JANUARY UPDATE

 

3 monkeys Swimming with daddy in florida & the little guy hanging with Mommy and again with Papa Cattani.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Welcome to 2014! It is always an exciting thing to start a new year, filled with possibilities and fresh adventures. We have absolutely no idea what this year will hold for us. Sure I have plans and certainly I have set some goals (realistic ones, not the flaky resolution type), but there is still no way to have a written guarantee that any of it will actually come to pass. Each of these hopes and dreams rests fully on the providence of God, His grace and mercy. At the same time, I have to be realistic in honoring him for holding back from our lives some of the unspeakable pain of the world. This last year was one of incredible blessing for us and we praise God every breath he gave us to enjoy it!

Also, a massive thank you to everyone who has been praying for us and partnering with us financially over the last few months. We are incredibly grateful for each of you while we hold you up in prayers of thankfulness!

Story time at home with Coralise - Mommy and the Monkeys - Jonny's 1st Christmas

WHAT A SEMESTER!

Since September I have been on an educational sabbatical, taking 5 courses in my Masters of Divinity program while also interning a day a week at Nassau Street Church. The class work was heavy, but it was deeply fulfilling. With courses focused on Christian Ethics, Romans, ministering to those in the midst of suffering, Christian spirituality and a robust course in Pentateuch theology it was a full semester. 

LIFE AT HOME

Rhonda and the kids were busy with school for most of the semester, yet even with this schedule we still tried to set Fridays aside as a dedicated family time. What good is a sabbatical if you can’t spend a bit more time with your family? Our fourth baby, Jonny, is now 9 months old, crawling and constantly hamming it up for the camera. The other three monkeys LOVE making him laugh with silly faces or making him jealous with all their running and chasing. You can see the need for speed flickering in his eyes!

EPIC ROAD TRIP

One of the highlights for us this semester was the opportunity to head down to Orlando, Florida for me to take a course through Reformed Theological Seminary.  Rhonda summed it up beautifully with her Facebook status after the trip... “7 days of driving + 5 days of school + 4 days of sight-seeing family time + 3 days of Disney + oodles of play, sun and swim = the most EPIC Cattani road trip yet!!! (And yes, there WILL be more) 

Rhonda planned so many different things for the kids to do along the way. The drive was fun with the monkeys taking care of school, colouring, playing and every few stops they would dip into the grab bag for a new little surprise!

WEDDINGS

The kids were involved in two wonderful weddings this fall. Annabelle is now a professional flower girl, while coralise and caden took a little more to warm up to their roles. Annabelle had them practice with her many times at home before the big days. Congrats to the beautiful new couples, Jon and Jenna & Brad and Michelle! Thank you guys for letting our little ones be involved!

DISNEY

Our second week in florida was set aside for some r&r. We had not had any down time after camp this summer, and we thought that a bit of fun was in order. so... we did disney. it was such a great experience to meet my dad down in orlando and tour the parks together. every few days coralise will still talk about meeting all the princesses!

Friends in Florida - Coralise the beach model

EXCITED FOR MINISTRY!

Some Items for Prayer

1. Please pray for our follow-up crew as they continue to disciple campers from last summer
2. Please pray for the upcoming Feb. retreat, that it would be a time of gospel rejuvenation
3. Praise God for a wonderful sabbatical this last semester!
4. Please pray for our monthly financial support to be filled up by the end of this year.

As for ministry, now that I am back in the office full time (with a bit of school still on the side) there are two solid challenges which we need your participation in if we are to overcome them. 

The first thing is our camper numbers. For the last few summers we, along with many other camps in Canada, have been experiencing a decline in camper numbers. Last summer we had close to 100 open spaces. We would like to ask for you participation through prayer. Please pray that the Lord would continue to send us campers this summer who need to hear the gospel message. Please pray that we would have heavenly wisdom in recruiting campers from many unlikely places and new groups. We would love to see more of Winnipeg’s immigrant population sending their kids to camp through some of the funding options available to them. As a summer staff, we will be fasting lunches on Mondays and spending that time in prayer for our summer numbers. Please feel free if you would like to join us in this from where you are!

If you would like to sponsor a camper this summer, please click the link below and we will make sure that one more spot is filled with a camper who otherwise would not be able to afford it. As of right now, we are only able so sponsor about 3 campers, it would be wonderful to fill an entire week of 100 campers who are sponsored. 

Click to send a camper to Cedarwood!

