Home Sweet Home...

We are home after another awesome tour. So many stories of God's goodness.

The concert in Spokane was very special. God really seemed to bless that evening. What is really neat is that before we left for this tour I had been praying that God would lead at least one person to Him through the ministry of His music. And there was a youth group that came to the concert that night and after the concert a young man left the building very emotional and the youth director later told us that he accepted Christ then. That was so amazing to hear!
The next day we had an evening concert in the small town of Fernwood, Idaho. It is pastored by Brian Primer. His family had us over for supper right before the concert and we slept in the church that night.

On Thursday we arrived in Kalispell, Montana where the Haymond family hosted us. They served us a delicious supper before the concert and helped us set-up. After the concert and tearing down we headed back to their home. They shared some beautiful music for us that night. It was a real treat. We stayed the night there and left in the morning after a great breakfast.

We got home around 9:00 PM Friday night. But, we had to leave Saturday morning for a concert in Strasbourg, Saskatchewan on Sunday. We arrived at the church there in the evening where they had a hot lasagna supper waiting. After supper we set up then were billeted out a few different ways. Me and Josh went to the Danielson home where we had popcorn, talked and watched a bit of Hockey Night in Canada.

Sunday morning we did the concert and it went really well. Afterwards there was a potluck. After tearing down, we headed for home. We got home a bit before midnight. It's been a crazy busy last three weeks! Now, we are trying to catch up with things here at home.

Thank you SOOO much to everyone who helped contribute to our tour! Thanks to all the young people that would help us tear down after concerts, and thanks to everyone who had our family over for a dinner or for staying the night! We met so many great families this tour!

God bless you all!

Until next time,

Josiah Jost

In Washington

Ahh… It’s been a while since my last post.

We had a great visit with the Neufeld family which included sharing music, going out for Chinese and visiting. Thanks again to the Neufeld family for all the hospitality! (Chinese dinner pictured below)

Jesse and Heidi and John-Michael left for home on Thursday morning. It was great having them along for this tour again! They add a lot!

We left the Neufeld family Friday morning. Our next stop was near Hoodsport, Washington. We had about a two hour wait at the US border which caused us to be right in the Seattle/Tacoma traffic rush. Crazy! It took us 2 ½ hrs. to make it from Seattle to Tacoma (31 miles). But, we made it to the Endicott family at about 8:00 PM where they had delicious tacos waiting.

They arranged for our family to stay in a very nice cabin near their place. It was such a beautiful place! That part of Washington is so green and amazing!

Saturday morning, Hank Bloomfield and the Endicotts gave us a tour of a oyster/clam shore harvest. That was very interesting. Afterwards, we found a meadow near the cabin where we played an awesome game of Ultimate Frisbee with the Endicotts! We played for a couple hours! (Ultimate Frisbee pictured below)…

Saturday evening we went with the Endicotts to the Bloomfields for supper. Mr. Bloomfield killed a large male bear (Approx. 300 lbs.) prior to our arrival and he BBQ’d some for supper. It was so good! We had never tried bear meat before. (Pictured below is Hank Bloomfield with a piece of bear steak! Mmmmm…)

Sunday morning we shared 40 minutes of music in the church in Hoodsport. It is a really refreshing church. Afterwards we had a potluck and then helped some of Endicotts friends move a raft that had come loose in the nearby harbor. Later in the afternoon, we had a great game of softball with the Endicotts and some other friends, the Hageman family. That was a blast! We played in a nearby MUDDY baseball field!

In the evening we did a concert in the same church, but with a different group (Family Bible Fellowship). It is always fun sharing the music. I really enjoy that. It’s always so amazing that God would chocse to use our family. Talking with folks afterwards, and hearing how the Lord spoke to them during different parts of the concert sure does make it all worthwhile. The people in that church are pretty neat. We enjoyed all the visiting.

Following the concert and tearing down, we headed over to Endicotts with the Hagemans and played some games with them. Totally great time

Monday morning, (today), we left the cabin and headed for Spokane. Thanks so much to the Endicotts, Bloomfields, and all those who helped tear down after the concert. It is always great to have help! J

We have three more concerts before coming home. We have one in Spokane tomorrow, then one in Fernwood, Idaho the next day and then the final one before going home will be in Kalispell, Montana on Thursday. On Friday we head home for one night, then on Sat. we drive to Strasbourg, SK (near Regina) for a Sunday concert.

It is so neat to see God working throughout this tour. We serve an awesome God!

Update From Surrey

Wow, been very busy the last while. We’ve had 7 concerts in 9 days. We are currently still staying with our dear great aunt Lorraine. She is such an amazing lady.

Well, on Friday the 12^th, we did an afternoon concert for the golden agers club in the Johnson Heights church. That was fun. It’s always fun sharing our music with seniors. Then on Saturday, we did a concert in Yarrow, BC at the Yarrow MB church in the evening. The Robertson family (old friends of mom and dads) served us supper before the concert and then served us delicious pies after the concert. During that concert it was really weird for me though. I had been feeling quite sick before the concert so I took a couple painkillers. But I think that was a bad idea because my brain wasn’t working right playing the bass. I was playing the right notes, but I couldn’t connect with the music… It was really strange. Thankfully, God helped me play everything right in spite of it.

