friends which was very comforting to see that there are still so many people from our time here before that are still around. The Lord is a great God and continues to provide many servants/harvesters to the various ministry sites around the world that it continues to astound me and strengthen my faith as well.
We have done an amazing amount of the paperwork that involves moving to a new country and in record time I believe. Within 2 days of getting here we have registered in the town we live in, we have received, insured and registered the car that we bought from some great friends whom are on home assignment this year. It's amazing to see the Lord provide and encourage us with the wonderful people who are here to help us with settling in.
Please continue to pray for our boys and also for us as we adjust to the new culture and surroundings and that we would remain humble. I say humble because it can be very easy for us to say that we have been here before and we don't need to know all the basic stuff, but at the same time we are new and there has been change. Pray that our spirits would be teachable and moldable.
Auf Wiedersehn :)
Thursday, 26 July 2012
Getting Ready...
The road tripping part has ended and we are now in Pandora, OH visiting with Anna's family and spending time with the grandparents before we see them again in possibly what could be 2 years before we return to North America. The Lord has been so wonderful in providing for our needs over the the past 2 months as we travelled and met up with friends and family. We have seen the Lord work in miraculous ways as well as he has provided the necessary funds that we need to be able to move overseas and care for our family and participate in the ministry of our Lord at BFA.
While at Orientation in Minnesota, a little over a month ago, we were given the vision and the mission of TeachBeyond from our director George Durance. It served to me (Clarence) as a wonderful reminder and inspiration about why we have joined this mission organization and why the Lord has called us to be part of his good work in Germany. I was reminded that we are being given this privilege to participate in the transformation of youth and their families so that the world will be transformed through them and through us. One of the things that was mentioned was the time of slow growth was over for TeachBeyond and that there could be quite possibly an explosion of people joining our mission organization as they catch on to the vision and direction that the Lord has provided. I totally agree as we saw 88 people commissioned to go to 18 different countries in the next 2 years. It's amazing to see the Lord working over the past 10 years since I was part of the Janz Team (now TeachBeyond) community to bring about such a change and such a wonderful ministry/mission change. God is so good and he has prepared us for good works, just like it says in his Word.
We will be heading out of North America on August 8 and arriving in Germany on August 9, but will not be living in our home for the year until August 15th. Please continue praying that we will trust in the Lord as we are feeling quite anxious about moving overseas and leaving our support network here in Canada. Please pray that our children and us will be able to find a good friend whom we can share our joys, our trials and our triumphs and our burdens with. Pray also that we will be able to travel well through all the airports (4 in total) as we go overseas. If you want to see pictures of what we've been up to please head over to my (Clarence Yau's) Facebook page. If you are in the Pandora, OH area please let us know and we would love to set up a time to visit with you.
While at Orientation in Minnesota, a little over a month ago, we were given the vision and the mission of TeachBeyond from our director George Durance. It served to me (Clarence) as a wonderful reminder and inspiration about why we have joined this mission organization and why the Lord has called us to be part of his good work in Germany. I was reminded that we are being given this privilege to participate in the transformation of youth and their families so that the world will be transformed through them and through us. One of the things that was mentioned was the time of slow growth was over for TeachBeyond and that there could be quite possibly an explosion of people joining our mission organization as they catch on to the vision and direction that the Lord has provided. I totally agree as we saw 88 people commissioned to go to 18 different countries in the next 2 years. It's amazing to see the Lord working over the past 10 years since I was part of the Janz Team (now TeachBeyond) community to bring about such a change and such a wonderful ministry/mission change. God is so good and he has prepared us for good works, just like it says in his Word.
We will be heading out of North America on August 8 and arriving in Germany on August 9, but will not be living in our home for the year until August 15th. Please continue praying that we will trust in the Lord as we are feeling quite anxious about moving overseas and leaving our support network here in Canada. Please pray that our children and us will be able to find a good friend whom we can share our joys, our trials and our triumphs and our burdens with. Pray also that we will be able to travel well through all the airports (4 in total) as we go overseas. If you want to see pictures of what we've been up to please head over to my (Clarence Yau's) Facebook page. If you are in the Pandora, OH area please let us know and we would love to set up a time to visit with you.
Sunday, 15 July 2012
Calgary Meet-Up!
For all of you in the Calgary area, we will be having an informal get-together THIS TUESDAY, July 17 @7pm. Located at Crossroad Community Church: 912-19 St. NE, Calgary, AB. Come join us for some coffee and sharing!