The second challenge Rhonda and I would love for you to get involved with is our personal ministry support. I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but my salary is utterly dependent on the contributions of individuals. We have been running a deficit in our support account for the last year because monthly contributions coming in only cover about 1/3 of our need. Basically, we are looking for numerous individuals to sign on to support us for $20-$50 a month, for a year. We ask that you would prayerfully consider how you can be a part of the Cedarwood ministry in this way. If you feel called to contribute, please click the link below; each gift is eligible for a donation receipt. 

Click here to support the Cattani 6!

Thank you so much for prayerfully considering involvement in these areas. We will do our best to keep you informed of how things are going over the months leading up to summer. As always, if you have any questions just shoot me an email or feel free to call... 204-669-4205 ex. 217.

Click here to be added to our email list.

In the Little Things.

Monday evening was the first hospital run for one of my kids.  Caden had gotten off our bed and was walking around it near my closet when his face contorted in pain and he let out a deep scream.  Tears ran down his face.  I thought he had stubbed his toe.  We all know how much that can hurt.  I've broken a toe from stubbing it.  In this case, I was certain he had stubbed it hard and would be fine in a few minutes.  Caden is a very sensitive boy.  He feels pain deeply and becomes anxious quickly.  Just as an example, when being a ring bearer for dear friends, Caden was terrified of walking down the aisle.  And, last summer, when he had gotten bug spray in his eyes and we had to wash them out, he panicked in fear and it took us holding him down to rinse out his eyes.  However, yesterday, he had a legitimate reason to be upset. When I took a look at his foot, he had a piece of wood sticking into it.  I immediately called my mom, who pulled the piece out while I held him.  We were both fairly certain that there was another piece still in his foot so I got him ready and took him to Urgent Care.

After a few hours wait, we got called into a room.  The nurse came in and looked and said yes, there was indeed something still in his foot.  She said that the doctor would come in shortly and would likely have to probe a little harder.  Caden heard that and started to panic again.  He had been calm while we were waiting as he had TV to entertain and distract him.  Now, it was getting real.  Before the doctor came in, Brennan arrived to relieve me as the baby needed me at home.

Here is where I started to take stock of all of the little things that God saw us through.  I will get to that in a moment.  First, let me tell you that Brennan came home and informed me that, after having to hold Caden down while giving him a shot to freeze his foot, the doctor had to slice his foot open to retrieve a piece of wood that was 1.3 cm long.  As Caden was lying on his tummy and the doctor was working, Brennan distracted him with silly stories of what happened at dinner with the girls and he read to him from the book we had brought along.  Caden told me later that there was a lot of blood on the bed where the doctor had been working.

Later, as I was getting ready for bed, the incident played itself over again in my head.  I wondered if I could have done something different…something better.  I wondered how I could have saved him from all of this.  And then, I was reminded of the list I had started, and even shared a bit with Caden, of how God had seen us through this.

First, when the injury happened, my mom and Harry (her husband) were here and I was able to call for help.  I didn't have to deal with it on my own.  And, since they were here, I was able to use their car as Brennan had not yet come home from school for the day.  Then, when we arrived at Urgent Care, I was able to find a parking space that, though it was far away from the hospital, it was free.  And, we were able to walk through another building and overpass to get to Urgent Care and we didn't have to walk around the block in the frigid cold temperatures we are experiencing right now.  While we waited to be seen, we found a space in the waiting room dedicated to kids, empty.  Caden had a tv where he could watch kid friendly shows all by himself.  When Brennan came to switch with me, he came at just the right time.  He was there to be the one to hold Caden down, see the blood, and get him bandaged up.  God knew that my disposition is one of which that would have been extremely difficult for me.  And though Brennan had accidentally left the interior light on in the van, it still started and I was able to drive home to care for Jonny.

God was gracious in the little things, which really, were not little at all.  You see, I am not strong.   Especially when it comes to my kids.  I want to take their pain away.  I want to protect them from anyone or thing that could possibly hurt them.  Ever!! And this is just the first incident!!  Likely, just the beginning.  God graciously showed me how, though they will get hurt in this life, He will be there in the little things.  And He will gently see me (and them) through the things I would normally panic in by tenderly prodding me forward through the pain all the while cradling my heart in His very capable hands.
I WILL be afraid for them again.  But He will be there.
I WILL hurt for them again.  But He will be there.
He experienced the greatest loss, the greatest heartbreak, the greatest pain…and now He sees me through the little things.

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.  But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.  

For when I am weak, then I am strong.  

-2 Corinthians 12:8-10