Thank you for your continued prayers for our family. We are even more acutely aware of how much we need them now that we’re parents of a beautiful baby girl. I feel like the previous sentence deserves a “Selah” after it because I often pause in amazement that I even get to live out the reality of being a parent, much less being able to say it. The past two months of Abby’s life have come with challenges that Liz and I were completely unprepared for, but in all of them, God sustained us and showed us how faithful He is even when we can’t see what He’s doing. Our girl is healthy and, shockingly, growing up quickly before our very eyes. She’s smiling, laughing, rolling over from her tummy, moving her head well, and even sleeping through the night most of the time. She is absolutely charming her way through our church and extended family. This past Christmas was extra special with it being our first one as parents. It was so much fun introducing Abigail to her grandparents in Louisiana and North Carolina over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. She stole the show in both places and got the most presents by far! This little girl is very loved; there’s no doubt about that! Abby lives up to her name, “Her Father’s Joy,” every single day of her life.

On the ministry side, we had a great closeout to the year. The annual Youth Conference put on by Pastor Phil Powless in London, Ontario, was a great help to our young people. One young man in our youth group surrendered his life to the Lord to be a pastor, missionary, evangelist, or whatever God wants him to be. We are elated to see God working in such a way in our midst! I still think I have the best job in the world getting to work with some of the best teenagers around . . . though I may be a bit biased!

Giving out New Testaments at the public schools has also resumed and is going well. Students are still taking Bibles, so I’m going to keep giving them out. I’m often asked if I’ve seen any fruit from this, and the answer is always, “Not yet.” The results from an endeavour like this will take some time, but I believe God’s Word in Isaiah 55:10-11, “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” The great mission field of teenagers in Canada is hard ground that will take time to cultivate. Young people are searching for something that’s true; we just need to be there with the answer.

Lastly, I’d like to talk about our annual Christmas program. This year’s program wasn’t exclusively put on by our teenagers; it was a mixture of both teens and adults, as they took turns reading monologues portraying the different “journeys” of Christmas. It was a beautiful production from our speakers to all of the different singing groups. We had several visitors that Sunday, one of whom was a man I had been inviting for years to come; he brought his wife and daughter with him. He loved the spirit of our church so much, noting how different it is from the lifeless Orthodox church he’s used to attending occasionally, that he has come now four weeks in a row, even coming while we were away visiting family for Christmas. Pray that we can nail down whether or not he’s truly saved.

Pressing toward the mark,

Brian and Liz Hebert