“Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom.”
Psalm 145:3
As Always, we have much to praise God for! He shows His faithfulness in countless ways, reminding us that He is right here with us, providing strength, joy and the resources we need, to do the work He has called us to. All honor and glory to Him! And a huge “thank you” to everyone who keeps us in their thoughts and prayers and supports us in so many ways. We depend on that support daily.
Looking back: some highlights:
- April through May we worked hard in the offices on various projects, such as a second songbook, more Sunday School material, activity books, notating the first songbook etc.
- The fifth book in the devotional series “Jieda Dach met Jesus” is printed and ready for sale, as is the newly edited Low German Katechism.
- Our Christmas CD’s finally arrived! The album was previously available online, but now we also have the physical copies available.
- Much time was spent singing and speaking at local events and churches
- Our annual spring fundraiser was held, raising some much-needed funds. Thank you to our dedicated and hard-working advisory board, the Winkler EMMC, Glory Bound Quartet, and many volunteers for your help!
- We were blessed by a visit from Chris Wiens, the director of MMF! It was good to touch base with him, show him where we live and work, introduce him to our advisory board, get to know him a bit better, and be encouraged by his presence and support.
- The month of June was mostly spent in Alberta, taking part in the grand opening of the La Crete Plautdietsch radio station “Läwen met Hopning,“ and singing and running sound. We met many friends, new and old, and were blessed by the interaction with listeners and fellow musicians.
Looking ahead:
- Within the next week, Lord willing, we will be leaving for Ontario, where we plan to participate in the Plautdietsche Media Konferenz, where we have agreed to lead a workshop on translation. Your prayers for this would be greatly appreciated, that we could communicate effectively and precisely so that everyone can understand and learn as much as possible. We have also agreed to do several concerts while we are in the areas of Aylmer and Leamington. Our prayer is as always, that God would be glorified and the listeners be built up and encouraged.
- Upon our return at the end of July, we plan to take a little bit of time to rest and catch up with office tasks before resuming a regular schedule of events and writing/translating.
Special Mention
A short time ago, we were incredibly blown away by the generosity of a couple that have been our long-time friends and supporters. God moved in their hearts, causing them to donate a Mercedes Camper Van (RV) to D’Friesens ministry. It has already proven to be a huge blessing, especially for Andrew and Deanna and their children, giving them the opportunity to travel more comfortably as a family. We are filled to overflowing with gratitude to this couple and to God for this amazing gift. Together with a camper trailer that was previously donated, we are now well set to include more of our family and team members in our travels. Our prayer is that we would be good stewards of all the tools and resources God sends our way.
Praise God For:
- His amazing provision
- Wonderful supporters
- Safety on the roads in our travels
- Opportunities to serve
- Willing workers on our team
Pray For:
- Wisdom in all the decisions we need to make
- Physical strength and energy when the fatigue hits
- Continued unity in our team and family relationships
- Renewed vision and enthusiasm for future ministry
- Continued safety in our travels
Nikki’s Notes
The past few months have been a whirlwind! We have been so busy preparing for different events and ultimately for the summer tour taking place as we speak. I have been busy taking product photos, entering inventory, getting CDs uploaded, downloading content on USB and getting organized for summer. Although I’m not able to go along for the summer tours to Alberta and Ontario, I have been reminded that there are no small parts. What I do from home is an important piece of the summer tour. Someone needs to hold down the fort, file the expenses and keep the inventory up to date! In the midst of the busyness, I am thankful for my part in what God plans to do this summer while the Friesens are on tour.
Mark’s Remarks
Before the summer travels started, I participated in numerous local events and fundraisers, however in the last few weeks, my job has shifted more from office work and singing to helping maintain the equipment and vehicles. Lots of time is spent packing up for travel, unpacking and repacking! Deliveries of bulk orders and mail orders also fall to me when the others are travelling. In between times, I keep busy as usual working on my editing projects and being available in the home office for whatever comes up. Thank you all, for your prayers and support. I am so blessed to be able to be a part of this ministry.
Jason’s Journal
The summer has been turning into another busy season! Aside from the increase in travelling and music programs, I have been busy at work in the office. The Low German guitar lesson videos for YouTube have all been recorded, so that is a huge project (almost) behind us! The last few videos in the series will be uploaded in the coming months. Another major push for me has been working on the notated Low German songbook, which has seen some steady progress. Aside from this, Teya, Soren and I took a trip to the U.S. for Teya’s treatment for Lyme disease. Since we got back have seen slow but steady improvements in Teya’s health, which we are all excited to see! Thank you all for your prayers over the past years!