A year has passed...

Thanks so much to those of you who continue to pray for us - even when I neglect my blog! I can't believe it's already been a year since I came to Vancouver to live and to work with Partners in Hope.

Things are very busy around the Women of Hope house these days. We have a full house now since Rita, and Jen and her 8 month old daughter Sierra, came to live with us few a weeks ago. What a joy to have a baby in our midst! She is a delight! It is a blessing to watch the measure of wisdom and love with which Jen cares for her baby daughter.

God continues to draw the women into fellowship with Him by “cords of kindness and bands of love” (Hosea 11), and they are growing in their realization of who He is and who they are in His eyes. Please pray for “good soil” as we continue to plant the seeds of the gospel of love and salvation into their hearts. Being willing to hear and to learn is the key as we try to teach and to minister, and I am blessed by the willingness and the trust the women demonstrate.

Rita has made great progress as she allows the truth of God’s Word to penetrate her heart and practices taking her thoughts captive into obedience to Christ.Kelly, Andrea and Sarah continue to grow and blossom. It is an amazing process to witness the transformation that is taking place in them. Kelly was confirmed a few weeks ago, alongside a woman who used to live at Women of Hope and a man who's been a friend of Partners in Hope for years

Elsie is taking some much needed time off this week. Please pray that she will be able to get some much needed rest and relaxation. Also, your prayers for all of us as we learn to adjust to one another’s habits and behaviour, and learn to love one another, would be a blessing. Prayers for God’s protection and peace would also be appreciated.

I am blessed to have a safe car to drive to Abbotsford twice a week for the prison ministry I'm involved with at Fraser Valley Institution for women. Chapel is going very well, we had twelve women last week, which is wonderful, and the Bible Study in the maximum security unit is alive and intense because of the hunger in the hearts of the women who are in attendance each Monday. God meets them each week in their place of need. We are working through “The Purpose Driven Life” and although it is wonderfully rich (and for the most part scriptural) material, it is very challenging to teach to women who are incarcerated and have difficulty believing that God could have a purpose for their lives. I challenge them to believe and to stand on the truth of God’s Word, and already I see changes in the way that they live together and behave inside the prison walls. I will be filling in for the chaplain for several Sundays during April. Your prayers for us would be greatly appreciated.

May the Lord bless you richly as you love and serve Him.

In Christ,
Catherine