“Praise ye the Lord, for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant, and praise is comely.”

Psalm 147:1

How great is our God! He is faithful and provides all our needs! Thank you, all, our family, friends and supporters for your encouragement. We tend to get carried away with the work and the doing, and sometimes neglect to express our thanks. We truly appreciate you!  As always, we welcome your prayers for us. We know we can accomplish nothing without the prayers of God’s people, and the power of God working in us and through us.

Looking back: some highlights:

1. Being at home! No travel this winter. We needed the time to work on some new projects.  Look for some new products on our sales tables this summer! Special thanks to Teya for her help!
2. We also did quite a few local events and were thrilled that Matthew and Nikki were able to join us for some of them.
3. Helping with a Low German worship service. Thank you to the Winkler EMMC for allowing the group to use your chapel for the first few months. This group is now meeting in Plum Coulee, with a team of their own members giving guidance and structure. We help as we are able with music and preaching.
4. New equipment! A very generous donation was made by some local businesses, that allowed us to upgrade our outdated sound and office equipment. The guys were like kids at Christmas, setting up and trying out their new “toys!” Andrew and Deanna who came out for several weeks in March, also benefitted from this generosity and were able to upgrade their equipment as well. Thank you to all involved in blessing us so amazingly!
5. Andrew and Deanna’s visit: Several of the scheduled events were cancelled due to weather conditions, but we were able to spend more time in the studio, recording various projects, and working out details and plans for the future.

Looking ahead:

1. Several local events, including Sinjstund on April 22, and our Fundraiser on May 7.
2.  A trip to Alberta for several weekends of music festivals in June
3.  A trip to Ontario, in July, for the Plautdietsche Medien Konferenz, where we have agreed to present a workshop on translation. Several concerts are also being planned.

Nikki’s Notes

Since starting with D’Friesens last November, I have been learning the ropes. My days are filled with a wonderful variety, such as keeping the ministry calendar up to date, organizing the stock and keeping track of all the sales. I’ve had the privilege of interacting with people who follow our social media platforms and posting weekly, anything from “get to know you” posts, to updates and keeping people informed of our new projects. I have also had the privilege of getting some of the CDs up on Apple Music and Spotify, and am working with copyrights to get new music recorded soon! Through the variety of my workload, I have gotten to see many sides of this ministry and it excites me for everything God has planned for this year.

Mark’s Remarks

I’m so used to my parents travelling far and wide during the winter, that having them mostly at home this year feels kind of strange! But we work together well, so it hasn’t been a problem! Some things that have kept me busy lately are: helping Jason with filming his guitar videos, practicing and performing at events, helping to set up the new equipment, and all the clean up and re-organization that brings with it. I have also finished the coloring book I was working on lately so that should be out on the tables this summer!  Looking ahead, I am looking forward to the summer weather, getting the vehicles ready for travel, and the numerous outdoor events we have planned. Thank you all so much for your support. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about my work. God bless!

Jason’s Journal

The first few months of 2023 are off to a busy start! I’ve been working hard on writing, filming and editing the Low German guitar lesson videos, and the next one has been uploaded to YouTube! Other things that kept me busy were running technical support on all the computers, the network and website, equipment troubleshooting, and of course, practicing and performing at the various events. I also had some water damage in my office at home, so I’ve been working on getting that fixed, and it’s just about done. In the next few months I aim to complete the guitar videos, continue writing and practicing for my solo Low German album, and keep working on the website for D’Friesens. Thanks for your support and prayers. I would love to chat with you if you have any questions or comments!