Monday, 25 June 2012
Living in a Car
So, we are now about halfway through out big roadtrip! We are currently in Minneapolis, MN attending Mission Orientation with TeachBeyond. We just arrived yesterday and have already met tons of amazing people and been given a wealth of new and helpful information about going to the mission field. It has been very interesting to see old and new faces here and to get a grasp of what the Lord has been doing in the lives of His children as we participate together in his kingdom ministry.
Our travels so far have gone very well. The only real downside was Austin got sick for a few days in Chicago with a fever. Otherwise, the kids have done extremely well with all the traveling. They have made great friends with the various families where we've stayed. Every place we stay Austin says that he wants our trip to be over so we can stay at that house with his new friends :) We've enjoyed seeing and experiencing the boldness of our young ones as they share with their new friends and complete strangers about our journey to Germany and to BFA. We've received some strange looks when this happens, but overall people are amazed and awed by our boldness to do such a thing, but deep down we personally know that it is the Lord who is orchestrating everything. Clarence and I have loved having a chance to visit old friends as well and reconnect and share stories about our lives together. Check out Clarence's Facebook page for some pictures of our journey so far!
Thanks for your prayers for safety. We will leave Orientation on Saturday (June 30) and then have another 22ish hours of driving ahead of us until we reach Calgary. We're hoping to arrive in Calgary on July 4th, and then we will be settled again for a few weeks until we fly back to Ohio on July 20th. Please continue to pray for safety and joy as we travel and share our lives with the people around us.
Our travels so far have gone very well. The only real downside was Austin got sick for a few days in Chicago with a fever. Otherwise, the kids have done extremely well with all the traveling. They have made great friends with the various families where we've stayed. Every place we stay Austin says that he wants our trip to be over so we can stay at that house with his new friends :) We've enjoyed seeing and experiencing the boldness of our young ones as they share with their new friends and complete strangers about our journey to Germany and to BFA. We've received some strange looks when this happens, but overall people are amazed and awed by our boldness to do such a thing, but deep down we personally know that it is the Lord who is orchestrating everything. Clarence and I have loved having a chance to visit old friends as well and reconnect and share stories about our lives together. Check out Clarence's Facebook page for some pictures of our journey so far!
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| Visiting Mommy's College |
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| New Friends |
Wednesday, 13 June 2012
The Journey Begins! (and continues)
Okay, I guess our journey [of going to BFA] really began several months ago. But the particular journey I’m referring to is our “Epic Road Trip”. It officially began today with driving from Toronto to Ohio. We will spend a few days here, and then continue on our big road trip totaling 4000km. Here’s a rough overview of our itinerary:
June 12-15: Pandora, Ohio
June 15-17: Mishawaka/Goshen, Indiana
June 17-20: Chicago, Illinois
June 20-23: Green Bay, Wisconsin
June 23-30: Minneapolis, Minnesota – for Orientation with TeachBeyond
June 30-July 1: Grand Forks, North Dakota
July 1-3: Winnipeg, Manitoba
July 3-4: Moose Jaw/Caronport, Saskatchewan
July 5-20: Calgary, Alberta
July 20-August 8: Pandora, Ohio
August 9 and onward – GERMANY!!!
So, this past week has been a crazy blur. We packed up our house, got rid of all of our furniture, and moved in to stay with friends this weekend. Monday we closed on our house, and Tuesday drove to Ohio. It has been full of lots of sad good-byes as we say farewell to so many wonderful friends in Toronto. Our church has really become a family to us, and we will miss them all dearly, but we’re very thankful for their blessings as they send us on our way in following God’s call.
The past week has also been full of good news. Our housing is finalized for where we will be staying in Germany, which we’re very excited about. The school has recently purchased an old guesthouse/hotel which will eventually be turned into a girl’s dorm, but for this coming school year, our family will be living there on the main floor. There will be another BFA family living in the bottom floor, and the upper floor will probably be available for guests and visitors to rent (yes, so we should hopefully have a nice place to house visitors!) We also purchased a used minivan from another couple who works at BFA. And finally, we bought our PLANE TICKETS! Woo hoo! It’s really happening! We fly out of Detroit, MI on August 8 and arrive in Germany on August 9th. The only downside is that our housing will not be available until August 15th, so we will be housed somewhere else temporarily for week or so.
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