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.

Upcoming Tour

Well, Lord willing, we are off on another tour. This time we will only be gone for about three weeks and are going west this time. We plan to go through BC and then a couple of places in Washington state. I absolutely love traveling and doing concerts with my family. We have a bunch of new songs for this tour as well. I love doing the new songs the most.

If you are in the BC or Washington state area, feel free to contact us about coming to sing as we still have a couple open slots. As concerts are confirmed we will post our schedule to: http://www.josties.com/Tour.html

Please pray for God's blessing on this trip and for us as we share the message we are bringing.

Without God we are nothing.

Contentment...

Something that I have been thinking a lot about lately is contentment. What brings contentment?
It obviously has nothing to do with what you own. Look at all the humble families in foreign countries that are full of contentment and happiness with nothing but each other and the basics to live. And then you can look at how miserable wealthy people that have 8 cars and a huge home can be.

I think contentment is about having a grateful attitude. There is so much for every Christian to be grateful for at any point in there life. The Bible says, "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God". There is much more joy in being content with what God has provided you. And everyone around you will appreciate your attitude too! Like the quote goes, "Nobody really cares if you are grouchy, so you might as well be happy!".

I personally believe that if we cannot be content wherever we are in life right at this moment, we cannot find contentment at anytime. If you are not content before you buy the sports car you still won't be content after, if you are not content with life before you get married you will not find contentment after.

So, right now, take a moment to thank God for all the blessings that He has given you and be content wherever you are in life right now. I am so grateful for all the blessings God has given me. Such as my godly parents, family, cousins, friends, good health, and for so many other blessings...

1 Timothy 6:6 "Now godliness with contentment is great gain."

New Tobias Bass Guitar!

Well, I have been praying about buying a new 5 string bass guitar for the last while, and this past week God provided one for me.

It was amazing how it all worked out. I had been looking for one for sometime and I really wanted a good one. I talked to a bassist friend about what the best bass would be. Well, after searching for a while I found a Tobias bass on eBay that was listed in Medicine Hat, AB. Tobias is a very good brand name for basses. I prayed about it a lot and I really felt at peace to bid on it. I placed my bid of $1525.00 US right before I went to bed. I was pretty sure I was going to outbid as that bass has a SRP of $4500.00 USD. But, I prayed if it was God's will for me to win it, it would happen. I woke up the next morn surprised to see that I had won the bass for $1525.00 US! I paid for the bass and made arrangements for my Grandparents from Med. Hat to bring it out the next day. It all worked perfect!

And the encouraging part is that the seller went to our www.josties.com web site and found out we were Christians. He then told me that when he listed his bass on eBay was kind of nervous about doing it since he hadn't listed anything on eBay before, so he prayed God would send just the right buyer for the bass. And that's what God did!

I am so happy with the bass. It has incredible tone and craftsmanship. I am still getting used to playing a bass with 5 strings instead of 4, but I am starting to get the hang of it.

It is made out of Bubinga solid wings with natural hand rubbed finish. It also has laminated in mahogany and swamp ash. It has a 5 piece laminated Asym contoured neck-through, dual truss rods, Pau Ferro fingerboard, with 24 frets. Bartolini curve top pickups and 18 volt electronics. Volume control with push/pull slap tone, pick up balance control, bass, mid and treble boost or cut, mid select toggle switch and Grover machine heads. Just incredible.

(Pictured is my bass guitar)