Is there another word I can use other than concert? The word concert sounds too showy. We really just want to have a ministry through music.

On Sunday, we went to the Rose of Sharon church in Aldergrove. It is a really cool church with a lot of nice families. We did a half-hour concert and Dad shared a message in the morning.

After the morning service, we went to the Strauss family’s home for lunch. They prepared an awesome lasagna dinner! Afterwards we played volleyball in their front yard. Unfortunately, I only played a few minutes though as I was feeling quite sick.

Then, in the evening we did a concert. God really seemed to bless the evening concert. It was really moving to talk to people afterwards. There was a young man who was blind that came to the concert. It was so encouraging to talk to him afterwards. He has such a sweet spirit and was really blessed by the music.

We are leaving our aunt’s place shortly to visit some friends (the Neufelds) for a couple of days. Then we are off to Washington. God bless and thanks again to those who are praying!!

Pictured is a shot from the concert in the Rose of Sharon church in Aldergrove.

Divine Appointment In Sorrento

Well, we found out why God wanted us stranded in Sorrento.

Wednesday morning we prayed that God would show us why He wanted us to be in the small town of Sorrento and that God would use our family somehow while we were there. Jesse and Heidi and Jon and Sharla left for the family they were staying with in Surrey (since there was no need for them to stay with us in Sorrento).

Around noon, Dad went to a small thrift store behind our hotel and started talking to the owner and found out he was a Christian. After the owner found out our situation and that we sang as a family, out of the blue he asked if we would be interested in doing a concert at their church that evening for their bible study group! He said he would have to ask the pastor first though. Dad said we would be more than willing.

The fellow that owned the thrift store then called the pastor. The church has a husband and wife pastoring team and the wife does the bible studies. When he talked to the pastor's wife, she was amazed. Apparently, she had been trying to prepare a study for the bible study, but things weren’t coming together and on Tuesday (the day that our van broke down) God told her that there was no need to worry because someone else would take care of it. Another part of the story is that when he phoned, the pastor had been out for most of the day, but she was in there when he called as she had run into the church to get something and that is when the phone rang! There are a lot more details how God put it altogether as well. It is amazing how God works!!

Well, in the evening the thrift store owner and his wife took our family to the church in his truck and car (his truck pulling our trailer). Then at 7:00 PM we had a concert in their Pentecostal church for the bible study group as well as some others that were invited. There was such a sense of God’s blessing on the concert. There were about 30-40 people there. Several people shared afterwards how different events in their lives made the concert so meaningful. They also blessed us so much financially that the amount was well over twice as much as all the costs of van repairs. God is so good. It was such an encouragement to all of us

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.

I love that verse a lot. I’m learning to trust God more and more everyday…

Thursday, the part came in for the van and the mechanic was able to install it quickly. We were back on the road around 2:00 PM. We arrived in Surrey, BC in time for a very nice supper with our Great Aunt Lorraine. She is such a sweet lady. We will be staying here for a few days. And she has wireless internet!! :)

Thank you all sooo much for your prayers! There is some sickness going through our family right now. I was totally rotten sick yesterday, but I am doing way better today. We have a concert today at about 1:00. Pray that God will bring healing to all those who are sick.

Thanks!

First Update…

Well, we had left at about 6:00 AM Friday morning in the cold dark morning. It was really raining before we made it to Lethbridge. In fact, the car directly in front of us hydro-planed and did a 360 right in front of us then went into the ditch near New Dayton. It was pretty scary to watch. But, by Calgary the roads were great. It was amazing to drive through the mountains. If I was driving my own vehicle I probably would have stopped a dozen times for photo shoots. We safely arrived at the Shonwise family on Friday evening in time for an awesome Greek style supper!

We had a concert in Kelowna at the Shonwise family’s church Saturday evening then tore down and came home for some super banana cream pies our hosts had prepared!

We left the Shonwises Sunday morning. Thanks to the Shonwise family for being such great hosts!

At about 1:00 PM we arrived at the DenHollander family’s home. They had a great soup and sandwich lunch waiting. In the evening, we did a concert at the Five Corners Pentacostal Church in Salmon Arm.

On Monday, we had the chance to play a ton of volleyball with the DenHollanders, and some friends. (Cassons, Harbages) Great time! Then, we came home and had an awesome full fledged thanksgiving dinner with the DenHollanders in the evening. So good!

Today, (Tuesday morning) we left the DenHollander family around 11:00 AM. It was great to re-connect with them!

Shortly after leaving the DenHollanders, we heard a belt start to scream in our van. We pulled over right away. By the looks of it, the pulley that carries the belt that powers the alternator broke. So, we had to be towed to the nearest town, (Sorrento, BC). After a mechanic looked at it, we got the news that we will need a part for the van that won’t arrive till Thursday. We are sooo grateful that don’t have a concert scheduled until this Friday. We are also very thankful that we have roadside insurance that will cover our expenses while we are stranded here. I’m not sure why God allowed this, but I’m sure He has a good reason. I am using our hotel’s wireless internet right now.

God bless and keep praying for us!

Pictured is a shot from our concert in Salmon Arm , BC. Photo courtesy of David DenHollander.